so I think I'm getting to the point of this trip where I'm homesick and tired and annoyed. Fun! I think its due to stressful midterms, not seeing my friends here, missing my family and friends at home, rain....

I think my trip to Italy and Greece is just what I need, a change of scenery. I'm leaving on April 7th for Florence, where i'll be for a few days with my friend Josh, then to Perugia, a small town 2 hours away from Florence where my friend Kiki lives, then to Greece! I think I will also try to do Rome in a day trip.

I think another reason why I'm annoyed is my host brother. He is really starting to bother me. The hardest thing is the morning routine, let me paint you a little picture.

5am José gets up to get ready for work.

5:05 The coughing, hawking of loogies, and grunting begins.

I don't understand this hombre! He is perpetually ill. He has this loud, rattling cough that has persisted since day 1 of my trip to Spain. And this isn't just your usually little *cough cough* into your elbow. NO. José will tramp around the house, coughing as loud as possible, not covering his mouth, spreading his nasty germs into every room. Normally this wouldn't be a huge deal because I'm gone during the day and if i'm in my room I can put music on.

but 5am?? come on. He also will hawk loogies for 5 minutes straight without stopping. Its so disgusting that sometimes I feel nauseous while I'm lying in bed with the pillow over my head. He does this awful little routine in the bathroom, with the door open, which is directly next to my room. But the coughing and grunting he does all around the house.

So I wake up at 5am these days. The good thing is i'm going on vacation soon so I won't have to deal with it anymore. Also, after this month he will go back to working from 2pm-10pm so the morning cacophony won't last for the rest of my trip. Thank god!