AM I BEING SHOT?!

Oh wait, no-that's just the constant fireworks outside my window. PHEW.

Why are 10 year old children setting off fireworks at 3:00pm in the afternoon? I'm still not sure of their reasoning, but I'm feeling a little more jumpy than usual every afternoon now. June 23rd marks the start of the HUGE summer festival here that lasts about 3 days, when they apparently set off fireworks 24/7. Anyone who knows me well should know that I am NOT excited for this festival!! I've never been into fireworks and when they're set off during the day I go a little nutty. Gemma was laughing at me yesterday and telling me I needed to psychologically prepare myself because I was jumping everytime one was set off and stuttering while talking to her. Haha!

A lot of exciting things happened this week-the other day our spanish class was interrupted by the noise of a protest in the street-all of the public workers were protesting because the government cut their salaries. And of course, what were they using? Noisemakers and fireworks. And of course fireworks aren't legal to set off in the streets, but I don't think anyone abides by that law.

So last night we saw CATS...Go ahead, start laughing. It was IN spanish, performed by 8-11 year old's in an auditorium with no air conditioner. And people say watching it in English is hard!! I have a video of the song "Memories" so I'll have to upload it soon. It's a lot more entertaining in Spanish! They also used fireworks-go figure! Even though I really think setting off fireworks right near both sides of the stage (right near the curtains) is a little dangerous. It was also really fun to smell the aftereffects for the next 30 minutes. Haha. But hey, it was a good time nonetheless.

Fun things I'd just like to remember:

-I love how the World Cup is in my time zone so I don't have to watch soccer at some crazy hour-U.S. vs. England is on around 8:00 tonight :)

-The Spain version of "Ugly Betty" is on the Disney channel and it's about a white girl being made fun of by Spanish girls. Gotta love role reversal!

-The family's been throwing in pescado on Tuesdays lately-and I'm surviving! I still don't know if I'm actually scaling the fish right but it's getting slightly more bearable. I've also eaten fried artichoke, tuna, some kind of super fishy fish stuffed in peppers with cheese, and lots of other stuff I would never eat at home. Woohoo!

-I read the 8 year old's Castellano book yesterday and I think I'm at her level comprehension-wise. I obviously know more grown-up words because I studied the history of Spain last semester but I think verb-wise we're equal. Pathetic, I know. But once school is out I'll have some good reading material!

-Speaking of classes-the english classes with the girls are going better now that I have a stack of books from Gemma from when she taught Spanish in 1988 (haha). Overall it's a lot less stressful because I have an endless supply of activities-thank goodness!

-I'm realizing a lot of people here aren't technologically "literate". They're always impressed with how fast I can type and what I know about computers...I thought the tech boom was heard around the world, but I think it missed Catalunya...

-Day 22 and I finally get complimented on an outfit. Looks like the Euro transformation is complete! Loose bag, scarf regardless of the weather forecast, and gaudy fake jewelry. I loathe what are considered "Myspace pics" but I wasn't about to have someone take my picture..so here ya go.



*disregard the face-I was tired of having to keep my hand still in a moving elevator :)

Alright well I must go-just wanted to give a small update! Today I'm going to some beach town with my new American friend!