a swift update with the highlights

so, i still can´t use my own computer. before the problem was that i had to pay for internet at cafes, and now i know some free wifi (pronounced wee-fee) spots, but now i can´t charge my laptop because my power converter doesn´t support any of my electronics. por eso, i have not written any large updates for blog purposes. ok, quick run down of the high lights:

-- on saturday, anna and i watch a parade for 3 kings day where they hucked candy at us. we also received hats, gloves, and scarves from our host mom because the 3 kings bring presents on january 6 like santa does.
-- sunday, more candy was hucked at us during a lovely walking tour.
-- today, we took our placement exam and we get the results tomorrow, when classes start.
-- also, i went shopping and bought sweaters at ZARA! i thought of kaitrin. (ps kaitrin, tell jackie i visited el corte ingles and it´s basically a huuuuge jc penny type department store, and quite expensive.) hooray rebajas. (big after holiday sales). my hope is to find a reasonably priced red coat, black boots, and to buy a scarf and purse at these little tiendas with an islamic flare. i don´t know the history behind them yet, but they´re rather common so i think there must be a story behind them.

interesting and/or difficult things to adjust to here in spain/europe:
-- the apartment isn´t heated much - there are space heaters in the living room, but not in my bedroom, so my bedroom is cold. BUT, there´s a heater under the dining room table and a blanket over the table which you put over your knees, and i like that a lot.
-- there generally less water here than there, slash, it is more expensive here, so the showers (which aren´t cold, but aren´t hot the way i´m used to) are short and with little water, and we aren´t supposed to flush the toilet every time. ie, yellow is mellow but brown goes down. the flushing motion is a tough habit to break.
-- i have to wait for my señora to make lunch and dinner so i can´t really eat whenever i´m hungry. if i did, i wouldn´t be able to eat the MOUNTAINS OF FOOD she puts in front of us. at practically every meal, we have soup and salad, and i love all her soups.
-- i´m learning the city but i don´t know it yet.
-- it is not easy to do business in spanish, but it´s fun to try to speak it.

and finally, this morning we had our placement exam, as i mentioned, and we were supposed to be there at 8:45, but i set my alarm to pm instead of am so anna and i slept until 9am and then had to take a taxi to school, and we had 10 fewer minutes than everyone else for the written portion. being rushed meant that i couldn´t try to use elaborate tenses because i was just trying to get it done. and i did finish, so that´s good, and i´m pretty sure i placed in the correct level for my abilities. so yeah, that´s it for now. off to la cena!