gringa

friend: you don't look too much like the other gringas

me: i don't? how come?

friend: well. you're short. all the gringos are so tall and loud.

I think that's a win.

Friday: Spent the day walking around Alcobendas with my friend Enoc. He's looking for a job so we went to every clothing store/fast food joint to hand out his resume. Then there was ice cream. Dolcelatte, the Argentine heladeria, has the most amazing ice cream. Ever. And I have tried a lot of ice creams. I'm normally not a fan of mint-chocolate chip, but the kind at Dolcelatte has so much chocolate chip in it, I'll be a fan for life.

That night, I went to Plaza Norte, a big mall, with Sheila, Josue, and Enoc. After walking around for a while, we ate at this place called "Cien Malanditos" (I'm pretty sure I'm spelling it wrong...) Basically, it's "100 tiny sandwiches." And there really are a hundred different sanwiches to try. I only got four though; tortilla and ali oli, chicken and ali oli, lomo with queso, and salmon with brie. I have no idea what kind of meat "lomo" is, but it was awesome. I also tried some traditional Spanish ham that was very good too.

Saturday: My day-time was very lazy on Saturday, but that night was La Noche en Blanco: The Night in White. There are a ton of museums, concerts, plays, movies, and other activites, all free to the public--all happening very late at night. We got into the National Museum of Natural Sciences at about 10 p.m. Afterward, we went to tour the soccer stadium where Real Madrid plays. It was awesome. We got home about 3:30 a.m. Needless to say, I went to the LATE service at church on Sunday. Here, the second service starts at 1: 00 p.m.

After church, I stood around visiting with everyone for a while. There was a very spirited argument about Barcelona versus Madrid happening in the parking lot and it was hilarious to watch. After leaving the church, I had a 'mixto' kebab with Sheila and Josue at this Middle-Eastern place across the street from the seminary. Mixtos are amazing. And huge. So I had mixto leftovers for dinner.

Monday: Today I talked to my professor about my student ID card, then took the train to the University of Comillas to buy a text-book. It might seem like a boring day, but every time I use public transportation, it's an adventure.

I got to talk to the family on Skype yesterday--pretty awesome!

hasta luego