¡Hasta luego, Madrid!

Well, after four interesting, rough, amazing months, it is time to go back the the States. I am finally comfortable and happy in Madrid, and if I had my own apartment I think I could stay for a long time. I managed to make it through the entire semester without having any of my valuables stolen, and without going into the crazy, major, 20-Euro-entrance-fee club, Kapital. I don't have much to say, so here's hoping for a good summer.

My plans:
1) Fly home and return safely to my lovely parents, and a grilled steak.
2) Drive to Minnesota while thoroughly jet-lagged to see my brother graduate from college.
4) Chicago
5) Work
6) STPR- Susquehanna Trail Performance Rally: there will be cars and camping.
7) Gym
8) Tucker Max's I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell on Broadway

Those are the main solid plans I have. Plus, I get to eagerly count down to my 21st birthday because the United States of America does not care that I have spent the past four months legally and responsibly drinking in bars, restaurants, and occasionally on the streets... okay, relatively responsibly.

That's all for today I guess. I take off from Madrid Barajas at 4:50 pm local time (10:50 am EST) and I land at JFK in the evening.

See you on the other side... of the Atlantic!
Besos

Cinco de Mayo

The countdown continues, as I wrap up my study abroad semester with the conclusion of a lovely five-day weekend and eleven loops left on my paper chain. That's right, just ten more days, and I am out of here, back to the land of deep-fried Oreos, and all the people I love most in the world.

Today, Jade and I made a fast trip to El Rastro market so she could buy her sister a necklace, and I could desperately search for something remotely Spanish to get my friend. I came to Europe with a strong determination not to return with an abundance of tchotchkes. I would spend my money on travel and food and drink, and for the most part I have held to that. But I had a request for castanets from one friend, and another is bringing me a gift from her semester abroad, so I must reciprocate.

This has been a really good weekend for me in Spain. We had Wednesday and Thursday off for two public holidays (labor day and then a Madrid regional holiday) and since I never have classes Friday, I have had the past five days for me. I have not done anything especially touristy or out of the ordinary, but I feel I enjoyed aspects of Madrid which make me love this city.

I went to the gym, did another confusing Pilates class in Spanish, walked for hours, had coffee in some really cool cafés, and drank some really delicious gin and tonics as well. The gin and tonics were from a place called La Bicicleta and they have at least 8 different gin and tonic variations including cucumber, basil/lime, frutas rojas, grapes. It is an awesome little place. Plus last night we went out and ran into a Spanish friend at a bar that plays American hard rock/metal music and serves HUGE kalimotxos** ironically called "minis." It may be the last real night-out I have in Spain, but it was well spent, and drama free, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Also in the last five days I have gotten into a brief conversation with two Sweedish women, and had a lovely encounter with a Portuguese/Italian couple (he was from Lisbon, she was from Naples). I have enjoyed the sun and the people and the city, and I really think that these have been five days well spent. Plus I started reading Don Quixote. The Spanish was far beyond me, but I have been enjoying the English translation that I am reading. I will have to find it when I return to the US, since I am borrowing the library's copy.

So all is well, but nothing is out of the ordinary at this point, which may be a good thing. I am comfortable and happy here, the weather has taken a turn for the better, and I will miss Madrid, though I am STOKED to be going home.

Now to pack. Wish me luck.

Wandering Students

It has been way too long since my last post, sorry for the delay. After my 5-day stint in Fuertaventura, I had two days in Madrid and then left Thursday the 18th for Barcelona on an overnight bus. I got back late last night. So I was exhausted for my few days in Madrid, and not even around for the most part.

But it has been an amazing two weeks! I realized many times on the Fuertaventura trip how fortunate I am to have the opportunities I have been given. Seriously, how often does someone get to be excused from school to learn to scuba dive and go to the beach for a 5-day biology class field trip?

Now I am officially a certified PADI open-water diver, I have seen an octopus in it's natural habitat, narrowly avoided being stung by sea urchins, had a ray swim at me as it attempted to flee from a curious group of college girls, and attempted to avoid going near creepy moray eels, despite my professor's prompting.

That's me! One of the instructors had an underwater camera. 

Seriously creepy dude. I did not want to be all up in his business.

Octopus hiding under a rock!

We also drove through gorgeous volcanic mountain roads, and saw secluded beaches.

We had this whole beach to ourselves. It is hard to tell, but I am at the top of the huge cliff which slopes down to the hidden beach. There is a person on the way down the hill, for some idea of scale, and each of those black rock things was a horseshoe shape big enough for at least two people to lay down in. It is really hard to get an idea of the overwhelming scale in a photo, but it was spectacular.

Me, my biology professor, and my scuba buddy, Christina.

I then went to Barcelona with three friends. We visited the Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, and La Boqueria market, and we tanned on the beach. On Sunday, I went on a Gaudi walking tour where I got to mingle with some Americans, though my travel companions did not join. It was a wonderful couple of days, and I wish I could go back right now. Barcelona was a beautiful city and the people were amazing, but I only got a taste of it on my weekend adventure.

Butt and legs statue in a park

From left to right: Allison, Me, Charity, and Alexa. At Park Güell.

Gaudi mosaics!

Fish at the market. This woman was not pleased about my photography, turned around and flipped me off. I just laughed and walked away.

Mushrooms! yum

Me at the Sagrada Familia.

On the walking tour, I got to see the Catalan tradition of the human tower. These people climbed each other to form an amazing tower of standing people. It was awesome.

This weekend made me realize how much I am going to miss Spain. I have been compiling a list of all the things I miss about America because, needless to say, I have had my rough patches with studying abroad. But I really will miss things about this wonderful experience I have had. Things as simple as jamon, delicious cheese, and tortilla (the thick egg and potato Spanish one, not the flat Mexican one) and I will even miss speaking Spanish. It has been one hell of a semester, and I know that I need to make the most of my last three weeks.

I am done traveling out of Madrid, and just want to enjoy the city and experience the things I haven't yet seen. I will also revisit certain things I have seen, namely The Reina Sofia, since I only got a glimpse of the extensive collection. I may try to do a walking tour, since the one I did in Barcelona was amazing and showed me many things I wish I could have visited.

My Spanish teacher calls us "the wandering students" because every weekend my peers travel to new cities. In my time abroad, I have seen a lot of Spain, some of Portugal, a bit of England and Scotland. I may not have a list as extensive as some of my peers, but I have fully enjoyed every place that I have visited and tried to make the most of my trips. I have no regrets about my travels, and look forward to more in the future.

But like I said, I have three more weeks, so while this sort of became a sad culmination post, it is not the end yet!

One more scuba pic, me, Christina and Fernando, in our wet suits.

As always, there is a plethora of pictures on Facebook.

Pictures!!

Can't get enough of my sub-par iPhona photography?! Well you are in luck! I just uploaded over two hundred photos onto my Facebook in the albums "Madrid Semester," "London Spring Break," and "Scotland March 29-31." Feel free to peruse them. Some of them come with comments which I think are hilarious due to my lack of sleep and also the two essays weighing on my mental state.

If you are not already my Facebook friend, here is a link to my profile: http://www.facebook.com/mikane26
You may not be able to see the pictures if we are not already friends, in which case you may friend me and I should accept relatively quickly... unless I have no idea who you are... in which case you should message me in reference to this blog post. If you have any troubles using the Facebook, please ask your nearest twelve year old for assistance, but be careful, if they are texting, assistance may be hard to come by.

Here is one of the few pictures I did not put on Facebook. It is a cherry pastry, which the lovely Jade Farentinos bought me for Pi Day (3.14 or March 14th)

Back in Madrid!

Hola! I am back in Madrid after an AMAZING 11 day vacation in the UK. I have had my ups and downs studying abroad here in Madrid, and I was dreading my return, but it feels good to be back in a  sunny city and back in a room I can call my own. Today I am in one of my inexplicably good moods, so hooray! Welcome back, me.

This weekend I am going to be taking two 4-hour scuba lessons in a local pool, and next Thursday I will be going to the Canary Islands for 5 days with my biology class, and scuba diving in the ocean (OHMYFREAKINGGOD). I am STOKED!!!

So my Spring break: The highlights, though everyday was great.

I landed Thursday afternoon, and took the Tube in at about rush hour, so that was an experience. That night Marissa and I did a night walking tour of London, lead by her. We saw the London eye, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Tower of London, and Westminster Abbey.

Friday we took a school trip to Bath which was meh, but at night we took a train to Gillingham where I finally got to meet Marissa's friend Richard who she met in Italy over the summer. It was seriously the best night out I have had since coming to Europe. The places we went were just bars in some random English town, but the people were great, and there was no drama. It was super fun, and I could talk to everyone since there was no language barrier. 

Saturday we went to Borough market and ate a ton of scrumptious food, and then explored Camden market, which was super cool.

Sunday, Marissa and I woke up ungodly early (like 5am) to stand in line for £5 tickets to Matilda the musical. They give away 16 tickets every morning at 10am, and Marissa's friend told us you have to go pretty early. She based this advice on having gone in the summer, when it is nice out. So, we stood in the freezing cold and rain for about three hours total since we kept leaving to get tea and sit inside and no one else showed up to queue until about 9 am. It was ridiculous, and unpleasant. But we got the £5 tickets, and the show was spectacular.

Monday we had a little two person Seder, just me and Marissa in her flat, but it was great! We printed a terrible Hagadah, and a prayer supplement, and it was adorable.

Tuesday we went to the V&A and then I went to see Singing in the Rain at night, which was super fun though my seats were terrible. 

Chihuly at the V&A

Thursday I went to the Cortland Gallery to see the Picasso exhibit. The whole gallery was fantastic.

Friday we took a hilarious tour of the London Dungeons which was great fun, and then at night we flew to Scotland.

In Edinburgh we drank whiskey, ate fish and chips, and walked a lot. It was absolutely beautiful. We also tried some delicious local beers. My favorite was one called Punk IPA which we tried at a really cool place called Brew Dog Brew House. We also toured the Royal Yacht Britannia, and went to a janky** Scottish Carnival.

Monday Marissa's sister and mother came into town, and we all got dinner, and then I spent the night in Heathrow so that I could take the tube for my 6:40 am flight back to Madrid. 

So it has been a hell of a week and a half. Should be a whirlwind end of the semester, and I am officially spending my summer working at Animal Fair, and going to the gym with my mom. I am excited to return home, but I think that I am going to be happy and enjoy my last weeks here.

Happy Spring!!

So it has not been the most eventful of weeks, but currently it is 55 degrees and sunny, so all is great!

Last Thursday, I went on a tapas crawl with the school. It was loads of fun. We got tapas at four different restaurants with some students from the Politechnica school (engineering students). I got to hang out with a bunch of people from school I didn't know well, and we all had a blast. Later that night, Jade and I went and had a chill night with Matt, one of the students from SU Madrid. We got hit on by some creepy Spanish guys, and I gave a fake name for the first time in my life. It was both hilarious and unnecessary, no harm no foul.

Friday, I spent the entire day writing my three 3-page essays for the Azahar seminar. I worked from about 10 am until 11:30 pm when I sent in my work. Not my best decision, but a fine display in my incomparable procrastination skillz.

Saturday, Jade and I went to Tomar Cafe, which is an adorable little venue with delicious iced coffee and too many hipster Americans. We then walked around Madrid for about two hours, which was really cool because we found out how close a bunch of our favorite spots are to each other.

Sunday we were supposed to go to a street market with Kayley, but it turned out to not be happening. We stumbled upon a little indoor craft show, and after walked around Madrid for a while.

Monday was a public holiday, so we didn't have school. Jade and I went to study Spanish in a cafe for a couple hours, in preparation for the midterm we had this morning.

So, not much happened in the past week. But that's okay, because I am going to LONDON tomorrow!!! Wahoo! I am so pumped! I may try to steal Marissa's laptop and write a post within the next 11 days, but no promises.

I fly into London tomorrow, we will be in Scotland the 29th through the 1st of April, and I fly back to Madrid the 2nd.

Oh, and an irrelevant side-note  I was bored in class today and started writing stories for my friends, which was loads of fun :) The one I wrote for Charity was about her and her little kittens, and then a witch tries to steal the kittens, but Christiano Rinaldo (the soccer player) rescues the kittens and he and Charity fall in love and get married. So, yeah. Made me laugh.

I am also recently obsessed with a new guy on YouTube  He goes by Ze Frank, and makes videos about animals called "True Facts" that are hilarious. He also does some more serious videos that are really interesting. www.youtube.com/zefrank1 if you wanna check him out. He studied neuroscience at Brown, so yeah, he's pretty legit.

Ok, that's all. Enjoy Spring, even if you are surrounded by snow.

Marissa in Madrid!!

It has been a bit since I posted anything and I have a ton of work and a quiz tomorrow, so now seemed like the perfect time.

The Weekend: Friday I went out with Jade and some Spanish people. It was fun, nothing major, we got home around 5:30 am. It seems like a waste to take the bus home at 5:30 since the metro opens at six, but we were tired and ready to go home, and our metro passes cover the buses too.

Saturday I went out with my friend Christina, who is in my biology class. We have gotten a closer in the last couple of weeks, so I finally have more than one friend (YAY!). She invited me out with some people from our program and a Spanish boy who she met at the cultural encounters night at the school. He also brought a group of his friends. It was a really great night. Everyone got along well, first we went to one crowded bar until it closed, then we went to a small club where we danced until it closed. It was great. I came home on the bus alone at five in the morning. My key didn't work when I got home, which was really frustrating but not entirely unexpected because it was made from some weak, light-weight metal and had been working less and less each day. I tried for a while, tried calling Jade, and eventually had to give up and ring the bell to be let in. I felt really bad for waking Jade and Paloma but didn't really have a choice, and Paloma gave me a new key Sunday.

Other than those two nights on the town, I basically spent the weekend relaxing in bed, which was really nice.

Sunday, Marissa and her friend/London roommate, Erica, came into Madrid. I met them at the airport and helped them find their way to Sol. Paloma then invited them over for dinner. We got some tapas and then ate dinner with Paloma and Jade.

Painting at the bar where we ate tapas. Barefoot girl with pistol.

Monday the three of us went to the Royal Palace, and then I had a Scuba class from 7-10pm. It was the second installment of the classroom work which started Thursday night. Tuesday we had another class 7-10pm, and took the final written test (which I passed, yay!).

Tuesday during the day we wanted to go to the Reina Sofia and the Prado. We grabbed a snack and ate it in the square outside the Reina Sofia. A woman came up to us and warned us that there were people around who wanted to steal our bags. She made me a little nervous, but we all checked our belongings and nothing was missing. It turns out that the Reina Sofia is closed on Tuesdays, so we went to the Prado and Retiro Park. Afterwards Erica went to meet a friend, and Marissa and I grabbed lunch and ate outside in the sun. It was so nice and warm.

I missed her! Plus this continues the saga of my inability to take a photo without someone getting in it.

Tuesday night, Marissa chilled in my room while I went to class. She and I were going to go out for a delicious Spanish dinner, but ended up getting Wok to Walk which is a noodle place which I had never been to, but she had liked in Amsterdam.

Marissa and I also planned our Scotland trip while she was here, and booked flights and a hostel.

If I were one of the seven dwarfs, I would be Happy.

So normally when I have a bunch of days to post about I try to do it in chronological order, but i have been oddly chipper today, so I think that is where I will start. Actually no, I am way too scattered for that.

So I went to Portugal this weekend. It was amazing!! From the moment we rolled into Lisbon I was unbelievably excited, and immediately after stepping off the bus, I informed everyone that I would not be returning to Madrid.

There were a ton of factors that went into my immediate infatuation with Portugal:

1. The Ocean! Portugal is on the Atlantic Ocean and from the moment we got to Lisbon all of our days were spent by the water.
2. The weather. Apparently it is not always the case, but the whole time we were in Portugal it was warm and sunny, a wonderful break from the immense cold that took over Madrid last week.
3. Portuguese. I love listening to people speaking in Portuguese instead of Spanish. It is probably because Portuguese is familiar to me since my mother grew up in Brasil and has surrounded us with Brasilians. I wish I spoke any Portuguese, and I did try, but it was unbelievably confusing, and everyone spoke fluent English. At one point a woman in a Starbucks yelled at me and Jade because we were trying to speak Portuguese, but apparently it was all Spanglish, and she was like "are you Spanish or English?? I don't understand!! We do not speak Spanish here. I can speak English if you speak slowly." It was really awkward and we apologized and proceeded with English.  It was sort of hilarious... I laughed.
4. The Food! Oh my goodness gracious, the delicious food I ate in Portugal. The fish was AmAzInG!!! I had grilled swordfish (shown above because I was struggling with using the numbered list and inserting pictures) one day while sitting at an outdoor patio in the sun, and I was in ecstasy. We also had some delicious pastries in Belem which were BOMB! (shown below, because struggles)
5. The Hotel/Being away for a bit. At the end of the day I think a big part of why I loved going to Portugal is because I was away from my host mom for a bit, and had a nice get away. Away from school, and Madrid, and the dirty/broken apartment. It was nice to stay in a fresh, clean, fully functioning hotel. And I welcomed the change up from my host mom's cooking.

Basically, it was an awesome trip, and I didn't want to come back here. For some reason I have been uncomfortable lately, and just homesick, I guess. I developed this irrational anger towards my host mom, and was just in a perpetual bad mood. Seriously, I was miserable. When we got back I was so unhappy, I even talked about wanting to move home stays, and I knew I had no reason to be angry at my host mom, but I was just annoyed and sick of everything being dirty and broken. Plus I think it is hard to live with someone, so it may be normal that I have tired of her. 

Sunday, I asked for a broom to clean my room, and Paloma (my host mom), leapt into action and insisted on doing it herself. She swept and mopped in my room and in Jade's. She claimed that she intended to clean on Monday, but that seemed unlikely. I was still annoyed and moody that night, and dealing with her walking around singing and muttering to herself (which she does constantly) made me irrationally angry. But yesterday, something clicked. 

I spent my Monday afternoon watching some shows and finished my FreshFest facilitator interview form and my Summer Adventure Camp counselor application and emailed three people recommendation forms to fill out for me. Then I watched some movies, and relaxed for the evening. So last night at dinner is the first time in a while I was smiley and participating in the conversation. Since then I have just been oddly happy. Maybe it's because I don't have many stressful things going on right now. I didn't have work to get done last night or today, and I am just generally happy.

Today, Jade and I went to an awesome health food store, and two different produce markets and bought a ton of delicious food. Paloma was in the kitchen when we got home, so I went to get lunch at the Döner Kebab place a few blocks from the apartment. It was delicious, and I walked home cheery, and totally ready to take a nap... though I have detoured to write this post and watch about five or six Jennifer Lawrence interview videos on YouTube. 

I am not sure how I will deal with Paloma's vacation which starts on Thursday, it will be hard to have her around all the time. But till then I will just enjoy my mood and not question it. Plus I finally finished reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which I was hating, so that doesn't hurt. Now I am devouring Fight Club. It is great. Unfortunately, I saw the movie first (several years ago when I thought I would never read the book) but it is still fun to read. 

Spur of the moment blog post! Microonda edition

So, it is midterms week, as exemplified by my surplus of blog posts and excessive movie watching. But I do actually have reason to be writing right now.

Lately, during dinner, we have been experiencing power outages. It is only our apartment, and Paloma goes and futzes with the fuse box, and eventually she works it out so that the lights come back on. Last night, Paloma worked late, and Jade and I ate dinner on our own and then went into our respective rooms. All of a sudden, the power went out. Jade freaked, because apparently she is afraid of the dark, and I went to fix the problem (with Jade clinging to me and yelling about my flashlight app). It was somewhat comical, and I kept hitting the switches and alternating which were up and which were down. I could only get the lights in the main part of the house and our bedrooms to work, while all the lights and electricity in the bathroom and kitchen would not come back on. We settled for light in our rooms and wifi, and resolved to not worry about the kitchen/bathroom wing of the apartment.

Finally, a couple hours later, Paloma came home and I attempted to explain to her that the power had gone out and we were unable to get the kitchen and bathroom lights to work. She tried to fix it, went to change a light bulb (though she realized after that the electricity was the problem and not the light bulbs . Eventually she called her mother, and they tried to solve the problem together. The lights seemed to be working, and I figured all was well. That is until this morning when I went to make breakfast. The toaster was working and the lights were working, but when I went to plug in the microwave all of the power in the whole apartment went out. So there was the problem.

I was able to get the power back on in the whole apartment, and just skipped the tea since the microwave was no longer available. I went to class, and then to the gym, and returned home exhausted and ready to have a quick lunch and then study. That is when Paloma asked me if I could help her change out the microwave and explained that the microwave was the cause of the electrical problems. I happily agreed to help her, but when I went to move the old microwave, she stopped me and said that we had to go get the new one first. This resulted in an hour long excursion which included walking to the further metro station, taking the metro one stop, buying a microwave, lugging it to a cafe (where she had a beer and smoked two cigarettes and bought me a glass of wine), and then dragging it back home the same way we had come, except that we walked two blocks out of the way for her to buy beer and cigarettes.

It was an exhausting trip, and a bigger investment of time and energy than I had prepared for when I thought all I had to do was bring the old microwave to a dumpster. That's what I get for not speaking Spanish, I guess. Despite this fact, Paloma talks ceaselessly and while she is nice, and clearly cares for us, it has become infuriating. I mostly just nod and try to smile, but I am growing increasingly less tolerant.

This is the view out my window. Not super interesting, but if you look at the courtyard in the center of the picture you can see a little black and white dot. That is the cat which cries outside our window everyday and into the night. 

Damn cat. It really howls, and that would be bad enough, but Paloma feels the need to imitate it every time we mention how annoying it is which, believe it or not, is as annoying as the actual miserable animal. 

Two more days, and then I will be headed to Lisbon for a much needed break from my host mother and her apartment.

Looking up

I have been less than great at posting regularly, but I feel like a lot has happened since my last post. On Friday the 15th my seminar group took a day trip to the fortified city, Avila. It was honestly not a very notable trip. It was cool going on the walls of the city, but mostly it was a day of trekking around a sleepy town with 25 of my extremely hung-over peers.

In contrast, Saturday the 16th was really fun and not at all boring. I met my friend, Charity, along with two other girls, to go to the Reina Sofia museum. We saw about half of the first floor before everyone was tired and wanted to leave. But it is free and I will definitely go back, probably alone next time. Afterwards, the four of us took the Teleferico, which is a cable car that travels between Parque del Oeste and Casa de Campo. Then we visited the Egyptian temple in Parque del Oeste. It was a great day, and nice to spend some time with different people.

It's a Calder!

I thought this room was super cool.

Egyptian temple at sunset

After Saturday I was not up to much. I started to get really home sick, and have been spending way too much time in my room. It isn't even that I miss home per se, or that I miss specific people. The problem is that I don't have nearly as much to do here to keep me busy as I do normally, and I am not comfortable. Wednesday I explored the area near my apartment, which was really cool, and it was nice to get out. I finally got back to the gym on Thursday, once my hip had finally calmed down after about a week and a half. I decided to walk home from the gym instead of taking the metro. It turned out to be about 45 minutes away from my apartment, walking. I have figured out that I am much happier walking around than just wallowing in my room. It is no surprise, I just need to find more cool places to explore. I will try to keep checking out museums and different areas of the city.

I don't feel like I want to be going out more at night, or like I need to join into the party scene with which my peers seem so enthralled. Hopefully things will get a little better. I am going to Lisbon with my Seminar class next weekend, and London for Spring break. I also would like to plan at least one more weekend trip.

This Friday, the 22nd, I went on a school trip to Segovia, not for a class or anything, just to see the Roman aqueduct  and the castle, and to have something to do. It ended up being really fun. I knew a few people on the trip, and ended up hanging out with a really good group. It was a nice way to spend the day, and maybe I will be able to spend time with a greater variety of people.

Roman Aqueduct in Segovia

Overall, things are looking up. I spoke with my host mom so that now I feel more comfortable cooking in the kitchen, and I found an awesome place where I can buy inexpensive and delicious strawberries. Three more months, I just need to make the most of them.

Falling to Bits

Friday I went on a hike in Cercedilla in the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains, north of Madrid. It was really fun, but unfortunately there was some bad weather. We were unable to take the Smith route on the northern side of the mountain because of a storm, and the shortcut which our guide, Professor Montes, normally takes to the lookout point on the south side was blocked by snow. We walked for a while up the mountain, and hit some deep snow. However, many people were under-dressed, one girl was wearing capri running pants and sneakers. We cut the hike a little short, but it was still a good , and we all agreed that we would like to try again in April.

View out the window on the drive to Cercedilla

On the hike I met some new people who seem really cool. Jade and I went to a jazz club with two boys and one girl we met on the hike, and it was a really good time.

Friday night at the jazz music bar.

On Saturday, Jade and I went to a few vintage stores in the Tribunal area..

Cool statue in one of the shops, took a pic for my mom.

The rest of the weekend was pretty cruddy. I slept a lot, and got pretty homesick, plus I worked myself into a bit of a panic about what the heck I am going to do this summer.

Once the week rolled around, and classes started up again, I calmed down. I Skyped Emily and Marissa (two friends from Syracuse) on Monday, and talked on the phone with my mom. I am looking into different options for the summer, and honestly think as long as I find something to do I will be fine.

Other than that, I have come down with a cold, and did something to screw up my hip, but I'm sure I'll be back to 100% in a couple days, especially if I keep on sleeping as much as I have been.

Getting Comfortable

I realize it has been a while since I posted anything, but I think that is just because I am settling into life here and the adventures are not so dramatic. Every day is still a new and interesting experience, and I am loving the city and the people.

I finally found boots, and I have definitely become accustomed to walking everywhere all the time and to taking the metro many times a day.

I joined a gym, and have gone to two Pilates classes which are really fun, and one yoga class which was impossible to follow. The Pilates is doable. I can look around, and look at the teacher, and basically figure out what the instructions are. This is not, at all, the case in yoga. The yoga class is all about meditating and holding positions and closing your eyes. We would be lying down, and the teacher would be speaking constantly in a soothing monotone. I'm sure it would have been very relaxing if I had any clue what she was saying, but I did not. I wasn't sure if she was instructing us to leave our arms at our sides and pretend they don't exist, or if I was supposed to be doing something. It was awful, and stressful, basically the opposite of what yoga is supposed to be.

Friday, we kicked off our weekend by going to a little bar which was supposed to have live music. We got off at the Lavapies metro stop, and began walking. We were immediately confronted by man after man trying to sell us on one of two things:
1) Dinner. That is apparently the area of the city with an entire street of various Indian restaurants. It smelled and looked awesome, but was not really what we were looking for at that moment.
2) Marijuana dealers. There were men every five feet who were clearly selling and smoking pot. It was an assault on the senses, and we were basically constantly dodging people, and the occasional car, on the small street.

The bar turned out to be a bit of a bust. The music was a guy with his guitar and four or five women trying to sing American songs from printed out sheets of the lyrics. One song they did was "Kiss" by Prince, but they only did the first verse, repeatedly, until they got it and then they stopped. It was very weird, but also amusing. Plus the place makes an awesome Mojito.

Friday and Saturday, Jade and I went out to an Irish Pub, so we did not have the most Spanish weekend. It was fun, we met an Irish stag party, which was hilarious, and the second night we met two guys who work for an airline company, and fly planes to test out all the equipment before flights. Later Saturday night, we were approached on the street by a group of aggressive, young Belgian boys, who were hilarious and a little eager.

The night life here is interesting and a little strange. People constantly call at you on the street, and try to entice you to come to their club/bar/restaurant. It is just a constant flood of "Hola guapa!" and "Bonitas!"

Sunday Jade and I went to the Prado Museum, which was ridiculously crowded, and I am sorry to say I don't have much to report from there. It was cool, but I did not devote the time or energy to it that I should have. I will likely go back again, and I will also try to go to some of the more modern art museums which are more my scene. Afterwards I got an awesome hot dog with fried onions, pickles, and mustard, from this tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant called It Dog.

Classes are good. I am in the second level of Spanish, despite never having taken a Spanish class in my life. I went to the 101 class on Thursday, and my teacher told me and two other students that we needed to be in 102, not 101, and that after class we should go talk to the woman in the office. I did so, and then chose to go check out the 102 class before making the official switch to confirm I could handle it.

The professor instructed us, in Spanish, to write a composition about our past semester. I was a little confused and panicking  so asked the professor, in Spanish, if I could talk to her in the hall for a minute. I explained to her that I had never taken a course in Spanish, but had been told I should be in 102, and wanted to check it out first. I also asked her to clarify what I was supposed to write. She brushed off my concerns, and we went back into the class.

As we wrote, I used maybe two verbs, over and over, only spoke in present tense, and guessed on a bunch of words. She assured us that this was just to gauge our level of Spanish knowledge, but I still felt lost. I asked, in Spanish, how to say certain words, but the professor just got angry, told us that we could only speak Spanish in the class, and said that she could not translate for me. When male students inquired about specific words, she answered, but when I asked she was very mean, and kept brushing me off. I ended up working around words I didn't know, and wrote as much as I could.

The woman was thoroughly unpleasant, but luckily she is not our professor. From Monday on we have had a male professor who is awesome! He is super chill, and just wants us to try our best to speak as much as possible. He keeps encouraging us not to be scared, and just to talk and communicate our point. There are about fifteen minutes at the start of each class where he just has us speak about whatever we want for a few minutes each, and not worry about grammar or perfect conjugating.

My biology professor is ridiculously enthusiastic and likes to say "super duper" every five minutes. And my Sexuality in Spain professor is a very small young woman who is a delight, though she does struggle to communicate her point sometimes.

So all is well, and my Spanish adventure continues.

Wow, I'm tired

I am currently exhausted and feeling kind of gross. No matter how clean they keep the metro here, public transportation and walking all day burdened with bags will always leave you sweaty and dirty. Cute, I know. Today we went to El Rastro de Madrid, an outdoor flea market kind of place. I continued my endless, unsuccessful search for boots, and also bought a couple things. We went around 11 am and didn't return home until a little after 6 pm. It was huge and crowded, and so much fun, but walking all day e'eryday is wearing me down. The Spanish people continue to be warm and accommodating.

Yesterday Jade and I did a walking tour of Madrid and met some new girls who seem really cool. After the walking tour we went to Mercado de San Miguel, which is a completely amazing food market. It is filled with various stands selling prepared foods, that all look delicious. Everything we tried was spectacular. There was one rude Italian vendor with whom we had a less-than-great interaction, but he gave us a cheese sample nonetheless, so it was all good.

At night, Jade and I were supposed to meet up with the girls from the walking tour and go to Kapital, a crazy 7-story club, but we could not get in touch with them, and I didn't bring my physical passport or licence so we couldn't get in anyways.  We ended up at a place called Moondance, and stayed for a little while. We didn't have the most raging first nigh out in Madrid, but it was fun to be out and about, and we didn't get home until about 3:30 am.

I think in the future it will be good to have a more solid plan, and we both prefer a chill bar scene anyways.

Tomorrow we start school. As I said, I am a bit worn down, so this post may seem scatter-brained. I can't think of any hilarious Spain stories to include, but that's okay. Every night at dinner we talk and laugh with Paloma, and I continue to struggle to understand her when she tells stories, but it is always good fun, and she gets her point across.

Madrid, Estoy Aquí

Well, I am officially in Madrid. We drove in today, and Jade and I finally got to meet our host mom, Paloma. At first, I was very overwhelmed. I am understanding some of what is said, but it is really difficult. I'm not used to living in a big city and using public transportation, let alone combining those things with the added difficulties of navigating a foreign language. We went to see the school, where Syracuse is based in Madrid, and I was completely confused for the duration of the trip. We got back to the apartment and I was about ready to pass out. Jade, however, was eager to unpack and encouraged me to do the same.

We spent the next couple of hours unpacking, and Paloma went out to buy some groceries, and then returned and cooked us dinner. Jade could definitely tell I was buggin' because she kept asking if I was okay. I simply brushed off the inquiries in an attempt to squash my anxieties. Hopefully Paloma could not detect my discomfort.

We ate late, around 21:30 (nueve y media), and my spirits were definitely lifted by the successful dinner. The three of us sat around the table and did our best to talk. Jade had her iPhone out and was using the Google Translate app to aid her speech, while I stumbled around with words I knew and constantly asked for clarification on words I didn't. I also relied heavily on the smiling and nodding and saying "sí" which seems to work a majority of the time. By the end of the meal all three of us were cracking up. There were many times where it was clear Jade and I had no idea what was going on, and we are both completely exhausted from the past ten days. I think Paloma was mostly laughing because we were, and we seemed totally crazy, but it was fun, and left the night on a positive note.

While cleaning up dinner,  Jade tried to say "I'm really weird" and, dissatisfied with the Google Translate version, looked up "weird" to find a better way to say it. She ended up accidentally reading off "sobrenatural" which means "supernatural." That gave us all a good final laugh, and we were off to bed.

Tomorrow is orientation at the SU Madrid center, and hopefully I will figure out a cell phone for my time in Europe. At this point I am settled into my room, and I think I will be comfortable here. I am nervous for tomorrow, but too tired to really feel anxious. I think content is really the only word I would use to describe my current feelings. I am content. I will get a good night's sleep, Jade and I should have an easy time finding the center tomorrow, and I am not thinking too much about what comes after that.

Protect Your Breath

Well, we have been in Granada since Monday. Yesterday we went to the Alhambra, which was spectacular. It is gorgeous and ornate the most spectacular monument we have seen. I, personally, loved the castle, because I am a child, and running through a castle and climbing towers is totally my scene. But I have to say that the geometric, perfectly crafted walls of the Alhambra were breathtaking.

We also had our final group dinner and saw a flamenco show.

Me, Charity and Jade before the final group dinner. Straight hair, don't care.

Today we had a quiz and our final exam/midterm exam/some sort of exam to wrap up the seminar, though there is more to the three credits course which will come later in the semester. The exam was a "4 page minimum hand written or 12pt. double spaced" paper explaining the history covered during the ten day seminar and the monuments we visited. I was bugging because it seemed like a lot to write. I ended up staying until the last minutes of the exam, and wrapping up a poorly compiled 8 page essay. Rough.

But then, tonight was great. We went to this great bar/restaurant called Bodegas Espadafor. It was amazing food, which we devoured before we could even think to take pictures. After, Jade and I went to this awesome little place called La Cueva, and got some drinks and dessert. We also got some free meat things and bread, totally my kind of place.

Pig legs hanging from the ceiling of La Cueva.

It's been an intense ten days, and the last couple days just flew by. Tomorrow we go to Madrid, and Jade and I will be moving in with our host mom, Palomar. It's gonna be great! I feel like I should have more emotions about it, but, honestly, I am just over this seminar, and ready to meet new people and FINALLY unpack! Let's do this! #SoPumped

Oops, almost forgot: the blog post title is an allusion to Jade's fear of cats. She says they will suck the breath out of your face. So while we were at the Alhambra and there were cats everywhere, Jade said "protect your breath."

Gato de Alhambra

I made a bunch of the pictures X-large in this one

It is just about 23:30, and I am about to PTFO (pass the f@#% out). Everyone was really tired today, though I think the majority of people had been out till 3 am partying, not up until just after midnight, blogging.

We had our first quiz today, it was not as easy as we had been led to believe it would be, and I was so exhausted during our morning lecture that I was struggling to keep my eyes open.

We walked through the Jewish quarter and visited the Catedral de Seville today. Plus Jade, Charity, Carter and I went to an amazing little tapas bar near the Jewish quarter in Seville. It was called The Second Room, and was by far the best food we have had since arriving in Spain. I had two dishes with seafood, and we all ate some of a warm little chocolate cake with toffee (It was like a hot and cakey, like a lava cake, and had a taste similar to a heath bar with more cocoa).

Sort of a potato salad with mini shrimp, caviar on top, served in a martini glass over good lettuce. YUM!

Better picture of it, with Carter creepin' in the background.

The cathedral was really cool, and I walked up the 23-story minaret (Muslim calling tower), which is now a bell tower.

It is the third largest cathedral in the world.

The history we are learning is really interesting, despite the fact that normally I dislike learning about history. We are primarily studying the interaction of the three monotheistic religions in Spain, and our professor Alex Medina is AMAZING! He is enthusiastic and knows so much. Plus he really made an effort to get to know everyone in the group. Alex told us day one that he often has students who say they do not like history but fall in love with the history of Spain.

One of the views from the minaret. You can see all of Seville, and it is spectacular, but I am sort of obsessed with flying buttresses, so this is the one I picked.

After we left the cathedral, Alex walked us back to the hotel. On the way, we came across the viewing plaza recently built in Seville. I thought it looked really cool, and wanted to go on top of it. None of my other group members were up for the trek  Everyone was fairly dead today and I think many people are getting sick. Alex told me that the hotel was close, and pointed the way before leaving me to visit the plaza.

view from across the street

view from the viewing deck as you get off the elevator

The view on top of the structure and a couple on the path, SO COOL!

On my walk home I followed Alex's directions, but when I got to the church, which he had pointed out as where I should turn, I was unsure of which street I needed to take. As is often the case, there were two streets to the left going in slightly different directions. I took a guess, and started walking. I spent the walk thinking about how to ask someone if they knew where Hotel Don Paco is, just in case I got lost. I felt okay about the possibility of asking for help, and tried to walk like someone who knew where they were going. I had chosen the correct street and easily found the hotel.

Some really awesome graffiti on one of the glass bottle recycling containers. They are huge metal domes, and I only know what it is because I saw one being emptied while at lunch yesterday. Everything comes in a glass bottle (coke,water, beer), so it makes sense.

It was cool being on my own for a bit, and it was the first time other group members said anything positive about my photos (posted on Facebook). Plus, I was happy to have found my way back alright. I talked to Evan (a friend from 'Cuse who studied in Madrid last semester, not sure if I mentioned him before), and he encouraged me to explore Madrid on my own, saying that some of his best times were when he was traveling alone in Madrid.

Tomorrow we move on to Granada, our last stop on the Azahar seminar. It has only been one week since I left for Spain, but JFK really feels a lifetime away. I'm not homesick or uncomfortable, I'm just glad to be here, and ready to see what's next. I am, however, really sick of hotel food, and definitely need to stop eating lunch at restaurants all the time ($_$), but only one more week of this nonsense.