zomgwow

So for lack of a title for this entry you get zomgwow. Its a mix of zomg and gwow. gwow is like wow, but in spain. So I went to Oktoberfest and it was glorious. I drank OH so much beer and then traveled for 19 hours. Yes, consecutively with no break in between. Getting to Munich only took 8 hours but on the way back the plane had a problem IN THE AIR and we had to turn aroudn and land. TWICE. thats right, we took off again after "fixing the problem" and it happened again. Then they brought a plane in from London and messed up their schedule and we had to wait 5 more hours. I was exhausted and probably lookin' a beast, but I got home. Then I slept for 14 hours.

Also, I just performed my chore of the week which was trash and washing kitchen floor. It went fine until I was mopping. I broke the mop. Honestly, last night Lut mopped and half broke it but I sealed the deal and broke it in two. I went out and bought a new one but I think the one I broke was only 2 days old. Oops. Andres might be mad. I also hope to join a gym today or tomorrow - depending on when Im feelign lazy enough to actually leave the piso to go there and sign up.

Ok, now I have to go search through the schedule of classes to see which I signed up for. I forgot and I start classes in 2 days. Shoot. Wish me luck!

Rihanna is the new Britney.

So I watched Britney's performance on the 2007 VMAs. It was difficult to find a video that was actually still on the internet and not taken down by Viacom, however leave it to the Spanish websites to have the pirated material.

There are a few things I want to say about her performance. First, she is NOT fat. She does, however, look as though she has birthed two children... not very becoming of a pop star. Second, how sad was it that she couldnt even dance? My friend Natasha pointed out that in Britney's Oops I did it again performance of 2000 she was running around shakin it and workin it like the true super pop star she was. But now its just not the same. Third, my favorite part of the video was that Diddy, 50 Cent, Kid Rock, and Rihanna are dumbfounded by her lackluster performance. Rihanna actually laughed at her. I swear to god, its in the video.

Now this brings me to my next point, I am currently obsessed with not only Gimme More (FANTASTIC song with a horrible performer attached to it) but also Shut Up and Drive by little miss sunshine, Rihanna. She has 2 singles out right now - Umbrella and the aforementioned work of genius. This is how you know they are ballin as a pop star. And given Rihanna's success combined with her world wide televised show of laughing in Britney's face, I say Rihanna has got all the makings of being the new "it" pop star.

Not much else is new now... I move into my piso on Thursday though, thats exciting. Hasta luego!

Cuentos de la Alham....Granada.

So I know it's been a while since my last bog entry (or Emmy's rather, which got RAVE reviews) but heres some fun stories for y'all.

1. Supermodelo 2007 - This is Spain's version of America's Next Top Model mixed with the voting style of American Idol. Basically, two thumbs way down from me. First of all, the show is a recap of the last week the girls had, it doesnt actually show them doing anything, rather it shows clips out of sequential order depicting bitchy moments the girls have. I couldnt follow what they had the girls do in order to become supermodels. They also don't have photo shoots. Ok, thats a lie. they have very few photoshoots and they dont even show the final photos. Instead, they have dance and aerobic classes. BORING. Finally, all of the makeovers except 2 made the girls look like wanna-be American prostitutes. Why don't they work with the Spanish heritage and COMPLEMENT that instead of fighting it by dying hair very unnatural shades of blonde?

2. I went bowling last night which was fun. I also ate a hamburguesa at the bowling alley which was the first burguesa (to invent some more Spanglish) I have had in Spain. It had egg in it, but I liked it. Too bad the bowling alley is on the complete other side of town. Ok, now to the point of this bowling blog. The monitores (group leaders that take us foreign students out to do stuff) typed in all the info on the computers like our names and who bowls where, etc. They got everyone's name correct even kinda complicated ones like Isaac (two A's) or Marianne (how did they know it was an I?) However, Matt must have been a little complicated because my name ended up as Malt. I thought it was a typo at first but then I realized that L and T are not even remotely close to each other on a keyboard...... they think my name is Malt.

3. Finally, I went to my trial day at a gym here with Celia and Marianne. It is reputedly the best gym in Granada (thank you MTV guidebook to Spain) and, honestly it is really nice. We did an aerobics class called Aero G.A.P. Yeah, we had no idea what that meant either. Turns out, the Aero = aerobics... but aerobics = dancing. We ended up prancing across the room spinning and kicking our legs out at just the right moment for extra flare in our baile. We werent big fans so we left after the Aero part of the class. The G.A.P. turned out to be Glutes, Abs, and Piernas (legs) which would have been a good part of the class to go to. However, once we left we went over to the spinning class. It was amazing, if only 45 minutes. The instructor was nice but her orm of encouraging was...loud. VENGA! SIGUE! VENGAVENGAVENGA!!! I was intimidated at first but it ended up making me laugh when she shouted at us. I learned useful spinning commands:
sigue - keep going!
adelante - lean forward
arriba - out of the saddle
sube - turn the resistance up
baja - turn it down
sentamos - sit down (not really something new to me...)
VENGA!!!!! - GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO COME ON DO IT DO IT DO IT!!!!

I have to go pick classes now which is one of the most confusing things I have ever done in my life. Adios!

A special treat

Today we have a guest author in this here blog. Please give a warm welcome to EMMY!!!!

Good Evening. Good News! Matt and I have graduated....from Pre-ILP Cadiz summer 2007! That's right folks, we passed a series of classes that did absolutely nothing to improve our spanish....On a slightly different topic, we have also been going out quite a bit recently (except for tonight, of course, because we are busy writing blogs and all). One night we headed to a bar where I actually got to meet the owner. Many people were suspicious if he was actually the owner or just saying so. Regardless, I thought it would be a good idea to get to know this fellow whether or not he was the owner because he could prove to be of great service. After Mary (a friend here) asked him for free "chupitos" we knew that he was telling the truth. However, he didn't exactly have the right idea on what we wanted. He continued to pour HUGE shots of what tasted like poison! We forced them down because, hey, they were free! After people left in order to preserve the rest of their taste buds, I thought it would be a good idea to continue this interaction. However, whether it was the sketchy man or the sketchy drink, I was dragged away due to some intuition people where receiving from the situation....who knows! speaking of odd... another night Some guy just randomly grabbed my head at a club......ummm, ok...my head? really?! whatever. Anyways, I should really go. Matt's getting paranoid I should really tend to the situation at hand. Until, another time where I can take advantage of Matt's intoxicated state of being, Adios!

Pisopisopisopisopisopiso

I officially have a piso now which is pretty awesome.

I think I had psyched myself up to be excited for this piso no matter how trashy it was because until then my search had been bombing, but it turned out to be pretty nice....I think, I hope Im not still psyching myself out. Anyways, my room is HUGE because it is intended to be a double room, but I´ll pay extra to keep it a single. I figure if it becomes a problem I can find a roommate. Since I had budgeted for Californian apartment prices even paying extra here is about half of what I would be spending in California. Its amazing.

So theres a kitchen with nice furnishings and a living room which isnt that big but it for sure is cozy. I like it a lot. There are 2 bathrooms both with showers and toilets and sinks so that is convenient. And there are 3 others living with me. One girl is from Belgium and she speaks about 5 languages. I am jealous. She is really nice and if I ever get stuck in communicating, she speaks English too. Booyah. Another girl is from Spain, not sure where exactly yet since Im saving some conversation for when I move in, but she studied law and wants to be a lawyer. She is the one I met the other night at the bar with her lawyer friends (you remember, right?). The third person is a Spanish guy who I just met last night when I go the piso. I dont know much about him except he works and his name is Andres.

So Andres called me last night at about 1030. I was planning on calling it a night a bit early so I was chillin watching Veronica Mars when my phone rings. I looked at the number and upon not recognizing it i was very tempted to not pick it up but I figured it might have been someone from the residencia with a new phone or something so I picked up and then a flurry of Spanish flew into my ear. My mind flopped around since it was very unprepared for Spanish and I managed to catch ¨my name is .......¨ and I paused because I didnt know what his name was much less him. Then he told me he was the 3rd guy from the piso I hadnt yet met. And he told me that there were lots of people who wanted to look at the apartment but if I still wanted it I could have the room. Excited, I said yes and then he told me I had to pay the mes de fianza (kinda like a security deposit.....i think. It happens with EVERY piso so its nothing shady) right then. I asked if there was a different time to pay it rather than 1030 at night while Im already in my pijamas. He said no because he was going on vacation the next day. So sluggishly I agreed and luckily I had 300 euros cash on me from Emmy´s apartment renting experience. I recruited Emmy who walked me down to the piso and we got everything straightened out. I even got keys to the place!

Now I have 2 classes of history back to back from 11 until 2 because the literature professor isnt here today. So to compensate for 2 history and no lit, on Monday I get back to back lit classes at the same time as today´s history. I want to cry. Its going to be so painful.

There is a phone in this hallways that rings every day for a long ass time. Like, no one is going to pick up after 12 rings. Just hang up! But no, they keep calling. After some hunting I found that the calls are coming from room 3404 - where no one lives. I am contemplating breaking down the door and placing the phone off the hook so it wont ring anymore. I am so annoyed.

Ok, I just had to vent. Dont get distracted by this entry, there is a better one below it.

Currently listening to Handshakes by Metric. (very livejournal, no?)

Ya es la hora.

Again it is my break in between classes where I like to write my blogs. So heres a new one for y´all.

Well, the last few days cant quite top the weirdness I talked about in my last entry however I can tell you about last night when I went to meet someone who lives in (hopefully) my future piso.

I was supposed to meet her at the piso to talk to her about it and get to know her a little bit. But when I went to the piso I got a call from her saying that she had gone out with some friends to a bar and that I should come join them. Now, I was told by the other girl in the piso that Rebeca, the one I was meeting with, was a student. So I was under the impression that she would be somewhere near my age. Upon my arrival to the bar, however, I was introduced to her and her 4 lawyer friends, all 27 and above in age. They were really nice but it was kinda awkward since I didnt understand much of what they were saying since they talked quickly and not generally in my direction. So occasionally they would ask me if I understood and I would honestly tell them no. I did not. At first they thought that was really cute
and told me if I dont understand something I should ask because they hate it when people pretend to understand and then laugh awkwardly as though they are in on the joke too when in reality they have no idea why everyone is laughing. Since I couldnt ask them to repeat EVERY sentence they said, I opted to not really ask about what they were talking about. So I stood quietly until there was a lull in conversation and tried to pose a question without making an awkward topic change. Then they asked me how old I was. Upon responding 20, they then called me el bebe the rest of the night.

The night wasnt bad, overall, however it has left me with doubts as to whether I will get that piso or not. I guess I should keep looking just in case. Piso hunting no es guai.

I want Buffy.

Weirdest last 12 hours of my life.

Ok so, I was convinced to go out to a bar last night even though we had an excursion today at 9am. It was and I had a good time until we went to leave. My friend and I were walking back up to the main street in Granada and as we passed out of a smaller street onto Gran Via, two guys walked by. One of them went out of his way to walk inbetween me and my friend thus pushing me outward toward his friend who, as I passed by, swung his arm at my head and brushed his hand through my hair. Two inches closer and he would have clocked me in the head. So startled, I turned around and looked at him and he said ¨hey. hey. HEY. HEY.¨ and I said hola not understanding what this interaction meant. Then he said ¨ven aqui. ven aqui conmigo.¨ And I said adios. It that how people hit on you in Spain? They go literal?

THEN today I got 3 hours of sleep and got ready to go on the hike we just got back from. We ended up crawling under rock formations jutting out into the path we walked on several feet above a rocky creek-stream. So that was intense. But the hike was nice.

Then coming back to the residencia I went to buy monedas to use the washer and dryers downstairs. I went in with Ali who also bought monedas and she talked to the receptionist first. She bought her monedas while I fished out change to pay with, and also while a new family came to move their daughter into the residencia. Her bag tags said she was from Israel...just thought Id mention it. Anyways, they went in front of me while I got money. They got the key to her room and the receptionist asked if they knew where the room was. He then left the office to point out the building it was in. While he was outside I waited patiently fo rhim to return since it was quarter to 2, when the office closed. He waved them adieu and came back to the door. ¨great, I get to wash my clothes now¨ i thought. He reached for the door and pulled to no avail. I thoguht he had locked himself out. So he brought out his door keys and put them in the door, turned them, pulled the door again (which didnt open) and walked away. He locked me in the office and left for his break 15 minutes early. So I stood there confused for a while then searched out people that might still be in the office. No one. Then I called Emmy and asked her to find someone who could unlock the door. She went on her search and thank you for doing so Emmy! I ended up flagging down a cleaning lady as she walked by who asked me what I was doing in the office. IM TRYING TO GET SOME GOD DAMN MONEDAS AND LEAVE. But she walked around the corner after seeing my predicament and brought the receptionist back who was very embarrassed and insisted that I was in the baño while he left. False. I was directly in front of the door, basically. So now Im going to use these hard earned monedas and take a nap.

Until the next story -