Many of my students use a list format when they blog. Because I haven’t written in a week and I don’t want this post to be 8 million pages long, I will now do the same. This format is also in honor of my observation report assignment, which you will read about below.

Now that I’m halfway done with the post, I’m realizing it’s like half list and half paragraphs. Just ignore the inconsistency, please. 🙂

In case you were wondering, here’s what I’ve been up to these days:

Monday, 21 July
First day of supervision class (officially called SUPV 520 Staff Supervision)
I was nervous about this class because it looked like the heaviest workload, and after being double-Pennied, I wasn’t sure I could handle it (it is not nearly as bad as it looked).
Came straight home from school because I was exhausted and took a nice siesta (why are naps so frowned upon at home? They’re amazing.).
When I woke up, I made guacamole and fajitas for dinner. Not to brag, but they were quite tasty indeed.

Started working on my first paper for my new class, and I got most of it done. I was pretty excited because I did it a day early! I don’t remember the last time I ever did anything a day early. It felt great.
I did my reading for the next day and then went to bed.

Tuesday, 22 July
Day 2 of supervision class- it’s going well, and I like the professor. Learning a lot; pleasantly surprised to be enjoying the work
I stayed in the computer lab after class to revise my paper, but that went quickly. While there, Ligia came to see if I wanted to go get my nails done with her and Julia. I jumped on that because my nails were overgrown and making me crazy.
Asked for gels and was disappointed when I realized halfway through that he was doing acrylics. Young is going to kill me. However, they look great and are a fun color. I feel artsy.
Word to the wise: if you want gel nails in Spain, ask for porcelain!
Either way, it was fun to be girly and hang out at the mall with my friends. I feel like Benjamin Button- the longer I’m here, the more I regress.
Home to relax after the mall- needed to get some down time before tapas Tuesday!
Went into Palma (finally!) to enjoy some tapas for Tapas Tuesday.
Walked around the old city a bit.

The food was amazing! Honestly I don’t even 100% know exactly what we ate (I’ve been trying not to be too picky here)…a lot of pork, some fish, great cheese, and more. It was fun because I hadn’t been in the city yet, so it was good to see the nightlife there. It was pretty unbearably hot and crowded, but I was still glad for the experience. We went to a place called Molto Barro or something, and then another place with the word “toys” in the name. I forget what else it was called. Erin and I left earlier than the 20somethings and were home by midnight.

Wednesday, 23 July
School again, as is the routine every weekday. We aren’t allowed to miss class (though I wouldn’t anyway).
Went straight to the beach to work on our homework. It was basically the best assignment ever. We had to go to a public place (beach, cafe, etc.) and pick a person or group to observe for 20-30 minutes (we had to write down everything we saw). Derrick, Molly, and I decided to go to the beach together and observe the same people and compare notes.
We ended up making up a whole story about the couple we observed based on what we saw. I am sorry to report that their relationship isn’t doing well, and despite their best efforts in this last-ditch-effort vacation to salvage things, they aren’t going to make it. Very sad indeed.
The funniest part was when they went into the ocean and we thought were observing them. We were diligently writing down everything we saw happen, and in the middle of it, our real couple sat back down on the blanket! The whole experience was interesting, and I learned a lot about the value of observation.
Here are my notes because I know that’s what you’re dying to see.

After the beach, I went home to unwind for a bit and then headed to the airport to pick up my friend Crystal. She is staying with me for a few days.
I was sweaty and nervous because it was my first time navigating the bus system, but I figured it out and did just fine. The first bus was really late, so I was late picking her up.
I did get to speak Spanish to a woman on the elevator (she was picking up her friends from Valencia) and the lady at the information desk (I found out where to find Crystal by conversing only in Spanish!).
We took the bus back and pretty much went straight out to dinner with my school friends. We had tapas, and everything was fabulous. My friends went out after that, but Crystal and I just got some helado and called it a night.

Thursday, 24 July
Class in the morning.
Crystal and Maria met me and Erin at school right at 12:30, and we headed to a local market in Palma that Maria had found a few weeks ago.
I carried a melon.
The fruit samples were quite delicious, and I got to practice my Spanish some more. I’m not doing as well as I thought I would in five weeks, but I’m getting there.
I bought some Mallorcan souvenirs like terra cotta platters and an olive wood cutting board.
Went to lunch at a little cafe- had a goat cheese and watermelon salad that was amazing.
Walked around in Palma for a while, until the melon got heavy and we got hot.
Once we were back in Cala Mayor, Crystal and I went to sit and have a drink by the beach. It was a beautiful night with all the colors in the sky.
Crystal noticed a couple hugging for a long time, and we realized that the guy was proposing! It was a beautiful moment, and we felt special that we got to observe it from afar, even though I suppose we were invading their privacy in a way. The whole thing was pretty awesome; it was a perfect evening.

Once we got home, we cooked a delicious dinner (pasta, chicken, asparagus, served in my new Mallorcan pottery).
We never ate the melon.

Friday, 25 July
It is 2:22am, and I’m starting to pass out. Will finish tomorrow, hopefully.
In the meantime, I will leave you with my favorite photo of this trip so far (photo credz to Ligia). I think it’s safe to say I’m pretty happy here.