Global Warming or Just Me?

I was told when I got here that it only rains about 7 days a year, well that was a lie. When I went out to catch the bus this morning I was greeted by friendly flashes of lightning; that’s when you think to yourself, “oh boy, it’s going to be one of those days” and in fact it was. I either missed my bus or the bus missed me (things don’t run punctually on the best of days here, add in a bit of rain and no one knows what to do- heaven forbid it should ever snow!). Luckily, through a bit of miscommunication I ended catching a ride to school with one of the teacher’s spouses. At school, the internet wasn’t working due to the "storm", and following suit, the printers decided to go on strike too. However, things seemed to be looking up; I was excited about my first dressage lesson (a style of horseback riding) later in the afternoon, I’d finally found where they offer belly dancing, and I saved myself a euro by hitching a ride home with one of the teachers (a bit of foreshadowing perhaps?).
After having spent 15 minutes on the phone with the ticket agency for the Alhambra (a different story for a different rainy day), my money hungry cell phone notified me that it was time to be fed. I desperately needed to call the stable to see if my lesson was still on after the deluge, so I set off to the bank to withdraw some cash and recharge my phone. Well if it isn’t the darndest thing that the key pads to enter your pin number aren’t backwards here! After a couple of weeks of not continually using one’s pin number,things become a little…jumbled. I knew what numbers made up the combination; I just couldn’t remember the order. Unfortunately, the mathematical probability of guessing the correct combination within the three chances allotted by the bank was not on my side; as a result my account has now been frozen. Time to assess one’s stock and options: 8.93 euros to my name, plenty of spaghetti with no sauce, and no phone credit to send out an SOS, plus housemate gone for weekend- this is not bueno. First order of business, find somewhere to get more phone credit. Well, at 4:00pm that doesn’t leave many options. The only places open during siesta are ATMs and the grocery store; grocery store it was! Thankfully, they did sell phone credit there and, yes, the minimum amount was 5 euros, leaving me with a grand total of 3.93 euros! I called the stables and my lesson had been cancelled; better seeing as how I wouldn’t have been able to pay them anyways. Then my thought process went like this: it’s five pm here which means it’s 8:00am in the states, I’ve got to get a hold of the bank. In order to call the bank I need a calling card and a landline or a computer with internet and a microphone. Well, the only person I know who has either is my director (internet access is depressingly scarce here). I called Cati but no answer; I sent her a text message, still nothing; damn, I forgot it’s still siesta! Nothing to do but wait I guess. Finally the clouds have cleared the sky, but have seemed to accumulate instead just over my shoulder. Come on Cati, please wake up from your siesta and call me! The sun’ll come out tomorrow…rig
You'll be happy to know that this did have a happy ending. I got a hold of Cati, went to her house, used their phone and got my account unblocked no problem! Note to self, write important numbers down!