El Festival de Luz y Sonido

 So, I haven't posted in a while, but that's because we've mostly been going to class this week. Trust me, you're not missing much. The days have been long and boring. I love my classes and professors! Really, I do. But, it's just not blog-worthy, ya know?

 But, today was special. I had no classes, but that didn't mean it was a free day for me. I had an essay to write and print, a short story to read, and a meeting to go to. 

 At night, my friends and I went to El Festival de Luz y Sonido that we had heard about a few days ago. It was at a place called, Plaza Zocodover, a popular place where people like to eat and shop. It was basically a show displayed from projectors onto this building, called Alcázar, which has a library and a museum. 

 There was a super long line to go up the stairs to the building. It was clear that this was an occasion that all the locals look forward to every year. This reminded me of going to see fireworks because it was free, there were tons of people, and the show was so well done! 

 At 10:00 pm, a countdown started for 5 minutes. Once it started, a narrator told some legends of Toledo. One legend was a love story about a poet, named Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. It was so neat! In the end, it showed the Spain flag, and there were colors changing and flashing on the building. It was incredible! 

 Then, we walked back to the foundation because we have a trip tomorrow! Now, I've got to go pack for tomorrow and go to sleep. 

 Kthnxbai! 

Nuevas Amigas

 After getting dressed and ready for the day, my roommate Gleida said we had to get a room 15A+B picture, and I said of course! I headed downstairs and breakfast, which was a piece of bread with strawberry jelly, a few slices of orange, and a more sweet, fruity piece of bread. I also felt fancy with my wine glass filled with water. 

 I talked with some friends a bit, and then we met with the directors and other students for the guided tour of Toledo. We all got on a bus, and as we went through the city, a tour guide told us the history of many of the buildings and geographical features. 

 We stopped and got off the bus at a lookout point. It had an incredible view of the city. I had no words. Just... wow. We took lots of pictures, then continued throughout the city. 

 That red circle in that picture? That's the foundation, where I'm staying and going to school. 

 Next, we walked around a bit around some old monasteries and convents and listened to the stories and history behind them. 

 Then, the tour was over! We had an awesome tour guide! She was really nice and interactive. Then, we had free time until lunch, my friends, Maggie, Heidi, Lauren, and I went exploring. There was a poetry festival going on with poem readings and vendors with books and handmade jewelry and clothes. 

There were some interesting clothes at this vendor, including a jean jacket with Frida Kahlo on the back and this jean jacket with a super cool painting that I saw at the Prado museum by Hieronymus Bosch. Hey! So, I guess you do get to see a piece of artwork from the Prado museum. Ha. 

(Please excuse this break in alignment. Google isn't being very kind right now...)

 When we found our way back to the foundation without getting lost somehow, We found that we had assigned seats at this lunch. I sat with some people I had already met before, but I was excited to talk and eat with them again. I ate chicken with a delicious broth, a pasta dish with vegetables, potatoes with tomatoes, and a few chips with a ranch dip, and bread. You can't have a Spanish meal without bread. 

 After we put our plates away, we played a game. Each person picked a piece of paper with a character or celebrity. That name has an obvious partner that had to be found. I had Minnie Mouse and I had to ask "yes" or "no" questions to find Mickey Mouse. After asking many, Minnie people if they were an animal, I finally found Mickey! And it was my roommate, Mari! We got our prize: cookies and coffee. I love that it was Mari! She is so sweet and awesome! I love talking about music and books and other random things with her. Also, she is super helpful when I make a mistake, speaking Spanish. We are always learning from each other too. She is really curious about learning words in English. I've never really been close to a roommate, so this is amazing. 

 Then, I took a nap and read a bit of one of my favorite books, The Selection. Around 8:30, we went to eat dinner. We had vegetables, meatballs, broccoli and cheese, and of course, bread. It made me miss my mom's turkey meatballs. Those are the best! 

  Now, I have classes tomorrow. Lots of classes. So, I've got to get some sleep. 

  Kthnxbai!

Un Paseo y Una Fiesta

 I got my class schedule today!

 First, I had a placement test to take in the morning. It wasn't too bad.

 After a few hours, based off of the results and my requests from earlier in spring, I got my schedule! It's a little crazy because I have four classes on Monday, no classes on Tuesday, and four classes on Wednesday, and no classes on Thursday and Friday! So, the good thing is that I have two extra days to travel on the weekends. But, I have a long Monday and Wednesday. So... we'll see how this goes.

 About an hour later, we had lunch. We had paella. It was the version without seafood, which was a bit disappointing, but I understand why, and I can get the seafood version another time. And guess what! I have a picture. Ha.

 Then, after staying a while and talking, my roommates and I talked about random stuff and listened to fun songs in Spanish. Then, Maggie and I headed out for a walk around the city.

 First, we were searching for a particular supermarket, but then it was closed. So, we started looking for another one, but then we got lost. Then, we decided to get a snack and sit at the plaza. We got some oranges and people-watched. It was great.

 We walked around some more to places we hadn't been to before. We found a massive, ornate library that, unfortunately, was closed.

 While we were next to the huge library, the view in front of us amazed us. We took a few pictures and then walked towards it to see what else was over there. We discovered that it was a park! We asked our friend, Google, and he told us that it was called Paseo Miradero, meaning a lookout stroll (that's a weird translation but that's what I got. Hopefully it makes sense.)

 Roll Tide! I kept seeing decorative elephants at souvenir shops and said "Roll Tide!", explaining the phrase to Maggie. I also told my friend, Dawn that even though I didn't go to the game, or know the score, or know how we played against yesterday... (I know, I'm bad.) I still supported Alabama in another country with my shirt! I definitely planned this... 

Then, we decided to make our way back to the foundation for a meeting we had to be at in about an hour. We took some turns, and basically... we got lost. We had consulted Google once again for some help. He's better at reading maps than we are. At least we tried, right?

 We had a fun meeting about information about the semester. I'm actually not being sarcastic when I say that it was fun. The staff is so great and energetic, that it was actually enjoyable.

 Then, we had a party. We saw on our orientation schedule that there was to be a fiesta de bienvenidos, but I don't think we really understood that it was a real party. It was awesome. There were fancy tables out in the courtyard with small appetizers everywhere and one table with wine glasses to drink soda. I thought that this was especially awesome because when I would look up this program throughout the summer, I saw people in this same courtyard, doing the same thing! It seems like they throw this party every year! We all got a plate and filled it with what looked pretty and delicious. We all picked somewhere to sit and talked and ate our tapas. 

 A little later, we were asked to move because there was going to be a surprise and we were in the way. We were all confused, but just moved and continued eating.

 When five men came out with Spanish guitars, dressed in typical Spanish musicians' clothes, I knew this was going to be an actual fiesta de bienvenidos. They got us to dance, serenaded Mari, my roommate, and included two of the guys in our program, who sang a few words in Spanish. These musicians were really entertaining and energetic.

 I'm not sure what happened after that, because as the introvert I am, I took a shower and called my mom, brother, dad, and friend with Face Time. Then, I went to sleep, excited for another adventure in the city of Toledo.

 Kthnxbai!

OH! ALSO- First, if you are reading this, you are awesome. Thanks for making it this far down the page and in the blog. Second, if you would like to send me letters, I'd like that too. I've got the information you need for that. So you can just text/ direct message me on Facebook/ Instagram/ GroupMe/ and however else and I can get that to you!