el último lunes

¡whew! tengo mi examen de gramática mañana. ¡qué horror! he comprado mis billetes de tren. me marcho de salamanca a las 3.50 de la tarde el miércoles. no puedo esperar. creo que mi cerebro ya ha marchado de esta ciudad. ya está volando a china. quizás ha llegado....

y ahora una cita. puedes decir que es mi favorita ahora:

"los pianos no estallan por casualidad"
(la abuela en el cuento de eréndira, escrito por gabriel garcía-márquez)

¡hasta luego!

China Update

I noticed something peculiar when scanning my itinerary on Orbitz this afternoon--I have two extra flights on my itinerary. I am guessing that these exist in case I don´t make my connection. The bad news: if I don´t make my connection, I will be staying overnight in the airport in Dalian (which has got to be a little piglet of an airport) from 4 pm on the 1st until 9 am the 2nd. That means my 27 hour flight will be extended 15 extra hours. The best part: the last leg of the flight is only 99 miles. Phew!! Think positive air-control thoughts for me, eh?

I also booked my hotel in Madrid for the night of the 30th. Yes, I decided to suck it up and front the money since who knows when I´ll get to sleep/take a shower... could be a couple of days later. OH, and I upgraded my room to include the European spread breakfast. AND, I am staying in a really nice hotel and it´s really cheap and has a shuttle to the airport for the next morning. It is NH Hotels. Cool, eh? I never knew spending money could be so much fun... and what a relief!!

Waiting for vital information like phone numbers and addresses from my boss-to-be in case the connections don´t work out...

I also bought a book to learn some Chinese. Valient effort, but it is nearly impossible. I think I´ll just have to put off this learning opportunity until I arrive and asses the situation. Right now, the language is a bit overwhelming.

Everything else here in Spain is good. The weather has finally broken and it is hella-cold and that makes me so happy I could cry. Right now it is like 12 degrees (Celsius) and raining. Ahh...perfect. Nice, cold air is filling my lungs as we speak. Could anything be better? I think not.

Por fin... ¡fotos!

Aquí hay unas fotos de San Sebastian. El País Vasco es conocido para las mejores tapas de España (y las más caras, pero bueno). Entonces, fue necesario de salir para comer unas.

En la primera foto, estaba lista para sacar la foto.... creo que no, ¿eh?



Emily con el plato de tapas
El bar de tapas. Estaba muy llena de gente, pero encontrábamos un sitio de comer. ¡Éstas cuatro tapas nos costaron casi 8 euros!

Escucha, chicos, es todo para hoy porque son las 8 y la oficinia de computadora ya está cerrada. Venga, besos a todos =)

ummm...

So, somehow I got the browser default to be in Japanese. Somewhat disconcerting considering b/c 1. I can´t read anything and 2. that I still basically know my way around blogger.com (I guess I´ve become an addict?)
I suppose I won´t be so lucky in a unfamiliar place like China which is on the count down. I leave Salamanca by night, perhaps on the train, on the 30th of August. The following morning I will continue on by plane (a startling 27 hour flight with three connections), arriving in China the 1st of September around 6 pm local time. That´s if all goes well.

Meanwhile, there are horrible fires in Galicia and storms on the coast of China... attempted terrorist attacks in London. What timing? Hoping that all will return to some state of normality before I make the big trip.

Speaking of trips, my new buddy, Emily, returned to Washington (the state) on Saturday. I suppose I´ve been moping around the house, because my señora asked me more than once if I was bored and she is taking me out for a coffee tonight.* Not really sure how watching her fold the laundry and then make lunch and dinner for two days would constitue being bored... j/k

I know I promised some photos, but guess what? Tomorrow is a fiesta day here. That makes today and official "bridge day" (Spanish: hacer un puente) which means that everyone skips out of class and work in order to have a four day weekend. The Spaniards seem to have strategically placed all holidays on Tuesdays to allow such behavior. Why do you care and what does this have to do with photos? Well, the nice computer lab that loads photos with ease is shut due to the holidays. Sorry, you´ll just have to wait.... But, one more thing to look forward to--David has requested a photo of this mysterious Spanish "melón" which is quite possibly the best summer fruit ever. It is a melon, obviously, but it is the juciest one I´ve ever had. Quite similar to watermelon in that respect. It is very sweet, but refreshingly, not sickeningly so. It has an aroma as if it has been in contact with pineapples. The taste? Indescribable. Sorry. We´ve eaten it with "nata" (whipping cream, sweetened, but not whipped) and "cannela" (cinnnamon). Mmmm....



*That is, if none of her friends call and want to go out with her. This fact honestly makes me feel like a second-rate person and I would rather spend the night alone reading. However, I´m sure I would raise hell and have to eat fried potatoes for every meal if I voiced this sentiment.

photos of san sebastian and bilbao to come when i remember to bring my cable with me to the computer lab. it was great even though i managed to spend a day and a half at a beach resort without actually stepping foot onto any sand. perhaps santander was enough beach for me for the entire summer? or, other basque-country attractions had more pull? yeah, that´s it. this is just to let everyone know that i had fun... i´m still alive =)

Ésta es una foto de la fachada de la Universidad de Salamanca. El hombre en la estatua es Fray Luis de León. Realmente no sé quien es aunque es famoso y viejo.

Fijáte en la columna a la derecha de la puerta roja. Aquí hay una rana que si puedes encontrar la traes buena suerte. Mira abajo. Ahora es más facil, ¿no?

¿Puedes sentir el calor? Whew!!

My new hair cut. Don´t worry, that´s a smile you see tucked in at the corners. I pushed the button prematurely and "pop!"

Look at that shoulder muscle. Grr!! I´ve been doing my push-ups, can you tell? We´re going to San Sebastian and Bilbao this weekend with the newcomers (they arrive tomorrow). If you are up to it, try reading the pages in Euskera. Oh, and good luck! =) So, that´s exciting. I went to a really cool library today and found some interesting books about the art of translation. Then, when I tried to check them out (which is my God-given right as an exchange student), I found out that my name isn´t in the system. Will have to go over to Cursos Internacionales tomorrow and get that squared away because I only have 4 weeks to read all those books!!

Note about the picture: In case you can´t tell, I lost my donkey charm. No, not the love of the species, but the little charm on my chain. Lost isn´t really the appropriate word, though. I know exactly where it is. It got caught in a crack in the floorboards at the Cursos Internacionales outside patio (yes, I was lying on the floor in the middle of the afternoon trying to cool off). It is there forever and Emily and I are the only living souls who know exactly where he´s imprisoned forever. Tears. I am still wearing the chain in tribute to him. When the shock and sadness wears off, I´ll remove the chain or find another charm.

Funny story: According to my "abuela" here, America has really good quality towels. Everyone knows that American towels are great and that Spanish ones are, well, crap. And, we´re lucky to have good towels. Luck-ee! =) I kid you not. We actually had a conversation about American towels. That was pretty much the gist of the entire 10 minutes. I just smiled and nodded in agreement. Of course American towels are good. Yes, I agree. The one that I use at "home" is American and I enjoy it daily, sometimes twice a day when I´m feeling really fiesty. The key, folks, is perspective. That´s the lesson of the day. Second lesson of the day: cotton is my friend because it breathes. Or so they say. I honestly can´t tell a difference because I get hot no matter what material I wear. Even my own skin.

Well, it´s closing time here at API, so I´ll stop rambling and say goodbye. Hope you´ve enjoyed the pictures, late coming as they are.