1st Semester = Done!

So I've taken 1 of my 2 exams, and that concludes my 1st six weeks here in Spain. I CANT BELIEVE IT! It's gone by too fast already! I cant even remember what I've been doing...which means I need to fit 1000 x more cool stuff into the next 2.5 months.

Speaking of...I leave for Andalucia tomorrow night at midnight. My friends Catherine, Ernesto, and I are taking a midnight train to Cordoba to see the Mezquita, and then we'll be spending 2 days in Malaga on the Mediterranean Sea, 2 days in Granada to see the Sierra Nevada mountain range and the Alhambra, and then 3 or 4 in Seville - where we'll be catching a Bull Fight! It'll be such a great, crazy week, and I absolutely cannot wait. Last weekend some girls and I went to the Basque Region for the weekend and I felt like I was on heaven on earth, which is ironic because that particular region is known for violence in attempts to gain independence from Spain (google ETA for more info =)). But not only was San Sebastian the MOST beautifulplace I had ever seen, but the people were friendlier than in Burgos. Much more so. (side note: spain has 4 national languages, one of which, Euskera, is only found in Basque country. Its roots are unkown and its unlike any otehr language - Carmen says she cant understand a word of it, and that it sounds like jibberish). One of the store owners we stopped in knew we were not Spanish (duh) and taught us how to say "hello" and things like that in Euskera. I don't remember now, though - bummer. Australian people must love Spain, because we met TONS of Australians there - at the Hostel there was a group of 22 of them (LOUD) in one group, then a few others, and people from Ireland, Rome, and England. Very interesting - the Hostal experience was fun, too, and I'm excited for more. It was like a bunch of strangers living in 1 apartment sharing 2 tiny bathrooms and 1 messy kitchen, like we'd known each other for years. It was located in the oldest part of town with more bars per square block than anywhere else in Spain - so it was loud - but also lots of fun! We went to this place to try some tapas that were specific to the region and have some wine - S.S. is known for their vino blanco. We had a salad for the vegetarian, a rice/clam dish, some type of meat with guacamole that we couldnt identify, one other that i don't remember, a beef dish served with strawberry ice cream and dark chocolate (HA-MAZING - my favorite by far), and a flaky white fish that was pretty darn good. I liked everything. All in all, S.S. is known for their beaches, but of course it rained the ENTIRE weekend. But it was still gorgeous and I'd go back in the rain in a heart beat. We went to the top of a mountain and took pictures of the bay, and you can see EVERYTHING - it's amix of beaches, mountains, pine, and green. and colorful little houses with red roofs. I loved it. Then we went to Bilbao to check out the Guggenhiem, which was very interesting and I'm excited to go back with mom, dad, and caits. The 3rd floor was closed down because they were in between exhibits, so it'll be like I hadnt even seen it. Juan Munoz had a modern-very-different-but-very-cool exhibit going on, but i dont think it will still be there in December.

Our program directors have really stepped it up lately as far as class excursions go. We had a workshop on Spanish cooking, in which we learned to make Paella, Spanish Tortilla, and Gazpacho. It was experience! I tried ALL of the seafood on my plate, even though most of it still had eyes. I'm growin up as far as being picky goes! The tortilla wasnt cooked all the way, but I didn't get sick, so that's cool. I got to flip to tortilla, but almost dropped it on the floor. Go figure! t was fun though, and there are pictures online that you all can see - (http://picasaweb.google.com/cara.cheevers). Then we visited Atapuerca, a site right outside of Burgos that hsa the oldest remnants of human bones in Europe - and the first identification of human life in Europe in the evolution process. It was incredibly interesting, despite the rain, and there are a FEW pictures online as well. But there wasnt a ton to take pictures of except for het layers of dirt, clay, and mudd, that had been their for literally MILLIONS of years. The actual bones are in labs being tests and all that good, scientific stuff. And then on Friday, we visit the San Miguel Brewery. San Miguel is the main beer here in Spain - they dont have bud, bud light, and all that jazz. So we got to see how it was made, take a tour of the packaging plant, and then at the end of the tour there were 2 tables set up for us completely STOCKED with every kind of beer they make for us to try. This woman just kept bring more and more 6-packs for try out. Some were flavored "cerveza claras" with little or no alcohol, so we got to try a whole variety, complete witrh bar stacks like peanutes, crackers, little sandwiches, and everything. Keep in mind, this was at 2 in the afternoon. =)

I've made a group of Spanish friends! But they're all leaving for their own universities this coming week, so we're all going out tonight as a farewell celebration. Alfredo (yes - like the cheese) invited some of us to stay with him in Madrid, and we have a trip to Segovia planned to visit Sara in october. Funny story about Alfredo - Catherine and I went over to his parents house to watch the Little Mermaid in spanish with him and he good us pasta with a cheese sauce. Catherine and I sat their laughing to ourselves that Alfredo had made us Alfredo pasta without even realizing it, since they dont call it Alfredo in Spain. I was loving it. And they all think my name is weird! (My name literally translate into "face" in spanish, or "expensive." So when I introduce myself to people and say "my llamo cara" its literally like saying "my name is face" or "my name is expensive." Alfredo, and another friend named Cesar (which is funny, too - like ceasar dressing), were like "you have a very pretty name Cara, but its kind of like saying "My llama codo, or me llama tobillo" - "my name is elbow, or my name is ankle." Like I said, I get a lot of funny stares like "this girl is onnnnn something" when i introduce myself. Carmen even mentioned she thought my name was a little different the first time saw is, haha.

Speaking of Carmen - she is fantastic about teaching me new vocab and testing me on what I know and all that good stuff. Well one day she asked what words I had learned in class and on that particular day it HAPPENED to be that we learned a bunch of bad words. So I told her so and she was like "oh great! tell me what you learned!" really enthusiastically. Well, i reinforced that they were "palabras malas" and she told me to say it anyways, so i did. So its lke 11:30 after dinner and we're sitting in the little kitched and I'm listing off all the words like "joder, mierda, hija de puta, puta madre" and all the really terrible words I know, and she repeats them back to me so I can get the pronunciations right. It would have been the funniest thing to watch, I bet. And then I educated her on all the curse words in latin america that i knew, that are everyday, normal words in Spanish-Spanish. She didn't know they meant other things and was pleased to learn something know. hahaha, well...might as well go the whole 9 yards, right?

On another note. Uncle Denny: I had my first political discussion the other night with some Spanish friends. It was great! They asked if I liked Obama, and of course, my eye must have twinkled. They absolutely LOVE him and were like "the whole world wants obama!" and mentioned how many people traveled to Berlin just to see him speak and all that jazz. They flipped out when I told him how I've shaken his hand before, and how I've seen him speak twice, and all that good stuff. They were jealllouuusssss. That conversation must have opened a floodgate because I've had about 2 or 3 since with more Spaniards and a couple Australians. I've definitely realized exactly HOW MUCH of an impact the US has on teh rest of the world - like I knew, but i didnt KNOW. People would kill for the chance to vote for the US president because it affects them almost as much as it does us (almost) and how many US citizens throw away their vote? It's infuriating to think about. Speaking of which: Still waiting for my absentee ballot.

Weather has been beautiful - but I'm thinking about all y'all in the US who have been sitting under terrential rains. Jerry mentioned that it's been clearing up, so thats wonderful to hear. Hopefully everyone is safe and has power!

You can see ALL of my pictures online now! It's much easier than trying to load them on here -
http://picasaweb.google.com/cara.cheevers

thats a good representation at least! miss you all!