Playing Catch Up

So I left off in Madrid at the fútbol game with Ziggy (Monica) and Will...

WEEK OF OCTOBER 3RD - 8TH:

• On Monday there was an eclipse, complete with goofy glasses and weird shaped mirror boxes everywhere. When I got back to Salamanca, I finally met my roommate Clancey, who just so happens to be from White Bear Lake. Small world! She's pretty cool though, and we've been getting along great since she moved in. Aside from both of us being sick.
• Fátima brought me to the clinic ("UCSI Europa" hmm... Regents here too??) on Thursday morning as I had a temperature and was definitely hating life. The doctor took one look at my throat and said I had some crazy virus of the throat, for which he promptly wrote me a prescription and sent me on my way. I spent the rest of that day, and my birthday weekend recouperating. Concha did have cake for me on Friday for lunch, and I went out for coffee and ice cream with my friends later that night, which was fun enough under the circumstances.

WEEK OF OCTOBER 9TH - 16TH:

• Finally feeling better by Monday, I made it to the gym for the first time in over a week. My gym buddy (still don't know what his name is) was concerned and cornered me to make sure I was alright. Kinda funny the random people that you meet around town.
• Wednesday marked Constitution Day/Columbus Day/some other Catholic Holiday... So of course everything was closed again. Not to mention that security precautions were now in full force for the XV Iberoamerican Summit to take place Thursday-Saturday in Salamanca. Anyone who could was encouraged to leave since the place was going to be a zoo... I figured there was no better time to go down to Córdoba to visit Ziggy on her "home turf."
• So Thursday morning I went to catch the bus to the train station... Unbeknownst to me that they'd shifted most of the town's bus stops for security purposes so I missed the first bus, then missed my train by 10 minutes. I ended up being 4 hours later than I expected to meet Ziggy, but I think she forgave me pretty quickly. After dinner at her house, we met for a fiesta with people from her program and their "intercambios" (buddies they get paired up with to practice speaking each other's languages). Let's just say I'm glad I don't have to put up with some of the really obnoxious kids in her program.
• Friday morning we got up early to go to the Castillo de Almodóvar, about 15 minutes outside Córdoba's city center. At the risk of sounding like an elitist, Ziggy an I concluded that some of the kids in her program probably were not "mature" enough to handle a trip abroad for educational purposes. Getting mad that another country is not like the USA is ridiculous. I'll leave it at that. After the field trip, that lasted a little too long in my opinion, we went to a little hole in the wall bar called Santos next to the Mosque in the Judería (Old Town) to sample some of their famous Spanish Tortilla (which consists of eggs and potatoes). After whetting our appetites, Zig, her pals (Marissa, Chris and Cody) and I sought out a "Mexican" Cantina near the river. While the food did not taste like "authentic Americanized Mexican food," I was happy enough to feel the familiar burning sensation you get from too much hot sauce. Later that night, in the mood for a mellow activity, Ziggy and I went to see "Juegos Con Mujeres" with Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz. I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say that in Spanish the movie sucked.
• On Saturday we headed over to the Judería again, this time to actually tour the old Mosque, in the middle of which the Catholics added a cathedral -- since they didn't want to "disturb" the huge Muslim Temple. The juxtaposition of the two in the same place, especially with the modern religious and cultural conflicts is pretty strange to see. But it was worth the trek over there. We spent the better part of the night sampling "tapas" (Spanish appetizers that you can get free with drinks), and watching a couple of fútbol games. Though I pride myself on my level of cultural understanding, I definitely accidentally ordered some sort of blood-sausage-sandwich for my first tapa. Sick. I still can't get that taste out of my mouth. Later still we met up with more of Ziggy's friends as we bounced from bar to bar. Impressively enough, Chris and Cody managed to top off the night around 3AM with not one, but TWO, kebabs each.
• Sunday morning came, which meant it was time for me to head back to the smaller and less bustling city of Salamanca. I really enjoyed the company and the gorgeous weather in Córdoba though -- it was nice to escape the rain for a bit.

This Week (FINALLY!)...

• Clancey and I both got back from our weekend trips on Sunday afternoon... Anna had managed to pass along the cold she'd acquired over the weekend to both of us, and we've been battling that since.
• In one of my classes we have a "group" project. I have the distinct impression, though, that the only Spanish student (in our group of 5 girls) might be using us international students (from Belgium, France and the States of course) to slide by. She is pretty nice, but I think the Professor is on to her, so we'll see how that works out.
• As has become our ISA Tradition, we met for another Spanish Movie night, and saw the film "7 Vírgenes" which turned out to be kind of a downer. But I think I might have picked up some new slang, so at least I learned something.
• Friday morning Clancey and I leave on a 4:30AM bus to Bilbao, where we'll meet up with Ziggy and spend the weekend exploring the "better" Guggenheim, as well as the beach town of San Sebastián. I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.