El primero día de clases y los bares

Today was my first day of classes. Classes started at 9:30 and we had to go early in the bus (the school of languages is a while north of the centro where I live) to see what class group we were in. Once again, I was lucky and my host mom took me to school :) I found a few people from my group on the bus and they seemed kinda lost on the bus so I'm just glad the my host mom is awesome! 

Turns out, I'm in Gruppo 6, the highest level, and I was not very excited to hear that. But both of my professors are funny and they talk very clearly and give us easy and in depth assignments so I actually LEARN something. Way better than my Spanish classes at Cal State this past semester. My first class is a literature class (which I was terrified to hear, because I just took that last semester and it was SO hard! But I guess I just had a really challenging professor because this class seems like it's going to be much easier. And I'll learn way more than I did in that class back home. My second class is a culture class with a French professor who confessed he was a lazy professor and that we won't get homework, but participation is 40% of our grade and 2 quizzes and/or exams are the other 60%. Fine by me! I'd rather wander around Spain than do homework anyway!

After class, a few of us met up with our professor to go to his bank so we could use his 0.5% exchange rate instead of the usual 3% exchange rate plus other fees. I assumed it would be close to school, and then he began RUNNING through the streets to get to the bank before it closes (even though we had plenty of time). He tells us to walk like Spaniards (who walk really slow actually, and do NOT sprint through groups of people) and to not look like a tourist. But when there are 6 students trying to keep up with our crazy screaming professor, it's kind of hard to not stand out...loco.

After that, I wandered my way home to get lunch before my family went to siesta. Turns out the fish and lentils they gave me for lunch was swordfish!! Haha they finally described it well enough once I was finished...so that was definitely interesting. My family must be well off because I though swordfish was expensive??

After lunch, I was considering doing my first siesta because I was SOOOO tired today, but a few of my friends were meeting up in the plaza around 4 so I scurried back over there so I wouldn't be sitting in a house all day until dinner. We ended up walking around and stopping a few bars for tapas, beers and coffee. That's what they do here I guess! Walk around and wander around all afternoon into some bars for some coffee and beer!

Ahhhh, so blurry! But it's all I have of actual people that I know!! 

 At this bar Quintos y Tapas, they had a bucket of 5 beers for €5.50 and that came with endless chips! (I know some people back home who would love to find prices like those during happy hour!) The chips...were kind of nasty. We came to the conclusion that they are popcorn flavored chips with artificial butter flavor. And of course, there were pieces of popcorn in the chips...

This next bar we went to was supposed to be an Irish pub, but it was more of just a bar with more Irish beers than all the others. The waitress here was so cute and nice! We had about 12 students from our program show up here, and even though most of them don't speak the best Spanish, she was still having fun and talking with us.

 The door to the back of the bar...haha so much excitement...

 So this fountain in in Plaza de Zorilla and apparently it is a clock. My professor was trying to explain it to us yesterday, but I still don't see it. I guess some of the rows mean hours and others mean minutes? Haha cool idea anyway!

After we were over our bar visiting, we decided to walk around and find something else to do or at least look around. It's still amazing to me that I can walk into a perfectly modern looking shopping mall and come out and find one random lone historic wall all by itself. Civilization has just been built around it over the years I guess!

We were walking though a strip mall of normal fancy designer stores, and all of the sudden we stumble upon this beautiful building beneath clouds?! Only in España...

After being approached and mildly harassed by a random barracho (drunk man) we decided to head home so we would miss dinner around 9:30 or 10:00. Just FYI, this picture above was taken around 8:45pm and the sun was still above the buildings. It doesn't get dark here until after 10pm!

After some Spanish hamburgesas for dinner with the family, and talking about where Miriam (the 15 year old daughter) should go when she studies abroad in California in July), I think it's time for me to go to breakfast early. My host mom is so proud of me that tomorrow is going to be my first day on my own with everything. She's showed me the customs of walking around, taking the bus, going to the stores, and eating meals, and now I must eat breakfast and go to school alone! Haha..she gave me a bus pass to borrow so I have time to find the kiosk that sells them tomorrow after class.

Time to sleep...hopefully for a long time tonight! I'm tired from all this running, sprinting, and walking through Spain! :) But that doesn't mean I don't love it!