emma's new boyfriend

Wine is cheaper than water, seriously. I can go to a supermarket and buy a bottle of wine for cheaper than a bottle of water. it is ridiculous. and everyone smokes a whole lot. my host mother tried to hide it from us for a few days, but we finally just told her that we knew she smoked. she turned pretty red. haha.

i haven't really gone too crazy so far here. but emma and i have gone and done something most nights.

on of the first nights here emma and i went downstairs to a little bar that we live above for some cava (aka champagne...pay attention, this is some important spanish vocabulary coming your way). and we were sitting at a table in the corner talking, when this guy comes over and asks if we could help him. He is speaking in english, and says that he is writing a song in english and was wondering if we could tell him what we think of the title...ummm, yeah, sure. what is it?...Well, what do you think of when you hear the words "Vampire Love".

oh, i wanted to die. he was being so serious and i thought i was going to burst right in front of him. what kind of a pickup line is that? listen guys, next time you see some hot girls vampire love is the way to go. somehow emma managed to pull something out randomly, being quite serious the entire time, about how some relationships can completely drain you, and then quickly changed the subject before she started laughing.

long story short, we got a number on the second day of being in spain. but emma is hoarding it all for herself because she is in love with him. i guess its ok if she doesn't want to share.

the next night there was an FC Barcelona futbol game, and our senora said that there was a sports bar down the street. Martins. basically the best place ever. we went there, and nobody else was there, so we had the tv to ourselves. the bartender is pretty cool, and told us that we didnt seem like americans (because we weren't loud and drunk, haha). anyway, we asked him a lot of ridiculous questions about the game and he laughed at us a lot. We've been there for every Barcelona game since, and now we are officially regulars. He even gives us free food. it's amazing. and if the game is against anyone worthwhile there are a bunch of old men cursing in spanish or catalan at the television. i have decided to learn some catalan curse words so that i can make friends with the old men. for now i'll just yell in my spanish/english mix with emma. sometimes we bring unos amigos to martin's to watch the game, but we usually get kicked out right after the game. hahaha.

oh, and i love patatas bravas.

another favorite thing. El Gato Negro. it's this chupito bar (vocab lesson: chupito=shot), with the most amazing androgynous bar tender in the world.

but first, i dont remember if i mentioned this already. but, people make out everywhere here. the other day we went out to pizza with my senora and some of her friends, and there was this kids birthday party going on. meanwhile, i witnessed two couples sucking face. as in, 5 minutes straight, no coming up for breath or anything. one couple even involved some climbing over the table action.

ok, anyway, so i'm sure you can imagine what the spaniards at bars are like, and this androg bartender was the worst contender. i think he kissed everyone in the bar except me and the group of people i was with (very dissapointing...emma is trying to claim him as well as amore vampiro man, but i don't know if i can give her both). and i promise i am not becoming an alcoholic, but i just need to tell you about the most amazing shots i've ever witnessed in my life. the first one was called Harry Potter. it was triple sec, on which they placed an orange slice and then sprinkled with sugar and cinammon, lit on fire and sprinkled cinnamon on so that it sparkled. its just like real magic! and then the second one was called a boyscout (or spanish equivalent), and it was another flaming shot on which you roasted mini marshmallows! who thinks this up? i really would like to meet them.
they were playing some old school american rap at el gato negro when we went there, but there was nowhere to dance so we sat instead. that made me extremely sad. i might have to suggest some renovation. ali, jeanna, and emma are pretty cool girls to sit around with and discuss our love for androgynous bartenders though, so i guess it wasn't so bad.

ok, i am going to continue in another post so it looks like i post more than i really do...