Good times with the roomies!

Well, we have definitely settled into our new place and it is starting to feel more and more like home. Only having classes two days a week is fantastic- the days are very long, but it is more than worth it to have the rest of the week free to do whatever we want. Kate and I have done a little more shopping (stuff for the piso, and of course clothes for ourselves- right now in Spain they are having "Rebajas" which means that EVERYTHING is on sale- this started in December, right after Christmas, and lasts for only another week- so of course we have been taking advantage!)

We have also been hanging out with the other WIP kids, who are all awesome. On Wednesday (Valentine's Day) we decided to be little party planners, and got a group of about 16 to go with us to Happy Hour at Friday's. (yes, the same Friday's we have in the U.S.- it's okay though, because I have wanted to try those giant drinks for forever...and now I can...legally! Plus our roomate Arturo works there, so we got to see him which was nice!) After Happy Hour a smaller group of us went to this little restaurant that sells small sandwiches (bocadillos) for 1 euro each..you get this little sheet an just mark off which ones you want, and then they call your
name when they're ready- cheap and delicious! Que bueno! Here's some pics from the day:














Overall we had a really fun time celebrating the holiday, even without our boyfriends, lol!
Thursday we walked around Chamberi some more and did some shopping, then came back to our piso to get ready to go out with two of our roomates, Cristian and Arturo! They took us a to a delicious Peruvian restaurant where we got to try new foods and got to know the guys better! It was a really fun night. There was a man who worked at the restaurant playing the guitar and singing to everyone- people got up and started dancing and it was so funny- SO Spain! After dinner we went to a club where a Spanish band was playing. Dancing the night away with our gay roomies could not have been more fun- we're such a cute little family- Arturo calls us his "hermanas" (sisters) all the time, and we really could not have gotten luckier with our piso find!









Today we're been bumming around, recovering from last night (haha) and trying to get in touch with some people from the program to see what's going on for tonight. Next weekend I think we are going with two other girls from the program, Katie and Maggie, to Cadiz, Spain for "Carnivale" which is supposed to be like a crazier Mardi Gras!! I really hope that all works out and we get to go..it sounds like an amazing time. Then the weekend after that is Paris (sorry to keep rubbing it in, Mom) and then a week after that we will have our first visitor: Kate's boyfriend Jesse! So many things to look forward to! (and yes, I do actually have school work so there is some studying involved in this study abroad, haha)

Hope all is well! I love the emails I've been getting- thanks everyone!! Hope to send out some postcards soon! Love and miss you all!
-Nicole