playing for real, studying for....not real.

This weekend in Toledo might be ranked in the top 5 all-time weekends in Spain so far. A myriad of wonderful things happened to make it extra spectacular.....

1. Thursday after work, came home to eat an absolutely delicious meal. Took a nap for 4 hours. FOUR!!! I was feeling a little under the weather, though, so I suppose that's excusable. Woke up around 8, bummed around the house for a few hours, ate dinner, and went back to sleep at 11. Until almost 11 am the next day. I haven't felt so rested since before I left the States.
2. Free trip to Madrid to visit the Prado. Guided visit through the Goya paintings. Además, our teacher gave us a ONE WEEK extension for our ten-page paper! Originally it was going to be due the day we got back from fall break (ew), but now we have until November 9. Holler.
3. Raged in Toledo Friday night and spent less than 5 Euros.
   
4. Saturday night went to Madrid again, but for less educational purposes...partido de fútbol! Real Madrid v. Racing Santander. See TIHLALIS #23.
   
5. Slept in today, and ate an amazing brunch of ham, scrambled eggs with mushrooms, and a delicious unknown melon.
6. Leaving for Italy in 2 days...only 3 midterms standing in my way.

TIHLALIS #22-23:

22. Reality TV in Spain is very different from reality TV in America. It really is reality...and it's actually kind of boring. It's the same idea, only the cameras never stop rolling so you get to see every single moment of what goes on. Every. Single. Minute.

23. Fútbol = Life. The Estadio Santiago Bernabeu was filled to the brim with more than 80,000 fans. Many things about sports in Spain are similar to the States...airhorns, screaming insults at opposing players from the second-to-last row, all that jazz. But the extreme dedication to the sport was amazing. Every aisle was completely empty the entire game. Everyone stayed in their seats, glued to the game. Even at halftime! Instead of heading to the nearest snack stand to buy a footlong hotdog and a giant coke for $20, when the halftime whistle sounded, everyone simultaneously reached under their seats and whipped out their bocadillos they had brought from home. Luckily Jose Luis had told us about this before so we were prepared too. Courtney and I went to walk around after we ate our bocadillos and it was practically empty! No one wanted to miss a single second of the game so they just stayed in their seats. We probably should have followed suit because we missed the first four minutes of the second half...including a goal. Oh well. We saw 6 others! The final score was 6-1, Madrid. Haha, in your face, Santander! ...I know. I'm mature.


Fall break starts on Tuesday, so one of two things will happen between now and then. Either I am so focused on studying that I can't post at all until I get back from Italy. OR, I procrastinate lots and lots and post a million times a day until I leave. I feel like the latter is more likely, but we shall see. Studying starts.......now! Or maybe in a few hours.