Thursdays are my short days of school. I have to wake up earlier, but I only have the first two periods of class and then I'm free by 11am! After my two classes, I waited around to talk to a group of older (16/17yrs old) students about starting an Amnesty International school group. They seemed very excited about the new opportunity, especially because in Spain there are not many after school extracurriculars. When I got home I took an incredible nap, and woke up in time for French class. French is harder than I thouhgt it would be, becasue the sounds are so different; but I am still eager to learn. I brought Chulo along to class since the professor doesn't mind and the class is small, but I don't think I will be doing that too often. He is only potty trained in my house, in other places he goes wherever. Not good. After class I had only a short break until I had to meet my team for practice at 7:15. The new practice site, Casa de Campo, is not my favorite. I wish you all could see it (one day I will take pictures), it look like a horror film and freaks me out!! Nonetheless, I toughed it out with my team. We wore lights around our heads because it was getting dark quickly. We began our trek and I saw prostitutes along the path, desolate land, much darkness, and the moon; that is all. Even though there were about 9 of us running, the terrain was creepily quiet. It seemed like we were running forever, like the path would never end, and we would run into continuous darkness. I really pushed myself to keep up with the others and not stop, as I am NOT one for distance running. I was very proud of myself! When we finally arrived back at our starting point, I felt beat and I was freezing at this point; but still proud. As usual, Jose Miguel invited us all for drinks at a nearby bar, but this time I had to say no. I had to get home! I didn't even think about going to my usual intercambio spot or salsa. Rest was an urgent necessity.
Friday I was determined to walk around town with Chulo and get him used to the leash. I assumed this would be a pleasant and fairly simple experience. Pleasant it was, simple, it was not!! It literally took us 30 minutes to get only 2 blocks from my house, because Chulo was so frightened by everything and not used to walking on the sidewalk with so many distractions. It was hilarious, but a true trial of my patience. (I will post pictures of this experience as well) Chulo would walk for two minutes, and then stop in his tracks and lay flat on the ground, sticking his paws relentlessly in the pavement so as to not be moved. He would simply stare up at me and at the things around him, as if it were all so strange; I guess it was for him. Every other person stopped to play with him, and that he enjoyed much more than walking. Before I knew it, I was in Gran Via, then Banco de Espana by Prado museum, then in Retiro park!! Very far from my house! Fours hours later, I had no idea where the time had gone, and how Chulo and I had walked so far. He did not exactly walk the whole time, because I couldn't bear to let him sit there and shutter, but it was good practice for him.
After a long day of walking, I would not have minded staying in the house on Friday night. None of my options were too convincing anyway. One of my roommates, Ivonna, was having friends over for a dinner and Frenchie was staying too; I had already eaten. When the guests arrived around 11pm (Spanish dinner) I went out of my room to say hello. I had met one of the Spanish guys before, but they all insisted that I join the party in the living room with them, instead of retreating back to my room. They also begged me to let Chulo out to play with them. He was eager to run amok in the house, and they found him very amusing. I went into the kitchen to chat with everyone, and Frenchie was making mojitos. To my surprise she asked me if I wanted one! I reluctantly said yes, assuming she had not put poison in mine. She and I shared a toast and put our quarrels behind us with a little liquor! I socialized with everyone for a while; we talked and drank, and drank some more. Soon, another bottle of rum appeared, and the guys said we musn't leave yet and let it go to waste. So, we quickly made some more spirits and they eventually convinced me to go out with everyone, although I had said repeatedly I was staying in. Peer pressure will obviously prevail in most situations in Spain. By this time it was about 1am, and my roommates and I were changing clothes and finishing drinks. We did not leave the house until almost 2am! Destination unknown.
We took taxis to Plaza de Sol, where the guys had a deal going at some club called FAME There were about 7 of us girls, and only 3 guys, so we got in for the freeskie! When we entered the club it was not even half full. I quickly reminded myself that there was no need to worry, because again, this was very typical Spanish, and the club would surely be open until 7am. My instinct proved correct, and the club filled around 3am. We danced all night, and did not leave until 6am. Upon exiting the building, I could feel my toes freezing. I had on a short dress and summertime heels, because I have yet to adjust my wardrobe. The metro wouldn't open for about 30 minutes, and we were opposed to taking taxis. We were relativelt close to home, but with heels and the cold, we could not bear to walk 25 minutes home. So we walked to the guys' apartment, which was closer in Plaza de Espana, and there we warmed up with blankets and they fixed up pizza! I could not believe it was 6:30am and we were wide awake eating pizza. In a few minutes we headed to the metro, very eager to get home. As tired as I was, I could not bear to crawl into my bed smelling like smoke and outside, so I took a warm shower, and closed my eyes around 7:15am.
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