Out in Spain and Wine!

Hola y’all! Classes have been totally fine. Two hours of grammar first thing in the morning is dry, but Ruth [root] lets us break for ten minutes in between the hour. Today at the break, Alex, Lauren, Jess, y I went to the café to get some coffee. It’s a good deal…1 euro! It’s half coffee half milk here, and they serve it in what can only be described as a teacup. I don’t drink coffee normally, but one can only go so long in a grammar class without a little boost. Today we reviewed the preterite versus the imperfect, which we all know, BUT all need a refresher. So, to practice, she asked for a fairytale, and I said CENICIENTAS (Cinderella). We all took turns telling part of the story. The homework was really easy except for a few irregulars, but they throw me off. Conversation (also with Root) continues to be a blast. Wellington, this guy from Brasil, cracks me up. We were talking about the food here, and ended up on beans. He couldn’t figure out what a kidney bean was (and has yet to get himself a dictionary) so finally she drew it on the board. He jumped out of his seat and had the biggest look of relief/comprehension on his face. Later on, Root was talking bout how she can’t remember anyone’s name (we all made signs for our desks). She knows Francisco and a few other names of Hispanic origin, and then she said she could remember Wellington b/c it was a king, or something. So Wellington stood up and bowed down. Kiko is also a lot of fun. He was raised in Tennessee but lives in Texas. Oh yeah! Everyone here is from Texas or Wisconsin. The Texans are a lot of fun…we were out with some of them for Carmen’s 24^th birthday last night.

We all met at the dorms for the University “at 9 p.m.” to go out for her birthday. Alex and Lauren found the place we were going to, but no one else knew where it was, and since all of them, minus Troy, are in dorms, we met there. I made the right move choosing to live with a host family! The dorms are basically a toddler-sized square and there are SO many steps. Plus, the dorm kids eat in the cafeteria. From what I’ve been told, the food there is awful. Glad I eat Carmen’s fabulous food! We got to the UCas dorms but Jen and Carmen were literally woken up when the security guy went to tell them we were here. So it took another hour or so before we actually left the building. I guess we’re turning into true Spaniards! We went to a restaurant called Herbes (I think)…yum!!! We got a 3 course meal for 12 euros each. I had the vino tinto that one of the profs. recommended. I've got great pictures!

Be good everyone!