AKA Abraham Bacoln

Things I Don’t Like:
Let’s get this out of the way first, since it’s a shorter list.

– My brain hurts. I can’t think.
– I slept 12 hours last night.
– I have spent the last 24 hours inside this building
– I’m not outside right now because of a huge lunch and I’m tired

That was quick!

Things I Do Like:

– I’m going on a walk in a few minutes, once my lunch settles.
– Lunch was fantastic. Sra. Perea prepared a delicious yet simple salad, a paella-type dish (she refused to call it paella since it wasn’t cooked in a paella pan over an open flame yet all the ingredients were the same) and then a ton of fresh fruit for dessert. I’m stuffed.
– I have had a small glass of wine with two of my meals. This is the way that it should be.
– The olive oil is fantastic, as is to be expected in a olive-growing region.
– The air is incredible. There are no bugs coming through my open window. I saw one housefly earlier.
– The apartment is tall and thin, many levels, with windows (and terrace and porch) only on the front. The inside is white walls and tile floors, and it feels delightful.
– No one turns on the lights in the darker back part of the apartment unless completely necessary. This is how I like to live at home so I find it wonderful.
– My room is downstairs which is cooler. The house is quiet with no AC running since it’s cool enough to not have to leave it on. I don’t even know if they have AC, actually – maybe these vents are only for heat.
– No one in my new family is slowing down their Spanish, which is great. I feel lost constantly and don’t care. I could identify by name all of the ingredients in my lunch (all three courses) so that’s good, right? Right! Zanahoria! Lechuga! Pollo! Cerdo! Aceite (de aceituna)! Gamba! and so forth.
– It’s time to go outside.

and shortly I won’t be able to keep track of the days, so I should abandon that Day X convention right now.

The check-in process at Nashville was completely painless, as was the flight to Philly. Here in the Philly airport I did some magic and made euros appear where US dollars once were, so now I am prepared to catch a taxi immediately upon arrival in Málaga.

I also ate some food court Chinese which in retrospect may not have been the awesomest idea. We’ll find out shortly when I go back up into the sky.

Oh, also, I couldn’t find anything in paperback on my bookshelf at home that called out to be read, so I took a gamble and waited until I got to the airport. I’m not sure it paid off, as now I’m the proud owner of the newest M. Crichton jawn, the name of which escapes me at the moment. I’m already 150 pages in and the names of the main characters also escape me at this moment, plus the plot is unbelievable and clichéd. Therefore, I declare the book an amazing success.

THERE IS NO INTERNET HERE IN PHILLY. I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THE WORDS I JUST WROTE.

….

time has passed since I was panicking right there, and I am now safe and sound in Málaga. My brain is a pile of moldy socks and my body is rebelling against being up this late (this early? who even knows what time it is?) but I’m staying up just a short bit longer to force myself onto a normal schedule. IT COULD WORK. givemycreationlife blah blah quoting young frankenstein

I won’t bore you with the details of the rest of my flights other than to remind you that each of my femurs is longer than you can hold your breath, and the airline seats are shorter than shortcake, and so any overseas flight is pretty hellish. I slept fitfully to say the least.

Oh, hey, and THEY LOST MY LUGGAGE (OF COURSE) IN GATWICK but who cares, I have spare underwear and t-shirts and socks in my carry-on because I am smart – SMRT – and so I’m not worrying.

I’m here, I’m with my new temporary family and their daughter (no comments from the peanut gallery) and their dog Roy (why a family in Spain has a dog named Roy I don’t know) and two other students. It looks like it’s gonna be a full house.

I have had Spanish pounded into my head for hours on end just now. I’m swimming in a sea of conjugations and unknown nouns. Discussing how to use cloves, honey, and oranges to make a Christmas ham just about took everything I got.

I’m pooped. I’m going to sleep. You all behave while I’m out.

…..

and now even more time has passed. It’s now Sunday morning. My luggage finally arrived so I can charge my laptop and post this message to you. I crashed for 12 hours last night and now feel a little bit like a normal human.

I had instant coffee with breakfast this morning. There’s something really really wrong with that idea. I’m going to see what can be done to rectify that when I go on a walk around my new neighborhood here shortly.

I think there’s a lot more to say, and I think I have too much sunshine outside right now to say it.

Oh, for those of you keeping track, I broke my brand new sunglasses. C’est la vie.

Tha’s it! I can’t write no mo!

p.s. I never finished that Crichton book. It started to really suck.

I kind of keep forgetting to mention this to you, internet, because I feel like everyone knows it already. I’m leaving for Spain at the end of this week. I’ll be there for a month and a half taking Spanish classes in Málaga.

And you know, right now that’s really all I have to say about it. Just doesn’t seem like much else needs mentioning.

Oh, wait, yeah, I have someone house-sitting for me and she’s armed and dangerous so don’t go trying to steal my basil plants or you’ll pay for it with your life (or at least with the loss of a large portion of your blood).

That’s it!

Oops, no, one more thing. I’ve had upwards of eleventeen people remind me that I must take pictures while I’m there. Don’t worry. I’m not going to somehow forget.

See you in August, will try to write before then.