where to start about the world cup final? I went to the stadium where I had watched the last 2 games at around 5:30 and there were already a ton of people there posted up in the street. chris curtis and i decided to go try to grab refreshments from a grocery store and end up running into a ton of friends at the doner kebap with a great view of the game on tv, so we watch the first half there. we decide that we need to experience the madness though after seeing the port of valencia on tv so we all hop cabs out there and i was blown away by the number of people there. i couldn't see the end of the sea of heads bouncing around screaming for their team,

singing for their country. it was pretty unbelievable. after a little while of trying to find the best spot to actually see anything over thousands of heads, we ended up getting a great view for overtime right in the middle of the crowd on the ground. when iniesta scored, i think my eardrums broke, and maybe my cheeks too from smiling so much. everyone was hugging and dancing and singing and just in a state of pure euphoria. for like 30 or 40 minutes we were there in the middle of it all watching people's reactions and freaking out ourselves. we walked past a fountain that was filled with people who had jumped in and i decided i had to go for it and jumped in.. so worth it. after struggling to find our group we ended up splitting up and heading toward the centro and ended up in plaza ayuntamiento which was the exact right place to go. everything there was chaos. it seemed like everyone had fireworks, and there was the incessant noise of the song we've all come to love, "yo soy español español español." also, everyone loved giving us face paint in the colors of the spain flag. after climbing a couple statues for a better view of everything we made our way toward el barrio carmen to continue celebrations. from there the night ended up getting a little wierd, waiting for pizza with some friends in the street for about an hour and dancing a little before calling it a night and taxiing home for class the next morning. the next day when the spain team arrived in madrid, their bus couldn't go anywhere because of the absurd amounts of people in the plaza.

all in all, i am so so glad that the odds ended up in my favor, i mean what are the chances that this year, this month, while i'm here, spain wins the world cup?? awesome.

the next week was spent a little in recovery mode, doing lots of homework and finding some new fun bars around my neighborhood. there's a feria de julio en the rio this month that has a ferris wheel (noria) and fair games and food, which i LOVE. it reminded me of the dixie classic a little, but way smaller and way fewer people getting stabbed. we had some awesome drinks and grilled corn with lemon and oil on it, you have to try it, it's amazing. the prizes for the games were a little more interesting than in the states though, for instance, you can win a coffee maker or a leg of ham. we went up on the ferris wheel with perfect timing right as the sun set so we had insane views of all of valencia with cotton candy clouds in the background so that was really nice. that night turned into one of those nights where everyone wants to go out but we never end up going anywhere, just walking around for a while and stopping in random fun places when our ADD kicks in.

thursday was fun because uncle nandi was in town and i got to go to lunch with him and eliseo and pilar. we went to a place right beside the school basically but the food was INSANELY good. it's fun to go out to eat with spanish people and try to keep up with the conversations, i can hold my own alright but luckily they're all teachers so they help to correct me when i mess up. also help me when i order coffee at the beginning of the meal instead of at the end (rookie move.)

we went to the cathedral for our afternoon class with profesor valle, and learned all about the history and the "holy grail" there. i think i'm just going to believe it's the holy grail until it's disproven.. why not, right? and we saw some cool art pieces by goya and the ceiling at the front of the alter is gorgeous. also, they have some arms and bones of dead saints, which was kinda creepy and gross. thursday night though we went to umbracle and a lot of the people i went with hadn't been before so that was fun to see their reactions to the gogo dancers and purple lights and cabanas. it was a fun night of dancing and a fun next morning in class when we all laugh at eachother's tired faces.

friday we left for ibiza in the afternoon, and the trip started off at a hectic pace when we realized 10 minutes before boarding that we needed our passports and that our copies wouldn't work to go on the boat. so 3 of us had to grab taxis and go james bond style through the streets back to our apartments, sprint up the stairs, sprint through my apartment while trying to yell an explanation to my madre in spanish, and back to the port before the boat left. luckily, we all made it (20 euros in cab fees later). the boat was a little longer than anticipated but in all,

a good way to travel and we all were really impressed with the quality of our 17 euro/night hostel that was in a prime location in san antonio. one of the rooms had a balcony overlooking the port there and all the clubs and nightlife so we hung out there for a while before heading downtown to es paradiso to see guru josh project. his song infinity was basically played in the background of every other song he mixed in, but it was so much fun. i went to the bathroom right before he came on to dj and when i walked back to meet everybody i looked up and all the lights were pointed on him in a fur coat with his arms in the air and i was like 10 feet away front and center just in awe. it was pretty sweet. we stayed there until pretty late and made our way back with some late night food to the hostel. the next day we got complimentary breakfast

and hit the beach for a few hours and none of our ears worked properly until late afternoon. yoori and i bought floatees to float and tan in the ocean while the boys played on their paddle boat in the shape of a car with a giant slide into the water from the top. we were all tuckered out in the afternoon and took a powernap to prepare for saturday night. we ended up at an awesome tex mex restaurant for dinner and then got ready and started walking toward the bars on the ocean front but got stopped at a mini carnival for people to go on some rides. we found the bus that would take us to the club called space but i ended up heading back early with a friend to the hostel and calling it an early night after leaving my mark on ibiza but they all told me there were dancers hanging from the ceilings and stuff at the club so that sounds pretty awesome. i wish i could've spent more time in ibiza to balance relaxing and going out a little better and to see some of the views and other beaches and islands around there, maybe take a boat tour around. so i guess i'll just have to go back. i spent all of sunday recuperating pretty much and catching up on a little bit of work.

monday i went to the beach after class and that was probably my last chance seeing as my schedule is chock full until we leave thursday : ( i can't believe i leave so soon. but we found another new fun bar by the school and hung out with friends there for a few hours monday night. that's one of my favorite parts of spain is just relaxing with friends at a bar or restaurant (they're basically synonymous) and chatting with friends, there's no rush to get you in and out and the waitresses and bartenders let you take your time to enjoy it.

yesterday i went to the bioparc in the afternoon with cat yoori chris and john and it was awesome. i liked it way better than the aquarium to be honest. we ended up getting off the bus too early so it was a bit of a hike to get out there, but so worth it. they let you get so incredibly close to the animals, like i could have reached out and gotten licked by the giraffe that kept walking by.

and all of the animals were really responsive and playful with you too usually, there was a hyena that fell in love with john and the hippo opened it's mouth so big for us to show off it's yucky teeth. there were zebras and porcupines and elephants and rhinos, everything you could ask for pretty much, oh except there were "technical difficulties" with the lemurs;

we thought this was pretty funny seeing as all you have to do is let them exist so we were trying to figure out what could be technical about that. we got pretty lost trying to find the right bus home but got to explore a little bit of the city none of us had seen before, and found some swan boats at the end of the rio that we might try out before we leave next week.

today i went to lunch with carol harris, again at an amazing restaurant right by the school. we had the menu del día, which is popular here to have a set price for a first and second course, dessert drink and coffee. i got some sort of rice dish which was phenomenal (i'm going to have to figure out what kind of seasoning they use so i can try to recreate it at home) and solomillo which is like the best cut of pig with potatoes which was incredibly tender and delicious and flan for dessert. it was nice to get to know carol on a level more than just my advisor here, and it was interesting to talk to her about living here permanently and raising a family here and comparing her and her family's story to that of carrie and nandi and their family cause i guess uncle nandi kind of did the opposite of carol. i met up with caroline for tapas at bar pilar (finally) and it was so worth it. the food was awesome (had clochinas and patatas bravas and jamon and croquetas de mejillones) and it was a really cool environment where it was packed so we stood up at the bar to order and eat. as i was walking home from dinner i got really nostalgic thinking about my time here and how it's ending so soon and how much i'm going to miss the lifestyle and the people and the food. but also how i can't wait to come back and experience it later with family or friends and compare where i've been with where they've been or discover new places. again with the feeling of wishing i could wrap it all up and bring it home with me to appreciate it more, but all i can do is live it and watch it.