So immediately after my last posting, I turned to Colleen and asked her, "Do you know what I could really go for right now?" And as soon as she said, "iceream?" we were out the door. It was a little after 11 on a Tuesday and we had a hard time finding a place that was open in our neighborhood. In fact the only thing we could find was a McDonalds. So we ordered 2 McFlurrys that quite honestly hit the spot. They are way smaller here but you get to choose which flavor syrup to put on it and they add the toppings so its more of a sundae than anything else.

Anyways the next day I had my presentation for my language class which went well considering I put off working on it until that afternoon. Oh! I also booked my flight to Italy. Four of us girls (and possibly more) are leaving at the end of February to fly into Milan, stay there for a night, and then take the train to Florence for 3 days. The round trip airfare was 80 euros which is a very good deal considering how expensive flying into Italy can be.

We had a test yesterday in my culture class which went well. Colleen and I procrastinated studying by going out the night before to watch what turned out to be a VERY exciting Barcelona versus Real Madrid futbol game. We tried to order desert there but the wait was too long so at halftime we left to go to the grocery store to get chocolates. They are extremely cheap here for a huge bar of chocolate. Every time I open one I start to sing "I've got the Golden Ticket" because they sort of remind me of Willy Wonka bars. They are dangerous though. Cheap dark chocolate bars in grocery stores that I pass at least three times a day are almost irresistible. Then once I start eating one it's impossible to stop. Guess I'll need to start running a little more often! I went for a quick run this morning. I'm starting to really hate the mean looks the older ladies give me when they see me running around....

Last night a big group of us planned to meet up down by the river to hang out for a while before going to out to a discoteca. Colleen and I had invested in a 1.50 euro bottle of wine last week as well as a 3 euro bottle opener. Unfortunately the cheap bottle opener got stuck in the equally cheap bottle of wine and we were without either. So last night I was feeling particularly McGivery and decided to carve out the cork so as not to waste our bottle of wine. We only had a little bit of it left to get out when we decided it would just be easier to push the cork down into the wine rather than try and carve the rest out. Well our lack of physics knowledge caught up to us as the pressure made the wine burst out from the cork and went EVERYWHERE. Red wine on Colleen's starch white button down, red wine on her sheets, some on the curtains, some on the walls. I have never reacted so quickly to a liquid spilling in my entire life. We tag teamed going to get vinegar, milk, salt and multipurpose cleaner from the kitchen (the babysitter was very confused) and soaked everything to no end. Colleen's shirt looks better than I would have thought possible and the walls are hardly noticeable anymore. It's very impressive. Elbow grease certainly came in handy! Needless to say we were late meeting up with our friends but it's a good story to have. Oh and the best part, the cork is still in the bottle. Don't know how that's possible but the bottle of wine must be cursed. We're throwing it away today.

In other news, I've gotten a pretty good handle on the Sevici system here. It's a shared bike system that you can use all around the city. I've had a few problems what with machines not working or bikes not being available but all in all it's been very handy (and a much quicker way to get around)!

Renting out my first Sevici bike. Very touristy I know

The family here has been great recently! Maria is definitely my favorite....she randomly will come as Colleen and I if we want chocolate. Who wouldn't like a 9 year old like that? Plus yesterday she had an English test and asked me and Colleen to help her study. Carmen has been out of school all week sick and has been particularly sassy. She is cute and all but she's still a 4 year old. She did draw me a picture yesterday of a christmas tree and still insists I sit next to her at every meal. Luis is also doing very well. He has lots of games coming up and wants us to come to one in February. Pilar and papa Luis have also been really good. No complaints yet! Although I've strongly been craving pizza recently. It was on the menu for Friday dinner but she just told us were having fish instead. Might have to make a late night run for some tonight....

Well I must go get ready for class. Hasta pronto!