The Lazy Day

Sunday January 20, 2008

Today was a lazy day. I slept in until about 11am and then got up and had breakfast and showered. After that I worked on some stuff around the room, organizing and such. I was just trying to get my mind off of wanting to go to the Plaza to talk on my computer to my family and friends because later in the day I was going to be able to for the first time. After lunch, which was a chickpea stew with potatoes, carrots and pumpkin, at about 3:30pm Allison and I left to talk to our loved ones back home. She went to the Internet Café and I opted for the free wireless in the Plaza by our school. So I dropped her off on the way to school and then carried on to my Plaza. When I got there, there were about 3 other students with computers, I think the students from Wisconsin are starting to get the hang of things around here, their a little slow. I kind of hated the fact that there were so many Americans there; I kind of just wanted to be alone. I was out on my own for the first time in Spain. So I sat down and started the chat sessions. It’s so hard to get to talk to everyone that I want to talk to in such a short amount of time, but it’s better than nothing. My mom and dad, who are obviously not masters of the computer tried to work Skype today. Skype is a free online service in which you can talk free from computer to computer via web cam. All I could see was the top of my mom hair and a little of my dads bald spot, which made me laugh, that’s enough home for me. We tried and failed at that for a while and then I moved on to trying to talk to some friends. I didn’t have much time because my battery was winding down, but I at least had a couple words with each. After that I was a little homesick, but my bladder was controlling my thinking at the time and I decided to veer off into the wrong direction while trying to walk to the phone to call my parents. I told my mom and dad that I would call them after I was done on my computer from a café that is right up the street from my school. I got halfway home and realized that I wasn’t going the right way, and I had to go all the way back to where school is, still with a full bladder. The call was .15 centos per minute, which wasn’t so bad. It was good to finally make contact with the family; Jer-bear, Daddy B and the princess were all on the phone. After that adventure I walked home for the first time alone. I’m surprised that I wasn’t scared, but it was still light out. On the way back home I found four classmates at a bar sitting outside talking. I joined them for a while and talked and then proceeded to go home. Its hard keeping in contact with people here without having a phone, there is a lot of planning ahead involved. I was nearing the homestretch when a guy started catcalling me and all I could think was walk fast, look forward and don’t make eye contact. It all turned out ok, but my new nickname here is definitely “la rubia”- meaning “the blonde” or “blondie.” Its nice being exotic here, ha. We American girls are a hot commodity, especially for awkward old men and construction workers. When Nick, one of the three guys that are in our group, walks with us he frequently gets called “el jefe” (the boss) and is asked how much we cost. O dear the culture is different here. On a random side note: I forgot to tell you that yesterdays lunch was fairly interesting, I think we had hard boiled eggs with vomit on them, topped off with red sauce. Or at least that’s what it looked, smelled and tasted like. Rocio is amazing and she didn’t make us suffer through it, so she made us sandwiches instead. Most of the foods have really hit the spot, but you get the occasional nasty food in there. I think we got the point across that we don’t like fish though, so I think that will be good for both our appetites and her budget.