The Good Life...

My past two weeks has consisted of doing nothing much at all. Since there's no school I spend most of my days sleeping in, running, spending time with my host family and just doing random things. I am hearing rumors that the strike is going to last longer so I think I definitely need to travel. This city is fun, but an entire month with nothing to do is maybe a little too much of a good thing!

My host sister's "Tata" is here for the weekend. Tata means grandfather but he's not actually her grandfather. He's known the family forever and plays an important role in their life. He brought Catalina a music player and this toy she wanted. She is so spoiled. Last night we were in the centro getting Cata's computer fixed and while we were in the store she went around and was like I want this, and this and this....which ended up being some headphones, games, speakers, webcam and a new mouse. Who needs that at eight...seriously. Did I mention she has her own cell phone too? He's actually a really cool guy, always joking around and very funny. He bought Catalina and I treats, can't help but like a guy who buys me chocolate:)

Today we went to a market called the Agro. It's a huge place and sells everything from fruit to washing machines. While we were in the food section my host mom stopped at this stand that sold herbal remedies for every ache and pain. I was reading the labels on the different herbs about what ailments they were for. Just about every one cured stomach pain and sore throats. All of the baggies were generally some sort of shade of green, gray or brown. Normal colors. One particular bag stuck out. It was pinkish red. I red the label and it said it was rose petals. Ok, I thought they were good for potpourri, I didn't know you could consume then. Ok so rose petals, what on earth could they help with? Gonorrhea. What!? Excuse me, but does that say it helps with gonorrhea. Wow, I mean all the other herb baggies were half way believable but really...rose petals...gonorrhea? Kind of ironic (don't know if that's the right word or not) but don't roses usually lead to things that cause gonorrhea...odd. I knew they were pulling my leg when I saw that one. They have a lot of stuff like that in this country. I am not sure if it's partly because the indigenous cultures still have such a big influence here or what. I do know that my host mom firmly believes you can catch a cold by walking around on cold floors barefoot. If only she knew what occurs at Adams Christmases! Family, you get the joke. But for everyone else, it's tradition in the Jack and Norma Household that on Christmas Day whoever has the urge runs around the house barefoot...in the snow. No one has died yet.

When we got to the car as we were leaving the Agro my host mom couldn't get into the car b/c the car next to us had parked too close. She had me back the car up and then she let me drive! Yes I know, how illegal...but what a rush! The car is your standard SUV automatic. No big deal. However we don't have roundabouts in America. At least not in Northeast Iowa. So that part was interesting. Mom, don't worry nothing happened, no tickets were written, I didn't even have any close calls! You'd be proud!

I am writing out of order today. You can tell where my head is at. So rewind to Friday. On Friday night I had a blind date with one of my host mom's coworkers. And I know, if you do remember I posted awhile back that I had a boyfriend down here. Boy was I wrong. To make a long story short, we weren't on the same page and I know that I don't deserve to just be an option...so for my own sake I broke it off (well if you can call it breaking up if we were never actually together). So anyway! I had a blind date. First one of my life. I was really, really nervous. The guy knows no English. This is going to be interesting. Well he was two hours late from when he said he'd be at my house. Strike one. He was dressed in two unmatching shirts, a fanny pack and white sneakers. I wish I could say that's a strike but I know guys don't always have the best sense of style, and it wasn't that bad. He could have a had a red mohawk and a ring through his nose like a sow. It's what's on the inside that count anyway. Within the first 15 minutes of meeting him he lit up a cigarette. Strike two. I will not date a guy who smokes. Period. We had some drinks at a pretty low key bar. There was good conversation, I was impressed with myself at how I could communicate in my second language. That was the best part about the night. Among the many cigarettes and my eyes burning from the smoke, I had to pinch myself to stay focused on the conversation. I also had to bite my lip at times to keep myself from laughing. Kate, if you are reading this right now I was thinking of you during that. All I could think about was how movie-esque this blind date was and how ridiculous it is. And then I just thought about what you would do if you could be watching me right now and I thought about your laugh and I had a hard time not busting out laughing in his face. He kept telling me how beautiful I was and how my host mom didn't inform him how beautiful was. It's nice to get compliments, but he was laying it on a little thick. His semi-inappropriate comments for a first date that followed gave me the feeling that we definitely weren't on the same page. If you get my drift. However, I kept my composure and avoided some awkward topics. He took me home and I said I'd call him on Saturday to let him know what my plans were, however that could have been a white lie. Yes, ok it definitely was. I don't want to make it sound like this was the date from hell b/c it wasn't by any means. He paid for everything, so that was nice. Haha. No but seriously, he was a nice guy, very personable but there just wasn't anything there. Not even a flicker.

So needless to say I am still on the search for Prince Charming. I think my dad will do as my Prince Charming for now:)