Under the Castilian Sun: Happy October! 37/83.

There are some things that I've sworn up and down that I will stop doing. I've said over and over again that I am going to stop shopping. (Although actually, I have done great on that promise here in Spain....) I've said that I was going to exercise. (Well, I worked out at the gym all summer and loved it.) I could go on and on. But the one thing I really need to stop doing is drinking Fanta Limons at midnight.

The stash of food I have. I have some other stuff hidden somewhere secret. Yes, two Fantas are already gone :)

And at one thirty in the afternoon. Sad. But come on people, I've been sober for two years. Cut me some slack. The other day, I gave up on the Fanta Limon Zeros. Come to think of it, I gave it up about two weeks ago, but who's counting?! I have discovered that you can get them cheaper at the Chinos than you can at other places like groceries, VIPS, etc. In an effort to save money, I started buying them from the chinos. I would spend one euro on a fanta limon, compared with 1.25 at VIPS. Do the math - I'm paying for one less fanta througout the week! Anyways, the other day I stopped into a grocery store and bought an eight-pack. That's dangerous. But, it's a lot cheaper than buying one every day. Although, I'm sure the chino at the chino store (who I really don't know whether or not he's a chino....the sad thing is, every asian person over here is referred to as a chino, regardless if they are from China or not. And the asian people refer to themselves and each other as Chinos. Sad, I know. I get asked so many times where I'm from. It's quite annoying. I tell them Kentucky. And then if they give me a weird look, I say, "Soy adoptada." Saying you're adopted is like you're get out of jail free card with other Asians. So serious!)

Anyways, I am figuring out that it's not fun trying to perfect my Spanish. The only things that I keep messing up are the stupid prepositions. I don't know how many of you have studied another language, but the biggest thing you have to forget is, to follow the rules of your native language. In Spanish, certain things are said that we would NEVER say in English. Like the use of double negatives? They are grammatically correct here. I always remember being taught that in Spanish, the adjective comes before the noun, which is opposite in Spanish. However, there are always exceptions to the rules! I found out tonight that "hombre pobre" has a different meaning than "pobre hombre." The first literally means the poor man (financially speaking.) The latter means that the man isn't poor with money, but he is lonely or depressed.

The good thing is that I am surrounded by people who speaking English and Spanish! Today after school, I met two friends from church and we ate lunch together and then talked about Spanish. Adriana is a Spanish teacher, so she pointed out some of my mistakes. Then, I came back to the flat and talked to Elio, the dad. He also helped me for about an hour with looking over my compositions. I think I have a better understanding of what I am doing wrong. The biggest thing is, I am writing in Spanish, what I am literally thinking in English. That's a huge no-no. I am going to try and write a composition this weekend that is due Tuesday, so he can look it over and help me! I have also decided I need to go out and pick up a few books to have as reference, one of them being 501 Spanish Verbs. (If my spanish teacher from HS were reading this, she would kill me. We were never allowed to use them in HS!) But what makes me so mad is that I have not one, but two copies sitting at home in my room. Since my suitcases were packed and books are so heavy, those were the first things not to make the trip over here :( So, I think tomorrow, I am going to hit Gran Via and see if the Casa Del Libro has any Spanish grammar books in English....

So the funny thing here is that curse words aren't the same as they are in English. Yes, there are equivalents, but people use them so much more freely over here. Even the kids. Everyday, I have a student who says the equivalent of the F-bomb in Spanish. But here, it's not looked upon badly if you say it. So that's why all the kids use them. Weird, but kinda funny at the same time.

Tonight, the family that I am living with invited me to go with them to Santiago de Compostela, which is in Northwestern Spain. Look it up on google when you have the chance. It is this ridiculously famous town that has an even more famous cathedral. Every year, pilgrims go on "El Camino" - the walk. It's a pilgrimage that they say is the "Walk of St. James" (the english name.) It's really neat, check it out. Anywho, this year is a "Holy Year," and the Pope will be in Santiago de Compostela next month. Santiago is a contraction in Spanish for Saint James (saint yago). The family is going and asked me to come with them! They also said that maybe next weekend, we will go to Salamanca or Avila since I have never been there before!

Tonight for dinner, we had pizza. This was frozen pizza and actually had what we could consider thin crust. Which is highly unusual for pizza you buy in Europe. So, remember the long weekend I was thinking about taking? Not gonna happen. Because the actual holiday is on Tuesday, not Monday. The colegio is shut down on Monday, but not the University. So I will be here in Madrid. Although, I am looking forward to having a little break.

Hard to believe that today is already October. Then November, then December. Wow. I watched the season premiere of Grey's tonight and loved it. Gotta love the writers of Grey's for always making humor out of the most solemn situations. Hulu found out I was using a fake IP address, so I couldn't pull up Episode 2, but I know of another site. I am so tired though, I'm not even going to try and watch it now. Here are some pictures of my new room, so enjoy!

Quote of the Day: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." -Another quote by Eleanor Roosevelt. Told you guys I love her.