Day 47: Cooking & Day of Rest

So its been awhile since I've blogged on the actual day of something. So I  thought I would share some fresh thoughts and updates :)

Being Wednesday, I did not have any classes today! I slept in super late for me (noon!!!), as it was a long night out last night. As previously mentioned, Tuesday nights, we have our ESN mentor dinners where two students cook for about 20-30 other international students and the Dutch mentors. These are always super fun & a great way to try some international cuisine! I was especially excited for last night's dinner, as Gabi and Alba (both from Spain) were cooking some legit Spanish food. YUM! They made Spanish omelettes, baked chicken drummies and these delicious deviled eggs with beans, salsa, mayonnaise and tuna. Oh yeah, don't forget the sangria :)

So dinner was fabulous and then it was time to head to the LG (the night club/bar in City Centre that all the international students  go to on Tuesdays). Bali, Mathea and I had arranged to cycle there together as a group. This was my first time cycling to the LG, and I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit nervous! It was below freezing outside and dark...but it turned out completely fine! I didn't feel too cold and I wore my glasses, so I could see :)

We made it to the LG after parking our bikes in the underground bike parking garage (no cars allowed!). Tonight's theme was "Traffic Light" or Red-Light, Green-Light as we call it at Agnes Scott. I wore my little green dress, and it was so fun to see all the effort people had put into their outfits. One girl truly was a traffic light with all three colors hanging down her body from her neck. Clever!

We danced the night away and headed back to Verbs about 1:30am. So cycling at 1:30 in the morning is the best thing EVER! It was amazing! The air was super cold, but it had gotten so warm in the LG with all the people there,that it felt pretty good to be outside! We cycled back together and headed up to Bali's floor when we got back for some toasti's! Bali made us cheese and mushroom toasti's (what are essentially pressed sandwiches), that were delish, before heading back to our own places for the night.

So back to today...

I woke up rather late (noon, as I said before!) and made some lunch before cycling down to City Centre. This was only the third time I've cycled all the way there and the first time by myself, but it was a really  nice ride and a gorgeous day for it. I made it a uniquely American  day by stopping at the McDonalds and snuggling into one of their booths with a stroopwafel McFlurry. I ate it and laid out my things to study for a bit. Two hours later, I had finished reading this super-long article for a class and felt very accomplished! I went to retrieve my bike from the underground parking and cycled back to campus.

When I got back, I was extremely exhausted and laid down on my bed for what I meant to be a second. An hour and a half later I woke up and decided it was time to make some supper!

At home, I rarely do any "real" cooking. When I'm at home in Florida, mom typically cooks dinner. Sometimes I help, but I'm never the "one" cooking. And at ASC, I always go to the Dining Hall, because we have a meal plan and improper cooking facilities. So it has been a bit weird here to have to grocery shop and cook for myself. I'm always talking to mom about it on Skype on our weekly Skype date. She's always got great tips. And I've been doing some research myself online and by watching other people. I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable with the whole cooking thing!

Anyways, today's blog is title cooking, because a significant portion of my evening was spent experimenting with a pasta recipe I discovered on the 'net. Its called Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta, and for those of you who really know me, you know I love my cordon bleu! I somewhat followed the recipe, leaving out some (of the expensive) ingredients and making it a hot dish instead of cold. Basically it was bowtie pasta (which is so fun!), cubed chicken, cubed ham, broccoli florets, grated swiss cheese, garlic salt and dijon mustard. I was super-anxious to taste it and it turned out really well! I made ample, so that I would have leftovers for another meal or two in the next couple of days. I felt very accomplished cooking a "real" meal for myself! So if you have any easy meal suggestions or cooking tips, here is your chance to share! Please feel free to leave a comment with your tips :)

The rest of the evening is devoted to skyping, blogging and more homework. Till next time!