more of the same.

a few more initial observations of spain:
1. almost everyone wears really nice clothes. this is more reserved for young adults-super old people, kids/teens dress much the same as they do in the states. but holy cow everyone else? women in heels, fur coats, elegant hats, men in suits, jeans with black or brown shoes, argyle sweaters, sports coats, slim ties. it's a very fashionable place.
2. a lot of doors don't actually shut themselves. i went to the university library yesterday and i walked in and the door didn't shut behind me, i had to shut it manually. doesn't seem that weird, but it really is.
3. it is not uncommon to see couples kissing in the park. or in bars. or at school. or anywhere. and i'm not just talking quick pecks here and there, straight up making out in public. it's weird. the other day i was walking through the big central park in town and i saw this couple on a park bench, the girl was sitting side saddle on the guy's lap and they were just sucking face like there was no tomorrow. and i don't normally use the expression "sucking face" very often, in fact almost never, because i don't really like it, but it applies here. the people here are passionate and wild. it's nuts.

so class is over for the week and i think i've got my schedule down pat. i am taking vocab, grammer, literature, art, and translation. pretty excited about these classes. it's strange though, my earliest class starts at 2 in the afternoon and my latest class ends at 9 pm. yeah. 9 pm. the whole day/night system for these people is so different than in the states. the nightlife doesn't really even get started until about midnight or 1, and then kids stay out most of the night and then just sleep until 10/11 in the morning (or later depending on the laziness of the kid, craziness of the previous night, etc.). so i'm still getting adjusted to that.

and euros! what a worthless currency. i don't know who decided to only make 1 and 2 euro coins and have the smallest paper bill be a 5 euro bill. sucks. i need a coin purse. which is the femmiest term i could've possibly thought of for that. also, the bills are a weird size so they don't fit in my wallet very well. i'm not totally on board with euros, but i'm in their country so i don't really have much a choice. on a brighter note, i've found people still do drop 1 cent euros, which i have taken to picking up whenever i see them on the ground.

i haven't listened to my ipod tons and tons since i've gotten here; a lot of walking time has been spent with other people and at night, and we were told not to use our ipods at night cause of theft problems. but when i get the chance, the main thing i've been listening to is michael jackson. don't know why. other than it's incredible. it's not the most "spanish" thing i could choose though. whatev. baby be mine and p.y.t. are in fierce competition for favorite song off thriller. it's hard because each song is winning until i play the other one. i miss playing guitar. a kid from our group brought his guitar though, and i've found a music shop downtown so i will hopefully get to play some guitar soon. and everytime i listen to thriller all i want to do is play with it. maybe sometime soon.

futbol game this weekend in gijon, a town twenty minutes away. i'm excited.

-jon