I did not have my classes today. Therefore, I slept until 11am. I felt a lot better after that, as you could have guessed. I had a clementine and a banana for "breakfast" which were incredible, of course. I tried to use the shower which didn't get warm at all and had to use the other bathroom's shower. As you read in my last post, the water doesn't get very warm which is quite annoying now, but when it is extremely warm here during the summer, I am sure it is quite nice.
Last night was the family dinner. I am not exactly sure who the people were that came over. It was just one couple in their 60's and a young girl who is going to marry my host mother's grandson in May. I am not sure of the relationship with the couple, but they were very nice and brought the one of the tiniest dogs I have ever seen. It looked like a yorkie mixed with a chihuahua, so it was kind of scary and ugly but also cute because it was so tiny and so old. Anyway, I didn't talk much at the dinner table, because I wasn't sure what they talked about a lot of the time. The girl who is marrying the grandson is very loud and very personable, but I couldn't understand half of what she said. I know she was discussing her upcoming wedding and was telling them about the food and the flowers. The man asked her if the the place she had picked for the reception had smoking (they just passed a law here that bans smoking in some places so it is still a big deal here too), and she said yes. He got very upset and went on a rant about the new smoking law. I didn't understand all of what he was saying either, but I think he is not very happy with it. We discussed this for probably 15 minutes or more, and they also asked me what the law was in the U.S. so in a very choppy, horrible manner, I tried to explain it and I think they understood though I of course used the wrong verb tenses. So that was interesting. We had pieces of chicken (I think it was like a rotisserie chicken but Carme cooked it herself) and some seasoned potatoes which were amazing. After we ate, she brought out a huge plate of salami and sausage and cheese, and they ate almost of that too but I didn't try any of it. Then she brought out the giant fruit bowl and they all ate fruit. They have weird habits here. The lady took her knife and peeled her apple, and to open their bananas, they all used a knife to cut off the top instead of just peeling it. I was just watching and giggling inside thinking of how weird it would look if someone did these things in the U.S. at the table. They eat SO MUCH FOOD at meals. She always gives me tons of food and asks if I want more. So that was my family dinner last night, and they will be back every Thursday. After dinner, Brent and I chatted on Skype for a while which was really nice. I didn't even cry like I thought I would. It just felt like I was at Vandy and he was at MTSU. I'm sure after a few weeks it will really hit me, but for now I am okay, especially because of the existence of Skype.
Today after I showered, I ate lunch with everyone. We had "arroz cubano" (Cuban rice) which was white rice with a thick tomato sauce and also fried eggs (I think they were cooked in olive oil) and 2 hot dogs with cheese (???? no clue where those came from haha). It was strange and delicious! After lunch, I met Hannah downstairs and we headed off to our adventure of the day.
Today was soooo beautiful. It was by far the nicest day here so far. I didn't even really need to wear my coat. It was sunny and about 60. We decided to go to the Museum of Modern Art in Palma. Being that Brent is an amazing, realistic artist, and I respect his work more than Picasso's work, I am not a huge fan of modern art but thought it would be fun. It was one of the worst things ever, but I am glad I went. The art was a joke. I took a few photos with my phone camera that I will post to show how ridiculous the art was. The best parts were seeing an original Salvador Dali painting and a few of Picasso's early sketches which were actually decent. The museum was really weird in that it is always free, and there isn't really anyone there to monitor you in the gallery except for one person at the front desk. Though the art definitely was not my style, I am glad that we went.
After the museum, we walked around to little shops for a while and also got more chocolate caliente.. yum. That stuff is addictive. We walked by some bars/restaurants that were so cute and cozy. I can't wait to go to some. We went to Zara which is an awesome clothing store near my house. I got some long sleeve shirts and a new pair of jeans, because I am running out of clothes! They don't do laundry here very often. Then we headed to H&M again to check out their new stock. I got some jackets and more long sleeve shirts and socks at H&M and tried to pay, and my card didn't work. So I had to call the bank (which I had to figure out how to do since it is international) and sort it out with the fraud department. In about 30 minutes, I had it solved and was able to purchase my goods at H&M! It started raining pretty hard right before we were about to head home, but luckily, by the time we started walking it had calmed down. Oh! I also saw a bar called "Bar Tulsa" on the way.. I thought that was sooo weird so I texted my mom a picture of it. I can't believe my hometown of Tulsa is represented here, though it probably means something else here. I definitely want to go in there one night for vino and tapas.
As soon as I returned home, Carme came home from having tapas with her friend, and she cooked me some chicken breasts and carrots and peas. I also had a kiwi after that, and I dug out the fruit with a spoon. It was one of the best pieces of fruit I have ever had, and she is going to get some more for me.. yay! Oh, we also stopped by a little market to get some fruit, and Amit got some fresh lychees that you had to peel open to eat (I had never had them like this, only in cans and jars), and he shared one with me and it was soooo good! I think I love fresh (organic) fruit more than any other food in the world.
My leg is feeling a lot better today, though it is a little sore from all the walking I did today. I am going to sleep early (right now), because I am so sleepy and my body is exhausted. I might read a little of Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal before bed.
Buenas noches!
-Lynne
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