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.