spoke too soon...

I told my friend a few weeks ago that a great thing about Spain is that it's almost always always sunny. I should have kept my mouth shut:  Last week and this coming week, rainy and gloomy. Not fun :(  Especially when we have to walk to a lot of places. 

[Side-note: a HUGE pet-peeve of mine is when the bottoms of my jeans get wet. EW! I hate it so much.]

On a positive note, there's sun in Tunisia, where I'll be in three weeks!!

I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello

The other day at school, I was walking out the door and a Spanish friend of mine was coming in the door. Normally, this same exact situation in the states would be something like this: 

me: Hey, what's up?

Paloma: Hey!

But, following the trend of most of my other blog posts, Spain is quite different...And this is, in face, how the conversation went: 

Me: Hola, qué tal? (hey, how's it going?)

Paloma: Hasta luego! (See you later!) 

It's completely normal here, but makes me feel like they're brushing me off, haha. I guess they're right though, we're just passing each other so we're shouldn't be greeting one another as if were were just meeting up. I thought it was funny anyway..

there's a comma, period.

I think it's funny that with expressions of numbers in Spain (and probably most of Europe and who knows where else), instead of using a decimal point, they use a comma, and instead of a comma, they use a period. 

for instance: the year is 2.008. 

A shirt may cost 39,99 euros. 

There are 3.894 people in this city. No, not three and 894 thousandths of a person. But rather three thousand eight hundred ninety four. 

In addition, while in Spain they (try to) drive on the right side of the road, many pedestrians pass each other by walking to the left. Actually, in Spain, people don't really move. If you don't want to get rammed in the shoulder or knocked out by that old lady's shopping wheeler-cart, go wherever there's room--left, right, jumping over her...whatever gets you out alive. 

Beer and waffles.

Where else would you go for these two delicious things? Belgium of course, are they really all that they're cracked up to be? 

100% yes. 

Brussels, Belgium, a beautiful town with friendly people (who all speak English! thank goodness), truly has a lot to offer. 

I, of course, splurged on edible things: 

Waffles. one word: yum. You can get really any topping you want, chocolate, ice cream, whipped cream, strawberries, other fruit, etc. etc. etc. I went with a simple belgian waffle with powdered sugar and it was perfectly warm, soft, sweet, and wonderful. Eggo doesn't come close...

Beer. two words. yum, strong. I don't really know the specific beers that I drank, but know that I liked them and that they will intoxicate you quickly. We went to one bar, Delirium, that is famous in Brussels. They have over 2000 types of beer there! I didn't quite get to try them all. 

Chocolate. I'm not too big on chocolate these days, (weird, I know)..but I did get a free sample of supposed Belgian chocolate with a glass of fresh mint tea. I probably should have tried the real thing from one of the dozens of chocolatiers around town....oh well.

Didn't try the mussels, because I think they're gross. Brussel sprouts are also not on my list of things for the last supper. The Mannequin Pis (a little statue of a guy peeing), was interesting. They, (you know, "they") dress him up in different outfits all the time. My friend Blake (whom I visited) told me that he has hundreds of outfits...

Whether it be quite old architecture (check out that Grand Place!) or new modern buildings, small winding streets or large public avenues, it is a wonderful city with wonderful people and I hope to return someday. 

Check out the photos!

free stuff!

So I went to recharge my phone yesterday (a lot of people have the prepaid phones here...), and the girl was very friendly and so she plopped down a couple "free goodies" on the counter for me. My friend Allison and I were like, hmmm, what are these things. They looked like square freezer pops, about 2 in x 2 in...those popsicles that come in a box, in long tubes and they're a liquid and then you freeze them and they're delicious? you know...

so anyway, they looked like those. bright orange. Turns out they're hand warmers. 1) most random free goodie EVER and 2) most random goodie from a cell phone store. 

That is all. Spain is funny...

oops...forgot to write in a month and a half...

So I'm beginning to thing that this blog is like my diary that I also forgot to write in. I think my las "Spain journal" entry was from September. How terrible. 

I suppose that a lot has happened since I last wrote in the good ol' blog. I went home for Christmas, surprising my family! I spent three wonderful weeks at home, eating American food, speaking English, sleeping in my own bed, enjoying carpet, driving my car, visiting family and friends, and of course, appreciating NOT having to think about the awful exchange rate and how much money I'm losing here in Spain....bummer. 

I got back to Spain the 13th of January and all has been pretty great this semester. New classes are fine, and the new kids in the group are really great. They are very high energy, and there are a TON of them, which can sometimes be a bit crazy during excursions and stuff, but for the most part they seem very fun and interested in learning, which, after all, is why they're here. 

We had our first group excursion Jan 25-27 to Extremadura and nos lo pasamos muy muy bien. We had great weather and a great time in general. It was nice because it's not as touristy as many of the places that we visit, but still equally as beautiful. 

This past weekend was the start of  "Carnavales", whose end indicates the beginning of lent. The major areas in Spain that celebrate Carnavales are Cadiz and Tenerife (I believe...) but there is usually a celebration in every city. (both the religious side, and the crazy party aspect..) Here in Alcalá, there were a lot of things going on, and my friends and I went out on Saturday night and dressed up. When in Spain...

I am poor, thus having to reuse my angel costume from Halloween. But no one has to know that! oh wait, I just made it public...

This weekend I'll be visiting my friend Blake in Brussels, Belgium, where he has been working since September. I'm really excited, and it'll be great to be there with someone who knows the area well!

Boring post, I apologize. I'll get some interesting topics going soon...

until then...D.

P.S. Here is the link to my photos. Carnavales not up yet...

http://picasaweb.google.com/daniellestanko