Defense Against the Dark Arts (and Fires, and Strikes, and the Anticipation of Never-ending Tours)

         How is it that it’s already Thursday? And how is it that we’ve officially been here for over a month? This week has flown by. (All of them have!) We’re starting to fall into a routine, which is making me feel more like a madrileña. We even got to cooorcoorse at the right time on Monday! Actually, we got there a few min early so we could stop by the Duke office and sign up for an intercambio! Intercambio is a program where Duke pairs a CEU student with one of us – they’re hoping to better their English and we’re hoping to better our Spanish! Perfect, right? My goal is to have Marta (my intercambio) at a good enough level to be reading my blog by December – I know; I dream big. When I got home that night I sent her an email, because I didn’t think we were the type of friends who called other (yet), especially because she had no idea who I was.

            Of course, I had a whole Monday to think about how best to phrase my email to Marta. After coorcoorse, we had painting where we continued to learn about all sorts of cool things. We were talking about Romanticism. Now, it might be because I just got back from Germany, but my favorite painter we talked about was Caspar David Friedrich.

Pretty uplifting, huh? Makes you contemplate your insignificance? Friedrich wasn’t exactly what you’d call an optimist. So it goes.

            After painting, Taylor, Erin, and I decided we would go do a “cultural activity.” (As part of coorcoorse, we have to do six such activities over the course of the semester.) There was a supposedly really cool King Tut exhibit in Madrid! It was in Casa del Campo (aka the nothingness in which the teleférico dropped us off.) Obviously, we got lost. Luckily, the nice woman at the metro ticket counter directed us. Apparently having an address of “Casa del Campo” does not actually mean you should get off at the Casa del Campo metro stop. Once at the appropriate metro stop, there were literally arrows directing us – it’s like they knew we were coming. I took the ambitious step of getting my headset in Spanish (in retrospect, perhaps not the best idea – apparently I missed out on a sick English/Scottish accent, and probably a lot of information.) The exhibit was kind of cool, but everything was a replica. LAME. I want to see real stuff. It was sort of a bummer, but we did unexpectedly get the one euro we paid to use a locker back when we returned the key, so all was not lost. We also went to bed excessively early which was awesome.

            Tuesday was pretty exciting, too. Asia noticed that the book we need for history is available online (fo’ free! I love free things!). We also went to the Prado for Painting. Frankly, I’m pretty embarrassed I haven’t been yet, but it was beautiful and I will definitely be back. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me, so I couldn’t snap any illegal photos, but don’t worry, it’ll happen. We went to go see Goya’s dark paintings. True to his word, some of them were pretty morbid. Luckily, after class we continued to explore a little more and saw some more uplifting paintings. We saw “Las Meninas” (classic) and Goya’s famous painting of a similar fashion of the court of Carlos IV (who we’re getting to know intimately well in History). Cool beans. I was going to post pictures, but CASAMAT's flippin out so you'll have to google them yourselves.

            We came home before our Madrid class to find Angeles standing casually in the kitchen with a blender on a platter on the stove which was ON FIRE (or fyURRRRRR as Mike would say Perry would say). This was not your average burner fire. This was a fire which warranted more than a shrug as a reaction, which is what Angeles gave us. She proceeded to remove the blender and platter and use the cup which was previously filled with oil to fill with water to put out the fire. Obviously it only increased since there were still oil remnants. Still unfazed, she continued to refill and dump the cup until it worked. At some point Emilio walked in, concerned about his lunch, and then left when he realized it wasn’t ready. Ironically, when we returned to our rooms, we found that A&E had posted fire safety instructions on our computers which Nuria and Eva had sent them. Perhaps if they were in Spanish that situation would have been handled a little better. After making sure nothing else was aflame, we grabbed our money and set off again. We bought tickets to go to Morocco! We’re going with a tour group (so not my usual style), and I’m so excited! Of course, there are so many other things to look forward to (such as every day!) before that, so it hasn’t really hit me yet. I was going to write that I managed to not embarrass myself in the Madrid class for once but that would definitely be a lie. Patricia, our professor, calls people out to give answers. I love this, but the one question I got was obviously the one I was the least prepared to answer. Rather than reading the succinct answer I had written down, I babbled in nearly incoherent Spanish for a solid couple of minutes. Good work, Nicole. Whatever. I’ll try again today.

            Wednesday was the huelga general! This means that subways and buses were hardly running (it took Emilio an hour to catch one!) and there were riots and marches all day. More importantly, it meant no class! Erin and I slept in until 9.15! I know; loco. I woke up feeling sort of sick so really wanted to do anything but eat. Of course Angeles had already prepared breakfast so I tried my best. When she saw that I had not done my usual amount of damage, I had to explain that I wasn’t feeling well. “Only soup for you all day!” (I wanted to make a Seinfeld reference, but felt like it would have been lost on her.)  I was down with that, so retreated to my room to enjoy the huelga in peace. When Emilio got back, he offered me some Aquarius water (“Good for the stomach!”) and told me I needed to eat something since he had heard I didn’t eat breakfast. (News travels fast around this apartment, especially when it’s about food.) We relaxed, watched some Glee (so good), and went for a run. Lunch rolled around – we had Cocido Madrid. (If you want to know more about it, ask Sydney. She’s sort of the expert having done a presentation about it in our Madrid class.) The first course is soup. I was excited that Angeles was sticking to her word. Of course, the second course came around and she was upset that I didn’t eat any. Oh, well. I was not winning favorite child yesterday. In the evening, it appeared as though the Metros were sort of running, so Erin and I decided to head out to the poetry lecture we had signed up to attend. Once we arrived at the metro stop, we got incredibly lost. Why? Because the map we were provided with was missing a crucial piece of information. Even the Spaniard we eventually asked told us it was poorly drawn. I know that from now on, I will be Google mapping. It was basically a poet, Ida Vitale, reading a bunch of her work. After the lecture, Angeles had obviously made me a full dinner. I told her I wasn’t interested and challenged her to eat it when she tried to pawn it off on Erin. She placed it down at the table, pulled up a chair, and took me on. I was impressed.

            Today has been pretty uneventful. I called Marta since she never emailed me back and we’re going to meet on Monday! (I was going to text but decided to just go all out.) I’m proud to say that I’m more prepared for this weekend trip than I was for last weekends, in that it’s not 1:30AM right now. We’re going to Barcelona tomorrow and I’m so excited! Having wandered around on an unnecessary 45 minute walk and sat through a lecture which I could have gone without, I think I’m nearly ready to take on intense day of touring that’s in store for us tomorrow. Nuria and Eva, show me whatchu got. 

Oktoberfest - Of Friends, Old and New

           This year marked the 200^th anniversary of Oktoberfest, and my first trip to Germany. It was actually my first non-university sanctioned trip, and overall, I’d say things went pretty smoothly. Erin and I caught our flight, without showing anyone any form of ID (weird?) and got through to Germany without going through customs. (I’m going to be honest – I was pretty bummed. I was hoping I’d be able to rack up some stamps this semester.) We met up with Chaele, who’s studying in Paris, and attempted to figure out the subway system because we’re way too cheap/inadequate at German to take a taxi. We bought a pack of ten tickets for our trip, which was wholly unnecessary, because there didn’t seem to be any place to have to use them – we literally just walked straight onto the subway. Eventually we found that there are really unclearly labeled polls into which you’re supposed to deposit the appropriate number of stubs, but I’m not that responsible, and wasn’t even sure how many stubs each trip cost. Needless to say, we didn’t buy any more tickets. Gotta cut costs where you can, you know?

            After wandering in the wrong direction for a bit once at the appropriate stop, we accosted a poor German woman and tried to use hand motions to tell her where we were trying to go. (Understanding such little German really made me realize how much Spanish I know.) To our embarrassment and relief, she actually spoke English, rendering our miming even less useful than it would have originally been. We eventually found the Creo Living, and were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves with some pretty snazzy accommodations. 

            We had decided that it would be a bit too typical-college-student of us to just go straight to Oktoberfest and spend the weekend in Munich without actually seeing any of it, so off we went to see the sights! We wandered around the city center, and took pictures of things we thought to be important (i.e. the face-sized pretzel Chaele bought.) Perhaps it was a longing for the familiarity of Guzmán, or perhaps it was just because no day this semester would be complete without an excessive number of stairs; we decided to climb to the top of the tower at the Church of Our Lady in Munich. It’s the highest point in the city and offers beautiful views. The staircase was an incredibly tight spiral one, but it only went up about halfway. The rest of the way was ascended through an elevator. This was both a blessing and a disappointment. We also explored the inside of the church itself, which was really neat because it had a very distinctive feel, different from any church I’ve been to in Spain or France.

Important looking building

Important looking pretzel

Different vibes, right?

View from the top

            After exploring the main city, we made our way up to the famous English Gardens. (I didn’t know they were famous, but apparently they’re a big deal. According to Wikipedia, my source for all things, these gardens are bigger than Central Park.)  The main attraction of these gardens is a large Chinese Pagoda that one would think would be relatively easy to find – we had no such luck. We did find some other big gazebo-type structure though, so we were pretty satisfied.

            Having given the touristy thing a shot, we decided it we could spend the rest of the weekend at Oktoberfest with a clear conscience. We took the subway immediately there from the gardens. We didn’t know exactly where to go, so we just did the logical thing and followed the lederhosen. (Oh, yes. There were lederhosen.) The only appropriate word to describe our feelings at the moment would have to be giddy. When we actually saw the festival, we were in awe. It is gigantic, and not at all what I expected. That first night we learned a few important lessons about Oktoberfest:

1. Beer “tents” are actually buildings. There is nothing “tent” about the elaborate halls we found ourselves in once we finally got in. 

2. There are really rollercoasters!!!! There are also ferris wheels, and spinny things, and slides, and all sorts of rides. This seems like a bad idea, no? 

3. Getting beer at Oktoberfest is ironically a lot harder than one would think. Seriously. We got into the famous Hofbrau tent only to find that they wouldn’t serve us if we didn’t have a table. All of the tables had people at them.

4. After leaving Hofbrau and eventually maneuvering our way into the Lowenbrau tent (just a sneaky run through the door before it closed; not a big deal), we learn the way to circumvent number 3. We finally looked desperate enough for a beer maiden to serve us, and then realized that making friends is not hard to do. We spend the evening with our new friends Isaac and Claire from Australia, the creepy Italian who’s obsessed with Chaele (I mean Sarah? She felt Chaele was too complicated), Anthony from New York, and others we met along the way. You don’t need a table – you need to know people who have a table, and all that takes is a Pros’t. (Cheers! Obviously I picked up the important German words.)

             After that reconnaissance mission, we returned to our hotel where the rest of our friends were still arriving. We made plans to leave early the next morning so as to avoid the long waits we had just encountered. We were out the door a mere 40 minutes later than planned, and even had some friends (Duke friends) who were already at a table in a tent! Things were looking up. Unfortunately, the morning was another Oktoberfail filled with lots of waiting and very little movement, with the added bonus of rain and cold. Luckily, we took the opportunity to buy some food so as to expand our previous day’s diet of beer and bread products to include meat! We all got chicken sausage burgers (how German!) which were so delicious it was unreal. Perhaps that was just the being in the cold and rain for hours without eating anything talking, but I’m still not over that burger. Eventually, we realized we were not going to get into the tent our friends were in, so we made our way back towards where we came from. We ended up waiting in line for the Hofbrau house again, although this time in a line on a much sketchier side of the building. There was seemingly no rhyme or reason as to how many people would be let in at a time and why, but eventually we made it to the front of the line. We realized that people had been bribing the bouncers which probably surprised me more than it should have. That just seemed too much like a movie for it be real life, but then again, I guess Oktoberfest is on the verge of not being real life as a whole. We ended up getting in by working our charm and looking cold and desperate – a much better option. Of course the first person I see once inside the tent was a girl who lived on my hall freshman year. So predictable, Duke.

Inside Hofbrau. Note: Standing on benches, elaborate decorations, partyyyyyy!

              Armed with our knowledge from yesterday, we immediately went about searching for a table. We saw an end of one with no people in it, so we just sat, no questions asked. We met some people from Germany and some from the University of Richmond. People even ran into high school friends! We were sitting right by the band. Some of their favorites: Sweet Caroline, New York, New York, and of course, Ein Prosit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR8VmCDdt5o). Ein Prosit is a famous drinking song which nearly everyone in every tent seemed to know. I guess since they played it every twenty minutes people figured it out. Erin and I employed the help of our German neighbors to assist us. I’m pretty much a pro, now. I think I could be mistaken for a local, to be honest. The only thing I was missing was some Lederhosen.

                In addition, I learned that they don’t actually sell the enormous beersteins that the maidens serve you. (They hold a liter each – beer maidens could literally carry twelve full ones at a time. I counted and was thoroughly impressed.) They sell some super cool souvenir ones which I invested in (no wonder Oktoberfest allegedly brings in more than 1 billion euro a year!), but I wanted a legit stein from a tent. I trust that it’s clear I’m super stealthy when I say I’m currently drinking some water out of my very own HB Munchen beerstein. I guess in retrospect, it wasn’t too hard to do, and unless you walked out of a tent with a stein very obviously in your hand no one was going to take it away from you. Regardless, this water still tastes like victory. 

               While some people drink the night away in a beer tent, we had enough by about dinner time. We went to a bar/restaurant by the hotel where some of the girls who met us in Munich had gone the night before. We got two unimaginably large portions of schnitzel (again, so German!) and ate nearly the whole thing. It was delicious. There was a band playing, and some old couples were dancing. It was very cute. We ordered some dessert which was basically dough and applesauce – it took at least 45 minutes to make. Why? Anyway, while we were waiting for this dessert, there was some major hustle and bustle occurring in the restaurant. They pulled a bunch of tables together to make two which would accommodate about 20-25 people each. Suddenly, what seemed like the goth/biker convention of Munich rolled in, and the sweet, old people dancing were replaced with an angry mosh pit. It was an interesting transition to say the least. After enjoying our long-awaited dessert, we took our leave and headed back to our hotel. This morning, we navigated the hotel back up to the airport without a problem. We had made it through Oktoberfest without losing people or things – on the contrary, we gained some of both. 

A Class Act

            This week has gone by in a whirlwind. Suddenly, it’s the “weekend.” As always, getting here was a struggle filled with many, many stairs. Tuesday is mine and Erin’s most annoying day in that it’s filled with all sorts of awkward breaks. It’s neat that all of our classes are sort of overlapping, though. (A ruler we learn about in contemporary history will come up in conjunction with an artist in painting which will inspire something we’re talking about in my Madrid class which will obviously relate back to cooorcoorse in some way, since, you know, it’s at the core.)

After a solid start in history and painting, followed by a large Angeles-style lunch, we were ready for the track back through Guzmán to go to our Madrid class. We were supposed to come into class with a few facts about assigned items and how they related to the city of Madrid specifically. Instead of sharing our facts from our seats, it turns out we were going center stage, and instead of two or three facts, it turns out everyone had basically a mini-essay. Awesome. I had La Virgen de Almudena and Jesús de Medicenali. Cool artifacts. Better story: I was up and babbling (you know how I like to babble), and was realizing I was running out of things to say. I’m talking about the legend of this statue of Mary (La Virgen de Almudena) and figured I needed some sort of concluding statement that tied it all together. Not realizing it until it came out of my mouth, I cleverly went with “And that’s why I like the virgin.” Sorry, what? It’s times like these when I know my life is a complete and total joke. I came home to have dinner and further solidified my awareness that people think I’m in idiot when I was asking Emilio about the vote taking place on TV. “What’s that about?” I asked. “This is Congress,” he explained. “They’re taking a vote. If more than half say yes, then it passes.” He also told us that the US does not like Hugo Chávez, and Angeles added the helpful “he’s a bad man.” Well, thanks. I’m learning all sorts of new things this week. We checked out the volcano bar that night briefly to wish a happy birthday to Erin’s friend Darren who’s also studying in Madrid (through the NYU aka lame program), which was pretty cool. More importantly, the sandwich shop we grew to love in Sevilla was there! It’s a chain! 83’s here I come!!!!! This day definitely ended on an upswing.

The next morning was life-changing. The Beefeater sign which is the landmark of our building has been removed! Apparently it’s illegal to have a sign that big advertising alcohol? Who knew? (Again, most of my learning here takes place outside of the classroom.) While it was depressing to lose our identity as the Beefeater building, it was awesome that we’ve replaced our views of the back of an advertisement with those of the Palacio Real. I’m still a little emotional about it, but I’m getting through it.

                       Before                                             After

Wednesday is our early day, so we took advantage of our free time to do nothing in particular. It was awesome. We went for a run a little earlier than usual, because we weren’t feeling too hot and wanted to get it done. We were nearing the end and I heard some guy catching up to me. You know when you’re running and you pass someone and you pretend you’re racing? This was not pretend. We were racing all the way to the finish line, because losing is one of my least favorite things to do. I took him down like the champion that I am. Well, I guess he kept going, but since I had decided we were racing in my head, I also had decided that any movement beyond my finish line didn’t count. I ended up beating my goal by 1 second (always the best feeling) and Erin came up right behind me. I think we’re officially in shape aka ready to run through the massive Parque de Retiro. Unfortunately, my competitive nature doesn’t always directly correlate with positive outcomes. Angeles has been continuing to put us in direct competition in order to see who eats more food (we’re currently tied for wins), and as a result, I am definitely eating more. She’s also upping the sneak attacks. She’s got us allllllll figured out.

Today, we left early and got to class at a reasonable time. Obviously, we were the last ones of the group to get to class, but we did get there before the previous class got out. We learned about nobility in the seventeenth century even though yesterday we were talking about the 1980s (Contemporary History apparently doesn’t mean chronological), and then we were off to our first museum of Madrid. We had signed up to take a tour of the Thyssen which is a museum with a lot of impressionist art. Carmen, the woman who gave us the bus tour of Madrid waaaay back when, was our guide and she was awesome. She would tell us scandals in English so other people could tell what she was talking about, she would ignore ropes and touch paintings – my type of tour. Of course, when I tried to do something illegal (take a picture, obvi), I get accosted by a security guard who tells me in a polite but sinister whisper that I am not allowed to take photographs in this museum. My new goal is to get at least 1 illegal picture in every place I visit. 

Get it, Anne. (Note: She was fully aware that this was illegal when it was being taken. REBELLLLL!)

After the museum we came home and did some work. (I’m not even kidding – we sometimes have to do that here.) I wrote a blog entry (in Spanish, and a lot less interesting than this blog) about the strike that’s supposed to happen this coming Wednesday. Apparently it’s going to be a big deal. We shall see! Erin and I got our student cards today (we’re officially CEU students) complete with unattractive picture. As I’m sure one could have suspected knowing my life, on the way into the building which was riddled with stylish Spanish students, after saying how inadequate we are in comparison, I tripped up the stairs on the way into the building. Erin’s laughter did wonders to make the situation better. It’s fine though, because let’s be honest. The ‘trip’ only called attention to my hip, blue, cheetah-print sandals which I’m sure will lead to many new friendships in the future. After convincing myself that this was the case, we went to our Madrid class where I tried to limit my embarrassment. I made it through and home, too! We ate later today after our run, with Emilio (normally we eat too early for him) and even Angeles had a little something to eat (she never eats). She gossiped with us and told us how she thinks her son is going to Argentina to visit a girl. (I bet she cooks really well.) We enjoyed a bunch of laughs as Angeles called Emilio old and Erin and I poor eaters. Family dinners are the best.

After showering I realized that, as always, I was/am woefully underprepared for the trip I’m about to embark upon. Erin and I are off to Oktoberfest in t-minus 4 hours and I’m nearly ready! I’ve heard there will be beer, chicken, and rollercoasters. What more could any classy girl want?

Go, Go, Go - Up, Across, and Back in Time

            Since summer is coming to an end (what up autumnal equinox), we needed to take advantage of our weekend in Madrid to do some summery, touristy things. We were ambitious Saturday, heading out at about 1 to go check out the Teleférico. I don’t quite know the word for it in English, so I’ll use the description the Spaniards asking for directions used when they thought we didn’t know what they were talking about: “Teleférico…you know, the big, blue balls in the sky…? …with the people in them?” If for some strange reason, you are still unclear as to what I’m speaking of, please feel free to use the visual aids provided below: 

            Just kidding, it’s called a cable car. (I looked it up. Just kidding, I knew it but just wanted you to have to guess. Just kidding, just kidding, just kidding…) Anyway, Erin and I only felt it necessary to pay for a one way ticket since we’re the cheapest kids we know, however, we were uninformed as to what was waiting for us when we arrived – nothing. Literally not a street in sight; we were basically on top of a mountain. Okay, mountain might be a slight embellishment; I guess it was more of a hill, but it was a big one! Contrary to what the website told me, we were not a 5 minute walk away from a metro station. We were in Casa del Campo, “Madrid’s biggest green area,” aka not civilization. We made our way down the mountain (hill, whatever), and thought we had found a road. FALSE. We found a highway. We were obviously too stubborn to ask anyone what to do and where to go, and just decided to continue walking down a path in what we knew (hoped) was the general direction we had to go. Our conversation quickly turned from things we liked (the views, Madrid, our lives) to things we hated (the views, this part of Madrid, our lives) to reflect our changing moods until suddenly, we saw a bridge! A bridge to take us over the highway and to civilization! Now we were talking about things we loved (bridges)! We crossed over and went to the nearest store for nourishment and human contact. He assured us we were nowhere near a metro station and that we needed to take a bus – I’m all about new forms of public transportation that accept my abono transportes as a means of payment. We walked in the direction we felt most confident and ended up – wait for it – AT THE PLACE WHERE WE TURN AROUND ON OUR RUNS! Not even possible, right? I know. After being baffled/overjoyed, we walked to a bus station and took it back to the circular metro line we know and love. Our adventures, however, didn’t stop there!

            We took the metro not home, but to Retiro, where Margo had rallied a bunch of our group to meet up and go boating on the lake! Erin and I had not yet been to Retiro so this was very exciting. It’s a beautiful, huge park with a lot of cool statues. While I’m sure one would assume as much, Perry, Mike, Erin, and I were pretty fantastic when it came to making maneuvers in our boat on the water. Okay, not entirely true. If I’m going to be honest, Perry was the superstar of our group, calling “Stroke!” like a pro. I think Mike, Erin, and I were all about on the same level of pathetic, although to his credit, Mike was able to execute an impressive oar-to-oar high-five with Robyn’s boat.

            Boating worked up an appetite for us and so Erin and I split a bocadilla de tortilla from one of the shops right by the lake. Delicious is an understatement. There was some ominousness in the sky, so we decided to head back. We went for a run, and after deciding we weren’t going to do anything too exciting, we ended up getting the most dressed up we had yet for some intense discoteca glow party that John, who knows all-that-is-cool, informed us of. (Changing our minds, as Emilio pointed out, is becoming something of a trend.) Angeles left us some delicious chicken and rice and potato salad for dinner, and we got to learn all about what types of music Emilio likes. His sound system is connected to his tv, so he had literally spent the day staring at a blue screen listening to music. He likes Galician music, military music, and Julio Iglesias, although I definitely saw some Simon and Garfunkel in there. We didn’t actually end up getting into the club even though we looked “the most guapa we have yet” (according to Angeles), so unfortunately the outfit went to waste. Ohhhh well.

            It worked out because we ended up getting home moderately early. Since I had heard about it, I had wanted to go Madrid’s famous Rastro (flea market) that it hosts every Sunday. According to Emilio (he doesn’t think Erin and I know anything about the world, which is almost true, so he is constantly giving us history lessons), this tradition has gone on for more than 150 years! I left at 10:30 and Emilio was very worried about my breakfast. “Do you want breakfast?” “No, I’m taking a banana; this will be perfect!” (Okay, fine. Actual translation of what I said: “Banana” with an accompanying hand motion.) “…Does Angeles know about this?” After mumbling an answer and walking out the door before he could stop me, I met Katie downstairs and we headed off to El Rastro. We started in Plaza Mayor where people had tables set up with neat old coins and stamps. It wasn’t very crowded but we had heard that it gets pretty hectic. We followed the general flow of traffic towards where we assumed the clothes and jewelry and antiques would be and suddenly we were in a sea of people! It was immense and overwhelming in the best way possible. It was a bargainer’s paradise. There were scarves, clothes, shoes, jewelry, fans, and so much more! I didn’t bring my camera because Rick (Steves) said you should worry about pickpocketers, but I don’t think I would have been able to capture the atmosphere even if I had brought one. I ended up getting 6 pieces of jewelry (I’m all about accessories) for a total of less than 10 euros spent at several different stands. I did a bit of haggling (it’s the New Yorker in me) and sometimes succeeded! We had a lot of fun and got to practice some Español. I came back and relaxed. Angeles, being cooler than me, went out to the movies with her friend. Emilio prepared a Spanish tortilla for us for dinner, and Angeles left us some chicken. Angeles has already told us that a tortilla is the only thing Emilio can prepare – this further supports the whole I-need-to-learn-how-to-cook-to-keep-a-husband point, because no one can subsist on just tortillas.

            We finally went to bed at a reasonable hour. Shortly after waking up we realized we were actually up an hour earlier than necessary. We looked at each other in despair as we realized Angeles had already heard us and so, being as wonderful as she is, had started preparing us breakfast. We were already worried that we had offended her by asking for a bagged lunch for school the previous night because we wouldn’t be back until 3 (why do you need a bagged lunch? You don’t want to eat at home?), so we didn’t want to risk it by going back to bed. We ended up having a productive morning and getting our errands done before class rather than after. Obviously we were still not the first ones there even though we were a half hour early, but we weren’t the last ones, so we were still pretty happy with ourselves. We continued talking about Spain’s transition to democracy in Core Course (affectionately dubbed cooor-cooorse), which was apparently a pretty lengthy process, but hey, whatever works. After a break during which Nuria and Eva explained another unnecessarily complicated registration process to us, we had Spanish painting. I really like this class. We’re starting to learn about neoclassical art, and its inspirations. My favorite work was something that our professor didn’t actually show us. She was flipping through a powerpoint and I caught a glimpse of a Goya painting that said “El sueño de razón produce monstruos.” The phrase intrigued me and when I tried to look it up, I found it can be interpreted in a few different ways. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sleep_of_Reason_Produces_Monsters) I don’t know, though. At this point, I think sleep of any kind is something to be valued. 

Learning by Living

            As this is our first full week in Madrid, we have spent the past several days trying to get a feel for how to live in it. My goal for the semester is to make Madrid my city, and the best way to do that is to get out and do things.

            Wednesday was exciting, as it was our first actual class of Contemporary Spanish History at CEU. At first I was totally overwhelmed and was positive I was going to fail, but when I stopped clogging my brain with that thought and instead used my powers of cognition to interpret my professor’s Spanish, I was pleasantly surprised to find that as long as I focus (uh oh!), this semester won’t be so bad after all! It was my birthday and the A-team got me what might just be the most delicious cake in Spain. We haven’t really been exposed to too much Madrid food because Angeles’ cooking and mine and Erin’s cheapness have really dissuaded us from not eating at home. This dessert makes me want to try more. We relaxed at home a bit and then went for a run in the other direction along the river, because we like to change things up like that. We were actually trying to find this ancient Egyptian gift to Spain which was apparently in this direction, but unfortunately we didn’t see it. We also bought magnum bars (ice cream) – I’m not ashamed. It was my birthday. After dinner with A&E, much to their surprise, we actually went out and did something other than going to bed. We met up with everyone at what we thought was Parque Oeste but turned out to actually be the Rose Gardens. Same difference? After hanging out for awhile and directing many confused people, we made our way to Café Orange, which is anything but a café. It was definitely more of a discoteca. I’m glad that the opportunity for me to praise my own dancing has come up again; I rocked it on the dance floor.

            The next day (Thurs), CEU classes were canceled so Erin and I didn’t have class until 17:30 (I’m getting into the 24-hour time thing,) so we woke up and walked to the Palacio Real. What type of life could I possibly be leading where after a mere 10 minute walk I am literally at a palace? (A sick one, obvi.) Unfortunately, they don’t allow photos inside the palacio, but being super stealthy, I was able to snag a few. 

So illegal. (Obviously also referring to it being
illegal to look as good as Erin does)

I'm thinking of getting one of these done in my room.
Not a big deal.

Not illegal, but still pretty. (Who knew
legal things could be cool?)

If I were to choose two words to describe it, I would choose immense and intense, and not just because they rhyme. This place was grand in every sense of the word. The chandeliers were probably bigger than my room. There were murals on the ceiling, and more chairs at the dinner table than friends that I have. It seemed also that dinner used to be a spectator sport, as there were chairs lining the outside of the room too, since the dinner table was filled up. Maybe they tagged teamed it? I know I could use a partner to help me eat Angeles’ hearty meals. After class, one of those, and a run, we went to Sol and met up with everyone again. I’m impressed that we still travel in groups of 30. Sol is nightlife focal point of the city, and it was neat, although I was not a fan of having to transfer subway lines – I love me my circular (my subway line). There are a ton of promoters on the plaza who try to coax you into coming to his or her respective club or bar, and eventually James (our Spanish promoter friend) brought us to an Irish pub. It was pretty cool, but we all had our metaphorical dancing shoes on and wanted to go to a discoteca. So we left in the pouring rain, made our way to the famous Joy club, cut the entire line (no big deal), saw transvestites dance to “Bad Romance” (awesome), and finally, saw security ask K.Cross to put his shirt on. (He was like, nah, Imma keep my shirt off. This proves that songs are sometimes based on real life, or maybe that real life is sometimes based off of songs?) So begun our 3 day weekend. Since we’re the coolest people I know, we didn’t come home until the club closed and the metro reopened. I KNOW. I didn’t think I was that cool, either.

            Yesterday, Erin and I went to the Centro Comercial (mall) with Josh where I got a 10 euro dress from H&M. We met A&E’s granddaughter who is so cute it hurts. I can’t wait for her to visit again so I can take a swing at communicating with her. We went for a run and had an awesome dinner, and went to Sol again. After collectively deciding that we didn’t want to go to a discoteca, we obviously went to the most famous discoteca in Madrid – Kapital (aka da club). It was awesome because it was free for ladies. Win! It had an impressive 7 floors of lounges and dancefloors and we explored a bunch of them. We came home earlier than last night because we can’t be 6AM cool all the time.

            I’m starting to feel like a real Madrileña – luckily, if ever I have a question, A&E are full of helpful advice.

Tips from Angeles:

1. Don’t marry someone old. (Emilio is 8 years older than her. She said she wants to go out and do stuff and he never wants to do anything. She said she has a boyfriend in Toledo.)
2. If you’re old, it’s okay to be naked. (This was how she justified crossing the hall naked at the same unfortunate time that Erin was in the hallway)
3. Women are not clever. (This is what she thinks husbands think about their wives.)
4. If you don’t know how to cook, your husband will divorce you for someone who does. (Gotta get on that one)
5. If you wear perfume, the boys will be linin’ down the block just to watch whatchu got. (Not in those words exactly – it was more a description of why we should wear perfume followed by an unrequested spritz…in the face.)
6. Keep track of all of your novios (boyfriends.)

Tips from Emilio:

1. Don’t want to be bothered with your wife’s crazy antics? Just shrug and bear it.

It seems pretty clear to me that living in Madrid, I’m going to be learning a lot more than which metro to take.

The Day of Many Surprises

Today was our first day of class with REAL SPANISH STUDENTS at a REAL SPANISH UNIVERSITY....or so we thought. A mob of approx ten of us walked in to "A Contemporary History of Spain" to find the room completely empty. We figured that because Anne was in charge of getting us there (what would we do without her!) that it was just because we were early. I decided to wear some boots as a weak attempt to be fashionable so as to impress the always stylish Spaniards who I was planning to meet in class, and just as I was getting nervous, two more kids walked in! We all tried not gawk, but we didn't try to converse either. (We're all about cultural immersion.) Obviously we were eavesdropping (a pastime I definitely miss), and someone soon noticed - they were speaking English! They were studying abroad from Colgate and it was their first class, too! As exciting as this was, they were not helpful in that they didn't know what was going on either. We asked the security guard who assured us we were in fact in the right place, and after no one else came for a half hour, we peaced out. WASTE. OF. OUTFIT. (Surprise 1: we didn't actually have class.)

Anywhoo, Erin and I had a few hours to kill before Spanish painting so we went with Katherine to the Arguelles stop (I'm a big fan of the metro) and explored! I bought a dress for 6 euro at Zara, my new fave store. We also checked out Blanco and Lefties. It was very exciting. Erin got a skirt, and we're both planning on wearing our purchases tomorrow so HOPEFULLY when we go to class, we'll actually be impressing Spaniards with our savvy fashion sense. (Surprise 2: I am occasionally aware of what is fashionable)

After Spanish painting, we came home for the first lunch we've had at home since...day 2? It was delicious, as per usual. We had some abondigos (meatballs) and homemade french fries. Angeles is a master chef. We attempted to do some homework (surprising) and headed back to school for our Madrid class! It seems so cool, so I'm super excited (or I guess supe dupe excited?) to take it! I'm going to learn about cool things to do and see in Madrid so this blog will get more interesting. (I'm clearly just taking it to up the ratings for this bad boy - gotta keep you people reading at least halfway through each entry). We came back via our least fave subway stop, Guzman el malo, for the third time that day. Soooooooo many stairs - it's unreal. These boots were made for walking (but not for this long). (Surprise 3: The subway stop is actually called Guzman el Bueno - I am just really clever even though Erin didn't laugh when I made this joke yesterday afternoon)

 We came back and went for a run, to the great discontent of my feet. (Emilio's stopped making fun of us though, so I guess we're improving). We had a delicious dinner of fish and vegetables....or so we thought. We were finished, literally just about to clear our plates and sneaky Angeles struck again! She brought out two personal pizza type things and when she sees our faces of sheer disbelief she "compromises" and forces us to split one between us because, as she pointed our (with a visual aid), we are as thin as knives. While I'm not positive that's quite how the expression goes, I was still flattered enough to eat my half of the pizza. Clever, clever lady. She is worried that we're going to call our respective mothers and tell them we're not getting any food here, so I guess she's overcompensating. Please tell my host mom that we eat more than enough. (Surprise 4:  I'm actually full.)

LDOC > FDOC

            With our 6-day trip to Andalucia over, our fake summer extension has finally come to an end. Today marked FDOC. (First day of classes – duh.) Although I’m pretty excited to finally be in one place for more than a few days, it’s sort of bittersweet. Since we’re not all going to be in the same hotel or nearby hostels anymore, our 40+ person group will certainly break up into smaller, more manageable ones. Obviously, there are benefits and detriments to this pending reality. I’m glad that we had as much intensive bonding time as we did (6 hour bus rides, anyone?), but literally am counting down the hours until dinner, because there’s a 100% chance that I am going to bed immediately thereafter. (I don’t understand how Nuria & Eva can handle the tours they put us through 24/7. I guess they’ve had years of practice and have built up some sort of tolerance or something.)

            After finishing packing for Andalucia at 2AM, I was up and ready to go at 7:45. Erin and I were actually early. This was a first and has not yet been continued. During the trek down, I read a lot on my Nook (yep, I’m pretty technologically advanced) and over the course of several of these interminable rides finished “The Shadow of the Wind.” I highly recommend it. (It’s a blog AND a book review site – how lucky can you get?) We arrived in Granada in the late afternoon, and obviously went on a tour in the early evening. Granada’s big thing is the Alhambra, and I did not expect to be as enamored with it as I am. Our tour consisted of a cruel tease – it was a walk through the city center that ended at a spot with a great view of the fortress/palace, but we had to wait to actually go until the next morning. We also got to see the capillas reales (royal chapel) in which Juana la loca and her hubby are interred. There were some neat pictures at the end, and since I am clearly not educated enough to know anything about the two pictures which I was drawn to (don’t worry – I’m taking an art class here), I used my handy little notebook to take note, and just learned a little somethin’ about Saints Jerome and Michael. (If you also want to learn, please see Wikipedia. Also, according to Microsoft word, Wikipedia is a word. Whaaat?)

            We had dinner at the hotel (Hotel Melía) – the nicest we’ve stayed in thus far – and it was pretty good. It was a buffet style which I’m not usually a huge fan of, which is surprising, because I’m always hungry, and I’m super cheap and like to get the most out of my money. So it goes. We wandered around for a bit at night, but turned in early because we were clearly tired out of our minds, as always. The next morning, after breakfast at the hotel (they had our melón!), we went to the Alhambra, and when I say I am obsessed with it, that is an understatement. The walls, the floors, the doors, the ceilings, the gardens – everything was designed so meticulously that it’s basically a control-freak’s paradise. The tiling was all done in geometric designs, which is so cool. The walls had poetry etched in Arabic, which are actually really disappointing when translated, so I won’t ruin that for you. I just wanted to touch it, to be a part of it. I could hardly even fathom how much work it took to build something so intensely beautiful and strong. At its peak, it offered panoramic views of the city (since it was a fortress, this was pretty useful I would think.) It is one of the most visited monuments in the world (I think?) and I could definitely see why.

View from the top

            After the Alhambra, we drove down to Sevilla. We took an unnecessary bus tour, in that no one realized we were supposed to be paying attention (or so we said.) We then arrived at Hotel Béquer, which was right by this huge (or should I say youuuge?) river. Amazingly enough, upon arrival we had some tiempo libre until the following morning! We went in the pool on the ceiling of the hotel (neat views!) and went to dinner at Matahambre. I feel like I think that’s a clever name for a restaurant, but I haven’t committed to that opinion. Regardless, I had some Moorish skewers and some tinto de verano which were both delicious. We hung out in our 40+ group later that night and had a lot of fun taking over an entire outdoor bar right on the river called Capote.

            The next day for some reason actually felt like the longest day of my life. It started off on a high note – we went to a flamenco museum and got some lessons! As is always the case with complicated dances, I rocked it. My hips didn’t lie, and I definitely had no trouble whatsoever with the hand movements. We took a lunch break and went to 100 Montaditos, which was a restaurant that served 100 sandwiches all for less than 2 euro each. Granted they were 3 or 4 bite sandwiches, but I was still thoroughly impressed. I got an 83 – still not totally sure what it is, but I’m a big fan. After lunch, we met up with the group to take a tour of Los Reales Alcázares. (There are a lot of royal things in Spain.) It was pretty neat – it was built over the course of a lot of different architectural movements, so there’s this one square where each visible wall is of a different style. One is Renaissance, one is Arabic, one is Baroque, and one is Gothic. Can you guess which is which? 

            After that, we went on some never ending walk, and everyone was dead tired. I still am not quite sure what it was. I guess the Flamenco really wore us out. Luckily, afterwards we had some tiempo libre until our group dinner. We went to Restaurante el Cabildo and enjoyed a meal of too many courses, as per usual. We were all stuffed after the second plate, but obviously ate all the way through to the last bit of ice cream. We wanted to spend the night by the river like the locals do (we’re trying, sort of) and ended up having a lot of fun. We played a riveting game of charades because we’re secretly 5 year olds. Some people went to a discoteca later in the evening, however, I am not quite ready to break out my flamenco moves on the d-floor, so I held back.

            The next day was short and sweet. It was just a tour of the cathedral in the city central, followed by the climb 34 turns up to the top of the torre de Giralda (the highest point in Sevilla) for an awesome view of the city. Then, as easy as that, we were on our own until Sunday. We stayed the night in Seville at a hostel called the Garden Backpackers. This was my first true hostel experience and it was so cool! Of course, it started off sort of rough. We got there and were sitting at these bar stools at a table, and suddenly I was told not to move by the woman in charge. I look down and am basically on an island, in that water has totally engulfed my chair. Granted, it was easily mopped up in 2 min, but my life just so happens to work out in such a way that when I took out my notebook to record the ominousness of the event, I dropped all of my stuff right in the water. (Note: Microsoft word is saying ominousness is not a word, but my Nook told me it was, so I’m stickin’ with it). Everyone we met was so nice and interesting. We had 5 Duke kids and a rando from Alabama in our room who was really friendly. The other rooms were not as happy with their roomies, but so it goes. Erin, Margo, Mike, and I decided to go for a run (we’re pretty physically fit like that) which ended up actually being a really good one for me. We found an awesome (but really hot) Sangria bar that Rick (Steves) recommended where we got to see a real Flamenco dance while trying not to melt. I realized that I might need a few more lessons before pursuing a career. We ended the night early as we had to get up early the next morning for our trek out to Cádiz for a beach weekend!

view from the top of the tower

            After an uneventful train ride, we wasted at least an hour and a half trying to find our hostel (The Melting Pot) via all sorts of forms of public transportation even though it was apparently a mere 10 minute walk from the train station. It’s funny (sort of) because we were so impressed with ourselves for having been so well prepared. Whoops! We eventually got there, picked up some bread and cheese at the supermercado for lunch, and laid out on the beach all afternoon! The water was warmer than in Galicia, but still fairly chilly. We ended up going to dinner at this little husband-and-wife-owned bar which was delicious and confusing. We met up with the whole group at the nicer beach (a 20 min walk away) that night for the last DIM hurrah before classes. The next morning, we enjoyed some complimentary breakfast (bread), and then walked around for a bit and got lunch on the water before heading back to the train station for the many hours of travel ahead of us. Erin and I tried a tortilla de mariscos (seafood) which was really good. Andalucia is known for its fried fish. We took the train from Cádiz – Sevilla, then Sevilla – Madrid. The Sevilla – Madrid train was an Ave train, which is the Spanish equivalent of an Amtrak train, so it was pretty nice.

            This morning, Erin and I woke up at what we thought was incredibly early to ensure getting an early spot in the line for registration. We were numbers 27 and 28. So predictable, Duke. You would. Anyway, we attempted to register for classes, but technically didn’t get into a specific section of the core course that everyone has to take. We’re the first on the waitlist and I think Amanda and Lauren are going to switch with us because they’re goddesses in human form, but it was/is very, very stressful. This was literally the least efficient way to do this but at least it’s (mostly) done. I’m (hopefully) taking Spanish painting about Modern Spanish art, Contemporary history of Spain (at CEU, with real Spanish students!), Mythography of Madrid (also apparently not a real word, but this one is understandable at least), and the Core Course. I had art today and I like my teacher a lot. She has strong opinions as to what makes art which is refreshing when compared to the general “art is whatever you want it to be” philosophy seems to be so prevalent. I’m nervous about my CEU class but there are other Duke kids in it so it should be okay (as long as I’m able to actually take it.) There were some other vibe killers as well – it seems that the whole Casa Rural business (see previous post) is not being let go. It’s very difficult to defend yourself in a language you don’t fully comprehend. It’s very difficult to defend yourself when there’s not definitive evidence which clears you from guilt. It’s very difficult to defend yourself when you’re a kid in college. It’s very difficult to accept not being able to defend yourself. The hotel is trying to blame us, and I see where they’re coming from, but it’s very, very, very, very, and let me emphasize very obvious that we had nothing to do with the vandalism that occurred. FRUSTRATING. It was a very long and stressful day, but I just had a piece of emergency chocolate (always need to have some of that on hand) and am feeling a lot better about life. I guess there’s a good reason stressed is just desserts spelt backwards, and an equally good reason why I should never give up running.

Please Scroll for CliffsNotes

            While you may be thinking that I, true to my predictions, have begun to falter with my updates, this is not the case (yet.) We were actually in Galicia, an autonomous region of Spain (or “not Spain” as one helpful sign declared), where we were told our access to the interwebs would be rather limited. Although that was entirely false and a computer would have been helpful with directions, booking, and (most importantly) blogging, we got by without one. This means that those of us who chose to “extend our stay” successfully booked a hostel and found ourselves a means of transportation back to the airport. (You should be impressed.)

            Our trip began in true DIM fashion – unnecessarily early. We caught our 7:45AM flight to Galicia and were on our first tour by 9:30. Our first day brought us to Santiago de Compostela. We started by exploring a neat little market, where we purchased the cheese which the region is famous for. (It’s called queso de tetílla. Its inappropriate translation makes it all the more fun to eat!) It was pretty delicious – we ate it with the famous corn bread of the region. Surprisingly, this tasted nothing like the corn bread I know and love (you know, with lots and lots of sugar.) It was okay, but our program coordinator, Nuria, got the good stuff. It was this white bread that put our corn bread to shame.

            After our success at the market, our day took a turn for the worst when we were all ushered into a lecture hall to learn more about where we were and why it was famous. I found the material to be very interesting, but it was really hard to keep our eyes open. Profesor Cernadas’ lecture focused on “El Camino.” This is a famous pilgrimage that many people make from across Spain and beyond (I believe it technically begins in France) to pay homage to the chapel around which this town was built. The legend is that the tomb of Santiago (aka James) somehow ended up here, halfway across the continent. That’s pretty impressive if you ask me (and you did since you’re reading this.) He showed us a pretty moving trailer for “The Way” with Martin Sheen. Definitely see it. It made me want to be the type of person who cries at movies.

            After recovering from the emotional glimpse at what is sure to be a cinematic masterpiece, we took an unbelievably long and detailed tour of the historic town and surrounding park, of which I remember nearly nothing. It seems that our tour guide, Victoria, somehow forgot we had been awake since 5AM and just sat through a 2 hour lecture. We got some recovery time for lunch. We went to this random little place called “Casa de Pulpo.” Obviously, we had some pulpo (octopus.) We got some tapas to split among the group: pulpo de feria, calamari, and clams. Everything was really good and pretty cheap (and therefore an awesome meal.) With some food and sangria in our stomachs, we were ready(ish) for another tour. This one was great, although once again pretty extensive. We climbed onto the roof and had some pretty impressive views.

            We spent the night at “Casa Rural,” which was just a rural as the name suggests. It offered beautiful views of the landscape, which was incredibly green. We ate some fish, potatoes, and soup for dinner. We also got to try to young wines which Galicia was famous for. After dinner, a few of us went to check out the taverna (aka closest thing to civilization by Casa Rural) but called it an early night as we had to wake up at 8AM the next day. (I THOUGHT THEY SIESTA-ED IN THIS COUNTRY! I did not sign up for this 5AM-1AM nonsense.)

            Anyway, the next day was a lot more relaxing. We went to check out San Andrés de Teixido, to which people almost make pilgrimages. There were these women who sold little trinkets which were supposed to represent all sorts of things – they either brought good or warded off bad (these people are very superstitious). You were supposed to buy one and put it at the end of this trek. We also passed a stream where you were supposed to make a wish and throw some bread in it to see if it floated. Obviously mine landed in a place where the water wasn’t even deep enough to sink, so I’m going to go ahead and consider that a win. We saw some pretty views, I had the biggest spider I’ve ever seen on my arm – same old, same old. Then we went to the highest cliff in Europe! I was originally under the impression that it was the highest point in Europe, but then I remember the Alps. Whoops. We then went to a beach, which is so exciting! We had lunch at “La Revolta,” which was ironically not at all revolting. We had empanadas, monk fish, and ice cream. I’m all about trying new things. After the beach, we went back to Casa Rural and relaxed. After run that was way too hilly (especially since I took a wrong turn), we had a nice chicken dinner, learned some traditional Galician dances, and expelled the devils from our bodies via a drink that was on fire. Needless to say, I got the moves down pppppppppppretty quickly. We then went back to the taverna where we ran into our program directors. Not as awkward as you might think.

            The next morning we were all up and ready to go but ended up not leaving until noon. Turns out that some vandals came to Casa Rural at 5AM (this is a place where the owner said to leave your keys in your doors because it was totally safe) and damaged property. Lame. We got to A Coruña a lot later than planned, and so had to cut our sight-seeing short. LUCKILY, Erin and I had decided to extend our trip through Sunday so we didn’t have to leave right away. We saw the tower of Hercules which was pretty neat, but we didn’t get to climb it. We had a nice lunch at Restaurante Xestal – I got an omelet with queso de tetílla. Usually I confuse the great hall employees when I order an American cheese omelet because I didn’t think I would like anything else, but this was fantastic. We even got postre (dessert) at Don Croissant! I got basically a ball of white chocolate with almonds in it, and when I say delicious, that is an understatement. We met back up with the rest of the group, and then they just rolled out, and were like, you’d better be in class in Monday! Literally did not seem at all concerned for our welfare. It was fine. After wandering through the city we made it to the place we were staying, called Pensión las Rías. It was 4 euro more than they told me on the phone a night, but it was fine for our purposes. We walked around for awhile and then went to dinner at a restaurant whose name I didn’t write down, but it was delicious. I got pizza which was pretty lame and American of me, but whatever. I was fine with it. We walked around and tried to find a club or something, but we only encountered places which were over 21. What was the point of coming to Europe if we still can’t get in anywhere?

            The next morning was pure bliss. We got to sleep as long as we wanted! (I guess we got to sleep as long as our bodies let us – true to its nature, I was up by 9:30.) We got a fairly early start and went to the beach! Yay! We had breakfast (I made the healthy choice of churros con chocolate) at Gasthof, which was right across the street and just hung out all day. The water was really cold, but we braved it and went in. We had dinner at a place from which I took a napkin so as to remember the name, but currently cannot locate because I’m messy. Regardless, Erin and I split a salad and some empanadas with tuna which were delicious. Then we went to a chocolatería, which was also awesome. I got chocolate extreme, because I like to think of myself as pretty extreme. We had intentions of going out, but ended up just staying at the pensión since we had pretty much taken over it anyway.

            In the morning, after disappointing everyone who I’d told I would get a McDonald’s breakfast for by deciding to sleep instead, we rolled out to Santiago so we could catch our plane back. Perry had a great guide book (good ol’ Rick) who helped us to find a place that fed us a ton for just 9 euros a person. It was called Casa Manolo. I tried shark. It was awesome. We got home, and obviously Angeles made us a huge meal after getting back from the pool (and proving she went by lifting up her dress to show us her bathing suit – it was so unnecessary.) It was some sort of stewed meat with carrots. They now serve us melon every night because they know how much we love it and that we’ll eat it.

            Today we had another long orientation, except we got a list of classes! I’m having trouble picking what I want, but I have a few options, so I’m not too worried about it. We had a classic Angeles breakfast, and lunch was a ham and egg sandwich with fruit. We had a super long, but much less boring lecture on Andalucia, since we’re going tomorrow (until Sunday), went for a run, and just had some sort of fish and mushroom dish for dinner. Obvi we had melon, too. Angeles rolled her eyes at us when we said we were full. It was awesome.

            Sorry I don’t know how to summarize, but as you could see below, I’m learning.

CliffsNotes for the lazy:

1. tit cheese
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN7DBCbdyIQ
3. bread told me my wish is going to come true (and we all know that carbs never lie)
4. immediately after the bread thing, I find a huge (seriously) spider perched on my arm. I reconsider my wish.
5. always lock your doors, especially if you’re told it’s unnecessary.
6. beaches are the place to be
7. I am extreme.
8. McFail
9. Rick Steves saves lives
10. I think we’re finally orientated
11. Considering bringing my computer so I won’t have another mega-entry. Probably won’t.