THIS POST CONTAINS ADULT THEMES AND PERHAPS A SHOUT OUT TO THE BAY AREA

Good afternoon, and happy Friday the 13th.

Emily's mom sent this bottle of Cholula 3 days ago. After month long withdrawals, I relapsed, and it was exactly what they say will happen if you hit the bottle. And I hit it hard. Mom, is the tapatío on it's way?

I did not work today because... well, I never work Fridays. My weekend usually starts on Thursday at 14:30 when the bell rings but teacher's have been out sick and for that I get sent home as a rest day or play day or just another free day. Technically, my work week began on Monday at 10:30am and my weekend began on Thursday at 10:30am. So, after careful calculations it's clear that I only worked part-time this past week.... 8 hours.... of my usual 12. I know this sounds ridiculous and at times I really feel like I'm cheating or something. My work isn't hard but sometimes it is challenging. Spanish high school students have the same hormones as American students and are facing the same peer pressures to fit in, test the boundaries and try to catch the tall lanky American doing something worth gossiping about. And speaking of rumors, popularity and fame, well... the media has detected me on their radar. I was enjoying an adult beverage at the local Australian Country Pub when a boy-man started small talk with me. What's your name? Where are you from? And of course, why are you here? These answers usually just spill out of my mouth in the same order having answered them to probably a couple thousand residents of Calatayud, but this guy really threw off my flow by interrupting me after only telling him I was from California. Dialogue goes like this:

"You're the blonde American teaching the whole town of Calatayud English?????"
"Um, yes. That's me.... Do you know one of my students?"
"No."
"Do you know one of the professors?"
"No."
"Oh, I get it, town gossip, right?"
"No. Well, yes. But I heard about you on the radio."
"THE WHAT?"
"The Calatayud radio station."
"HAHHAHAHA, ok, lies."
"No, I'm not a liar."
"Why would they talk about that on the radio?"
"BECAUSE NOTHING ELSE IS HAPPENING IN CALATAYUD."

I've started looking over my shoulder for paparazzi at every corner.
Naw, I'm kidding, but isn't that just too funny? I'm really looking forward to start making some weekend trips outa here because I need to change it up a little. I'm getting into a routine, especially on the weekends. But hey, this weekend will be a bit different. There was a town-wide children's drawing contest and the results are in with a scheduled awards ceremony on Saturday at noon. Free snacks!
Well the three Americans have started planning Calatayud's inaugural THANKSGIVING FEAST. We've somewhat assembled a guest list comprised of co-workers and various friends who we think will mix well with our superiors at school. Also, we are going to visit a few butchers this weekend to find the best deal on whole turkeys. Thing is, turkey isn't a fan favorite in Spain. Pork, beef, lamb, seafood, chicken, baby beef, baby lamb, rice, duck, seafood and seitan basically all come to mind before Spaniards are like, "hm I've really been craving turkey meat. A whole one with legs and wings and everything. Oh I could just baste it and slow roast it in the oven, what a meal we're gunna have!" They're too lazy first of all, I mean c'mon they close the whole country down for two and a half hours every day to eat, sleep, smoke and drink coffee. Secondly, white meat? They eat blood sausage for breakfast and drunk munchiez. SNAP. Anyways, we're hoping to be able to pre-order a turkey to arrive for our big day. Then we're going to have a video skype session with all of our moms because how the F do you cook a whole turkey? And speaking of food...

Check out what 14 EURO got me at the store:
butter 250g
box of fiber flakes cereal
block of gouda cheese 500g
milk 1 liter
coca cola zero, 2 cans
asparagus spears 350g about 15 spears
hot chocolate mix 500g
3 bananas
1 large grapefruit
1 loaf of fresh baked artesan bread
1 bottle of water
sack of potatoes 3kg
tomato/pasta sauce 1 jar
broccoli 400g

A friend we met in Zaragoza (the city) is making the trek out to C-town for a couple nights. I'm excited to take someone new up the mountain to play at the castle AND start a dance competition at the Australian with the locals.. which I am, too. OH and I'm hoping there's a few people reading who will appreciate this.. The Americans have assembled a large music play list to submit to our friends at the Australian because they only have about 50 songs on repeat and the one's they do have in English aren't very good. I VERY STRONGLY DISLIKE KATY PERRY. So as bad as I feel about infiltrating a very authentic Spanish town's "club" more or less with American music, it must be done. We tried to keep it more Tiesto-ish and less Eminem, but like I said, for those who would appreciate this... I snuck in a few E-40, Too $hort and Mac Dre songz...keepin the movement alive! Actually, I'm feeling neutral about my decision. It's possible they won't play them, because these are only suggestions, but.. a little hyphy never killed anyone. I'll be sure to only get stupid in the confines of my room, where I'll also be leaving my thizz face on Saturday.

With that, ¡Que tengais un buen fin de semana!

P.S. My students asked me what "freaking" meant. I received supervisory consent to tell them that it's "a nice way of saying 'fucking,' " which they understand as the FU word, pronounced in Spanish like FOO