El Txoco

El Txoco. Seems like a super weird name right? Well it is, it's in Basque, the local language here. It is pronounced (El Choco). Well anyways it is a room at the church here, dubbed "el txoco" because of what it is used for. Basically 20-30 year old's go there just to hang out and most of them are in the youth group at the church. It is just 1 big room with couches, and big table, a sink area with appliances and alcohol. People go there to have a drink or two and just hang out. It is tons of fun! I have made some good friends there and they are super interested in me just because I am American (and no, they are not interested in stealing my kidneys). They ask me questions all the time about how to say different things and if there is an ocean next to me, what houses in American look like (they always ask me if the houses in American are like the house on the Simpson's), and other stuff. The names of the people in the picture below are Irati, Gaistxa, Alvaro, Neera, Mikel, and myself. Also there is a dog running around that room who's name I can't remember in spanish but it means Sawdust in english. Haha I know, really personal.

So those are some of my friends that I met through the church here, they are pretty cool people. I have another local buddy named Jokin. Tomorrow him and I are playing Fronton, I am sure you guys shall hear about it in the next blog post. Which by the way sorry for taking so long to post this one! I have been super busy lately getting myself situated and stuff, but these will hopefully be more consistent (3-4 days). Okay so things are getting better here. At first I was EXTREMELY homesick because this isn't only my first time to Spain but my first time out of the United States. It was such a culture shock. Different languages, almost everything is closed from 2:30 till 5 in the afternoon, breastfeeding in the open is COMPLETELY normal, the lack of vehical laws, the public transportation here, the fact that there are almost no houses, just apartments, the food change and so many other things. What I would give for a chipotle burrito, you have no idea. Well since going out to eat is more expensive than cooking at home and way less fun I have been doing some cooking lately. The photo below is of my roommates and I. There is a new addition to my flat! Her name is Diamandra and she is from the Dominican Republic as well as Annie. She is super cool and very nice. Annie, Diamandra and a friend of theirs cooked for us all last night. The dish was called Mangu, which has a very interesting past. It is made of mashed plantains (not bananas, they're different) cooked some secret way that I don't know, topped with a fried egg and sauteed onions. It was alright tasting, the plantains could have been mashed potatoes for all I knew. But they told me that Mangu got it's name when Americans invaded the Dominican Republic in the early 1900's. They ate food from the dominican republic while they were there and when they tried this specific dish they would say to each other, "man, good!", therefore it got it's name "Mangu". Haha I know that it sounds crazy, maybe it is an old wives tale. Maybe not.

So the picture below is what I like to call the final product. It is me after shaving all the hair of my head and cheeks! It was so much fun! Trust me guys, I much rather prefer to have hair, but now I know that when I go bald at age 45(fingers crossed) I will look gooooood. Anyone who knows my father will say, "Oh my gosh, it is Phil". I am a spitting image of him. It was a good experience though, and the hair is already growing back and will continue to do so. Tonight was the first night that I could see my own breath soooo hopefully it grows back fast, it is getting cold here! Oh and Mom if you are reading this I was walking to the Txoco 2 nights ago and I smelled this amazing odor, it reminds me sooo much of your house. I found the souce, it is a tree with these white flowers facing down. I stole a flower and it currently sits next to my bed for me to smell when I want to, well now it's dead without any nutrients or water to keep it alive. Any idea what this smell is reader? I don't know the name of the tree. 

Oh man, it is currently 1:15 in the morning and I have to get up in like 7 hours. So the michael of friday morning is going to want to punch the michael of thursday night. I suppose I should wrap this up. Well as I sit here on my bed with my window wide open while listening to "Super Freak" by Rick James I am pretty pleased with where I am and what I am doing. This is such an amazing opportunity that I am really fortunate to have been able to partake in. I miss all of you soooo much back at home, I think about you guys every day! But I know that this is going to be so much fun! And plus, ya'll aint going anywhere! So I shall see you all in person in 7 months (  month has already passed! I can't believe it!) and I will make you some amazing spanish food and play you a piano song that I am learning here. Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Si-Do. I hope that was a satisfying preview of my skills. Haha well I hope you guys enjoyed this and I will have another one in a couple of days! Until next time, hasta luego!