This past week of classes was much different from the others, because it was a week of conferences and expositions. Some of my classes were cancelled throughout the week and instead we attended conferences, among other things. Needless to say, it made for a very easy week. It was pretty uneventful until the weekend started.
On Thursday, the university threw a party called Fiesta de Politécnicas for all of the students. It was held in the park right beside the campus and it went on all day and night. I couldn’t believe how big it was! There were hundreds of students in the park, grilling food, playing games and of course, drinking calimoxo (wine with coke). There was even a marching band playing in the middle of the event! I had a lot of fun with all of the other Erasmus students and met a lot of new people.
Friday was a day of recuperation for all of the students. I went out for lunch with my friend David from France and then Steph joined us later on to go for a walk along the river in the city. It was such a beautiful day and I couldn’t believe the amount of people out enjoying the warm weather. That night I had Steph, David, and Hector and Jose from Mexico over to my apartment to hang out. It was a pretty relaxed evening, as everyone was still pretty exhausted from the night before.
Saturday was beautiful as well, and I decided to take advantage of the weather by going for a nice, long run. I saw so many other Erasmus students out walking around and taking in the sun. Afterwards I met up with Thais, Roberta and Livia (from Brazil) to get ice cream. I guess all of the other Erasmus students had the same idea because when we got there, there were about ten others already at the shop. While there we made plans to have a fiesta at our friend Valerio’s apartment (he is from Italy).
Sunday was “Brazilian Day.” Our friends Roberta, Thais, Caetano and Daniel (all from Brazil) had everyone over for a “cookout” of typical Brazilian food. (I put “cookout” in quotes because it was a miniature electric grill that was placed on the large windowsill outside their kitchen window.) While Daniel manned the grill, Thais and Roberta cooked rice, beans and some sort of salsa, and Caetano played bartender by making Capiriñas for everyone. It’s a delicious, but strong drink made with vodka, fresh limes and sugar. Sometimes they even use kiwis. They played Brazilian music and it was fun to have such a large group of friends together in one tiny apartment. I think that we may try to make this a weekly event, with a different country’s apartment hosting the get together!
I’m getting excited for April to come, as there is a lot that I am looking forward to! At the end of the month I will actually be moving in with Thais and Caetano. Although I do like the apartment I am living in, I feel that I am not getting the most out of my experience in Spain. Living with Caetano and Thais will be a lot more exciting and I will be speaking even more Spanish than I already do. Furthermore, the building and block that they live in is already filled with Erasmus students from Brazil, Mexico, France and Ireland, so I will be living closer to most of my friends.
Not only will April bring a new apartment, but I also have a lot of traveling to look forward to! From March 31st-April 3rd we will be going to the Canary Islands! It is a rather large group going. Steph, Laura and Monica from the US will be there, along with Thais, Roberta, Caetano and Daniel from Brazil, Jose and Hector from Mexico, and David and Youssef from France! It is a big, crazy group, so I know we will have a great time. After the Canary Islands, we have planned a trip to Morocco with the Brazilians and a lot of the French students. I still need to plan more trips though, as I still want to visit more of Spain, along with Amsterdam, Paris, London, Ireland, and my old roommates Valentina and Natascia in Calabria, Italy.
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| Monica, Steph and Laura with Charlotte and Pierre from France |
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| Laura and I with Charlotte |
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| Fiesta de Politecnicas! |
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