Dogs in sweaters, angry taxi drivers, and speeding cars

---

Today was a really good day. I didn’t go on the last ISA trip to Ronda, because I had already gone with my parents and I have a lot of work to do this weekend, and initially I was worried that I would regret it, but with all that happened, how could I possibly?

I guess I’ll start with last night, because that’s when the fantastic-ness began. After dinner with Mishri and Kate in a neighborhood far from my own, I waved down a taxi to transport me back home. I got in, announced my destination, and then heard the car’s speakers announce, “Where are you from? What kind of music do you like? What kind of movies do you like?” He was learning English from a CD, and it was playing. I burst out laughing, and he grinned at his good fortune. “Where are you from?” He tentatively pronounced. He was from Colombia, and was learning English “so that I can find an English-speaking girlfriend.” Why did he want an English-speaking girlfriend? “So that we can speak English!” Oh, of course! I suppose that’s one of those “chicken or the egg” type deals. He asked a few taxi related questions “So when the person gets into the cab, and I want to know where they’re going, what do I say?” but soon enough we were in front of my apartment, and I paid and went on my merry way, chuckling at the beauty of coincidence. Lola said I should have only offered to help him if he wrote off the fare. “Every time you need a ride, you call him up, and then he practices English and you get a free trip!” Haha I really should have suggested that.

So back to today. It’s Friday, which is always a good day because I don’t have class but it’s not technically the weekend. It’s a bonus day! So I slept a little later than usual, took a lazy breakfast, then went to meet Mishri and Kate for studying at the University of Sevilla. On my way there, I saw a woman walking a dog dressed in an argyle sweater, and knew it was going to be a good day. A random guy also said something to me about my mother, but I’m not exactly sure what because that was the only thing I understood, so I let it go. He was probably just saying that she must be very pretty.

THEN, while walking through the center, I saw a huge line of taxis with signs on their roofs start to clog the streets. They were holding a demonstration of some sort, though I couldn’t really tell you what. One of the signs said “Bikes, buses, metros, trams, and what about the taxis?” I’m not really sure what they were getting at with that… is the city supposed to cut down on cheaper forms of transportation so that the taxis make more money? So they were on strike. It must have been resolved quickly, though, because I saw some driving around a few hours later. “What an exciting day this is turning out to be!” I thought. But it got better.

Studying at the U of Sevilla ended up not working out because they’re internet misers and I couldn’t get online to do my homework, so I starting heading over to ISA and ran into Mishri who had given up earlier than I had. We approached the street, and after seeing a huge crowd I suddenly remembered- today was the day the street was closed so they could film some scenes for a movie! We’ve been hearing a lot about it lately: “Knight and Day,” an action flick starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. So we tried the back way… and ended up having to be escorted to the building by police officers because it we actually had to walk a little bit on set. I was over the moon; I love movies! Haha I always like to think that I wouldn’t be star struck if I met a celebrity, but I totally would be. The truth is I didn’t even really see anything too exciting, no stars, not even any actors, really. They were filming the same scene over and over, and all I know is that it involved guns and two sweet looking black convertibles (sorry, not really all that car savvy so that’s all I can give you) that sped down the narrow street while their occupants took shots. Vrooooom pow pow … pow pow. Woooowwww. 😊

Could this day get any better? That was probably the climax, I’ll be honest, but then I got invited to a play with Kate and her host mom. It’s a little hard to stay interested in a play that’s based almost entirely on dialogue, but it was still an interesting experience. I only understood a few phrases here and there, definitely not enough to follow. Let’s see if I can relate some lines of the play to you from my point of view.

Actress 1: Reoijmfamweyfmdoriemthamdirmeity!
Actress 2: That is not true!

So yea. A little difficult. But I’m always up for anything new, which explains why tomorrow I will be getting on a bus at 10:30 for a six-hour trip to Madrid to see Andrew Bird (American guitarist and singer) perform, then getting on the 1am back to Sevilla, which will arrive at 7am. “I fully support you!” said Lola when I told her of the plan, “Do things like that while you can! I would die, but at your age, you can do anything!” Like I told my dad, if you can’t do something ridiculous once in awhile, what’s the point of living?

---