Málaga...hello and goodbye

We had set up a wake-up call at 9:30am before going to bed Saturday night so that we could wake up in time for the continental breakfast. On each of our overnight program excursions one of the things that we most look forward to is the hotel continental breakfast. When our phone rang at 9:30 we were not happy campers, but the idea of a big-ass breakfast made it all worth it. We were exhausted, and still drunk. Two and a half hours of sleep just doesn't do it. Stacey and I knocked on Katie and Melissa's door to get them up and out. Melissa did not seem pleased, and was rather drunk still. We stumbled downstairs and sat at a table which had a plate with a croissant at each place setting, and in the center a platter of plain rolls and magdalenas (packaged sweet Spanish breakfast cakes). Where was the buffet? Then a waitress came to our table and asked what we wanted to drink, we all got orange juice. So...that was it. Croissants, rolls, and jam. Oh, and sweet rolls if we pleased. Where was my yogurt and cereal? Where was my toast? Where were my cheese platters? I was not a happy camper and was pissed that we got tricked into this pathetic breakfast. I woke up for this? Yes, I was bitter. Well, at least the orange juice was good. I guess it should be since the hotel was called the "naranjo" (orange tree) and there were oranges displayed everywhere. I guess the shitty breakfast was compensated by the super nice staff, free beach towels, and room sizes. Did I mention that our shades were powered by a button on the wall? It was pretty sweet. After eating Stacey and Melisssa decided to go straight to the beach to lay out and catch up on sleep out there. I just wanted my bed, so I slept until 11:30 so I could be out of the room by check-out at noon. After a groggy second awakening, the rest of us got ready to go to the beach whilst packing up from the rooms. We headed out, stopped at a little store on the way to buy water and I bought a tuna empanada to eat for a cheap lunch later. Then we met up with Melissa and Stacey on the beach. The sun was strong, it was hot, and I was battling my lack of sleep. I just wasn't in the mood to lay out, just sit and socialize. We talked to people in our program passing by, many were topless. Silliness. I tried laying down and taking a nap at one point, but it was just way to hot in the sun. I went in the water a bit (up to my thighs) but wasn't interested in swimming. So I just sat around and talked for a couple hours. Courtney and Melissa had mentioned something about a Subway being in town. Subway! I haven't eaten Subway since I can't even remember! Fuck my empanada, I wanted Subway for lunch. Courtney and Melissa decided to head over there around one while the rest of us hung out on the beach some more. At around 2 Jessica and I decided that we should go since we had to be back and on the bus at 4 and it was about a 20ish minute walk to Subway. Stacey and Katie decided to stay out on the beach, and Jessica and I packed up and walked to Subway. I had had enough of the beach, anyways. I am beached out. Does that sound snobby? Mwa ha ha. The whole walk to Subway Jessica and I had a really long, deep conversation about the entire study abroad experience. How we felt about leaving, returning home, what we've learned, what we've missed, what we will miss, how we've changed, our new perspectives, etc. It's weird, I definitely think that I have grown a lot here. I have done so many new things and seen so many new things which have caused me to learn so much about myself. Also, being thrown into this Europe thing with a group of people who I don't know gave me a whole new perspective on the kind of person I am and how I occur to people. I've gained more confidence and energy here. I've gained more worldly knowledge (obviously). I'm more open-minded. I've gained more independence. That's just to name a few things. I don't feel different, just revitalized, like this whole Europe thing was a fresh drink of water. I really needed it after last semester, I've truly been rejuvenated. Being here has also made me appreciate the people and things back home. So I'm actually excited to go home, although extremely sad about leaving. But I am excited to go home with this new appreciation of my "real" life and be present to every moment. I have just learned so much here...I don't know, I can't describe it, really. I just feel really good about myself and my life which I really wasn't feeling back in 2005. This was a good thing. A very, very good thing. Anyways, we took a beautiful walk to Subway, Malaga is a gorgeous town. When I saw the yellow sign I almost died. It's funny because back in the States I rarely eat Subway, but for some reason I was in desperate deli meat need. We walked in and were so happy to see that the menu is completely the same...same breads, same toppings, same veggies (minus banana peppers, and they have red peppers instead of green peppers which, believe me, is a good thing) and same meats and cheeses. Wow. We went all out and went for the footlong. As we were ordering Jay, who is an academic year kid walked in for his own Subway dose. He was in the same boat as us. I ordered a footlong (or 30 cm) turkey on multi-grain bread with every single veggie minus jalapenos and onions, and sweet mustard. Yes. I had a great time eating that thing and hanging out with Jay and Jessica. I had never really gotten the chance to ever hang out with Jay since coming here. He's really awesome and had lots of advice about finals since we're all freaking out about finals since May has started. After our delicious feast we walked back, not without taking a quick gander at the ruins of a Roman amphitheater. That was really awesome because it was an amphitheater that I had viewed as a slide in Historia del Arte months ago. That was pretty damn cool. We then walked back to the hotel where everyone chilled out in the lobby and intently watched the VH1 countdown of 100 best videos of all time. Yeah, everyone was hooked. We saw so many great classics such as Michael Jackson's "Beat It". Brilliant. The bus showed up a little bit after 4, we boarded, and were off for the 2.5 hour ride home. I tried to sleep on the bus but it was impossible because there was really poor ventillation for some reason. So I spent most of the time just staring out the window and listening to Jewel on the iPod. We got back, the weather in Sevilla was just as beautiful as Malaga. In fact, the weather in Sevilla is rarely poor. The sun always shines in Sevilla nowadays. We walked home, Stacey stopped at Vips to put minutes on her phone, got home, showered (much needed), and then worked online. I had mucho blogging to do and lots of photos to post. We ate dinner at 9:30 and it was one of the best dinners I've had in awhile: gazpacho and espinacas con garbanzos (spinach with garbanzos) and an orange for dessert. I love espinacas con garbanzos and hadn't had them in a long time. I've decided, since trying them at restaurants and cafeterias, that Maruja makes the best espinacas con garbanzos. Stacey agrees. I was stuffed...the perfect meal, I must say. After dinner I just worked online on the blog and the pictures until finally passing out around 1ish. Good, good times. It was sad that my last program excursion had ended. My time here is winding down and I can't believe it. I just really can't believe it.