Productivity

Woke up to my alarm feeling good and refreshed at around 9:30 on Thursday (thanks, fan!). While eating breakfast I learned on the news that Rocio Juradoo, the most famous flamenco singer in Spain of the 20th century, basically, who had been battling pancreatic cancer for 3 years had died. Her status had been all over the news since I had been here, so it was a big deal. I then got ready and headed to the center. On the way I heard loud bangs...firecrackers! Then I saw that the los Remedios bridge was blocked off. Suddenly a bunch of men and women on horseback rode by, dressed up like it was Feria (flamenco dresses, gray suits and hats, etc.). I forgot, it was the Rocio procession! The Rocio is some religious saint symbol thing, and I guess that once a year they have a procession like Semana Santa where everyone dresses up like it's Feria. So it's basically Feria and Semana Santa combined, but on a smaller scale, and only for a few hours. Weird. Well, Maruja told me that after the procession everyone goes to each other's houses for parties where you just eat and drink all day. I tell ya, Sevillanos will find any excuse to party. Hehe, I like it. Once in the center I heard more firecrackers, and looked out the window which overlooks the los Remedios bridge, and actually got to see the Rocio go by! It's on a small wagon with flowers and such. It was pretty cool, I guess. I'm just happy that I got to see it. Then I did some stuff online and read some "Peribañez...". Well, it was more of an intention; you see, Amanda got a package in the mail with the latest issue of People Magazine. Omigod, news from the outside world! I feel so behind on celebrity gossip. So I caved and spent an hour devouring a People Magazine. Turns out things are pretty much the same, Paris Hilton´s doing this, dating some person, Lindsay Lohan´s a redhead again, and then I found out what happened during the season finale of "The O.C." Needless to say I am very upset. I will not write it to spare those who have not seen it, but I can´t believe a) People ruined it for me and b) that what happened, well, happened. Anyways, after that guilty indulgence I continued reading "Peribañez..." and got close to finishing. Woot. Then I walked home for lunch which was not so great: Lomo con salsa de tomate (a typical Spanish dish: pork loin chopped up in tomato sauce), simple green salad, and another small, plain baked potato. The best part about the meal was dessert: WATERMELON! In this heat I've been craving watermelon, and we got it. And it was delicious. Mighty tasty, indeed. Then I posted some webshots, then went to Starbucks at around 4 where I was surprisingly super productive...I blame my productivity on a) bringing headphones to listen to my iTunes...enough of this Brazilian bullshit, and b) the fact that it was really raining outside--that´s always a good motivator. I finished "Peribañez..." and finished typing up all of my art history notes and historia del cine notes. Niiiiiiice. So all´s I gotta do is put pictures on my Historia del Arte notes, make a few note cards, and memorize them before Monday, then for cine I just have to look up a few facts that are missing in my notes, and make some notecards and just study before next Wednesday. Next agenda: start another Lope play and type up my Iconografía notes. But that´s my Friday agenda. Anyways, I finished at around 7:45 so I walked home and finished posting my webshots until dinner at 9:30. We had green beans mixed with onions and potatoes, then grilled ham n cheese sandwiches. Since María del Mar had another date with Alfonso (this is getting serious!) Maruja split María del Mar´s sandwich in two for Stacey and me. After dinner we had oranges. I WAS SO FULL. Then I messed around online. I had been so productive studying and gotten everything done that I wanted to get done that I earned my time to putz around for the night. Stacey went to the Sala de estudios in Nervión after dinner (she crazy), and then I headed to the living room at around 1am to watch Cinderella Man. I got about a fourth of the way through it when María del Mar came home. We stayed up and talked for awhile. She was all smiles, I can tell she really likes Alfonso. She told me that they were now officially dating and that she liked him. She told me that he said that he said that she has walked into his life and made a difference, kind of like a beacon of hope or something like that. How cool. This could be something good. And he still hasn´t kissed her! He´s definitely interested in getting to know her which intrigues her because it´s nothing like any other guy she´s known/dated. She likes him because he´s interested in her as a person and respects her. She has been getting home late for the past few nights and waking up really early for class...she crazy! So unlike her. But that´s what happens when you first start dating somebody that ya really like. She told me that they can talk for hours and they´ll just lose track of time. Awwww! We finally both went to bed at around 2:30ish. The end.