Birthday Bash

Paige and Arely (the birthday girl)

On Saturday night, a bunch of people went out to celebrate Arely's birthday! I headed to Brett and Paige's apartment in the pouring rain, and the entire trek took about an hour and a half. But it was great when I finally arrived. More people started arriving and I got to meet some awesome new friends, including their friend from Morocco. We played American "games" and hung out for a few hours. Around midnight, we headed in a cab to Alameda to find some bars. After a chill time at one bar, we began the trek in search of a club. The boys were turned away at a club called "Buddha" because they were wearing sneakers. Silly boys. So we ended up at two different places to dance, both of which seemed to be gay bars. One was named "Gloss" so I am not that surprised. I enjoyed dancing there, though, because it was the typical American dance music that I can just rock out to and belt. But picking up guys was not in store for us that night, so I just had a good time with my friends. We decided that next time we need to pick a destination beforehand so there is not so much walking around. After dancing till about 4:30 am, we went to get churros y chocolate. They are basically fried dough sticks that you dip into a cup of hot chocolate. Most people love them, but I hated them that night because they were soooo greasy and I just wanted water. Maybe they would be better if I was less thirsty, but I am doubtful. We waited for forever to get a cab home and I made it home at a record 5:45 am. Ugh. I don't know how Spaniards can do this and function the next day. I certainly didn't, as I slept until noon the next day and then took a nap two and half hours later.

Amine, Me, Ivan, and Reegis

When I finally woke up, I went for a lovely long walk along the river. I walked up the river on the Sevilla side and then down it on the Triana side. Both were great and I discovered many new things, including the bull ring and several sculptures. I met up with my British and Dutch friends at their apartment for a little while before meeting a group of auxiliares for a sushi dinner. A bunch of us ordered the menu deal and we feasted like queens. It was a great deal and nice to eat some Asian cuisine. The service at the restaurant was terrible but the company was great. There were some girls there who had done the program for several years, so I was able to hear about their experiences and get some advice on life here. It was a two and a half hour long dinner, and then I headed home and Skyped with Kathy and Marie (aka caught up on life in Boston and the Homecoming that I missed). I eventually got some sleep too.

Torre de Oro

Today, I bought a drying rack! This was a very exciting purchase, as now I don't have to go to the roof and deal with clothespins. I can dry my clothes on my balcony...how convenient! I headed into the city to do some boot shopping, but I was very unsuccessful. The cheapish boots were not comfortable and I don't want to drop 120+ euro on shoes. So then I headed to Vodafone to ask them why I was spending so much money on my phone. They did not explain much, except they did tell me that I can get a contract plan without having to pay a cancellation fee if I already have a phone, so I will probably do that once I get my residency card. But, while reading the paperwork later, I discovered that my "unlimited" texting plan only works for other Vodafone users. I don't know why they couldn't have told me THAT in the store! Now I am very upset because there seems to be no good solutions for phone plans here, but at least I know where my saldo is flying off to. I will keep investigating better solutions, because this is just ridiculous, and I hate having to pay to arrange being social. After the store, I met up with Paige and Brett for a walk and some tapas. We eventually met up with Arely and chatted on the Cathedral steps for a while, then joined up with Ivan and Reegis for some dinner. Ivan took us to a delicious place in Santa Cruz where I had some solomillo and fried goat cheese on toast with tomato. Mmmmmm. I absolutely love hanging out with those guys. Thank god for finding friends in a foreign country...and alliterations. Then Ivan, whom I learned at dinner had done the program last year too, took us to a spot where they have orange wine. Soooo good! It was very sweet and you can definitely taste the orange in it. Plus, it just feels so authentic. I headed home after that to prepare for BEACH DAY tomorrow! It is a national holiday so we are all heading to Huelva to get some sun (hopefully) and sand. It might be a bit chilly, but it should be a great time!

Plaza de Toro (Bull Ring)