one week more

seven days left of this summer abroad. it's a little strange to think about...

monday night we wandered the city searching for a cafe we'd found the week before and shouting american songs in spanish. this led us to anna's computer, where we youtubed spanish music videos for probably three hours. we found out that america is not the only home of chintzy tunes. classy, thy name is david bisbal.

tuesday was mahayla's birthday, and i think we spent it well. anna and i bought her some bizarre salt n pepper shakers shaped like figures in the semana santa procession,

and we trotted around the city at night finding people to talk to near the glowing river, and music to dance to at pícaro bar. the only thing that would have made it better would have been an enormous chocolate cake. and ice cream. and apple pie. obviously.

wednesday and thursday slipped by,

and on friday we did some hiking in the mountains near segovia, to a really beautiful sight of a battle during the Spanish Civil War. it was great to see green grass and blue mountains, as toledo is rather brown and water-starved. our guides were also very enthusiastic, reminding us that even though the site is beautiful, it is scarred with what happened there long ago. and it once was a desolate place.


next we trekked to franco's tomb, which is impressive and imposing but pretty damn infuriating. the dude planted a big cross and an enormous vault on a hill to commemorate his abhorred existence. it was a little creepy to walk around the dimly-lit interior and stare up at biblical paintings and statues, and then see franco's tomb covered in flowers near the altar. what gall.


but a lovely time nonetheless. saturday, my Master Painters of Spain class took a day trip to madrid to see many of the paintings we've been studying, and my friends and i ate supper at a vegetarian restuarant called madre tierra. the lights were low and orange, the waitstaff smiled wide, and we were served little cups of coffee flavored liquor at the end, on the house. my tongue was buzzing all the way home until i collapsed into bed, eyes and head hot with the day and the talk and the night.

it's been a busy weekend, and i'm ready to relax. considering the air is thick with heat, it seems even more attractive to spend today studying inside and lounging about.

i keep thinking about what it will be like to be home again. while i can't wait to see the fam, sometimes i get a little nervous when i look too long at toledo's rocky surface and layers of tiled roofs, and it's plazas full of people enjoying nothing at all. it might be a while before i return. but i hope i will.