Semana Cinco: Just Dance

25 February ~ 3 March 2011

I met up with Andrea at Dunkin Donuts last Friday to be studious and do some work which was somewhat successful. I did find everything I could ever wish for in a donut, and it’s called a fantasía chocolate y avellana (chocolate and hazelnut fantasy). It’s what dreams are made of: a donut filled with Nutella and topped with white and milk chocolate shavings. I must say, it is quite awkward when ordering this donut, “Yes, I would like a chocolate fantasy. That’s all.” Next time, I’ll remember just to say, “the chocolate and hazelnut one.” After our little coffee pow-wow we went back to Andrea’s and I began her Glee and Modern Family immersion. At some point, we took a TV show hiatus and did what all new friends do, swap your favorite Youtube videos. She showed me The Annoying Video which is definitely a good one. We then indulged in The Single Ladies Fail video and “Scarlet Takes a Tumble,” for old time’s sake. The key to a good laugh, especially with the Single Ladies clown, is to keep hitting the moment of impact over and over and over and over again. I think it’s 21 seconds. But seriously, she deserved it. Who wears a clown mask while dancing? Are you that frightening that a Steven King It the clown mask is more appealing to the eye?

I think I woke up around eh, 4:30pm Saturday? Pretty routine. The first thing I had to do was cook my chicken before it went bad. With half of the chicken, I decided to make chicken salad, but realized I forgot to get slivered almonds, which I knew would be a hassle to find here. I ran to the convenient store to pick up some almonds—NINE EUROS! That’s like $11! Needless to say, chopped peanuts were the substitution. After dinner, I returned to Andrea’s to resume our TV marathon. No, I was not coercing my favorite shows on her; her roommates were gone for the extended weekend and she wanted to see them anyway. I am no TV bully. But had she not wanted to see them, I would've done it anyway. On my way home from her house, I walked by a man peeing on the side of the bookstore. He had the nerve to give me a dirty look, like I was the one peeing on a bookstore. Rude.

Sunday I caught up on a very compelling episode of Jersey Shore—Sammi is back! Oh snap, there goes my sanity. Afterwards, surprise, surprise, I went back to Ms. Dormer’s. I had stopped at Open Cor (convenient store) to get a Kinder Bueno as I had been going through a serious Nutella withdrawal. SOLD OUT! I could have cried—on second thought, I think I did. I debated demanding to speak with the manager as suspension or some repercussion was in need of such neglectful stocking maintenance. If this didn’t work, the only option I had would be to call the police. While ruing my loss, I decided I was not capable of dealing with local law enforcement and substituted my need for ONE Kinder Bueno with a box of chocolate biscuit cookies, chewy cherry candies with a cherry liquid center, and a Kit Kat version of a Kinder Bueno. This ended up being my dinner, along with some chocolate chip cookies Andrea made, and by some I mean six or seven.

                                                        Photo courtesy of: tenant86

                           Hazelnut mousse covered in a chocolate-covered cookie = genius

We started talking about movies at one point and she mentioned how she wanted to see No Strings Attached. I had already seen it, but I knew the website I normally use to watch movies had it and didn’t mind seeing it again. Well, she got to see the first half. She watched the second half through her eyelids—lame. When she decided to join reality again, she got up to put her laundry away as one normally does at 4am. I was kind of delirious at this point too, and I kept tripping over things and I think I ran into a door frame or two. This is why I don’t need alcohol. We both had a mini heart attack at one point because there was a bug in her room. It was half-dead already, but any moving bug is a dangerous bug. We then swapped bug stories and favorite means of extermination. The final verdict was to leave it where it was for her muchacho to get the next day.

On Tuesday, I met up with the New Mexicans (Lizzie, Lauren, and Ashley) and the Brit (Emily) and had a picnic lunch at the Alhambra (really old Islamic fort). The cool thing about the Alhambra is that its situated on the top of the highest hill, as citadels usually are, but the view from it is amazing. This also means we had to physically climb the hill, which at parts was at least on an 80º incline. The last 20 minutes of the lunch was ruined by an eyelash that decided to dislodge itself and dive into my eye, where it remained for a good 2.5 hours.

By the time Thursday rolled around, it was time for my first club outing. I headed over to Ashley and Lauren’s at 11 to pregame. I was fearful for my night given that I have enough balance troubles when sober let alone with added disorientation. Knowing the club we were going to was up on a hill, I was going to put on a helmet and knee and elbow pads to protect myself from the inevitable, but sadly, I forgot to pack these items. Eventually, everyone was accounted for, all 10 of us, and we caught cabs up to El Camborio. This is the coolest place ever! It’s in the Sacromonte neighborhood of Granada, which is on the second biggest hill opposite the Alhambra. You could see the Alhambra all lit up as well as part of the city. The dance floor is out on the terrace and is enclosed in glass giving views of the area. Besides the couple practically procreating on my back and having to rescue some of my friends from creepers, it was an awesome night. We decided to leave around five and walked down to Plaza Nueva at the bottom of the hill to catch cabs. Once there, most of us decided to just keep on walking home as it was silly to take a cab at that point. Most amazingly, we all made it down the stairs and hills of Sacromonte without a single casualty. I finally got into bed around seven and prayed I wasn’t going to be so tone-deaf I wouldn’t be able to hear my alarm when it went off for my 1pm class the next/same day.

Un saludo,

Bryce