The day we became "those kids" at the playground..

Hi all! I cannot believe that it is already May 4th. By the way, Happy 25th Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

I got back to Alicante on April 20th and slept a lot for the first two days. After the cruise and then going straight to traveling with my grandparents, I was dead! Luckily, some of my classes were canceled that week because of the volcano so I had some extra time to relax. Unluckily, many of my friends were strew across Europe, unable to get back to Alicante. One girl spent three weeks in Belgium! A small group from class had to go on a 36-hour ferry ride that was packed full of people and they had to sleep on the floor of the boat. I was lucky to get back to Alicante without any troubles. Ted, Sally and Granny and Pop also got out of Madrid just fine so it was a giant relief.

I really don’t have much to write about what I have been up to because it has mainly been going to the beach! I had two business finals last week. The way school works here is definitely something that I want to take back to America! My Human Resources Management final was 5 short answer questions and took me about 30 minutes. Plus, the questions were very open ended so it was pretty simple. Then, my Marketing in the European Union final was 15 multiple-choice questions. And, the only goal of these classes is to pass because they just transfer back if you pass or if you fail. Finals week was much less stressful than finals week at home and I am not complaining about that!

We have been going to the beach almost everyday for a couple hours. I got burnt on my back however last weekend so I will be staying in doors until it goes away. I have no more trips planned until my parents come on May 29th. Oh, and, I have the Camino de Santiago which we leave for on May 13th. I was going to plan a trip to Seville and maybe Portugal but I have decided to stay in Alicante and just enjoy this city and the beach for my last couple weeks.

Tracy’s friend who is studying in Florence was in town this past weekend so spent some time on the beach and then on Saturday night we went out to dinner and got some drinks. Then, this past Sunday was Mother’s Day in Spain. I bought Aurora flowers and a card. They don’t do much for Mother’s Day here so she loved my little gift.

Tomorrow I have my Spanish final. I don’t think that it’ll be too bad but I am doing a little studying just in case. I also have to read a 200-page book in Spanish and write a 10-page paper, also in Spanish. So, I am trying to get a little bit of that done each day.

I do have one funny story that happened the other day. Marina, Aurora’s 3-year-old granddaughter came over one evening and was going to spend the night because her parents had a wedding to go to. So, we headed off to the park at about 6:00 PM. Aurora left me to watch Marina for about 30 minutes while she went and said hello to her mother who lives close to the park. After about 15 minutes of playing, Marina tells me she has to go to the bathroom. I told her we would walk back to the house but I wanted to call Aurora to let her know where we were going so she wouldn’t come back and be worried. As I hung up and turned around, I saw that Marina had decided she couldn’t wait any longer. She had hiked up her little dress and was going pee right in the middle of the playground, with her tights still on. I looked around to see the faces of many Spanish parents, some with sickened disapproving stares and some with accepting smiles while I tried to tell Marina to stop. However, she just looked at me with a pain stricken face and cried, “I can’t!” So, I just stood there helpless for about 30 seconds while this child did her thing. I swear it was the longest pee I have ever witnessed. Once Marina was finished and had left her mark, as in a giant puddle, in the middle of the playground, I knew we had to get out of there as soon as possible. But, Marina, wearing pee soaked tights couldn’t walk. I scooped her up in my arms, swallowing the little pride I had left, and walked, no lightly jogged, with Marina in my arms as I felt the stench soaking into my t-shirt.

Poor Marina knew she had done something wrong and was embarrassed when we got back to the house. But, it really was a funny story so I just had to laugh. When Aurora came back she felt horrible because she had forgotten to remind Marina to use the restroom before we went. At the end of the day, it is just another Spanish memory. Oh, and now when I walk past that park everyday, I walk a little faster than in the past. Haha.

That is all I have for now! I will update again before the camino! Love and miss you all! Love, Me.