Midterms, already?!

Yep, this week is llena de midterms and I actually have prepared for them. I know, I know. You would not have thought as much with all of the festivities of this past weekend. But seriously. I have actually prepared pretty well for these suckers, and I have been having these light bulb, connect-the-dot moments with my learning of all this history and art. And theater and cine. Whew. I sound like a huge nerd, but I can say I am pretty pleased with the way this week has gone so far. 

I think that my host brother watches upwards of eight hours of television per day. Not even kidding. People talk about how all Spanish people do is chat, walk around the city, drink wine and enjoy each others' company. This I see... in the street. But so many people are constantly watching TV. I am suddenly glad I was raised in a house where watching more than two episodes of Boy Meets World was severely frowned upon. People say there is nothing to do in this town? Open the door and take a look outside... I beg to differ. 

Mood: jaded, yet surprisingly optimistic. I grind my teeth so hard during the night that my jaw aches the next morning. What the heck is my problem? One of my main sources of sanity now (and previously) is running, and Flannery and I recently signed up for the Prague Half Marathon... plane tickets and all. I am way beyond excited, especially after hearing what a cool city Prague is. It is so weird to think that by that time, at the end of March, we will almost be done. Seriously. I have learned the hard way my entire life that I only realize how good I have it when I don't have it anymore, and I am sure this year-long experience will be no exception, even if I do know every day how many days until I see my family again. It's hard not to have a countdown when you already have that number in your head, from a while ago during a bout of homesickness...

Carnaval

This weekend was Carnaval, the Mardi Gras-esque celebration that for some weird reason is largely neglected in the United States. Needless to say, my friends and I wanted to take full advantage of this wild celebration that here in Spain, seems for like Halloween. People dress up in the wildest costumes— men as dirty nurses, Pink Panthers, Smurfs, pirates. The list goes on and on. We were planning on traveling to Cadiz, a coastal town about 8 hours away by bus, but at the last minute ended up changing our minds and deciding to go to Madrid on Friday night and stay in Toledo Saturday night. Madrid was fun of course— us girls had our Carnaval masks and fun colored tights and the guys wore these hideous skeleton masks with neon colored long haired wigs. We ended up just bar hopping a lot in the city and were pretty surprised to find that we were some of the only ones dressed up for the night.

No the case in dear old Toledo. Last night people started packing the streets early in the afternoon to watch a parade, listen to concerts in the plaza and take full advantage of the makeshift bar set up for the night. It was the liveliest I have seen Toledo since New Years eve, and people were absolutely nuts. It was awesome because a ton of our friends stayed here in the city, one key reason being that we have midterms this coming week (what???) Theoretically, there is absolutely no reason I should not have had a blast last night, but one of those overwhelming waves of homesickness and mental exhaustion hit me hard early in the morning. I only stayed out until 3 or so, telling people I was not feeling well (halfway true.) I do love it here, but I am starting to just realize I miss my life back home a lot. Maybe I am just being a huge baby. It's just so ironic that this happened on such a wild when seriously the rest of the world it seemed like was on cloud 9. I need to snap out of this. I am in Europe for a year. Poor poor Katie.

no pasa nada

Notorious phrase here in Spain. Upon arrival, I actually thought it meant that nothing is happening. It means something more like "don't worry about it," "whatever," or, perhaps most accurately, "Hakuna Matata." Little did I know initially that this simple little slogan not only is meant as a passing phrase, but it more accurately describes the Spanish way of life. Don't feel like opening your shop for three more hours after siesta? No pasa nada. Don't feel like checking my backpack for the 6oz of perfume I forgot to put in those little Ziplock baggies before boarding my flight? No pasa nada. Don't feel like finishing a sidewalk repair in less than 5 months? No pasa nada. This mentality is both endearing and terribly irritating. But mostly I feel like it is just something I have gotten used to about this place, something I know neither I nor no one else can ever change. 

And something that has begun to rub off on me. I have started getting incredibly irritated by the prospect of going to class (don't worry mom and dad, I always go) and writing essays. I currently actually am evading a terribly boring Cine essay by updating this here blog. I honestly always feel like there are more useful things I could be doing to further my comprehension and appreciation of this wonderful country. I sincerely believe I learn more about Spain when I am out and about the town with my friends, when I am dining with my host family, when I am running the gorgeous Ruta de Don Quixote around the city. Like Mark Twain always said, I will not let my schooling get in the way of my education. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is February 14, Valentine's Day. I cannot say that this is a day I miss being home because of some romantic annual event I inevitably will be missing out on. I miss being home on days like this when I know my mom does cute stuff around the house and makes things really special. OK enough with the sad stuff. I am so excited to get home, but I know I have a lot more to learn here. And I continue to feel more and more comfortable, which may or may not be a good thing. 

I know I probably think about this a little bit too much, but I am going to need a mammoth sized makeover when I get back in April. I will look like someone who has not had a haircut since August and who has been wearing and rewearing the same grungy clothes. Oh, wait, I have done that. Yuck. If I can just vent a little bit. I cannot wait to get back and meet the new puppy (Boo), wear my other clothes and buy some new ones, go on hikes with mama, visit the friends at ND, scope out the new car, enjoy warm Carolina nights on the deck and finally live in Chicago for the summer. OK I know I cannot dwell like this for too long.

I am staying here in Toledo this weekend 1) because my friends are going to Dublin, where I have been, 2) because I have some work to get done which probably will not even happen 3) because I am giving the bank account a rest and 4) because I am giving my poor body a rest. Even though it's not exactly so, I feel like I have been going a million miles an hour and I need some rest to appreciate everything. Alright gotta run. Spending the day with Jani and Ricky. She is so into holidays so I think today she will pull all the stops out. 

4 weeks down

This weekend was to be one of those perfectly planned out and simple weekends. I had been to London twice already, so I was not worried about much. I was excited to see my friends there and was excited to be traveling with my new Toledo friends. We slept a little less than 4 hours Thursday night so that we could get to the airport early enough Friday for a 8:30 flight. When we got to the airport, however, we learned that our flight was canceled because of bad weather at Luton Airport. Frustrated and exhausted, we haggled with the Easyjet people, who told us that although there was no flight available to London during that day, we could fly out first thing the next morning. In the meantime, they were to put us up in a 4-star hotel in Madrid, complete with paid-for meals and transportation to and from the airport. So not exactly the ideal situation, but it worked out. And we got a nice breather from the hostels we have been used to. 

We got up again the next morning after about three hours of sleep and headed to London, where we learned our hostel reservation had been canceled also. They put us up in one about 30 minutes away from everything. We spent a grand total of about 2 hours there. Although we had less than a day in the city, it was a lot of fun. I got to spend some time with Mary, who I had not seen since August. And it admittedly is always nice to be in an English speaking country. 

We got up ridiculously early again Sunday to make it back to Madrid, and of course I felt sick the entire time. We did not even have time to shower once in London (sick, I know) so I was feeling extra grungy. Later Sunday night after dinner I mentioned to Jani that I felt slightly under par because of all the traveling and lack of sleep. When I was working on an essay later, she brought me up some delicious Chai tea, milk and honey to help me feel better. I was about to cry. I just miss that feeling of being taken care of, and I realize how at home I feel here. This family is so wonderful and i feel really lucky. 77 days. Why am I counting?? I don't know. I feel so exhausted lately. I love it here and I am still learning so much everyday, but being with this great family makes me miss my own also. And then there's the prospect of Chicago this summer, and Marion next year...

Servicio

Today we had our first day of work for a Aprendizaje-Servicio class (Service Learning.) I, along with another girl named Maggie from the first semester, was assigned a new location, the Hospital Virgen de la Salud, a hospital just outside the city walls where we will be working with children. Well, I guess when I say working I mean playing. Seriously, it's like a foreign babysitting course. These kids, who range from diagnoses of brain cancer to appendicitis, are so sweet and gracious. There is a little girl named Jennifer, who has some kind of respiratory condition, who fussed and frowned when I tried to leave after reading spanish Robin Hood to her. Our supervisor, Berna, told us that we are kind of a breath of fresh air, a light from outside, because a lot of these kids have to stay in the hospital for days and days on end. It made me, for the first time in months, feel somewhat useful. I have felt like I have been this useless loaf whose sole purpose is to galavant and travel and try to speak the language. I felt, today, like all I had learned is good for something besides my own benefit. I guess that is what service is all about.

I hate shopping. More than anything in the world. More than that, I hate trying stuff on. I would rather have one of my fashion-savvy sister pick out stuff on the internet for me to have shipped directly to Summerlake. And I realize this will definitely be the case come May. I am so incredibly sick of looking at all of my nasty grungy clothes I would not care if they all got stolen overnight. I feel like I must be the frumpiest looking little college student, and I am sure my overgrown mane only adds to that effect. I just feel like haircuts are definitely something unnecessary, which is why I purchased a pair of just-fine stainless steel scissors from the local alimentación to fix those split ends. I know this was random. I just need one heck of a do-over when I get home. But hey, that is what European travel is all about, right?? Grungy, uncomfortable, yet happy and worldly. 

Look out for the falling oranges

Just got back last night (muy tarde) from Sevilla. Wow. What a gorgeous city. To be honest, I originally would have liked to wait until it was super warm outside to go there, but I am so glad we went. I even wore flip flops (maybe not the wisest choice in the end but whatev.) We arrived after an overnight bus at 6:30 in the morning. The bus ride was fine, though, thanks to this extraordinarily kind Chilean guy. I had originally been placed on the bus next to this extremely creepy old man who had a glazed over eye and reeked like spoiled milk. He blabbered unintelligible Spanish in my ear for about half an hour before this guy across the aisle leaned over and said, "Switch with me. You are not comfortable." I had never been more pleasantly surprised, and this guy seriously restored my faith in kind strangers. It's the little things like that, ya know?

OK so over the weekend we saw all of the major sites in Sevilla— the Cathedral, Alcazar, Torre de Oro, Guadalvivir River, Plaza de España, orange trees lining the streets and teeming with fresh fruit. Like I have always said, I love nothing better than walking in a foreign city and absorbing all I can about the place. My host father, before I left, told me to forget about the museums and all the cliché tourist attractions. Instead, he said, ask local youth where the botellón is, where is the best place to grab a café con leche and sit for hours. I loved every minute of this weekend. Except for Saturday night, circa midnight.

My parents were supposed to call around then so I could wish Neita a happy birthday. I thought I would check my e-mail while some friends killed a few drinks at the hostel bar. I learned Lily died. Our poor little pug, more like a third little sister to me. I could not help but burst into tears right then, in front of everyone. I just kept thinking about how badly I felt for my family at home and about how young the poor little thing was. She is, at least, as I have reminded my sister, in good company with our old lab, Danny, up in dog heaven. 

I still went out that night. Ended up turning back around and being as fun as it could be.