Muy bueno

"I had the best day with you today." Shout out to Taylor Swift for this quote that describes the past two days here. Honestly I would have come to Spain just to experience the past two days.

First of all, I love my Spain Mom. She has such a carefree attitude and her favorite expression (and now mine and Megan's) is "no pasa nada"... direct translation doesn't really make sense but it basically means don't stress, it's no big deal, I do not care...kind of all wrapped into this phrase of relief whenever my roommate and I say "lo siento" (Im sorry), which we tend to do a lot. My favorite time of day is around 9 p.m. because we get to have dinner with Mama and Roberto and talk about our day and learn more about each other's lives. This is the only time we see her all day because she goes to work early and is taking a siesta when we get home from school. Mama is hilarious! Always talking about the cute boys and how if we want to stay out all night no pasa nada. It's the antithesis of life in the States so we are still getting used to this care free attitude. In class today, my teacher said that Americans live to work but in Spain they work to live. It really is something that I am not used to but it is really relaxing. Never before have I felt that if I did not take a nap I would be judged, at school it is the other way around. Anyways, all this to say, Mama is teaching us to cook. Last night we made pizza from scratch (crust and everything) and then we had coca cola light (diet coke) as a treat for making our own dinner. It was a great experience because she really wanted us to learn and enjoy every aspect of life like they do here.

Also, my class in school is wonderful! It is full of people from all over the world: Australia, China, Germany, and the U.S. The other day we had a partener exercise where we learned about someone else in our class. I was paired with a girl from China. The only thing we have in common is that we know Spanish and so it was so neat to see how a language can unite people. She is adorable (her Spanish name is Juana) and she covers her mouth everytime she laughs and it just makes you want to take a picture and give it to someone having a bad day.

When Megan and I were in the Plaza yesterday we were talking in English. I kept noticing out of the corner of my eye a man in his thirties that was staring at us and wearing sunglasses. First thought: this is bad news bears, we are in a foreign country and he wants to rob us or something. Second thought:...well I did not have time for that one because next thing I knew he walked up to us and said "Hello. May I practice my English with you." We spent the next hour talking about his passion for theater and how our trip has been going so far. It was so precious, my heart stills skips a beat everytime I think about it (ha, lesson to learn from this: I'm ridicuous). Now we have decided that we will try to meet up with him a few times a week to practice our second languages. I heart Daniel the Spanish actor. 

Also yesterday (busy day), a group of us went into the mountains and hiked! When we got to the top we could see for miles... all the way to Madrid! It was beautiful. Also at the top was our new Romanian friend, who, for lack of a better word is a stud. He told us that he runs down the mountain all the time. (Background info: This mountain is VERY steep, we crab walked down this mountain that he runs..silly Americans). I did not know much about this mountain before we hiked it and so wore chacos. Big mistake because they kept slipping off my feet and so I climbed up and down the mountain barefoot. (Mom, tell Carson that I worked out the natural arch of my foot, he should be proud. Long live the debate about Five Finger shoes.) At the bottom of this mountain, we had to cross a river that had a small waterfall type embankment. It was hilarious to watch everyone almost fall in the water until it was your turn to go, because then the joke was on you. But, no pasa nada, it was freezing and served as an ice bath for our tired feet. Perfecto. 

One quick tip: if you study abroad to Spain, get a roommate. Megan and I have gotten to be good friends so quickly because we rely on each other and talk all night about Spain and back home.

After this long Positive Polly blog I should probably mention the two negative things about Spain: their milk is warm and chunky (not a fan) and they are not friendly in the streets. A life growing up in the South has taught me that you always smile and wave at people you do not know in the streets. And when you are in the store, the main purpose is not your shopping list but to make new friends. Here people look at me as though I am from another country when I wave *ironic*. 

Interesting fact about Spain: they are very family oriented. Children go to school in the same place they grew up. The idea of going to University away from home is unknown to them. Mama was very surprised when I said that Mississippi State is three hours away from my house because in her culture I should be living with my family while attending school and not moving out until I have a family of my own and can buy an apartment.

"That's all folks."