Relaxation, Intercambios... and Magic Mike

Olivia making us AUTHENTIC crepes!

 10/4 My day started out better than ever because this morning, Olivia made Bárbara and I a traditional meal from her home country: CREPES! YUM. She was flipping them on our tiny little stove and she even made some caramel from scratch. It was delicious! I could definitely get used to this whole hosting a couch-surfer thing if they are all as awesome as her! So, we spent the rest of the morning just hanging out in the piso, and then she headed out to visit some museums. I stayed behind since I had already been to the ones she was visiting. I just did some chores and studied my Spanish class notes from Whitney, and then Olivia was back again. I don’t really remember what all we did, but I know that we had some good chats! At 7, when the sun was just beginning to set, I met up with my intercambio Sandra- this time she just came to my piso. We sat out on the balcony with some cerveza so she could enjoy a cigarette, and we chatted in Spanish and then English for about two hours. I really am a firm believer that simply talking with someone while taking notes and asking questions is truly the best way to learn a language! Bárbara got home from work and Olivia rejoined us, so after Sandra left we ended up having some tinto de verano to drink and had a Spanglish girl talk night. The next morning 10/5 we introduced Olivia to the world of typical Spanish breakfast. It’s nothing too complicated- basically coffee or fruit juice and then bread with tomato paste on it, but it’s still very tasty somehow. Bárbara went off to work, and then Olivia headed downtown to some more museums while I ran some errands and looked for stamps. We had initially planned on meeting up for lunch and then I was going to take her around the City of Arts and Sciences, but when I hadn’t heard from her by 5pm, I figured she was probably either distracted, wrapped up in something else, or simply forgot. The problem was that she didn’t have a cell phone. Man, what did we do in the days before cell phones??!

Breakfast by our Piso!

Alone in the Theatre... Loser! ;)

 I wasn’t sure what to do at that point, because then Marissa invited us out to see the film Magic Mike in English.  I hadn’t seen a movie in the theatre in forever, so of course I wanted to go! Plus it’s a movie about hot guys. How can you say no? So, since I had no way to get in touch with Olivia, I did things the old fashioned way. I wrote her a post-it note with my Spanish cell # on it, and stuck it to the doorbell of the apartment. Bárbara and I shared a taxi to the theatre, and met up with Marissa there. We got a huge tub of popcorn, and plopped down in the theatre to enjoy our show. Since American movies played in original version aren’t hugely popular in Valencia, we were literally the only three people in the whole theatre. It was more fun that way though! During the movie Olivia called Bárbara- she had got our message and wanted to know if it was too late to meet up, which unfortunately by then it was. After that we went back to the piso, Olivia packed up for her night train to Granada, and we said au’revoir, goodbye, and adios to our lovely French visitor!  Since it was a Friday night and all, Marissa, Bárbara and I went down and had some alcoholic beverages at a little place near our piso. Then we walked over to the hopping bar street of Polo y Peyrolon (the one I used to live on in 2007). We got some coupons from the promotions people as always, and got some free drinks and good deals at the random little bars along the way. My favorite one was this cute little place called Aguacates, right across from my old apartment. We had a good time, as always! Oh, and how could I forget to mention that on the way there I mailed in my presidential election absentee ballot: One firm vote for Romney!! Anyways... the night ended with us running into Josep, Pablo and Ruben. I love that Valencia is a big city but that sometimes it has that small town vibe! I also love the fact that you can walk everywhere, and that the weather is always awesome, and that nobody cares if you sneak and drink in the middle of the street, and basically… I just love Valencia. 

Ladies ready to see "Magic Mike" in Valencia

Mailing my Absentee Ballot- U.S.A.!