Malaga in Brief

About a week and a half after Mom and Dad left, my friends and I found out that we were getting a long weekend (every weekend is seriously a long weekend in May in Madrid, to the point where they use the word “puente” or ‘bridge’ to jokingly refer to the tendency of madrileños to stretch the weekend out). So, on Wednesday 3 friends and I decided to go to the Costa del Sol on Friday. It ended up being a great decision. We took the bus, which is pretty cheap (35euro roundtrip from Madrid). Malaga is the birthplace of Picasso and Antonio Banderas. It’s really pretty much a beach town. The water was freezing and the sea floor was so course that the soles of my feet were red and raw, but the sun was out and the clouds were nonexistent. The ambience was fantastic, between the andalusian sun, the ancient bullring in the middle of town, the ancient walls leading to an old fortress (alcazaba), green plazas, fountains and flowers. Also, it turns out that people are generally pretty friendly to a group of four foreign girls. We got to hike up the alcazaba and had a gorgeous view of the city there, and we saw a Picasso exhibit. I also turned African on that trip, or one might say pulled a “reverse Michael Jackson.” It was a great vacation, which I obviously needed to get away from the grind (note sarcasm: this trip was less than 2 weeks after mom and dad left).

But seriously, people – I do work here! It’s just not interesting enough to write a blog about, though I am a nerd and my favourite classes here are Morfología and the History of the Spanish language from the 15th Century to modern times… Do you REALLY want a blog on that?? No.

I’m sorry these blogs are so delayed. I’ve been in the library! Last week was our last week of classes, and I had an exam and presentation yesterday in Morf. I think they went really well and I had a good chat with my teacher after the presentation. She told me I have a really good accent, but I mumble. My response: my mom tells me I mumble all the time in English. So, I’m working on that whole enunciation thing! In other news, my laptop is STILL in the shop – they are taking their SWEET time figuring out what’s wrong with it, and EMILY AND PHIL are coming tomorrow!

Also, for those of you who haven’t heard the mugging saga:

my cell along with my purse (wallet, lipstick, comb) were robbed from me when my friend julia and i were walking to catch the train at atocha at 5:30am. i was being verbally harassed around the sol area by an African man when we proceeded to walk to our train station. 15 minutes or so after the said harassment the SAME guy ran out of nowhere and was leaning against a stop sign in front of us, catapulted himself onto me (julia tried to intersect him, kick him with her boots, hit him with her ring and i tried to hit him off) but he ripped my purse off its strap and threw me to the ground. i had body scratches and a sore shoulder for about a week. julia called the police 5 times and they weren't answering then just told us to go to the police station and hung up. I was definitely a bit rattled, but have gotten everything cancelled and replaced, and fortunately no one got too badly hurt. Also, I only had enough cash to get home with; so, he didn’t get anything too valuable. It was, of course a shame, and we had been coming back from this fantastic party that Julia and I got invited to buy these two guys who own this awesome clothes store in Malasaña; so, it kind of put a damper on the evening…

Other than that, I have been loving this city. I have a terrace I sit on near the Royal Palace that is the perfect mix of sun, people-watching and quiet bustle. It is the perfect place to study! Also, I have been to some free art exhibits, including a photo exhibit from the MoMA, and an exhibit called “Sleeping Beauty” at the Prado. I also saw this movie called Sin Límites (in English, I think they’re calling it Little Ashes), anyways it’s about Dalí and my favourite Spanish poet, Federico García Lorca and how they allegedly had an affair. It was interesting, but nothing to write home about, although it starred Robert Pattinson (Edward from TWILIGHT) as Dalí. I am really looking forward to the end of exams (the 19^th) because I’ll have a week in Madrid to do my favourite things: lounge in sunny Retiro park, loiter around the Royal Palace, go to La Latina/El Rastro, rummage through old bookstores in Malasaña, catch some art exhibits and walk through the rich streets near Metro Salamanca. I went to a great Great Lake Swimmers Show the other weekend. Also, booked a trip to Paris FOR 6 DAYS (June 27^th to July 2^nd). I’m meeting up with 3 friends there, who actually are going to be there with a couple of friends from home. It will be grand! Anyways, so I guess this wasn’t so brief. Okay, I gotta go log in those library hours before the MURPHS come. I have an exam tomorrow and then two more on the 18^th and 19^th.

Some quick shout outs to:

MAURA for helping me get money while the rents were in India

Joe, J’lyn and Steve for sending me a sweet care package with zesty orange flavoured swine flu meds in it

And Sara, for finding THIS http://www.amazon.com/Oodles-Lindoodla-Coochy-Coodles/dp/B000ERAOJG for those of you who remember my beloved longlost childhood figurine that went by the name of “Lil’ Whistler” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUDaQbRKCTM

Okay, keep it real peeps, and I’ll be seeing you soon!