It's May Already?

I'm not sure how this happened, but it's May 10th, which means I'm leaving in 10 days. While now it feels like a blur, it also seems like I've been here for ages. Although I'm so excited to see my friends and family when I get home, there are definitely things that I can already tell I'm going to miss. But I'll save all that for the actual last post, which will probably come next week at some point. Anyway, the past week went pretty well, mostly just getting back on track and doing a little bit of organizing/studying for the 4 exams I have this Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday. They shouldn't be anything too difficult, especially since all my grades automatically transfer as pass/fail back to Brown. I'm anxious to get them over with because when I do, it will be Thursday and I'll have until the following Wednesday to hang out with my friends and do all the last things I want to do while I'm still in Seville. I guess nothing incredibly exciting has happened in the past week, except another visit to the doctor - apparently I have an ear infection, probably caused by getting water in my ear from the Turkish baths and then flying back here. It is always an experience to go to the Spanish doctor because I never really know all the words and definitely have to improvise a lot. Hannah came with me for moral support and I explained to the doctor what had happened but when I was getting my paperwork filled out, they wrote 'M' for gender. I was a little confused and said something to the woman there, but then quickly remembered that in Spain, 'M' obviously stands for mujer (woman). Right. I'm glad I've been here for 4 months and am still doing things like that. Que gracioso. She gave me some drops and everything is all set, especially because medicine is so incredibly cheap here. I got a lot of ibuprofen for only 2 euros and my ear drops were only 3 euros. Hannah was right to encourage me to go to the doctor here - it can cost a fortune in the US!

Besides all that excitement, I've mostly been just trying to hang out and enjoy myself before all the craziness that happens for the last week here and when I get home and go straight to Providence to meet up with my whole family for Sharon's graduation. I've been training for my sprint triathlon (June 13th) by running 3.5 miles a day, but I can't run until about 8:30 or 9pm because it has been 80-90 degrees here every day. I have a run by the river that I love doing and that never gets boring because of all the people watching I get to do while I run. Hopefully I'll be in reasonably good shape by the time I get home and I'll get to ride my bike and swim intensely for the next couple of weeks to make sure I'm ready. I mostly just want to know that I can do it, and maybe I'll try and do another at the end of the summer and see what kind of times I can get. I've been really enjoying the running, especially because I've been doing it so late at night - basically at sunset. Watching the sunset over the Guadalquivir (the river here) is probably one of my favorite things to do in all of Seville. I'm definitely going to miss that.

That reminds me that when I get home, I'm going to be seriously confused with my schedule. I've gotten so accustomed to the Spanish way of life - I used to think that if I didn't go out before 4pm that there was definitely something wrong with me, whereas now I don't even expect myself to leave here before 4. Running at 9 is something I've never really done on a regular basis, and I eat dinner every night at 10 or so. That is going to be a big adjustment when I get back to the US, but I also think I'm going to try and keep up some parts of the schedule that I have here because I like it so much. I like eating lunch at 3pm and eating dinner later. Maybe it's because I haven't been that busy here, but I feel like I have so much more time in the day, even though the day doesn't start until much later here. I think it probably also has a lot to do with the fact that it stays light here until about 10, so even if I don't do much until 2 or 3 in the afternoon, I still feel like I have the same amount of daylight.

The most exciting thing that has been going on here is that Loly is teaching me how to cook! I have been standing with her in the kitchen when she makes lunch and dinner and watching while she explains to me what she is doing and why. It has been a great experience so far, I have learned a lot of new vocabulary and a lot of her technique. Hannah and I were trying to convince her to publish a book with all her recipes because her food is so delicious, because she knows how to make traditional Spanish food, which generally has a lot of meat, into vegetarian food, and because we haven't seen that many Spanish cook books in the US. We talked to her about it for a while, and she pulls out this awesome printed book that she had put together a while ago for all her friends that has a ton of her recipes! We told her she had already done all the work and that she ought to bring it to a publisher. I told her that I would translate it into English for her and that she should try to sell it - her food is amazing and so healthy. She was like, yeah, I could do that, but most of my recipes are just things I make up in the moment, I don't measure or anything, I just do what is in my head. Pretty impressive, if you ask me.

Nothing else too exciting around here, I'm really glad to just relax for a while before going home. I've been able to sit and read, study a little, work on my Spanish (which has actually gotten really good at this point!) and tan. This week, after exams, I'm going to do a little shopping to get all the things I want before I leave here and then ya esta. I can't believe it's almost time to go home, but I'm also so excited because I have been looking forward to seeing my family so much for Sharon's graduation, and basically everyone is going to be there. I'll also have some friends who are still at school so it will be great to see them for a few days. And then, after a possible week at home, it's time to move into my new apartment in Providence with Rebecca and Rachel! I'm really excited, it's going to be a great summer. But for now, I am going to enjoy every last minute in Seville because I'm going to be home so soon. I can't wait until after exams are over and I just get to be with my friends in this beautiful city for another week.