I'm in the home stretch...only two weeks till lil' Rhody.
Not a whole lot has gone on in the last few weeks. I'm still working a ton and my kids are still crazy. At school some of the classes are preparing for the Christmas pageant and its a disaster. I spent all of last week teaching the 6 first grade classes how to make reindeer with their hands and feet. By the end of the week I was convinced there was no hope for the future of humanity. On a positive note I haven't seen anymore fallen teeth, although none of my students seem to have front teeth anymore. "All I want for Christmas are my two front teeth, my two front teeth..."
My friends from school and I have started playing poker recently, Texas Hold'em to be exact. On Friday I had everyone over my place to play and it was wicked fun. Nothing better than drinks and poker, and the fact that I was dominating didn't hurt.
On Sunday Steve and I went off in search of a Christmas gift for his wife. After four hours or so of walking through the crowded city we were not successful. However, we did have an interesting culinary day: For breakfast we enjoyed a Napolitana, which is basically heaven in your mouth...a flaky, buttery, chocolate crossaint, and for lunch we braved caracoles. Caracoles are snails. Not the French escargot that everyone always thinks of, these are snails in their shells soaking in a spicy oil sauce. While I probably wouldn't have them again because the sauce was too spicy for me, I did enjoy the atmosphere of the bar. It's a famous place at the top of the Rastro that is known for the snails. The old man behind the bar is that notorious old as dirt, never-going-to-retire, possible Francista, loving life gentlemen that rules the place. I would love to listen to him talk about life and the Franco era.
This whole weekend was supposed to be a puente. Today, Tuesday, is a holiday so I don't have to work in Rivas until Wednesday. However, I was supposed to work yesterday at Mosaic. Out of my 9 students on Mondays, not a single one called to tell me they weren't coming to class. Instead I waited from 630 (for my first class) until 830 (my second class starts at 8 but I have to wait a half hour to make sure no one comes) at the academy with not a single one walking through the door. This could have been a pefrect four day weekend to travel somewhere in Spain but instead I had to stay just in case one of my students showed up. Pretty much bullshit if you ask me.
I'd first like to start with a warning. This blog post is in no way funny or clever and I apologize for that.
School has been pretty normal. I'm definitely liking my new schedule of having Mondays off. Mondays are the worst days for both the kids and the teachers and now I get to avoid it. Secondly, we always go out for lunch on Friday and its fun! I met up with Raul one day since I hadn't seen him since June. I can't even explain how exciting it was. We went out for lunch and it brought back a lot of memories. I of course filled him in on how different everything in the English room was this year and begged him to come back and save me. He's still waiting to be placed in a school so there is still hope.
At Halloween time the school asks the assistants to perform a scary play, last year we did ¨Hansel and Gretel go Trick or Treating¨, this year we decided to put a Halloween spin on Rapunzel. Basically, for the last two weeks we haven´t had classes because we´ve been preparing for the show. We made a tower, a cardboard horse for the prince, pumpkins for the background, and various little odds and ends that involved a lot of painting. On the next free day we did the script and costumes, and rehearsed a million times. Steve played the ever so charming prince, Fiona played Rapunzel, Sarah the witch, and I played the narrator...you´d be surprised how much I hate standing in front of people and talking. We performed six shows on Thursday and six on Friday and they all went rather smoothly. The biggest problem was when certain actors ad lib-ed and I lost my concentration, most of the play was to our benefit. The children only understood about 15% of what we said so we added popular lines from famous movies to make it better for us, and some of the teachers. At the end the children had to hold out their hands and say ¨Trick or Treat¨and we gave them candies. Here children, have some more sugar because you´re not hyper enough! As far as having the "crazy life of a twenty something" I've been taking it easy. I've met up with some of the teachers on Thursday night for drinks a few times. It always ends up with us out till the early morning and we all come into work with sunglasses and a look of agony on Friday. Serves us right, I know. I have managed to meet some new and interesting people who will hopefully be a new source of entertainment for me.
Today I started my personal weekend. In the morning I got up, went to the gym, and then took a nice long walk in Retiro Park. As everyone knows I love the Fall so I finally got to see all the leaves changing color and take some pictures. I sat for awhile reading the new Dan Brown book, which I find extremely interesting because it takes place in D.C., and then returned home for lunch. I needed this weekend to detox and mellow out from the stressful couple of days I´ve been having. As is tradition I watched ¨Hocus Pocus¨ and continued the relaxation. I should definitely take weekends like this more often!
About the title: Say it out loud like you have gross stuff in your throat and that is how everyone Spanish person pronounces 'Happy Halloween!"
Negative: I never see my Portero. Positive: I GOT PAID FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOUR MONTHS!!
What did I do today? I sat inside a blowup globe and learned about the water cycle in Spanish. My school has started this movement towards educating the kids on water and for the six year olds this was their experience. I crawled into this globe with 25 six year olds and watched as a little drop of water named Ana told us about her life. Good to know that my Spanish is at least at a 1st grade comprehension level.
School has been pretty normal for the third trimester. I'm sure if we had rafters at school the kids would be hanging from them. I did have a little issue with one of my favorites in the third grade writing a pretty graphic note for his age. I promise you I did not know the words nor expressions that he used when I was eight. Kids these days...
Steve brought his wife Susannah to school on Wednesday to everyone's delight. She had been asking to see the school before she left for the States so this was the perfect opportunity, and we hoped it would squash the Melanie and Steve rumors from the kids. The little girl who has been on our case from the beginning apparently just put her head down in defeat when she met Susannah, something I eagerly would have paid money to see. I thought this would be the end of it but as always I was mistaken. I passed these kids in the hall and heard ¨Has visto Susannaaaaaaahhh?!?¨ (Have you seen Susannah?!?). These kids were trying to taunt me as if I didn't already know he was married. I would tell them to get lives but they are only six and that would be mean.
One of our teachers has been sick for over a week now and her students haven´t had English in that amount of time so I needed to cover the 6th grade. We only have two classes of 6th but since they didn't start in the bilingual program I don´t have any interaction with them. When I walked in they were a little nervous because they had only seen me pass in the hall. I'm not sure why they were nervous because when they all stood up they towered over me. (Great feat its not but impressive nonetheless). We did some work from their books and played a few games to get them comfortable. At the end they interviewed me and it was hysterical. My favorite was telling them I didn't eat meat because as I've said before its not a concept they grasp. By the end of class they were feeling more sure of themselves, I was definitely impressed by their persistence. As for the weekend there was a going away/birthday party for Susannah. Eclectic group of people that got together for some drinks and tapas. I finally got to see Steve´s place and the area that he raves about so much. To be honest the first thing I said when walking into the flat was, "So you guys live in Central Falls?" which of course was met with blanks stares. Too bad. At night the area is filled with activity so we hit up a few bars as well. By 3am it winded down to just Lisa and her amazing sister Renee, Juanma, Isabel (Steve´s old roommate), and Steve and Susannah. Great night.
It's official, I am 23 years old, or in a direct translation from Spanish according to my kids: I have 23 years. While I would love to spread wild rumors that I lived up this birthday in true Madrid style, I can not. I was quite too sick to do so. The night of the 14th my co-worker Mary was in a play with her theater group so Lisa and I met up with a few other teachers to watch. The show was made up of mostly British people doing small performances from other works. It was great and Mary did fantastic. After, we went out for a few drinks because it was still pretty early. At midnight everyone sang in Spanish, and then again at 12:10 when they realized they could capture it on camera. It was a great night! And I even got a flower! On my actual birthday I had a picnic in the park with some friends. It was a beautiful day with the temperature around 70 degrees. The sunshine was great and the park was filled with people. It was relaxing and a lot of fun just enjoying great food and conversation. Now, on to the sickness. As I mentioned before I started to feel sick when Kristen was visiting. The Monday she left my body just decided to quit on me. I proceeded to take the next two days off because I could not stand without falling. If you remember my first interaction with the doctors here you'll understand why me staying home from school is a huge deal. When I miss school I have to get what is called a 'justificante', basically a doctor's note excusing my absence from work. The first time I tried this I ended up in tears after visiting three different places while being sick. So clearly I was nervous for this time as well. Luckily there is a doctor right across the street so I met up with him for my 1 minute diagnosis: Go get X-rays. Fair enough. I then headed up a couple blocks to the clinic to wait in a stuffy room for X-rays. The technichian was wicked nice, probably because I looked horrible, and even called me "Mi amor...". I wasn't able to get my results that Tuesday so I had to go back on Friday. I spent the rest of the time in bed. When I brought the results back to the doctor this was his reaction: Looks at results and shakes head. Says "Joder" (bad bad swear). Looks at me, shakes head again. Says "Joder" again. Tells me I have a really bad sinus infection. Prescribes me 5 pills a day for ten days. Shakes his head.
Awesome.
By the end of the following week I was feeling much better, unforunantely not well enough to travel for the puente. Thursday was Father's Day here in Spain so I had that day and Friday off to make a four day weekend. Fortunantly for me the NCAA Tournament officially started and I was able to catch some of the early games at the pub. My medicine said nothing about mixing beer with pills.
Negative: My first and second round picks in my bracket put me last in all three of my March Madness pools.
Positive: Celebrating St. Patrick's Day at school by going out for beers at lunch.
As cliche as it may be March definitely came in like a lion here in Spain. The weather has been averaging 65 degrees, the children have decided that they're done with school, AND Kristen came to visit. After a particularly crazy couple of days at school it was nice to finally have some 'home' around me. I completely understand that the children want to be outside in the sunshine, I definitely remember those days at school too, problem is that here in Spain those days start in March instead of May. There has been a lot of yelling and more unruliness than usual. Hard to believe that's even possible, I know! This is also around the time that my body decided to shut down so my patience were gone to begin with.
Anyways, Kristen came in on a Wednesday and she finally gave me the chance to take the new metro out to Terminal 4. Funny story: I saw one of my adult students at the arrival gate getting off a flight. I didn't want to leave my spot in line so I figured I would just tell him about it in class later that night. Well, its a good thing I didn't because when I saw him a few weeks later (he canceled class of course) he said it was his twin brother! That could have been wicked awkward. I'm going to recount Kristen's time here by day: Day 1: On the way home from the airport and for the rest of the day we caught up on gossip, clearly. Since my class canceled we went to Retiro for the usual see Madrid routine stop. Although, it was quite interesting because we got to the lake and were met with a freezing rain storm for about 20 minutes. Fun! The park still looked amazing because the sun was setting and that always changes everything. From there we took one of the back exits out of the park and walked the Paseo del Prado (aka Where Monique was almost robbed). We walked the whole way down to Atocha and then back up the opposite side of the park. This may sound like a nice little walk, but in reality its about ten miles. The weather cleared up so it was pleasant and we saw a lot of the city. Day 2: I had school so Kristen set off on her own little adventure that involved the Prado and shopping. She was in her element. After my night class I met her and my roommate at one of our local bars, Bo'finns for dinner and drinks. I certainly know how to pick them because we quickly discovered that there was a men's rugby team from New Zealand celebrating their completion of a two week circuit in Madrid at the bar. Fact: Rugby follows me everywhere. With that said, it was a fun night.
Day 3: We did Sol, the Palace, and Plaza Mayor. The norm. With the construction at the Palace still it doesn't give as good a view as it did two years ago but its impressive nonetheless. Plaza Mayor was perfect because everyone was just sitting out drinking and eating. Very Spanish. I hear that come Spring time the Plaza is packed with people enjoying the sunshine and each other. Sol was crowded as usual but its the center of Spain so you have to expect that always. The night was wicked lame because I was still feeling horrible and wanted to preserve myself for Saturday night. Kristen and I spent the night acting like idiots in my apartment for no particular reason.
Day 4: This Saturday night was one of the greatest in the history of my time in Spain. Kristen, Lisa and I got ready together for a continuation of Juanma's birthday. We all met at a Mexican restaurant in Chueca for dinner reservations at around 11. But in true Spanish style that meant that we didn't get our table until 1230ish. While we waited outside we felt like we were on display because the Spaniards closed us in to the middle of the circle. There was no escape, we were the centers of attention. After we were seated we all agreed upon an all you can eat and drink price for the next 2 and half hours. I'm proud to say that the sixteen of us put back enough beer and pitchers of alcohol to quench the thirst of a small army. After they closed the restaurant around us we headed off to the next bar. We met up with some other teachers from my school and then all got in cabs to head to 69 Petals, a club. The music was fantastic, and listening to Spaniards try to sing American classics made it even better. I served as translator most of the night because Kristen's a little rusty on her MBC trained Spanish. Antonio, who used to work at the school last year and who I've written about before because of his intense Sevillian accent, would say something and then expect me to translate the whole night. I have to say I'm quite proud of myself because on average most Spaniards don't understand him. My Spanish is definitely favoring a southern accent, or at least my understanding. We spent the rest of the night dancing and singing, all around craziness. At around 6 when the bar closed the seven of us that were left took off for home. Just the walk to the metro was a challenge but we managed. After a successful night Kristen and I strolled into my apartment around 7am. By far one of the best nights ever.
Day 5: Kristen and I rallied. We got up early and headed off to the Rastro, the outdoor flea market. We both bought new earrings and took in some of that Madrid sun. Its popular after the Rastro to find your way into one of the local restaurants. I had a delicious house dish of paella and she was introduced to croquetas. We came back home and caught up on our sleep. At night we went out, finally, to this amazing sushi restaurant near my apartment. The food was great and we were there on 'date night' which was even better, haha. It was a great end to a wonderful visit!
Oh, and in case you're wondering why I love it here so much, here's a video from that Saturday night:
This past Sunday I decided to throw a traditional 'Lawton style' brunch. After realizing that it would not be healthy for me to go through two boxes of Bisquick myself over the rest of my time here, I decided the best solution was to share. (how very non-only child of me). However, a few things are different about brunches in Spain and in my household. For starters when I invited some of my Spanish friends they didn't understand the concept that brunch starts at 1130ish or 12 at the latest. When you go to a place here that offers 'brunch' usually that means 130 or 2, and the place doesn't even open until then! The other thing that is a little strange here is pancakes, not popular at all. Knowing all this, and the fact that I was going to cook, I somehow managed to convince a group to join me.
With the exception of my roommate Liz everyone else was work related. Lisa, Juanma, Raul with his girlfriend Gloria, and Steve brought his wife Susannah. All together there were eight of us cramming into my tiny little apartment. The menu included an excellent fruit salad (Keith would be jealous), eggs, bacon (I didn't cook it), and my fantastic pancakes. I also stopped by the local bakery and picked up this amazing fresh bread to serve with the eggs. Something that was different about my brunch (that I recommend highly) was the mimosas. I would say that mimosas definitely made the brunch a lot more exciting, especially since the Spaniards had never had them. All of the food turned out excellent and everyone was quite pleased with the spread. I have to be honest, I was wicked nervous earlier in the week because I do not have a lot of cooking space. However, after finding a griddle (una plancha) I was able to calm down and enjoy the brunch a lot more.
After brunch we headed to two of the restaurants/bars on my street for some cañas. The first place was more of a food atmosphere so we left after only one. The other place is actually attached to my building and is always crowded. I've been meaning to go in for some time now but I never do it. No matter what time of day I walk by there is always people packed in tightly and having a great time. The place is also super loud and energetic. Finally, after five months, I went inside and as expected had an amazing time.
After beer we picked up some rum and vodka to continue the fiesta up in my apartment. Steve and Susannah had brought some great appetizers so along with that and snacks we hung out listening to music. The party ended somewhere around 9 when everyone finally realized that it was a Sunday and we all had work the next day. We lead great lives.
In the end, I must say that I am very proud of myself and ecstatic that everything turned out well! Maybe I can actually do this adult thing...
Negative: Fontaneros (plumbers) destroying my apartment.
Positive: I´m leaving tonight for Cadiz to celebrate Carnaval!!!!
So Keith and Monique came across the ocean last week to visit me. Technically, they flew over to see me but really it was to get more countries under their belts...I'm kidding (kind of). So after trying unsuccessfully to meet them at their hotel before heading to my night class, missing them by only 7 minutes, I finally was able to see them later in the night. They look the same. They talk the same. And of course they act the same. It was definitely nice to be around home.
The next morning we did the Madrid Vision bus that allows you to hop on and hop off at the sights. Now this is one of my favorite things to do because I can see the city that I usually learn through walking. As expected it was fantastic; we traveled the historical path through the city and saw everything. I think the best part was seeing where all the cows were hidden. If I haven't already mentioned there are ceramic cows placed all over the city and it's my goal to get a picture of all 105. From the bus I got a better idea of where I needed to go. Eventually I got my mom in on the action and we dragged my dad to all the ones that we could find. However, with his sick sense of humor he found his favorite in no time at all. (See picture). So the bus took us to all the sights first because we decided to go through once before choosing where we wanted to get off. The next day was Saturday so I took them on a tour of my neighborhood. I showed them my fresh market which is one of my favorite things here. The place is huge and offers an amazing selection of fresh fruit, vegetables, and fish. From there we went to Retiro Park because you have to when you visit the city. We walked through most of it just talking about the city and taking in the view. The weather was pretty decent so that makes walking around that much better. From Retiro we did the immediate area around my apartment where I successfully was able to lose my dad's sense of direction. Toma ya! From there we had lunch at a Doner Kebab place because I had talked so much about it the last time I was here. I'm happy to say they were satisfied with my decision. From here we walked to Manuel Bercera so I could show them where I picked up the bus and then from there to Ventas, the bullring. Unfortunately, the bullring has been taken over by the circus so there are trucks blocking most of the view. I guess it didn't matter because neither of them were too interested in seeing inside. After leaving my neighborhood we took a break at the hotel and then eventually went out for dinner.I had planned that on Sunday morning we would head to the Rastro which is an outdoor flea market type deal. However, it was raining miserably so we went to the Prado art museum instead. I'm going to preface this by saying that the Prado is world famous and some even believe it has one of the greatest art collections in the world. My family, myself included, are not art people. The museum is huge and a little difficult to navigate so after an hour or so of following the map I gave up and just took them to my favorites. A little before Spanish lunch time we left and were greeted by sunshine outside as we headed back to Sol. While walking on the other side of the Prado I noticed a woman walking beside with a map. Now to many this is not unusual because Madrid gets many tourists and they clearly use maps. For me however I had a feeling. This whole trip my family and I have walked single file because my dad gets sidetracked in the back looking at everything and my mom walked in front or directly behind me to get out of peoples' way. So when I felt a presence beside me and knew it wasn't my mother I looked for her. As I look in front of this woman I notice her counterpart with her hand inside my mother's previously zipped purse taking her wallet. I caught her red handed. I pushed the map woman towards the wall and went for her friend. I started swearing, grabbed the hood to her jacket, and choked her backwards with all my force. I scared her, clearly, and she dropped the wallet. I picked it up and continued yelling at her to get lost. This was the point when my parents finally realized that something was going on, when they noticed the wallet was on the ground. There were three of them in total, all roma gypsies; one between my dad and I, one trying to block my view, and the other stealing. I can not describe the rage that built up inside of me as this was happening. I am pretty sure it's safe to say I have never been that mad, I was literally shaking. While this was happening on the small side walk there was another family in front of us. The daughter came over to me and started apologizing because she didn't want me to think the gypsies were Spanish . I explaind that I lived here and that I knew that this should not reflect the Spanish people. She felt so bad for us and they ended up walking with us the rest of the way.
In the end I guess I'm pretty badass. (picture: my parents unsuccessfully trying to eat paella; notice their use of the ashtray)
On Monday I took them out to Rivas to see my school. What an event! Besides the excitement I created with my gypsy story everyone was ecstatic to meet them. My parents could barely talk to someone without someone else coming over to greet them. First I had them meet my American coworkers and then I took them to meet the higher ups. The principal was so thrilled and wanted me to show them everything. From there we went to Recreo and that's where the party started. All the teachers were there to greet them and find out how they liked their trip. Those that spoke English were eager to practice and I must say they did an excellent job. After Recreo I brought them around to some of my classes and had the children ask questions. The kids were a little surprised but they weren't that shy around them. In the end I think it was a great experience for everyone and I'm glad I could finally show them what I do everyday.
I wasn't lying about the 'out-of-control' part, was I?
At night my parents met my Mosaic bosses, seeing as they were also very involved in my time abroad here in university. The meeting went well, especially since my mom brought the infamous fudge. In summation of that experience Maricarmen was finally able to understand where I come from, it all makes perfect sense now!
My night class canceled so we met Juanma and Steve for dinner at a nice little place in Iglesia. We had a round of drinks first in typical Spanish style and then sat down for a little bit of everything. We sampled a lot of different things and it was a real taste of Spanish cuisine. The conversation was lively and great, except for the stories about me as a child...thank you parents! We spent the whole night laughing and eating, as it should be, and it was a perfect end to a great vacation. Perfection.
Oh! and for the record, non native English speakers understand it as dinner, not supper and especially not SUPPAH!
Negative: Not having a chance to meet up with my old señora, Maribel.
Positve: Great family and friends, simply fantastic.
New Year’s in Madrid pretty much solidified my opinion that Spain is the greatest place in the world. Dramatic? Probably, but the night was that fantastic that I can’t say any less. The tradition here in Spain is to eat twelve grapes at midnight as the clock strikes the first 12 seconds. It symbolizes good luck for each month of the year. However, it may sound simple enough but in fact it is much more difficult. Chewing and swallowing twelve grapes in twelve seconds is near impossible with little experience…so I’ll have to try again next year. Anyways, the city of Madrid pours into Puerta del Sol in the exact center of the city and country for that matter. The clock tower is there and the city becomes even more alive. Our goal was to get there to experience all Madrid had to offer for the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009.
Around 7pm Britney and I set out looking fantastic and carrying our little can of pre-packaged 12 grapes. The goal was to find some tapas and beer and get to Sol early enough so that we could experience everything. One problem, all my tapas places closed down due to the ‘holiday’. Eventually we made our way into Sol because there had to be at least one bar open to eat and drink. After some searching we found a place called Cañas y Tapas (beer and appetizers). I was politely told that the kitchen was closed and we would only be getting beer. Fair enough, drinking on an empty stomach is always a great idea. As we’re standing there these two guys ask us to translate the menu for them. Easy enough, but a little curious that we couldn’t get food and they were going to be allowed. We found out that they guys, Vincent and Luca, were Italian and in the city for four days. They bought us beer, we never did get food, and the four of us tried to communicate in English, Italian, and Spanish. As the bar closed around 9pm we parted ways to get food but said we’d meet up in Plaza Mayor around the corner.
Britney and I went across the street to Pans & Company for some quick sandwiches and a chance tofigure out where to next. We were without beer and didn’t know where we were going to find an open bar if everything seemed to be shutting down in preparation for the celebration. Then I remembered something genius: in Madrid, Burger King sells beer. Yes, this is not a joke you can actually buy beer at any BK in Madrid for less than two euros. To Britney this was intriguing and unbelievable, to me this was why Spanish people are the way they are…ridiculous. We waited in line for what seemed like hours but left with two Grande Cervezas BK label and all. So we took our beers and our cans of grapes and headed up to Plaza Mayor. We didn’t get very far before we found our Italian friends standing under an awning drinking Museo del Jamón wine and eating as well. The four of us wandered again for a little bit trying our hardest to communicate, basically a lot of gestures and childish mimes. The way I look at it though is if our main goal was to communicate we were hugely successful no matter how ridiculous we looked or sounded. We eventually found Moor’s open and parked ourselves there.
Inside Moor’s we made friends with a young Spanish couple that clearly demonstrated why PDA is over-the-top here. The Irish guys next to us, convinced that Americans have the softest skin, gave us their phone to time the couple…ridiculous. We enjoyed a few beers before they closed at 1030 and picked up another couple on the way out. This Polish couple joined us because they were also just visiting Madrid and didn’t have anybody else to party with, clearly we looked intriguing. So that brings the count up to two Americans, two Italians, and now a Polish couple, fun fun fun. Still having time before midnight I took us to the one place I knew would be open, Dubliner’s. Along the way Vincent bought bottles of champagne from the chinos and we all had a nice little ‘cava’ shower. Dubliner’s was of course open but was only really sitting people for dinner, oddly enough. We schmoozed the bouncer (same guy from two years ago) and he let us go to the back and get drinks. We lasted there until about half past eleven and then made our way to the main Plaza. More champagne was picked up along the way and we kept our grapes tucked safely away.
Our trek to the clock was pretty successful considering the massive crowd of people trying to do the same thing. We found a nice little space and waited for the countdown. In all fairness I remembering asking what time it was and it was 10 minutes until and then the next thing I know the fireworks were going off like crazy. HAPPY NEW YEAR!! We never heard the clock chimes so we all just started eating our grapes. About three in I realized this was a mute point and decided a throwing them was more fun. That night we all ended up with grapes in too many places to count! We yelled like crazy and I’m pretty sure I even ended up dancing and jumping in a huge group of Italians. Absolutely amazing!
Clearly the night was not over so we wandered the streets a little bit with no direction at all. We picked up two French girls at one point but I’m not sure what became of them the rest of the night. We made our way back to Dubliner’s but with a 10 euro cover we decided next door at O’Connell’s was a better choice. Trying to get in the door I looked up to find my roommate and her friends trying to do the same. After some ridiculous yelling and myself being lifted off the ground we finally made it in. From here the night gets a little out of control so suffice to say that Britney and I ended up back at my apartment asleep around 8am. All the makings of a complete night!
What I learned from the night? Italians say "changing the water" when they have to pee and I'll never be able to learn Polish.
Negative: Bruises. end of story.
Positive: Starting what looks to be a great New Year.
Positive: Lights are up in the city again!
