Gettin' Down to the Nitty Gritty

Hola todos.  I'm gonna try and write as best as I can.  I just want to write because there are so many things on my mind, but man am I tired.  I love the siestas here, but today we kinda missed it.  We're gonna sleep a little before la cena but I'm gonna write... wow I'm rambling.  

So just a few minutes ago, I finally started to realize how amazing this trip is going to be for me.  I am already starting to think in Spanish and trying to speak as much as possible.  It's tough because many of the students just speak in English, but there are many other opportunities to talk.

I'm so tired today because we went out last night to a place called Dubliner's.  Pretty shady and the guy wanted to id us and we were all like, are you serious?  We all look over 18, but the reason was cause there was nobody out that night.  I did not have an id on me so we had to walk all the way back to the apartment and then back, but we ended up having a good time nonetheless.  Today we heard that many things happen at Dubliner's that are not so good, but I don't really plan on returning to there that often.  The promoter just offered a free shot, so we thought we would stop in for awhile (the shot was of course the cheapest stuff they had, but it was only so that we didn't have to buy many drinks).  I know I won't be going out that often just to drink cause the drinks are all about 4 euros a piece.  That means you get a pint of beer or two shots in a mix drink, but still, not cheap.  

Por la mañana, we woke up at 8 and went to school, no issues this time (went to bed at 2 btw).  We had a stupid orientation meeting that basically covered issues that we already covered, however when we got out it was snowing, so everything was good.  I stopped at La Tienda Verde for the first time today.  I was expecting a place to sit, but it is ridiculously small.  The food however is reasonably priced and seems good.  I only grabbed a snack cause I knew we were getting lunch in about an hour, but that was tasty.  

In the afternoon, we went to a city called Acala with our group of students.  It was pretty, but loooooong.  We walked from about two to five and we went on a half hour train ride both ways.  I didn't get to eat until the train ride back, but it didn't really bother me.  I also got another passport photo for a metro pass and took lots of pictures in Alcala (not in that order).  There is an interesting story about Alcala.  Unfortunately I did not hear all of what the tour guide said but here's the gist:  There was a university, and a castle.  The castle was to keep the Christians out and was used by the moors.  The university was moved during the reign of Franco and got changed to the University of Alcala when he died.  Also, they have a stork problem.  Yes, storks.  Apparently you are not a citizen of Alcala until you have been pooped on by a stork.  Also the nests weigh so much that they have to be removed each year so that they don't build up and cave in the roofs.  There are some pictures that will be going up on the sister website soon.  Hasta luego!