Socializing in Spain in an Irish Pub with Americans

Me at Casino

Two nights ago, Rebecca and I met up with our friend Jonny to go to a party for Erasmus students. It was in an Irish pub near the Cathedral, and it was ridiculously crowded. We could not move to get into the place and could not move to the bar once we did get inside. After about 5 minutes of claustrophobia, we decided to go sit at a cafe. We sat down outside, ordered sangría and paella, and had a lovely time. Our other British friends, Xanthe and Anna, joined us and we caught up on life because we had not seem them in a few days, which seemed like forever. I got pressured into going to a club called Casino later in the night, and it turned out to be a ton of fun. There was barely anyone there, so we were basically dancing alone in the center with a funny couple from Poland. It was the first time at a club here where I have had enough room around me to do silly dance moves, and it always makes a night better when everyone can do their disco pointing without poking people's eyes out. I went home at about 3 am and fell asleep.

Yesterday was also quite relaxing. I woke up late and took a siesta only a few hours later. Spain's late nights suck the life out of me. I hung out with my roommates a bit and read a Spanish Grammar book. I need a refresher course on the subjunctive and past tenses. As much as they say you should live your life in the present moment, apparently it is not acceptable to only speak in the present tense. Jesús is incredibly witty. He makes hilarious jokes all the time (and I know this because Inma laughs and then translates them for me). I think one of the hardest parts of not speaking Spanish fluently is I feel that I cannot convey my sense of humor through anything other than my body language. Once I start making people laugh in Spanish, I will know that I've got it down. It is tough for me not be the entertainer, and I often find myself just laughing at other people because there is not enough time to spit out a joke in my broken Spanish. Inma told me that I should learn Spanish idioms and that will help me make witty comebacks.

Rebecca and I met up at a cafe near her house to get out of our places. On my walk there, I passed by a group of Spanish guys playing soccer. Umm...score! I felt like a creeper peering through the wall to watch them play, but it was well worth it. I will have to frequent that spot often. Rebecca and I shared a delicious ham and cheese croissant and headed to her house for a bit to get ready for the night. She finally met her American roommates, but they were not there when I was, so that will have to wait for another day. We walked back to my house and tried to plan our first trip. We may try to go to Cadiz for a weekend but we have to find out Rebecca's schedule first.

Julie, Julia, and Me at the Meetup

There was meetup for our program in the same Irish pub as last night with free sangria planned by a travel company, so I walked 35 minutes to get there. Rebecca was too tired for another night out, so it was a solo stroll. There was big strike in Spain yesterday, so most places were closed and public transportation was limited, hence the walking. I made it there and met up with one girl I knew and two of her roommates on the steps of the Cathedral. We headed into the pub, sat down with our free drinks, and met a ton of other people in our program. They were all awesome! It was so refreshing to meet everyone else who is in the same boat and to have relatively effortless conversations in English. It mostly consisted of girls (I met only two boys the entire night) but everyone seemed very friendly and interesting. One of the boys was talking about where he lives, and it turns out that we live on the same street! I was very excited to find a buddy in the neighborhood. After about 2.5 hours of mingling, I got a ride home from another girl who lives near me (yay!). There is another meetup planned for Saturday night, so I am pumped to meet these same people again and many more. Now there is lots of Facebook friending to be done.

I don't have many big plans for today, but tomorrow is my first official day at school, so I will rest up and prepare for that.