I miss how different everything is when you are abroad.  Everything you do is a new experience or a potential adventure.  I miss the labrynth-like streets, the fruit stands, the grouchy old ladies (they are infamous).  I miss the food, the adventures with food (the College Cantina), the free for all traffic, the leasurely meandering (on time in Portugal = 20 mins late), and the bacalhau (mmm salted cod).  I miss the biggest sandwiches you we could never eat, and the tiniest cups of coffee.  I miss the classes in Gulbenkin, the ever present pigeons, slipping on the marble sidewalks and the picnics at the aquaducts.  I miss getting lost for 2 hours to find myself either right where I started or on the complete other side of town.  I miss Hannah’s sense of direction for such reasons and the snort Kristen makes when she laughs.

I miss the city by day… As well as by night…But the best were Sunday mornings, when the streets are empty and the sidewalks deserted.  Thats when wandering is best (no traffic to run you over). haha 

 we started our trek East (instead of West).  Barcelona was awesome and I finally got to use that Spanish that I’ve been saving up haha.  And after a pub crawl and getting lost in downtown Barcelona by myself…it was time to venture on to Switzerland where we could see the sights (and some emo cows). 

Haha so after waking up in a park to a crazy lady screaming and chasing some people down the street, we had to hit the road to our heritage.  Since family is predominantly Czech, we were off to Prague.  It turns out that there was a bachelor party on our train so our trip was made more comfortable when they invited us to party with them and we got to drink whiskey out of a gas can haha.  Prague was incredibly beautiful, the food was delicious and the night life was out of control.  I have to say I love hostel life.  They are just full of adventurous people who are friendly and are just down to have a good time. Europe was a blast, but its probably better we left when we did because we were absolutely exhausted.

 But even more interresting…is that there is a restaurant here in Lisbon called Orange.  You can get a good meal and all you can drink sangria or beer or whatever for only 10 euros.  Its awesome!  Haha its become a habit that Alex and I decide to “go vertical” with our glasses and I end up carying him home lol

Moral of the story is that in Portugal oranges are gooooooooooooooooood.

So since I got a new computer you now that I’m doing a semester in Lisbon.  Its really awesome; so many travel opportunities…I got to go to Morocco for spring break which was the most unplanned, craziest and probably the dirtiest adventure I’ve had.  Atleast in Malawi we slept under a mosquito net and had some sort of gameplan.  Morocco was just chaos.  Trekking throughout the whole country, desert as well as coast, with surf boards, no language and no where to sleep.  Fortunately there were markets where we could afford to buy some bread and cheese (basically all we lived off of for 9 days).  So when the opportunity arose to eat some fried fish, I learned post ingestion that I ate the entire fish, heads included haha.  Although I didn’t get sick I was surprised to find that my insides weren’t torn apart my fish skeletons. 

Marrakesh was probably one of my favorites, snake charmers, snail stands and entrepreneurs selling teeth, yes human teeth.  We met some British hitchhikers there and crashed with them for a few nights on the roof of a building near the main square.But after a week in a country where alcohol is illegal, we were ready to get our hands on some Spanish wine.  What we did not consider was that on our 16 hr bus ride back to Portugal there were few opportunites to utilize the facilities.  In short, while Owen was peeing into a bottle he missed and peed on the only jacket I had.  Haha I guess thats what I get for losing the bus tickets huh?!

So after alot of drama with customs I finally got a new computer.  Im actually doing a semester in Lisbon right now.  Haha its quite the experience since I didn’t know a word of Portuguese when I got here.  But its coming along…Im living with a host family so that really helps. 

They certainly know how to party over here and Im not complaining haha.  Its considered early to go home before 6 am so I usually get to see the sunrise as I wander home from the discotecas.  It doesn’t help that Portugal is a wine producing country; we get really good wine for under a euro.  That might account for Kristen throwing up on me in a cab last night but it was a fun night so im not complaining haha. 

So I’ve been doing a ton of traveling recently and my comp broke so I haven’t had much opportunity to write.  But Malawi was without a doubt the best experience of my life.  From the moment I got there I was already scheming on how I was going to get back.  We were working in an orphanage in Chingamba Village that had no running water or electricity.  We organized presentations to inform the village about malaria, aids and ways to protect themselves from these illnesses.  We also taught the kids english everyday and they were so eager to learn.  That really made us feel like we were making a difference.  Because we were working hands on  with every project, we got to see the results and it was incredibly gratifying.  I saw so many things that were sad and unfair but our attempts to rectify it prevented me from feeling bitter and helpless.  I think the kids impacted our lives more than we impacted theirs.  I will be forever grateful for my experience and the elements of life which I previously took for granted.

Been super busy but this weekend was pretty fun.  Dallas Bull was actually pretty fun considering that I don’t like country music at all.  Fortunately they were able to accomodate me with a separate floor that didn’t play country.  We didn’t get back until 3am so class the next morning was pretty interresting.  Saturday we partied in Nu and somehow I acquired a volcano taco.  Very exciting.  I think I have a deficiency in Mexican food because from the tacos things continued to evolve.  Sunday I had Chapotle for breakfast, excellent choice and today I went to Tiajuana Flats with my boss. 

On another note, I got my research paper turned in and my French composition written.  Just a Spanish essay to go and I can resort to lethargic behavior without feeling guilty.  Tomorrow night is my Malawi meeting for winter term.  Sooo excited!!