The Rain in Spain

Hey everyone!

Well, I have some sad news to share: it is no longer sunny or warm in Madrid.  :(  We have had more than 2 days of nonstop rain now, and it is definitely dampening my spirits.  Especially since it has accompanied midterms!  But that’s life, I guess.  At least I had a great week and weekend when Dad, Maggie, and Michael were here!

Here’s a quick recap of the past few days for me:

Monday

Went to Spanish.  Said a prayer for a safe flight home for Dad, Maggie, and Michael.  Studied for my philosophy midterm.  Took the midterm at 4.  Rocked the midterm in only 25 minutes.  :)  Went home, relaxed, had dinner, heard that my family got home safely, and went to bed.

Tuesday

Got up around 9.  Wrote an essay for art history based on a 23-page article that I “skimmed.”  Went to Positive Psychology.  Experienced an interesting exercise in “savoring”—it consisted of relaxing our bodies, focusing on our breathing, and then enjoying, no savoring, a small morsel of chocolate biscuit.  It was interesting but frustrating.  I feel that there are so many things I want to experience in life, and I don’t want to waste time “savoring” things that I don’t think are important enough!  But I guess I can give up a few minutes of class for an exercise.  After class, I had lunch and then wrote a Spanish essay with Mary Kate (the assignment was with partners).  Then went to art history.  Reviewed what would be on the midterm.  Got out early.  Walked home in the rain (don’t worry, I had my umbrella!).  Didn’t have any homework since I got the essays done earlier in the day.  Relaxed and went to bed.

Wednesday (so far)

Spanish this morning.  We started class with a lecture on Spanish punctuation.  Who knew that it was different from English punctuation?!  Well, obviously they have the ¿ and ¡ but other than that, I didn’t know anything was different.  But it is.  And I think it’s dumb.  They have rules that contradict what we do in English.  For instance, when they use quotation marks, the commas and periods must be placed outside of the quotation marks.  (E.g. Elizabeth said, “Grammar is my favorite subject!”.)  Makes me cringe.  Microsoft Word doesn’t like it either.  I don’t know how I can use punctuation that I wholeheartedly believe is wrong.  Many of you probably think I’m overreacting, but grammar and mechanics are of utmost importance to me.  I can’t help it, and I won’t apologize for it!  :)  After class, I had lunch, and now I’m sitting in the lounge.  I think I’m going to study for my art history midterm soon.

Well, that’s all for now, folks.  Hope everyone is having a good week.

All my love,

Elizabeth