Girl's day out

Saturday was such a fun day! It was my first time going into the centro (downtown) and getting to see a bit of Málaga. I finally was able to shake the jetlag, so I was feeling pretty pumped. Just so you know, there are four of us here from GSU. Michelle, who has been here since September last year, took us out to show us the city. Man, it is beautiful! It feels cosmopolitan, but not in an overwhelming way. There is tons to see and do. Well...first things first - I brought the wrong adapter with me for plugging in stuff. By Sat. my battery on my laptop was dead, and that would keep me from updating this wonderful blog. We took the bus to the centro to El Corte Ingles (a dept. store) to find another one. We also grabbed a quick lunch since were going to miss lunch at the residencia. We chatted and walked around a bit soaking in the ambiente malagueño (the atmosphere in Málaga). We couldnt spend too much time in the centro today because we had plans to go to a fancy dinner that night to celebrate the start of our new journey here. I must mention we are all off to a great start. All the GSU girls and I get along so well! Each of them (Michelle, Lizette and Kelley) are unique and AMAZING in their own way. I know that even as I am learning and growing personally that I can learn from them as well. I could not have asked for a better group of students to spend my time in Spain with.

That evening we got ready for our fancy dinner. We arrived downtown and walked the scenic route to our restaurant. Actually we were sort of lost for a little bit, but we so intrigued by how beautiful it was that we really didnt care! We finally found our restaurant and sat down. Michelle had been to the restaurant before and knew the owner, who I must mention was quite guapo (handsome) :). He brought us some wine as we waited for our food. The four of us were there for 3 hours just talking, laughing and having a great time. Oh! I had my first Chupito! The owner gave us each a free shot of Tequila on the house (so sweet of him).

Overall, it was a fun and and laid back evening. If I were to reflect, I would say that I learned something that night - that I dont have to stress out about everything in life. I mean, we sat in that restaurant for over 3 hours just having a good time. There was no rush for us to leave on our part, nor on the owner's. There were people in there even longer than we were. These malagueños appeared to be much more tranquilo and laid back than I was or from what I observe in our American society. I mean, many people still have siesta (nap time) everyday. This Christmas break I realized that I need to find some balance in my life. I must confess that I am addicted to busyness, hardwork and academia. I work and study ALL THE TIME and I am very ambitious even to the point of biting off more than I can chew. I do not say this to say that I am throwing my work ethic out the window, but I am admiting that I need to find more balance in my life between work and rest. It was funny because I was at home for Christmas for 4 whole weeks. I did absolutely nothing. It was the best four weeks of my life. But I think my body went into shock because for the first time in about 2 years I actually slowed down. So that is going to be one of my goals during this trip - that I find that balance between hard work and being able to relax, breathe and just enjoy life.

I feel right at home

I'M HERE!! I never thought the day would come, but after 3 1/2 months of planning and preparation, I finally made it to Málaga! I dont know how I did it, but I managed to fit ALL my stuff I into my two bags. And I'm a girly girl, so I "need" all my stuff (including the 12 pairs of shoes I brought - a girl needs options). Well, after a 12hr journey, connecting through London, I landed in Málaga on Thursday afternoon. When I got off the plane I felt good. Being surrounded by Spanish speakers was music to my ears. Funny thing is, Spanish peninsular accents had always been "different" for me, but now it intrigues me. Michelle, one of the other students from GSU met me at the airport to help me with all my luggage. She asked me to bring an extra bag for her, so it was quite comical watching us push a cart with 170lbs of luggage out of the airport. I was doing some thinking during the taxi ride back to the residencia. Looking out the window and taking in what I saw I realized that I felt very comfortable here. Sure, Málaga felt and looked different to the other Spanish cities that I had visited on my last trip to Spain, but not in a bad way. Actually, I felt right at home. It was then I noticed that all my nervousness and anxiety had dissipated. All I felt was peace. I am going love this place!

So we got to the residence hall and its huge! Some 200 students live there. The office was expecting me and the lady at the front desk, Fernanda, came out to give me a kiss on both cheeks, which is the tradition here. I went up to my room and met my roommates, who are all from nearby cities. We chatted for a little while and they told me that they were all busy studying for finals, since their semester ends at the beginning of February, instead of in December as in the U.S. I actually LOVE my room -it's a good size. I have lots of closet space (phew!) and a huge desk for all the studying and reading I will be doing. My room is 1 of 5 in sort of a suite with 2 bathrooms. The great thing about this residence is that you get 3 meals a day and one snack. They also have someone come and clean your room AND your bathroom Mon-Fri...¡¡Mira que nice!! I only had one problem! Ok, that first day as I was standing in the hall of the suite, two of my roommates lit up a cigarrette...right in the suite!! I was like, heck no. I honestly have nothing against people that smoke, but it kinda does bother me when they smoke indoors...especially when its going to affect me. I decided to be diplomatic and just talk to Isabel (the residence director) about it the next day.

I must say that Isabel has got to be the coolest residence director ever! She brought me and the other new GSU students into her office to welcome us. I think she was just as excited for us to be here as we were. I mentioned the roommate/smoking issue to her and she was totally cool about the whole thing. Eventhough it is against the rules to smoke in your room, we just decided it was better for me to change rooms. So I get my new room on Monday :) I have all these plans to decorate and make it really cute and comfortable. And really, 6 months is a long time, so I want to make sure I can upack, unwind and make my room feel like home. I will post pics once I have it up to speed.