un rollo con ropa interior.

Today I'm being kind of a nerd. We have midterms tomorrow (say what??) after just a week of class. So I've been to class and back and that's all today. I'm not worried about the exam, but it's a lot of information to regurgitate. Blegh.

Lunch today was interesting. I loved it, but it was weird. She called it a small pie made of ground beef and puréed potatoes...which is exactly what it was. One layer of mashed potatoes on the bottom, a layer of season ground beef in the middle, and mashed potatoes so smooth and fine on the top I thought it was some kind of merengue.

I did have a nice long study break and talked with Paloma earlier. Today is her cleaning day. She washed all of our dirty clothes (including the unmentionables), hung them outside for all of Madrid to see (including the unmentionables), and then folded them for us when they were dry (including the unmentionables). What I learned from this experience: 1. I miss having a mom living in my house. 2. I need to invest in some new unmentionables that I will not be ashamed to hang outside for the world to see. Sorry, Wal Mart. My affair with your cheap undies is officially over.

Paloma has cleaned every nook and cranny of her piso today. She told me that cleaning and walking are her forms of occupational therapy; she needs to be occupied in order to avoid sitting on the couch and thinking about bad things or things she doesn't want to remember. She is a very organized person, because her father and grandfather were both very particular about things. Her grandfather is from Granada. We might go to Granada and Sevilla on our free weekend. Both places are wonderful and we have to see the Alhambra. It's hot in Sevilla right now but it should cool off soon. She used to travel there with her brother before he died and she misses him greatly but hates her still living sister because the sister didn't call the brother the whole three years he had cancer so as soon as Paloma's mother dies Paloma won't speak to her sister any longer because she's not a true friend that will be there when you're at your worst and it's important to have real true friends who you can call at any time instead of acquaintances that you just hehe and haha with like the friend that Paloma travels with to Paris to buy clothes and real lingerie because 20 years ago in Spain they didn't have bra cup sizes but Paris did and Paloma wanted a push up bra even though she was very beautiful she had a small chest.

Imagine that run-on sentence and the stream of consciousness coming from a little 61 year old Spaniard. Then imagine her showing you pictures from 20 years ago of how beautiful she was and of the "ropa interior" she bought on her little trip. Priceless. These are the memories of Spain I'm looking for.