It's spring break!!!! The first day went by really well. I was kind of afraid we would end up with absolutely nothing to do and I would waste my life in boredom, but first day was great! We woke up early, around 8:30 (ew) to see Camille off. Going to Florida to celebrate grandma's birthday... fun! Jaclyn, Brian, and I then walked for about 20 minutes in the brisk morning air to the closest grocery store to stock up for this week of fending for ourselves without Val. We have yet to see how that's going to go. It's amazing how much time in the day you have when you actually GET UP early in the morning.. as in.. not at 12. I almost feel like I want to do it more often!
When we finally got to the grocery store, Big Y (I have no idea that existed), it took us forever to go up and down all the aisles and make up our minds what was not out of our price range. Yay for cheap, Asian college students!! I'm excited. We're planning on using the kitchen in Newport (where I'm living next year!) to cook, so if all turns out well and I don't destroy the college with my flames, I'll one, have accomplished something by cooking, and two, by EATING HOMEMADE CHINESE FOOD!!

We then walked with all our groceries to Route 9 diner, where I also went to with Tim, Greg, and Shannon Thursday night. I was planning on showering and changing into my PJs around 10:30 when Shannon came out into the nook with my phone, telling me I had a strange phone call. Half expecting my mother, I hear this rather demonic sounding voice telling me that I was supposed to come out to Route 9 Diner with them. Shannon and I walked out to this car blasting rather sketchy music outside South... we were very confused... why were all the windows down? Why was this sketchy music playing? Where was anyone?

But yay!! Greg and Tim showed up!! Greg drove us all to Route 9 Diner, which was really weird because I haven't ridden in a car in months. It was so much fine, and so nice to be able to spend time with them again. It reminded me of the beginning of the year when the four of us would hang out. So much fun. We gorged ourselves on breakfast foods and then cake (which they FORCED me into finishing... I was about to puke. Shannon basically told me that if I didn't finish, I couldn't be her roommate anymore.) We were talking and laughing and then we noticed that on the TV, the NCAA game between UConn and Syracuse was on. Apparently, Greg's parents are both UConn graduates (where they met) and they're insane fans of the sports. It was a really close game that was supposedly coming to an end, so we were casually watching while eating and talking. With 1.1 seconds left, the game was tied and at the very last millisecond, made a three. We all started yelling and screaming and being sports fans, and Greg called his parents to commiserate. However, they had not been watching it because Greg's dad fell asleep by the TV, came upstairs to bed and told his mom that they'd won just so she wouldn't bother. However, the three pointer was ruled out because the ball didn't leave his hand in time. So the game went into overtime. And then another overtime. and another. and another.. SIX OVERTIMES!!! We just couldn't leave!!! And then Syracuse won. But it was so much fun. We all got huge slices of different types of cake and tried each other's and were forced to finish them. :D I had one bite left for about two overtimes.. I just couldn't do it. When I finally did and then subsequently went to the bathroom, Shannon and Greg mixed the jelly and the marmalade together and called it the rest of my "cake." EWW!!!

But back to my story about Northampton today... we basically wandered around the Faces store and then the streets of Northampton looking for somewhere to eat. We finally settled down at a pizza place (where we incidentally watched USC beat Arizona State in basketball.. YAY!! I thought of Andy even though I'm sure he doesn't care about basketball). We then went to Herrell's, which is a really famous, AMAZING ice cream place that really did live up to its reputation. YUM!!!

All in all, lots of fun. In between grocery shopping and Northampton, we took a two-hour nap. Break is so wonderful. :)

Last weekend was a very artsy one. I went to see "Almost, Maine," which is a play written by an Amherst alum performed here by the theatre department. It was basically eight simple vignettes all somehow related to love. It was beautiful. I went with Blanca, who is the Spanish TA from Barcelona. The next night, we went to go watch "Carmina Burana," which featured Jaclyn, Ethan, and Robert!! It was spine-tingling!! I also went with everyone and Blanca. Yay for Blanca! :) They started singing "O Fortuna" and I had goosebumps up and down my arms! Craziness!! And then Sunday night we went to watch "Milk" which was showing at the College. I really liked it. It was so inspiring. It was so unfathomable to me that just 30 years ago, California was so filled with bigotry and hate, with senators making statements that I can't believe anyone could possibly think of. I cried twice, once when they succeeded and then again when he died. It made me want to go be an activist and made me even more ashamed of my state for Prop 8. Gah. I had a shame moment in the middle of the movie when Harvey Milk went to the "conservative bastion" of the state, which was Fullerton, CA. But I'm glad it doesn't seem to be as insane nowadays. Ethan and I were talking after the movie and I was saying how the environment of the Castro doesn't really exist anymore. Though we ended up surmising that it was probably a good thing because it means that there is tolerance now so gays don't have to have a street that is "theirs." Anywhere that they want to be can be "theirs," for the most part, I hope.

Blanca and Elodie came in last night and delivered their fish. I am now the official fishsitter. I'm babysitting Shannon's ex-fish (She gave them away because she was sick of taking care of them but now they're back for babysitting), Blanca's fish, Tal, Benjamin's monster fish, and Elodie's fish Dupont and Dupond. So basically I'm babysitting Iowan fish, Spanish fish, and French fish. Whee!!