reporting back

okay, it´s time to study for finals so i have to make this quick.

first update: the apartment (four floor walk-up) has been exchanged for another with an elevator. saving my knees one flight at a time.

second: carlos´naptime music is actually his uncle´s mobile phone. which makes more sense than a toy but it´s still a little weird to have mick sing your toddler to sleep.

galicia was beautiful, a 4-5 hour drive from here. okay, my friend´s 19 month-old got carsick 1/2 hour outside of salamanca. then the 8 year-old responded in kind (at least he made it into the bucket). after a lunch of tortilla española (kind of like an potato/egg omelet), a croissant and some cheetos for the 8 year-old (which were unavoidably shared with the baby) we were back on the road. one half-hour outside of pontevedra, up come the cheetos. however, in spite of the digestive reversals, the weekend was great. beautiful scenery. i drove up to santiago of compostela. the cathedral there is a pilgrimage site. holy backpackers. the church was magnificent and the city was very appealing. galicia is green rolling hills and farmlands. gallego is the language spoken there--more than a mix between spanish and portuguese but that´s how it sounds to me. i understand more than i expected. in addition, i had some of the most enjoyable and challenging driving experiences that i´ve had so far.

i know that i´ve made language progress because i can read so much better now than when i got here. but it´s like time-lapse photography, you have to speed the pace up to see any changes.

one more fun fact. people here say "venga" when they leave one another. but it means "come". just to confuse the hell out of me.