Regardless of where I am, I always seem to get myself into the most peculiar situations. This evening, for example, we went to one of the bakeries for coffee. Afterwards, the other girls were going to a movie and I decided to go back home because it was definitely not one I wanted to see/thought I could sit still through. On the way home I noticed what a nice evening it was and though to myself it would be nice to sit in the central park for awhile and enjoy the night. Plus the park is on the way to my apartment. Perfect. So I find a quiet place to sit and begin people-watching in the dark, quiet park. Poor choice. Next thing I know, a very, very drunk man is on the bench next to me. I have no idea where he came from, because there was no one around when I sat down. I think I smelled the alcohol before I actually saw him. He was red in the face from drinking so much and had an open beer can in hand (drinking public= not legal in Spain either, btw). He skipped the introductions and went right into talking about how beautiful I am and how lovely my accent is and what a nice figure I have... blah, blah, blah.... Then after about 10 minutes of that flattery, he told me the sob story of his life and how he's 31, single, and lives with his parents (which is actually not uncommon here) and about how people talk about the economic crisis, but that the real crisis is that no one has morals any more (the drunken bastard may have had a point there, though I would have included him in the amoral group, too). And he was pause about every 30 seconds in his story sobbing/pity partying to remind me, yet again, of how 'guapa' I am. Dios mío. And then, like an angel of God, I saw Jess, a guy from our ISU group, walking through the park. Thinking Jess could get me out of the situation, I shouted to him and called him over. At which point the drunk decided to rope Jess into the conversation too. Jess wasn't having any of it and wanted out, so he interjected and hurriedly walked away, leaving me alone yet again with this strange, inebriated Spaniard. Finally, when I could no longer stomach the smell of alcohol or the creepiness that permeated the air, I gave him a nice "I have to go home, nice to meet you, have a good night" spiel and booked it out of the park. So lesson learned, no more walking alone in the park in the dark. Although, I feel like where ever I go, I tend to be a magnet for drunk foreigners (no, this was not the first time this has happened, or the only country in which something like this has gone down... *sigh*).
On a nicer note, Christina and Kristine both had birthdays this week, so we went out to celebrate last night as a group with a lot of the Spanish students. Beer and pizza. Perfect combination. Everywhere in the world.
And this morning I woke up and opened my windows right in time to see the sunrise over the mountain and la parte antigua. It was beautiful. And as I look out my window tonight I can see the the lights that illumine the pathway up the mountain. It's so gorgeous, and one of the many things that make me so thankful to be here. Also, the past few days, I've grown more and more appreciative of the group of friends I have here. Couldn't ask for a more wonderful group of girls to spend my time with :)
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