Going Dirty to Dublin....!

So Sunday I wake up around 1 in the afternoon. I was pretty exhausted from my adventures in Tarragona! As I make my way into the kitchen my roommates inform me that there is no hot water and of course, at this point, all I want is a nice hot shower. Lol Sam tells me that the pilot is lit but the water is not hot. I said, well we’ll figure it out later. In the meantime, I had to wash dishes in order to eat anything that morning because every single dish in the house was dirty. To prove this – Sam drank water out of a creamer dish!! Well, we all know that you can’t wash dishes without hot water so I started boiling some water and one pot at a time, slowly but surely, I washed every single dish in the house! By the time I was finished I was starving so I made myself some poached eggs and toast! Mmm! After breakfast I decided that I would try to figure out what was wrong with the hot water issue. First I sat down and emailed our landlord to let him know that we didn’t have any hot water. Then, I went to the hot water heater thing and decided that I would just blow out the current pilot light and try to light it again! I did this and I guess while I was making all this noise on the back patio our landlord heard me and I look up and he is staring down at me from the balcony above us (they also own the flat above us)! He scared the crap out of me. I said, “Oh, there you are! I just emailed you, we don’t have any hot water.” So, he came down and told me everything that I already knew about the situation, like he didn’t believe me when I said there was something wrong, and said that he would call someone first thing in the morning and that it wouldn’t take long for someone to come over and then he mumbled something about leaving town Wednesday. In the meantime he gave us a key to the flat upstairs and told us that we could take showers there. As for the rest of the day, I got a shower and after Sam and Goncalo came home from playing futbol I hung out with them for a while. I got ready for school, did some homework and went to bed. Not too exciting!

Monday – In class we had to give a presentation, like usual. My first class was pretty boring and my group is ahead of the game because we did next weeks presentation this week! So, that’s one less assignment that I have to worry about this weekend. In our second class we got our assignments up until the end of the semester. It’s so weird to think that my time here is almost over and that I’m almost done with college. It’s extremely heartbreaking. After school Monday I was determined to get some things accomplished because I felt like I hadn’t gotten anything done all weekend. So, I went to the grocery store, I cleaned our bathroom, swept and cleaned our room, swept the rest of the house, and took out the trash. I don’t think my roommate Stephanie knows HOW to clean a bathroom and I’ve come to the conclusion that that HAS to be the reason she hasn’t cleaned anything or washed a load of towels since she’s been here! She’s pretty messy and we all know how I feel about messy people – it’s just disgusting and there’s no excuse for that type of laziness and disorganization. So I come to find out, Alex told me, Stephanie told her that she had cleaned the bathroom a couple days ago. So Alex being the cleanly person she is asks her how she cleaned it and Stephanie proceeds to tell her that she cleaned it with soap and hot water and that she scrubbed it with the toilet brush!! – I almost choked on the cereal I was eating when she said this. #1 – When she says soap, I’m curious if she used my bar of soap in the shower? Because we don’t have anymore shower cleaner and Gel de Bano, or shower gel isn’t shower cleaner. #2 Who the hell uses a toilet brush to clean a shower? That’s just nasty! It’s common sense that you don’t put your shit where you take a shower! EW! Again – the stupidity of the average person amazes me sometimes.

After I had given the bathroom a thorough scrub, I did some homework and I FINALLY uploaded my pictures from Rome – which btw took forever so I want to hear that you enjoyed every last one of them! :D Went to bed around 1 or 2 – pretty normal day, wait, I take that back, there is never a normal day in my life!

Tuesday – Catalan class was challenging. Over the weekend we were supposed to study so that we could have a “party” in class. A “party” is when we get up and mingle around with our classmates and only speak in Catalan. I survived and I learned some new words! Com et dius? Ehm dic Leandra. Soc de Estats Units. Tinc bint anys! After Catalan we finally had a class with Marta after her class has been cancelled for the past month and a half! I swear we’ve only had her class I think 3 other times since being here, only one of those in which she actually taught us something! So, it was a surprise to see her actually conducting class because we usually only see her when she has something to tell us about a schedule change or something going on at the school. And another thing I want to mention – I can completely see why Johnson and Freaking Wales does an exchange program here because they are almost just as equally disorganized. Now, the cultural boundaries aside, I think they do a better job here at Sant Ignasi as far as school things go BUT, in every single class this week when the teacher’s have been taking roll and they call out the names of the Maastricht students (who keep in mind left last week) we had to tell them that they left! And every teacher this week was like, “Oh my, they left already? Marta never mentioned anything about them leaving.” (AKA they obviously have some communication issues, and the Maastricht students lucked out by not having to take a final!) So After Marta’s class was over I had to meet with my group to put together our PWP for next week’s street presentation. The meeting didn’t last long before I realized that I was going to be doing the majority of the work which I don’t really mind that much because that way I know it’ll be done on time and done right. I despise group projects and I blame being a hospitality management major for this. At this point in my college career I know how these “group” projects work out – they usually don’t. If JWU has taught me anything about the management industry it’s to not rely on your co-workers! – I’m not sure if that was one of the objectives on the syllabus or not? I can’t remember… lol

We made the outline and then I went home and just started adding pictures and stuff. Tuesday night I managed to get my pictures of Amsterdam uploaded and I washed some towels. That’s about it really.

Wednesday – John, our landlord, told us that the maintenance guy would be by sometime between 9-1 and that we should just stay there to wait for him. He came around 10. He came inside, went back, played around with the water heater, turned on the water a couple times and what not and then came out and gave us an invoice for 335.65 Euro! Now, I wasn’t home when John had come by Tuesday night but, Alex told me that he left us 150 Euros and said that it should cover the cost. I’m assuming that he left town but I’m not sure. So I wasn’t downstairs when the maintenance man left but Alex said he came into the kitchen, said that it was fixed, gave them the invoice and when Alex said they didn’t have enough money he said, “That’s ok, just have John call me and I’ll come by and pick it up whenever!” – It seemed like such a painless process! Well – when we got home that evening we tried to do dishes but there was still no hot water! I was so mad. After talking to a Spanish friend of ours she informed us that he didn’t fix it and won’t fix it until we pay him the full amount of money, that he probably just came over to assess the problem! –GREAT! So I sent John an email but of course he hasn’t responded. It’s currently Friday when I’m writing this and we still don’t have any hot water AND on top of that, Alex locked the key in the flat upstairs that John had given us to take showers. So, I couldn’t get a shower this morning before leaving for Dublin, so I’m going dirty to Dublin! Lol I also find it really rude of John to go out of town, for who knows how long, when we don’t have hot water. As our landlord, and for the amount of money that we pay every month, he should have made sure that the problem was being taken care of.

As far as the rest of my day - Ugh, Events Management – enough said! I honestly used to be interested in doing events and working in that area but after BOTH of my event classes I’ve come to despise the entire idea. I think I’ve just had some shitty teachers. Luckily we had a guest speaker this week. Her English wasn’t perfect so it was hard to follow along and I remember bits and pieces but for the most part I was dozing in and out the whole time. In this class we are going to go to a conference of some sort called the EIBTM first week in December. We were all supposed to register online and then they send you a badge in the mail. Well, Alex and I, registered as soon as they told us about it over a month ago and we still haven’t received our badges! Stephanie and Sam registered like 1 week ago and got theirs in the mail this week!? Please tell me how that is logical? So, just to make sure I get one, I registered again! Hopefully it will come in the mail soon!

After events, I met with my group for Thursday’s class, had a quick lunch, and headed to Katherine’s class. My group will present next week, which will also be our last class. I got to see the other 2 groups present this week and their presentations were good! After school I took the metro home like usual, grabbed something to eat and went out to shop for a coat. I also looked around a little bit Tuesday night. After shopping Wednesday I had it narrowed down to 2! I decided to sleep on it and try them on again tomorrow. After I got home I felt exhausted! I tried to work on some stuff for school but I didn’t get much done! I went to bed around usual Spanish bedtime, 1 or 2.

Thursday – It was so hard to pull myself out of bed yesterday morning!! I really debated just not going to Catalan. I haven’t missed any classes at school yet and I so badly wanted to take a personal day!! I tell you what – I’ve discovered that I’m a pretty dedicated and motivated college student! Back home at JWU we obviously have a strict attendance policy so I’m pretty much forced to go to class but now when I have the luxury of being able to miss a class and I still decide to go – that’s dedication! I actually enjoy school PLUS, I’m footing the expensive bill for this education and you would be stupid to think that I’m going to pay for a class and not attend or fail at that! I know so many students that pay for classes, don’t go half the time, don’t try, and then when they fail them, they’re upset because they are out an average of $1200 for that class, and they FAILED – both are bad but, the money part is non-refundable and usually they have to retake the class. What a waste of time and money. College is such a money making scheme in America for this reason- STUPID PEOPLE! They thrive on young, irresponsible teenagers who think they are adults! So I decided that I better go to class because I only have 3 more weeks left as an undergrad and I need to take full advantage of it! I show up to class and there are only 4 other people in the room. I guess everyone had the same idea that I had! So many people miss Maria Jose’s class and I think it’s just plain disrespectful. Plus, if you don’t go to class you really can’t learn the language. After Catalan I headed straight for the CDT, or library, and started working on my project. I was determined to finish my “To-Do” list that I had made for myself at the beginning of the week. #1 on that list was to book my room for Madrid! I’ve been trying to accomplish this for weeks now! #2 was to finish up all my homework for next week before the weekend so that I can be stress free for a few days! I need it!

The room I booked for Madrid is really nice! I will be staying at the Hotel Husa Nuevo; it’s located in the business district close to the school where I will be taking my test, St. Louis University. It’s a brand new hotel with flat screen TV’s, a sauna, modern rooms, and most importantly FREE wi-fi! AND because I have booked so much stuff through Expedia lately they have been sending me coupons for travel left and right. I had a $50 off coupon and a $10 off each night stay coupon; I used my $50 coupon. For a 4-night stay I only paid 330 Euro, which is $82 US Dollars a night! That’s pretty good from what I’m used to seeing! I was excited to find such a good deal. After I booked my room I worked on some of my project and then headed to my last class of the week! We watched 2 presentations and then I headed home. After I got home I went out with Sam to help him look for a new hat. He wanted a female opinion so I took him to H&M and picked him out a nice hat and a nice sweater. I was his personal shopper and I made the process painless for him. After that I went to buy my coat. I decided to go with the more expensive one at Zara because it was of better quality and it’s classier. The coat at Bershka was 20 Euro cheaper but it was more casual, not as heavy, and I knew that I would have to sew the buttons back on probably 5 times! Plus, the classier one I can wear anywhere. It was a good investment. Merry Christmas to me! UGH – growing up sucks. It’s sad when you have to buy yourself a coat as a Christmas present to yourself…I’d much rather have other things…but I’m thankful that I can buy a coat…that’s what’s really important, well that and the fact that now I won’t freeze in Dublin or Barcelona!

After I got home I decided that I was going to plant myself in a chair and that I wasn’t going to move until our power point for next week was done. It worked out! I only got up to make scrambled eggs with cheese and toast and to socialize when Goncalo and his cousin, who is visiting from France, dropped by. It seems like all the students from Europe have a family member or a boyfriend coming to visit. Every week there is a different girl in our class whose boyfriend is visiting! I guess if I lived close I’d visit too but us American’s don’t get any visitors. I feel kind of left out because I don’t have anyone to show the city too! So, if anyone would like to come visit, just let me know, I’d love to have you!!

I finished the majority of the presentation and then I started packing! I decided that I was going to take my laptop and my LSAT book with me this weekend because the hostel has free wi-fi and a safe deposit box to store my laptop in. I have become an expert packer over the past few months, not that I wasn’t a great packer before hand, because I was! Ask anyone; I always have anything and everything you could ever need. I come prepared for almost any situation. Austin had 2 reasons for dating me - #1 was because I always had everything he needed when he needed it and #2 was because I had a big butt! Lol So, I’ve always been a good packer but I have recently learned how to pack perfectly, in 20 minutes time, for a weekend getaway without having to check a bag at the airport. Believe it or not people, this does take skill, and no, JWU did not teach me this!

I got to bed around 3 last night and woke up around 8:15 this morning. I didn’t make it on the train to the airport so I had to pay 5 Euro to take the bus. Then, after I arrived to the airport they informed me that my flight had been delayed by 30 minutes. So, I grabbed some breakfast at the airport, found my gate, and then it was off to Dublin! It’s so weird to think that I’m flying to a place where they will be speaking English as a first language! I’m kind of excited in a way but I’m still in Spanish mode so I wouldn’t be surprised if I start asking for things in Spanish, I’ve done that in Rome and Amsterdam! I’m just so used to it now! The flight was extremely bumpy. I was panicking as usual. I thought we were going down! I asked the flight attendant if this was normal and she said that when flying do Dublin there is always a lot of turbulence because of the tailwinds but going back will be nice and smooth. I hope she’s right! We made a safe landing and since I was in seat 2C I was practically the first person off the plane! It was weird to see the signs in English at the airport and even though it's my first language I was still roaming around lost! Don't even ask how! I finally figured out where I was supposed to be going so I bought a bus ticket, hopped on the bus, and made my way to the Four Courts Hostel, rated one of the top 10 hostels in the world! I'm safely at the hostel now and I am already pleased with it! I'm off to see the sights in Dublin and I'll update tomorrow!

P.S. (don't forget to read about my trip to Tarragona, I posted both of these posts at the same time!)

Hopefully the Irish will bring me some luck!! :D