ONE, TWO, THREE

Hello again! I have a few thoughts/comments I thought I would share...ONE, PDA here is insane...people basically do what they want, when they want, and they don't care who is watching, which is way different than what I'm used to. In the states, people are a lot more conservative about what they do in public (most people anyway). TWO, "siesta" (nap) has its pros and cons. The good part about it is that it is acceptable, in fact, expected that everyone take a nap in the middle of the day...which is just fine by me because as you all know, I LOVE to nap! :) The bad part is that everything closes during siesta, so if you aren't tired and want to do something, you can't...the town is dead from 2-4:30. Today I needed to go to the supermarket and buy some groceries in between my morning classes and evening class, so I walked to the supermarket only to be reminded that it was closed! I was so frustrated, not so much that it was closed, but that I STILL have yet to drill it in my head that nothing is open during siesta! I have been here for almost 3 weeks and I still forget stuff like that...it just goes to show how terrible of a memory I have (I am sure you are all shaking your heads right now because you know it's true!) THREE, I am very excited about all the traveling I am going to be doing within the next couple of months. Here is what I have planned so far... This weekend my friends and I are taking a little trip south. We are leaving Friday morning for Pontevedra (2 hour train) and spending the day/night there, then on Saturday we are going to wake up and take a train to Vigo to spend the day/night there. Then Sunday morning we are going to take a train back to Santiago. I am way excited...both cities are coastal cities so I plan on doing a repeat of A Coruña as far as spending time on beautiful beaches! :) The weekend following Pontevedra and Vigo I am taking a trip to Oporto, Portugal. My friends and I will be there from Friday morning to Sunday evening...It should be interesting considering I don't speak a word of Portuguese! People say it is similar to Spanish so hopefully I'll make do! :) The Tuesday after I get back from Oporto my best friend Val is coming to visit me in Santiago...I CAN"T WAIT! It will be so nice to see a familiar face :) She arrives on Tuesday and will stay with me Tues, Wed, and Thurs...then Friday her and I are going to take a weekend trip somewhere. I am not sure where yet, it was supposed to be Barcelona but our flight that we booked through Ryanair got canceled because of the Boeing Strike. I'm sure we will figure something else out! The weekend after that (Oct. 10-12) I am not entirely sure if I am going anywhere because the following Monday is when the "groupo de kansas" takes a week long excursion to Madrid (and nearby cities). I am really excited about it. Our program director and teachers come with us, which is great because they are awesome...more like friends than teachers! :) I get back from Madrid on Saturday, and then leave the following Sunday to meet Kim and Michael in Lisbon, Portugal...I couldn't be more excited! One, I hear Lisbon is absolutely beautiful and two, seeing Kim and Michael will be fantastic! We will be in Lisbon for about 2 and a half days and then Kim and Michael are coming back with me to Santiago. I am happy they will get a little taste of my life here. I know this blog helps a little, but I can only explain/describe so much in words, which don't do any justice to all my experiences...it is one of those things that you don't get the full effect unless you're there (and Kim and Mike will be)! So that basically brings us to the last week in October...I can't believe I am seriously already booked up for the next 6 weeks! I love Santiago and being here Mon-Thurs is great, but it is going to be so nice to get away every weekend and explore other parts of Spain/Portugal! Also, some time in November I plan on visiting my friend Cassie who lives in the UK...I will give you more details when I know, but as of right now...I am pretty sure I will be visiting Scotland at one point or another! Can you believe it, Scotland...Que guay! (which in Spain Spanish means..."How cool"). People say that all the time here...you pronounce it like K-Y. It is rubbing off on me, lol...I say it pretty often! I also say "Vale" a lot, which is getting a little annoying, lol. It is a Spain thing as well...the equivalent in English is "OK". In Latin America they use "Bueno". Tengo que hacer mucha tarea...I have a lot of homework to do before I go out tonight so I must be going. Oh yeah...another random tidbit...People in Europe go out SO LATE. Tonight we are going to a Brazilian bar because there is a little concert going on, and it doesn't even start until Midnight. Crazy, huh? The normal "going out" time in Spain is from 1-5am...even on weekdays! Hopefully I won't get back too late tonight because I have class at 9:30 tomorrow morning, but no worries...that is my only class until 4:30pm so I can come home and sleep! :) Now that I am totally and completely settled in and have a routine, I will be able to update more often so stay tuned! :) As always, missing you all!