It's been almost a month (I know, I know) since I've updated, so I'll try to fill in the holes. My wireless internet has officially ceased functioning, so it's harder for me to get access to the internet, especially now that Lola and Alisa are here (I'll explain them in a minute)..
We went to Valencia for the weekend on Sept. 19. It was absolutely beautiful. The hostel we stayed in was really nice, even though it took us a while to find it. We went to the beach and swam in the Mediterranean, ate lots of Italian food, and visited the science museum. We also missed our train back because the conductor guy didn't read our tickets correctly, but we made it back eventually.
The following week we had our finals for Grammar and Conversation. Thus ended the Intensive Language Course section of our program. That weekend, Sept. 28, we went to Segovia with the group. Marissa and I gave our presentation on the Cathedral, and of course it was closed, and of course we got really nervous and broke into song (Maria Jose's favorite US song is 'Say a Little Prayer for You' and yes, we sang it right in the middle of the most crowded plaza in Segovia). The next day, Sept. 29, we left for Italia (I know, what globetrotters we are!). We left for Italy on Monday morning, and stayed until Thursday. On Tuesday Dennis, Marissa, Giovanna, and I went on a tour of the sights in Rome. It was a walking tour, so we walked around the city with a guide and saw all the important things. We also had lunch at a little restaurant and took a ton of pics. On Wednesday, two of Giovanna's cousins came to pick us up and take us to Guasto, a town about 2 hours from Rome. We ate the biggest meal I have ever seen/had and then drove go-karts with Giovanna's cousin. We had to wear fire-retardant jump suits and all looked very glamorous. The highlight of the day was when Dennis' wheel fell off (haha yes, it was hilarious). Her family was amazing, and we had such a good time, even though the language barrier made it difficult.
When I got home, 2 Chinese girls, Lola and Alisa, had come to live with us for the month of October. They barely speak any Spanish, so it's interesting. Lola speaks really good English, so she usually tells me things and I translate for the family. Then, I translate back for her and she translates into Chinese for Alisa. It's quite a process. They're really nice but take about 25 years in the bathroom in the morning, which baffles me since they get up at 7 for school at 9, and I get up at 815 for school at 9, but I still make it there before them. This morning, actually, I waited a solid 35 minutes to brush my teeth (and we have 2 bathrooms!). They think I'm really smart because they're in beginner Spanish, which is funny because I spend my days lamenting how much Spanish I don't know. They pretty much keep to themselves in their room, while I spend most of my time in the living room chatting (surprise surprise), so I don't get to talk to them much.
On Oct. 5 we went to El Escorial with Maria Jose and the rest. El Escorial is a monastery/library built by Felipe II to show how fabulous Spain was. My favorite part was the plaque above the door of the library with a letter from Pope Gregory stating that if you took a book from the library and didn't return it, you'd burn in hell. After El Escorial we visited the Valley of the Fallen, which is a memorial to the 40,000 people who died during the Spanish civil war. There's a huge (I'm talking weighs as much as 800 airplanes huge) cross on top of the mountain, and the valley is a national park. Inside, there's a basilica and the grave of Francisco Franco (the Spanish dictator who built it) and Jose Antonio (the head of the political party that helped Franco rise to power). While it was cool, it was weird to think that we were standing in a church designed by a guy who made Spain a dictatorship and was the poster child for Fascism. Go figure. So that day was a little long and laborious, especially since it was FREEZING!
So that brings us to last week. Nothing particularly fabulous happened, except that we only had school Monday-Wednesday. They loooove the fiestas in Spain, so there's festivals to celebrate someone or something like every week. Last week it was festival of Miguel de Cervantes (the guy who wrote Don Quixote was born in Alcala), and they have a HUGE medieval festival in the plaza. Everyone dresses up and there's food and it's crazy. We went to Barcelona on Thursday (Oct. 9) until Saturday. The 9 hour bus ride made me want to kill someone, but Barcelona was amazing. We met up with Dennis' cousin, who is studying there, and he showed us around. Of course we also had the triathlon tour with Maria Jose, which is always a good time. She drags around every city as she walks like 30 miles per hour and completely disregards the fact that there's 20 people trying to follow her. Anyway, we saw all the sights and come home on Saturday night. We got home around 9, so Dennis and I went to the Medieval Festival. I couldn't believe the number of people there selling clothes, spices, clocks, food, sweets, toys, crepes, and anything else you can think of. Giovanna met us after a little bit and she and I grabbed dinner. We sat in the plaza and people-watched, which was pretty cool since everyone was dressed in period costume.
All of this brings us to yesterday, where I spent most of the day studying for Maria Jose's test. Yes, she made the test the day after we got back from a trip. Cruel, but true. We studied at Starbucks for forever and a day, and finally gave up and went home. Our literature teacher cancelled class today for some unknown reason, which was SUCH good news and gave us another hour to study. The test was at 3 and I wrote so much my hand almost fell off, but at least I knew the answers. So, here I am. The test is over, my birthday is on Wednesday!!!! (I'm just a little excited) and I finally updated my blog :) Hurray!
<3
