get your eyes off my face.

I was easily frustrated in class today. It was miserably, almost unbearably hot in our classroom. There's air conditioning in the hallway, but not in our little baby classroom. It made for a long four hours and a slightly grumpy LB. I did get a 99 on my midterm, though. And I did get to watch another movie. And Paloma's ham sandwiches have gotten significantly better, or maybe I'm just getting used to them.

Accomplished my alone time today. I read more than half of a book free from kindle on the iPad. It was wonderful. I was away in my own small world, wrapped up in a pointless story I didn't have to think about, forgetting how hot it is here and how long we have to wait to eat like Spaniards. It was the perfect remedy to my blues from yesterday.

Spanish pet peeve of the day: staring. I don't know if it's a European thing or a Spanish thing or if I'm just drop-dead gorgeous (probably the last one, yeah?), but people stare here like their lives depend on it. There's no "oh they looked at me so I'm going to avert my eyes really quickly and act like I wasn't staring." There's no apologetic smile. Just a stare. Deadpan. Or a removal of the sunglasses to get a better look while muttering "guapa." Or sometimes a creepy smile from a man. Or an interested smile from the boy wearing the Laker's shirt today. Sorry I'm not sorry that I'm taken, buddy.

A group of us went to el Museo Reina Sofia this evening. Admission is free after 7pm, but the museo closes at 9. Unbeknownst to us, university students get in fo free all da time!

If you've been keeping up with my museum visits, you already know how this one went. FYI, Picasso and Dalí are all up in this joint, including Picasso's Guernica. It was so much better in person than I thought it would be. I was just awestruck at it's enormous size, and by the protection the museum offers the painting. Three guards, multiple surveillance cameras, and a huge sensor all around the work.

I think all of the protection is a little ironic. Guernica is a small village in Spain that was bombed by German aircraft in 1937 during Spain's Civil War. Hitler and his forces had given aid to Franco during the war in order to test out new weapons, and Guernica became a target as it was a hotspot for the Republican army. Unfortunately at the time of the bombing, the village was inhabited by mostly women and children, as the men were off fighting the war. Picasso's painting depicts the horrors of war and the wretched effects it has on the innocent. He was commissioned by the Republican government to paint Guernica for the World's Fair, and obviously it's a criticism of Franco and his government. That's why all if the security is ironic to me; it's a criticism of how the government should protect the people.

Knowing all of that (plus some that I won't bore you with) while looking at that piece of art and all of Picasso's practice sketches made my heart ache. The Spanish Civil War is just so interesting but so difficult to study at the same time.

I wandered around the museum a lot by myself; I need to be able to absorb and process the art I've dreamed about seeing. I am loving the museums here. Who knew I was such an art lover? #sophisticated

Sara and I took the Metro to the museum and back. There are usually musicians at all of the stops playing for money. Today, we saw a violin player we'd never seen before. Involuntarily, I started humming along with him until we passed him, and then realized the song was "Oh Sacred Head." It wasn't the best, but it still made me miss home.

My friends scattered today. One in New York, one in Tanzania, and one in Austria. Say a little prayer for them if you can. Traveling can be scarier than we all want to admit, and everyone can use a little more encouragement to avoid the homesickness.