Shrimps have faces. Which makes mine sad.

So in the US, when you buy shrimp they don't have legs or faces or giant antenna, they appear just to be food with a peel, like an orange. But in Spain, they are terrifying. They are monsters with staring black eyes, and antenna that I'm afraid to touch, and I hate eating them because I have to peel off so many legs and faces. NO ME GUSTAN.

So we went to a party on a pirate boat last night. Sketchy? I think so. Fun? Of course. And I think I might actually like the city better at 4 AM. There are still people out, but something about the wee hours of the morning makes me feel like I belong there, tripping over cobblestones and getting smacked in the face with palm fronds.

I booked a flight to London today: I'm leaving after class on October 8th, and I'm coming back in time for class on October 13th. Should be pretty amazing, but I can't decide if I want to just go with the flow, and see where London takes me, or if I want to make some kind of itinerary...(I should be serious with myself and realize that won't happen anyway).

But that actually brings me to another point about Spanish life. Relaxed isn't the right word for it, and care-free isn't either. But there's something about Spain that makes you feel like you drank some Felix Felicis. No matter where you are, what time it is, or what you're doing, it feels like that's exactly as it should be. I left a party at 3 AM because I was tired, and I didn't end up wandering home until 4:30, and I think I was just as happy, either way. There's just no pressure for anything...you just live. There's really no way to describe it unless you're here. In the US, you only feel good when you have a purpose, when you're moving forward in some way or another. And here, you float where the wind takes you, and you're not getting or having or doing, you're just being.

I'm pretty much just every other abroad student internalizing the Spanish sun. Turns you into a giant hippie, so that you watch the waves for hours instead of doing ser vs. estar homework. But then, maybe that's what I should spend more time doing.

So I was thinking about how I would describe a typical day here. And it's kind of hard, because so far I haven't really had a routine. But here goes: a Monday-Thursday. I wake up around 10-11 if I don't have errands to run to avoid the aforementioned hated siesta. I can get something for breakfast in the kitchen, which is usually some bread with jam or the nutella-like thing. There's no such thing as sliced bread in Spanish houses by the way, it's like bakery bread except much harder (but really good). I usually find out what other people are doing, and sometimes we go down to the beach (I don't like swimming in oceans, but I always let it wash over my feet). Or, we go on an adventure to el centro, and wander the streets there. Lunches in my house are always a salad with corn and onions and vinegar, the hard bread, and usually a soup or sometimes something like tortilla espanola. Then I go to classes, which aren't too bad. We did a word search last class for Society and Culture. Our Literature teacher keeps being sick. Language tutorial is just grammar nonsense. Art history is really cool (but maybe that's because I love my profesora). And Taller...is more tolerable with tinto de verano. After classes, we have dinner at home, which is proving pretty interesting. Ketchup and ham sandwiches, cheese and mayo sandwiches, and omelette for dinner...whatever. I eat it no matter what. And then, sometimes we meet back up to go out somewhere...whether it's on the beach, to a bar, to a club, it's not important.

We're going to visit Ronda tomorrow (Hemingway loved the city, and some speculate it inspired For Whom the Bell Tolls), which seems like a really cool place. I'll get to go inside the oldest bullring in Spain, but they don't have fights frequently there because it's a small town. Of course, we're meeting with the professor at 8 AM, which means I'll have to get up at 6:30 AM, which is approximately like being asked to get up at 3:30 AM in the US. It's criminal.