Last week of freedom

So it has been quite a busy week before classes start on Monday. My aunt Nancy, a flight attendant for Delta, had a layover in Madrid Wednesday night and all of Thursday. We had the best time together! Seeing a face from home was probably just the thing I needed. Wednesday night I met up with her and her flight crew and had tapas at a bar across the street. It was so nice to be surrounded by English speakers with a familiar southern twang! We then took the metro to the Sol area and had more tapas and wine at a delicious mushroom bar that looked more like a hobbit hole (Dad you will have to find some way to get in there because you would love it!). At the restaurant they cook whole mushrooms in a type of garlic and olive oil and place a piece of prosciutto in the middle and they are to die for! The waiter also brought out croquettes (one of my favorite foods in Spain) and calamari, which is a specialty in Spain. After dinner Nancy and I both went home because she was jet lagged and I had an oral interview at my school the next day at 9:30 to determine my Spanish grammar class placement.

I completed my oral interview but not without turning my famous shade of red as I was so intimidated and nervous. I met Nancy near her hotel for cafe con leche (our favorite) and a croissant for breakfast. After stopping by my apartment we walked around the Sol area and stopped in many of the European stores like Zara and Topshop which are worn by celebrities like Kate Moss. We then decided to go to a restaurant my uncle Paul had suggested called Restaurante Botin, the oldest running restaurant in the world according to the Guiness Book of World Records. I can honestly say that has been my favorite meal in Madrid so far! Nancy ordered veal and I ordered a shrimp omelette and then we shared a plate of the best green beans I have ever had!
After Lunch Nancy and I walked around the Plaza Mayor area and discovered the cutest indoor market that reminded me of a Dean & Deluca. There was a different station for each type of food. They had fruit, beans, bread, olives, wine, meats, and desserts and you could go to each station and order something different then make a meal out of it. It could definitely get expensive though but I will have to try it before I leave!Nancy and I then decided to wander around near the Palace and down some of the most beautiful side streets. We ended up at the Cathedral Almudena and decided to go inside. I don't have much experience with old cathedrals but this was the most beautiful and old cathedral I could imagine. The colors on the window and painted on the ceilings were really vibrant and spanish- like. There was soft choir music playing in the background and I have never felt so calm and tranquil. The cathedral was massive but I loved it! The outside of the cathedral overlooks another part of the city. Until you arrive at an overlook, sometimes you forget that Madrid sits on a hill and you forget how big it really is!
We then walked around some more and ended up at a cute tapas bar with all kinds of desserts, drinks, and appetizer type food in the business district area of Sol. We both had a glass of wine with olives and I fell victim to a chocolate croissant which was amazing! After that we decided to try the Starbucks coffee across the street and to our suprise it tastes just as good as all the other Spanish coffee. Compared to the Starbucks and all other coffee in America, the coffee over here is more milky which masks the black coffee taste that I don't like! Nancy and I said goodbye back at my apartment because her flight left early Friday morning.

I decided to stop being the lame roommate and got ready to go out. My roommates decided to have some boys over so they made tapas- type food and sangria (which was amazing!).

After I had some of the appetizers and sangria (yes I am finally legal!) I met some other people from our program at a bar called La Joyeria because the bar had a special for unlimited beer for only 5 euros. I soon found out why it was such a great deal...the beer was NASTY! A group of us left the bar and headed for one of the most famous discotecs in Madrid, Kapital. The club is 7 floors, with different drinks on each, with a huge dancefloor in the middle. It was a little overwhelming but different to experience! We all finally made it to the top floor, the Mojito floor and hung out there for a little while until I was ready to leave.

The next day two of my roommates and I walked to the Parque Retiro, which we figured out was only about a 10 minute walk from our apartment, and walked around for about 2 hours. It was such a perfect day and the sky was a beautiful blue. After the park we decided that we had earned some churros and chocolate (something that everyone needs to try once) that we ate outside. One of my favorite things about Spain is the outdoor dining everywhere! It is so nice to walk everywhere and then just pick a cute little cafe on the sidewalk.

This morning I got up and met the two other Wofford girls here, Kensey and Patterson, to explore some of the city. I finally got to experience the essence of Spain! We had lunch at an outside table...in the Plaza Mayor which was such a great experience. It was once again a beautiful day (sorry to all of you Charlotte people stuck in the snowstorm). We then just walked around the city and ended up at the metro station near our school. I love just walking around aimlessly waiting to see where I end up and taking in the sites. Unfortunately classes start Monday so my free time will start to decrease a little bit but I am so excited to get on a routine. I also found out today that my art class is actually taught inside the Reina Sofia and by a lady who works there. There are so many things to look forward to in the upcoming weeks! Also my roommate Jenn, from UNC, and I are beginning to plan our Spring Break trip which will be a tour through the cities of Italy like Milan, Florence, Pompeii, and Rome and would make my 21st birthday be in Rome! How lucky am I to be doing this?

Waking up to snow!

This morning I woke up to my beautiful view covered in white..even more beautiful than usual! I think I was the only one of my roommates who was excited to see snow considering all of them are from the north where snow is a daily occurrence. I will admit though, that the commute to school was a little longer today since the air was so bitter and cold! Orientation is over tomorrow and I will take an oral exam Thursday to determine the level of my language class for the semester. I am so excited to get the next few days off for break because my aunt Nancy, who is a flight attendant for Delta, will be spending her layover with me in Madrid! As luck has it she is also staying only one metro stop away from me across from the huge Plaza del Toros.

I had a great start to the week complete with a tour of the beautiful Parque del Retiro (most famous in my life for its appearance on Jillian's season of the Bachelorette as the romantic spot for her and Kiptyn). It definitely lived up to all of its glory! After my roommates and I stopped for some churros and chocolate (my favorite new dessert) we met the rest of the IES group for the tour. The park is huge and filled with greenery, waterfalls, soccer fields, a monument for the victims of the Madrid bombings in 2004, and the Palacio de Cristal (pictured below). The walk through the park was also nice because I am slowly beginning to meet more and more people and form more friendships with those outside of my apartment and Wofford. After the tour I came home and made my typical pasta dish for dinner because that is all I have mastered in cooking.


Monday after class I met up with 4 girls from my program and we went shopping at the Principe Pio mall. The mall had stores like H&M and Zara that I don't normally get to see. I had so much fun with them and practiced some major self restraint. My only purchase was some black leggings because it appears to be a staple item around here....let's see if I can pull off the European look? I came back to the apartment and had dinner and then skyped with Ruthie and Catherine which absolutely made my week! I finally feel like I can be part of both worlds because I am starting to like it here so much!

So I have a funny story from last night to prove that through all of my effort to adjust to the time difference, my sleep schedule is still very messed up! My alarm didn't work Monday morning and I woke up with 30 minutes to get ready and still had to shower, eat breakfast, etc. Therefore I made sure that my phone alarm would work for Tuesday morning so I would not be caught in that predicament again. Last night around 2:25 a.m my roommate's phone buzzed on our bedside table (keep in mind I didn't fall asleep until 2:00). Convinced it was my alarm, I jumped out of my bed and ran to the shower without even looking at the time. Needless to say, I took a shower at 2:25 in the morning and almost started getting ready when my brain came back. I realized I still had five hours to sleep so I climbed back into bed with wet hair and slept until it was time to go to class. I promise my body will adjust...just in time to go back home!

Segovia

Yesterday the IES program set off on charter buses to one of the most beautiful places I have ever been! Segovia is such a quaint, beautiful, small town that is home to sites such as the castle of Alcazar which inspired the castle from Sleeping Beauty, the church of Vera Cruz, and the Roman aqueducts. Don't worry, there are 3 ZTAs on the trip from 3 different schools and we got a lovely picture throwing up the crown in front of our castle for Themis magazine haha.

After we visited the sites the group went to lunch at this beautiful and yummy restaurant Torrecaballeros. They served us at least 6 different courses consisting of bread, roasted red peppers in olive oil, a potato, egg, and olive oil casserole, fried ham and cheese balls, and salad and chicken. I was safe and chose the chicken but a boy at my table ordered the pig. There was legitimately a hoof sticking off of his plate as he cut into the pig! I really enjoyed sitting at a table with a bunch of different people from my program and meeting all kinds of different people. It is really nice how I am forced to meet people that I would have never met in any other situation because a lot of them are really great!

After we got back from Segovia (I don't remember the bus ride because it was during my siesta for the day or naptime) my apartment got ready to go to tapas and then to a club. I still have not figured out the hours for eating here as we were walking around trying to find food at 11 and NOTHING was open. The other night we were walking around at 9 and NOTHING was open. Sooo when exactly is dinner time here? We finally found an Irish pub (again) and ordered an appetizer of chicken wings with fries and vegetables and made that dinner. I didn't complain much since it was pretty americanized food. At around 1 we finally got to Club Joy and were let in free and ahead of the line since we were girls and one of our roommates has made friends with the owner. I think it is pretty safe to say that I have NEVER experienced something like Club Joy. It is what I imagined a discotec being but never thought I would actually be in one. The dance floor was packed and there was a stage with entertainment dancers (maybe a little trashy looking) and those who were considered V.I.P. There was second level too that circled the dance floor and there were literally people EVERYWHERE! The music was your typical Kanye West american rap which surprised me and made me miss my friends a lot! I was so overwhelmed that I got a taxi back to my apartment at 4:30 and went straight to bed! Some of my roommates didn't even get in until 6:00, so once again I am the lame, small-school girl who does not know how to party.

I am beginning to book trips to see people and look into flight costs for all the places I want to go and am getting so excited about picking a place off of the map and being able to go! What a great opportunity! (thank you Mom and Dad) I booked a trip to Barcelona today to see Molly, Mimi, Sarah, and Grace Perry for Mimi's 21st and I could not be more excited! It will be so nice to be with a little part of home! Anyways we are getting ready to meet up with people from our program for tapas that our program is giving us for free so I am beyond excited that I finally get a real dinner meal!

I love Madrid!

I woke up this morning with the oddest feeling that I was over my homesickness and ready to start the semester. We took our 50 minute commute complete with 8 metro stops and a 15 minute walk (yes I know, so fun especially with 9 am classes everyday) to the IES center where we take 1 orientation class a day that covers Spanish culture and language to help us not stick out as much as we already do. Little things I learned: don't tip for it is insulting (oops), Spaniards wear their wedding ring on their right hand usually (oops again as I am walking around like a married woman with my grandmother's ring on my right hand), and if you can't figure out one vocabulary word on any menu item, do NOT order it. I love my teacher and it is nice being in smaller groups based on tests we took to determine our level of spanish. I still can't get used to how casual things seem to be at school. My teacher is never on time and complains about getting up so early for work; she has to be there at 9 and is NEVER on time (pretty sure almost all Americans have been working at least an hour by that time). We also have a 45 minute break to get coffee or food since Spaniards have a million meal times, therefore our 3 hour class ends up being quite short but who's complaining?

After class I went to the supermarket since I am in charge of providing my own meals and cannot afford the 10 euro a meal prices. It was interesting trying to figure out what everything was using familiar pictures or vocabulary. I find with more and more everyday conversations like the supermarket checkout line, my confidence in my spanish continues to grow! After we ate, 2 other girls from my apartment and I went on a guided tour around historic Madrid. I have never really been interested in sightseeing or historical places but I have never been so happy just looking around as I was today! We went to the Palacio Real, La Catedral, Medieval Madrid and the plaza there, La Plaza Mayor, La Puerta de Sol or the Times Square of Spain, and many of the embassies. I fell in love with Madrid right then and there. It still amazes me how I found a place that allows me to experience city life but also offers the old architecture and beautiful sights. Today made me so so excited for all the sights I will have the opportunity to see and so excited to connect my knowledge of Spanish history to physical sites.

Finally settled!

So I am not going to lie, I truly think the parents guide to study abroad was completely wrong about the emotional roller coaster I was destined to face upon arriving in Madrid. The guide said I would first enter the honeymoon stage where the enchantment with all of the new sights and excitement would overshadow the possible frustrations. That definitely did NOT happen. I finally arrived in Madrid Monday morning after an overnight flight from Newark. I hopped off the plane, collected my baggage (luckily it was there), headed through customs, and then was greeted by the IES staff from my program. Next thing I know I am whisked into a taxi by myself with a man who knows zero English and I am supposed to tell him to take me to the hotel the program was staying at for the night. The only word he said to me the whole time was "sangre" while pointing in the mirror at me. Yes, sangre does mean blood. My lips were so chapped from the airplane and cold that I had blood all over my lip. Great way to start out!

Patterson and I luckily got paired together to share a room for the night. Luckily I wasn't with a stranger because two twin beds were pushed together and turning over right next to some rando person could get a little awkward at times. We went to a welcome lunch and learned that the food was about to be an adventure. They served ham over roasted vegetables and veal with potatoes and mushrooms in a lemon sauce. Needless to say I ate bread and vegetables and some of the flan for dessert. Patterson and I then went back to the room and slept from 3:30 that afternoon until 8:00 the next morning, only to take a break from our sleep to get jipped into buying internet from the hotel. The next morning we had an early breakfast and began to pack up to go to our apartments and homestays. Lucky me got stuck in an elevator with 7 other people and ended up having to jump out of the elevator shaft into the lobby with quite an audience! (but on the brightside I did end up meeting some people from my program)

My apartment is nice according to my city girl roommates although I find it smaller than what I am used to but it is nice! We drew numbers for roommates and rooms so I am rooming with a girl from the Dominican Republic who luckily speaks perfect Spanish (or unlucky for me, you choose). We all get along really well and it is the apartment joke that I am the stereotypical, southern debutante with a "yall" vocabulary, pearl- wearing, and straight out of a bubble. Little do they know that I am far from what it could be but I am trying to hold my own in the big city with all of them (3 from NY and 1 from Ohio).

After a bumpy first couple of days filled with frustration from the language barrier, the program is totally in spanish along with conversation in the apartment and the city, and major homesickness I am finally starting to find optimism. I am learning the metro, meeting more people, becoming more confident with my Spanish, and exploring this beautiful city more. Madrid really is a great place to be as it offers all the benefits of a big city yet is beautiful like a small town. I keep reminding myself what an opportunity I have been given and I get more and more excited to see what these next 4 months have to offer me!