YAY FOURTH OF JULY!

   This year was the first Fourth of July celebration that I missed in my 21 years of existence. I must admit I was missing America something fierce (but just for that day). About 18 or so people from my program and met up to have an "early" (around 9pm) dinner at Foster's Hollywood (the chain American restaurant that can be found in various cities in Spain). I got half of a bacon and half of a chilli burger, fries, and free refills on Pepsi (something you rarely find here.) It wasn't quite authentic American, but it tasted damn good. In honor of the Fourth of July, here are the top 5 things I miss most about 'Murica:

1. Long, hot showers. Water, electric, and gas are all very expensive here so I'm restricted to a 10 minute shower, turning the water off between lathering up and washing off. My host mom would never demand that I do this, but it is common courtesy here according to my professors.

2. Breakfast. The meals in Spain are way different than America. The food here is delicious but I gotta say what I miss the most food-wise is definitely a nice, big breakfast. Every morning here's have cafe con leche, some sort of sweet bread (like a muffin), and a piece of fruit. All I want is a nice, big plate of eggs (preferably from Ham Sweet Farm), bacon, and hash browns with ketchup! They also rarely use sauces here. There's no such thing as ranch and I've only seen ketchup with burgers.

3. The American schedule. The general schedule here was very hard for me to adjust to and I'm not sure if I have adjusted to the eating schedule yet. People in Spain in the summer do not sleep. I swear. I need a good 8-9 hours to function at home, but have been living off of 5-7 here. As far as eating goes, they have no snacks during the day. For meals, they have a small breakfast around 8-9, an ENORMOUS lunch around 2-3, and a big dinner anywhere from 9-11:30.

4. Knowing what I'm doing. If you have been reading my blog posts lately, you know that I have been making it up as I go here. I have struggled through attempting to learn the ways of public transportation, awkwardly figured out social norms of everything from buying shoes to ordering food to asking for help. Although this can be fun and adventurous, I'm craving the feeling of knowing what the norm is. Unfortunately, I think I will probably figure it out close to the end of my 6 weeks. 

5. Last but certainly not least, my friends, boyfriend, and family. I have made a group of friends here that I thoroughly enjoy, however, I do miss everyone back home.

A nice depiction of America, found in the local art school, La Casa de Los Picos.

A picture my family sent me from our annual Fourth of July vacation.

The service was horrible, but the food and company was great.

Mmm burger.

All of us :)