Today is my first official day of my twenties. Oh goodness, twenty?! While I would like to say I’m celebrating in style, in reality, I’ve spent all day in my pajamas and watched more How I Met Your Mother. Weather hasn’t permitted the planned beach trip of the day sadly but it’s okay, I’ll be going to London in exactly three days to really celebrate. Also, while my heart may love Spain, my body isn’t as enthusiastic. I’m sick, again. But even with bad weather and no energy, I did manage to officially turn twenty classily. At 23:30, my roommate and I walked to a park nearby, sat ourselves in a gazebo, and enjoyed the night for a bit. When midnight came around, Melissa unwrapped our ‘cake’ which was really a couple of PB&J’s and I stuck a singing candle in to make a birthday wish. I love my roommate. While maybe not the most expensive or posh birthday party ever, it was most definitely memorable and fun—one of those quirky moments that seems to define my life.

Sometimes I have a hard time believing that I get to do such incredible things for class credit. Take the last couple of days for example. Friday, our class got to go to an authentic Spanish wine tasting. While there we got to learn about olive oil, the history of wine, and traditional tapas that accompany each drink; all of this while trying some of the most incredible wine and food I’ve ever had. My taste buds were about ready to die of contentment by the end, no joke. Not that I’m becoming an alcoholic or anything, but wine is pretty fantastic. Pair that with food cooked to complement each one, oh goodness. From chorizo to cheese to chocolate, it was all Spain and all fabulous. It’s odd that I won’t be able to have wine when I get back after it being so available here. Just to check to see if the saying were true, I checked in the supermarket the other day to see if wine really is cheaper than water, it is. Oh Spaniards…

Yesterday we all went to Ronda, a city on a hill and surrounded by mountains that’s located a bit south of Madrid. Of all the cities we’ve been to so far, this was by far my favorite. It was just so darn pretty! Nature always wins out on my list of favorites, and this one had 360 degrees of rolling hills and greenery. When we got some free time after viewing the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain, Jamie, Eric and I hiked down the mountain a bit to explore in the wildflowers. It’s nice being in nature again after spending so much time in cities. We found a rock overlooking a waterfall and just hung out for about an hour, it was a boca-d moment. Call me crazy, but there are just some moments that require sandwiches. Haha, wow that sounds weird. Seriously though, everywhere I’ve travelled I always have a boca-d with me and end up eating in the coolest of places including but not limited to: a mountain I climbed to the top of, a castle overlooking the Mediterranean, and a on the ramparts of a centuries old Islamic fortress. Pretty cool eh?

Update since earlier this morning: I decided that, even though I look and feel like Jen-the-red-nosed-Spaniard, there was no way I was spending my birthday stuck in a bedroom. So to the streets we went! Headed out and spent some time on the Granadan hillside for awhile then all of us went to get some chocolate cake in Plaza Bib-Rambla. The best part though, was what came after. On the way home, Melissa and I hit up the book fair that’s laid out all over the city and spent over an hour meandering our way to the piso(apartment). Last week when I visited it on its first day, it was overwhelming just how many stalls there were in the streets and the variety of topics offered. I started walking along from booth to booth, reveling in the sheer amount of literature for a good twenty minutes or so too caught up in it all to think about why I was getting so darn excited. Taking a good look at a shelf full of “Mil y Una Noches,” “La Caraterra,” y “Crepusculo” it finally dawned on me that I could read it without even noticing that my brain had changed languages. YESSSSSSSS! After that it was a free for all at the book fair picking up every book that came within arm’s reach and being absurdly content at the fact that I could read from its pages. So many books and so little time! I found a stall with poetry from Granadan authors and instantly fell in love with one, “A mi el silencio no me calle” (Silence Does not Quiet Me). The language was enrapturing in its simplicity and had so many themes pertinent in my own life, not to mention the fact it’s in Spanish makes it prettier by tenfold. Exhibit A:

Levantate y crece
Abre las puertas y ventanas
Riega tus semillas
No importa como las plantaras

Como crees que se recogen milagros?

Levantate y crece
Te espero un largo camino

Rough translation (that bastardizes the language):

Pick yourself up and grow
Open doors and windows
Sow your seeds
It doesn't matter how you plant them

How do you think they harvest miracles?

Pick yourself up and grow
A long road awaits you

That's just one of many in this wonderful book. However, due to miserable fate, it wasn’t possible to buy it at the time because a) no cash at hand and b) there really isn’t room in my suitcase. Tonight, however, I thanked my lucky stars that I did not end up at that beach because while walking home I found myself back at the stall with Melissa, helping her to pick out books for her family, and just couldn’t resist. Hey, you only turn twenty once right? Splurge a little. Those salespeople, quite the persuasive type. Like lions sensing their kill, they could probably tell pretty early on that I’m a sucker for the written word, especially poetry. Though I have NO space in my suitcase (honestly, I don’t even have a suitcase, just a backpack) I’m coming home with not one but TWO books of poetry. Beautiful, inspiring, flowing, Spanish poetry that I shall read from the south of Spain, through the Swiss Alps, and on the streets of Paris. Books that will travel with me through eight countries and have well-loved pages by June 9th. I'm drooling already. If you ever would like a reading of said books, just hit me up. As you might be able to tell, I’m more than happy to share with you the wonder that is Spanish poetry.

Thank you all for the birthday cards and wishes!!! My day indeed was wonderful and they are all very appreciated :]