Day 7

I've now been here 7 days and it feels like I've been here for an eternity! I am finally feeling really comfortable navigating through this foreign city and continue to enjoy every minute. The only complaint I have is the euro, which is really expensive compared to the U.S. dollar. Mimi and I did have a breakthrough last night though! Traditionally, you are not supposed to have alcohol in the apartments if you are doing a homestay. It seemed odd to us, though, because it is such a part of their culture and we are clearly of legal age. So, we approached Elena and asked if it would be okay if we purchased our own wine to drink before we went out (yes mom, "pregaming"). Surprisingly, Elena not only said it was absolutely fine to buy our own wine, but she whipped out a bottle of her own red wine for the three of us to share. This was a wine that Elena had had in the cabinet for years and she had no idea what it would be like. Well, it turned out that it was a dessert wine and it seriously was the sweetest thing I had ever tasted. Most of you know that I am addicted to sugar, but oh my gosh this stuff was so sweet! We were only able to get a few sips down and were completely sugared out. Still, we're excited that we'll be able to pregame at our apartment and save money when we go out.

After our dessert wine, Maya, Mimi and I walked to Pippermint to join a big group for a drink. While there, I met some new people, including a really cute southern girl-- such a rare find! Most of the American students here are from the north so it was refreshing to find someone more like me. We then walked to Opium where we had our first club experience ever! It was this huge room with tall ceilings and white everywhere. There was also a world-famous DJ playing music the whole time. This will mean nothing to most of you, but I met Kyke too! I was seriously starstuck. We were just about 2 blocks away, so we walked home afterwards.

I had another spanish class today and then went with a big group to an Irish pub for lunch. This place was also right down the road from IES and we were attracted to it because of their "buy one get one free" promotion that's good from 1-5 Monday-Friday. This place was delicious and I came away full from my first meal yet. And it was my cheapest meal yet! What an accomplishment. 

Thanks for all of your comments on this blog. It truly makes my day when I hear from each of you!