In less than a week I've noticed:

Stuff Spaniards like:

Pastry/candy/sugary stuff. There are pastelerías and bulk candyshops everywhere.

Getting their hair done. Peluquerías (hair salons) are everywhere as well. and speaking of....

Mullets, dreads, and random combinations thereof. The mullet is alive and well in Europe.

Scarves. For every person not wearing a scarf, there are 14 who are.

There's a lot more to observe but that's all for now.

So I've been in NYC for just over 24 hours. Things have been pretty low key, though I've managed to spend all sorts of money already. Spent last night just hanging out in Katie and Dan's apartment, eating Chinese takeout, drinking gallon jug wine, and watching Religulous. It was actually a nice night, since I'm always more concerned with the quality of the company than the excitement level involved in the activity. Their downstairs neighbors are cool as hell, they have a beautiful dog named Steve McQueen and an adorable cat named Lucy. It's a very cozy existance, and I'm enjoying it.

This morning(ish) we all went to a vegetarian/vegan place in the East Village called Counter. It was AMAZING. They had a brunch special where you could get a coffee or tea, glass of sangria or mimosa, and a vegan breakfast consisting of tofu scramble, home fries, toast, and mixed greens, all for $11. Which would be amazing even in the Midwest. We, as a table, also got a basket of mixed vegan baked goods which came with sangria marmalade, vegan raspberry butter, and vegan nutella, and I got a raw pistachio-macadamia nut tart for dessert. It was a $30 meal by the time I was finished, but well worth it.

Later we bummed around Union Square for the afternoon. We checked out Strand, which was an overwhelmingly large used book store that I could've gotten lost in for quite some time had I not been borderling food coma-ed. We stopped in a micro-brewery called Hartland Brewery for some over-priced food and decent beer, grabbed a coffee on our way back to the subway and are now sitting in the living room again, on computers and playing Guitar Hero. Which is fine by me considering I've managed to spend, oh, $100 since I landed in NYC last night on food and transportation alone. These next few months are going to be so expensive. Tomorrow's mission is to do things that don't cost any money.

Everyone's always leaving in college towns, so I shouldn't be too surprised at the number of people who didn't bother saying goodbye. This is a place of constant transition, and mine is no exception.

I really need to call my host mother, but I'm terrified of doing so. Not only because my Spanish skills aren't exactly stellar when it comes to phone calls, but because talking to her makes her real which means I'm really leaving the country for 4 months. I don't think any of this will feel real until I set my suitcase down.

Pre-departure

I know these next two weeks are going to go by so incredibly fast:

Tomorrow: Parents coming up to Lansing to move my furniture out of the apartment.
Sunday: Last day at Clara's. I can't believe it's been 8 months.
Monday: open. probably finishing packing
Tuesday: Say goodbye to Lansing:(
Wednesday: Head to Chicago with the Mom
Thursday: Pick up my visa/passport from the Spanish Consulate office, maybe hit up the aquarium, head back to the mitten.
Friday: REALLY finish packing
Saturday: Fly to NYC for a few days, not see the mitten again for 16 weeks.

I'm moving to Valencia for four months! This is where you can see what I've been up to!