General Observation

So Erica complained how I don't make paragraphs and it's not me! I just posted this long entry and made sure I double spaced and tabbed several. This blog just meshed them all together. Sorry. It's hard to read.

No this isn't another city

So I don't have any pictures but I've had a lot of great experiences that deserve to be recorded and remembered. Now if I can remember them all... I suppose the first thing is when I first met my intercambio, Luis. An intercambio is somebody who I can exchange my knowledge of English with and then interact in Spanish in turn. He offered to teach me some German too, for a month, in time for my trip to Austria! But I declined. i really don't have an interest in that language. Although I may ask him about the basics in order to get around better. First of all, I decided to choose an intercambio from a list that Patricia sent to all of us. It was a huge list and every entry had a brief intro about who they are and what they expect from the experience. I noticed that Luis was a major in Periodismo or media/journalism and I decided to take a class on the basics of periodismo. Also he had a lot of experience traveling. We emailed a lot about meeting up, but I got sick and the times weren't conducive... Then after 2 weeks I was eating in one of the cafeterias on campus with Bethany and Katie and they were getting ready to leave but I was waiting for Luis to call so we could meet. I picked up and started talking ~in spanish~ and I saw a guy with dark skin and longish hair walking towards me talking on his phone but not looking in my direction. But I could read his lips as he was telling me where he was over the phone. I waved and he walked straight over and greeted me in the traditional Spanish custom with a kiss on each cheek. ~I'm slowly getting used to this~! From there he brought me to the other, bigger cafeteria and upstairs. I hadn't been up there, but I could see why he preferred this spot. Rather than a casual bocadilla ~sandwich~ or croissant with a raciones ~side dish~ and drink all ordered separately, there is an assembly line. It offers 2 full dishes, which you have 2 choices for each and then a side salad or fries and a desert or fruit and a loaf of bread and drink or there's always the free water from what looks like a beer tap. By the way, the method I'm used to is done through a machine that gives you the ticket with the order you punched in and then you hand it to the lady, she yells the order to the kitchen and hands it to you over the counter. So, much to my embarrassment he payed for me, which I didn't realize he was going to do until after he greeted the cashier lady in the same manner like old acquaintances and pointed to my dishes and his. I started to say that I could pay, not to worry, but the lady and him both smiled at me like, don't worry about it. And we sat down to eat and talk. The convo was easy going and switched back and forth between languages. Sometimes he asked me to repeat questions in English, b/c he was thinking in German! I told him how I was jealous about his confusion between all the languages. I'm pretty sure he's fluent in French too and he showed me his school work for his Icelandic class! ~aww~ I asked him why Icelandic and he's reason was just, why not? It's offered so why not? I asked if he'd learn any Asian language, and he said, perhaps Japanese...which he had no special interest in but would do if he had time. So in short, we got along well and since then I've met up with him another time. And this Saturday we are going to take my friends who are coming to visit me from Catholic over to a famous local pub, with great but cheap food and known to locals not Americans. So I wonder if I should put up the name! jaja It's in Sol, which is the hub of the city. Ask me if you ever go to Madrid! To continue with my thoughts, which I'm sure by now are purely for me. ~I write too much~ Last Sunday I went to El Rastro or The Flee Market. And I write it like that because it's famous in Madrid as the top flee market. The only downside is that over the years, the prices have jumped and the bargaining isn't as heated because the venders know the prices of everything. I only went for 45min to check out the gist of it but not buy or take pictures b/c I was advised by people and my handy guide book that pickpockets run rampant there. However, I saw quite a few cute summer dresses and saw a lot of shoes for men and women. So I plan to take Adrian there when he visits on Sunday, b/c he's crazier about shoes than me. I took the metro from El Rastro 45 min back to my place in time to walk with Susy to 1:00pm mass. It was my first time going since being here and I felt like I had been missing something important in my life when it was over. The vib was great. Nothing like Spanish mass at the Basilica. And the priest mentioned Ash Wednesday! ohh So that's when Kara told me she was giving up English for Lent! jaja. I decided to follow suit except for the sake of this blog and my parents and fam. But otherwise, I've been talking primarily in Spanish. And I feel like things are falling into place quicker for me. I spent the rest of the day with Susy and her neighbors, and then just Susy's neighbors. She left to her apartment, one door down, to work on her classes. And the neighbors, an elderly couple with a big family, began shoving pictures of their family members under my nose and albums of their travels. They talked up the Canary Islands and told me to visit those over the Balearic Islands...however, if I can afford either at this point, I'm still going to the Balearic at this point. My medioambiente (environment) teacher talked up the Balearic Islands over the Canary. So it's all preference. And Luis lived in the Palma de Mallorca for 5 months, which is a Balearic Island, and he told me about a small island that is uninhabited but gorgeous. But anyway, the couple advised me to go to Avila, which isn't far from Madrid, because they have beautiful caves. I have a list of places near Madrid alone that will be day trips. But I know the time I have here is flying and I've visited 3 other cities so far. And I'm about to revisit 2 of them this week... So we'll see how much I can knock off by the end of this trip. I must admit, the transportation in Madrid beats any I've seen in the US and they even advertise this here. They have billboards of the statue of liberty bending over to the metro in Madrid! And same with a Sphinx. And they advertise as the best in the world, and that we wish we had what they have. jaja. So true. I'm spoiled with this system. And DC metro is going to be horrid once I return. There isn't enough lines. Madrid has 13 lines and a local train system called Cercanias that reaches out to cities all around the perimeter of Madrid and connects to major metro stations. And the bus system is an alternative that covers all the same metro routes. All of this is included in the same pass! Unfortunately the metro closes, but they have night bus or el Buho ~means the owl~ that takes the place of the day buses. And is cheaper than a taxi. But I've used the taxi and not the night bus b/c I heard mainly drunken univ students take it. I may take it sometime. But I use the Cercanias to get to Carlos III Univ every day I have class because it jumps between over a ton of metro stops for me, which cuts down on time. Even still, it takes me an hour to get to Getafe. The University is just outside of Madrid in Getafe and I live at the northern most part of Madrid! So the Cercanias are a blessing. My earliest class is at 11 so I get up at 9 to get there. Not bad, but it's not like living on campus. I could go on about me time today at a new park I saw... Juan Carlos I. But I'll save that. I have a headache and need to get my hw finished today so I can spend time w/ Jess and Kondi manana.

Granada is for Pomegranate

I have a question. Why Granada and not Naranja? Seriously? I didn't see any pomegranates only orange trees everywhere! Oh well, the name stuck so that's what it'll have to be. I got up at 7 am to arrive by 8:30 on the other side of Madrid and I didn't think I was going to make it on time. Susy kept asking me so many questions about when and how long was the trip even though I already told her all this! I'm not sure but either she can't understand my accent sometimes or she spaces out a lot. I've had a cold and had to tell her several times that I couldn't have dairy so that the phlegm wouldn't build up anymore. Well anyway. She drove me there because she knew it was faster and I bumped into Jeannie and we hopped up onto the first bus we saw and recognized a lot of the students from Carlos III. However, they asked us if we were from CA and we said know and asked where they were going. Cordoba and then Granada, apparently! Ok, so we ran off the bus and grabbed our bags from the lower compartment before it was shut. And stood by another group of kids that we didn't recognize at all, but so happened to be the right group. Erasmus. It's for all the international students at Carlos univ. Quite literally. We went with 60 some odd people on a double decker bus. All of the Aya students came except two; Kevin and Kara. The trip took 5.30 hrs and including the half hour break. After the break Katie and I started to talk to the Italians sitting across from us. Riccardo was sitting next to Bethany so we talked to him. And then Christy talked to the two Italian girls across from her. They chilled with our group for most of the weekend. So the first thing we did was check into the hostel. I took a picture of the courtyard and the white wall and balcony of my room. I like the courtyard, which is cold mostly. But in the spring it would be nice. After that we left with maps provided, but none of us looked at the street we were on nor record it on a map. Let's just say we took it for granted that the students leading Erasmus would have that covered, if they were organized. The entire group meet at the Isabela and Fernando plaza from the two hostels we split into. The AYA was fortunate to all stay together. Except Christy and I were next door to the rest and we were with the Italians, which we now knew. There were also some French and Finnish girls in the same room. But the cool thing was that we all could communicate through Spanish! The group split into two, according to their hostels, and started on a tour of the main city of Granada. Even with two groups, it was too large and I zoned out of what the girl student, Carmen had to say. But I took photos of the Catedral of Granada that we passed by and other parts of the city. I can't say I know all the buildings though. After that long walk on cobble and slate ~my feet already hurt~ we went on a small buses to the bottom of a winding cobbled path. Left at the bottom to climb for 10 long minutes. However it was worth it because I took some fabulous pictures of the Alhambra at night from an overhang behind a church. All the stars were visible, and I can't spell it, but learned how to say the big dipper in Italian, which literally translates to big bear. From there we walked down the path...downhill being way worse on the feet, and caught the bus over to another section of town. From there we waited awhile to watch my second Flamenco and more tradition performance along with a tall glass of Sangria. The performance lasted an hour with 10 or so performers and only one dance of Castenets... but plenty of the wrist movements known to flamenco and foot stomping that really gets the crowd going. Two guys in the group kept shouting "Ole" after one flamenco artist, which I think she ignored! jaja. So by that point my throat was killing me and dead tired since it was 1am. However, the buses took the group to a bar decked out for V-day and some Europeans in our group proceeded to the bar. Of course all the Americans opted out and asked for the leaders about returning to the hostel. Well they had no clue! One of them told us to ask people on the way! hah! But the guy leader was cool and decided to lead us with a map and try to find the hostel. It turned out two from our AyA group had a recollection and an hour later we made it back. I drugged up and slept till 9.30 so I could get breakfast aka 3 pieces of toasted bread with margarine and strawberry jam plus tea. After a quick skype post to mis padres to say I'm fine we all left for the Alhambra on our double decker, which turned around twice.... These people were not prepared! We hiked up to the last Moorish Fortress, which was a beautiful walk. And we had a 2.5 hr tour of the most ancient city that I've ever seen. ~say goodbye to colonial america!~ 1492 was the year Isabella and Fernando, Los Reyes Catolicos reposed Granada and therefore all of Spain. The Muslims want Andalusia back, from what I hear. But like I said, the Spanairds took back what had originally been theirs. However, many will say that Andalusia is the heart of Spain, featured for it's white houses, water fountains, and symmetry. And these features are due to the Moorish influence and while I had free time I discovered they still have a grasp on a lot of the culture and tourist shops. All of them pretty much have the same things. If you want your very own genni shoes and pants or lamp... even hookah water pipes are offered. I ended up bargaining over a bag that I got for 6 euro. Not bad. It zips and is bigger and decorated. So it's good for night parties. So this trip ended with an all nighter at the pub and then the club Mae West in Granada. Jill and Ryan did my make up and hair because the group of them had had their wine and were excited for the night. So they did up everyone from AYA and the tired bunch of us went out till 4.30. I looked tired in all the pics but the music was great. And our group got vip for the club. We skipped the stairs and took the elevator up to the top of a mall... Jill and I were a little confused when we stepped out and saw burger king and other food chains. But we hopped into the bouncing 3 story club and had a great night and two free drinks.

On the other side of Madrid with the Arch Students

This past weekend, the last before classes started. The Barcelona students passed by for two days. I followed them to the Prado and La Reina Sofia, both are 2 of many famous art museums here. And guess what? Neither let you take photos inside! But I saw all the famous paintings that I've learned through text books and projector slides... you can guess that in person it's way better. But I was glad to have the previous knowledge. Adrian's teacher was explaining Las Meninas to the class. And nothing new for me! jaja. For people who aren't familiar it's by painter Velazquez who is known for paintings of royalty but he liked the common life better so you see both in his paintings. Adrian's teacher focused on the geographical center versus the center of light. It was the first time I heard it explained in English, so I admit, I appreciated it a bit more. Before Adrian and I were to meet with the people we went shopping for my boots! And found them in Sol. It was harder than one would think to find the right style and foot size. People here are on average 4 to 5 inches shorter than me so haha, my foot size is a little unusual unless I go were the tall tourists shop. Another condition was that I didn't want them made in China. I tried on three pairs in two stores and the third was the pair I wore to the club that night. I brought Adrian to see Susy, my host mom and to change. She had been a little sick but was as chevere as ever and insisted to makes a vegetable spaghetti, delicious. And we finished my birthday icecream cake. Then she drove us, a little faster than I'd like, to Sol to meet Sara and Katie and the architecture students. Despite the crazy driving I city people do, I enjoyed seeing Madrid above ground at night! So after the small intro, Adrian 'sprinted' through the Prado. ~sigh~ So I need to go back. That night we all went to Kapital a 7 floor club.... it was expensive! But we liked the Spanish dance floor and the hip hop. Sadly the techno didn't come close to Basshunter or Cascada. So we got bored of it. Except for a blast of dry ice that dropped from the ceiling to give me a Marlyn Monroe every time. But it was hot! So the blast of cool dry ice was like a high for the crowd. We shared two free drinks that come with the entrance fee and rationed them. 12 euro a pop isn't cheap. I preferred the second one, my choice, orange fanta and vodka. The coke and rum was weird... but then coke here is different. Day two was the Reina Sofia, I also need to go back there! Then we viewed a cool plant building, part of the Caixa Forum and the more industrial one we went inside. I liked the stair wells. They were wide, bending, and metal like a slide but with steps. And the plants are all real and living off the environment of the Spain's temparate climate without much dirt. The number of species was in the thousands. From there Adrian and I split to the Botanical Gardens and Parque Retiro. I took some videos of the gardens and I'm going to compare them to later in the semester when the flowers come out. Although this spring weather does allow for pansies and other hardy flowers. And I saw crocuses peeping out. A whole section to the park was dedicated to bonsai trees! The display was peaceful and it felt very oriental. So peaceful that Adrian was almost knocked out. Can you tell he didn't sleep after the club? Well from their we searched and searched for a cheap place to eat dinner until I brought him to my favorite Tapa Bar Malaspinas. It was literally the most crowed bar in that section. I got a glass of Sangria, and Adrian got Manzanilla. (apple wine) His portion was a third of mine, jaja. He tried mine, and converted to Sangria right there. Apparently Cisco can't make comparable Sangria. We were stuffed off a lot of potatoes because I wanted the Patatas Bravas and our ham came with fries! It was delicious anyway and chowed down for 15 euro. And that will be all for now folks! I'm off to Granada at 8:30 am my time and 2:30 am G.M.T. time. I caught a little throat problem and drank some vino tinto and took a Spanish form of benidryl, not in the same hour. No worries! But I hate being sick for exciting events and the Alhambra is going to be exciting! I'll post some Arabic Architecture when I get back... btw the weather was like 50 something today, which could be screwing me over, with the weather change. And I packed t-shirts for Granada and 55 F weather! I love temperate climates!

Feeling Adventurous?

Las Chicas Sara, Christy, Bethany, Katie and I had a plan.... and well we all know how those end. So Instead of seeing Madrid's Planetarium and Goya's Tomb, stupid siesta. We found entertainment as we strolled the city. We decided while here why not take pictures of the most famous and overdone monuments here? We ate in a quaint, restaurant during the siesta, aka waiting for the stores to open up and look for shoes! At least me. It took a good 3 weeks to find them. I bought them finally when Adrian came this past Saturday the 7th. But that's later :) So we snapped a shot of the bear and tree and clock tower in La Puerta del Sol, Don Quixote and Miguel Cervantes in La Plaza de Espana and the Tower of Spain is there too. Plus I have pics of the park around the outside of the planetarium...

Las Danzas Folkloricas de Espana....Ole!

So I was judging by the responses on this blog that I've been writing to a few. But I've been getting some complaints about my long hiatus! So sorry, it's been that great here that I haven't found lots of time to be on the computer because Madrid has a lot to offer. So this week was my first week of classes! Guay! And I confirmed them with Patricia as my permanent classes for the semester which ends in May. Honestly this semester is really short and I'm not sure I like that. However my plane ticket home is not until June 8th and Susy wants to travel with me, so perfect! A lot has transpired. But for the sake of some order I'm going to start with the past events and move forward. This last Friday I went to see the Folkloric Dances of Spain, which consist mainly of Flamenco! The dance of the gitanos or gypsies. Boy did the Castenets give me a headache! :( I really enjoyed all of it, but only the first 3 dances were with out the constant clap clap clap of those hand held 'chestnuts shells' and from then on it was constant. I'm terrible with watching late movies and performances because I start to get pressure in my temple after staring at the lights and the castenets too...you can only imagine! BUT for anyone who loves dancing and watching really guay formations, it was maravillosa. I admire the way they were in sync and the groups especially. Circles are harder than you think! jaja I'm guilty of recording the entire first dance on my video camera until a seater came behind my should during the second dance and rapt out in Spanish how cams aren't allowed. However, under the scarf...here are a few blearly pics. BTW we waited outside for one member of our group and were late, but our seats were up front in the first row. But I liked to see the formations from the back and their faces/dresses up close. So I had the best of both.