Quien es esa muchacha

I am not myself. Or rather, I'm a less shy, more confident version of myself in this country. If I could continue to be who I currently am when I return stateside I think my life will be quite different. Last night I went out to Villaviciosa with Antonio. By chance we ran into a few of his former students. We went to a bar and had a couple of drinks. The whole night was in Spanish. If I wanted to talk I had to speak Spanish. If I needed assistance I could ask for it, but all conversation was in Spanish. We then went to another bar and danced. I love dancing in this country. The two girls we met were just beautiful. They were so generous and fun to dance with. It was late and so we went back to one of the girls house and she made us a small snack. She was from the Canary Islands and had cheese and sausage from the islands. I felt rude refusing such a gracious hostess and so I did have a taste of the sausage and it was amazing. I know, another encounter with meat. As I've said, what happens in Villaviciosa, stays in Villaviciosa.

It was late and the buses were no longer running and so we stayed the night. Antonio slept in a trundle bed and I slept in the other bed. It was funny because we both got into bed and under the covers took off our pants at the same time. Neither of us could bear to sleep in pants! I slept amazingly well and in the morning we left a note and came home (I realized as I was editing this that for a moment, the dorms were home to me). For this girl to open her home in such a manner was an amazing gift. She mentioned she liked jazz and would love to come to Chicago to hear jazz. I am going to send her a compilation cd of jazz as a thank you. The girls also met me for lunch today and we, once again could only speak spanish. They were so sweet and bought me lunch. It is hard for me to accept such gifts, but I am just grateful to have met such incredible women.

This afternoon I took a short nap and I dreamt in Spanish. I have no idea what was being said in my own head, but it felt good to dream in Spanish.

Thursday the girls are planning a night out, for me, and for the other students. I will be so sorry to leave. My days have taken on a certain rhthym. It has also been a wonderful experience to take a break from work. One I desperately needed.