i'm lost in heaven and i'm lost to earth

      i'm terrible at updating this. but life in cadiz basically boils down to:

• going to the beach when it's nice out, which unfortunately hasn't been the case for a couple weeks now
  
• but not to fear, a 250g external with entirely too many movies and television shows always saves the day!
  
• belly dancing classes
  
• university classes
  
• busying myself with making colorful flashcards, detailed outlines, and typed notes for said classes because homework is minimal and i'm one of those painfully organized people
  
• going to my favorite teahouse which has a moroccan ambiance, amazing milkshakes which are more like smoothies, this amazing yogurt/crushed peanuts/chocolate sauce/cinnamon concoction, and a belly dancer every thursday who just so happens to be my dance class teacher
  
• eating a lot of gelato
  
• going out on the weekends to 2 or 3 bars, then maybe, or maybe not, ending the night at la punta
  
• musical-watching evenings with my beloved aubrie
  
• listening to copious amounts of music, in my room, in transit, at the beach...
  

      HOWEVER, last weekend i did make it to sevilla to see the fair and spend time with mara. it was wonderful :) i had missed her quite a bit. my program's going to granada next weekend so i'll get to see her there, and then she's coming to visit cadiz the weekend before i leave for the states.


      soooo next weekend is granada, the following weekend is ibiza and mallorca, the weekend after is tarifa (again. when i say i love tarifa, i really, really, really tarifa. and even that's an understatement) and morocco (!!! i've never been and i am so excited), then i have a free weekend, then mara comes to visit. and then i'm home.

      it's surreal to think that i've been here since january and will be back in seattle by june 1st, working, taking classes, living by myself, cooking for myself, doing my own laundry, speaking english all the time. i feel like i've changed a lot, in many respects. half of me feels that i'll be ready to go back to that life by the end of may, that i've grown to be more self sufficient and comfortable with myself, and that my spanish has definitely improved, but the other half is saying, "you haven't practiced your spanish nearly enough, you still haven't explored the new part, you haven't climbed the tower in the cathedral, you have yet to find restaurant paella that is as amazing as your host mother's, you haven't made enough spanish friends." i guess you very rarely accomplish everything you want to do. i'm by no means disappointed, but i'm sure as hell going to make the most of the rest of my time here. still have a month and a half :)