how i got herpes.

some of you may be familiar with the semi-recent song by katy perry titled "i kissed a girl".

so i am waiting in line in the bathroom at a jazz club in lagos, portugal, and there is a girl in the bathroom with me washing her hands and asks me how the lyrics to that song go in her broken Portuguese-british-accent-english. so she starts to sing ''i kissed a girl.." and i was like "oh and then the rest goes 'and i liked it, hope my boyfriend dont--'" and she cuts me off and goes no, i changed it ''i kissed a girl and i DIDN'T like it...." and i said OH welllll im sorry about that? she goes on to tell me some girl she met kissed her and she "didnt know the b**** fancied me so much" and that she did not, in fact, like the kiss. being the outgoing traveler that i am, i expressed heart-felt sorrow and gave her my condolences and continued waiting in line for the stall while she finished up and headed out the door. but before shes gone, she whips around, darts toward me, grabs my face, and plants the biggest, wettest kiss known to mankind ON MY MOUTH. yes. then turns around and walks away and says, "ohh i liked THAT one". this was after she showed me the hole in her tongue from her piercing, during which i noticed the many mysterious bumps that accompanied it. i'll never wear that chapstick again.
and thats how i got herpes.

other than that slight mishap, my trip to portugal was amazing. it seemed to take forever to get there after a 6 hour flight, then a 9 hour flight, then waiting in the madrid airport for 21 hours ALONE (waiting for my travel-mates and partners in crime to meet me there) and trying to find any possible position i could sleep in without my two bags being stolen only to be booted out of the bench i rightfully claimed by a middle eastern mother and her two children about whom i had no nice things to say once they so intrusively took over MY campgrounds which was not good once i later found out the children spoke english, lets just say i quickly packed my things and re-set up camp elsewhere, and then another hour flight to the airport in lisboa and a 20 minute cab ride to our hostel all the while sleep being the only thing on my mind, only arrive out our hostel and find our beds were still occupied. so we rubbed some elbows, pulled some strings, shmoozed the guy california style, and got two beds (that werent ours) for the 4 of us to share. twin beds thats is. luxury is how we roll.
we stayed in lisboa, the capitol/al for two nights, then lagos for two nights which was this small beach town which i WILL return to, and back to lisboa for another two nights. we spent new years in lisboa and went to the main plaza where they had an awesome fireworks show--surround sound included. why they chose to play what seemed to be the sound track for pirates of the carribean for the show, i'll never know. after that we returned to our hostel and then ended up going back out with some ppl who worked at our hostel to a small local club to bring in the new year with some sweet dance moves.

i was able to go home for christmas for about 2.3 seconds--just enough time to hit up taco bell and in n out. and to get some delicious home-cooking of course. i had a ton of fun with my loco family. i think i was busier those 7 days than i have been all year. but then again when youre studying 24/7 you dont have time for much else anyway. times have changed since ive been gone--i think the new language to learn if you live in california is chinese, japanese, taiwanese, or vietnemese, not spanish. just ask my ma. guess i'll just have to move to the heart of mexico to put all this espanol in my head to use. cuz theres no way i could live in spain permanently when sunshine is a rare occasion for 5 months and i have to put on two pairs of socks, uggs, leggings, jeans, sweat pants, an undershirt, thermal long sleeves, a hoody, snow coat, mittens and a scarf just to go into the kitchen. thats not including opening the fridge.

i just got a roommate while i was gone in portugal...she is a girl my age from the states and we are having all kinds of grand fun together...but she leaves in march and i will have 4 open bedrooms once again. any takers?? (no desert-natives please. i dont want to have to use my kickboxing skills again for self-defense, rather than a hobby) (though self-defense did become a hobby)

im still learning tons about life and love and i am really glad i chose to do the year rather than semester. although it was nice to come home for a flash after the first semester. but i do not feel like it would be a complete experience if i would have only been here for 4 months. too short. i am just now starting to not get lost when i try to take a short-cut somewhere.

Half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness. ~Ray Bradbury

i'm still working on softening old-man grumps who continually sticks his cane out and refuses to move over for me on the sidewalk so that i get hit by the buses and old-lady smokes who has no teeth, but somehow manages to ask me for a cigarette....every time she sees me. the guy with the night shift at Pan y Chocolate and I have come a long way....now we just need to get rid of his girlfriend.
This has already been such a crazy ride (sometimes literally, on planes: Now I know why they tell you to put your head between your knees on crash landings. You think you're going to kiss your ass good-bye. ~Terry Hanson) and i will never fully be able to express what i have experienced even thus far. it has definitely not been peaches and cream (though some of you seem to think this is a year of fun and games with vacations...wwwhat?!) (oh by the way i'm going to the Canary Islands in 2 weeks--no big deal) but it has been more than worth every rude and angry Spaniard, every disease i have contracted, and all the awful food. I am definitely not ready to come home yet, and suspect I will be only partly ready to come home in the summer after all the insanity of the past year. and by that, i mean ready for some good authentic Mexican food. so meet me in San Diego.

To get away from one's working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one's self; and this is often the chief advantage of travel and change. ~Charles Horton Cooley

I love you all

besos