It is indeed nice to run on the beach walk. I'm trying to find how long of a distance it is so that I cna tel you, but I don't make any sense out of the google maps. They have street wiev and everything from Malaga now, but it doesn't really help. They are building and remodeling the whole city (atleast it feels like it) so the pictures are probably no accurate at all

I don't seem to manage to get my face away from the computer so I'm tryin a new strategy, I'm gonna take my books and go to Dunkin and study.

I went out yesterday to take some pictures of the city. It is quite changed now during semana santa, exept from people being everywhere there's various stands of toys and candy and thousands of chairs. Everywhere there's chairs. The main chopping street is full of them, plaza de la constitución is full of them, the roundabout between the bus streets is full of them and many, many more. I read somewhere that even thought semana santa is supposed to be a sad holiday, most people are not really sad nowdays. I can not really say anything about this holiday, Mr. M are usually in Marocco this time of year and don't celebrate it. Which is too bad, because this seem to be the only holiday with the most difference to what I am used to. Anyway, I found this lollipop and I just had to buy it, I have no idea what they are called, these costumes but sadly, they remind me of KKK (which is not really  good thing, I know, but I can't help wonder where KKK got their designs from). I hope there's any American or Spanish person reading my blog that could give me an asnwer :)

Thank you for the nice comments, it really warmed my heart. I want to be personal in what I write but no to personal and I defenitly want to be real. I don't want to pretend that everything is great all the time, that doesn't help anyone but I feel bad when entries come out as the one yesterday, it doesn't give off a good feeling. But I am glad for all off you who reads!

I like to listen to Spanish and everyone I have met here speaks really good English, some have never studied it and still speaks really good. I know I put too much pressure on myself, I can notice it because I don't do anything (which is my response when stuff gets to hard, I just stop doing it, thinking it will go away or resovle itself) But it is gonna be changes.

I'm still in my pj´s but I'm gonna change and get out on a run (who can resist when the sun is shining) and continue listen to "Dude, where's my country" by Mickael Moore

Yesterday I met with a Swedish girl I met months ago at a friends goodbye dinner. I met her at a teteria (another one) with two French girls (one of them I met before with the friend who left) and it was a compete disaster. My Spanish is far from good, and it is actually no suprise, I hardly do any homework and in class, I'm a big question mark. I know that complaining about it is not gonna make it better, study will (and I will get there) but I felt like updating my blog with a little of personal emotions of mine.

Teteria is like a café but with tees instead. They have coffee aswell but the focus is on te. But, to be honest, it feels like you can get mostly the same things everywhere, the main difference is actually the interior. I don't know anything about interior design but maybe it would be said that a teteria look more Maroccan while a café looks like, well, you all know what a café looks like.

I'm really trying to make friends here. It goes well in quality but not so much in quantity. I know it is my lack of Spanish. At the same time that I feel that I should try more, I feel that I've hardly been here a year and that I shouldn't feel so much pressure. Most of the erasmus students that comes here, has studied the language for years (and actually cared, not like me, trying to get out of it) and are just dying to practise it. I just feel that I want to go throught some grammatical courses and be able to listen and understand a tv- show before I try to master the social conversational skills. Never the less, I feel inbelivable rude when I don't know what to say. And I can stop thinking about all those people demanding that everyone who steps behind the Swedish border should talk perfect Swedish and nothing less. And I think about myself, who refused to call a pizzeria for years because I got so confused with accent they had.  I really want to but learning is hard and I have never been good at it.

It's not fun to read a blog where the writer seem to do everything to get you into a bad mood. But I feel I need to have one of those days now. A day when I feel sorry for myself and wishes everything would be a lot more easier. It's gonna be different tomorrow.

Easter in Spain is called pascua and that is the easter that most people are used to (as far as I know) with eggs and easter bunnies. But here they don't really celebrate pascua but semana santa instead. Semana santa is holy week and each day belong to a saint (they love saints here). They have processions where huge scupluters of Jesus and Maria is carried around. There's several of them every day/ night for about a week or so.

I'm not really into religious things but this is a thing that is really different and as everything gets international and alike, this is a thing worth seeing. I guess many of you know that people going in this "parade" are dressed like what we know as KKK (no connection as I know) and that is a bit scary. They come in different colors but when they are all white and carries a cross, I get a little nervous. It is quite frightening.

I life next to the cathedral here (kind of cool) and these thing comes out of the cathedral (naturally) so yesterday when me and a friend tried to pass by the cathedral (to get home after being at a teteria), it was almost impossible, it was people everywhere. Earlier that day, it had been green dresses but now, they were dressed all in white. We decided to stay and watch the spectacle for a while. And out came this huge sculpture of Jesus, carried by a lot of people and they just kept walking forward, towards us. It was, as I mention, a lot of people, where would they go? This thing just came closer and closer and everyone started to move backwards. I have no idea how all that people managed to split apart and make room for that thing but we suceeded and for a brief moment I was staring up on a half naked Jesus. It was intense...

Here comes the pictuers from Dublin. It's a lot but I tried to choose the ones who best represent out trip. If there's any questions around them, don't hesitate to ask! More pictures will be poste under a later ocasion (I feel that it is a bit much right now, even if they are easy to "read" ;))

Coming soon!

Btw, not that I've thought that I am the only swedish person who blogs that lives in Spain, but I still wonder "why not me" when I saw the article about a Swedish girl in Barcelona blogging about her life there. It's always funny how all of these people on the blogg.se's frontpage are always so suprised they got there, how do they find these people?

Okay, I'm leaving for Dublin in a few hours and there' will be no activity at all on this blog until next week (not that it has been any activity the last days anyway) but, there's gonna be a lot of picutres and updating after Dublin (I promise)

This is gonna be pink suit day (it is more like a dress, in the meaning of sweater and pants being in the same fabric and color) and I'm gonna get a lot of important stuff done, I swear. I've been good the last three days by walking (and sometimes running) seven km a day so I thought that I would do some other good today. Hence the pink suit, now I have to stay where I am (I will not show myself in public in this, but it is awesome at home)

Okey, so the plan for the summer is to work in Norway. The plan for the fall is falling apart. The universuty in Skövde is not a top choice for Mr. M and honestly, there's nothing I want to study there either (I would love to study and have a part time job and not only work full time) A better choice for Mr. M is Denmark. But I have no idea how easy it would be for me to get a job there, and besides, should I and do I want to follow him? I don't know what to do (how's this for giving out personal information on my blog). But I'm gonna decide today.

As you probably noticed, I've done some changes to the blog and I want to say that I am not finished. The second link in the top right corner is still to be made and I haven't really done anything on the category page (even though I'm not sure if I should have categorys or just create another link and collect all the picture entries underneath that instead). I'm working on it and today, that is on my to-do list.

• But I would like to know what you think?
• Should I have categories or a picture link?
• Is there anything else I should take care of or should add?
• What do you think?

I'm waiting for my landlord to show up so I can pay my rent. It is not that I mind to go where she is and pay it but she told me yesterday that she would be here at five. Now it is 5:45 and I'm kind of starting to think that I don't want to wait longer. I've been putting off going to the shower, thinking that it might be nice to not be in the shower when she shows up. But now I'm starting to doubt that it is gonna happen. Not that I need people to be sharp on time, it's a common fact that I myself doesn't know the concept of sharp times, so why would I expect that from others. But 45 min, might be taking it a little to far.

I've been so good today it crazy. I went to class this morning and went I got home, the very first thing I did was to fill the washer machine. In the meantime for that to be done, I had a snack and checked my framville and updated my blog. When the machine was finished, I started another one before my 7 km walk/run. When I got back home, I made chickencurry with rice for lunch (really good, actually). I usually manage to do one of those things, so today was defenitly a good day.

I think I'm going to this exhibit with photos or something. We'll se what it is

Waiting and waiting

I actually had a conversation in Spanish earlier. I came from the bus, walking to my place and I passed a resturant where one of the guys that used to live in my apartment work. He's from Argentina and doesn't know any English, so speaking in Spanish is the only option. I've always avoided speaking to him because (as you know) I am really insecure about my Spanish. But today, I actually manage to have a conversation where I actually said something and didn't just try my hardest to understand what he was talking about. I'm really proud of myself despite the fact that I didn't really understand everything he said and everything I said were completely wrong. But, I think he understood what I was talking about and that is the important thing.

Now, I'm mentally preparing myself for going out on a run. I've downloaded some auido books  that I'm gonna listen to.

I have the feeling that this is gonna be a busy day...

Okay, it's sunny outside and I'm trying to be on my feet to get out and walk. But there's just so many things I need to do before I can get out of the door. I need to take care of my farm and write a blog entry (and stuff like a friend got a new job and I'm out of qoutes got in the way)

It's sunny here now but the wind is cold so it feels kind of like the spring in Sweden (which feels wierd)

I love comments on my new design (more please). Thank you. I spent a lot of time doing it and I'm not finished because I got lost in the code and now I don't know what I'm doing. Atleast now the comment page is in English as well as the front page.

I'm getting tired and frustrated. I've started to memorize words but I seem not ot be able to do anything right, I feel worthless. Besides, the people in the class are starting to bug me. I had a couple of episodes some weeks ago but I shoke it of. Now, they seem to repeat themselfes. In the beginning, I was sitting next to two English women who had some problems following the class. So, they talked the whole freakin time instead. I locked my ears in that direction for a long time (I have that ability, more than you can imagen) but in the end I told them that if they paied more attention on what the teacher was saying rather than talking about it, they might catch a few more words. It helped, a bit. In the end, they both disaperared anyway, so, problem solved. Then I had another ugly episode with a girl who started to tell me the right answers to a home work I hadn't done. I don't like that. I find people that talks annoying, as much, but I find people who gives me the right answers without me even trying first very irritating. I told her to stop doing that but she continued. Luckely, she didn't sit beside (or came to class) me again.

But today, two guys that I have behind me had a loud converastion thougout the whole class. And, for a brief moment, the buy sitting next to me gave me the right answer when it was my turn to say it (I already had the right answer so it was not a big deal). I sat for a long time, thinking about what to tell the guys. I mean, I don't wanna be mean and besides, if they would just have lowered their voices a little bit, I would have heard the teacher a lot better.

Then I relized, if I can't beat them, join them (not that I had tried but still) so I just turned around, looked at them and said hello (in Spanish). They got dead quiet. Didn't say a word. I asked them if they are speaking spanish or another language, they replied Spanish. I said good and turned around again. This helped a lot. They were a lot more wuite for the rest of the class.

I guess I'm a bit damaged by my juniour high teachers, who one of them made the embariss a teenager to an art from and my English teacher, who didn't mind us talking during class, as long as it was English.

Sorry for the long entry. I have a lot on my mind but now, I'm gonna have a walk.

Okey, I didnt´run, I walked, but it still felt a lot of good and I´m planning to do the same thing tomorrow. The bad thing is that it can start raining at any time. Guess I just have to take a chance.

It´s going faster and I´m having trouble keeping up. I´m falling behind on the homework and I don´t talk in class. It´s the stupid words that´s keeping me back. I´ve got to get over that barrier.

I really like my new room, it feels warmer and brighter. It also feels smaller, but then again, what would I do with a lot of space.

I hope I look happier now :)

Btw, the room does not have a small kitchen. I only have a fridge (which I had in the last room too) but I bought my own frying pan and cut board, so it may look a little kitchen like.

Me and Mr. M went cultural today and went to see the Picasso museum they have in Malaga. I wanted to try and see if I can see what the fuzz is all about. Aperently he's brilliant because he painted like a five year old. I can understand the difficulty with that but I still don't get the point. I don't see it, I am not impressed. If you wonder what his paintings are, here's a google search.

I'm more like a Dalí person, you know, like crazy imagination (kind of like Tim Burton, I'm excited about Alice in wonderland)

Me and Mr. M went to the movies. And as usual the time optimism was excellent. We hadn't even got to the mall when there was ten minutes to spare. I wa convinced that there was no way we were gonna catch the move in time and when I saw the line for buyin the tickets there was no doubt left. But a woman in front of us kindly told us that the ticket window next to this one didn't not have a line so we hurried with the tickets, more or less ran by the ticket man and deicded to skip the popcorn. As we entered the auditorium the movie had started and we had missed the first five minutes. But as we sat down, we relized we were at the wrong movie. They were speaking Spanish and we wanted to go to the English one. So, after a fast desicion, Mr. M went to change the tickets and I went to buy popcorn and as we ran into the right auditorium, the commercial were just about to finish.

It's easy to be a time optimist when luck is on your side.

Btw, We saw Daybreakers

I'm now sitting in the same apartment but in a slighty smaller room. The other difference is that I have two doors that I can open to the outside where I can se the sun and the street and let some fresh air in. Which makes a huge difference. I don't need space anyway, I'm just sitting in front of the computer anyway. The downside is that is is raining outside so there's not a good idea ot have those doors open right now. There's gonna be pictures soon, I'm jst waiting for some sun.

This weekend is kind of slow and dull. Later, me and Mr. M is gonna go to the movies, but that is pretty much it. No exciting parties, no exciting trips...

It can't all be fun

I've just refilled my fridge, there's no more feeling more comfortable than that one. I really like going grocery shopping, I guess I like it a little more than "regular" shoppin because it comes without the pressure of using and wearing the things later. It is food that is gonna be eaten so there's no way you can waste money. I do the whole thing with writing a list and counting the total amount and comparing prices and buying stuff with an offer. In Sweden, I have grocery cards where I earn points.

I still haven't changed my room, it is getting frustrated.

I'm gonna walk/run again, weee (the rain has stopped so I'm seasing the moment)

I just please want it to stop raining. It is really depressing and I feel locked in. I don't have any clothes to go out (no umbrella, no raining jacket, no galoshes). My room feels like a bunker and everything  is in a big mess, becuase I am soon gonna change room (waiting for the paint to dry and for the broken stuff to get fixed) I'm all about the complaining right now... (sorry)

Yesterday was not a complete disaster (even if some wierd stuff took place)

I went to class and then straight home. I tried to stay awake but couldn't (if there's something I always am, it's sleepy... and hungry), I woke up in time for meeting a friend for coffee. After the coffee and on the way home. I managed to take those rain pictures I've been talking about (but now, photoshop stopped working) and I spotted a rat that seemed to like the rain as much as I do. I took some pictures of it.

I skipped class today (I know, I know) but hopefully that is gonna result in me getting a lot of useful stuff done :)

Today has been a busy day indeed. I woke up at like seven (7:15) to be able to take the bus at eight from Mr. M´s place and I did it. I told you that I would catch that bus some day, that day was today. The thing that keptm e going was a promise to myself that I will have a nap when I get home. But I felt so bad for not doing all the homework I should have done during the week (I did it on the bus) so I decided to stay behind in the cafeteria and do some work. Which I did and I managed to go through all the exercises we had for today.

Duff beer