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| This sums up how I feel (and look) right now. |
It's about 10:30 pm here and I'm officially sick - I have a sore throat, I'm congested, and overall feel very weak and lightheaded. I don't know how I could have gotten sick, but now that I think about it, during my econ class on Thursday, I shook hands with my neighbor to introduce myself. Shortly after we shook hands, he informed me that he was leaving class early for a doctors visit because he was sick (Why did he not tell me this BEFORE we shook hands?!) Either way, whether it was this kid or germs I caught on the metro, I'm miserable. However, I have been taking some medicine for congestion that I brought with me and almost every hour, drinking 1 tablespoon of honey and lemon juice to coat my throat. I have noticed a difference, but I've been lying in bed all day (which is very rare for me) so I feel utterly lazy and unproductive. But then again, resting is the only way to feel better. I'm just happy I'm getting sick now as opposed to later in the semester when things get very busy (e.g. classes, internship, field trips). I really hope I can get over this soon. Any suggestions for getting better?
Oh, and another not so lovely thing happened to me today: I stepped in dog poop. I noticed a lot of Spaniards have dogs and walk them quite often around the neighborhoods, but I would say almost everytime their pet has a little accident, they clean it up. But today, someone did not and it certainly didn't make my day any better, especially considering I was semi-conscious walking down the street to the corner store (I've been very dizzy and lightheaded today) for some lemons.
Free Trip to Montserrat
On a happier note, I mentioned in my post from last weekend that I participated in a Scavenger Hunt with a group of other IES students. I got an e-mail today from IES saying my group won the Scavenger hunt, so we are all getting a free trip (worth $40) to Montserrat on October 8th. I've been so bored today that I've been filling in my agenda with the trips and I'll have 3 trips in October! Considering I've been homesick, filling in my agenda has made me feel better because it helps me realize that today may be going slowly, but before I know it, I'll be packing my bags to go back home.
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| Montserrat |
I've been here about 10 days now but I have noticed several interesting things about Spanish culture. I've been talking so much about what I AM doing, I haven't talked about what OTHERS do. Here are some things I've noticed/observed:
- Spaniards eat breakfast at 8/9 am, a light snack at 10/11 am, lunch around 1/2 pm, another snack around 4/5 pm, and a dinner at 9/10 pm.
- Spaniards love their coffee! (e.g. cafe solo, cafe con leche, cafe americano, cafe cortado, etc)
- Spaniards really enjoy their meals. Meals are the opportunity to connect with other people and relish the subtle and potent flavors of the food. They're not nearly as rushed as Americans. In fact, lunch is generally an hour and a half to two hours.
- The work schedule here is generally 9 am - 2 pm (then everything closes from 2 pm to 5 pm) and 5 pm to 7/8pm.
- Catalan food is very simple and flavorful, but depends on high quality ingredients.
I'll keep working on this list. I'll see if I can add more observations as I go along in my posts.
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