Well, I have been informed that my recent blog entries have been "a little weird," for which I apologize, but which has been a result of happiness instead of homesickness. If this makes things weird, apologies, but I don´t think I want to change back. I´m just using this thing to entertain myself as well as all you readers. And to make fun of Ben a little bit through indirectness and inside jokes, which was a grand part of the last entry. Lo siento a todos.
Last night right as I came home there was an accident in the street that my apartment is on. It was very exciting. This car was trying to turn the corner but another van was parked right around the corner in a place that is totally impossible to see from the first street. (Streets in Spain = very bad visibility, almost all one-ways, horrible parking jobs everywhere including on the sidewalk, diagonally in front of corners and regularly double parked.) When the car turned and saw the van they swerved (of course) and drove up onto the sidewalk and into the glass windows and door of this "tienda de regalos" = crap shop. Nobody was hurt but the glass shattered everywhere and lots of fake flowers and alarm clocks and batteries and potholders and vases were knocked to the floor. Apparently the owner of the gift shop is friends with Paz, and told her that a woman who was just coming into the store was almost hit but the owner pulled her out of the way when she saw the car coming and saved her. The reason it was so exciting was that for about 20 minutes, I felt like I lived in a busy lively neighborhood because when everyone heard the crash (walls in Spain have no insulation and you hear everything) everyone ran to their windows or came outside and around the corners to see what happened. I was looking out from my little 4th floor balcony, there were people out on all the other balconies below me. The sidewalks and streets had onlookers and people on them instead of just dog poop and trash and car parts (about 4 repair shops within two blocks of my building), and the neighborhood felt chatty and personable instead of lonely and sketchy. It was quite the excitement for the afternoon, I tell you.
I like Wednesdays a lot because, although it is a long long long day, I really really like my Wednesday classes. This is the only day I have electives other than my language classes, which are also good, but it´s nice to get a little more intellectualism. My professors are great and there are some really cool and interesting kids in these classes. (Also some remarkably stupid people, but whatcha gonna do.) Today in school I learned about the development of the city of Barcelona and development of tourism in Spain and the strike that the teachers went on yesterday (I saw the big demonstration in Plaza Luceros, traffic was horrible becuase the procession of people was long and slow and blocked some of the main throroughfares in Alicante) and the educational system and all its problems and the new laws about it and the Spanish constitution and social security... Retired people in Spain recieve money every year to go on vacation, as long as they don´t go during summer, the main touristy season. This insures that the hotels and restaurants and everything can stay open and make money all year, and allows tourism to flow, which is good because it is basically the main industry in Spain.... Everything links together and it is very cool. And I am a huge nerd. I am the opposite of Ellie and many other students here, who cannot beLIEVE that they make us go to class on Fridays?? And when her professor complained and asked the class to please not go out so late on Thursday nights because it is impossible to have class with a bunch of hungover sleepyheads, Ellie said, "I´m sorry, but she better get used to it, because it´s not going to stop. Going to class is just not the reason that we are here."
And long Wednesdays are not so bad, not when you have four shots of espresso coursing through your veins. (Only 35 centimos for a capuccino con chocolate from the vending machine, plastic stirring stick included! ¡Que barato! ¡Que riquísimo!)
Amy and Lauren are skipping choir again tonight. :( The three of us Americans joined together and they are pooping out. Our German friend Carol wasn´t there last week either. This is partly good, because I will talk more with the Spanish students, like my new friend Silvia who invited me over to her place to try her paella sometime. She says it is her specialty. She is very much a typical alto personality. I like her a lot. On the other hand, I will miss having the other girls with me to help me deal with some of the other people in choir, like this one guy who thinks he is the shit and flirts with all the English speakers, or the just-out-of-high-school ditzy American girl who is kind of clingy and omigod! totally excited about everything! Actually both of them are not that bad and I won´t mind having a conversation or two with them... Being with this group of Americans has taught me how to be more amused and less annoyed by ditzy, less-than-intelligent people. Still, I am glad when Wednesday rolls around and I can get my learn on. Yeeeeahhhh.
