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.