viernes, 28 junio

This morning I turned my alarm off instead of snoozing so I woke up at the time I normally eat breakfast. I still made it to class on time and we were in the other building (madre de dios) where we'll be for the rest of our classes. In class we talked about Gerundio, which I haven't reviewed since high school, and it made much more sense when Natalia explained it. It's like saying "I am reading" "Estoy leyendo" or using -ing words. We played mimicas- which is a combination of charades and Simon Says.  At the end of the morning class we wrote a short essay about ourselves, our habits and hobbies our likes and dislikes, and what we do in our free time. During our 11 o'clock break I decided to get café con leche which I thought was going to be ridiculously strong, but it wasn't super strong. Julia and Erinn (from Toledo, Ohio) had some at the other building yesterday and said it was really strong so I don't know if I'm just used to coffee or it is made different at the two buildings.

Mi primer café con leche. 

After the break we began a unit on clothing and the different types, styles, and prices, as well as the different places to but things. We then did sort of a Guess Who type game where we all stood up and then with a partner answered yes/no questions to reveal who we are describing. Jessica and I were partners so she asked me questions about my person (Are they wearing shorts? Are they wearing a white shirt? etc.) and then I asked her questions and then realized that she was describing me, which was pretty funny. When then transitioned into Direct Object Pronouns (it) so we could ask and answer questions like "Where can I buy a scarf?" "You can buy it at a speciality store." We then made up a bunch of examples and practiced with each other before leaving for the day. Although the class seems like a lot of review, Chris said last night that as long as I get a B in the class I'll get credit for 303/304 which is totally fine with me.

For lunch today we had Paella, the traditional Spanish rice and seafood meal. I was super excited and then I saw the crayfish shrimp creatures that still had eyes and that was the end of that. I ate the shellfish insides which were alright, but not my favorite. And for dessert we had a citrus fruit that was similar to a peach but the size of a plum and the color orange. During siesta time I decided to get the photos onto my computer before going to Segovia and Madrid this weekend, so y'all should scroll through the blog to see some of the pictures. I will only add my favorites since it takes to long to upload anything. Once I'm home in Nebraska, I'll upload everything to Flickr (if I can figure it out...)

After siesta we met at Plaza Padilla walked the rest of the river from where we left off yesterday. We stopped in this place that is famous for its figurines and the smallest was an ornament for 55€! They are really detailed and pretty though. Once we got down to the river we took a million photos and wandered from the spot we left to the bridge from a few days ago with the key hole arches. There were a ton of people fishing, three adorable black kittens that I could have easily picked up and put in my messenger bag, and a lot of really talented graffiti- I was quite jealous of the talent. There was a point where I was looking over the side of the trail on a hill and saw a cat just laying on a rock by the river. We also did some adventuring up some rocks and taking some extremely touristy photos. Once we got back to Plaza Zocodover we sat and cooled down for 30 minutes and people watched until it was time for people to head home for cena. We also planned for Mazapan later in the night.

This is their graffiti. Crazy talent here in Toledo!

Today's feet picture: through a pump near a dam. The white area in the middle is rushing water.

Two of the three adorable kittens! 

Photo from back on top of the wall. 

Cat laying by the river.
Also the photo where I discovered my camera has amazing zoom power. 

On my way home I heard this noise coming from behind me but it wasn't words and I didn't want to be rude and stare. That was a mistake. All of a sudden I hear ¡Oye! and then a swarm of maybe 30 or so runners come on either side of me and its just a swarm of sweaty runners all in red. And then 10 seconds later they were a block away and I don't feel the need anymore to go to the Running of the Bulls while I am here!

When I got home I was the only one in the apartment and didn't realize that cena was sitting in the kitchen for me until I read the note that was in my room on my computer. So for dinner, I figured out the microndas and had spaghetti with chicken and red peppers, cherries, and lemon yogurt, and of course bread. As soon as I was finishing my meal and putting dishes in the sink Sandra and Alfonso came home. I explained that I was going out to meet with some of my friends in Casco, and they warned me that the escalators close at midnight. By the time that I got to Plaza Zocodover, the mazapan place had been closed for a while so some people got helado next door. Since Sandra insists on helping me gain 10 pounds even while walking everywhere, I was extremely full and didn't get any. On my way back to the group of Nebraskans, a group of teenage Spaniards held hands and circled the rest and sang Mulan's "I'll make a man out of you"- in Spanish. It was amazing and so much fun! I was able to get a video of some of it on my phone (which I'll upload at some point in the future.) After that fiesta, it was close to the time that I needed to leave in order to get through the escalators before they closed so we said our goodbyes and started towards home and made it to the end of the escalators and out of the gate with five minutes to spare.

Lots of Love!