things going on, weekend, etc.

This weekend a group of friends and I are planning on going to Cádiz. Keyword: planning. Ugh. The planning is pretty hectic, and I wouldn't be planning a destination party in the first place, but when I brought up my birthday to people, everybody mentioned taking a trip. I don't flatter myself into thinking it's just because of my birthday, I know people want to travel. I just think it's a ton of work setting this up! I was just working with Emily, who is also in my town, to set up the hostel or hotel accommodations and we were trying to figure out the transportation to get there and how to get around the city of Cádiz, itself. Takes a lot of work. And I always get nervous when I'm about to make a phone call to a hostel in Spanish, but it turns out to be pretty easy. It's just weird to know I'm going to communicate with someone in a foreign language with something that's hard for me to navigate using my first language. Plus, I have a weird phobia about calling people I've never met, on the phone, which is ironic since I've done so many phone interviews, being a journalist and whatnot...

So yeah, a group of girls and I are hopefully going to Cádiz this weekend. Originally, my roommate Claire suggested Lagos, Portugal, as our destination. Well, it's taking a ton of work to figure out the logistics and getting to and from Portugal, so I said hey, why don't we just cut our losses and go to a place in Spain? Cheaper, easier to figure out, still fun, and Portugal ain't goin' nowhere. Ugh. So that's what we're working on. I'm hoping it will work. So far, we definitely have on board the following people: me, Claire, Becca, Michelle, Emily, Lauren, and probably Jessica. Carole can't come because her sister will be in town, Kim can't come because she has a wedding, and Cassie decided not to come because she doesn't know the group of friends that well and because she only just settled down in her apartment and just met Spaniards who invited her to a party this weekend and wants to get to know them. She said she felt really guilty, since we got along really well at orientation, but whatever. No pase nada, as the Spaniards say all the time, which means "it's no big deal," more or less. I'll see Cassie in the near future. Doesn't mean I can't be bummed, though. Booooo.

Another fun thing: Kim is going to give me Dutch lessons! She is the girl who lives here in Cabra and is from Zelem, Belgium. Like I mentioned once before, I have a bunch of Belgian relatives, and I'm definitely planning on meeting up with them in Belgium at some point while I'm living my expatriate life here in Spain. This time when I visit, which will be my third time in Belgium, I want to be able to do more than just count from one to ten in Dutch and say "that's good" and "thank you." Blah. I know that mostly all Belgians speak English, but I want to impress my relatives when I visit. Also, and I am def tootin' my own horn here, by I'm really quick at picking up languages. I know I will feel overwhelmed learning Dutch, though, since it isn't in the Romance language family a la Spanish and Italian. Bleh. I will enjoy the classes with Kim, though, because she seems like a fun girl and I want to get to know her better, especially since I'll probably be taking a train back to Belgium with her, at some point, while I'm here.

OK, subject change time (I know, abrupt...whatever): there are still a bunch of things I miss, from home. Not to be Debbie Downer, but every once in a while I get really bummed out and just stare at a wall for about 15 minutes and daydream about the things I miss, which include my college life, which is still a recent memory. College life is completely different from working-in-Spain life. Another thing I miss is riding horses. I feel like there's a huge void in my life that can only be filled by feeling the wind rush faster while on the back of a horse. There's nothing like the feeling of riding, for me, I just have a sense of contentment and freedom that nothing else brings, including writing, which I obviously love to do. I'm looking for a place to ride, still, and I'm determined to find one! And I'm determined to work really hard, too, so eventually I'll have enough money in order to finance my equestrian endeavours in the future, since it's the most expensive sport on earth, most likely.
Other things I miss? Food. The food is good here, but I would kill for a bagel....or, to add to the list: In 'N Out burger/fries/milkshake, Golden Spoon, Panera, soy milk, Whole Foods, Lean Cuisine, microwaveable cuisine in general, ahhhhhh I'm going to cry. I miss my bed. I miss my CATS. Oh my God, I'm going through total withdrawal from my cats. I am a crazy cat lady a la the character Angela in The Office, and I freely admit it. And, I miss THE OFFICE! And Law & Order SVU!!! And American TV in general. I miss the shower from my house. I miss CARPET! Every home in Spain has cold, cold COLD tile floors and I'm beginning to hate it.

Most of all, I miss the accessiblity of my friends and family and being within 3 hours of the time zone stuff of my friends, too.

OK, there are more things, but I don't want to sound ungrateful. I just have reached the end of what people call the honeymoon phase of living in a new country and I'm starting to realize the things I really miss from home.

Now I'm going to go to bed because as usual, I stayed up too late and have far too few hours to sleep. Sucks to be an insomniac, I guess. OK, buenas noches.