Last week!

So last week I made cornbread in Italy [wayyyyyy harder than you would have thought! Imagine someone rearranging your grocery store and putting everything in a new language - good luck.] and learned about all sorts of cooking substitutions.  For our group project we all made a meal from our respective places and hosted a little lunch party for our instructors.  So Christian made cheesecake, our native made delicious lamb, Gabe made made yummy Mexican, and Catherine, the Brit, made champagne cocktails.  Anyway, the presentation was an absolute success and we had a great wrap up day after we all finished our exams.

Friday we met to get our certificates, etc. and I found out I actually scored much higher in the course than I expected – hoorah!  So that was a nice way to kick off a Friday with a late start.  That was followed with prosecco and the chocolate cake that Catherine had also made the day before for one of our instructors.  A very fitting way to celebrate our new grades and finishing this monster of a course.

What could be next?  Oh, playing on the beach of course!

Sufficiently sunburned, we headed back home.  Christian’s brother and brother’s friend had arrived the night before and were staying in our apartment.  Everyone got ready for a delightful Friday night where Catherine and I set out to make everyone else finish off the rest of the mixers left from the lunch on Thursday.  Cocktails and dinner at our house!

Yours truly put together a fairly decent dinner [I swear, I cook more in this country than I ever did at home - it seems like I'd go out more - those cooks are professionals...] and we had a fun gathering with students/teachers/family/friends/etc before we all headed out to the bar.  [Side note, one of the things I like about this bar is that their bathroom is decorated in PostSecret secrets.  Cool.]

Much fun was had there, though admittedly some of it at my expense.  But let’s be serious, trying to give out a phone number you don’t know, for a phone you don’t have with you, to a bartender who only kind of speaks your language, is a comedy waiting to happen.

The only other option from there was obviously a move to El Tro.  You remember El Tro. So, off we went.  All, felt like 20, of us…best thing about the tourist season kicking off?  Ladies in free plus a free drink!  Worst thing about the tourist season kicking off?  Boys who go places where ladies get in free.

Anyway, we all had an absolutely sensational time.  There was much dancing, and acting a fool.  There was fist pumping.  And a bachelor party, with hats.  And it felt a little like the last episode of Real World right before the sad part comes in the morning and everyone leaves.  Seriously everyone was there – even our bartender from the coffee shop next to school.  And I think it is fair to say that minus a few wall flowers, we all danced our pants off.

And for me, it ended with sunrise on the beach.  [Oddly, much less anticlimactic than back home - we get the whole 'facing' the sun thing.  I guess you can't get sunrise and sunset though...]

The best way I can imagine to finish up the course, truly.  I’ve got a post coming up for you guys on my thoughts on the course and all that, since I did say I’d try to make this blog a resource for other people looking to do the same thing.  But that’s another time!

And boom!  Friday over!