Meow...A Bit About Oviedo

So, turns out Oviedo is gorgeous...In case anyone´s jealous.

Life here is so laid back...I mean I know it´s summer and I´m just kicking it in another country, but I feel like that´s everyone´s attitude. Work and school aren´t causes of stress here. People just live.

Today was Martes de Campo, a holiday only celebrated in Oviedo where families are supposed to spend time outside en el campo and eat these really nasty sandwiches called bollas. They´re stuffed with chorizo, I´ve had enough chorizo to last me a lifetime. Courtney, Ashley, and I went to the beach today and I had about two bites of my sandwich before I had to throw it out...no bueno. For the most part I really enjoy my mom´s cooking, but this traditional cuisine was a shoot and a miss para mi. Here´s a picture of Courtney´s sandwich...mine was homemade so it didn´t look quite so...provacative.

It´s a little nuts here, but after being here for less than a week, I feel completely at home and have slipped into my little schedule.

I get up in the morning and go to class at 9:30. I´m in the Intermediate III class which surprised me--I wasn´t expecting to be placed in the highest level after I took my crappy placement test. My teacher is Pablo...I love him...I´m stealing a picture from Courtney to put up of him. He comes out to the same bar we do sometimes and sings and plays Beatles songs on the guitar...AWESOME.

I have class until 2:00 and after that I´ll either walk around with people or head home for lunch and a siesta....I love the siesta thing FANTASTIC idea.

Then we´ll all usually meet up at around 10:30 in front La Catedral to go out and drink sidra among other things :). Sidra is AMAZING. It´s the famous drink in Asturias...which is the part of Spain Oviedo is located in. It´s just fermented apple cider. Anyway we went to a traditional party on Friday night called an espicha that was originally to celebrate the first sidra of the year. The coolest thing about sidra is the way it has to be served. Either it´s poured from a barrel to a cup some three feet away or a waiter pours it from a bottle and catches it in the cup...but the trick is they´re not allowed to look where they´re aiming. At the party we listened to traditional music and ate delicious food and hung out with our professors. I tried to join in on a little traditional dance...Prof. Rubio tried to tell me I did well...I think he was just being nice. On the way back Pablo taught us some drinking songs on the bus. Here´s a picture of me pouring sidra...with help...I did it like four times...Sidra man was a hottie...Alberto :)

I´ve only stayed in two nights so far. The nightlife here is crazy...people really don´t come out until 2 in the morning...crazy Spaniards. Our friendly neighborhood barman has been acting like our guide around town. His friend Victi tried to teach me to dance the other night...I just shook my hips a lot :P.

We also went to watch the Manchester United v Barcelona game at a bar one night. Super fun. Barcelona is so good! First team in España to win the Spanish League, the European Championships, and the Champion´s League...Sweet.

On Saturday we went on our first class excursion to an old monestary that was built in 893...crazy old, I couldn´t believe that some of the paint was still visible on the inside. After that we went and hung out at the beach at Playa de Rodiles...can´t ever get enough beach time ;).

Okay, so this was a pretty condensed version of what I´ve been up to up until meow. I´ll seriously try to keep it up to date from meow on out...scout´s honor. Pee.Ess. Check facebook for more pictures.