Oranges, Other News, and Harry Potter

Orange season has officially arrived. If you didn’t know, Valencia grows only two things: oranges and rice. If you see a field, it’s a rice field, and if you see a tree, it’s an orange tree. Even the trees lining the streets in the city are orange trees, although it’s not recommended to actually eat those oranges. But anyway, I arrived home last week from flamenco to find the kitchen absolutely overflowing with oranges. There were oranges in the fridge, on the counter, and in the cupboards. We will literally be eating oranges for months.

Right now, the oranges are extremely acidic. Borderline lemon, I would say. My host mom loves them this way; the rest of us cover them in honey so we don’t die. My host dad promised the really incredible oranges would come in December, so I’m excited for that.

In other news, I went out with my friends this weekend to a really cool Hawaiian themed juice bar to celebrate Rebeca’s birthday. I had a splitting headache at the beginning of the night, so decided to just order a banana smoothie. But of course, because it’s me, I ended up throwing it all up on the sidewalk when we left. I’m assuming it was a combination of the headache and possibly food poisoning because I haven’t felt that sick in a long time. I was so embarrassed to throw up in front of all my friends, but they were all really sweet about it, and I got about a million messages the next day asking if I was feeling better.

A word about this picture: A) Patricia (left) cannot keep her eyes open with flash. We took about 15 pictures and this was the best one. She may look like she's on drugs, but I assure you, it's just the flash. B) The large lines across the photo are reaaaally long straws. They were cool. C) Nobody in Spain smiles in their photos. It kind of bugs me. They all try to look all cool and serious, but I prefer a smile any day.

And finally…this weekend I’m going to HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS!!! I’m very excited, if you couldn’t tell. However, nobody here seems to like Harry Potter. I’ve asked and asked, and apparently it’s something extremely dorky. I mean, in the U.S. it may be dorky as well, but we embrace it. I was trying to explain at dinner last night how fanatic people can get about Harry Potter in the U.S., but my host parents did not get it. My host dad said, “Even people who are 18 years old like it? It’s more of a thing for younger kids here.” I tried to explain that yes, many college kids love Harry Potter, and even many adults, but I don’t think they believed me. Oh well.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll try and post again this weekend.

Besitos!
Paige