So once again, I have failed to properly keep up with this. No surprise. The last couple of weeks have flown by and I have a feeling that the next will do the same. I am down to less than a month here and although the idea of America is comforting, the idea of leaving is terrifying.
Weekend before last (March 25-27) I made a trip to Seville, Spain to go see one of my friends from PC. It was my first trip really traveling alone, and it made me very confident in myself. I woke up at about 6 am on Friday after making the foolish decision to go to sleep at 4 am. Please never do this! There is nothing fun about trying to force yourself to stay awake on three trains alone. After gathering my stuff and going down to the train station I successfully made it to Bologna after 2 train changes. Another confidence booster, because that was only the second time I have had to make train changes. I safely made the shuttle to the Bologna airport and got all checked in just in time to go through my first Ryan Air flight. For those unfamiliar with RyainAir, it is probably Europe's largest discount airline. Basically its point a to point b transportation with no extras or frills. I actually found it to be slightly less cattle hearding-like than easyjet, but that could have been because I was at a smaller airport. I got to Spain after catching up on some sleep on the flight. Patrick met me at the airport and we were off to see Sevilla! Seville was so beautiful and we were blessed with some amazing weather. I had only previously been to Barcelona in Spain, so to be in a totally different part of the country was so nice. I got to meet some of his friends (like me, he is friends with many people from all over the world, not just the country he lives in) and we grabbed some tapas and went to a party for Erasmus students at one of the discotecas in town. It was interesting seeing the nightlife in such a larger city than Perugia, definitely a little more upscale. The next day we did a little bit of touristy Seville. We went and saw the worlds largest gothic cathedral (AMAZING!), the bull arena, the Plaza de Espana, and some other key sights. We also took a break from reality and went and laid in the park and got a go-cart type bike thing and just soaked up some sun. It was nice to be able to see things as well as relax. We also went to a beautiful art museum in an old monastery building. And for our last outing, Patrick and I went to this place thats like an indoor picnic area/bar that has Flamenco dancers and music at night. The show was so neat and the dancing was definitely impressive. Patrick and I said our goodbyes and I managed to get all the way back to Perugia the next day from my hostel.
The trip to Spain definitely made me very aware of my surroundings because I was forced to do so much listening and very little talking besides the occasional question or two asked of me on the train. It also made me very aware that my Italian language skills are killing my Spanish skills. Patrick definitely ordered everything for me the entire trip. I can still conjugate and form sentences, but those little question words and simple things you need for conversation all seem to come out in Italian now.
This last weekend was much needed. After very little sleep, I needed some chill time and that is exactly what I got. After we discovered the discount grocery store (not sure why we never made it there earlier this semester!) thats about a 15 minute walk, we had everything we needed for a picnic. On Friday we went to this grassy area outside of a church and got some sun and just people watched in the park for a bit. It was nice to just have people drawing, playing soccer, and cute dogs all around us. I got more sun I think than anyone else, but luckily my red turns into tan really quickly. Saturday was filled with more sun and exploring which was still very nice. Sunday, as always, is reserved for sleep and work. This Sunday, though, we did go to the little biological market that comes the first Sunday of every month.
You can definitely tell that the semester is coming towards an end. Big projects are due, everyone is stressed, and time is flying faster than ever. The amount of work I have just in the next week baffles me. Oh well, its life and its all good. Although this weather is so irresistible and the sunshine is constantly calling me to take a break from schoolwork!
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