"You'd have to be a fool these days...to want to go to school these days"

It’s Saturday and I don’t have class! Let’s do this Spain. It’s beautiful outside and I head to the gym on campus. They won’t let me in because they say that I paid for academics, but not for use of the gym. I explained that I paid the University of Miami a very large sum of money to use everything and they get pissy and start saying that “all the other students in the world” pay extra for the gym why should you be any different (kind of slamming me cuz I’m American…oh no you didn’t!). I try to explain that I’m not going to pay for something I already paid for and UM should pay them whatever the fee is (especially since we were told the gym was included), but that did not fly. This entire convo was in Spanish…my first argument in another language lol. I don’t let it phase me and I decide to just run outside when I find an OUTDOOR public gym…What??? It’s not very nice and all the machinery is made out of the material that jungle gym’s are made out of, but it’s better than nothing. Plus I’m lifting while staring out at the city, the ocean and the mountains. Kind of amazing.

Then I go back to my host mom’s house and do yoga on her terrace. Yes, she has a terrace, no I don’t really do yoga, but I did try it. lol. I’m just not the type of person who likes to stretch for that long, I really like to have time to think to myself but I’d rather be moving.

When I’m done I head out to get coffee. I’m a coffee addict and without it I turn into something very unpleasant resembling that big pile of angry leaves from Fraggle Rock. Local coffee shops are my favorite thing ever, but the coffee here is very very small. There is almost no water in them and they are like half the size of a Starbucks TALL!! So tiny. It’s taken me awhile to get used to it, but it’s so strong and delicious (like me). This particular instance, however, I wanted to order a different kind of coffee I hadn’t had yet so I just randomley picked something on the menu. I’ve been doing this a lot and it almost always works out. You just ask for something at a restaurant and it’s so thrilling having no idea what you are going to get. This time it was coffee with liquor in it. WHOOPS! It’s the middle of the day and I just bought alcohol. I have no choice but to down it and then do some homework. I’m very adventurous. I hope my mother will be proud when she reads this.

That night my host mom made me an incredible plate of cheese, meat and fruit. They eat dinner super late here (like 9:30 or 10) and lunch is a huge meal, while dinner is small. It’s a lot better for you to eat your bigger meal earlier in the day, hence the lack of fat people here. That, and there is only one McDonald’s in the whole city. I haven’t been there yet, but I’m sure if I ever get homesick I will order a 50 piece chicken nugget and let America just coarse through my body. Clog my arteries with the taste of freedom? There’s nothing more patriotic.