After going to Sevilla this last weekend we were really exhausted so Monday we pretty much spent the evening at home after school. We did actually try and go to the botanical gardens with friends, but after a 15 minute bus ride and a 15 minute walk we found out that they are closed on Monday's. haha.
Tuesday we didn't go to school and decided to sleep in and go to the beach. We should like really horrible students, but the teachers at our school don't discourage taking a few days off for the beach.
Yesterday was a really long day, but it was fun. We did the whole get up and go to school routine as usual, but after school we decided we would hike the mountains in Malaga. I wasn't so sure how smart of an idea this was since at 2PM after school the temperature was 93 degrees. It was sweltering. We ended up doing it anyways, and I'm glad we did. It was a good workout and a beautiful view. After waling for about an hour and a half from our school up winding steep hills, we finally made it to the mountain where we had to climb about ten more minutes to the top. I am glad that most of the climbing was not on the edge of a cliff of high up on a ledge because I wouldn't have made it to the top. We could see the entire city, the ocean, and the surrounding pueblos and mountains from where we were. It was really breathtaking.
After hiking we came home and showered and got ready for our goodbye dinner with ISA. We all got really dressed up and went to a really nice restaurant. It was really delicious and lots of fun. We had bread, salad, some sort of fried red pepper which was amazing, croquetas with bull tail in them (weird, but they were delicious), the main dish which I had pork and potatoes, and dessert which was a compilation of many really good desserts. It was a lot of fun to just get to sit and visit with all of our friends for a while before we leave next week. We're going to miss them, but we will keep in touch over facebook.. And I'm SO ready to be home! :)
Today I am quite sore from the hiking, but I am glad that we ended up going. It was a really neat experience. After school today we headed home because we missed our siesta yesterday and needed to catch up on some sleep. We had abondigas (meatballs) again for lunch today because Carmen likes to spoil us :)
After lunch I showered and took a 2 hour nap. We just got back from our final meeting with ISA which was to lay out our final preparations before leaving Malaga next week.
Today at school our teachers told Lauren and I both that we should take the final exam for the class that is one level higher than ours. We both tested into the low intermediate class and have been only reviewing things that we learned in high school and college. It has been really helpful because we needed the review and speaking nothing but Spanish in the class has helped so much, but we are quite a bit more advanced than the other students in our class. We have a lot to study this weekend before our final exam on Tuesday, but we are going to take the higher test so that our credits transfer back to Saginaw Valley as higher classes.
Tonight we are going to the Malagueta beach for the San Juan festival. The San Juan festival is a really big deal here. It's a celebration that lasts through the night and fills the beaches with people and bon fires. June 23rd is actually the eve of the birthday of St. John the Baptist and is celebrated with these festivities. There is going to be a free Spanish concert on the beach at 10PM which we are heading out to go to around 9PM. According to all of the locals tonight is one of the biggest festivities that Malaga has each year. We are excited to go. We read about it in class and it is supposedly a magical night and they do a lot of funny traditions. One of them is that after the fires have died down the men leap over them to prove their manliness or according to our teacher Alvaro their "macho-ness". Another tradition is that everyone goes swimming in the ocean at exactly midnight because it is supposed to give you fertility, beauty and luck. It's very interesting and really cool to experience the culture.
The other day I asked Carmen a question about having a bocadilla (packed lunch) and she is really laid back and says anything that we want we can have, but after I asked her she told both Lauren and I that we are the absolute best girls that she has ever had in her house. That is saying a lot because she has been hosting students for a long time now, not to boast. haha.. But she just thanked us over and over again for respecting her house, her things, being kind, being courteous, and asking her questions. We honestly couldn't have been put with a better woman. We are really going to miss her. She has been so amazing and such fun.
Well, I am going to go eat some dinner and get ready to head out for the night's festivities.
Abrazos y Besos
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