You mean I actually have to work?!?!

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So this past week I spent some time in the library at Nebrija. I just turned in a paper for my theater class on Garcia Lorca´s play La Casa de Bernarda Alba. The paper counted as my midterm grade, so I wanted to make sure that it was well written. Also, on Wednesday I have my midterm for my art and civilization class. We don´t have any grades for this class yet, and there is so much information on this test, so the studying is going to continue until then....que triste, ¿no?

But don´t worry, I haven´t been trapped in the library for the past week! This past Wednesday was El dia de la Hispanidad in Spain, so we didn´t have class! Julie, Heather, Ashley, Oli, and I went to the desfile (parade) that morning! The parade was pretty cool! There were tons of people there watching it too, but we got there early enough that I was still able to see 😊 They had tanks, horses, trucks, soldiers, etc marching so it was a military parade of sorts.

Thursday I went to Palacio (a discoteca) for the international students night. At Palacio, they give you a name tag with the country you are from so it´s really fun getting to walk around and see so many different countries! I went with two chicos from Argentina, and they taught me how to salsa! So fun! And on Friday we had our class in The Prado again. I really really like having class there now. I am not much of an art person, but I feel I have a greater appreciation for the works of famous Spanish artists now that I know a little more about it.

So Friday afternoon, we decided that since this was a free weekend that we should go somewhere on Saturday. So we went to the train station and asked the information desk guy which town in Spain he would recommend to tourists 😊 And he said that we should go to a town an hour and a half away from Madrid called Avila. So we look in a book on Spain, and it says that Avila has a really big festival each year celebrating Santa Teresa. And the festival just happens to take place every year on....October 15th. We all decided that this was a sign that we should go to Avila, so we left the next morning at 11:30 and were there by 1. Upon entering the city, there is this huge plaza and it was filled with people celebrating! We walked a little farther into the city and there was a parade going by! We followed the parade til it ended in another plaza. They shot off cannons, etc, and it was so much fun! Avila also has this huge wall (La muralla de Avila) that surrounds the city (was used for protection). We walked along the top of the wall and the views were amazing. We also visited the town´s cathedral as well as the convento de Santa Teresa (seemed appropriate as it was a celebration for her!) We also tried "las yemas de Avila" which is a sugary pastry. It was pretty good, but tasted just like sugar mixed with eggs. We left Avila at 7:30. I wanted to stay later because they were having a concert and fireworks (also part of the festival) but we had to get back. Saturday night I went to an "intercambio" with Heather. The "intercambio" is through my university (Nebrija, not Furman) where they set up groups of international students with Spanish students who want to improve their English. But it ended up just being Heather and I and 4 Spanish guys. They were really nice though! We went to a bar and spoke Spanish the entire time, so Im not really sure what they wanted out of the intercambio.... (ususally its half in spanish, half in english) but it was good for Heather and me!

So this weekend wasn´t quite as crazy as some previous ones....probably good for the health of my parents! I´m putting up pictures from Toledo and what I did over the last two weeks because I couldn´t get any of them to post last time. So you get double today 😊 ¡Hasta luego amigos!

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Photos

Studying hard!!
This one´s for you, Grandpa! Yes, I am in the library

El desfile
I got my picture taken with some of the Spanish soldiers at the parade on El dia de La Hispanidad

The festival in Avila
This was taken at the entrance to the city

La muralla de Avila
Me walking along the top of the wall

On top of the wall
Heather and me on top of the wall with the cathedral in the background

Toledo
The river that surrounds the city

Cailin´s birthday
Oli and Cailin in the restaurant for Cailin´s 21st birthday