Marla Brown came to town

I had a lovely weekend with my good friend Marla Brown, who came to visit from Granada! I am planning on returning the favor, and visiting her this weekend. I have a lot of photos for you all today of me standing in front of monuments. How intriguing they are! It's me in front of an arch, me in the Campo del Moro, me in a boat! Marla and I rented a boat in the Retiro park. There is a little lake and we rowed around for half an hour. Not to sound too conceited but I was pretty much the best rower out there!! No doubt. We also got a few picture of us pig riding--not the same as riding the pigs at Bridget's farm, but I still reminisced.

It was a really good weekend.

intercambio

The curso intensivo is coming to an end. I have two papers to write and 3 finals next week, YUCK! So, I haven't done anything exciting in a while. Our real classes also start next week, at least the one we are taking in the actual university and not in the college within the university. Which I guess is only one class, but it's the more difficult class with REAL Spaniards.

I did have my intercambio linguistica today. Which is a language exchange. You get partnered up with a Spaniard and talk half an hour in English and half an hour in Spanish. My partner's name is Isabel and she is very nice, but we didn't speak any English today. Which is probably for the best, but it would have been nice/easy to speak in English--at least for me. Not that I don't get to speak in English ever, but speaking in English is just nice and mindless.

I am including a picture of a picture because I felt bad I didn't have anything for you all to look at. It is the WIP group picture, and I didn't do a good job of taking it, but those are all the WIPers+Tulane students.

El Rastro

Every Sunday in Madrid there is a GIANT flee market called 'El Rastro'. All the streets are flooded with people. It is known for finding treasures among the rough and for getting pick pocketed. Neither of which I did today. I actually didn't buy anything. I figured it was best to just look the first day, but I am definitely going back next weekend (with Marla Brown, because she will be visiting!) and buying some scarves for a euro and maybe a funky dress. There were a lot of cool clothes there. I've included a lot of pictures from El Rastro, I think this will help you get a better idea of what it is. Also, while walking around we found a very interesting public pool. It had a very hippy feel and was constructed sort of like a rats-nest out of 2x4s. There were little kids swimming in underpants and hippies doing yoga. I really liked it. We also stopped by the Plaza Mayor for a break because our feet were so tired!

discoteca

Last night I spent my first official night like a joven in Spain. Kristen and I went to the discoteca 'joy' and danced until the metro opened again at 6am. It was super fun. We went early enough that we got free entrance and a free drink, so the only thing I had to pay for the whole nigh was the 'chocolate con churros' which is the classic thing to get after a night of dancing. I should take a nap right now because I am going out with Laura and her sister and friends tonight, but they aren't leaving until 10:30 and probably won't return until the wee hours of the morning. I think it will be a really cool night. Laura is probably one of the coolest people I've met since arriving. I probably won't talk much though. Little by little I'll open up as my Spanish gets better, hopefully.

The pictures are a few more from around my barrio.

Moved in

I am in my piso, finally. It feels so good to know I won't have to move again for a year (at least that is the current plan!). I am exhausted. All these late nights and early mornings are starting to get to me. We (Kristin and Ben (Americans)) went to IKEA today. That store takes a lot out of a person. I didn't really buy much though, because the room I am in is fully furnished, everything supplied. There is even a french press I can use. I hope I don't accidentally buy decaf coffee.

I am including a picture of my cute room and it's view. The view is, I will admit, not that great, but the more time I spend in the barrio the more I like it.

After dropping off my small purchases from IKEA I went to go grochery shopping and ran into Laura, she showed me the mercado where I should buy fruit, veggies, bread, meat, and fish.

I am so bad at doing everything, and get frustrated with my inability to communicate, but I know it will get better.

Tengo piso!

I found an apartment today. My roommate's name is, ironically, Laura. Talking to each other will be fine, but if we have guests, things may get confusing...

The room in really nice, but kind of small. The whole apartment is kind of small. The kitchen in newly remodeled (score), and there is a PIANO! I now need to find some sheet music though. I wish I had brought some of my favorites from home. The barrio (neighborhood) is not all that attractive like some of them, but I think I will be really happy there, and if I'm not, I can move.

Laura (Spanish Laura) is a cinematographer, which is pretty cool. I hope we get along. She seems pretty chill.

I can't wait to go grocery shopping, it will be soon!

La noche en blanco

Last night was La noche en blanco. Everybody and their small children (seriously there were babies out there) stayed out until the wee hours of the morning. We turned in early at 3am. I am yet to have a real Spanish night of staying out until 6am and having chocolate con churros. Oh well I have a long time to get on that.

La noche en blanco is when everything stays open late. Museums are open late, restaurants, parks, bars(which would be open anyway), there is music in the streets and LOTS of people. We went to two museums. One with an exhibit called "calves and thighs" and to a Goya exhibit in some other museum that I don't recall the name of.

I am still on the apartment search. I have found a really nice room in a really nice apartment, but I'm not sure if it's a good fit for me. There is another girl that has priority over me, so if she takes it, I won't and then I will be on the search again.

7 Pisos

So I think I have decided on a piso. It is in the northern part of the city and I am going to call the woman tomorrow to see if a room is still open. I hope so :) (btw we went to 7 pisos today-- oy vey)

Here are some small things that I really have/do enjoy in Madrid to date:

There are giant orange juicing machines everywhere. Let me expand. These are machines that you put whole oranges into, it slices them in half and it juices them. The Colegio Mayor (dorm) that we are staying at has one, so I have had fresh squeezed orange juice everyday since arriving. YUM-O!

Went to get another adapter today for my hair dryer and the hardware store owners told us all about their son who lives in America. It was so cute.

Abonos- magical passes that let you take the Metro and buses whenever you want. To be purchased once a month. (I love the public transportation here.)

Clothes here are NOT expensive. If anything they are cheaper or the same prices. It is going to be hard to resist shopping all the time.

Las americanas, idiotas extraordinarias!

The past two days have been very exciting. Yesterday was Segovia. It was beautiful. The city was quiet and the streets felt so European. I loved it. I wish a could look for an apartment there and commute everyday, which apparently some people do. Still no photos though because I can't get them to load.

Today was the first day of class. I have been placed in the most remedial level of three. These are what I am using to console myself 1) I went to bed at 12p and woke up at 7a. 2) I have not completed very much of my Spanish major, so others probably do know more than me. 3) I have been accidentally placed into the wrong course. The truth is that I really probably should be in this level. My Spanish needs a lot of work. I speak with a TERRIBLE american accent here because speaking in spanish takes so much energy I don't care about pronouncing things authentically.

Kristen (New AMERICAN friend) and I have been looking at lot of pisos (apartments) together. This task, as I am sure I have mentioned, is overwhelming. Now that classes have started it is even worse. We have spent so much time wondering around madrid with a stupid look on our face, paging desperately through our callejero (street guide with maps, it's actually the best thing ever) trying to make appointments on time.

While on the phone to make an appointment lots of times the spaniards have to do one or all of the following 1)ask if I'm still on the line because they will just have finished saying something and I didn't understand so have not replied 2) repeat themselves 20+ times 3)attempt to explain it horribly in english

It is kind of horrible, but also kind of fun and hilarious. Wish me luck in finding the best piso ever! (aka renovated, clean, nice barrio, cool spanish roomies, not too expensive. it that too much to ask?)

me duele los pies

I think I spent 8 hours today walking. We left at 12:30 and got back at 9:00p. The only sitting I did was on the Metro. We have been searching for the perfect apartments which means most of the 8 hours I was walking, we were lost. Madrid is not in nice little quadrants. Mainly it is twisty and curvy. I still haven't found an apartment. I toured one today but it was a no go. I have an appointment for Monday. Making the phone calls in Spanish has turned out to be quite interesting. I spend most my day (on and off the phone) feeling stupid. It will not defeat me though. I know everything will be ok and we will learn.

I am speaking too much english. It is like a security blanket. It's easy, and doesn't make my brain hurt-seriously. It's like doing math problems and trying to hold a conversion. Tomorrow is the trip to Segovia. I am excited.

I am getting used to the eating schedule here. I kind of like it. it is 10:30 right now and I just got done with dinner. Weird, right?

I still can't get pics to load, sorry. I haven't really been taking many though.

lost in translation

Today after an orientation about academics we had the afternoon free to walk around the city. We went looking for phones and when we finally got to the phone store we had been searching for FOREVER they only had one of the phones left and there were 4 of us. So, I do not have a phone and I NEED to get one. This is priority #1 tomorrow.

We went to this giant department store today called Cortes Inglesia which is like a huge mall, but it's one store. We had to ask for lots of directions and we had no idea what was going on a lot of the time. In el Cortes Inglesia there is a grocery store (because there is everything) but to take bags into the grocery store you either have to leave them at a counter or seal them into another bag. I have included photos of this machine and of the result. ( in the photo is Kristin). When the man, employee, explained this to us we were very confused (in spanish of course) but he helped us with the machine, because this was so strange to us.

There are also some pics of Plaza del Sol, which we came upon during our walk.

ok, pictures to be loaded soon. It is 2am and I want to go to bed. they will be the only thing in the next blog.