Thoughts

Apologies for my week of electronic absence, hope family members were not left too concerned from my preceding closing (for the curious, Friday morning’s hangover would have been horrendous had I not danced until 5am, thus sweating out all the alcohol as I drank it). But now, I am indulging in the longstanding Spanish tradition of Siesta (midday, everything closes and the city participates in drinking, eating way too much then napping before opening businesses back up around 6pm), one custom not surrendered by Andalucía despite the contrary by such commercialized cities as Madrid. It’s one of many trademarks that make this place all too surreal and dreamlike, though (spoken like a true American), I must admit the influx of inefficiency drives me mad at times. However, the newfound daybreak has allotted time for some unexpected leisurely activities, since Lord knows I’m not capable of sleeping at night, let alone midday. In just over a month, (I’m either proud to say or embarrassed to admit, not sure which yet) I have finished 7 novels and over 392 games of chess. (While the latter may not be an accurate figure, the former I know for sure because I read all my designated semester reading material and had to buy 2 more books). And smack-dab in the middle of exam week, what better utilization of today’s Siesta time then to study (NOT), update my journal.
As of late, stress has begun to pervade my newfound “tranquillo” mentality, much to my dismay. The culprit à the J School App. Yes, the deadline looms for entry into the coveted UW School of Journalism and come January, I hope to be one of 100 lucky Charlie’s with a golden ticket. Other related stressors have since hopped the bandwagon including spring enrollment (even harder to do when J-School fate is unknown), overseas transcript demands, necessary résumé tweaking, solidification of travel itinerary, and the like.
Above all else, I’ll note that I severely miss my mom. Seriously, I was struck with my first case of serious homesickness in the depths of flu-induced insomnia last night during a late-night bout of frantic coughing and heaving and vividly remember while expelling a tear, actually whimpering aloud “I want my mom.” I’m hoping to kick it soon but there’s a bug going around. And Mom, if you’re reading – yes, I looked into the flu shot and the student affairs coordinator is getting back to me.
Other than that, today marks an exciting day for a good friend and fellow American in the program, (Happy 21st Birthday Adrienne!) and our displaced, tight knit group will be celebrating tonight at the river and tomorrow at tapas preceding the clubs. My presence at both are conditional on my health developments but something tells me the unclenching grip of finished midterms tomorrow will provide a reserve of energy for my favorite nugget. (Note: not a birthday celebration without the troublesome trio.)
Lastly, more exciting travel plans are booked and underway and we all anxiously await the coming weekends…
This weekend: Home sweet home, Sevilla J
October 22nd-25th: Granada (I promised you I would during Honors Spanish 4, Ms. Kellen!)
October 29th-Nov 1st: Amsterdam – Halloween (can’t come soon enough)
November 5th-8th: Dublin, Ireland (also can’t come soon enough)
December 3rd-6th: London and Paris

*Intermediate weekends’ possibilities: Munich, Prague, Belgium, Switzerland, Vienna
So many options, so little time, too little money <-- (accepting donations, early Christmas presents, and early 21st birthday presents :) :) )