Kiana Wright
Equinox Staff
The World’s in her hands.
It’s been a minute, but I’m back. I’ve been living in Spain for just over a month, yet it still catches my eye every day. A lot has happened since I last wrote, but I’ll catch you up!
A couple of things that haven’t changed: my 30 minute walk to class still has me sweating, I embarrass myself on a daily basis and I’m always tired. I swear this walk to school has been my biggest obstacle here. Sometimes I have to stop once or twice because my shin splints are crying out for help. You would think I’d be losing weight and getting all chiseled, but there are these chocolate bars at the Mercadona that are like .80 euros each… so yeah.
Hmm examples of me losing my dignity: I’ve made a fool of myself by walking into an empty men’s restroom, and then walking out of an occupied one (my teachers saw the whole thing go down and laughing their butts off.) The number of times someone has asked me, “Cómo te Llamas?” (What’s your name?) and I confidently respond, “Bien” (Good). LMK.
Also, the movie with Jim Carey called Yes Man – well that’s me right now. Because whenever someone asks me a question that I don’t understand, I say “Si.” I don’t know what I’m agreeing to half the time, but that’s the thing, I’m in a foreign country and you learn to be okay with making mistakes because you can’t take life too seriously.
Classes are good. To be honest, when coming here I was like, “oh my goodness, I’m so excited to take these classes they look so fun (and easy) it’s going to be such a relaxing experience.” Yet here I am just getting my painting class’ midterm back and seeing I got an 8.8/10. The test was a drawing. On the other hand, I do have to admit my painting class has really helped me find all the secret spots in the city that are gorgeous and are an honor to draw or paint. My painting class isn’t until later so my attendance is regular but as much as I want to be a morning person there is no way. I still fight with myself every day just to get out of bed for my 9 a.m. classes that I have every day but that’s been a thing since graduating afternoon kindergarten. All in all, my classes are going well. I’m still catching up in a couple of them due to me getting sick twice. Yup twice. I had a stomach virus for about a week and a half and then I caught a head cold for about two weeks (I did go to class when I had the sniffles, most of the time.) It was rough, but my roommate had it too so we were in it together. Oh also, I’ve been dancing in my flamenco class as well! It’s very scary exciting (if that’s a thing) and it’s really cool having a professional dancer as my professor!
I love Spain and I’ve been here for a decent amount of time so it’s starting to feel like home.. Although, I recently took a step or two out of the country. A couple of weekends ago, I went to the colorful country of Morocco which was incredible. This trip gave me a more realistic view of Morocco than the previous one I had thanks to Sex and the City 2. But of course, I still had a Carrie moment and bought some of those cute slipper shoes. I actually bought a lot of things like scarves, bags and essential oils. The trip included Arab cuisine, hotels, tours and a trip to the pharmacy. The pharmacy was not what you would think It only had 100 percent natural remedies. I bought this little orange bottle of an herbal essence that smells great and has multiple uses. It helps with headaches, sleeping, being stressed out and the doctor who was very sarcastic with a cruel sense of humor said we could burn the oil to set the mood for, well you know.
I also met some talented performers who made our dining experience over the top including multiple dancers, singers and even a man who balanced like 10 candles on his bald little head. The cities we passed and stopped in were full of incredible art, friendly people and stunning views. Overall amazing trip, just like Portugal was too, and hopefully the next move as well. (Hint: “Bonjour!”)
Kiana Wright can be contacted
at kwright@kscequinox.com
