More Mennones in Madrid!

Today is kind of a sad day, although the sun is shining and life is admittedly, quite good. This morning my parents left to go back to the states. It’s kind of strange, I feel like they were here for such a short period of time, and now it’s over. This is really the halfway point here, I’ve been here for more than half of the time and I’m on the downhill slope for the next 7 weeks.
The week started out last Sunday, when I went to the airport with Molly to pick up my mom. I was so excited when I saw her that I dove under the railing and ran up to greet her at the door. She had had a long delay because a man on her flight from London had a gun in his checked luggage that he had forgotten to declare (way to go, buddy). But we got her here, and took the metro/a taxi into the city to the Palace Hotel.
I wish that I could describe to you the grandeur and the sheer elegance of this hotel. Built in 1912, it is a wave of chandeliers, marble, fresh flowers, and men in top hats who open the door for you. It is a huge dome of stained glass, with a piano player and a circular hall where you can sit on cozy sofas for drinks underneath. The rooms defy all other hotels, with marble bathrooms and entryways, and “heavenly” beds (no lie, that’s what they call them). Every night the maid comes in and turns down the bed, complete with chocolate. The fitness room (oh, the fitness room) holds a fantastic view of Madrid, with treadmills and stationary bikes and ellipticals complete with their own television screen. Disposable headphones are provided. Those of us, like my parents and me, who are “preferred guests” get put on the top floor, the sixth floor, where every morning there is fresh coffee and teas and fresh apples. I was originally only going to stay when my dad was in Ireland, but we ended up getting a cot for me to stay there the whole time. My mom brought my sweaters for the winter, and surprised me with Halloween candy for all of us in the program (although I’ve already opened the bag, so it might not make it) and pretzels for me and my family here. It seems so strange to call Babis and Emilio my “family”…I already have a family, I already have a house. But what I’ve realized is that “family” is more than just a blood unit…it is the people around you who make you feel happy and secure and safe. And while I don’t need more parents, I will always need more family.
After taking my mom out for tapas and big San Miguels (beer), we went back to the hotel to sleep. The next day, she wandered around Madrid (in the rain) while I was in class. Then we decided to try to find a restaurant that my señora had recommended, El Landó. Unfortunately, although this is an incredibly well known restaurant in Madrid, no one seems to know how to find it. After walking around for almost two hours, I finally asked a man who decided to take us there himself. After thanking him profusely, we boldly entered the little restaurant (the door was closed) and told the lady that we wanted two people for lunch (it was 4pm). The head waiter sadly informed me that the kitchen was now closed until dinner. So he took us next door, which also had just closed the kitchen. Then he sent us up the street to a bar, telling me to order my mom and I some bocadillas de calamare and tell the guy that so and so from el Landó sent us. Unfortunately, by this point I was at the end of my rope and basically began to cry, so we ended up going back to Sol to get some ice cream and some snacks. Then we headed up to my Spanish house, where Babis had made a beautiful little table of tapas for my mother. I made the startling discovery that my host mother actually speaks almost fluent English! Her daughter also came to help translate. We stayed for a while, and my mom got to see how clean I’m keeping my room here. The next day, we went to the gym in the morning and then enjoyed a late breakfast. My mom came with me to my flamenco class, to see me tear it up on the dance floor (heh…heh). Mikey’s friend, who is studying in Cairo, also came to our class. They are actually partners in ballroom dancing at GW, so it was really great to watch them. After class, my mom and I set out once more to el Landó – I was determined to eat there. We successfully found it…only to find it completely booked. Completely dismayed, I made reservations for the following day, and we went back to the area near my house to an Italian place that I’ve always wanted to try. I then went off to class, and returned home late that night. We decided just to ask the concierge to recommend a place nearby…the problem with being a student in Madrid is that you don’t know a lot of nice restaurants where you can take your parents. We ended up at a tapas bar called El Cervantes, where we had a delicious shrimp dish (which I still can’t believe I ate) and some toast with a fish called bonito, which is like tuna, only better, and olives the size of my thumb (and beer of course, haha). On Wednesday, I got up and went to class, and my mom treated me, and I’m not ashamed to admit this, to a Starbucks. I don’t care how un-Spanish that is…it was wonderful. Haha…then I went off to class, including a language midterm, and my mom went to the Prado. After classes, I rushed home and changed my clothes and we took a taxi once more to el Landó. This time, we were immediately sent downstairs, where there was a table waiting with our name on it and a big plate of bread already waiting for us. We had a fantastic meal of melon with ham (a Spanish specialty), pan con tomate (a dish from Cataluña, which is toasted bread rubbed with tomato and garlic and doused with a liberal amount of olive oil), another shrimp dish, chicken and wine. Then the waiter gave us a free plate of desserts with our coffee. We watched a stereotypical sleazy Spanish man at a business lunch get really drunk…he had the slicked back, greasy hair, dark olive skin, was probably quite handsome at one point, but was now over-accustomed to eating too much and was quite fat. He just kept eating and eating, smoking his fat cigar, and ordering more drinks. It was a pretty funny sight to see, and we kind of wanted to watch him for a lot longer. We felt very accomplished at finally getting to eat at our restaurant and if you are ever in Madrid I would very much recommend this restaurant…but go with someone who knows where it is!
We went out afterwards and bought some “turron” which is a very popular Christmas candy here. We took it back to the hotel to wait for my dad to arrive!!! He arrived on time, and we went out that night for paella. They brought it out in such a huge pan…we had a really fun night. It was so much fun having both of my parents here…I was so excited to show them my Spanish and my city. On Thursday, we got up rather leisurely (well I got up and went to the gym) and went out for breakfast at Mallorca, which is a fancy pastry shop which also has a nice café. Then I sent my parents out on a trip by themselves while I stayed in the hotel room and studied, because I had two midterms on Thursday. We went out for lunch and then I went back to the UAM to take my midterms…the first one, my history was two questions, the first of which was “What was the influence of the Catholic religion during the 15 to the 18th centuries in Spain?” After suffering like a good students through two exams, I rushed back to meet my parents near my house, and we went up so that my dad could meet Emilio and Babis. Then the five of us went out to dinner at a very nice place near our house here. We had a very typical Spanish meal, and I had a wonderful time with both sets of parents (haha). The food was really incredible, complete with the champagne cake that we ate at the end (how decadent). I was so happy that they all got to meet, and they were all so cute together, trying to speak a mixture of English and Spanish so that we could all understand each other. I played role of official translator, which was fun. We didn’t finish eating until after midnight and by then I thought my mom was going to need a piggy-back ride home. On Friday, we got up semi-early, and took the superfast train to Toledo. I showed off some of my cultural knowledge and took them to El Entierro del Señor de Orgaz (or whatever it is), a painting by el Greco, and the cathedral, of course. We walked around all day, enjoying the (finally) sunny weather and taking random pictures. Then the subject of my upcoming 21st birthday came up and my parents generously decided that I needed a gift for my birthday. After looking in several stops, I decided that what I really wanted was pearls (oh my gosh, I sound so spoiled). I should take this time to mention that my father is one of the most generous men, individuals actually, that I know and ever will know, and gets great delight from giving to others. I remember so many occasions when he’s bought something for my mom and then gets too excited to wait to give it to her. So we went into a store and the woman helped us pick out an absolutely gorgeous strand of pearls from the island of Mallorca, with a beautiful gold clasp. I know that whenever I wear these, I will always think of my parents and our time together in Spain. It is a perfect 21st birthday present.
We got back to Madrid around 6, and went downstairs in the hotel at 7 to have a drink. We sat in the elegant hall, underneath the stained glass dome, and I ordered a Bellini, which is a mix of champagne and peach juice. I got my dad to tell the waiter that it was my birthday, and he brought over little plates of almond cookies and chocolates. We sat in the hall for an hour, listening to the piano music and enjoying our drinks. I hope that my parents know how grateful I am that they came, and how grateful I am for their generosity. As much as I want all of you to visit, my parents mean so much to me, and it has been very hard for me to be away from them all this time. I will have this memory forever, of sitting with my parents in this beautiful hotel, with a fancy drink, wearing my 21st birthday pearls (they let me wear them that night, and then my mom rewrapped them so that I can open them on my birthday. Babis is holding on to them for me until then, haha). Then we went out and they got to meet my friends Molly and Vanessa, and I learned that Irish coffee is not what I like to drink. Then we went out for more tapas (good grief, all I do is eat!) to where my mom and I went earlier near our hotel. I think that I’m going to go back there with friends, it’s a very Spanish bar and tapas restaurant, with incredible food that’s not too expensive. It’s loud and busy and lots of fun (and the one bartender is pretty cute too!).
And after that it was time for me to leave. They had a 7am flight out of Spain, so they had to get up at 4am. I went back to my house here and talked a bit with Babis before going to bed. I have to admit that although I know that I don’t have much time left in Madrid, it was still pretty hard to say goodbye to my parents.
Tomorrow I’m meeting with a friend’s boyfriend (she lives in the US, but her boyfriend is from Madrid) to practice my Spanish and so that he can practice his English. I think that his English is better than my Spanish, but I’m really looking forward to practicing with someone my own age. Next week is Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada…and my birthday is eleven days away. It’s pretty incredible that I’ll be 21, that I’ll be a real, live adult. But these are musings for another day…
Muchos besos mis amores, echo de menos a vosotros

Some more stories...

The other day, I realized that I had broken my cell phone charger while in Galicia. My phone had managed to survive the trip without being charged, and so when I came home I figured I’d better power it up. Unfortunately, I’d somehow bent the prongs that go into the electrical socket (there has to be a name for those…), so I set out to Corte Inglés, the wonderful store that sells everything from groceries to designer clothes to cars, and yes, cell phones and accessories. There happens to be one very close to my house, so I set out after lunch. When I got there, they informed me that they no longer carry that model of cell phone charger, but they sent me out to another store. This store I couldn’t find, so I ended up at another Corte Inglés, with the feeble hope that I would find it there. I went to the separate cell phone store, but they didn’t have it either, so they sent me in to the larger electronic department to beg them to help me. They also failed me. Then I decided that I needed to buy an alarm clock, because I use my cell phone as an alarm clock (I put it under my pillow, and it wakes me up with the most irritating vibrations and ring tone imaginable…it’s perfect). However, when I finally found the alarm clocks, after a desperate (and failed) attempt to try to explain to a salesclerk what I wanted without pulling out my dictionary. After learning that alarm clock is “despertador,” she sent me to yet another store (Corte Inglés is such a big store that they often have several large stores on one block) to find them. Another unfortunate occurrence: alarm clocks here cost, at the very least, 18€. I left without buying one and called my mom, and ranted for 10 minutes about how I was going to be without communication and missing all my classes and also about how stupid siestas are, because there was a cell phone store directly across the street from me that would be opening in a half hour (it was four o clock in the afternoon).
Finally, I entered “The Phone House,” which is a very Spanish cell phone store with a horrible American name, and gave my little speech, which I had by now perfected. He went in the back and immediately came out with the one I needed. I almost hugged him.
Now, we get to the story of the friendly light. I’m sure you were all wondering where I was going with this. My new charger has a small green light on it that turns on when I charge my phone. Usually, my room is pitch black at night, because we have these really intense blinds that are on the outside of the window and block absolutely all light from entering inside. At first I thought that this would be really nice, but I found that I actually really don’t like waking up and not being able to guess what time it is and I happen to hate not being able to see. Maybe it’s a secret fear that I will actually someday go blind, or more blind than I already am, and when I wake up I think it’s finally happened. Who knows? But last night, when I turned off my lights, I was pleasantly surprised to see that now I have (ok…I’ll say it) a nightlight. And even though I still didn’t sleep through the night, I was much more comfortable when I woke up, because I was no longer living in fear of being blind when I wake up. Oh yes, and now when I get up to pee, I don’t have to worry about tripping on my chair and breaking something.
I’ve found that I can sometimes obtain internet by opening my window to the terrace and leaning half my body outside (with the computer too, not just my body). Unfortunately, the construction workers working on the top floor (outside, on the balcony) of the building across the street from me have also noticed my rather creative method of trying to communicate with the United States. I’ll have to try to coordinate my internet time with their breaks. You know me, I always get the winners, haha.
On Wednesday, I gave my first presentation here. I will have at least one more, in a different class. This speech was on an epic poem that we read in my literature class, and I had to do a 10 minute portion (we worked in groups of 3). Those of you who reeeeally know me, know that I am not a quiet person, in fact, I often get told to shut up, but when it comes time for speeches or presentations, especially on subjects that I don’t particularly understand or enjoy, suddenly I am the shyest individual in the world, that geeky kid who stares at their shoes and swings their arms with a brilliant red face, while mumbling random facts completely incoherently. Ok, so it really wasn’t that bad. The other members in my group, who happen to also have the advantage of speaking slightly better Spanish, definitely did better than me. So imagine my joy when Carmela, my professor (she’s also the program director) told us all at the end of class that not only did we all get A’s, but that this would be counting as our midterm.
I don’t think that I am ever allowed to complain about this class again.
Tomorrow is my day from the dark beyond, where I will have make-up classes from 10am to 4pm. I think that it’s really unfair to give us holidays here and then tell us that we have to make them up. My language professor will be going to Japan right before our final exam, so we won’t have class, so we’re making that one up tomorrow too. Luckily, she’s agreed to let us watch a movie and to eat in class. The worst thing is that this week I will have had 6 hours with my incredibly dull, dry history professor. I am still waiting for him to come shock us with a sudden instance of sheer entertainment. I know he has it in him…
This weekend a friend of two people in the program is coming to visit, so we’re going out for tapas on Saturday night…and then on Sunday, my momy gets here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m so excited to see her…I’ll be going to pick her up at the airport and then I’ll be staying at a very nice hotel, called the Palace, with her until Wednesday, when my dady gets here from Ireland, where he’s going for business.
Well, we’ll see if I can get this sent…I’m going to have to try to stick my torso out the window again – not something I’m really looking forward to.
Muchos besos!!!!!!!

Galician Galavanting

Hola mis amores!!!
We left for Galicia, an opportunity that we had thanks to Christopher Columbus. October 12 marks el día de descubrimiento (day of discovery) and we therefore had no Thursday classes (a delightful thought marred only by the fact that I will have to make up these classes this coming Friday…I will be spending 6 straight hours in class, without breaks). I found that the day before was actually my día de descubrimiento, when I found my address book and the pantyhose that I had bought before leaving the US stuffed in the toe of one of my boots. Now I kind of know how Columbus must have felt…discovering a new continent must make you feel almost as good as finding the pantyhose that you’ve been looking for for a month.
We took the 10:30 train, and we went first class (we’re very classy, sophisticated people). Let me tell you something. First class train seats to Santiago de Compostela are the most uncomfortable seats. They are not like first class seats on airplanes – they don’t even lean back like economy seats on airplanes. They give you a lot of leg room, but when you’re 5’4”, leg room is never really an issue. I immediately tried to go to sleep by putting my head on the seat and somehow arranging the rest of my body on the floor with all my leg room. Molly attempted to scrunch down and put her head between the arm rests. Somehow, everyone else managed to sleep contentedly (especially the man two rows up who seemed to be the engine of the train he snored so loud) without contorting their bodies into the most uncomfortable positions imaginable. We gave up on sleeping around 3am, and turned on Molly’s computer to watch Gilmore Girls. We also opened up a can of Pringles. This is where I noticed a major difference between Molly and me. While she was the kid (and still is the person) who politely eats Pringles one at a time, I am the kid (cause I still am a kid, even though I’ll be 21 in less than a month) who asks, “how many do you think I can fit in my mouth at once?!?” I feel like this says something about us, but I’m not sure what.
Around 5am, we tried to sleep again and I woke up with drool all over my jacket, so I must have been somewhat successful…
We arrived in Santiago de Compostela before 8am. This is in the north of Spain and let me tell you, we were not prepared for how cold it was. Gloves! I didn’t bring gloves to Spain! Why would I think that Spain is a magical place where gloves are not necessary?
We wandered around for a half hour, trying to find our hotel. When we found it, an adorable little place on Rúa Rosa, we couldn’t check in yet because we were too early (an anticipated event). The concierge was sooo sweet to us though, he took our bags and told us that we would be put in the first available room and then offered us breakfast, which we were not expecting. After raiding the hotel breakfast setup, we set out to see the city.
Santiago is a university city, so there is a great nightlife and a great atmosphere. It’s also a place of Pilgrimage (the people who come here walk the Camino de Santiago and are known as Peregrinos). So, as we were walking around, at 8:30am, the streets were almost deserted, except for a few groups of college students who were just coming in from the night before. WHEW! I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do that! We were stopped multiple times by varying degrees of drunk college men (it wasn’t dangerous though) and asked if we were German, Italian, Dutch, etc. I was pretty proud of us for not looking American, we have assimilated into European culture! There was also a guy who talked to us for quite a while, and then when he found out that we had just arrived and were still waiting to go to our hotel room, very generously offered his own bed to us, as a matter of fact he was going there right then.
We politely declined.
The people in Santiago are so nice! That’s not just sarcasm, the people in the shops are so nice and helpful, granted they want your money, but they pull everything out so that you can inspect it and they ask you what you’re looking for and where you’re from.
We found the Cathedral that morning, and walked around the town quite extensively. I tried the “tarta de Santiago” which is an incredible, amazing, fantastic almond cake that I will learn how to make. I definitely ate too much of it on this trip…
After walked around for almost 4 hours, we went back to the hotel to crash in the lobby until we could go to our room – neither Molly nor I are good at functioning on two hours of sleep. When we got there, the guy at the desk gave us a key, and we tried to explain that we hadn’t checked in yet, but he told us that the room was ready and our bags were already there. More in love than ever with our hotel, we went upstairs to take a glorious three hour nap (unfortunately, neither of us are good at napping either and we woke up a lot). Then we hung around the hotel for a while before going out to find food and entertainment. We ended up back at the hotel around 11, 11:30, with a pizza and a bottle of wine, with every intention of being good study abroaders and drinking alcohol in the hotel (we had already failed at our attempts to drink outside in the town, when we tried alcoholic milkshakes and gagged). Well…let’s just say that I need to practice opening wine. After I pulled out the top part of the cork and leaving the bottom still in, I decided to try to dig it out with a knife (we had bought a pocketknife with a wine screw just for this occasion…one of you will be getting this as a gift). When Molly saw what I was doing, she took the bottle from me and attempted to do it herself. Good news: she eventually got the cork out. Bad news: it actually went IN to the bottle. Around this time I decided to go down to a payphone and call my mom, who I hadn’t talked to in a while (who is coming in exactly one week!!!!!). This turned out to be a bad move on my part, because the combination of not sleeping and not talking to her for a while caused me to bawl for 45 minutes.
Oh to be a parent.
The next day, we got up leisurely and took a train to the nearby city of Coruña, which is on the coast of Spain. It was a beautiful little city, with a gorgeous town square and absolutely fantastic views of the ocean, but we found it a little boring. We found a restaurant where we ate very well for 6€ - that’s incredible, in case you haven’t eaten out in a while. Then we went back to Santiago for the night.
We decided to splurge on dinner and to go somewhere nice and get something that we couldn’t get anywhere else. We ended up at a very pretty little restaurant on one of the busy little side streets that I love so much in Europe. The waiters were all very nice older gentlemen, and the one that we had guessed that we were Italian. I asked him to explain what “arroz con bogavante” was and he took me to the front of the restaurant to show me the lobster that would be prepared for us paella style in a delicious rice dish that we ended up ordering (when I started talking about how bad I felt about eating the little guy, Molly goes, “They already caught it, what do you think, they’re going to let it go free if no one eats it?” so I stopped feeling bad). The waiter seemed really, really friendly to me, and I’ve decided that if you wear low cut shirts, you might get better service, but you also get some pretty creepy stares from old men who have been working in a restaurant for 40 years (it was a polo for crying out loud, it’s not like I went out in stripper gear). After we paid the bill, I pulled Molly outside immediately.
We then continued on our quest to be good study abroaders and not go back to the hotel too early (this was not difficult, because we didn’t sit down to eat until 11pm). We wandered around the busy streets, jammed with tourists, students, and Peregrinos with large backpacks and walking sticks. We ended up in a really fun little bar that had great music and beer for 1€. This was the cheapest thing, so it was what we got and I felt a little bad cause Molly hates beer (I happen to like beer and thought that this one was pretty good, especially for a euro). I had another drink and then we left to go back to the hotel. I ended up using my phone card again, but this time I didn’t call my parents…
We didn’t get to sleep until 3am, and then the next day we got up again to see a few more things. We returned to the Cathedral, where we saw the huge incense holder in motion. It was one of the most crowded masses I’ve ever seen – we could hardly move. In this Cathedral, they have an incense, oh man what is the word I’m thinking of?! You know what I’m talking about though…and it’s so big that 5 men have to get it to swing back and forth. The reason why they have such a big one is because of all the Peregrinos, who come from faraway places and pack into the Cathedral and create a huge stench.
I also got to “dar un abrazo al Santo”, which is to give a hug to a huge statue of Saint-Yago, (Santiago, get it?) who is the patron saint of Spain. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed of that.
Then we walked around, trying to find some new sites. There was a photo exhibit on terrorism and war around the world in a nearby park…I love photo exhibits, I prefer them to paintings. Some of the pictures were really graphic…there was a big section on Darfur, on the Chechynan war, on Haiti…and a big one on Iraq. Sometimes I forget how angry the world is over this war. The pictures from Iraq were sad…I will never condone war. But I looked at these pictures, of US soldiers trying to free people, and then I looked at the pictures of Darfur, of people so emaciated and hungry that they have to go to feeding centers to receive one meal…of men shot dead on the street in Haiti and people just walking by and I couldn’t understand any of it. It’s so hard to believe that this is all going on in the world, in my world, the same one that I’m living in, in my world, at the same time when I’m living in a nice apartment in Spain and writing to you about all the fun I’m having being a study abroader. I think that’s why I love photos…you can write, you can paint, but you are never in that person’s world until you look them in the eye and put yourself on that street, in that place.
We got tired of walking and went back to the hotel to play on the computer and wait until it was time to go to the train station. This time, we were in a sleeper car, which we were soooo excited about. It is a really cool experience, I would really like to do it again, but I want enough people to fill up a car. There are only four beds, but the other two were taken by…boring people. The one woman was the kind of scary grandmother that I hope never to be. Big scary hair, lots of make up, wearing a nightgown that was…umm a little too short for old lady legs? And she snored. Oh my gosh she snored. I really wanted to whack her with a pillow – I happen to have the philosophy that if I can’t sleep, no one will. But I decided that hitting her with a pillow was a little too obvious, so I tried coughing, whacking my ring against the metal bar that was preventing me from falling off the top bunk, and eventually texting Molly so that her phone would ring and wake this lady up. There was also a group of rowdy American guys who were really drunk…I hate noise when I sleep, I sleep with earplugs and a pillow over my head (well that’s actually because I learned that we swallow 8 spiders a year in our sleep and wanted to cut back). We got back into Madrid around 7:30am, and now I’m back in my house. Babis is home from Barcelona; it’s funny, but I really did miss her. I’ve broken my phone charger and now I’m wondering how I’ll get up tomorrow morning…
I have two compositions to write and a presentation to research so I guess I better get on that…
Muchos besos!!!

Un Dia Normal

Hola mis amores!
Because I’m not doing anything truly interesting until Wednesday (when I leave for Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia and will be AWOL until Sunday), I thought I’d tell you all a bit about my days here in Madrid. I know you’re all curious…
Mondays and Wednesdays, I get up at 7 and get ready to go to the UAM, which is the university that I attend here. It is about 45 minutes from my house. I get up, eat my toast and jam and coffee, and make my bed. Sometimes if I’m early enough I straighten my hair or do sit-ups…I’m the only one awake at this time, no one else gets up until at least 8:30, if not later. Around 8, I’m ready to go and I walk down the Serrano, which is the fanciest street in Madrid, down to La Castellana, which is the longest street in Madrid, where I catch the 27, 150, or the 14 bus, which takes me directly to the metro “Nuevos Ministerios.” Here, I catch the “Renfe Circanías” train, which takes me directly to the UAM. The bus ride is about 15 minutes and so is the train ride. Between walking to the bus stop and waiting for transportation, the whole thing takes me around 45 minutes. Mondays and Wednesdays I enjoy a two hour long Spanish language class, immediately followed by a two hour long class on Spanish literature (epics and satire, to be precise). That’s right, I’m in class from 9am to 1pm. It is quite possibly the longest morning I have ever endured. My professors are wonderful, but no one, not even the most animated person in the world, could possibly hold my attention for that long. My language professor has currently started a crusade to get me to pronounce my “rr”s and my “j”s correctly, so that I don’t sound so American…I have a new rhyme that I have to practice, “El perro de San Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramon Ramirez se lo ha cortado” (Saint Roque’s dog doesn’t have a tail because Ramon Ramirez has cut it off). Luckily, I then have the rest of these afternoons free, and I usually run errands and go to the Retiro to either run or jump rope. When I run, I always go by the fountain of the fallen angel, and when I jump rope I always go to this secluded little fountain where there’s a guy on a horse…I need to write down his name, he’s offered me quite a nice place away from public eyes who would see just how bad I am at jump-roping.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are a completely different story. I can sleep until 11 if I want to (but of course I don’t…I prefer to get up by 9 and do some homework). At 11:30, I get on the number 5 bus to get to metro stop “Tirso De Molina” (via Sol) to go to my flamenco class. This class is an hour and a half…and believe me, it feels like it. I enjoy it a lot…but sometimes we go too slow for me. I just want a workout, haha. Then I run back home to eat lunch with my family here. Lunch here, which I am able to come home for almost every day, is the biggest meal and usually consists of two settings, bread, and a dessert (which is a pansy dessert, fruit or yogurt). Today I had some kind of stew with beans and potatoes and ham that was quite good and then melón con jamón Serrano (melon and ham). Can you believe I’m eating ham? I couldn’t eat anything after that…I don’t know how much they think I eat, but it’s not that much! Lunch is usually between 2:30 and 3…very difficult for me to get used to in the beginning.
Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I go to class from 4:30-8:30. Yes. This is incredibly painful for me. I have Spanish history, which is an endless class where the professor drones for two hours nonstop…he’s lucky that I’m interested in the subject or else I’d pass out. I like him…but he’s pretty boring. I feel like he has such potential to be interesting, and then he crashes and burns. Then I move on to Poly-Sci, which is surprisingly enjoyable. The professor is really young and he forces us all (even me!) to talk during class and to say what we think. I have to give a presentation in this class…I’m still not sure what I’ll do it on…I’m a little nervous about that.
I don’t get home until after 9, but that’s not a problem because dinner isn’t until 9:30 or later anyway. I’ve actually gotten to the point where I think, “8pm?! It’s too early for dinner!” And I’m the girl who used to eat at 5:30!!!
I have no classes on Fridays, which is wonderful…this Thursday we have off, which means that this weekend is a “Puente,” meaning that people will take a reaaaaaaally long weekend – they do 4 days here, not 3. That’s why I’m going up north, to see Galicia with my friend Molly. Other than that, most of our weekends are filled with trips to other cities or to places within Madrid. I also have my trips to Portugal and Rome all planned out. I still need to go back to the Rastro to buy gifts…
Sundays I go to church near my house, either with my Señora, or by myself. I bought myself a book with the prayers in Spanish and now I can follow along better…the problem with Spanish people is that they tend to mumble and so it’s hard to follow unless you’re reading.
I go to bed at midnight or later…no one here goes to bed before 11, and I have a lot of homework that needs to be done. I still haven’t slept a full night here, which is really weird to me (and pretty hard too, sometimes I’m just sooo tired and there’s nothing I can do. They siesta here and I guess I could do that, but naps just mess with my head). This summer, I literally passed out every night and didn’t wake up until my alarm jarred me awake. Maybe I need to start standing 8 hours every day again like I did this summer when I worked at Clyde’s, haha. Here, I have weird dreams almost every night, and I wake up every night at least once, usually confused, and still feeling like I’m in my dream. Actually I think part of the problem is that I eat so much later than I’m used to – that must be part of the dream thing, and it also makes me have to pee in the middle of the night (I usually end up convincing myself that I can wait till morning…which means that I wake up at least two more times before I finally tell myself that I won’t be able to sleep without making the looooong journey to the bathroom). I’m sure you really wanted to know that, haha. Take my advice everyone, if you wake up at midnight and have to pee really badly, just go. You won’t make it through the night without waking up again.
Like anywhere I could go, I’ve had a bit of culture shock here…sometimes I’m absolutely in love with Spain and with Spanish people and sometimes I walk down the street grumbling to myself. The thing with Spanish people is that YOU have to make the effort…you have to smile, you have to initiate conversations. I remember when I was getting my hair cut and I was soooo shy that I didn’t want to talk to anyone, or ask why I had to wait so long. And so, no one talked to me. So I was sitting in the chair getting my hair washed and thinking to myself how mean everyone is here, and then the guy washing my hair suddenly asked me a question and realized that I’m not from Spain. He started asking me questions and spoke to me in English, and we ended up talking the entire time, as he washed my hair, cut it, and blew it straight (that takes a long time, I have a lot of hair). Then at the end he gave me his phone number and told me that if I needed anything I should call him. So I walked down the street with my beautiful new hair, thinking how amazing and nice the people here are. It’s like they’re a contradiction…they walk right by you on the street, they push their way through on the metro, and in stores they don’t greet you when you come in…but as soon as you start talking to them, as soon as you get to know them, even the smallest bit, they become so helpful and sweet and kind. I can’t figure it out…I smile at people on the street and they think I’m nuts. For me, it’s difficult to know what to do.
What else is weird is living with “parents” again. Babis and Emilio are kind of more like grandparents…but they still take care of me, do my laundry (oh my goodness, I still can’t believe that people who I’ve only known for a month are washing my underwear), they tell me how to go places, they give me advice, correct my Spanish, put a water glass in my bedroom every night, buy me chocolate and peanut butter…it’s kind of nice, but at the same time there are some nights when I want to sit in front of the TV and eat some crappy food that I’ve made myself and not have to talk to anyone for a couple hours. Anti-social? Maybe, but I like to think of it more as sanity.
But overall, I find the people here, and my life as well, to be extraordinary. I do love Spain…I am glad that I came. Before leaving I was upset and nervous…I remember wondering why I didn’t pick somewhere else. Now I can’t imagine having to leave. I guess you’ll all just have to come visit me :-p
Muchos besos mis amores!!! Y Gracias for reading this – I know it wasn’t short!

They KILL bulls here!!!

Hola mis amores!
Look at me, writing so soon again...yesterday I went off to Toledo for the day. I think it was on of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I can't wait to go back - I'm planning to take my mom there when she comes to visit! We saw all these synagogues...Toledo is the "Jerusalem" of Spain - a mix of Christianity, Judaism, and Muslim influence. It is GORGEOUS, I want you all to come with me. We also saw the Cathedral, which is the 6th largest cathedral in the world...I wanted to take it home with me.
They also have really incredible jewelry in Toledo...I wanted to buy everything, but I restrained myself and only bought gifts for other people (and a poster for myself, which was considerably cheaper than the gold bracelet that I really wanted.)
Then last night, I originally didn't plan to go out...but I ended up going bowling with Vanessa, Molly, Andrew, Alec, and David. It was more fun than I anticipated (I am an awful bowler) and I actually did pretty well. We had a lot of fun actually, but I had to go home around 1:30 cause I was so tired...I still haven't slept a full night here. I keep having weird dreams, and sometimes they're so vivid that I feel like they actually happened...I miss the insides of my eyelids.
Today was the bullfight...I slept until 11 and then went running and to mass. Then at 5, I arrived at "La Plaza del Toros."
Apparently, I'm living in a country where men in hot pink knee socks and weird hats who torture animals are incredibly sexy and cool.
Unfortunately, I live in a country where men who wear hot pink knee socks are usually undesirable, and men who torture animals are usually put under arrest. Maybe if they did it with a red flag, it'd be okay...look, I'm trying really hard to be "cultural" here. I'm eating the food, I'm speaking the language, and I even went to one of the bullfights and tried to understand the appeal.
I do not.
I think it is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen and I do not recommend it to anyone...the stadium is fantastic, the crowd is fun, and the scene in the middle is barbaric.
I left after the second bull, about a half hour into a 2.5 hour long show.
Anyway, then I went home and realized that I'd left my keys in my room so I had to call Emilio, who was out and had to come home to let me in...sigh. Today just wasn't my day.
I'm not going to lie, I'm getting really tired. I still love Spain and I'm not ready to leave yet...I'm just ready to see some of you again.

Barcelona, Borgias, y Burros

AHHHH!!!!
Too much time away from mis amores!
Ok here's what's been happening...
Last weekend we went to Barcelona - oh wow, for a moment I wondered what the heck I was doing in Madrid. It's absolutely GORGEOUS. There is so much to see too...I didn't see nearly enough. Three days is not long enough to be in Barcelona.
A lifetime isn't enough for anywhere that I've been.
We went on a tour of the city and I discovered the man of my dreams - Gaudi (too bad he's dead). He's the most amazing architect ever. The Temple of the Sagrada Familia is the most incredible building I've ever been to in my entire life. I could stay there forever. I can't even begin to describe it to you. It was so incredible, I want to go back again and again...it's not even done yet, and yet it's my favorite place in the world.
Catalan is the language of choice in Barcelona...I'm not sure how I feel about that. I mean, it's nice for them to retain this culture, but still...learn to speak Spanish, eh? It's not that hard.
We also went out to a marketplace...they sold everything there, from candy to nuts to fruit to insects to sheep heads. Yep, that's right. And fish. Lots and lots of fish. I nearly threw up/passed out/cried. They had to lead me out.
Barcelona...it was Mikey's birthday so we all went out on Saturday night. I have to admit that whenever I end up going out, like actually intending to go out and have a good time, I pick the night where we don't really find the incredible bars or anything...
Also on Saturday we decided that it would be fun to rent bikes. Oh, well...umm...my bike and I got into a little bit of a fight and I ended up totally wiping out, cuts on my hands, on my feet, bruises on my knees, and the wind knocked out of me.
I'm so graceful, what can I say?
I also got to go to church at a beautiful cathedral...it has to be said that I went by myself to visit the Sagrada Familia. Sometimes you just need some time to yourself...
Barcelona...I hope I get to go back someday.
Then it was back to classes...let me tell you something. A class of four people is awesome. But it means that if you fall asleep, it's noticible. And it means that if you don't say anything for two hours, people notice. And they make you talk. My poly-sci prof keeps asking me what I think about thigns and so far I don't have the guts to tell him that I hate politics, haah.
On Wednesday night I saw my first Spanish film, Salvador, about a student during the time of Franco. Oh my gosh, it was the saddest movie ever. I cried at the end. I never cry in movies. Except Pride and Prejudice and that's cause I'm happy. I loved it though...I want to buy it.
And then on Thursday, I went to a movie premiere. Yep, that's right, a movie premiere. I saw "Los Borgia" which is about a powerful Valencian family, and one member becomes pope (unfortunately, he's really corrupt and has 4 children and a lot of sex). It was hard to understand and I have to admit that all the characters were just so corrupt and horrible that I found it difficult to enjoy. It was really fun to see everything though. I really enjoyed it - plus I got to wear my red skirt and new red heels that I decided I had to have...
Today, we went out to the mountains and rode burros. Yes, my Spanish experience never ends. I called mine Bubo, and we rode through the mountains, and I made up a song for him. I'm not sure how much he liked it...but he was a nice little burro. I kept reminding everyone that I had been the little burro in the Christmas pageant of my youth...I think they were all duly impressed, haha. Then we had a barbeque.
I
HATE
MEAT.
I hate it, it's so disgusting. I think they killed like three pigs and a baby cow for us, it was absolutely vile. I ate some chorizo and then felt sick. I hate this country's food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who eats this kind of stuff?!?!?!
But we didn't eat Bubo, which was comforting.
Tomorrow I'm going to Toledo...and then on Saturday I'm going to a bullfight (ACK!). Then on Wednesday I leave for a trip up north...then the next weekend my parents come!!!!!!!! I'm so ready to see them...I miss them more than I expected, and I really miss being able to call my mom on a regular basis. I also miss my sister, I haven't talked to her in such a long time. I feel really bad about that..and then my dad...of course I miss my dad, I'm a daddy's girl...
My senora's son's wife had their baby - a baby girl! I'm so excited for them...
I've come down with a cold and I'm not happy at all about that. It's going around the program...everyone is getting sick.
They've already started stringing some lights for Christmas!! They're not on yet, but they're getting everything ready, because if they don't start now, they will never be ready on time. It's heard to believe that it's already October, and that soon I will be leaving Spain...I only have two more months here. I'm kind of sad, and I'm kind of wondering why I'm not staying for the whole year.
I still need to send postcards...on Sunday, I'm also going to the Rastro again to buy presents for all of you, so be nice to me! Haha...