Home Again

Hola mis amore!!!

I am home. Back in good old Reading, PA, where I've been with my wonderful family for the past week. It's hard to believe that I've already been back for a week...it's hard to believe I'm back at all. Ever since I was little, I looked forward to studying abroad, to that time of your life when you would submerge in a completely new culture and remake yourself...I endlessly considered where I would go and what I would do, I considered Africa, France, Australia...I never really imagined Spain until my sophomore year of college. And now, that time that I so looked forward to is over. I have studied abroad, my time of freedom and fun in another country, without rules, without restrictions (except for the ones I made myself) is over. I can hardly believe that I am old enough to have already completed my time abroad, to be completely done with that experience. I always dreamed of how it would be, and yet while I was living it, many times I did not stop to remind myself, "This is it. This is your chance, your choice, your experience, your dream. Remember this moment." How many moments have I already forgotten? How many memories have already been lost to me?
The last week was absolutely amazing...my finals went surprisingly well, and I am proud to say that my GPA this semester was my highest ever at GW...a 3.89. My history professor told me that my paper was brillant and excellently written (no joke...I guess he couldn't tell that I didn't finish the book that I wrote it on), my Spanish lit professor, Carmela, told me that I was one of the best students in the class (means less in a class of 7 than in a class of 70, but oh well). On Friday, to celebrate the end of finals, I went out with Molly, Vanessa, and Alec to a crepe restaurant. We just made it - we were the last people they let in. We had cheap sangria and REALLY good dessert crepes...they had gone out for tapas before, but because my funds were...low (ok...non-existent), I chose to eat at home. But we had a great time, laughing as usual, and being silly. Alec and I started a dumb joke about how...well, about how we're dumb, haha. We had all gone out, almost the entire group, earlier in the day to try to get on the Christmas bus, which takes you all around Madrid to see the Christmas lights, but after waiting in line for 2 hours, my feet were cold and I gave up and went home. But it was fun to see the whole group. Before that, Vanessa, Molly, Alec and I had gone around Sol, where we found a Corte Ingles with a wonderful outside decoration, a huge "Zoo" outside on the building (kind of hard to describe). More on that later...
Saturday was spent walking around during the day...home for lunch and dinner of course, but then out to see a Fire Show at night. It was absolutely incredible!!! Near the Palacio Real, they had set up all these intricate sculptures that had fire pots that were somehow inflamed. It's hard to describe...basically it was a phyro-maniac's dream. They had big bonfires for you to stand by, music, and a huge Christmas tree by the Palacio. It was truly extraordinary, absolutely beautiful. We stayed until it was over, and then we went for one last chocolate con churros (probably one of the least healthy things we could do, but what the heck, time was winding down). We didn't stay out too late...finals really burned me out this semester, which is kind of pathetic, everyone seems to think that finals are easier when you study abroad, but mine really weren't (except for flamenco) and because my computer was broken, the only thing I did while I was at home was study and it really got to me. But I still got home after Babis and Emilio had gone to sleep so I still looked cool, haha.
Sunday was kind of a weird day...Emilio brought down my suitcases, so I began packing. I love packing when I'm going somewhere exotic and new...but packing up my whole life, packing up "me" or what was "me" throughout the past 4 months of my life, and knowing that I will never unpack there again made it very difficult. I tried to sleep late to avoid doing too much...Turu came over for lunch, and I was so glad to see her. It's funny how much I admired her, even though I didn't really know her that well. It was a nice break. And then after lunch, I met up with Diego for a final language exchange. We went to Starbucks (yeah yeah...I'm not afraid to admit it), and I found that my addiction has either gone away or they just don't make it the same in Europe - it really wasn't that good. It was fun to talk to him one more time...I wonder if I'll ever see him again? Kind of weird to wonder such things. Then I went home and got all dolled up for the final dinner. I wore my favorite black dress and my red heels. I got some gorgeous pictures with Emilio and Babis by their Christmas tree. I kind of wanted to cry...it was hard to take those photos, I knew that they were the last ones I would have with them. I went to the restaurant, which was at the Atocha Train Station. We had a room rented out for us, and I was immediately offered champagne (cava) upon my arrival. We had a very nice meal (although I was forced to choose between pheasant and duck as my entree...not really what I had in mind), followed by dancing. What was so wonderful is that we all love each other...we all got along so well that we could just have a dance with the group, that it was what we wanted and everyone had a wonderful time. We were all so sad when the music stopped. One girl started to cry and while I was hugging her, I almost started myself. It's not that I will never see these people again - they all go to GW. It's just that it will never be the same. It will never be "us" again, there will be other people, some people won't be there. My entire life for the past 4 months consisted of these people and only these people. We became a kind of family, we became one unit that supported each other and took care of each other. I really did have an amazing experience because of these people. We danced for a good 3 hours...I took very few breaks and declined the open bar and chose water so that I could keep dancing. For some reason when I'm getting down with my bad self, vodka just doesn't appeal to me. I guess I'm still immature like that, because quite a few people got...happy.
Vanessa and I took a taxi home because she wasn't feeling well (she treated, aww). Walking up the stairs to my house, I reminded myself that I would not do this very many more times.
Monday morning I pretty much managed to finish packing. I had lunch at home and then went out with Molly, Vanessa and Alec one more time. We started at the Retiro, where we played on the empty playground (school wasn't out yet). They have the best playgrounds there, except if I had played on it as a little kid, I would probably be dead, the rides (rides?!) are so complicated. Then we went around Sol again, we went back to the Corte Ingles to the zoo, where every hour, on the hour, they have a "show." The zoo comes to life, the animals and automated and they SING. It was probably one of the best things of the trip. They sing and dance for a good 15-20 minutes and I made Molly and Vanessa sway along with me. I think I enjoyed it more than a lot of the kids who had gathered around with their parents to see it. We stopped at a cafe for a hot chocolate...and then we went home. It was so weird, we said goodbye and everything and it was really hard. I had a quiet dinner at home and then I took and shower and went to bed. I couldn't really sleep...and was up at 8am the next morning.
I was completely ready by 9, but my flight wasn't scheduled until 2, so I didn't leave yet. Then I got a text from Mikey and then from Russell, telling me to go immediately to the airport because our flight was cancelled. Babis and Emilio drove me...riding in the car with them was so odd, partly because I hadn't ridden in a car for almost 4 months, and partly because I knew that this was the last moments we were sharing together. It made me sad, but I managed not to cry. They dropped me off at the airport...and I said goodbye and walked away from Madrid.
At the airport, I met up with Andrew, Mikey, Russell, and Josh. It was nice not to be alone. We were informed that our flight was cancelled due to bad weather, but they could move us to an "earlier" flight. This flight was then delayed 3 hours, meaning that I took off later than my earlier flight. Frustrated, we were determined to make our Philadelphia flight, but we were informed that we had to go through customs and get our luggage and recheck it. Defeated, Mikey and I still ran through Heathrow in a desperate attempt to make the flight...we failed. After going through customs and searching futilely for our luggage, we stopped at Customer Service, where we were informed that our luggage would not be there and that the flight for Philadelphia was currently taking off. The man told us to go upstairs to the counter, because he couldn't rebook us there. We thanked him and went upstairs.

Where we met chaos.

I have never been in such an insane airport, with so many people and so much insanity, at least not that I can remember, and certainly not when I was in charge of myself. Mikey and I looked at the line for BA, which was an insane mass of angry and tired people and knew immediately that we would never make it home within the next year if we waited in that line. So we did what any normal, smart person would do...we jipped.
We found a young couple and casually (quietly) asked if we could stand with them. They were pretty cold about it at first, not really wanting to, but unable to say no to our adorable faces. Then Mikey and I began chatting up the woman, and she ended up telling us all about them, including showing us pictures of her 2 year old daughter and her 2 chihuahuas. We only had to wait about 20 minutes, and no one called us out - a small miracle. When we got to the counter, the man informed us that there were no more flights to Philly and that he could put us on one for 6:15 the next morning. I almost started to cry, but Mikey kept his cool and explained how we had been inconvenienced this time and last time and asked the man if there was anything that he could possibly do. The man then mentioned that he could put us on a flight that night to Newark and we immediately took it. He also gave us each a 5 pound food voucher...we were very pleased with him. We had to go to Terminal 3 and check in with Virgin Atlantic, because that was our new airway. We stopped and got a sandwich and called our parents. My dad, being amazing, already knew our plans and consoled me and told me everything would be fine. I felt better after talking to him.
We boarded the flight and had a fairly nice and easy ride. No more delays...we were finally going home. I watched The Devil Wears Prada (for the 3rd time...shh) and then The Queen and parts of Pirates of the Caribbean (yeah...I was really bored). We ate some pretty bad risotto, and tried and failed to sleep. When we finally landed, it was 11:40pm. We didn't get through customs and immigration until well after midnight and then we went to baggage claim, where we were informed that our luggage was in London and they would send it to us as soon as possible. We went out to where our mommies were waiting!!!!!!!! My mom brought me a heart shaped balloon - so cute!!!! It was so amazing to see her and to be back, however strange it seemed. We drove home, not getting there until after 3am. I passed out around 4 (don't ask me what I was doing, I don't even remember) and then promptly woke up at 9am. Oh jet lag...
My baggage came two nights later, at 2am. Don't ask me why, I didn't ask for it that way.
So here I am...back at home. I'm sitting here in the room with the Christmas tree, with my new laptop that I got for Christmas. I miss Spain, I miss Madrid and everything that I had there. But I am so happy to be home. I have so much to look forward to, so many amazing things and people in my life. I feel truly blessed that I can go away, find a whole new world that I can call my own and still come home to a home, and to people who love me and who I love.

Out into this world, I am sending you love always.

Con mucho carino, muchos besos, un abrazo muy fuerte
y
Con amor

Holiday in Spain

¡¡¡¡¡Hola mis amores!!!!!

Well, I´ve kept you in suspense long enough, yes I am still alive and yes I am coming home in 5 days....I will be flying into Philadelphia Airport at 8:20ish pm Tuesday December 19. Flowers, posters and greetings are welcomed, haha (food is too).
Much has happened since my encounter in Rome with Enrique...where to begin? I don´t even remember what I´ve told you and what I haven´t. I guess what I should do is elaborate on a few things from Rome that I maybe, sort of forgot to tell you about. My dad reminded me that I did indeed go to the Pantheon, which is only one of the oldest pieces of architecture in the world, I mean, easy to forget, right? We came up upon it our first day in Rome, all of the sudden it was just there, in the middle of this beautiful square, and the three of us kind of just stopped and let our jaws work their way back from the ground to our faces. We went inside, we had been planning to save it for another day, but it was just too incredible to wait, so we went inside and admired everything. Raphael is buried here....there´s no sign or anything, you just walk up and read a little plaque and all of the sudden you just go, "Oh, that´s Raphael" and then pee in your pants a little. The dome is absolutely incredible...I couldn´t believe that this building was so old. It is incredibly well preserved and as impressive as it must have been hundreds and hundreds of years ago when it was built.
Another quirk of Rome is that they don´t have very many pedestrian crossing lights. They have crosswalks, but they lack the little man who changes from red to green to show you that it is in fact safe to walk. So you basically just decide when you´ve waited enough and cross the street. The first few times it was pretty scary - we might have screamed. But I got the hang of it really quickly and I was always the first one to jump in front of cars (I´m sure my mother is shaking her head at me right now) and Molly and Alec would follow...Alec said that this was my city, what can I say? There´s something about going out in front of a moving vehicle and being quite assured that they will stop that makes you feel very powerful. What can I say, I felt like the Lady in Red from the Special K commercials, who is very powerful and beautiful and the whole world stops to look (or something like that).
Last week was pretty uneventful, we had a "puente" which means that we had a lot of vacation time so I think I went out, but studying for finals has really fried my brain, be patient with me, mis amores...
On Friday, Vanessa, Molly and I decided to go out to Kapital, the largest nightclub in Spain, if not in Europe. We decided to make it a girls night, and set out around 11 to Sol, and went to an Irish bar (they are actually quite common here in Madrid), where they got girly drinks and I got...a beer. Well, actually, it´s a Clara, which is beer and lemonade which makes it slightly more girly...we had a good time at the bar, I dared them both to eat pork rinds, because Babis had already made me try them. They also had beer from Grimbergen at this bar, which totally made my night. For those of you who don´t know, the summer before I came to GW, I went to Belgium to be an au pair, which is like a nanny for 3 Belgian children who didn´t speak a word of English or French. The town I lived in was Grimbergen and like all Belgian towns and cities, they make their own beer. So I got really excited, but I was the only one.
Then we went to another bar, and we happened to find David and Andrew, two guys from the program who had just gone to the movies. We went to a jazz bar with them and us girls shared another drink. Then we ditched the guys and headed off to Kapital.
We had passes thanks to Vanessa to get in for 11€. I´m pretty sure that the normal cover charge is 20€. This may sound like a lot, 11 may sound like a lot, but we got a drink included and the reason why it is so expensive is because it is an absolutely amazing, impressive nightclub. There are 7 stories, each with a different kind of music, it´s own bar (or bars), places to sit, places to dance, places to watch music videos, places to do karaoke...we spent most of our time between the 3 main dance floors, one of which plays Spanish music, the other House (aka techno) and the last a mix of Spanish and American. We danced for 4 straight hours, not stopping until 4:15am. I was quite surprised by the forwardness of Spanish men...I was not without a dance partner for almost the whole night, but there were quite a few that I had to leave behind because of "inappropriate dancing." The Spanish floor converted temporarily into a middle school dance when they put on Grease. Vanessa, Molly and I kind of just looked at each other and started laughing. They also serenaded us with YMCA. We laughed the whole time and knew all the words....Spanish men sound really funny when they try to croon English songs into your ear, it´s not very romantic, it´s just very silly.
We left around 4:15am and I didn´t get home until after 5. I felt very Spanish!!! My Spanish family was obviously very proud of me...then the rest of the weekend was mostly spent studying. I was moody on Sunday and treated myself to a visit to the Prado, because it is free on Sundays. I spent the majority of my time looking at Goya. I have to admit that I find his work rather ugly. It´s not bad, it´s not poorly done, it´s just ugly, especially because I spent my time looking at his "Black Period." There are some quite disturbing paintings there, like the one of Saturn eating one of his sons. But it was good to go back, and also to go without someone telling me what to be looking at and why I should like a painting. It´s not that I don´t like the information, I just get tired of having facts thrown at me when I´m trying to take a painting for what it is for me, and not what it is for someone else.
I´ve had exams practically all week, except for Tuesday. Yesterday, I took some time off and went with Babis to see La Natividad, the Christmas movie that is currently out all around the world. It was absolutely one of the best movies I´ve seen in a long time, if not my whole life. It was very true to the Bible and respectful of Catholics, which I really appreciated. I think there are a lot of movies these days that do not respect where stories come from. Babis and I both loved it, and I loved going with her. We walked both to and from the theatre, and she told me how her sons met their wives and also how she met Emilio. we also ran into one of her sons, Tristan, and his wife Saleta, as we were walking home. It´s a nice change to recognize someone on the street! Her daughter Turu is currently sick with Salmonela (is that how you spell it?), which makes me really sad. We´re going to go visit her before I leave, because she can´t come over for dinner like she was originally planning to. I will miss her a lot, she is one of the nicest people I´ve ever met. I hope that I will be able to stay in touch with her, and also that she will be able to come visit me at some point in the US.
I still have one more final tomorrow...I´m really letting finals get to me this year, it´s a problem. They´re really stressing me out and I´m really frustrated. I think that I´m just ready to go home...it´s very hard to be on the brink of being somewhere and not. I am trying to think of these next few days as a Holiday here (I like the British term, holiday, better than vacation, also it´s an alusion to a song), just that I have very few days to see and to do everything. I think that will make it go faster...not that I really want this to go faster, it´s just the mixture of anticipation and nostalgia. I´m sleeping less than usual, as if that were even possible, and the food is finally starting to fray on my nerves. I´m going to get really sick when I get home because all I´m going to eat is junk food!
A woman came to visit from the GW program in DC. She came to my house here and took some photos to show prospective students. I was surprised at how difficult it was for me to converse with her in English, I felt really awkward and I didn´t really know what to say. My vocab is a complete mix of Spanglish and when she started speaking English in my house, I was completely taken aback. I suppose this is a good thing, but it´s kind of scary, I´m nervous about the culture shock I will experience when I get home. I know it´s only been three and a half months...but I´ve really adjusted to this culture and the language as well.
The final dinner is on Sunday...I´m looking forward to that as well, and not only because I heard a rumor that we have an open bar until 3am...haha, don´t worry, I always behave myself. We have to dance flamenco - gasp! That will be quite a sight, I hope no one brings a video camera, because we are all going to make fools of ourselves, haha.
Well mis amores, tomorrow is my last day here at UAM, so it is my last day with a computer. I will probably not have much news, so look for an entry later next week, when I tell you all about my trip home!!!!!
Muchos besos, y amor siempre

In Rome, where I encounter Enrique

¡¡¡Hola mis amores!!!

Disclaimer: for those of you who do not remember/do not know the Enrique joke, it will be explained later in this entry.

So much news to tell you!! Last week, on Wednesday, I went to see El Gran Silencio with my señora. It was a very well made film, and for the most part, it was actually, as the name indicates, in silence. It was really intense...but it really made me think, more than any movie I´ve seen for a long time. I think that´s what I´ve been missing in the past few movies that I saw, they didn´t provoke any real thought. It was so fun to do something with Babis. She really has become an important person in my life. Next Wednesday (my last Wednesday in Spain!) I´ve invited her to come with me to see La Natividad, which we are both looking forward to seeing.
Then on Thursday, Alec, Molly, Lauren and I went to the airport at midnight. Molly, Lauren and I went early (Lauren went to Amsterdam, but hung out with us at the airport beforehand). Let me tell you...it is impossible to sleep on the airport floor. It´s cold, it´s hard, and it´s uncomfortable. So we stayed up all night, telling ridiculous jokes and laughing hysterically at them because we were so tired, and later playing cards. I don´t even like to play cards and I thought it was the funnest thing ever. We were TIRED. Then we boarded our 6:45am flight and passed out immediately. Alitalia is actually a rather good airline.
Then we landed in Rome...we took the 10€ train to the center of town, near the Termini station, which happened to be a 5 minute walk from our hostel, The Pop-Inn.
Well...hostels are supposed to be for youths. And if I ever have to stay in a hostel when I´m past the age of 25, I think that I will need a better job. It was on the second and third floor of a random building, and it looked more like a dorm than a hostel. It was pretty small, and we were told that we had to leave our bags because our room wouldn´t be ready until 3:30. We left our bags, thankfully in a locked room, and trekked out to see Rome. We stopped along the way at a pizza place - they have huge pizzas just waiting for you to come in and buy a square. The men cut it for you right there! We then made our way to the Colisseum. We were completely awe-struck, we just stood there and posed for "Roman" pictures for a good 10 minutes. Then we made our way in, passing men dressed as Roman soldiers who you could get your picture taken with (as we were entering, a man asked an American woman if she wanted a picture, and she muttered to herself "only if you lift your skirt up!" and I started cracking up. I think she was a little embarrassed that someone had understood her). We skipped the line, because thanks to Alec´s research, we had bought the Roma Pass, which gives you free entry to two main attractions in Rome and a bus and metro pass good for three days. We wandered around the Colisseum for a good while...there was an exhibit on Homer and the Iliad (oh my, I couldn´t remember how to spell that) and I broke out in my tour guide voice (I´ve developed it while in Europe over these past few months) and read quite a few excerpts for Molly and Alec, sending us all into sleep-deprived hysterics. We stood there, looking at this piece of architecture that´s been here for so many years...I was very impressed.
Then we moved on to the Forum, and because I have a short attention span, I kind of don´t remember what it was exactly, except some really neat-o ruins. We took a bunch of pictures, a lot of silly ones, and walked around. Then we decided that we were starving, so we searched for a restaurant and ended up at a kind of okay one, nothing really special, and had some pasta. Then we decided to try to find the Trevi Fountain, but ended up in different piazzas instead. We found a Christmas market at one, and walked around for a while, and then, of course, got some gelado. Molly, Alec, and I comprise the helado crew in Spain (along with Vanessa, who was in Ireland) so we consider ourselves to be good judges of ice cream.
Then it got dark (it gets dark early in Rome) and we finally came across the Trevi Fountain. We were soooo impressed, we started throwing coins in immediately, taking photos of us tossing them over our right shoulders to ensure that we will come back someday. Then a British couple offered to take a picture of all three of us, and told us that they had thrown coins in on their wedding anniversary 26 years ago and they had returned this year with their three sons. We decided that they were the cutest couple in Rome, and proceeded to name them Mork and Mindy. Whenever we brought them up again, we would all saw, "Aww, Mork and Mindy, they´re so cute."
Then we found a nice restaurant and sat down for an early dinner. We were soo tired, and I was COLD. I don´t know why, but during the whole trip, as soon as the sun went down, my hands turned to little ice cubes. We ordered pizza and sat outside, where they had heat lamps (which did absolutely nothing for me) and enjoyed some really good food. The waiter gave Molly and me free sodas, and Alec was slightly perturbed, which only made Molly and me laugh. I tried to get us going on some "thought-provoking" topics, but we were all too tired to really consider stuff, so we basically told silly stories and laughed some more.
Then after paying the bill, we got more gelado (very important) and I nearly froze to death with it, haha. Then we tried to make our way home, but unfortunately got very lost. Actually, I knew the whole time that we were going to come across the Colisseum sooner or later, but given my bad reputation with directions, no one listened to me. We briefly panicked, asked some directions and continued on the way that I had said we needed to. I led Molly and Alec in a rousing rendition of "The Ants go Marching" to keep everyone´s spirits high. I´m sure we annoyed one or two Italians that night!
We got back to the Pop-Inn relatively early despite getting lost. We finished checking in, and the girl at the reception/little counter gave us each a paper cup of wine and told us that everyone was going to meet later to go out. We thanked her, took our little cups and went to our room. She showed us the bathroom, which had a broken shower and a random, sketchy towel and Molly and I renewed our vows not to shower, and this time Alec joined us. We put on our pajamas and Molly and I took the larger bed, which was really two beds pushed together. Alec got the corner cot, which sunk nearly to the floor whenever you put even a finger on it. We got a good laugh out of that and then 2 minutes later we were all completely passed out.
The next morning, we got up at 7...yes, we were very focused on this trip! We got up at 7 and left the hotel by 7:30. We went to the Traveler´s Café down the street, where we had little coupons for a drink and a croissant. The girl was very nice and we had chocolate croissants and I had cappuchino (oooh, so good). Then we went to Termini station, which was very close, and got on the metro to head to the Vatican. We loved listening to Italian...I think it´s a very pretty language and I would love to learn it. We got off at the metro and went directly to the Vatican Museum. We only had to wait in line for about a half hour, which was good, because once again I was FREEZING. We spent a good deal of time in the museums...they are very interesting, and I think you could stay there all day. We saw the Sistine Chapel, which, quite frankly, was different than what I expected. Although very beautiful, it certainly wasn´t what I had in mind. We didn´t stay too long in there, and proceeded with our tour. The ceilings in the museum are completely covered in beautiful artwork - Molly and I walked around with our noses in the air and we were afraid that we would have neck problems later!
After we left, we stopped briefly to get more pizza (haha) and to look around a little tent sale that they had. Alec bought some glass figures for his friends, and I remembered how my dad used to bring them home for Michelle and me.
Then we went to St. Peter´s Square. I have seen it in pictures, I have seen it on TV, but nothing could have ever prepared me for this. It is absolutely one of the most impressive, most beautiful places I´ve ever seen. I can´t even describe it to you - the way the sun hits it makes it seem completely unreal. We took tons of pictures, every time we walked another 5 feet, we saw something else that we had to capture. Then we got in line to enter the Basilica. Again, we only had to wait for about 20 minutes, which was good, because I was so excited that I was about to pee in my pants. We went in, and went directly to the tombs. We were walking around, and it was nice, but it was mostly old tombs that I didn´t really know who they were, and then suddenly we were in front of Pope John Paul II´s tomb. There were people standing by, praying and crying, and there were guards there to keep the line moving. I started to cry as well - I have never felt such a strong presence in my life. It took me a few minutes to compose myself, and then we were back outside and entering the Basilica.
I almost started crying all over again. I had to hold Molly´s hand when we first went in, it completely took my breath away. Again, what makes it so intense is not only the structure and the art, but the way the sun hits everything makes it completely unreal - it brings you closer to the presence of God. We walked around, I stopped in a small chapel to pray, and then I overheard a woman asking a guard if there was mass. He said yes, so when she was done, I went to ask him the same question. He informed me that there was indeed mass, and the Pope would be saying it. He told me that people with tickets would come in first, but then anyone could come in. I decided immediately that this was not something that I could miss. We left the Basilica to go get lunch, and I went one more time down to the tomb of Pope John Paul II. I prayed for all of you there.
Then we went and got another good lunch, complete with a gelado. They have a kind called biscotto, which I assume is like the cookie, that I fell in love with. We walked around the market a little more, and I stopped at a stall, where the man asked my name and told me that his friend had been looking for a Sarah all his life. His friend then told me that I looked like a Sarah, because my eyes were like dessert.
That was when we left that stall.
Then Molly and I went back to the Basilica (Alec decided to go to a castle nearby instead) and I asked a police officer one more time to clarify if there was mass. He didn´t have a clue, and asked us our names and told us to stay with him instead of trying to get in to the mass. He was about 40 and really ugly. After a very hurried ciao, I told Molly that I was going to ask a nun, because I was tired of asking skeezy old men. I went to a nun who was part of the already curling line and asked her if she spoke English. She did not, but she spoke Spanish, so I asked her if there was mass. She told me that there was actually evening prayer service, called Vespers, with the Pope. I asked her if we needed a ticket, and she said, "oh you don´t have one?" My heart fell, because i knew there was no way we could get one now. She then opened up her purse, pulled out an envelope and asked how many we needed. I almost kissed her (on the cheeks, Spanish style), but she brushed off my thanks like it was no big deal. We got in line, and after waiting for a while, entered the Basilica.
We could sit anywhere, and as the front was completely full, we sat towards the middle, where we could sit close to the aisle. I sat four seats in, next to some more nuns. When Pope Benedict came in, he was about 10 feet away from me! I got really emotional again, and grabbed Molly´s arm and kept whispering, "It´s the Pope!!!" It really was one of the most exciting moments of my life, and he walked right by me again after the service. The service was beautiful...I was so glad that we had the opportunity to go.
Then we met Alec at the Spanish steps, where there was a marching band playing. It was so funny, it was like everything was perfect just for us. We then moved on to a piazza where we had agreed to meet another girl in the program Hilary, who happened to be in Rome as well. We met up with her, and we went to a resaurant nearby. It ended up being more expensive than we thought, with all kinds of little commoditites tacked on, and we were all pretty angry. But the food was very good, and it was fun anyway. there was a man who sang opera to earn money who was absolutely incredible. I gave him a euro, the first street performer to earn one from me.
Then we decided to get some dessert, so we headed out back towards our hostel. We ended up near the Colisseum. there was a place that Molly had seen earlier, so we went in.
And this, my dear amores, is where I met Enrico, aka, Enrique.
This is where the joke of Enrique comes in. My friend Andy at GW, who I miss like crazy, has this theory that I´m going to meet a man named Enrique while in Europe, fall madly in love, and call you all when it´s time for me to leave and say, "Hey guys, I´m going to stay in Spain and have Spanish babies with my husband Enrique." So throughout my time here, I´ve been on the lookout for the man who will sweep me off my feet, but as of now he still hasn´t come.
Although Enrico tried pretty darn hard.
Enrico was our waiter at this fine establishment. He started off immediately, when Molly and I decided to look at the gelado before sitting down at our table. He ignored Molly completely and proceeded to ask me which ones I wanted to try. I didn´t really want to try any, but he kept picking out different ones and getting them from the guy behind the counter and feeding them to me. I never felt so silly in my life. He tried out four or five and then Molly and I went downstairs. We were laughing hysterically, and then Enrico came back down to tell me that he had a special offer for me, a kind of tea and a cake for only 5€ (the regular price would be 12€), so he had to take me back upstairs to look at all the different kinds of cakes. So I trekked back up the stairs and looked at all the cakes, which is where he asked me my name and then told me his name was Enrico, at which point I started laughing hysterically. He took no notice and continued to tell me that I was very beautiful. I thought this was pretty funny too, considering that I hadn´t showered in two days and I was wearing almost no make up. We went back down and we persuaded him to extend his deal to my friends as well, so they got the cake and I ended up getting coconut helado (I happen to really like coconut). He brought mine down immediately, and the others had to wait at least 15 minutes for theirs (he also only cleared my plate, everyone else had a dirty plate in front of them until we left). He kept coming over to our table and putting his arm around me, asking me questions and absolutely ignoring the fact that there were 3 other people with me. Alec was getting really pissed off (sorry, there really is no other way to say it) and kept saying that he was going to pretend to be my boyfriend. We all kept laughing every time Enrico came over and tried out another one of his lines. He kept telling me to come back, and asking what we were doing that night (the answer is sleeping). Then we paid the bill, which was considerably cheaper than it should have been and he told me that he was going to give me a "tour" of the restaurant. Because I never get myself into these situations, I naturally assumed that he actually did want to give me a tour of the restaurant, or at least, I didn´t think he would try anything. But of course, I found myself in a very awkward situation at the empty bar, ending with me turning away when he tried to kiss me. We went right back out to the table where my friends were waiting, laughing really hard, and we left. Enrico, like the little engine that could, encouraged me to come back the next day, he would wait all day for me.
I made Molly run down the street with me.
And this, my friends, is the story of Enrico/Enrique, and why you don´t have to worry about losing me. I will indeed be coming home in two weeks, he failed to seduce me and I will not be staying in Italy or Spain to have foreign babies.
We got back to our hostel later, around 12:30, and went directly to bed, still laughing over Enrico. The next morning we got up around 8 to go back to the Basilica to climb the Cupola. I went into the Basilica first and found a place to go to confession in English. After staying in the Basilica for a little bit longer, I joined Molly and Alec in climbing the over 500 stairs to reach the top of St. Peter´s Basilica. It was a VERY long walk, my legs were very angry with me afterwards, but my eyes and my heart were thanking me. It was one of the most incredible views of my life. You get to see the inside of the dome in the Basilica, all mosaics and then you climb up and see all of Rome in its glory. We took some of the most amazing pictures of my trip, and walked around for quite a while.
When we were done, we walked around the square for a bit longer and then went out to find lunch. we found the cheapest place of our trip, and I thought it was one of the best meals that we had. We were all really tired, and conversation was getting a bit dry, but we enjoyed the meal nonetheless. Then we walked back to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain to see them in the daytime. Between the two, we found the best gelado place in all of Rome, I´m not even kidding you. They give you the most enormous thing of ice cream you have ever seen in your life, and they have the lightest, most exquisite ice cream I´ve ever had (I was very excited, as you can tell). We were all quite content.
After walking around for quite a bit, we decided to get something light to eat, since we wouldn´t eat again that night. We stopped for still more pizza and we were all pretty much dying. It was definitely time to go home. We stopped off for a last huzzah at the Pop-Inn to pick up our backpacks (which were not locked up this time, but fortunately still there) and head back to the airport. Our timing was pretty good, and we got to the airport with time to spare. We got on our plane, where once again, we all passed out. We were late coming in, and I didn´t get home until 2am.
When I got to my floor and stepped off the elevator, I was pleasantly surprised to see a wreath on the door, and when I opened the door, I realized that they had put up the Christmas tree while I was gone. I went in the kitchen, where I found a plate of green beans and potatoes (yes, actually one of my favorite things here) waiting for me, which I ate. Then I took a shower, because I really didn´t shower for 3 days and I was absolutely disgusting. When I went to my room, I found my bed folded down like they do in hotels, a glass of water, and a little snowman hanging from my lamp. I almost shrieked I was so excited, but I was too tired and immediately went to sleep. My first class the next morning was luckily cancelled, so I didn´t have to get up too early. Babis´s daughter, Turu, had her birthday this weekend, and they saved me a piece of chocolate cake, which I had last night. I had bought her a scarf at the Rastro, and she called me yesterday to thank me for it. I have grown attached to everyone in my Spanish family.
I went yesterday to the Christmas market in La Plaza Mayor to look around. I didn´t buy anything, but I was kind of surprised by all the weird things they had. Stalls selling Christmas ornaments also sold fake dog poop and Halloween masks. I thought it was rather strange, but the Madrilenos seemed to enjoy it.
I have only two weeks left in Spain...two weeks from today, December 19th, 2006, I will be on a plane at this time, flying home to all of you. I am both excited and sad, but I am so thankful that I have you all waiting for me when I get home.
Muchos besos y amor como siempre