TOO MUCH Fun in the Sun

This morning was a funny one. Last night as we were all leaving, Markos invited me to a cell group today. He was complimenting how much I've improved since I first got here and insisted that I come, especially because now I can follow (pretty much) everything. He said we'd meet around 10:45. Of course, I would not normally expect to meet at 10:45 at night, so I naturally assumed he meant the morning time. And since a lot of my friends and I have this week off, it didn't occur to me that most other people don't.

SO. I wake up at 8:30, shower and get ready, and then take the bus to the metro station, then the metro to the stop where Markos told me to meet. I waited there for about 45 minutes before I finally realized my error. 10:45 PM. Not AM. I felt so dumb.

Luckily, Macy and Jessica were already headed towards the beach, so I just hopped back on the metro, then caught the tram the rest of the way to Las Arenas, our beach by the port. When they got there, we all laid out for several hours. It was a gorgeous day, with perfect weather. A high of 78 and not a cloud in the sky, with a nice sea breeze to keep us just cool enough.

However, all good things must come to an end. For me, it meant accidentally falling asleep on the beach and turning as red as a lobster. That has never happened to me before - the falling asleep part. When I woke up, you could imagine my surprise. But I couldn't tell how burnt I was until later.

At 3:30, we met up with Samu on the lower docks,

and..... he colored my hair! He's a hairstylist, and offered to do it for free. And we thought, what better place than at the beach? Quite a story, that's for sure. It's darker than my previous coloring, but still a red shade. I like it.

Afterwards, we all headed up. The girls and I took the tram to Av. del Puerto, and then each walked the rest of the way home. Since I've been home, I've worked on my paper, finished a movie I started the other day (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and tried to keep as still as possible as to avoid irritating my sunburn. We also had dinner, Matilde, Papá, Miguel, Marta and me: Potaje. It was garbanzo beans, spinach, and bacalao - delicious. We also had lamb chops. YUM.

Like I mentioned earlier, sweet Matilde and I are getting closer. She was so concerned when I came back so red,

and she immediately found some AfterSun and Aloe Vera for me. Before I came up to settle in for bed, she rubbed it all over my back. It was just so sweet!!

La Quemada,

Leigh