Thursday is the new Friday

The Spring Break travel plans continue. There have been some set backs which I prefer not to disclose, but we are making progress.
Tonight after dinner, a Sandra Bullock movie came on and I was excited you know, because she just won an Oscar. The crazy thing about movies here is that they show American movies with Spanish spoken added instead of the original voices. I just kept thinking about how Sandra Bullock's voice is supposed to sound. I think it would be a bit frustrating to watch movies like this all the time.
I went to a cool place tonight that plays techno dance music and I got to dance. We also went to a bar that was decorated as a haunted house. There were parts of mannequins hanging from the ceiling. Other than the decor, it was really chill and we just got to sit and talk for awhile. We found this place with the help of a tourist book, which we decided that we should use more often.
Today was a good day.

Military Time, Got me again

In Spain, digital clocks, written schedules, and programs are in military time. That is because these people stay up so late at night, something could easily be happening at either 9 AM or 9 PM. It is strange at first, but I am now used to it. It doesn't take long to recognize the reference points: 14 is 2, 20 is 8. You know. My favorite part is when we get to twelve past midnight, such as now, and my phone reads 00:12.
I did have one military time related disaster. I was taking a nap and set my phone alarm for 4 instead of 16. I woke up at about five, which is what time my class started. I ran to class in a very disoriented manner and was about 20 minutes late.
The best part is that no one speaks in Military time. They only write it that way.

Sun?

Well, today started out as one of those bad - can't decide what to wear - late for school - lost my coat and got really cold - days. But it turned around pretty nicely. There was SUN today! I went outside to study by the river with Katherine and Dana. Then we went to the center for about three hours and guess what!
We planned Semana Santa Vacations!!!! We are going to Switzerland and Vienna! I'm so relieved to have some plans made, even though it is extremely stressful to figure everything out.

Flamenco

Today there was a Flamenco show at school. We had to ask to eat dinner early and then it was raining of course, so the walk wasn't pleasant. The center does not exactly have a theater type of situation and there were a lot of people there, so we sat on the stairs, which turned out nicely, because we were higher up.
So Flamenco.... There was a guitarist, a singer and two dancers. The dancers are not happy or smiley; they are very dramatic. There is also a lot of clapping and stomping, much like tap dancing. It was very unlike anything I had expected.

Visit to Dos Hermanas

Today I went to a suburb, Dos Hermanos, to visit the Owens, a missionary family that Mimi and Grandpa know. I didn't know how the buses worked and Sharon wasn't sure of the Sunday schedule, so she came to pick me up. I met two of her daughters, and she made snickerdoodles and we played a card game. She sent some cookies back with me and Isabel and Katherine liked them. When I ate the snickerdoodles with milk I realized that I have never had the milk other than in cola cao [with chocolate]. It does taste different, but not too bad. The invited me to come to Cordoba with them next Saturday to do a program for children.
Today was a good day.

The Weekend in Espana

As my friend once said, Life is very simple here in Spain. We have three day weekends, we don't do our own laundry, and we have no jobs, no club meetings, no band rehearsals. On Friday I slept in, and then worked on some homework and went for a jog in the park. In the afternoon, we went to a cafe, where I tested some Spanish cafe con leche, or coffee with milk. Then we traveled to the center for the Spanish movie, which was weird, like always. Isabel's niece came over to spend the night and for dinner. She is seven and has really blond hair.
On Saturday it was raining but I persevered and put on my rain boots and went for a walk around Triana, the neighborhood next to ours. We had some really good double desserts, like chocolate ice cream and home made pudding, thanks to the presence of Carmen, the niece. Later that night, we went out on the town and ended up meeting tons of kids from our program all on the same street.
For the past three days I have gone every day to the Park of Maria Louisa. This is the world fair park and it is so huge, I cannot comprehend it. It's like a mad jungle, and I have gotten lost. On the other side of this Park is the Plaza de Espana, the giant Arab defensive structure. It is under construction, but it is still the most beautiful thing I have seen in Europe. I sat there and read on Thursday and being inside of it is just overwhelming. I think I will be amazed every time that I go.

Van Hoose Vs. La Casa

Today I present
Van Hoose vs. La Casa
Van Hoose being located on the campus of Shorter College
La Casa being located in Sevilla Spain

Delicious Food: La Casa
Central Heating: Van Hoose
Laundry Getting Done: La Casa
Low Bathroom Occupancy: Casa
Presence of Toilet Paper: Casa
Hot Water: Van Hoose [normally]
Shower Curtain Coverage: Van Hoose
The best room mates in the World: Van Hoose, of course
Wireless Internet: La Casa!
Legit Furniture: La Casa
Distance from Class: Van Hoose
Distance from Shopping and Dining: La Casa
Cleanliness: La Casa
Presence of Friendly Pets: La Casa
Windows with a View: Van Hoose
Entertainment via Ryan and Nikki: Van Hoose
Accessible Friends: Van Hoose

La Casa: 9
Van Hoose: 8