Much Needed Update

So basically, here's what's been happening in the past two weeks in a nutshell.

I took a two-week long Flamenco dance class through the University here which was so much fun! We learned two whole routines which were pretty extensive, but it was really great to learn about the dance culture and it was a great break to hang out with friends. I can't wait to see a real Flamenco show in Barcelona because I think it would be incredible to watch professionals. My dance teacher seemed like she was pretty good; really graceful and you could tell she had so much passion for it.

Last weekend, I went to Lisboa, Portugal. This is probably my favorite place I've been so far in Europe. I just wish I knew Portuguese so I could communicate with everyone, but it didn't matter; most people spoke English. It also wasn't that difficult to get a general gist for the language; it's similar to Spanish in some ways. I enjoyed the challenge of figuring it out. Lisboa is such a gorgeous city. Awesome monuments, pretty much like everywhere else on this continent. But what I enjoyed most was the coast. I think I'm spoiled to have basically grown up on Lake Michigan, but I couldn't get enough of being on the water. I think when I grow up, I need to live in a big city with a coast... Chicago? The first night in Portugal, my friends and I got dinner at a restaurant outside. You could feel the breeze off the water while we were eating and it was just perfect. I loved the atmosphere. There's also a much broader sense of diversity in Portugal. It was more like Madrid in that sense. I like being surrounded by a bunch of interesting people all the time. The second day in Portugal, we went to the beach in Cascais. Also incredible. This was more of a beachy town, but I loved it. The ocean was decorated with boats, and the sand was hot. People were going topless at the beach. I think it's interesting how in Europe that kind of thing isn't over sexualized or anything. Like it's normal for people to just lay out at the beach like that and no one cares. It's definitely more relaxed than the United States.

Classes are going pretty well. I did awesome on my first paper for my U of M class, and I got a pretty good score on my first translation exam.

This weekend, I went to Segovia with a great group from Umich. We saw the aqueducts, more cathedrals (starting to get sick of them haha), and ate at a really good and fancy restaurant with great cochinillo (like a roasted pig). The skin was so crunchy and flavorful. It was seriously DELICIOUS. I also got a really yummy salad. I feel like vegetables are really not that accessible here, so I was really happy to get that salad! Yesterday, I also hung out at the pool with some friends from U of M. This weekend was really relaxing and I've really enjoyed everyone's company. I'm seriously so glad to be here and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!

In just a few, I will be (finally) eating lunch with Rosa and her family. There are 20 people here. It's a national holiday today, and so we don't have class and all the stores are closed for the most part. Today in the plaza, when I went running, they were putting up a flag on top of the plaza and setting off fireworks. I'm so glad this was a long weekend, it was much needed and it helped me remind myself why I'm here and why I love it so much!