My Cow

Ithought I would put up a picture of my cow - named her Apolla :) The other day she ran towards me and I was a bit frightened that she would knock me down (play a clip of running of the bulls in Spain in my mind) but she came to a halt right in front of mean and gave a grunt. So I extended my hand to her and she licked it (a cow's tongue is like a cat's, a little rough) and then she was disinterested so she starting eating grass/sniffing manure and that's when I took the picture. I also have a picture of the crab that lives in a hole right outside of my apartment. He hangs out at night and then when he sees me coming, he takes cover in the hole. I think we have a connection too. My nature island is finally starting to come alive and "talk to me," or maybe I'm just going crazy - whichever it is, I'm okay with it.

Time for an update

Hola!

Okay, so I have officially been here a month now, hooray - I can say Ive lived in another country for a month, and other than Ukraine/Poland, that's the longest Ive spent in any country. Im really used to life here and sometimes I forget that Im NOT in the states - this usually happens during my long study sessions because Im in doors and you cant always tell where you are if windows are not in sight. The only time I still really see a difference is when I eat because it's a different eating schedule than Im used to normally and different foods. Ive been pretty dedicated to the gym since day one, and go every day except for Wenesday and it relieves my stresses a little bit and allows me to NOT look at science for a while but usually very old, gossipy magazines that they provide for you. I have my test on Monday and Im ready to just get it over with. But I have Friday off (always before the Monday tests we have) and my test it at 1pm Monday and then a beach party to follow. They provide water sports (Im not sure if these are free or not) and free food, drinks and t-shirts. And then the whole process begins again because there's another test in another 4 weeks or so.

On Monday, I woke up sick and now feel like Im carrying around a ballooon on my head. I think this occurred because it's so hot outside and inside in every building, the AC is running on freezing - literally. People bring blankets, sweatshirts, coffee/tea, scarves and hats just to stay warm when they study, so even though I bring sweaters, it's still cold - and lack of sleep and this environment maybe is why Im sick - let's hope this only lasts a few days.

I got a package from home yesterday and it was better than Christmas. I got things like fruit rollups, cereal, like 5 varieties of crackers, BEEF JERKY!!!, gum, cereal bars, etc. It made my day and I of course ate like a queen last night :) Im hoping it will last me until December, so Im going to ration it a little bit but it was the best thing that could have happened to me yesterday - thanks Mom and Dad!

I have a little over 2.5 months left -see you all in December!

Barbara