¡Mi blog de Sevilla!

Okay, so I should be writing a paper for my Spanish literature class right now. But oh well. I just have to update you guys on everything. Well, this happened last week, but I forgot to write about it.

Julia, Sasha, and I were walking home from school. I guess it was around 9 o'clock. We were walking down Buhaira, this avenue that has plenty of people on it. So, the following happened in probably 5 seconds.

We all hear a moped very close to us.

Me: (Thinking) Damn, that moped's going to hit Julia. (It drove really close to her).

And then the next thing we knew, the two people on the moped had Julia's purse and were zooming off across the sidewalk. And we just stood there. We didn't say anything. I think maybe I started laughing. I don't know. It was just so bizarre. I guess there's not really anything we could have done. They were on a moped and we were walking on the sidewalk.

So, we went into the nearest hotel and asked if we could use their phone, but the guy said no, so we went to a phone booth. And I called our director, Wayne, and Julia talked to him. And then Julia called her mom to cancel all her credit cards and what not. It was just so strange because they had told us about how petty theft was a problem, but I didn't really think that Julia would get robbed. Okay, I know that it's supposed to be, "I really did not think that I would get robbed." But I didn't get robbed, but I also did not think that Julia would. So, that is my story of last week.

Thanks.

Tommorow is Ashlee's birthday. We are having a "surprise" party for her, but I have ruined all of the surprises. Good thing there's a language barrier, or my Senora would know that I have spoiled all of our well-thought out surprises. I am such a bad daughter... Oh well. Also, my Señora bought me earrings because the other day I was upset about my test and she is such a nice person! And also because Saturday was Ashlee’s birthday and she didn’t want me to go without a gift too.

I had a really good day today. I had class this morning. I know it's a Friday and normally, we don't have class, but today, we had to make up a class that we had missed before. So, we made up the class and then watched this movie called "Juana la Loca". It's about Fernando and Isabel's daughter (the king and queen that sent Christopher Columbus to America) Juana. Anyway, it was a good movie; but I felt really bad for Juana. Anyway, it was all true, so that was pretty cool. Then, after that, Sasha and I went to Nervion to get a birthday present for Julia. Her birthday is not this weekend, but the next one. So, we bought her another purse because her other one was stolen, as you know. And after that, I went to the grocery store to buy me some more cereal and some chocolates and candy for Ashlee and Julia. Normally, Maria buys me cereal, but her daughter in law (Nagori) was in a moto accident. Motos are those little moped things. And she had been in the hospital, and this morning when I left for class, Maria looked so sad that I gave her a big hug and then she couldn't talk because she was going to cry. So, I figured instead of telling her that I was running low on cereal, I would just go buy it myself. So, that's what I did.

Anyway, when I got home, I found out that Nagori was okay. I was supposed to meet my intercambio person (Paula) at 5 near my house. So, I ate lunch and my Senora asked me if I wanted to meet her at this hotel near our house later to get some coffee. And, por supuesto, I did. So, we decided to meet at 6 because I figured the intercambio thing couldn't last THAT long. But then, it turned out that Paula is really nice and just a normal, cool person. At least, that is what it seems like. She laughed a lot at things I was saying, so that was good. Well, we walked around and then we went to this cafe. And Paula really likes chocolate, so she ordered this brownie thing with ice cream on top covered in this chocolate shell. Wow. She let me have some. She was nice. But, then, before I knew it, it was 6:15 and I was late to meet Maria. So, Paula and I left for the hotel. I felt really bad about being late for Maria. But, there was this exhibition thing at the hotel where all these rich people go to it and they sell antiques and stuff. I don't really know how to describe it. But, Maria, me, and Paula too went around that place until almost 8 o'clock. Then Paula had to go and Maria and I were exhausted. Maria was going to go see her son Jesus (the one married to Nagori who had the moto accident). And she asked me if I wanted to come too, and yeah, bitches I did. So, her friend Pepe, who is a taxi driver, drove us there.

Jesus' apartment is SO nice. He and Nagori re-did the whole thing themselves and it is just kind of gorgeous. So, that was really nice. And I really like him and Nagori. They are just nice to me. I don't know why. But, we all sat around and talked. Sometimes, I would get confused. Because we were talking about how in the United States we use pounds and gallons and stuff and here they don't. And then Jesus was like, "It's like whiskey." And I was like, "What the f are you talking about, man?". So, yeah, sometimes when they change the subject like that, I get a little confused. But Nagori just laughed at me. Oh well. I think that maybe I love them all.

Jesus tried to give me some chicken livers, but I didn't know what they were. And Nagori explained to me that they were from the inside of a chicken. And I was like, "Oh, the part that processes alchohol?" And they were like, "Yeah! You're smart." So, that was a success on my part.

Now, it’s Sunday and I wrote the above part on Friday, so that’s why when it says, “Tommorow is Ashlee’s surprise party” it was now yesterday. So, after all of that, I think that I went home and went to sleep. I am pretty sure that’s what went on.

And then, yesterday was Ashlee’s surprise party. So, at 11:30, I got Ashlee’s friend JD to take her out so that Maria and I could prepare in peace. Maria sent me out to do the shopping while she prepared the table at home. It was weird because I thought that I was going to go with her and then she just was like, “Adios.” So, that was interesting. But everyone is really really nice and when I bought shampoo and conditioner, this lady who knows Maria gave me and Ashlee a ring and a necklace for free. I love Spanish people. And I bought beer and sodas for us and plastic plates and cups. And then I went back to the house and Lucia (the cleaning lady) and her son Cristiano were there. Cristiano is 13 and really round. I mean, he is ROUND. So, I was going to go out and buy some strawberries and then I had to pick up the food from the same place where I had bought my lunch when I came back from Granada and Maria was not home. So, I asked Cristiano if he wanted to come with me because I’m a nice person. So, we went out together. And he was really nice because when I bought the strawberries, he held them for me. And he asked me if I had a beau, and I said, “No, but you can be my beau if you want.” Haha, just joshin’. I told him that I did have one and then he started crying. No, that’s a lie too. He didn’t start to cry. So, we got back to the house and I helped him put songs on his MP3 player. Thank god he had the instructions in English because I am not computer literate.

So, Maria and I finished setting up for Ashlee’s party. I’ll put up some pictures of it. And then Julia and Sasha came over. And they helped us set up. And then, Ashlee’s friends came over (Maggie, Rob, and John). And Rob kept saying, ‘This is so uncomfortable.” But it really wasn’t. He’s just weird. So, Maria had the idea to lock the door so that Ashlee wouldn’t be able to get in with her key. For some reason, there’s a lock on the door that we don’t have a key for. So, we heard Ashlee try to open the door, and then we all crowded around the door and I opened it and we all sang “Happy Birthday” in Spanish. It was really cool.

So, we all ate, and Maria was so happy. She was just beaming. It was so cute. And she kept saying how we were like her eight children. She was just so happy. So, then, we all had cake and champagne. The way Maria opened the champagne was really cool because she let the top blow off and hit the ceiling. She was an expert.

So, after that little party was over, Julia and I went to look for hostels for when our beaus come. We walked all over El Centro. It was fun. And along the way, Julia got her eyebrows plucked. It was very cheap. But she was disappointed because she thought they were going to wax them, and they just plucked them. I went into the little room with her and the lady. I would love a job like that.

So, I made it home for dinner just as my Senora was leaving to go out. And Ashlee had gone to a soccer game, so I had the whole house to myself. That was nice.

Anyway, my Senora came back at 4:30 in the morning and she called my cellphone because Ashlee had locked the unlockable lock. But it was alright. For some reason, when she came in, I gave her a big hug. I don’t know why. I am just always hugging her. Who knows?! So, today, Julia and I started planning our Barcelona trip in our Surgio café. Surgio is this guy who works in this café. He’s kind of attractive, but a little fat. But for some reason, Julia says he’s really nice, but whenever I go, he’s not really nice. So I think he has something against me.

Anyway, I’m getting excited about going to Barcelona next weekend. Julia and I are planning some cool things. For instance, there is a chocolate museum! I mean, a museum of chocolate!!! That’s amazing. Free samples too, guys. And there’s also a sex museum. Free samples there too. Just joshin’. We’re also going to go to a gay bar one night. Just to check it out, you know. So, that makes it sound like it will be a kind of weird, chocolately-sexual weekend, but it will be so much more. Barcelona just sounds so cool. So hopefully, it will not rain too much. Because it might. Well, I love you guys! Adios.

So, again, this is like a series. You need to read the one called “Estoy tonta, hoy” first and then the “Otro parte de Granada” and then this one. Alright, so here goes.

Julia and I had just entered a bar of heavy metal punk rock men. There were women too, but everyone was dressed the same. Which was basically black clothing, chains, mohawks, (a little like Sabrina, but not as cool as you, Sabrina!). So, we went up to the bar because at first when we walked in, we looked at each other, and we’re like, “Should we do this?”. And of course, we should. Because it’s a little scary. Anyway, there were these weird punk guys at the bar who wanted to get with us. And they kept asking us what kinds of music we liked and they gave us a cigarette, so I guess that was nice of them… but I don’t really smoke, so. Oh well. Anyway, so, I think it annoyed them that we didn’t know any of the singers they were talking about. And eventually, we left because there was some little French guy that I’m pretty sure wanted to get in my pants and he was creepy.

Once we were outside, Ashley stomped up to us all pissed off. Or, she didn’t seem very pissed off to me, but evidently, when we had gone into this punk rock bar, Julia had seen Ashley storming around outside searching for us. Oh well. This is why we’re mean people.

So, we kept walking to go down to some other bars. There was this one bar with a pool table in the back (this is all characterization of Ashley). When she saw there were some hotties playing pool, she did what I’m sure she thought was a sexy walk up to them and turned around, flipping her hair, and stood there staring at them. And, of course, they ignored us. I mean, I would annoy a guy too if a short, chubby man approached me like he wanted to conquer me with his sassy walk. So, at this point, those guys from Madrid with the UNC sweatshirts called us. It was raining a little. I didn’t really care if we met up with them or not. As I said before, there are a lot of Spanish men in Spain. But Ashley really wanted to. So, we went off walking in the direction where they were.

We saw them when we reached this big square. I didn’t hear this, but when we walked up, Julia said that she heard them say, “Look, it’s the Americans.” That is always a bad sign. But luckily, Julia and I aren’t retarded because we got bad vibes from those guys. They were telling us that one of them was getting married and this was like his batchelor party. Well, when we walked up there, they all did those two kisses things, but Ashley took the two kisses to another level. She was trying to turn those two kisses into a make-out session. So, the guys were like, “Let’s go. We’re going to a discoteca.” And Julia and I were like, “Well, okay, but if we go to any place where there aren’t a lot of other people, we’re leaving.” So, we walked down the street with them. And Ashley was holding onto the guys and Julia and I were holding onto each other. Anyway, we reach the discoteca and it costs 8 euros to get inside. And the guys were not going to pay for us because they really did not care if we went in or not, we were just some American booty. So, I told Ashley that I wasn’t going to pay, but if she wanted to go in, she could. (At this point, she was kind of annoying me, and it’s not that I wanted her to get raped, I just figured she could make her own stupid decisions). This is the conversation:

Me: Ashley? I really don’t want to pay 8 euros to go to some discoteca with those guys.

Ashley: What?

Julia: That’s a lot of money for a discoteca.

Me: Yeah, and I don’t even have 8 euros.

Ashley: (Getting angry because she’s very horny) That’s how much discotecas cost. Most of them are 20 euros. This one is cheap.

Me: Well, Julia and I have never had to pay to go in a discoteca.

Ashley: Listen, I’ll pay for you guys and you can pay me back.

Me: Ashley, if you pay for me, I’m not going to pay you back.

Julia: Let’s go back to the hotel.

Okay, so I don’t know if those parts are exact, but basically, that is about it. So, it was raining pretty hard at this point. Julia, Ashley, and I went to stand under the awning of this bar. And then Ashley started demanding my cell phone because it had those guy’s number on it. And I told her that she couldn’t use my cellphone to call, but she can get the numbers. She was really pissed off. It was scary. And so, we started walking back. And Julia and I were sharing an umbrella and I invited Ashley to get under it, but she refused. It was so ridiculous and stupid. She was being such a dumb girl. And it was making me angry. But as we were walking, I started thinking how stupid the whole thing was and I tried to make things better, but she still refused the umbrella. Oh well.

So, the next day, we drove back to Sevilla and I had a hangover on the bus and didn’t feel so hot. But we stopped in AquaDulce again, so that was sweet.

When we got back to Sevilla, Maria was supposed to be home to fix us lunch, but she wasn’t. So, Ashlee (my roommate, not the short one) and I sat outside of our apartment for over an hour waiting. And I went downstairs to get some lunch from this little takeout place near our house. The guy who got my food for me was really nice because he gave me some extra for free. And all week long, when I pass by that place when I am walking from school, he waves at me. So, that is nice of him.

Alright, I pressed a button and I didn´t mean to. So, read the blogger entry below this before you read this one.

And, one of them was wearing a UNC sweatshirt. And we were like, Weird. So, we decided to follow them, so that we could take a picture of the sweatshirt. So, we got up and started following them down these little streets. And finally, they turned to go into a bar and I was like, ¨Excuse me.¨ But in Spanish. And we explained that we went to UNC. But the guy´s sweatshirt actually said, ¨Niyman University¨but had the UNC symbol. It was very strange. Anyway, so they picked up Ashley on their shoulders and started dancing around. I know that seems very random and strange, but it was. At this time, it was 2 and we still had to get back to the hotel. I think there is a picture of me somewhere looking very confused standing next to a group of dancing men with Ashley on their shoulders. Then, they herded us into the bar and bought us all beer. And tapas too, but we had just eaten. So, they were like, ¨Let´s meet up later.¨ And we were like, Sure. So, we had to run back to the hotel to meet the bus. And we got there in time.

Al Hambra was really cool. I think the tour guide had a crush on me. I´m not kidding man. He was talking to me a lot and would like walk next to me and when he was giving the tours he would just make eye contact with me the whole time. So, it was a little strange. But he was a good tour guide. But I think that maybe he thought I had a thing for his wife because the other night at dinner, I told her that we thought she was really pretty. But she is really pretty. He is not so pretty, but he was nice and I guess that is how he got her.

So, those tours lasted until 6 or 6:30 at which point, we returned to the hotel by walking. But Julia and I stopped in some tourist shop things to pick up some gifts and then we continued walking. Granada is known for their téterias. They are like caféterías, but instead of coffee, they sell tea. So, we went to one of those babies. It was cool. This lady gave us directions and it is the first time I have been able to follow someone´s directions and get it right the first time.

So, at the tetería, they have hookah too, but we did not smoke that stuff because that´s just bad for your lungs. We ordered our tea and it was cool because they bring you individual pots and glass Arabic cups because there is a lot of Islamic influence in Granada. It was the last city to be reconquisted (that´s not a real word, I don´t think) by the Christians. See Fernando, I am not a retard. Why could he not ask us about that stuff? No, he had to ask us what a taula is.

Anyway, so, when we were leaving and getting ready to pay, the guy who worked there was like, ¨Why were you all at the mosque yesterday?¨. And we were like, ¨What´s going on?¨. I mean, what a strange coincidence. The guy working at the tetería had also been at the ceramic exhibition/mosque thing. Anyway, we explained that we thought it was a ceramic exhibition and that we had not wanted to use the bathrooms. So, he asked us if we wanted to meet him later to go to some clubs with him. We are such bitches, but he was not too attractive, so we were just like, ¨Well, if we decide to, we´ll see you here at 12:30, but if not, then we won´t. ¨I am pretty sure he knew we did not want to meet him there. But seriously, Spanish men are a dime a dozen; you can be really picky.

So, we went back to the hotel. We were the last students to eat dinner because everyone else was drinking up in their hotel rooms. Wayne (our director) had told us not to, but of course people are going to. He was like, ¨There are alchohol alarms, so I will know¨. Julia literally thought there were alchohol alarms. But of course there are not alchohol alarms; how could you have alarms for alchohol? Anyway, so, Julia and I got ready to go out ( which just includes making ourselves beautiful). That girl Ashley had wanted to go out with us, so she was like, ¨Stop up in my room.¨ Julia and I were not drunk at all, but everyone else was already SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO drunk. So, we went up there and they were playing some drinking game called, ¨Never, ever, flever, something.¨ I did not play because when we got in there, there was some real hostility. This boy named Rob said something jokingly to me when I went in there, and I joked back and then this girl was like, ¨You need to shut the fuck up or we´re all going to get caught.¨ So, that was some hostility. We were probably there for one minute when we decided to leave. I mean, we were in Granada, why would you sit in a four star hotel room and drink when there are tons of bars to explore? So, we were like, Adios, guys. But as we were leaving, someone knocked on the door. And I didn´t know if I was supposed to answer it. So, I just stood there. And this boy was like, ¨ Answer the fucking door¨. Hostility. Anyway, so we left. But then, everyone else was like, Óh yeah! We want to go out too. So we ended up waiting for all these people to come. It was realy annoying because they were already drunk and sounded like complete idiots. I was embarrased. Luckily, they did not stay out long. Probably, the coolest bar we went to that night was this bar full of heavy metal rockers and punk people. When Julia and I entered, we probably looked insane. Only because we did nto fit in at all.

But it was really cool anyway. So, the only girl left with us was Ashley. And I have class now. So, I will have to tell the Ashley story lately.

Hey guys. So, I am not feeling so great right now. I am not sick or anything, but I just took a Fernando test and I literally failed it. I know that I am always saying how I am going to fail tests and stuff, and this might just seem like one of those times, but this time, I failed it. I was just making stuff up for the answers because I had no idea what they were. It was like this:

Explain what the following are:

Almandezar:

Now, I don´t think that´s even a real word because I just made it up. But if you don´t know the freakin´words because they are in another language and I probably don´t even know the words for these things in English because they are specific types of buildings from the Neolithic period, then how in the world are you supposed to find an answer to what an Almandezar is?! Do you see what I am saying? So, I failed it. But evidently, it does not matter much if we failed it because Fernando is giving us extra credit ( and by us, I mean the people that failed his test). But I would have rather not failed it in the first place.

Well, now that I have purged myself of that. I don´t know what happened with the weather today. It was really sunny when I woke up this morning, and now it is just cloudy. But I guess that´s what weather does.

This past weekend, we went to Granada. It was really awesome. So I will tell you all about that because during the week, we just had class and that is not that exciting.

So, on Friday morning, we left for Granada.

The bus ride there took three hours. The countryside is really pretty and there were lots of mountains in the distance. I did my homework on the bus. We stopped at the weirdest rest stop too. It was so creepy. They had all these manneguins of old time people selling things. It freaked me out. They also had a fake bull ring with a fake matador and a fake bull and the bull had fake balls (which I thought was a weird thing to add to the fake bull). Anyway, so, that place was just strange. It was in this town called AguaDulce (Sweet Water). Little did we know, we would return there soon enough...

Anyway, so we got to Granada at 2 in the afternoon. We pulled up in front of this four star hotel, and I was like, ¨What in the world? This can´t be our hotel. It has four stars and we don´t even stay in four star hotels with my family.¨ But yes, it was our´s. Our own four star hotel to take over (because there are 30 or 40 of us). So, that afternoon, we had free to explore the city. My Senora had packed me a lunch, so I just ate that as Julia and I walked around. There are some corresponding pictures up on webshots. So, we just walked a lot and kept taking all these little streets and climbing higher and higher. I don´t know why we chose to climb upwards, but that´s pretty much the only direction to climb, except after you climb upwards, you have to climb down, so there´s always that choice too.

Anyway, we had walked a very long way and along the way, I bought a purse which you can see in some pictures. You all might think it´s ugly, but I think I might love it.

So, we had climbed pretty far and we were like, ¨Where are we?¨ because we didn´t know. And we saw this sign for a ceramic exhibition. So we were like, ¨Well, let´s take a look¨. And we went inside. But inside, there were all these ladies with their heads covered serving food and all these Islamic men and like six plates hanging on a wall. So, I asked one of the guys where the pottery exhibition was. And he was like, ¨Do you need to use the bathroom?¨. I was kind of confused because exhibicion does not sound like servicios. Except that my accent is horrible, so maybe it does. But, we explained that we didn´t want to use their bathrooms, we just wanted to see the pottery exhibition. And he asked us if we wanted some couscous and then pointed to the six plates on the wall. So, we just kind of left because it was getting weird and I think they were going to pray to Ala or something.

We kept on walking.

I was thirsty, so we decided to stop in a bar. Julia had read somewhere that the bars with a lot of people in them are the best ones. We saw one with a lot of people in it, and went in. I just wanted some water (I don´t really crave a beer in the middle of the afternoon).

The guy at the bar was really nice, but then he started talking about some Islamic conspiracy theories involving the United States and it was really difficult for me to follow what he was saying, so I just stopped responding to him and went over to talk to Julia. She was talking with this old friendly Spanish couple. They were nice and told us some good bars without tourists that we could go to that night. The man spoke perfect English, but mostly he spoke to us in Spanish.

We kept on walking. And then, at some point, we came to a bunch of photographers taking photos of this one woman. I think she was a model for something, but we just asked them if we could pass and kept on walking some more.

We found a cafetería and got some sort of pastry and some coffee and then we went back to the hotel. Or maybe we went shopping before we went back to the hotel. And then, we went and took advantage of the buffet. They had this awesome buffet there. I mean, they had everything you could ever want. And for dessert, they had these little cream puff things that were really awesome. We just called them puffs. I know, that´s not that interesting.

At dinner, a bunch of people were drunk. I guess they started really early. One guy did not even make it down to dinner, he was so drunk. He just passed out in his room and slept there the whole night. He´s a really nice guy, but I guess he´s kind of an idiot.

So, after that, we walked up to Al Hambra. Not to the palace though, we just walked up to this other point where you can see Al Hambra all lit up. It was very pretty and very cool. Everyone was taking pictures of Fernando (our teacher, the one who´s test I just failed). Everyone really likes him, but I don´t think he´s that cool. And I didn´t think he was even BEFORE I failed his test.

So, after that, we decided to go to this street called Elvira, where the nice old people had told us to go. I thought it was a really cool street. There were some other, shall I say less adventurous?, people with us who did not seem to like it that much. But it was full of all these hippies and young people. It was really neat. We didn´t stay there that long though because we had to get up early the next morning to tour the city.

We went to bed.

We woke up.

We ate at the really awesome buffet again.

Then we left for the cathedral. Well, I thought we were going to the cathedral, but it was really just this building of tombs for some dead king and queen of Spain. The whole time we were there, I thought it was a cathedral too. So that was probably why when I asked our tour guide Rafael, if they still use the Cathedral to worship, he didn´t know what I was talking about. Anyway, that was really interesting. And then afterwards, we went to the actual cathedral. I must have been in a good mood because I was asking a lot of questions . Also, it was supposed to rain that weekend, but it didn´t, so I was also in a good mood for that.

We had free time for lunch, but we were supposed to meet back at the hotel at 2:30 to take a bus to the Al Hambra.

I knew that I wanted some falafel, and nothing was going to stop me. I think I was PMSing. So, all these other girls were following us, and I was like, ¨Just so you all know, I am getting some falafel, so that is the direction we are walking in and if you don´t want it, you might want to walk in a different direction.¨ I don´t know if I put it so meanly, though that´s not really mean. Anyway, they all stopped into an Irish pub thing, and we kept walking until we got to this cool plaza where we could sit outside in the sun and eat some falafel. Julia and this other girl named Ashley were there. Um, more on Ashley later. I actually think that she is sitting behind me right now, but whateva´.

Our waiter was really nice and his little nephew who was probably 2 years old, gave me a kiss. So, when we were sitting there, there was this group of Spanish men walking by. And

I really liked that cat too. I thought he was really nice, and sometimes I would sit with him on the floor and pet him. Anyway, today, I had to cut my fingernails and toenails because I noticed as I was trying on these shoes that I bought the other day, that my toenails were getting really long. I hadn’t looked at my feet in a while, I guess. I know. I am becoming Adam. Well, they were not THAT long. Sorry, Adam. So, I got my little clippers out and headed for the balcony. The cat is always on the balcony because that’s where he spends his days. So, I sat down on the ground and started cutting. But the cat kept trying to get inside and I kept pushing him away. Finally, he did get inside, so I got up (clippers in hand) to get him to put him back outside. And when I tried to pick him up, he got close to the ground and made this weird mewing, unhappy noise. So, I was like, “Well, I’ll leave that alone.” And as I was walking away to get Maria, he hissed, made this attack noise, and sprang onto my ankle (my pants were rolled up; I don’t remember why) and latched on. And I didn’t know what to do because it really hurt and he was attacking my ankle. But he let go and then I was scared to walk past him to get out on the balcony again. He was watching me and it freaked me out. So I closed him in the living room and went and got Maria. And she was laughing and I was bleeding. She thought it was really funny. She explained to me that the cat attacked me because he thought I was going to cut his fingernails when he saw my fingernail clippers because they are the same ones they use for the cat. (Not the exact same ones; I brought my own). I guess it was kind of funny.

Anyway, I know I haven’t written in a really long time. So, the last time I wrote was a week ago or probably more. Let’s see. I think that weekend we went to Cordoba. It’s this city 2 hours in a bus outside of Sevilla. The drive there was really pretty. I will try to put up some pictures of it. Nothing really exciting happened there, except that I had some excellent flan. It was the best I’ve had here yet. The countryside was also really pretty. Then a week passed in which I had a lot of classes.

I also changed my schedule and dropped a class so that I do not have to get up at 7:30 in the morning. That was excellent and I am a lot happier now.

This past week, Julia, Sasha, and I met a lot of Spanish people in the cafeteria. For some reason, they are all really nice to us. There is this lady who works there everyday and her name is Encarna. She’s very nice and she knows my name too (mainly because I told her). But she remembered it and I thought that was cool.

So, one night this week, there were some other kids in the cafeteria. The trouble is, how do you start talking to them? That is always the difficult part. After that though, they are really friendly and want to talk to you. So, I just ask them stupid questions. For example, the other day, there were two Spanish students standing next to us at the counter. And behind the counter there were these little bags of candy (I didn’t know they were candy) with pictures of dogs on the bag and they were called, “Guaaa!!!” or something like that. So I just asked those students was a “Guaaa!!!” was and they invited us to a party this weekend. Yeah, I’m awesome. But, it turns out, the party wasn’t this weekend, it’s next weekend. So that’s alright. We will just see them next week in the cafeteria.

We also met some other students in the cafeteria. They are really nice. First, we met this girl named Marta. We happened to be in the cafeteria one night and she was there too and she asked us if we wanted to practice our Spanish with her and she would practice her English with us. And she introduced us to all her friends and they are all really nice. And they told us that three days a week, they meet at 5:30 in the cafeteria to get coffee and that we should meet them there at 5:30. So, we did. And then they invited us to go out with them this weekend. So, on Thursday night, we went out with some real Spaniards and it was pretty awesome. We went to some bars on Calle Betis which is a street with tons of bars where it seems like everyone in Spain goes. Then they got us into this club called Boss. It wasn’t very crowded, but everyone there was Spanish. We danced until 5:30 in the morning when the club closed. At that point, it was raining and we got a cab and headed home. That was Thursday night.

We have a long weekend in the end of February, and I’m trying to figure out where to go because a lot of things are pretty expensive. So, on Friday, Julia, Sasha, and I were in the computer lab at school trying to find plane tickets. It is very difficult. Well, we didn’t decide where to go or get plane tickets, but we did decide to get Mexican food for dinner. So, we went back to our houses and then met at 8:45 to walk to Los Remedios (a neighborhood on the other side of the river Guadaquiver) for dinner. We were meeting some other people. So, 1 hour and 15 minutes later, we arrived at the restaurant. We just live really far away from everything. Well, not everything. I mean, there is a lot close by, but we don’t really live near El Centro (the center of the city).

The Mexican food was decent, but it was nowhere near as good as the Mexican food in North Carolina. Probably because, in North Carolina, the Mexican food is made by Mexicans and here it is made by Spaniards. And I guess, although they both speak Spanish, Spaniards just have not mastered la comida de Mexico. Anyway, afterwards, we wanted some ice cream, so we went to this coffee shop chain called Café De Indias. It was closing in 20 minutes, but Julia and I ordered some ice cream. The people who worked there refused to make drinks for the other girls and the other girls got really pissed off and left. But Julia and I were happy because we got our ice cream, so we just sat there and ate it with Sasha. Then we took a cab home with an insane taxi driver who looked like a Vietnam veteran and drove like an insane man. He almost hit this old man crossing the street.

Yesterday, I went shopping (it seems like I do that everyday, but the sales are so good)! I checked out plane tickets. Then I met up with some people at a café and we got some coffee and tarts and stuff. That was really good. Then we went shopping some more and eventually I made my way home, where I talked with Maria for a while before going to bed at 1:00. Which brings me to now. I have two tests that I really need to study for! And also, last night, I was thinking that my Spanish has really improved a lot. Oh wait, guys! I forgot. Haha, yesterday morning, we went to Italica. Some Roman ruins 15 minutes by bus outside of Sevilla. They were pretty cool. We left at 9:30 and got back by 12. So, I will put up some more pictures of those as well. They had an arena where gladiators used to fight. In the middle of the arena was a big pit. And sometimes, they would fill that pit with water and put crocodiles in it and make the gladiators fight the crocodiles in the water. Creepy! Anyway, that’s what’s been up with me! Check out my pictures on webshots.

Hey everybody! Well, I haven´t written in a while, so I will start with last weekend. On Friday, we had a field trip at 9 AM to Reales Alcazar. It´s a palace here in Sevilla. It was very, very cold. My Senora told me I should bring a heavier jacket, and I didn´t, so my bad. Anyway, it was still pretty cool. I will put up pictures of the palace because I don´t really know how I would describe it. My Senora packed us lunch that day because we told her that we wouldn´t be home in time, so we ate ham and cheese sandwiches in the cafeteria at the Palace. I know it´s strange that they have a cafeteria there, but I guess there are also public gardens for regular people to come sit in and drink coffee and stuff. A cafeteria here is not the same as in the United States. Here, they sell pastries and coffee and sometimes tapas. So, after that, we went shopping. Me, my roommate, this girl named Maggie, this guy Roberto, and this other girl Megan all walked to El Centro where they have a bunch of stores. It was pretty fun. They had tons of shoe stores there and Ashlee (my roommate) wanted to find some shoes, so we went in a ton of those. I felt bad for Roberto because that had to be lame for him. Eventually, we all split up because Megan, Maggie, and Robert were tired, but Ashlee and I shopped a little more. I bought some stuff because, as I´ve probably said, they have amazing sales here.

That evening, I don´t remember what I did. Oh right! Well, the evening before, I had not gone out because we had to get up early to go to Reales Alcazar. So, I really wanted to go out on Friday night, but nobody else did. And when I say go out, I guess I mean, go out and drink some. So, that night, we went to the only theatre in Sevilla that has movies in English with Spanish subtitles and we saw ¨Brokeback Mountain¨. Well, that movie was kind of long and boring. And I don´t see what all the fuss was about except that I got to see some gay love making. When we were walking home from the theatre, this guy stopped us and was like, I need a dollar from each of you. My car has run out of gas. Look, I have a key. And we were like, Sorry, we don´t have any money. And then he showed us his inhaler as if the fact that he had an inhaler would make us feel bad for him and we would give him our money. People here are strange.

Saturday, our Senora invited us to go to a flamenco club that her and her friends have. It´s just a bunch of old Spanish people getting together and singing and playing guitar and dancing. It was really cool. Her friend Manelito is a really nice guy. He is the president of their little flamenco club. He gave us a lot of free beer and tapas. It was pretty cool. Old Spanish people are a lot cooler than old American people. I mean, there were old Spaniards with crutches tapping along to the music and dancing around.

Saturday night, I guess people were ready to ¨go out¨again, so we went to this place where there were some bars. Julia and I like to try to go into the bars with the velvet ropes and the bouncers. It´s just fun because it´s kind of a challenge ( not that we´ve ever been turned away). It´s because we´re so hot. Haha, just joshin´. Anyway, so we passed by one of those bars and it looked really swanky, so Julia and I decided to go in. Ashlee, JD, and this guy named Greg said they would keep movin´ on and then we could call them when we were done there.

Anyway, we entered the swanky club with not too many problems. They always make you wait a little out front first, to build up the suspense I guess. Anyway, so we looked around and then we heard music coming from somewhere and we found out that downstairs there was a discoteca. It wasn´t really crowded down there, maybe 50 people. There was also this woman in a wedding dress. I don´t know what was going on. But, we walked around just to take a look and all of a sudden as we were leaving, I thought I saw a penis! It was so strange. So, Julia and I made a circle to take another look and sure enough! It was a penis. This guy had his dick out and was rubbing it in time to the music. And it was hard and gross. But I will leave you with that for now because I have class. Enjoy the image!

One more thing:

Yesterday, Julia and I decided that we needed to bridge the gap between American and Spanish students at our school. So, we saw some guys playing futbol outside and decided to go ask them if the cafeteria was closed, even though we knew it was. They must think we are really easy because one of them asked us if we would sleep in his bed that night. But he said it in English. Oh well, they were very friendly, but in kind of a demeaning way like they thought we were retarded. One of them ( his name was Andres) gave us his phone number.

Later on that night, Julia by accident called Andres. Luckily, she hung up in time for him not to answer.

So, for homework tonight, we have to go to a bar. It´s true. We have to write down all the words we don´t know and stuff like that. So, I´ll be doing that later on.

Today was pretty good. Just classes and stuff. Last night, I was supposed to ask my Senora the names of things around the house. I think she went a little crazy with it. This morning at breakfast, she told me that she was preparing another list of things around the house for today´s lesson. At least, that´s what I think she told me.

I went to Corte Ingles this afternoon to put more money on my calling card. When I went up to the counter, these two girls were walking away from it. I asked the lady in Spanish if I could put more money on my card and she said in Spanish,¨¨You speak English?¨. How insulting. But she just wanted to know because those two girls who walked away couldn´t speak a lick (who even says that) of Spanish. So, I helped them get what they were trying to get. They weren´t very grateful. I mean, I wasted 15 minutes of my time on them bitches and then I had to walk really fast to get to class on time. Oh well.

I feel bad for my Senora. Well, more so for her friend Annparo who has Alzheimer´s and kids don´t love her and she lives all alone and yesterday she fell down on a slippery floor. Well, she ate dinner with us the other night and my Senora told me today at breakfast that after I went to bed, Annparo cried a lot. I mean, I am glad that my Senora is so open with me, but geez, what a downer! It´s alright. I guess because it´s in another language I just don´t take it as seriously as I would if it was mine own family.

I´ve got a lot of homework to do before doing my other homework which involves going to a bar. So, I must be off. I´ll try to put up pictures soon. I´ve got a bunch, but I´m having difficulties uploading them. Soon enough.

Not like the Jewish OY, but as in today, I had a lot of classes. Well, only four of them, but each one is 1 and .5 hours. It´s like highschool, only better. I mean, with the class schedule. Today, for lunch, we had huevos con papas fritas. So, it was like french fries and onions mixed in with eggs. It was good. It reminded me of those fried potatoes and eggs that Uncle Vigen makes. I hope I spelled his name right. Anyway, after lunch , I took a siesta. I was exhausted. We turned on the heaters in our room and the cat came in to sit in front of them. It´s just very cold in the houses here. So, I´m heading back to my casa soon and then dinner and homework! I hope everyone had a good day on that side of the Atlantic!

So, Friday night I did not go out. As I recall, I was very tired. I stayed in with my Senora and talked on the phone with you all. I don't think that very many people went out on Friday. We don't have classes here on Friday's (which is rockin'). Instead, we all took a trip to El Museo Arquelogico. I hope I spelled that correctly. The museum was pretty cool, but I'm not much of a museum person . Our teacher Fernando gave us a tour of it in Spanish. The only part that I thought was really interesting was the Roman statues. Adam, you probably already know this, but old Roman emperors used to have statues made of them with ideal bodies, but their real faces. So, when one emperor would die, they would chop off the head of the statue and attach a marble head of the new emperor. I just thought that that was interesting. Our tour of the museum ended around 2 in the afternoon. For one of our classes, we had to find a the Central Post Office. The Central Post Office is near the river which is very far away from my house. I suppose it's like an hour walk, maybe 45 minutes. But depending on which way you walk, I guess it could be less. Probably less. Anyway, so me and some other people all decided to go. I called my Senora to tell her that I wouldn't be home for lunch and we left. We stopped on the way for lunch. I got one of the Menu del dias where you get a main dish, bread, a drink, and fruit or dessert for 4.50 euros. It was a good deal. But, one of my tapas had this sausage in it that reminded me of a penis and believe you me, I did not eat that. The Post Office wasn't really anything special. I was supposed to write down all of these phrases and things that I saw there, but I didn't know that at the time, so I didn't get to do it. Hopefully, my teachers will forgive me. After stopping at EUSA (my school) to use the computer lab, Ashlee and I headed home. That night, Maria's son Jesus and his wife Regala (I have no idea if that is her name or not. Sometimes I just don't know what they're saying) came over. Jesus and Regala showed us all these really cool bars and discotecas and heladerias to visit. Heladerias are icecream places. I've really been wanting some ice cream lately . It's very pretty here . Kind of like in Italy. All layed out in these tubs. My Senora thinks that I really like chocolate and strawberries because she keeps feeding them to me. I mean, they are good, so it's okay, but I don't know when exactly she got the impression that I need them to survive. Anyway, Jesus and Regala were really nice. But, the other day, Maria told me that Jesus was kind of old-fashioned in the way he treats women, so for some reason, that gave me a tainted impression of him. Oh well, he still seemed nice. But he had a really strong Spanish accent (which involves a lisp) and I really had no idea what he was saying most of the time. I also admitted to my Senora that sometimes ,I have no idea what she's saying, but I just smile and nod. Ashlee went out that night walking around, and I just slept.

Yesterday was Saturday. I woke up around 9:30. Ashlee (my roommate) was still asleep because she's having trouble sleeping and couldn't fall alseep until 6 or 7 in the morning. I haven't had trouble so far because the days here are so long! People just stay up very late. My Senora was asking if people in the United States stay up so late and I said, "No, my parents go to bed at 10." Of course, she was asking me this at 1 in the morning and she must be near 60. So, yesterday morning, Lucia (Maria's housekeeper) came over to clean the house. She was really nice and easier to understand than most Spanish people because she's from Venezuala and her accent it not as strong. Maria asked me if I wanted to go shopping with her. And, of course, I did because I can't resist a grocery store. So we walked around, arm and arm (because that's the way they do it around here). She was pulling her little rolly bag behind her too. Every where we went, she saw someone she knew. I guess she just has a lot of friends. I got an adaptor for my computer and we went to the grocery store and I got some cereal and yogurt. It was pretty fun.

When we got home, her grandchildren Pilar and Antonio came over to visit with their mother, whose name is also Pilar. And (I thought this was so strange), Pilar's (the mother's) husband is named Antonio too. So, everyone in that family of the same sex has the same name. I just think that's insane. I mean, why would you do that? And that's what I asked Maria. But she said that in Spain, families reuse the names - naming people after their grandfather's, father's, etc. So, I guess that's why everyone here is named Maria.

The kids were really cute and I took some pictures of them. The little boy, Antonio, kept giving me things. He'd go get a toy girrafe and give me that, and then some chocolate, etc. But one time, he tried to give me a booger, and that was kind of disgusting. So, eventually those kids left. I did some homework. At some point, Ashlee and I met these two guys at Corte Ingles (a big shopping mall near us). It rained while we were inside, but it's okay because when we came out, it wasn't raining anymore. They're having a lot of rebajas here (sales), so if anyone is dying to have some Spanish clothes, just let me know.

Last night we had this chopped, fried bread stuff for dinner with fried hotdogs in tomatoe sauce. They fry a lot of stuff here, but it's still good. And though that dinner sounds gross, it really wasn't.

So, we finally get to the part about the discoteca. My friend Julia called me to see if I wanted to go out. And I decided that I did because I don't know that many people here, and I really should get to know more people. So, I told her about Jesus and the map and we decided to go to a discoteca. Ashlee went out to walk around with some friends and drink I suppose. I don't want to make her out to sound like a bad person or anything because really, she's rather nice. I like her just fine.

The party doesn't really start here until 2 in the morning. I was so exhausted last night. It's not safe to walk alone at night, so Sasha and Julia were going to come to 44 Kansas City (where I live) to pick me up and then we would all walk to the discoteca together, because it is very close to us. 10 minutes away across from Corte Ingles. This is what my Senora told me. So, I was sitting with my Senora at the kitchen table waiting for them to come, and she was terrifying me! I mean, she instilled me with a sense of fear so deep that I was afraid to leave the apartment. She was like, "It's very dangerous here at night. People pull you into their cars." She also showed me a safer way to walk because evidently Kansas City isn't such a great street to walk on at night. I got all dressed up too by the way, guys. I mean, it wasn't that dressed up, but it was little. I think I looked pretty hot. I'm going to buy some going out clothes because they dress up pretty interestingly.

So, I left with Julia and Sasha. We were going to go the way my Senora had said ("the safer way"), but when we started walking that way, it was the scariest thing I've seen here thus far. I mean, the streets were dark and there were no people and they were these little back streets. So, we turned around and went the other way where it was well lit and there were lots of people.

When we got to the discoteca, it was easy to spot because there was a HUGE line outside. I mean, this was THE place to be. So, we got in line. There was also this shorter line where some people were walking up and going in before everyone. And I was like, "Well, guys, I'm going to attempt to go in that line." And Sasha and Julia just thought it was funny, I guess. So, I walked over and stood in the short line. There was this big beefy guy letting people in and this dressed-up lady with him. They let some other people in and they were holding over the velvety rope thing, so I guess I could have just walked in with the other people, but I stopped. Now, what follows was all in Spanish.

Me: What is this line for? (Of course, I didn't know what the word for line was).
Lady: What?
Me: Do I have to wait over there with all those other people? Or can I wait here? (I know that sounds rude, but I think I was laughing and smiling or something).
Lady: Are you really happy tonight?
Me: What? I guess so.
Lady: This line is for people with reservations.
Me: So, I have to wait in the other line then?
Lady: Nods.

So, yeah, it didn't work, but one day, I will dress like an extreme hottie and get in. So, I went back to wait with Julia and Sasha. There were these old Spanish men behind us. They were kind of weird. One of them stroked Julia's arm. So, we waited in the line for an hour and FINALLy, we made it to the door. We all decided to unzip our coats (you know, to show them the goods) because we didn't know if people got turned away or you had to pay money if you weren't hot, or what. So, they let us in and we felt really lucky. I mean, we were really happy. This club was everything you would imagine a really cool club to be. I mean, it was so awesome. It was really crowded with Spanish people. Not just young, hot people, but old, short, fat, balding men too. So, we went in and the music was loud and technoish. And guys! I danced! I mean, it was really awesome. We made our way to the bar and I bought a beer, so did Julia. Sasha doesn't drink. One beer cost 3 euros, but I guess it was worth it. Anyway, I have never had so many guys talk to me in one night. They all thought I was Spanish, which was difficult because they say things to me and then I have no idea what they're saying and instead of thinking, "Oh, she's just a stupid American, " they think, "Oh,she's just a retarded Spaniard."

We had a lot of stalkers in there too. These Spanish guys will follow you around. I mean, we moved around so much because we were all dancing together, but for some reason, they keep showing up around you. Also, they grab you. I was walking and Julia was in front of me and Sasha behind me, and this guy who had been bothering me earlier just grabbed my hand and started holding it. So, I pulled it away. And his friend was like, "What's the matter? You don't want to dance with him. He's shy." And I said, "He doesn't seem very shy to me." And then we walked away. That guy showed up later and started dancing behind me and rubbing his booty on mine. Um...gross. But, Sasha gets a lot of looks wherever she goes because she's black. I guess guys here are really interested in that. They think it's exotic. This really drunk guy was trying to get Sasha to dance with him, so I put my arm around her and told him that she was my novia (girlfriend). Then he left us alone. So, yeah.
This other guy danced the salsa with me and that was really fun. But then he wanted to stop dancing and just started talking with me. Not cool, so we moved on from him too.

We didn't leave until 5 in the morning! I don't think I've ever stayed up that late before! But it was so much fun! I mean, it was so cool. Sure, the guys there can be really creepy and weird, but it was just so cool. I think that I will try out some other discotecas while I am here. I took a taxi home and got out on the side of the sidewalk (don't worry, mommy!).

Today, I got up around 11 (I think). I just worked on some homework and hung around the house. I haven't left it yet today. Today, Maria's cousin died and she's going to the funeral. Actually, she just left. She seemed pretty sad today. From what she's told me, it seems like she's had a hard time these past few years. Her husband left her for many younger women, her son Jesus got married a year ago and moved out of her house. So now, she lives here alone with su gatito. I guess that's why she decided to get me and Ashlee. That makes me feel better that it's not just for the money.

Her daughter Eva and Eva's son Jose Antonio (he's six) came over today. We all had lentil soup for lunch. It was really good. Ashlee didn't finish hers, so I finished it for her. Our Senora keeps saying we don't eat a lot, but I don't know what she means. It seems like I'm eating plenty. Oh well. After lunch, Eva, Ashlee, Jose, and I played a board came. One was called Juego con las Ocas. Or something like that. It had to do with geese. And then we played Parchizi. I hope that's how you spell it. That took forever! And I was doing really poorly. But it was nice because it's not like a dorm. It's an actual house. So, I guess that's about it. I found some wireless internet in my room. That's how I'm writing all of this stuff. Sorry that the post is so long! I'll write again soon! I love you guys! Adios!