I really did do all that I said I would do on Tuesday, to my own amazement as well. Getting up was probably the worst part as I did eat all that candy and consequently felt like crap. I submitted my security deposit, went back home to eat breakfast, forgot to take my medicine, and left for ICADE.

Maggie, the other girl, and I talked classes for several hours after buying our book for our Spanish class. We have a new place we like to go to-- Starbucks. No, not for its outrageously priced coffee and pastries, but rather for its 45 minutes of free WI-FI that you get with a purchase of something from the counter. I had a lot of fun though getting to know this girl from our class and I finally started to feel like I was meeting other people.

We went to class and today was significantly less fun. I took a little cat nap during the worst part (despite my large cup of coffee) and left chatting with my new classmates. I started off in what I hoped was the direction of my friend's hotel and luckily found it 10 minutes early. I meandered looking for a good place for us to eat and found this great little hippy shop that reeked of incense.

On time, I returned to the hotel and reunited with a bit of Marquette. He and I had such a great time. We walked all the way to Puerta del Sol and found a small restaurant where someone was nice enough to help us with the menu. I got the impression that they wanted us out of there (even though it was empty) as all our food and drink was immediate and the waiter just hovered (very strange in Spain). We both had paella-- which my friend said was the best he's ever had-- and I even tried sucking the shrimp head. It didn't work but at least I tried-- an accomplishment as they leave the eyes on the shrimp. His second plate was rabbit-- again I was surprised as it was quite good-- while mine was salmon. Dessert was a tiny slice of ice cream and packaged flan. The meal was slightly dry but very fun. I was discovering that the best nights had been including reminders of home.

We then walked from Sol back to his hotel and past into Casa de Campo. We didn't go far into the park as I didn't want to get lost and it was very cold out. But we talked of Spain and the culture and other Americans and what we are looking for in this experience. We've been told so many times that this experience will change you and be unbelievable right off the get-go. But that's not true yet. I feel like I've been waiting for something to start. He and I talked about how one can't just wait-- if I'm going to be awed, I've got to make it happen. I wouldn't want to be changed against my will either. Change takes commitment and work; I may realize I need to change through what I learn here, but I will be the changer. I realized I wouldn't want to be lazy in all this and just let it happen. We should be doing the work.

I also realized what it is I feel like I'm missing here, why I don't feel completely happy and blown out of my mind. I miss good, intellectual talk. I've had some with Arielle, Maggie, Tim, and this friend, but nobody new yet. I can't expect new friends just to jump the gun on it either. I need to be patient and establish a strong base before we really delve into something deeper. So I'm impatient. I'm impatient to make more friends and feel at home here. Because for me, home is comfort with other people. I found that so quickly at Marquette that now I don't know how to find it here. It was so easy to make friends before that now I'm struggling. I can only try and be patient.

We said goodbye and thank you for such a wonderful time, and we went our separate ways. I curled up in bed and, as I was feeling sick, racked up a full 10 hours of sleep.

Wednesday I got up, dressed, walked down to ICADE, talked with my program director, went to Starbucks to figure out my budget and do some homework, and then walked back to school for class. Afterwards two girls in my class, Maggie, and I all went out for tapas and drinks. We had a meter of Sangria (very funny experience as I was incredibly confused as to what I should do) and patatas mixtas. These were unbelievable. Mostly thick-cut french fries with brava salsa and aioli sauce on it. Later, a class of calimocho (red wine mixed with coke) and a bacon sandwich (yes, Mascitti family, a bacon sandwich).

On the way home one of the girls and I bought candy. Which I ate an entire bag of. Again. During the night I had a stomach ache and a dry mouth. The things we do....

Things I learned:

1. I forgot to factor in my books to my budget. Crap.

2. I may have made a huge fashion error of judgement as everyone has been looking at my olive green tights today. I swear they look cute.

3. I need to stop buying large amounts of candy only to eat it all in one sitting. Half of this equation has to change. I think we all know that I'm probably just going to continue to eat large amounts of candy so I can regret it later.

4. Eating an orange (this means peeling as well) with a fork and knife is very difficult. I succeeded proudly and with aching fingers.

5. My spanish teacher is kind of crazy, but in a very good way. She tries to make everything fun and does a pretty good job... for class.