Bliss.

Content and full of hearty homemade lentil soup, I'm gazing out my floor-to-ceiling window at the sunny street below. Just in case you've missed this little detail: I.am.in.love.with.this.place.

This morning, I woke up early to walk to the train station with two good friends to buy tickets to Barcelona for our trip next weekend. Afterward, I spent two leisurely hours alone, shopping and people-watching as the stylish Spaniards sipped from porcelain cups of cafe con leche in the early afternoon fresh air. I love the slower pace of life here. It's especially relieving after a week of midterms. Feels good to be free again.

Over lunch, my madre told me some horror stories from past hosting experiences. She talked about having two girls who were extremely rich, spoiled, and rude. They got their lawyers to threaten to sue the program based on the smell from a household insecticide spray that was "killing them slowly." Naturally, in my madre's mind, the cause of this chaos was their Jewish faith. I tried to tell her that, no, Judaism doesn't promote ridiculous temper tantrums about cockroach-killing chemicals, and that the Jewish friends I have are kind and considerate, but I'm not sure she believed me. I just hope I don't become the star of a story that makes future studiers abroad shake their heads and chuckle with astonishment into their soup bowls.

Alas, I must go, for the last few hours of sunlight are beckoning me to join them outside. Wherever you are in the world, enjoy this day. It's a good one.