Fuck Yeah Spain

So, I didn't post on Wednesday like I was supposed to, because I was in transit to Spain! Which, by the way, took 26 hours of nonstop travel. It was terrible. I'm doing a month of study abroad (and getting an entire quarter's worth of credits for it, take that), so I don't have much free time, but here are my initial observations from my first three days:

• Hot. It is hot. A nice, dry heat, but still, I'm not used to this anymore. I sweat terribly. And, after one day, I have X's burned onto my feet from my sandals because I forgot to put sunscreen on the tops of my feet. 
• Ice cream is everywhere here. Every third shop has a little freezer up front that you can get it from. Which is awesome.
• I can eat coffee, meat, or ice cream. There's a couple pastry shops I'm excited about, but those three things seem to be the main staples. Oh, and alcohol. That too. (By the way, my first bar experience happened probably at around the same time as Asterisk's! Which is awesome.)
• Everyone dresses really nicely and takes care of their appearance, especially the women, and into old age. I'm glad I brought dresses.
• Old architecture constructed with brick and cobblestone streets create a way more relaxing, aesthetic atmosphere.
• Speaking of relaxing, everyone here doesn't give a crap what time it is. Which is great for not feeling stressed, but not so great for trying to find a store that's open. They seem to open and close whenever the hell they want to. Hardly any of the stores have hours posted. I've been trying to buy a phone and some laundry soap for three days, but every time I try, it's closed. They open late, close in the afternoon for the siesta, then open again for a magical evening time I haven't figured out yet. Plus, everything useful is closed on Sunday.
• SO MUCH HISTORY AND RELIGION!
• Siestas are awesome, especially when dinnertime is 11 pm.
• My social anxiety is way worse in a foreign country. I, presumably, am one of the highest level students here (I'm done with my Spanish major after this trip), but I find it so hard to speak to people normally, in my native tongue, that all my Spanish just flies away when I need to talk to someone here. Also, I have no food vocabulary, which would be okay normally, but the first cafe I tried going to didn't have paper menus. Or maybe they did, but the waiter was sadistic and wanted to see me cry. He just said the options (there were 10) and I was supposed to pick. I had no idea what he said, or what I ordered.
• Walking around at 7:30 am means the only other people out are still drunk from last night, or honest to goodness nuns.

That's it for now. I can't wait to see Asterisk's next post about her birthday. Happy birthday!

--Jazz