Viajes por Pamplona...

Sorry if I've been out of touch for the past couple of days...on Saturday my laptop charger exploded...so I have been without my computer. Tomorrow I'm going to try to find another one, but unfortunately there aren't stores as convenient as Wal Mart or Best Buy. Everything here is on a smaller scale. For instance, little tiendas have only have a little selection and then one or two of whatever item you're looking for. Restuarants are pretty much the same way, not so much a restaurant as a little cafe of every corner (literally). This weekend was a busy one, with a costume party and Carnaval. I'm guessing Carnaval is probably where Mardi Gras' history comes from but no one seems to really know what we're celebrating. I saw some pretty outrageous costumes and it was really interesting to see Pamplona come alive in such a different and fun way. On Saturday I went to several clubs with my friends, and for me the most exciting part of the night was when I saw a line of people waiting to get into a club--at 4 a.m. Only during Carnaval is it THAT wild, but it was fun. I of course was heading home at this point because my American body needs more sleep than these Europeans. Tonight I cooked Mexican food for my roommate Louise(who's become a really great friend), and now Ivan is letting me use his laptop while he helps his girlfriend move into our piso. Kinda sudden news, but it doesn't matter to me since it doesn't really affect me, only in that I have to pay less for utilities. Always a good thing, especially since I have altogether stopped converting dollars to euros in my head, but I remember the currency drop when I check my bank statement. For the most part Pamplona is a really livable city with good prices and a great atmosphere. I'm trying to plan a trip to Barcelona to go see Jill, who will be there from France with some of her classmates. Next weekend for sure I am going to Madrid for the weekend on an excursion planned by the university. Flying into Madrid in early February, it looked like a desert I didn't want to visit, but I think I got a bad view as the airport is outside of the city. It is, afterall, the capital and largest city in Spain. Plus I need a weekend away from my noisy neighbors, who I'm convinced have a gym in their piso, because someone is constantly doing jumping jacks above my room. They may also have a music school, because yesterday someone was playing a very bad, out of tune version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on a recorder. WHO even has a recorder outside of 2nd grade music teachers? If it weren't for my sound machine I would probably have lots of sleepless nights, but fortunately I sleep like a baby. I'm off to do that now, love to you all.