Riddle: Why Did the Donkey Cross the Train Tracks?

Today my friends and I decided to take a little day trip to Alcudia. It's supposed to be super cute, have awesome beaches, AND it has some sort of old timey market on Sundays. Unfortunately, due to the ridiculous complexity of the Mallorcan transit system, we missed the right train by 15 minutes. The next wouldn't come for over an hour, so we decided to pick somewhere else and just go.

Alcudia: Where we planned to go

So the adventure began when some random squinty-eyed old creeper dude came up and started talking to me in the train station. I couldn't understand anything he was saying, but all I heard was the word morena (brown-skinned). My friend thought he was saying something rude so we were being kind of standoffish. Then, he tried to introduce me to some other creeper that had to be a good 40 years old. Apparently, he said something about how my brown skin was a pretty color or something like that. I'm like seriously? Grown man had to get his old creepy daddy to come hit on me? That's so not cool.

The adventure continued when we decided to venture to Manacor. We climb aboard the train, and all is well until... a friend, who shall remain nameless, really had to use the bathroom. Of course there are no bathrooms on the train and the situation is getting dire. My other friend  in a very MacGyver-esque fashion, chops the top of a 1.5 liter water bottle off with a key and tells her to use it like a porta potty. So she went to the back of the train and handled her business as I stood guard. Being a girl has it's perks, but men definitely got the long end of the stick (no pun intended) when it comes to being able to pee in random places.

All she needed was a 1.5 liter water bottle and a key.

So back to the riddle. Why did the donkey cross the train tracks? 

Answer: Doesn't matter. He didn't make it.

As we pull up to a stop (that isn't Manacor) the conductor tells us we have to get off. Now we might be foreign, but we can read and we know we are not in Manacor. Then a friend goes to talk to the conductor. She comes back and tells us they shut down the tracks because a train hit a donkey. We're like WHAT?!?!? Things like this only happen to us. We had to wait for a bus to come (in the freezing rain might I add) to take us the rest of the way. I'm still trying to figure out why there's a problem. How long does it take to clean up a donkey? I guess it's just one of those things you never think you'll have to deal with until you have to deal with it. I just feel sorry for the people who lost their donkey that day. Well... I guess it wasn't that great of a day for the donkey either.

Part Two to Come

Valldemossa x 2

The first time I went to Valldemossa was with the students from my study abroad program and our "Guardian Angels", but we didn't stay long enough to fully enjoy the amazing beauty that is Valldemossa. We showed up, tried to go to the cartuja (charterhouse) which was closed, ate coca de patatas (potato rolls), and left. 

So... my friends and I decided to come back. And I have to say it was the best day trip I've had so far. We bought tickets to the cartuja, which also included entrance to a church, monastery, palace, museum, and a small garden. AND we got a private piano concert (not because we're super special, just because nobody else happened to be there at the time). I took some of the most gorgeous pictures during this trip.

I need to figure out a way to support myself if I moved to Valldemossa for good. Maybe a professional babysitter or an English teacher. I'm not exactly sure what I could do, but I would find a way. Or I might just get super rich so I can afford to buy a summer house here.

The Weeb

Arxiduc Lluis Salvador

My university in Palma is called Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB, pronounced like "weeb"). The UIB is SOOOO different from Agnes Scott. First, the student body is gargantuan compared to tiny little ol' Agnes. There are about 5,000 students at the UIB compared to about 900 at Agnes Scott. And the campus is a BAJILLION times bigger too (exaggeration, I know). Agnes Scott sits on about 100 acres. I'm not sure how big the UIB is, but it takes a good 20 minutes to walk from one end to the other, and that's if you're walking briskly. And of course, half of my classes would be in the furthest possible building on campus, Arxiduc Lluis Salvador. There's one half of the campus where the older buildings and the metro station are, then there's about 10 minutes of nothing, THEN there's Arxiduc. Why? Why? I have never had to take a bus to get from one side of the campus to the other, but at the UIB it's necessary.

Did I mention that everything is in Catalan? I knew most people spoke Catalan, but I didn't realize that all the signs at the school and all the official school emails would be in Catalan. Luckily, it sort of looks like English and Spanish when you read it. Hearing it though  is completely different. To me, it sounds like a mixture of Spanish, Portuguese, and French. In the end, I'm usually still pretty confused though.

Water Costs How Much?!?!?

I have been told that the tap water in Mallorca is no good. Apparently, it has high concentrations of calcium and you could get kidney stones from drinking it. This is honestly such a HUGE issue for me. I loves me some water, but here you have to pay for it. Water costs about as much as a Coke. How is that possible? You would think an island would be the best place to get some super awesome water, but clearly that's not the case. When I first got to Palma, I probably spent 3 to 4 euros a day on water. That's only the water I bought while I was out, not the gallon of water I drink with my meals. I thought I was going to send my Spanish mommy to the poor house with all the water I was drinking. And then, our "Guardian Angels" introduced us to Carrefour (the Wal-Mart of Europe). They have an entire room of just water. I found my happy place.

Bicis No Son Mi Fuerte

We went on a bike ride along the bay today. The view was absolutely beautiful...unfortunately I spent most of the time terrified I would run somebody over that I could barely enjoy it. No pasa nada (nothing's going to happen) is what people love to tell me, but I'm pretty sure if I ran over somebody's kid on a bike something would pasa. To be honest, I did clip a lady on the shoulder and she didn't seem upset. It was probably because I was apologizing repeatedly as I swerved trying to keep from hitting someone else. 

Now, I know how to ride a bike, but today was just not my day I guess. It didn't help that the bikes themselves were super shaky or that I haven't actually been on a bike in years. I know you never forget how to ride, but knowing how to ride isn't the same as being able to ride well. I'm pretty sure I'm just imbalanced though. I don't even walk straight. Oh well. I think walking along the bay is much nicer (and safer for me and those around me). I did get some nice pictures though : )