i still have zero creative titles

Today I came home early from school because I wasn't feeling well and Julie is terrified that I am going to catch pneumonia from being in the rain...... pretty sure that theory has been proven wrong about a thousand times. It's still pretty chilly and cloudy here and its been raining all day. Hopefully we will have a little sunlight by this weekend. Yesterday Julie, her mom and I went into Seville to do a little shopping and have "merienda," or afternoon snack. Julie and I went into a few shops, and I actually managed to sustain a 15 minute long conversation with one of the shopkeepers about the U.S. and Colorado. The woman spoke very quickly, but I was able to catch most of what she was saying and understood each question she asked. She wanted to know a lot of information about American culture, politics, the economy and about Colorado in general so it was really a good test of my Spanish, because I had a lot to say to her and just had to make sure my Spanish was understandable. It was really cool to see how interested the woman was in American culture, and talking with her made me realize how different everything is in Spain. The customs and traditions are of course different, but also things like the nightlife, roads, architecture and demeanor of people are completely different. For the most part, I would say people in Spain are far warmer than people in the United States, and it is much more common in Spain to talk with a stranger and get to know them, like I did with the woman in the store. I love going into Seville, even if just for an afternoon, because there is so much culture packed into a small area, and there is so much for me to see and learn by just walking around the city.

Tonight Julie and I are going to do some shopping in the city and then her host family is taking me to their favorite tapas restaurant. Score! Since being in Spain I have eaten Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Italian food but haven't had tapas or paella, the traditional spanish rice dish yet, so I'm excited. Looking forward to a great weekend! :) - Leah