Spain Interlude

So I was walking home from class today and I starting thinking about all the things I like about Valencia, and all the things I don't like. Since I got kind of a list going on, I figured I would share...

Things I like about Valencia/studying abroad:
my host family
paella
not being stressed about schoolwork
never really being bored
getting to travel places and see cool things
cobblestones
being forty-five minutes walk from anywhere I could care to go
45 minutes being a very short and feasible walk
bouldering in the park
the weather
not having easily accessible internet
cathedrals and churches
old things, like rocks, and Roman ruins
having three home cooked meals a day
hot chocolate and madeleines for breakfast everyday
the number/variety of interesting shops
hanging out downtown is a pass time that doesn't get old
the Torres de Serrano
the number of people to practice Spanish with
random free things to do (Franz Ferdinand concert and Flamenco dance performance, for example)
being close to the sea
it's safe
easy classes
writing letters home
receiving care packages
facebook messages make me inordinately happy. As do letters and e-mails.
missing people
Horchata and Chocolate con churros
agua de Valencia
fiestas (party is not an adequate translation for this word)
being able to see a bullfight if I want to
the CAC
the Rio
quality/price of public transportation

Things I don't like about Valencia/studying abroad:
not having easily accessible internet
no science
going several days without seeing certain friends, since they live far
no heating in the house
having to speak Spanish all the time
catcalls
having to walk lots
having to take the bus to class
having to pay for my phone
not wearing sneakers everyday
city noises (most importantly people honking their car horns really loudly right next to you when you're walking down the street. it's really obnoxious)
it's not UMBC
my hands are always cold
easy classes
missing people
dog poo on the streets. everywhere.
the view outside my window
the 2-5pm siesta when everything is closed
people who drink too much
having to pay for public transportation (although in retrospect it's probably a comparable price to paying for gas back home, and daily expenses, including my phone, probably don't amount to more than I would be spending on climbing and dancing anyway...)

I think when I started the list I had a lot more negative than positive, but I'm glad after thinking about it for a while the pros outweighed the cons. Also I think most of the cons would be true of any study abroad experience or actually just living in a city in general, and are not very specific to Valencia. Anyway, now you know.

Also good news: Franz Ferdinand played Jaqueline, Take Me Out, The Dark of the Matinee, This Fire, Michael, Come on Home, and 40 at their concert, as well as plenty of songs I didn't know. They opened with Come on Home and closed with This Fire, which was perfect seeing as Fallas starts on Sunday.

Also I decided not to entitle this blog Spain 11 since nothing really happened.