Pre-Departure Lazy Weekend

Pizza Party!

'Twas a lazy and rainy weekend in Sevilla. On Friday, it took me a long time to recover from Thanksgiving the night before. I should never eat again after that meal. In the evening and through the pouring rain, I went to Rebecca's house where she and her roommate Nina were making pizzas for her roommate's Italian friends. The pizza was incredible - she used her Italian friend's mother's recipe. It made me miss Italy and want to go back there soon. It was also good Spanish practice, which I haven't gotten enough of recently. I called it an "early" night and headed home around 2 am.

Saturday was equally rainy and gross out so it was another lazy day. I think I left the apartment only once to run a soaked errand. I was totally fine being lazy this weekend because I have a crazy two weeks ahead of me (more on that later). I finished reading, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," which was wonderful. I've never read as fast or as much as I am in Sevilla, and I'm loving it.

Patio Inside the Cathedral

On Sunday, I did loads (pun intended) of laundry on the only nice day of the weekend. Unfortunately, not everything dried in the cold weather and it's raining again today, so I have a drying rack taking up most of my room. In the afternoon, despite having acquired a cold during the previous night, I went to do some touristy adventures with Rebecca and Nina. We wandered around the Cathedral, which I realized I will be doing a lot in the coming month with my groups of visitors. We climbed La Giralda and got our exercise for the day. It is just so gorgeous up there - I could stay forever...if it had food and bathrooms. Rebecca had a strong craving for Chinese food so we indulged her and went to a Chinese restaurant. I have heard that the Chinese food in Sevilla is not good, and I have heard correctly. It was edible but it was not nearly as good as it is in America. Of course, since we're in Spain, the rice had ham in it. It was a satisfying meal, but I think I'll stick to the tapas from now on. Then we had a café con leche (only my second cup since coming to Spain) in an Irish pub. It was wonderful just sitting and chatting for hours, especially since I don't think I'll get to see Nina again before she returns to Germany. :( I came home, chatted with Brenna and Rosa before they boarded their planes to Madrid (!!!!), and relaxed before bed.

View from La Giralda

Despite yet another day of pouring rain, I had many things to take care of today so I bundled up and headed out. First, I went to the library and got some more books. Somehow, whenever I leave the library, I cannot figure out where I am and end up in Puerta Jerez, which is not where I mean to go. I cannot figure out why it is impossible for me to just go back the way I came. One day. Then I went to Nervión Plaza and bought some gloves for the freezing weather in Belgium. I changed my phone plan at Vodafone to something that sounds perfect - now I have 350 free texts per month for 9 euros, which I can spend on phone calls. I don't know why they couldn't have told me this was available the first time I went there, but now it's all good. Then I got my first haircut in Spain. The hairdresser used an electric razor and I gave her a very scared look when she first took it out. I think it ended up looking good, but I need to style it myself to really know.

This evening will be dedicated to packing for the big trip ahead. On Wednesday night, I am flying with Rebecca and Julia to Brussels. Then we are heading to Ghent and continuing on to Bruges on Friday. On Sunday, I fly from Brussels to Madrid to meet up with Brenna and Rosa. And we move on to Barcelona next Thursday. By the way, welcome to Spain, Brenna and Rosa! They should be somewhere in Madrid at this point. I have yet to decide if I'll be taking my laptop to blog along the trip. If I decide not to, hasta luego! I'll be back in Sevilla on December 13th!

Thanksgiving - Take 2

Me, Rebecca, Tierney, Laura, and Paige with Turkey Plates

I had a wonderful Thursday night, despite being 3685 miles from my family in New York (looking up that number didn't help my Thanksgiving homesickness). It was Inma's birthday so the three of us roommates went down to the Cervecería right below our piso for a beverage. I had a great time chatting with them, and of course it was great Spanish practice. They picked on me when I messed up a few key phrases, but I did accidentally say some funny things.

Sam, Jaime, and Lindsay

Then I rushed off with my warm sweet potatoes to Thanksgiving Dinner #2 in Spain. This dinner was hosted by the lovely Andrea, Kelly, and Alex in Triana. I knew almost everyone at the dinner but do not see these people as often as the friends at the first dinner, so it was wonderful bonding with different people and making new friends. We hovered around the appetizers for way too long and got way too full before the dinner even started. Appetizers should not be allowed at Thanksgiving...but they are sooo good! When dinner was served around 10:30, it was perfect and complete. We were not missing anything from America, thanks to care packages. It was all delicious and felt a lot like being back in America. We had some incredible and much needed girl-talk at the "adult table" and I'm pretty sure I laughed off some of the calories (maybe enough to negate one bite of stuffing). We all talked about our plans for the early December break and Christmas break, and everyone seems to be doing something cool.

Some of the Chefs - Alex, Andrea, and Brett

There was not enough of a gap between dinner and dessert, but I somehow found room to take bites of the amazing apple pie, chocolate and banana crumble, and homemade pumpkin pie. I must say - we did Thanksgiving right last night. We sat in an uncomfortable state for another few hours before heading home around 1:30 am. That was certainly the latest Thanksgiving I've ever had, but that's just keeping in tradition with late Spanish dinners. 

America on a Plate

When I got home, I immediately got on Skype and connected with my entire extended family in Rochester, NY. They were all bustling about after dinner and before dessert - this time the 6 hour time difference actually came in handy. I got to say Hi and catch up with all of my cousins, aunts and uncles, and gramma. It made me really happy to be able to see them all in one place, but it definitely made me even more sad to be missing it. Josh so kindly ended the conversation when he determined that I was getting between him and dessert. I can always count on my brother for sentimental feelings.

Pumpkin and Apple Pie...mmm

I am thankful I got to experience two amazing Thanksgiving dinners with two groups of incredible friends. I never expected to have such great friends so far from home just a few months into my stay in Spain. If it wasn't for them, I would never have been able to adjust here and be so happy. As Andrea said last night, I am also thankful for Skype so I could actually see my whole family on the best day of the year in America. I love and miss you all so much!

Thanksgiving - Take 1

Sweet Potato Ingredients

I had an incredible weekend! On Friday, I went shopping in Nervión Plaza and bought some great pairs of tights. Every girl here seems to wear a dress with tights and high boots. Literally, everyone. Then I went to El Corte Inglés in search of ingredients for the sweet potatoes. I bought a ton of sweet potatoes (batatas), multi-colored marshmallows, brown sugar, and cinnamon. I hauled that all home and got cookin'! Peeling the potatoes was an arm workout - as I said before, I have lost all arm strength since coming here. After that, the recipe was very easy to make and it came out delicious! I was incredibly excited to bring them to the dinner the next day.

Waiting in Line at Buddha

After a lot of reading (I finished El niño con el pijama de rayas - it was great but very sad!) and TV watching, it was time to go out for the night. I headed to my European friends' house in Triana. We hung out there for a while and I met Nite's awesome friends from Holland. Then we went out dancing on Calle Betis at Río Latino. There was a group of guys there from Belgium for a bachelor party. They were all dressed in funny hats and the bachelor was wearing a cow costume. It was quite a sight but they were a lot of fun. I also talked to them about my upcoming trip there. It was great fun dancing with all my friends, but a smaller group of us girls eventually moved on to the bigger and better Buddha to meet up with Rebecca. I had an amaaaaazing time dancing there. The music was perfect and I was rocking out to no end. We danced until I was about to collapse from exhaustion at 5 am. I had to pay for an 11.16 euro cab ride home - uncool - but it was such a great night out.

Yummy!

On Saturday morning, I woke up to pouring rain and the anticipation of a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Luckily, the rain stopped but the anticipation did not. I dropped off my sweet potatoes at the so-called "Club Benidorm" to be warmed up before dinner. Then I went to my intercambio. There were more British girls there so there was a better balance of English and Spanish speakers than there had been before. It was fun and I learned some new phrases. But I also got the best compliment ever - Juan told me that when I talk, I speak with an Andalusian accent!! Woohoo! That was so nice to hear - maybe I have actually been absorbing something since being here. I can definitely tell that I am improving - I feel more comfortable speaking and sometimes things come out that I didn't know I knew how to say. I still have a loooong way to go but at least I can see some improvement. Another great thing was that Juan offered to show me and Brenna and Rosa all around Salamanca if we come there from Madrid. That would be wonderful.

Julie, Julia, and Sofie - Club Benidorm

I headed back to Julie, Julia, and Sofie's apartment for Thanksgiving dinner. Their place looked amazing! They set up paper tablecloths with crayons so we could draw on the tables. I joked that that was the kids' table. There were appetizers all over the place, including Julie's delicious "handmade" croquetas. People started arriving little by little and soon there was a full house. It was great having everyone together in one place and catching up with people I hadn't seen in a while. I don't think I've been that hyper with excitement since I got to Sevilla. Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday and I was so excited about the meal and great atmosphere. We eventually dug into the endless food and it was amazing! There was chicken (no turkey this time), green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing(!), rolls, macaroni and cheese, etc. We weren't really missing anything. 'Twas delicious and, of course, we all ate way too much. But I think that's the point of Thanksgiving.

Chelsea, Me, Sean, and Turkey

Another point of Thanksgiving is giving thanks. We each wrote down three things we were thankful for (mostly funny things) and put them in a big bowl. After dinner, we all gathered around and read the papers out loud. We had to guess who wrote each thing. It was quite easy to guess in most cases and very funny. Chelsea said she was thankful for my sweet potatoes and my blog. So sweet! This is my shout out to you, Chels! One of the things I said I was thankful for was Carrefour, the superstore mentioned a few posts ago. Cat turns to me and says, "You know there's a store just like that much closer to you, right?" Ummm...I had no idea! It was a Thanksgiving day miracle. Now I have plans for Monday. After the thankfulness game ended, it was time for dessert. We enjoyed Cat's amazing apple pies, Rebecca and Nina's banana chocolate crumble, and vanilla ice cream. Mmm mmm mmm. Thank god there is always room in the dessert stomach. We hung out on the couches in coma position and chatted for hours. We spent most of the time discussing our experiences at our schools and with our students. Everyone is having such different experiences, and it is really interesting to compare our perspectives. But one thing we all seemed to have was funny stories to share.

Cat and her Apple Pies

At about 1:30 am, fully satisfied, I headed out to catch the last bus home. It was incredibly poor planning to leave that late and I was booking it to the Prado. I saw the last tram to the buses leave in front of me so I either had to run or pay for a taxi. After the night before, I didn't want to spend any more money on cabs, so I opted to run. And boy did I run - for about 13 minutes, I was jogging in my fake leather boots and dress, carrying a big shopping bag with my glass pan and leftovers. I must have looked like a complete fool, and I never recommend running directly following the biggest meal of the year, but I made it to the bus at 1:59 (it left at 2:00). I was sweating all the way back on the bus and I'm sure people wondered what my problem was. Plus, the bus driver didn't even stop at my stop, so I had to walk back from the following one. After such a perfect dinner, it was a much less than ideal trip home. Eventually I made it, got in my pajamas, and chatted with Kathy until I passed out.

This morning, I made even more sweet potatoes for my next dinner on Thanksgiving night. Then I cleaned and here I am, writing about my incredible weekend. I have a few errands to run tomorrow and have to prepare for classes this week, but it is nice to relax after such an exciting two days. I wish every weekend was Thanksgiving!

Library Cards and Sweet Potato Hunting

My Library Card

I had a good and busy week of work. I gave more private classes and had exhausting days at school. My last class of the week is after school to a group of teachers. We played the "Who am I?" game where you have the name of a celebrity on your forehead and you have to ask yes or no questions about the person to figure out who you are. It was really fun and funny - especially when I put Lady Gaga on the forehead of an old man, when the person who had Michael Jackson asked if he was black, and when the person who was Mickey Mouse asked if Walt Disney was his "father." It was a great success and very refreshing to not have to discipline anyone.

When I got back to Sevilla on Thursday, I went to the Sevilla Public Library to check out the books (pun intended). It has a decent little English section, mostly of older books. I took out The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which I will read after I finish my book in Spanish (which is incredibly fun to read). It has been getting easier and easier to read in Spanish and I'm understanding more and more. I got a library card which, for some reason, makes me feel like a real resident of this city.

On Monday, I booked a trip to Belgium with Julia for the days before I meet up with Brenna and Rosa. I have been dying to go to Bruges ever since I saw pictures of it and the movie, In Bruges. I am very excited, despite the fact that it will be much colder than here. Speaking of cold, Sevilla has gotten very chilly. I'm not okay with that, Andalucía. I do realize that my friends in the Northeast are suffering a lot more, but I'm trying to avoid that kind of weather by being here. Thankfully, I have a mother who is willing to send me my winter coat. I'm not sure I'll be fashionable here with a jacket fit for Boston, but at least I'll be warm.

We have an issue here in Sevilla. Harry Potter 7 is currently impossible to find in English! There is one theatre that will possibly offer it in the coming weeks, but I might have to wait until I'm in Madrid to see the epic film. I am jealous of all my friends from home whose Facebook statuses brag about how they saw it at midnight and just looooved it. I will find a way to see this movie, one way or another.

I am way too excited for the Thanksgiving dinners that I have coming up. One is on Saturday at Julie and Julia's casa and one is on the actual Thanksgiving Day. It is basically all we Americans have been talking about for a while now. I am proud to say that I will be bringing sweet potatoes - I have an adventure planned later today to go find these rarities in Spain. Hopefully they will have marshmallows too. Nothing can compare to the Thanksgiving dinner I've been accustomed to for the last 22 years of my life, but I'm sure I will not leave these dinners hungry. It will be great to get everyone together too. I really miss my family, but I have a feeling I won't be too sad in the company of my friends here. Now I'm off to start this food hunt and cooking. Of course, there will be more dancing this weekend, but we'll see if I can make it to the clubs after our Thanksgiving meal.

Carrefour and Córdoba

Carrefour's Endless Aisles

On Friday, I went on an adventure to Carrefour. This store is basically the Super Wal-Mart of Spain. Ever since coming here, I've craved a place like Target where I could get everything I wanted in one place. I found it a short bus ride away from the center at Carrefour. This was probably the largest single-room store I've ever seen in my life. I got a workout walking up and down every aisle. And it literally had everything - including the most extensive yogurt aisle I've ever laid eyes on. I ended up buying some necessities, including slippers, European-looking sneakers, folders for my clases particulares, and a potato peeler for Thanksgiving! Then I headed back to the city to meet up with Rebecca for some Jordanian kebabs. Mmm. I shopped around some more in the shopping area and bought another pair of funky sneakers from H&M. I hope I can pull them off in any way like the Spanish girls do. After an episode of 30 Rock at Rebecca's apartment, I headed home early to get ready for the big next day.

Rebecca and Me on the Train

I woke up at 7:30 am on Saturday (ugh) and headed to Santa Justa train station to catch the train to Córdoba. After I bought my ticket and had lounged around for a bit, I started to get worried because no one else was at the train station yet. I headed to the boarding dock, praying that someone would show up before the train pulled away but accepting the fact that it might be a solo trip after all. The line to buy tickets was long when I went to get on the train, and I knew Paige was waiting in it. Rebecca walked onto the train 1 minute before it was supposed to leave. She was ticketless but had used some smooth talking to get past the ticket lady. Two minutes later, Paige and Reegis sprinted onto the train, tickets in hand. I was so relieved and happy to see them all. Luckily, the train pulled out 3 minutes late. We had a lovely ride there - 1 hour 20 minutes. Train travel is so much more fun than bus travel, especially since we had 4 seats facing each other. When we arrived in Córdoba, we got a map and some advice from the tourist office and took a cab to the Mezquita. It was absolutely gorgeous and enormous from the outside. We decided to get some breakfast at a little patio restaurant and then got tickets to see the ex-mosque. It was even more overwhelming on the inside. But it was gorgeous and had so many nooks and crannies. The whole thing was covered in red and white striped arches. It reminded me of Candy Land. There was so much to see inside. At one point, I thought we had seen it all, and Rebecca pointed at this giant section in the middle that I hadn't even noticed. It was the most impressive part of the entire building - it had an elaborately decorated roof and an enormous organ. I sat in the pew for a little while and just people watched and stared at the walls. Eventually, after waiting in different sections of the mosque, we found each other and headed into the courtyard. The courtyard was filled with orange trees, which were much more orange than the ones in Sevilla now.

Inside the Mezquita

Outside the Mezquita

Next, we headed across a bridge over the river to a tower on the other side. There was a museum in the tower that we didn't want to pay to enter, but it was worth the walk for the view of the city from the other side. Then we headed to the Alcázar de Los Reyes Cristianos, which is similar to the equivalent in Sevilla. It is a giant castle-like building with extensive gardens and pools. After climbing a tower and wall that reminded me of Dubrovnik, Croatia, we went to the gardens. It was absolutely stunning with the water, endless orange trees, and very strangely manicured bushes (a la Dr. Seuss). We wandered around there for a while, mostly taking pictures that could potentially be used as "profs" (profile pictures on Facebook). I could have stayed there forever, but hunger set in and we went in search of the famous tortilla, or, as I like to ask, "¿Dónde está la tortilla bueeeena?" The guy in the tourist office knew exactly what we were referring to, and, as it turned out, so did the entire city. We turned the corner to see countless people eating loads of tortilla española on disposable plates in front of the mosque. We waited in a line and ordered our tortilla at a bar. It really was delicious - very soft and eggy. After getting up from the stone wall we were sitting on, my butt was totally asleep. Rebecca and I went to the BK Lounge for a bathroom break and later found Paige and Reegis enjoying coffee and gelato at a cafe. Of course, we joined them.

View of the Mequita

In the Gardens

Strange Bushes

After our endless consumption break, we went in search of the sinagoga in the Jewish part of the city. It turned out to be a very small building with some pretty wall structures, but it is one of the 3 remaining synagogues in Spain. We found a sculpture of a Jewish man that reminded me of John Harvard so I took a picture of myself rubbing his toes. We walked around the Judería a bit more and came upon a group of men playing flamenco music in a bar. We sat in there with drinks for a few hours and enjoyed the ambiance. It was a little strange when the musicians asked us for money, but other than that, they were very friendly and asked us where we were from. We also had a funny interaction with a group of people from Paris. One guy kept looking at us and was clearly trying to strike up a conversation but it took him about ten tries until he finally asked us where we were from.

Flamenco-Playing Men

We eventually left the bar to the sound of many "guapas" from the old men and headed in search of some tapas. A seemingly nice man convinced us to eat in his restaurant, but he turned out to be a rude, inattentive waiter, even though we were the only people in the whole place. The food was also mediocre and tiny-portioned but it did the job and we rushed off to the train station. This time, we boarded without sprinting and had another easy ride back. We were exhausted though. Despite all the talk of a big night out in Sevilla, when I got home and showered, I decided that was not going to happen. I opted for relaxation and sleep after a long and wonderful day in Córdoba. Now I just have to decide the next city to hit up...

Mezquita at Night

Clases Particulares

Rowing on Plaza de España

After a crazy weekend, I had an equally busy and exhausting week. On Sunday evening, Inma and I strolled down to the Plaza de España and rowed in the moat around the plaza. The moat has not been filled with water for several years so I am lucky to be here now. It reminded me of being in Venice (and made me want to go back to Italy). Rowing on the moat had the potential to be incredibly romantic, so I will need to procure some chico who is willing to take me there. The actual rowing was pretty difficult - while my legs are much stronger, my arm muscles have completely deteriorated while being here. It was definitely nice to get out of the apartment after a lazy Sunday and have an adventure.

Inma

Struggling

My school had a book fair this week which served as a form of entertainment during my breaks. I bought my first Spanish book for pleasure - El niño con el pijama de rayas (The Boy In The Striped Pajamas). After finishing in two days and really enjoying Vonnegut's A Man Without A Country, I started reading this book in Spanish. It is much slower going but a lot of fun to do. I feel like every page is an accomplishment, and I understand most of it, which is exciting. I'm finding it interesting and surprising how much I love reading here. I think it is because I really miss being in school and learning. When I am giving these classes, I am jealous of the students. It makes me more excited to go to grad school after this is all over.

This week, I started my first clases particulares! I am giving classes to a 25-year-old girl who lives right near me (very convenient) for 3 hours per week and an 11-year-old boy for 1 hour per week. It certainly takes a fair amount of planning to fill that time, but hopefully that will get easier as I figure out how long activities take. And I have to be totally attentive the entire time, which is more difficult than it sounds. It is incredible how much effort the students put in during the lesson. It's not easy to speak a foreign language for an hour or more straight. But I'm very happy to be doing these classes because they get me out of the apartment on evenings when it is very easy to be lazy after work. So two days of my week will be very difficult and exhausting, but it will all be worth it in the end!

This weekend, I am planning to go to Córdoba from Saturday to Sunday with an unknown amount of friends. Whoever comes, I'm sure it will be great and I'm very excited to see the mosque. I've heard the city is gorgeous, so I'm pumped to see it for myself. Until then, I will relax and see friends. Also, I booked my flights to Madrid and Barcelona for when Brenna and Rosa come visit in December! Woohoo! I am so excited for those trips with them!

From Tourism To Picnics To Dancing

Cutest Thing I've Ever Seen - Little Boy Driving His Dad's Horse

I apologize for not posting for so long. During the week, I feel like I have nothing interesting to write and then on the weekends, I am so busy running around that I have no time. My school week was fine. It is tough waking up so early in the mornings, so I don't do much in the evenings after school. But this week, I have my first clases particulares (private classes) scheduled, so I will be forced to get out of the house in the evenings.

View from La Giralda

On Friday, I headed into town in the afternoon with the intention of wandering around and meeting up with friends later. Of course, because this seems to be the smallest city ever, I ran into other friends by the Cathedral and joined up with them. One girl was visiting from Cádiz so we decided to do a lot of touristy things. I finally went inside the Cathedral! It was really pretty and overwhelming. I feel like I could go see it 100 times and still miss tons of details. We also climbed La Giralda, the giant tower. There are ramps all the way up it, which I think are easier than stairs, but it was certainly a workout. The view from the top was incredible. Sevilla is beautiful both from the streets and from above. Well done, city planners. After the Cathedral, we went and had amazing tapas at a very local tapas bar. There were no tables, so we just stood at the bar and feasted. We asked for recommendations, and they brought us about 5 different delicious tapas. We shared everything, and I only paid 2.50 euros for an amazing assortment of tapas. I would certainly go back there - I hope I could find it again. Then we wandered around the old Jewish quarter - my home. I wish I lived there! It is amazingly quaint and has really cool shops where I need to go buy some room decorations. Then we hung out in a little park for a while before going home to get ready for the night. I was terribly exhausted after all that exploration, but it was a Friday night, so I had to go out.

Santa Cruz

I went to meet up with people at a botellón near Torre de Oro, but I could not find anyone there. I felt pretty out of place surrounded by Spanish teenagers getting drunk, so what did I do? Went to the McDonald's to pee, of course. Then Arely and Paige showed up so I finally had friends. We went on a hunt to find the rest of the group that had changed locations to across the river. We eventually met up and hung out right by the river for a while. What a beautiful view! I'm so glad Sevilla has some water in it - it's certainly no ocean view, but it adds a lot to the city. Later on, we went to a salsa club and danced the night away. I am not skilled in the art of salsa dancing but I made some valiant attempts with my friends and one Spanish man. I saw this one kid from Ecuador dancing and it was the most incredible thing to watch. He moved so well and with so little effort. I basically just stared at him and tried to figure out how he did it. I was thoroughly impressed. I headed home around 4:30 and got a little bit of sleep.

At the Botellón by the River

On Saturday, I went to a picnic to celebrate Jonny's birthday. We feasted on bread and chorizo and I met a ton of people from England and all over Europe. I had a wonderful time enjoying the perfect weather. I even kicked a soccer ball around for a bit, which was great. Unfortunately, I'm no Christiano Ronaldo. After sitting there for a few hours, Rebecca and I went on a long trek to our intercambio. We arrived very late and did not stay very long, but I spoke a lot of Spanish during my time there. I had to get home and rest a little before another big night out. Later, I met up with my picnic friends at their apartment where we hung out for a while. I lost them on our walk to the club but found my American friends there. We went to a club called Bandalai that might be my new favorite place. They played a really good mix of American and Spanish music, all of which was great for dancing! So I danced forever until I was soooo exhausted at 5 am. I bid my friends goodbye and headed home to crash.

Enjoying the Picnic in Parque Los Principes

This afternoon, I woke up and went on a cleaning spree. Other than that, I am just organizing my life and relaxing for once. I cannot believe I went out until 5 am two nights in a row. For most people, that is simple, but for this girl, it's a feat. Spain truly is infecting me...

A Spanish Halloween

On Sunday, aka Halloween, Rebecca came over in the evening to get dressed for the big night. She had bought a bright red devil wig that day at the only store open on Sundays and was very excited for the big night. I was determined to not spend any money on my costume, and I came out victorious. I decided to steal an idea from "The Office" and be "Three-hole punch Lizzie." That consisted of me wearing a striped dress (sort of like lined paper) and putting three circular pieces of paper down my side. Not too elaborate, but at least it was a costume.

We headed to a potluck dinner at my friends' apartment in Triana. I made garlic bread, but it did not seem to keep away the vampires that night. David made a delicious paella so we feasted and drank sangría. A ton of people showed up there, including many people I hadn't met before. Costumes ranged from a zombie band to the girl in A Nightmare Before Christmas to lots of ghoulish face paint. It was quite a party! We eventually mobilized and walked to Torre de Oro for a botellón. This is where people bring their own bottles and drink outside with whoever else is there, which is usually a massive amount of people. I decided that night that I am not a fan of this type of gathering. It was freezing cold and there was no bathroom in sight. I prefer to hang out in the comfort of one's home before going out, but apparently Spain disagrees with me. Xanthe and Anna met up with me there and it was really great to see them. We ended up finding my friend from the intercambio and his group of British, Irish, and French friends, and I barely saw the original group for the rest of the night. At around 1:30 am, several cop cars pulled up to the botellón and everyone scattered off to bars. Don't worry - this is how it always ends and no one gets arrested. So we headed to Calle Betis with our new amigos and spent the night at a bar called Alambique. I had a really great time talking with all these people and somehow the time flew by. I wanted to go dancing, but that never materialized. Nevertheless, it was a great night. After that bar closed, we hung out outside for a while and went to Xanthe's apartment to hang out even more. When I was outside, I literally felt like I was in the movie Zombieland or Dawn of the Dead. There were countless people with fake blood dripping down their faces and ripped shirts. I was certainly not walking home alone that night. I think it's funny that all these Spaniards have adopted our tradition of dressing up, but there was no one out there with the ironic costumes that I prefer - they were out to scare. I eventually took a cab home and walked into my apartment at 6:06 am. That, folks, is a new record. I am officially becoming a Spaniard. But it made me worry because I would have to complete two sleep cycles in 24 hours before I woke up at 6:30 the next morning. Luckily, a night out that late can make you tired enough to do that.

I slept until 2:15 on Monday. Even though I never work on Mondays, it was a national holiday so it made it more acceptable for me to sleep that late. I did some laundry and went to meet up with Rebecca. We had delicious chicken tapas near her new apartment in the center. And I saw her new place and briefly met her new roommates. I'm very excited for her that she gets to live so close to all the action. She is in a ridiculously cool area now. After that, I went to the intercambio again. I did not speak as much Spanish this time - teaching dirty English words seemed to be the dominant topic for the day. But it felt good helping the Spaniards and everyone there is super nice. Plus, one guy told me that my pronunciation is improving. I'll take it.

Today, I had work and had some fun interactions with the students. Some of them taught me a few flamenco steps and told me there would be an exam next week. They are also fixated on having me wear my hair in a very high ponytail. Not sure why since I don't think it looks that great. But, all in all, while it is terribly exhausting, they say some pretty funny things that help me get through the days. I came home, took a short nap, wrote some emails, and it's almost time for bed again. I wish every day could be Halloween...