90 Days of Autumn: Day 9

one week down.

Well I hope everyone had as...fulfilling a weekend as I did. I'm still recovering from all the activities. But before I dive into those details, I just realized I have yet to mention my purpose here (especially since that seems to be my number one asked question) so:

I wanted to learn Spanish (since I dropped my minor to pick up the second major)
I wanted to study abroad since forever but it cost too much
I refused to spend my last few months pre-career marinating on my couch and working at blockbuster

so there you have it. Ok. On to the weekend.

So most of Friday consists of birthday parties. Ismael had 2 to go to and I was blessed with the task to taking him there. I forgot when little kids through parties, it's expected that you invite like the whole class. Needless to say, it was nuts.

Following the birthday fiestas, I went to my Spanish lesson. Don't worry, it still sucks. I am having the hardest time remembering conjugations. We spent the rest of the night with friends, laughing, drinking, and playing wii.

Saturday was a quite the experience. We started with a trip to see some Spanish mountains where we proceeded to hike up them.. I was like "say what? hike?oh I don't do that" lol. i did it.

It actually wasn't that bad despite the prissy photo lol. I was trying to maintain balance. We went to Enciso where they have life-sized dinosaur statues. Apparently all the dinosaurs lived in Spain during the Jurassic Era (or Cretaceous? whatever, this isn't a timeline of the planet) because there are tons of fossil-ized prints and whatnot.. it was kinda cool.

The rest of the pictures are on my facebook. From there we went to lunch, in which the adults dropped guap on the meal.. it was 215 Euros which is about $293.. on lunch? guap. Next we headed to this place where they have thermal baths. It's like a big river but there are spots in on either side where the water is hot... like naturally. I wasn't trying to get in. Something about that just screamed pneumonia but what do i know? They didn't get in the water either but only because they didn't swimsuits lol... psshh.. not I.

AND THEN on the way back. We made a stop at Turruncun, which is a abandoned, stone city.. kinda like Spanish ruins. beautiful. it got really dark so the pics aren't very good.. you can't really see the city but whatev, google: turruncun. you'll see

Then we had another beer or two at some local spots and headed back to Cintruenigo where I got ready for the events of the night. The mother, Eva, has a younger sister, Ana and Ana wanted to take me out to experience the night life of Cintruenigo. Now keep in mind, small town. Oh and i don't have any pics of this.. next time. Promise.

Anyway, we went bar hopping and had dinner with her friends (who speak no english) and everyone wanted to "practice their english with the American girl." I was a hot commodity haha!

AND CAN THOSE KIDS PARTY!

I mean... 4.5 years in Athens and I've never seen people drink that much back to back.. well maybe I have. I'm just not used to be in that circle. SN (for all parents and readers 35+): I did NOT drink like them. I repeat, DID NOT. I know my limits plus I don't know those kids (and by kids i mean 26+ lol) and I knew I needed to have my wits about me. We kept it tame though. You can't get too crazy in a town of a few thousands haha. but we did manage to stay out till like 5:30. the funny part is, as the youngest one there, I was tired first. I'll admit it.. I can't hang. I'm sleepy, like DONE, by 2:30-3.

Yes. SO. Crashed at Ana's apartment, which is super-swank btw, and woke up about 1 lol to scurry down for lunch with the family at 2.. which consists of the father's, Jorge, parents, brothers, their women, and us. And grandma served up a paella that was... oooh boy.. goodness! all the seafood: clams, shrimp, crawfish.. the whole 9. Also served with salad (which is served on a communal dish), bread (which is long and hard and crunchy but good.. served with every meal) and that was all the first course! It was followed by some baked fish and croquettes which was THEN followed by dessert and coffee..

i mean i can't remember the being hungry yet since i've landed..

lol no complaints. I walked it off later that day. We went for a evening stroll around the city, since we finally got some nice weather. I saw their cathedral. I don't know anything about architecture but My goodness.. it was beautiful