“Mail your packages early so the post office can lose them in time for Christmas.” ~Johnny Carson

I apologize, it has been quite a while since I have written on my blog. A lot has happened in these last two weeks...and now I am trying to remember exactly what that has been...

Well for starters, Annika has gone back home. :( She left on my birthday (just my luck) So I had spent a lot the last two weeks with her.

Last Saturday we went downtown to go tourist stuff shopping, so I could buy christmas presents and Annika could buy souvenoirs. I walked to the bus stop near Annika´s house and met her there, where we proceeded to take the bus into the center of the city. We spent the day shopping and I took Annika to a tapas restaraunt (she had not had tapas until then...). Afterwards, we shopped a little bit more and then we went to wait for the busses. This time, so I wouldn´t have to walk as much, I took a different bus than Annika. My first time taking the bus all by myself. Which, turned out to be a lot easier than I had previously imagined...
and..unfortunatly when I got off the bus it decided to become a terrential downpour. By the time I got to my house (only like a 5 minute walk) I was soaked, I even had an umbrella, but it did me no good.

That Sunday it rained as well. Okay, that is an understatement. All the water let loose from the sky and it just dumped itself on Malaga all during the day on sunday. Parts of Malaga lost power, the streets were all flooded, where there is supposed to be rivers (but they are normally all dried up) actually had rapids flowing through them. It was crazy! Annika and I have decided that Malaga is the most unprepared city for rain...

the rain outside my house...

On Thanksgiving I did not go to school. I just didn´t want to. So, Annika and I skipped school and went to the beach. When we returned to my house from the beach, a make-shift Thanksgiving meal was ready for us. It definitly made my day. My host family is amazing :) After lunch Annika and I returned to downtown and went back to all the same tourist shops for our 6th time....the people who owned the shops kept making jokes about us, always saying, "not those americans again..." And again, I took the bus home all by myself and then Skyped with my whole family. I will admit that Thanksgiving and Friday were tough for me (becuase that was Annika´s last day), and I was sort of an emotional wreck. I would like to let you all know that my weekend was amazing and I am okay now. Although, I am not too excited for christmas without my family either :(

My spanish Thanksgiving

On Friday I went to a party for one of my other friend´s birthday, however at midnight it basically got converted to my party for my birthday. My friends literally counted down the minutes until my birthday at midnight. And at midnight they all circled around me and started singing happy birthday, first in english, then in spanish, and then some other spanish birthday song. It was absolutly wonderful. I then proceeded to recieve kisses (on the cheek) from every single person at the party.

On Saturday I went out to lunch with my host family at the beach, it was a beautiful day. Then in the afternoon I was supposed to go to the movies with Maria and Marta, but the line was too long so we passed and just went downtown instead. Saturday night was the night they had a huge concert downtown and they turned on all the christmas lights in Malaga. (unfortunatly this year they arent as good, and I have yet to get any good pictures, but I will by the end of the season...). There is one stretch of lights, however, that is gorgeous...but i didnt go there with my camera, ughh.

I also spoke with my first non-AFS american on saturday. And, go figure I met him in McDonalds...he is from Atlanta, Georgia, and his father is from Spain so he has lived here for the past year and he doesn´t know when he is returning. I was so surprised to be talking with an american who lives in Spain (who by the way, looked spanish) that I just didn´t really quite register that he´s american. I kinda had a conversation with him as though he were a spanish kid who spoke really good english. Then after I was so mad at myself for not getting his number or anything...but whatever. I don´t need anymore people to speak english with....I guess.

here are some of the less nice lights...

me and my friends, Miri and EU 

lights on the Cathedral

Miri and I, standing in front of the Cathedral.
The words say "Paz en la Tierra" or " Peace on Earth"

My friends and I outside the city hall

On Sunday I went to an AFS lunch thing, where all the AFS students in Andalucia (and some of their families, not mine) went to a little town near Sevilla and we ate foods from our countries. I made a killer potato salad. Sunday was tons of fun and it was great to see all my fellow AFSers again. I have made plans to visit and be visited by a lot of my AFS friends:) cant wait!

And now for the next couple weeks until christmas...I have no current plans, but I will keep you posted. I think I am supposed to be going to the movies this weekend with some of my friends from school and in the next couple of weeks I will probably be visited by a few AFSers.

Bye for now! I hope you all had great Thanksgivings!