¡Estoy en España!

Ok, so i honestly didnt think I would ever use this blog again after my MIS class, but considering that so many people are interested in my life (sarcasm) I feel like it is necessary. So, here it goes.
For those of you who dont know, I am studying Spanish this summer in Spain (where else right?). Anyways, I´ve been here since the 31 of May and am staying until the 31 of July. Jeremy Bennett, Whit Cox (two of my close friends) are both staying with the same host family as I am and we are having a lot of fun together. Our family is very hospitable and we like them a lot. There is Arturo (padre), Merino (madre), and Alba and Andrea (hermanas). They also have a dog (perra) and two cats (gatos). We hang out with Arturo most of the time because he is the one who is at home the most. He fixes us breakfast every morning and lunch after school. During our siesta time, he always wants to play ping pong with us. Its a lot of fun, but sometimes you just have to tell him that you´ve had enough and want to actually take a siesta. After all, we are trying to get the full Spanish experience.
Our typical day usually starts around 735 when we get up and get ready for school. It doesnt take long on account of we are not allowed to take showers in the morning because Arturo doesnt want to wake the neighbors. We then eat breakfast and walk to class which starts at nine. Class goes until 230 with a few breaks in between. After that we walk home and eat lunch. After lunch (which is the biggest meal of the day....like really big), we siesta. After that, whit, jeremy, and I usually go to the plaza and meet up with some of our friends from state. This is usually around 830 or nine. Did I mention lunch isnt until 3? In the plaza, there are a lot of shops, restaurants, vendors, etc. It is a really pretty place and is always full of people around this time. Well, whenever we meet with everyone we go to a restaurant or bar for drinks and tapas. Let me take time here to explain tapas: Tapas are definitely my favorite Spanish custom so far. They are basically free appetizers. Whenever you order drinks (anything besides tap water), the waiter will bring you free food with it. FREE! Another round of drinks = another round of tapas. Why doesn´t America do that? The best tapas we have found are at a place called Indalo. My favorite is a smoked piece of salmon on ciabatta bread with cream cheese... Well now that you know that bit of information Ill keep going. Most people get drinks and tapas around 930 or 10, and then get supper after that. Then after that they go out and fiesta. As for whit, jeremy, and I, we usually are pretty full after tapas considering the elephant we ate for lunch. After tapas, we usually go out to a bar or wherever everybody is and hang out until we get too tired. Then, we walk home and do it all over again...mas o menos. On weekends we will go on trips to different places around Europe. We havent had a weekend yet so I cant really say anything about that. Well, there is the first entry to the Spanish Chapter of my rarely used blog- I guess we will see how this goes.

jm