Thank goodness for running. I know for most people it sounds like torture, but it really helps me think through things, clear my mind, and make sure my head is on straight. So this morning when my alarm went off, despite my overwhelming desire to continue sleeping, I got up and ran six miles. The temperature actually dropped into the mid-70's last night, so the conditions were perfect. It was so nice to feel the temporarily cooler air; as much as I like the hot weather and jumping in the pool, I am looking forward to the slightly more tolerable weather patterns of October.
The rest of the morning I spent chasing after el Carnet Joven, the European Youth Card. It involved an application, a visit to the Spanish youth employment and enhancement office, and verification of residency. All-in-all, between the walking to the office and the bank to get a money order, it took about three hours. Supposedly, the card will get me some student discounts on things like busses, trains, hostels, food, etc. across Europe, which could ultimately save me a lot of money! Thus far, the exchange rate has really been killing me. When we arrived is was 1$ to 1.65Euro-- brutal! Since then it has dropped to 1.4E. I can tell I'm already becoming jaded to the poor exchange rate since I'm excited about this. Its so unfortunate how my money from working all summer is worth so little and I want to do so much.
After the Carnet Joven expedition, I had a meeting with Esteban, the Resident Director, about my classes and how I'm adjusting to Spain so far. I told him that my new house is like a palace compared to last week's Residencia experience. As for classes, I'll hopefully be able to get into the Political Institutions class tomorrow, in which case my schedule will be all set. After the meeting I came home, took a nap, ate lunch, and took another nap.
At lunch, we had a big discussion about the high cost of energy here in Spain, and I was pleased to learn that all the hot water in our house comes from solar panels on our roof. It certainly is sunny enough to capture a significant amount of energy; I wonder if Carmen and Carlos have given any consideration to adding more solar panels to offset the rest of their energy consumption. Next time I'm poolside, I'll make a point of peaking over the other side of the roof to check the panels out.
My only class of the day, a class on the Geography of Spain, didn't meet until 5:30, so I had a nice long time to relax and write some postcards. I really liked the class, and it covers much more than the physical landscape of Spain. We're going to delve into the relationships between the culture and the land, and also talk a bit about the economics of the country and how they relate to the climate and prime geographic location between Europe and Africa and between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. I have a small paper dues Thursday that I thought a little bit about writing this evening, but then I didn't end up doing anything. I'll have to motivate and write that tomorrow at some point. I'm still a bit in denial that classes have started. Its one thing to do readings, but writing papers is a completely different ball game. Tomorrow will certainly be a reality check for me.
Tomorrow is also Kim's birthday, so she and I are going to run together in the morning, and in the evening, after our Sevillanas dance class, we're going out to dinner with some of the other Preshquitas to celebrate her turning 20.
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