...Excelente.

Hola amigos! Betty has alerted me that it's been over a week, oops. On that note, a review of this past week...

We started real classes on Wednesday! During our time here, we're taking: Historia de España, Arte español (!!!), Literatura (!!), Política y Sociedad, Entorno geográfico (Geography), Escritura (Writing), Música (!), Expresión oral, y Medios de comunicación. We'll start evening Spanish classes Mondays and Wednesdays starting next week. And there are no classes on Friday! yesss

I think it was the day before that that I got a book at the library. I asked the guys at the front desk if they would recommend a book for me, to see what would happen. I think they thought that was pretty funny. One of them brought me straight back to the novelas and pulled "Sin noticias de Gurb" off the shelf. He told me(in Spanish) that it was a fun book about an alien who comes to Barcelona disguised as a singer. I read the first few chapters to humor him, and it was cute, but I didn't feel like finishing it. I think I'll ask my lit professor to recommend something for me.

Friday we went to Alicante, about an hour's bus drive to the coast. It was beautiful!
Lots of palm trees...



A climb up to a castle...



The view from the castle...





And yes, we went to the beach. That's the Mediterranean! Admittedly, it was a bit on the chilly side, but we'll go back when it's warmer.



It was a good time. :)



We got back and went to Mary and Rafael's to pick up a package(thanks, Mom!). (They've been receiving our mail since our address doesn't seem to be working...) But, being the wonderful family that they are, we ended up staying for coffee and cookies and then eventually dinner, long story short, before going to youth group. Their hospitality blows me away. I can't begin to say how much they mean to me.

Saturday we went to the mercado and got some awesome deals. I personally got eight tasty apples for just under a euro! Each week I permit myself to buy something from a vendor who sells cheap delicious things like pastries and cookies. This week I got a "delfín de crema," which was essentially a long pastry with custard. Rachael asked to buy one cookie, but then the vendor gave her two for free!

Sunday there was a big potluck lunch after the church service, and it was delightful. We got to eat a lot of good food and talk to a lot of people. After lunch I got to play ping pong, which was especially exciting. :) Later we had some friends over for ice cream and a movie. Yay for cappuccino ice cream!

Coming soon: Weekend trip to Cartagena

♥Tracy