Kaixo! Hola! Hello!

Well, it's Monday. So here I am, blogging again, in the same spot, with the same café con leche and croissant. Wow, it really took me a long time to figure out how to spell "croissant." That's a word that I'm pretty sure I've never had to sit down and actually spell. I was butchering it so bad that auto-correct couldn't even help me out. Anyway, as I am sitting here blogging, there is a wonderful protest taking place with Basque Country citizens requesting to be separate from Spain. And by "requesting" I mean, shouting and marching around with signs in a less than subtle fashion. Since I'm talking about the Basque people, I might as well talk about their fashion sense that I have been judging ever since I have been in Vitoria and I just haven't gotten around to expressing my thoughts on it. The Basque people have a certain style that is, how can I put this, caught somewhere between 90's grunge and 70's punk rock. But not the good kind of punk rock style... like the mullets and awkward bangs. Think Ramones. I'm not one to necessarily judge based on style, but this one is just a really, really bad fashion trend. It is not uncommon in the least to see young boys and young men sporting this awful spin-off of a mullet. Let me paint the picture for you: You see a guy head on, and you think to yourself, "hmm, he is pretty cute." You keep walking, pass him, and turn around and then there it is. The dreads. They normally have anywhere between one to six dreads at the nape of their neck. And not short little rat tails either. Like full on, long dreads. Yikes. Mullet to a whole new level. The female hairstyle is the connection I make to the Ramones. If you don't know what the Ramones look like, I encourage you to look them up and you will see just how awful their hairstyle was. On top of this strange hair trend, everyone likes to wear bouldering clothes, meaning lightweight, capri like shorts, and hiking shoes. If that isn't enough to turn you off, the men also wear hoop earrings. Yes, hoop earrings. They can be anywhere between a small hoop to one that is seen on perhaps Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when she's working the streets. It is very interesting to see.

To continue, I got my haircut! That was probably the most exciting thing that happened to me this week to be completely honest. I was ready for a change! So I made an appointment and did it. Most of you have already seen my lovely bangs and layers I got. I love 'em! My mom, however, pointed out that I resemble Björk STILL. That was something that I used to get a lot when I was a toddler because of my Asian eyes. But you guys, I'm still Björk. I'm thinking I should start making electronica music now, just so I can be even more like her. Just to show you how much I resemble her, I create a side-by-side picture of me and her. You tell me who is who.

In addition, my birthday is coming up! Hoo Rah! Unfortunately, I have had this idea ever since July that it was "close enough" to my birthday that I can just say that I'm 19. So, basically, everyone that I have met since July thinks I'm 19 right now. And they will probably think I'm turning 20 in eight days. So not that it's really awkward, it's just I'm going to feel a little silly letting everyone know "hey, I'm really still a teenager. Sorry I lied." So, to anyone who I am friends with that I told I was 19, I hate to break it to you, but I still got one more year of teenage living. Please don't confront me about this. I'm glad I got that one off my chest. But I'm beginning to fear that my birthday is just going to be another, ordinary day and I'm getting kind of sad that I won't be given any special treatments because it's my birthday. I guess that's part of "growing up," but I DON'T WANT TO GROW UP. I just want my dad to buy me Starbucks in the morning on my birthday, I want a birthday cake, and balloons, and hand-made cards. But beggars can't be choosers. And I'm only assuming it only gets worse the older you get. Luckily, 19 isn't like a super awesome year to celebrate anyway. 

Last weekend, I went out for a little while. Really, it was just an eventful Saturday overall. I went with the family to their Tennis Club's "Oktoberfest." They only had two beers on tap. One was some awful lager, and the other was Budweiser. Real German, ya know? But it was really fun nonetheless, and I ate like a king. They had schnitzel, meats, sauerkraut, sausage, pot roast, mashed potatoes and apple strudel. Ah, it was wonderful. Of course me being the stereotypical "fat american" I ate everything. And my host family, being all european, could barely finish the first plate. That's where I stepped in and decided to help them out a bit and eat what they couldn't finish. I began to wonder if they knew they also hired a personal garbage disposal in addition to an au pair. Afterwards, I went out for a while with Mel and Sofie, but ended up going home around 10. Not a late night. But still, it's always a good time with those girls. 

Paulina and Me at "Oktoberfest" (she loves to smile)

The girls and I out. It was this fellows bachelor party. Isn't he the cutest?

There's not much else to report. I miss everyone. And I'm excited to hear from EVERYBODY in eight days.... *Cough* My birthday *Cough*

Besitos xx