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| With Amanda- somewhere in Northern Mallorca! |
I visited Palma, Mallorca in the Balearic Islands last weekend. I knew nothing about these islands (including where they are located) before I booked my flight. They are beautiful, from the sky and the ground! My friend from Alpha Phi, Amanda, picked me up from the airport on Friday evening. She is an English teacher in one of the elementary schools there. We made macaroni and cheese for dinner, ate Greek yogurt for dessert, chatted for a while and slept with hot water bottles (there was no heat!).
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| The sandcastle that some guy made! |
Saturday morning Amanda gave me a tour around Palma and showed me the cathedral, which is the main attraction. We walked along the beach and stopped by the supermarket on the way back to buy more Greek yogurt, strawberries (which are NOT in season, just so you know) and Salchichas (Mallorcian sausage). In the afternoon, we rented a car with two of her room mates and drove around for about 6 hours. We failed to find the castle in the North of Mallorca, but we saw lots of sheep, gorgeous mountains, blue water and sandcastles!
I got back on Sunday afternoon and Chus and I went to a restaurant for the first time! We ate at a place inside the train station. Ha. I had a hamburger (or half of it), which I will not try again in Spain. Then we ordered coffee and pastries and Chus put salt in her coffee instead of sugar. We both laughed at her mistake, then she added about two packets of sugar to her cup but still could not drink it.
Yesterday evening before dinner I decided to do some yoga in my room. Near the end of the video, Uxue walked in and asked what I was doing. I explained what yoga is and then she started trying some of the moves. I was laughing SO HARD (on the inside... and also when she left the room). That moment made my list of top 10 cutest things I've ever seen. A 5 year old doing yoga. Man. Should have taken a picture!
I bought Chus a little flower for Valentine's day at the flower market. I think she liked it, but Spanish people are pretty indifferent about Valentine's Day. To celebrate I ate Italian food at a really delicious restaurant with about 20 girls from Deusto. Splitting that bill was a pain, but we enjoyed the evening!
I am a little sickly right now. Chus is taking care of me. She made me eat breakfast and take a pill ("antihistamina") as soon as I woke up. Despite not feeling that great, today has been wonderful! In my Basque Culture class I was assigned to a group with two Spanish students. We have to prepare a presentation...which means I have to speak Spanish in front of a bunch of Spaniards. I am slightly apprehensive about this, but hey, the only way you get better is by practicing and overcoming the initial fear!
Plus, I have a great Eleanor Roosevelt quote that I came across the other day, "The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." I think this is a pretty good study abroad quote. I'm going to repeat it so myself when I'm fearful of trying something new.
Nos Vemos,
Michelle
