It's another beautiful Saturday in Cáceres. It's hard to believe it's already my third weekend here; I have a feeling this semester is going to fly by, and I know I won't be ready to go back home. Anyways, I spent the morning cleaning my room and then sitting on the enclosed porch, reading and drinking tea in the sunshine. For me, I can't think of a better way to pass time.
Yesterday we went on an excursión to Mérida, a city about an hour away that is home to many ancient Roman ruins. For those of you who don't know, Spain was part of the Roman empire, which played a large role in shaping the country, and also left behind architecture similar to that found in Rome. While in Mérida we explored the theater, where the culture's hunger for blood was satisfied in intense dueling; the ampitheater, where many a political satire was performed; the forum in the town center; the Roman museum, which was full of ancient, yet just recently uncovered mosaics and sculptures; and the Circulo Romano (I don't know what we call it in English, but it translates literally as the Roman Circle), where chariot races took place. It was an interesting trip, and reminded me a lot of what I saw while I was in Rome. Angélica remarked on how advanced the Romans were, especially given their limited resources, and then brought up a good point: why don't we utilize more of the Romans' ideas to improve our own society? One simple example: the Romans set up a very basic yet incredibly sanitary sewage system within Mérida, and it helped the city to avoid the Black Plague. How easy would it be in modern times to implement such a system in places like Port-au-Prince Haiti, where sewage runs through the streets and diseases like cholera are still rampant? For advanced as our society is, sometimes we overlook some of the most basic solutions. Anyways... it was a good trip, and on the bus ride home I took great joy in continually beating Cassidy in both Fruit Ninja and checkers.
In other news, last Cassidy, Tiffani, Angélica bought our tickets for Cádiz next weekend! It's THE city to be in to celebrate Carnival, and should be an awesome thing to experience in person. Afterwards Tiff, Cassi, and I went to a bar and enjoyed some drinks before going home. It was just a hole in the wall place, but it was another one of those experiences in which I couldn't get over HOW NICE everyone is to us. I get that feeling a lot in this country, and it is a very, very good thing :)
Oh! I almost forgot... it's looking like I'll be spending my birthday in Switzerland! What a lucky lady I am!

(*later*)
Cassidy and I were invited to a girls night/karaoke night with a big group of Spanish students from the university. We had an AWESOME time! Clara, Alba, and the other girls are so laid back and so much fun. They've been so welcoming and it's been great to get to know them and spend time with them. It was kind of funny, because all of the karaoke songs were in English and the Spanish girls knew them better than we did! A lot of them were from the Disney channel artists, so I was totally lost and epic failed. It was tons of fun though anyways. And, just like home, no party is complete without pizza, chips, and pop. Apparently that's the same here in Spain too :)

(*and one more update...*)
Sometimes the most comforting thing in the world is knowing that I have such awesome friends and family back home. Starting with Rachel bright and early this morning and clear up through my Skype call with Courtney, Larry, and Aliyah a few minutes ago and everyone I talked to in between, I'm feeling all my Iowa love thousands of miles away.