Well, fall is upon us here in Oviedo. The leaves have begun to change colors and the weather is chilly and wonderful (despite the rain that managed to catch me without an umbrella today...). It has been so wonderful, in fact, that I've taken to going to the big park to read my book. The first day, I found the perfect spot to read: a stone bench carved into a little hill. I had my book, boots, sweater, and Red Mug thermos filled with ColaCao (Spain's version of hot chocolate); it was absolutely wonderful. The next day, I decided to go back to the same "lovely" spot and was upset to find some random man, pants dropped, peeing next to the bench. Needless to say, I found a new "lovely" spot and couldn't help but to think that this was probably not the first time someone has peed on that bench. Ah well. The book I'm reading, if anyone's interested in knowing, is Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. It's about Dr. Paul Farmer and his endeavors to create a truly global health care system for the eradication of mortality from tuberculosis, mostly in Haiti, but this goal takes him all over - from Peru to Russia and everywhere in between. If you're looking for an inspirational book which proves that one person can truly make a world of difference, this is the book for you.
Back to fall. Fall is absolutely my favorite season. The weather, the smells, the flavors...with that being said, Oviedo doesn't have pumpkin flavored things. It's killing me guys. Literally, killing me. I would do so many terrible things to get my hands on a pumpkin spice latte or pumpkin muffin or my dad's homemade chili (doesn't fit with the pattern, I know. Get over it). Needless to say, this week has been my first account of being homesick while abroad. It's not a bad "get me home right now" homesick - just a "send me fall things and where can I find Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown on the Internet?" kind of homesick. I miss the fall traditions.
On a lighter note, November is quickly approaching! On the 19th, Mom and Marc are flying in and I'm so excited for them to come! We're going to go to Madrid for a couple days and then we're flying to Paris. When they leave, I have two days of school and then I'm leaving to go to Ireland. I've always wanted to go there! I'm working on planning it now. I'm just so excited about it!
Honestly, there isn't really anything new to inform of...I'm taking classes at the university and they're going really well so far. I'm taking four classes (my fifth class was cancelled because there were 3 of us in it...): Oral Expression (literally the worst class I've ever taken), Vocabulary, Hispanoamerica, and Art. I love the art class. It's like taking my freshman year of Humanities (my English/Art History course from high school) all over again, but in Spanish. (There have been so many times in my life where I've thought to myself, "Wow, I'm so glad I took humanities for four years". That is not a joke.) When classes are over or I have a break in between them, I usually go to the gym. It's such a far walk from my house, so I make good use of my time on the far side of the city so I don't have to walk back later. It's actually great: I really love the gym here. After classes, I usually come back to my house and do my homework, siesta, and eat dinner with my host parents before I go out at night. For those of you that know me, you know I'm an old soul, so this "going out" thing is fun, but I get bored of it quickly. I'm kind of at the point where I'd much rather stay in with a couple friends and watch a movie or go out for a couple glasses of wine and then not go to a club afterwards. This is why I love Tuesdays. Let me tell you about my Tuesdays really quick here: I have class, go to the gym, and then come back to eat lunch and siesta for about an hour. Next, I go teach a student English. I absolutely LOVE this. The boy's name is Miguel and he's 8 years old. He's incredibly smart, already taking English in school, and takes major pride in the fact that he's helping me learn Spanish while I'm helping him learn English. Which is very true. I get paid €13 for the hour-long session, which is very good. I honestly have fun with the little guy, so I feel like it's almost unfair that I get paid that much. When I get home from that, it's about 7:00pm. Every Tuesday, there's a language exchange at Boca a Boca, a little bar/café on the opposite side of town. I love going there. There are people from all over who want to speak in Spanish or English or French...It's so nice to go there with my friends, drink wine for €1 (best thing ever) and talk with all these people. I love it. Tuesdays are great.
Really, that's all I can think of that's new! But for realsies, if anyone's feeling generous or loving or anything along those lines, I'd never turn down a pumpkin-flavored anything...
Love from Spain,
Melissa
xxx
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