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spinning: Zero 7 - Destiny

Had my final coffee with Mei Lan and Maria Jose last night. When it came time to say goodbye, I hated it, as always. Farewells are my least favorite thing in the world. It was little consolation to think of how like Lost in Translation the whole experience was - after meeting these two girls five days ago, I had the time of my life with them, lasting memories and all, and it was more bitter than sweet when I had to say goodbye against two smiles sweetly looking back at me.

Maybe they pulled some Spanish witchcraft or something in my favor, though, because today my stomach has improved. If my sickness is on the way out, praise be. Now that the awful British drizzly rain has completely cleared, I get to spend the remnants of the afternoon studying for my finals tomorrow.

Another bad day turns into another good one.

Thursday: still sick, but a new roommate, Nate, arrives. He's here for July. This day, he crashes.

Friday: I get really sick while walking to class and run home. Skip class, like everyone else did. I take a pill, relax, and feel better by evening. I walk around town with Nate, and that night we set up an outing with the chicas.

The chicas: three US students I met on the way home one night. Mei is of Chinese descent and studies law, Maria Jose studies journalism, and there's the third girl, whose name I forgot but already left for home anyway, who was an engineer. I think I met the three on Wednesday, had a coffee with all 3 on Thursday, and then last night Nate and I went out with the two remaining girls. First was an Irish pub, where I drank nothing for my stomach's sake, followed by a Spanish music discotheque called Bellini's. The place was hoppin' all night and I had the time of my life dancing with the two girls while Nate chased other girls in the place. Maria Jose was an incredible dancer, and it was amazing when she gave me lessons in salsa and reggaeton. This night was easily my best here. On the plate for the weekend, unfortunately, is schoolwork (one last paper), and studying for my finals on Tuesday. Sounds silly for a summer study abroad class, I know, but apparently our profs were furious that no one came to class yesterday. Thankfully I haven't had to set my alarm for the first time in ages and I feel much better for it.

I'm in a cyber-cafe, having taken buses and walked halfway across town, and I get here to find they don't have a card reader for me to import any of my photos. So here go another couple days with a full CF before I can go on any photo-shooting rampages. The photo album is looking promising though, I'll have well over a hundred photos all things told.

And when I get home, it'll be my last time in north A-town. My mom has bought yet another house. Effectively, she's moving back to the south side, into Wimbledon this time. The bad news is that I won't be extremely convenient to the rest of the A-town crowd (no more 5-minute drives back from Thomas's house at 4am), but the good news is that I'll be very convenient to the Mongolian Grill. Starting when I come home from school in September or October, I'll be living halfway across town once more.

Still mostly sick. Reduced myself to the sick-stomach diet (bread, soup, bananas) and I'm able to get around pretty well, but my prospects for weekend travel aren't all that great. That said, a weekend on the beach sounds good, because people are starting to show up in hordes.

Today was an air show an it basically stopped the entire city's operation. To go to the computer lab, forget my ID and frustratedly walk home it took me 2.5 hours. If this is what the city's like in peak tourist season, I'm glad to be getting out before it gets bad.

spinning: BT - Love on Haight Street

Uuugh. Everyone in class was dead today, for various reasons. Most were hungover. 4 or 5, myself included, got sick this weekend.

Friday Trip to Salamanca went just fine, if a little long. Once you leave north Spain, it all looks like Texas and/or Mexico: in some areas flat, grassy and covered in wheat farms, in others arid and rocky, almost desert-like. We stopped for lunch in a very Mexico-like place, god-knows-where on Earth we were, it could have been anywhere. Salamanca proper was neat, toured the cathedrals and the university before being turned loose for the night. A wild night it was. By 9pm I met up with Soph in a cafe, thankfully we lived close together (it turned out my hotel was across the street from her apartment). She gave me a thorough tour of the town, and we together got dinner, coffee, drinks in an Irish bar along with her roommate, and then went to what had to be the best club in town that night. All of Salamanca's breakdancing crews decided to show up and we were entertained by people serving each other all night. I have Soph a good night hug at 4:30am before walking myself home... across the street.

Saturday AM: Soph comes over to the hotel to steal breakfast and say hi to the UT profs (she had had both during the spring). That might have done me in, because by the time I arrived in Leon during the afternoon I felt sick. Suffered through some tourism then confined myself to a hotel room for the night. Thanks to Montiel's help, I at least had my own room. He was willing to give it to me even without telling him I was sick. What a guy. Regardless, I didn't feel up to see the celebrations outside, even though I would have had a great time amidst all the cultural happenings going on that night. With a bottle of Gatorade and a Spanish Jackie Chan movie (that took place in Japan), I was asleep by midnight. Sunday was more tourism and a torturous bus ride home - between the sickness, motion sickness, and not having eaten anything in 24 hours, it was easily my worst day here. Thankfully, once I got in the door my family shortly followed, and I've started feeling better since they've taken care of me. Luckily, here I've learned to like chicken noodle soup.

I feel a little better still today - went to class without problems, and I'll probably go out again soon to buy a replacement toothbrush (since I lost mine) and get some stamps to finish off my postcards. Started looking for flights to Ibiza for my final adventure here, but they're really expensive right now so I'm waiting for a couple days in advance to pick up some cheap tickets.

Lesson of the story: getting sick in Europe inevitably happens, and it really sucks, but the only option you have is to try to move on as best you can. The adventures I did have this weekend with Soph are well worth writing home about.