A Card for "Yoots"

My university didn't have classes today because of a fiesta/holiday of some sort. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't know what the holiday is. It's not a big holiday, because Aran and other schools had class today; however, mine did not. No complaints from this end!

I decided to take advantage of not having class and buy a European Youth Card, or "Carnet joven." This will give me all sorts of discounts to museums, train tickets, plays, etc.

Carmen and I had a miscommunication this morning. She told me that I should go and get the card in the morning before they close for siesta time. Well, I thought she was going with me, so I got ready and sat on my bed reading until she told me again that I should go. Then I got it. A lot of times she'll just take me places and other times she doesn't. So, I get a little confused on the details sometimes.

I made my way downtown to get the card. Luckily, I found the place with very little problems. I did take a wrong turn once, but I found my way back. I must say, that the Maps on my iPhone have been a lifesaver. I do have a real map that I carry around, but the iPhone Maps doesn't need WiFi and it shows my location. If I had to choose two things that have been the best things to bring here, they would be my iPhone and my rain gear. I've been able to use my iPhone for taking photos, iMessaging people back home, texting people here, checking my e-mail when I don't have a computer, writing blog posts, checking Facebook, reading books, and the list goes on.

Moving aside from my iPhone monologue (Apple should hire me), I got to the office that sells the cards and they told me I needed photocopies of my student ID and passport. Well, I didn't have those, so the person gave me really bad directions, or granted maybe I'm just really bad at following them, and I wandered around looking for the place. I ended up  going back and another receptionist was kind enough to walk part of the way with me, point it out, and explain it to me. As it turns out, the place where I could make photocopies was in a Tobacco shop. No wonder I couldn't find it! I was looking for the fotocoperías that actually do photocopies. Once I had the copy, it was super easy to get the card.

I had time before lunch, so I decided to walk around the old part of the city. Then I remembered that I really wanted to try a doner kebab again, so I looked for the place I remembered seeing a few days ago. For those of you who don't know what a doner kebab is, it's the Turkish version of a Gyro wrap and they are absolutely delicious. I included a picture. We used to eat them all the time in Germany and I hadn't had one since then. I got lost a few times trying to find the place, but eventually I did.

The man behind the counter was very nice. But he, and the ladies at the youth card place, both knew I'm an English speaker and immediately started talking to me in English even though I was talking to them in Spanish. I just kept on talking Spanish and they would kind of respond in Spanglish, as their English was mostly confined to words they knew for their job. That helped me in the Doner shop, because I didn't know the Spanish word for take-out.

My picnic view: el Castillo

I took my doner to one of the larger parks on the way home and ate some of it. It was so huge! And I didn't want to spoil my appetite for lunch. It was good, but not as good as the place in our village in Germany. I'm going to keep trying places over the course of the semester and see which is the best. That way, when my parents visit, I can take them to the best one. I know my mom has particularly been craving doners.

I hope I haven't bored you with the talk of food! I thought some of the cultural differences were interesting and blog-post worthy. ¡Hasta luego, mis amigos!