Delayed reflections

When we got back from Norway...five weeks ago...I had gotten sick but my memories were hardly tarnished. Our group was separated for the trip, but we met up our last night there and took the same flight back to Madrid. Eric, Eduardo, Tyler and I left Friday morning/afternoon and spent the night in Oslo. We walked around the area near our hostel and found a pizza place that I think was called Dotty Dumplings. Let me add that Norway is a very English-friendly place. The waiter asked us, I believe, if we were ready to order, but in Norwegian. We said nothing, but our looks of confusion said all that was necessary and he switched to English much to our relief. One of the pizzas we ordered had a topping called tiger sauce. We ordered without knowing what is was, and it turned out to be a spicy sauce, actually spicy! Spicy food is hard to come by in Spain. It may have had to do with our hunger, but the pizza was phenomenal. The next morning we checked out of our hostel and headed to the train station for the much-anticipated voyage to Bergen, Norway's 2nd largest city. We chose to go to Bergen because we heard that it is supposed to be one of the most beautiful train rides in the world. I'll tell you right now, it lived up to and exceeded our expectations. I do not possess the literary skill to describe it in words, but I will invite you to my shiny new flickr page to see the photos. Our activities included exploring a church (that had stellar views from the top), learning about medieval Bergen, a fortress that consists of a castle built by Eric Rosencrantz during his reign and a tower built by king Magnus the Lawmender (how fantastic is that name), discovering that Norway has 7-11 stores, going to an aquarium, enjoying the snow and gift shop visiting. On our second and last night there, we took a funicular up the side of a mountain and got a first class view of the whole city. The train ride from Bergen back to Oslo was no less impressive than the first, but there was much more sleeping. That night we walked to city hall in search of "The Scream". We didn't find it, but the Oslo city hall is so impressively decorated on the inside, mostly murals, and a lot of nudes, which makes sense for such a cold climate. The next day we saw Oslo in daylight for the first time, went to the Edvard Munch museum (where we found The Scream), a Viking ship museum and a sculpture park that exceeds explanation. All the while, we were making use of the public transport (metro and buses) with much success until we accidentally got on a real train and almost got on our way back to Bergen...that was interesting. Later we went to the Ice Bar there, which is one of the coolest places I've ever seen. The pun is 90% unintentional. You get to wear awesome parka/ponchos and drink out of glasses made of ice! After that is when we finally got to meet up with the others. We went on a grocery store adventure and ended up making beer brats in a tea kettle (we only miss Wisconsin a little...). After being gone for 5 days, I was really looking forward to getting back to Madrid; appreciating returning to a place after being away on a trip really makes it feel more like home.

Four weeks ago the WIPT program took a trip to Córdoba, a city I had been really looking forward to because of the gran mezquita (mosque). It was so surreal to finally see it in person after learning about it and seeing a few pictures. The weather could have been better that raining off and on nearly the whole time, but I suppose it also could have been worse. What I thought was really special about the historic area of the city was that the streets are lined with orange trees. They are sour oranges so that people don't take and eat them all, but they are no less beautiful and pleasantly odorous.
The day before leaving for Córdoba, I got to spend the afternoon and evening with two friends visiting Madrid (and me!). I had not seen either of in quite a while, so getting to catch up and show them this city really boosted my morale.

Now to answer the big question: What did Blair do about Thanksgiving?
On the actual day, the program held a dinner for everyone, which was a great time of togetherness, but it was at a Spanish restaurant so the food wasn't exactly traditional. The following Sunday, some friends and I got together and had a potluck with real Thanksgiving food. The greatest part was that we cooked a turkey ourselves. For a taste of home, I brought a recreation of the corn pudding that is my aunt's holiday staple. Shout out to Eric for taking care of the turkey and Ryan for hosting!

I really wanted to break my cycle of not posting before break, but I was also prompted by a friend of mine and her thought provoking questions...

1. Are people tall or short there?
It really varies like in the US, but I would say the average is shorter.
2. Do they like gringas?
I don’t think Spaniards use the term “gringa”, but I think we mostly intrigue them.
3. What is their favorite American thing to make fun of?
I don’t really have experience with this, but maybe laziness?
4. What is the best thing about being there?
The satisfaction from successful interactions with Spanish people and surviving on my own in a completely different culture and environment
5. What is the most awkward?
The excessive PDA; I’m thinking it will never stop being awkward for me. And the doorman in my apartment building; He is a nice man, but is desk is right outside our front door and so he always sees when I have to come back because I forgot something.
6. Do you have to pay to use bathrooms?
Not in public restrooms (of which there are few) but there are some outdoor, permanent, round, plastic, pillar-like restrooms that cost 20 centimos.
7. Do they like cats or dogs more?
I will say dogs because there are always so many people out walking their dogs. Most of them are tiny dogs because they are easier to take care of in a small city apartment. There is a serious issue with people not picking up the poop though; there should be a fine.
8. What was the hardest thing to get used to?
No clothes dryer!
9. Why are the guys so hot - is it the hair?
I don’t know what it is, but Spanish men can “tall, dark and handsome” the heck out of the rest of the world.
10. Does the metro make you sick?
Not unless I’m on it for a long time.
11. Are discotecas creepy?
Discotecas themselves are not creepy, but there are people and things that go on that are quite creepy.
12. What is the worst/ best thing you've eaten?
I learned the hard way to be weary of some of the items in paella mixta.
Tortilla may be simple and typical, but it is one of my new favorite things.
13. Do they think the number 13 is unlucky?
Let me get back to you on this one!
14. Was Norway badass?
Yes, yes it was. And cold.
‎15. What is the meaning of life?
42
16. Do they like cheese and is it stinky
As far as I can tell, there is not a strong relationship with cheese here. No frightening knock-you-out smell experiences. #1 condiment=Olive oil

December thus far has been full of classes, schoolwork, exploring Madrid and Christmas movies. Now time is going very slowly because I am so looking forward to be back in the states with my family for Christmas. 5 days!
Besos!

Days Like This

I hope you will all excuse the lapse in posting, there has been a lot going on over here. With classes in full swing, the chores of everyday life, and missing both St. Louis and Madison, I pushed the blog aside. About 12 days ago, I started recognizing in myself symptoms of culture shock and that fact made me feel even worse. I was tired all the time, weepy, and couldn't concentrate worth anything. But, as usual, talking with my mom and friends back home and here helped me get through those feelings. As of right now, I'm feeling much better. And, its days like today that make me remember why I came here. I woke up really early in attempt to be one of the first people from our program in line at the office where we were going to sign some papers and give a fingerprint so that we can get our residency cards. We won't get them for a month, but now we have a receipt that means the same thing, it feels so official! And as hard as it cam be, I end up enjoying being awake early; it feels nice to be leaving my building with the sun beginning to rise to my right. After that, I went with Lindsay to have café with Reyes, our program director. She is having coffee dates with all the group leaders of our security/emergency phone network. It was nice to be able to talk openly about my classes and get advice from someone that knows so much. I did have class, but it was per usual. On my way home, I stopped off in a librería (bookstore-not library) on my street that I have walked by many times. To my delight, it was a second-hand bookstore! I looked around for quite some time and came out with a play I needed to buy for one of my classes, a possible book for the essay for my sintaxis comparada class, a Spanish language textbook that has EVERYTHING and it was only 10 euro, and an "Elige tu propia adventura" book. Thats right. Choose you're own adventure. In Spanish. Later, when I was at the supermercado getting a few things to hold me over until Friday, an old man behind me in line started talking to me and asked if I was from Madrid. When I told him I was from Los Estados Unidos, he started going on about how its such a big country and he even told me the area. He then proceded to tell me the areas of Russia, Australia, Canada, Greenland, and Argentina; it made me wonder what he used to do...a curious fellow, but also very kind. Contrary to popular belief, and my belief when I forst arrived, in the majority of encounters that require social interaction, Madrileños are very kind and helpful. I came here because I want to have an experience that is completely different from what I've known before, and here it is. For those of you who don't knoq yet, the upcoming weekend is 5 days, and some friends and I are going to Norway! Thats right. It seems so crazy still...can't wait to tell all about it!

Answers

It has come to my attention that since I have been so intent on writing about my travels, there is little information about my life in Madrid (thank you Grammy!). There were no out of town trips for me this weekend so now is a perfect time. I live in a ground floor apartment, which is called 'bajo' (literally: low) and the next floor up is the first floor. My flat mates are two Scottish girls, two French girls, and one Spanish guy. The other girls are all studying something along the lines of business/marketing/economics. The Spaniard is getting a masters degree in railroad engineering and he just applied for a job/internship with the London Underground, it seems really intense! I speak Spanish with everyone but usually English with the Scottish girls, but I'm working on changing that. So far, everyone is very nice and easy-going and we all get along quite well. As far as friends go, I have a main group from the program (the people I've been traveling with) but I'm friends with other WIPTers as well; it would be hard not to be, the program is just full of cool people. I haven't scored any Erasmus (European students studying abroad) or Spanish friends yet, but all in good time. The bus stop where I get the G bus that takes me right to the building where our program is located is a 6-7 minute walk from my apartment straight west on my street. Said bus stop is in the same location as my main entrance/exit for the Moncloa metro stop. The distance from my building to this the nearest metro stop is worth it because it means we're in closer proximity to other stations which I've come to appreciate as it sometimes helps prevent unnecessary transfers. I might have mentioned this before, but I continue to enjoy finding new places to shop/eat/etc. in my neighborhood. My usual supermercado has become a store called Simply City, mainly because there are two within a 3 block radius of my apartment. My eating is pretty varied, but to give an example I'll tell you what I ate today. For breakfast I had instant coffee made with milk, a pb&j sandwich and oranje juice. For lunch, I split the Menú del Día in the cafeteria at the facultad with my friend Ben; its a lot of food and only 2.35 euros if you share! For dinner, I made an omelet with eggs (or does that go without saying?), onion, chorizo, and leftover pasta called tiburones (sharks; they are kind of a cross between shell pasta and macaroni and sort of look like little sharks when cooked). I also had a salad with bag lettuce, tomato, and vinegar and olive oil (they really love that combo here, and with good reason!). I've been doing a lot of omelet/scramble things using eggs, onion, potatoes, etc. but I'm planning on cooking a bunch of chicken breast tomorrow to have on hand (as long as I remember to put it in the refrigerator before I leave for class!). Don't worry, I'm staying on top of eating fruits and vegetables.

Andalucía

"La vida es como un elefante que sólo sabe ir hacía delante."
Life is like an elephant that only knows how to move forward.
-A quote I found among the writings on the bathroom walls at the Complutense.
I really like the idea behind it; that there is nothing that can change what has already happened, which I think the entirety of the human race has a hard time coming to terms with. In a desperate attempt to connect this to what I have to say: My friends and I had to move beyond the fact that we took an eight hour bus at midnight and then had to walk over an hour in the off an on rain to get to where we were staying because we were in CÁDIZ! Later on that day, the sun came out quite a bit, and we went down to the beach. Only three people actually swam, but I put my feet in the water ans we all enjoyed the sand and the waves from the Atlantic; one of the first things we notices when we got off the bus was that you could smell the ocean in the air. Because we were late in planning our trip, there were no hostels open, however, one of the listings on the hostel website was Casa de David. We sent two nights in in rooms of David's apartment that he rents out to travers. He is an extremely nice guy, a transplant from Buenos Aires with a lot of travel experience and an extensive language repertoire.
The coolest experience for me was seeing the cámera obscura. Near the top of a tower, there is a completely darkened room where a series of mirrors reflect an image onto a concave white screen where a moving image is progected. You could say its an antiquated form of streaming video, and it was the first one in Spain. On the top of said tower, there is an amazing view of all of old Cádiz and the ocean. There's something I find very personal about seeing a city from above. On the ground there, no one would expect that most of the roofs are red, you can also see everyones laundry hanging out to dry :P On the ride back, we saw all that we had missed by taking a night bus there. The scenery is absolutely wonderful and ranges from small rolling hills to flat land with what might be olive groves to mountains (that we knew were there withoug even seeing them because of the obscenely windy part of the ride Friday night). Another interesting fact, we the sunrise on two of the three mornings of the trip :)
Now, seeing as I'm here as a student I should probably talk about classes. We had our first week of real classes las week, and my favorite so far is the Taller de Teatro Contemporáneo (Contemporary theater workshop), but thats no surprise. The professor is so enthusiastic and engaging, two things which are lacking in my Complutense class. I'm not sure what exactly is the deal eith that class yet. I can understand the professor well enough, but she speaks very quietly and people in the class make a lot of noise. There are also a lot of other "extranjeros" in the class, which im not excited about, but its expectid I guess because is is a firt year course.
It occured to me how much more my apartment (0r any place, I suppose) feels like home when you return after staying the night elsewhere. I'm enjoying the process of getting to know my flatmates better and looking forward to future bonding time. I also like meeting roomates of friends from the program and getting exposure to so many different kinds of accents and the people that go along with them whether they're from Spain or not. Its still early, 10pm here, but I've got the "all I want is to go to sleep" bug now.
If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer in my next post!

Toledo

The curso intensivo is over! In the end, I think I appreciate it. For example, I went with some friends to Toledo and we were quoting our art professor in jest when we recognized something we learned about. It was neat to be able to identify the characteristics of certain types of architecture. To get to there, we took a 45 minute bus ride that cost 8 euros round trip. We didn't know exactly what to do once we got out of the bus station, but we walked up a huge hill and found the main part of the city. First, we got café (0f course, we had to get up at 7) and churros y chocolate. I'm not sure of a description that would do justice, so here. I know, right? We took oursleves on a tour of the city and got started finding some places of interest. Toledo has become such a touristy city, which is a little unfortunate but there are a lot of cool shops, especially sword shops. They sell replicas of swords of historical figures (El Cid Campeador, Christopher Columbus, Robin Hood, Los Reyes Católicos, Felipe II, etc) and movie characters. I totally geeked out over the replicas from the LOTR films; I think I heard that the swords used in the movies were made in Toledo! The main cathedral there is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in my life. Seeing all the detail craftsmanship was really moving; I don't know if it was just becaue I was hungry, but I definitely felt something when I walked in. After going to see El Greco paintings, we stopped for lunch and got the menú del día. This daily menu is offered at many restaurants, you choose one first plate, one second plate and it comes with bread, a beverage, and dessert. We then went and explored down by the river where a tour would not take you :) It was really satisfying being our own tour guides, we even made it back to the bus station without problems.
Now that I think about it, I've been here for a MONTH. It's just unbelieveable. I'm getting to know the city better all the time and I like pretty much everything about it except that so many people smoke everywhere. My clothes and hair always smell terrible after being out at a bar or a disco, but I guess I have to deal with it. I do think there is some legislation out about regarding smoking, but I can't remember right now. Our actual classes start this week, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyting will be like. Also, the weather has been nice and cool lately. I like that a lot but its really chilly in the mornings and before it would get hot enough in the afternoons that I wouldn't want to comit to carrying a jacket around all day; I think its about time for that. I have some things to do so this is all for now.
Un abrazo.

I think is is needless to say that there has been a lot going on over here. We had our last week of class for the curso intensivo, turned in a paper for the history and politics section, gave oral presentations, and have a cultural essay due on Monday. Then come our exams, which I'm not sure how to feel about. I'm pretty settled in to my new apartment where I have been living for just over a week, and soon Sarah and I will have new flat-mates! She is from Scotland, there is another girl coming from Scotland but she is Australian (or something like that), there are two French girls moving in tomorrow, and a Spanish guy moving in on Monday! Let me just put it out there that I'm so relieved to be living with at least one native speaker. While I'm on a tangent, I want to stop and say how greatful I am for the people that work in the program office. They are so wonderful and work so hard to help us have the best experience possible. What I am currently really happy about is that I finally watched the Glee season premiere yesterday afternoon! There ware way to many story elements for my brain to handle, but it was exciting. For a while I was worried that I was going to have to try to watch it theough some sketchy website, but I got help from my more tech-savy friends. This picture is of the view of Madrid coming back from Casa de Campo on the air cable car. My next goal is to figure out how to get a caption right under it.
Saludos!

Retiro

Today, I went with Lindsay, Claire, Danielle, Ben, Caleb, Eduardo, Eric and Ryan (phew!) to El Parque del Buen Retiro and I am now postponing any work I might get done tonight so I don't forget anything about it! It took us a while to all get together and get going, but it was totally worth it. We wanted to get some food, so we went outside of the park. It took us a while to find anything, though. We were initially looking for a market to buy food to take back to the park, but we went to a place called Rodillas (where some of us actually ate yesterday) which has many many varieties of cold "salad" sandwiches, hot sandwiches and sides. We went back to the park, where Ben finally joined us, and started to explore. There were a lot of people with stands selling snacks, jewelry, etc, there was a magician, there was a guy doing the crazy spray paint art like the guy on State Street, and selling balloons were Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and...wait for it...Barney. As in the purple dinosaur. And the costume was cross eyed...super creepy. Ben, Lindsay, Ryan and Eduardo went to take a row boat out on to the "lake" and the rest of us wandered aroud. Totally by accident, we found the Crystal Palace, which is a palace-like building made with a lot of glass. There was a sculpture inside that I cannot explain with words, hopefully I'll remember to put up a picture. After further wandering, we decided to take a siesta in the grass, which was quite nice. From our siesta spot, we saw a couple getting wedding pictures taken. Also, there was a place near the lake where there were a bunch of random cats hanging out, apparently they keep food there. On our way out, there were three guys playing reggae music and they turned out to be a legitimate band from Barcelona. I bought their CD, and they sang "No Woman No Cry". That awesome. p.s. On out way in to the park there was someone playing a trumpet and he played "My heart will go on". Odd, but I liked it. Needless to say, I want to go back again soon! I just made my first legitimate grocery shopping trip at a Supermercado about 3 blocks from my apartment. There is also a natural food store I found that I would like to check out. Quote of the day: "Why are there naked babies on everything in this city? I'm so sick of naked babies!"

Words of wisdom from my day-by-day calendar:
"Even if the water falls drop by drop, it will fill the pot." -The Dhammapada

Okay. Wednesday was the day all of us WIPTers got booted out of the Colegio Mayor and moved to our apartments or temporary accommodations. Since we had the whole day free, a group of us decided to venture out to Ikea. After a long metro ride and what seemed like quite a walk, we made it! Let me just say that it BLEW MY MIND. They sell food there! And we definitely took longer than we intended to actually get through the display part of the store. Believe me, I could probably spend all day there if I had the time. I bought sheets, a pillow, a mirror, and some notebook storage things. I'm super proud of myself for holding back, haha. Today I was gone for 12 hours with class, checking out classes in the office, lunch, and going to the huge mall in Principe Pio. I have to go and meet some folks to find out what we're doing tonight so this is all for now. Hasta pronto.

New Home

My happy is that now I can use the internet in my apartment! My crappy is that I got sick from stress+not enough sleep+the tendency of my sinuses to be plagued by congestion. I pledge to get more sleep! The piso where I'm renting a habitación keeps growing on me. My room is small, but it is mine and I like it (I made it even better by putting up pictures of some very special people). The window opens to a nice courtyard area with plants and such and there is a nice breeze coming in. I did laundry for the first time here this afternoon, and its currently hanging on a drying rack in the hallway (dryers are very rare). Things are starting to get pretty intensivo in the curso intensivo. We have a part of our grammar exam tomorrow, 3-5 minute speeches for conversation next week and papers for grammar/conversation and history the Monday after next and then exams on those classes and art! I'm hoping that this weekend can be full of productivity as well as relaxation (and not going out so late...). There is a plan in the works to go to the Parque de Buen Retiro and I would personally love to go to the Plaza Mayor and see what its all about. Soon I'll post about my trip to Ikea yesterday and put up some pictures (I feel like my blog is lacking without them). Buenas noches.

Day 14, except each day feels like two.

First: La Noche en Blanco
We looked at the website and found an event that looked really cool in Legazpí. Of course, we didn’t look up exactly where I was, but luckily (or skillfully) we walked right by it! The building itself was interesting; we thought part of it might be an old church based on our superior knowledge of architecture from one of our classes. By “we” I mean five other people from the program and myself. The exhibit we were looking for was about Super Mario Bros., its creator, and Nintendo. There were stations with Wiis set up to play games ranging from classic Donkey Kong to the brand new. There were also a lot of really entertaining hanging graphic designs featuring Mario, Luigi, and other characters. There was more going on in that particular building “complex” than I can properly describe, but one other event we found was a screening of a film called “Forward Motion” and now our current life goal is to see the whole movie because it was just that astoundingly creepy and odd. Later, we headed back to the city center area and followed music until we found a ton of people grouped together. Important info: many streets were closed off for the event, and there were a lot of people out everywhere. We walked up Gran Via and found a giant tire swing (think eight people) hanging from a crane, slides, and huge seesaws. Unfortunately, the lines were too long for us, but we did end up going to McDonalds (of which there are many locations in the Madrid area, along with Starbucks, Burger King, and one TGIFridays which surprised me a lot!), haha. I don’t regret it at all because I got a McFlurry and it was amazing. By some miracle we walked right up to the bus we wanted. It was late, and people were still going strong; I think that is a true representation of the energy of the city (or how everyone is crazy here).

Today:
So. many. mullets.
A lot stores in Madrid have their wares behind counters and not out for you to look through yourself, which, as many of you know, completely goes against my shopping style. I have to pick things up, look at/through them for much longer than is actually necessary. Today I went to a papelería; aside from being a paper store (literal translation) they have notebooks, agendas, folders, and other various supplies that make it seem like a micro Office Depot. I told the man at the counter I wanted an agenda but I didn’t know which kind. He then proceeded to take down ten varieties and I had to choose right them and there, talk about stressful! Haha.
I took my time walking back from the appointment with the husband and wife dueños (landlady/landlord/this is easier in Spanish) of the apartment I’m living in, and I love the area even more. It is worth the ten-minute walk to the metro station. In said meeting, I signed the contract, paid the fianza (deposit) and the rent for September, and I got my keys! It is so surreal that I am going to be legitimately living here.

I've decided that since there is waaaaay to much that has happened to go into great detail, I'm going to make a list of things that I've discovered. However, we did take a day trip to Segiovia last Sunday that you get to hear about. The 44 of us in the program took a big bus which took about an hour because we had to go of course go through the mountains. Our guide (who is also our professor for the art and architecture section of our 'curso intensivo') told us that going by train through the Sierra takes 25 minutes. One of the first things we saw was an aqueduct; it is purely astounding that it is still standing without anything holding the stones together. A lot of areas are really touristy, but is is a beautiful town with small cobblestone streets and a stunning cathedral.
1. They are super serious about their ham. There is some sort of ham product in almost every meal they serve in the dorm we're temporarily staying in, and there was even ham on a vegetable sandwich that I got.
2. The milk is processed in a different way than in the US and until it is opened it is not refrigerated. WHAT.
3. The merto is your best friend...until it closes at 1:30 in the morning.
4. Diet Coke is Coca-Cola Light, it doesn't taste the same!
5. Spaniards don't want to admit it if they don't know where something is, to they will tell you to go two blocks and ask there. Just wait til they walk away and ask someone else.
6. Madrileños really are night owls. I hear that there are still people in line to get into clubs at 3am!
7. Stores and restaurants have pig legs hanging on the walls...I told you about the ham thing, right?
8. People drink wine and Coke together...?
9. There are a lot of bad drivers.
10. When people come up to you to try to entice you to go to their clup with coupons, the best thing to do is ignore them.
11. I still can't believe I'm living here!
Fortunately, I now have a place to live when we have to move out of the Colegio Mayor on Wednesday! I haven't met the people that live there, but I know it will be all students and the apartment itself is really well kept and in a nice area. Also, there is no smoking! I had pretty much given up on making that a requirement, thankfuly I didn't have to sacrifice my lung health. A few people in the program found places that they really like that aren't available until October 1, so they are looking at staying in a hostel for two weeks. It really isn't as scarry as it sounds. Our curso intensivo classes started on Monday. We have to go through everything so fast and, yes, there are exams...merrrrr. Things are going pretty smoothly now that we have a schedule and pretty much know our way around. Tomorrow night is an event called 'La noche en blanca' that is supposed to be a huge cultural experience. They line a lot of streets with bright lights, museums are open and there are a lot of other arts related events that I can't currently recal. Hopefully you'll get to hear about it on Sunday. ¡Buenas tardes!

Finding My Way

At the end of my third day in Spain, jet lag is waning and I have used the metro (which is really nice, by the way)! I also got a pre-pay cell phone, which will aid immensely in my next big goal, which is to find an apartment. What I am hoping to do tomorrow after our language placement exam is to make some calls and get appointments to see some “habitaciones” on Saturday. Something kind of cool that happened this morning was when I was walking from la Facultad de Geografía e Historia (the building where Reunidas, my program, is located) with Lindsay and Mary (from Tulane) when a woman asked us where a building was, and we knew! That at leas means that we don’t look completely like hopeless foreigners! Also, at dinner, one of the Spanish students came to our table and asked for our soup and then kissed the face on the Obama shirt he was wearing, that was pretty funny. I think said event may have had to do with the practice of “novatear”, or initiation of the new students in the building called “novatos”. I’m really glad that I brought my eastern wisdom day-by-day calendar; here is today’s quote,
“Life is a song…sing it.
Life is a game…play it.
Life is a challenge…meet it.
Life is a dream…realize it.
Life is a sacrifice…offer it.
Life is love…enjoy it.” –Sai Baba.
It reminds me that, even when being over here feels difficult, I just have to keep on going and doing things well.

We made it!

Here I am in my little temporary dorm room at la Complutense wondering how I got here. Metaphysically, of course. Most of me still can't believe that I am about to have this experience, and, to be honest, I'm scared. I would go as far as to say that is normal, especially seeing we actually only have two weeks to find an apartment...I did send out two messages in response to internet housing ads, and as soon as I figure out how, I'll start making calls (which, by the way, is WAY outside of my social comfort zone).

There is no doubt that I'll be feeling better tomorrow morning. As of now, I've been awake for 26.5 hours, less maybe 1.5 hours of sleep on the plane. Needless to say, we're going tired-crazy. Anyway, our first meeting is at 5:30 so I should start going pretty soon.

Besos!

Twas the night before take-off...

Unpack, repack, unpack, repack, unpack, repack...my life currently. Some stuff will definitely have to be removed, I'm pretty certain that I have too many clothes anyway. One of my goals once I've settled in in Madrid is to befriend a fellow lefty guitar player since I have to leave mine...about to play it once more.

The next time you hear from me, I will be in Madrid! Wow. My head is spinning right now.
Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Not Packing

This morning while not packing, I finally remembered that I wanted to go through my music to see what songs I want to get. Mostly the ones that I think I have because I know all the words, but that's just from hearing them so much. Anyway, in the process of going through the list, I kept seeing songs that reminded me of my friends so I made this playlist:

Across The Universe
All The Above
Bad Romance
BedRock
Black Balloon
Casimir Pulaski Day
Click, Click, Click, Click
Coconut Skins
Come On Eileen
Don't Stop Believin'
Down
Elias
Fireflies
Forever
Good Girls Go Bad
Hard Sun
How Six Songs Colide
Indian Moon
Lean On Me
Life In Technicolor II
Maps
She Wolf
Thriller
Viva La Vida
1, 2, 3, 4...

Whether the story is simple or involved, each song has one. And don't worry, I was productive between then and now. I even burned myself while label ironing! Painnnn.

T-68 Hours to departure from O'Hare!

The moment you've all been waiting for!

Alright folks, here it is.The time has come for me to join the ranks of travelers before me and create a blog to keep you updated on my study abroad experience in Madrid (and wherever else I end up). I'll do my best to keep it current. It seems appropriate to get started before I actually leave to capture all the excitement. The one thing that I am not looking forward to is not being in Madison. Fortunately I was able to make the trip I needed to make before leaving. I got obscenely happy when I saw the sign for Exit 142-A 12/18 West (as usual) and that continued until I reached the campus. The residents of the Bat Cave graciously lent me their sofa for the two nights of my stay where I slept under the watchful eyes of Mr. Darcy. I went to visit Bradley, wandered State Street, walked up Bascom and on Lakeshore path, went to picnic point. made sure to go by Camp Randal, and saw some people that I am going to miss a LOT. On my way out, I got a little misty-eyed turning to go south on Park, but then I was fine...or so I thought. I was listening to 104.1 on the radio (similar to 107.7 in St. Louis) when, to my surprise, "Good Riddance (time of your life)" by Green Day came on. Then I started straight up bawling, it was terrible, especially since I was on the highway. That is such a me thing to do, feel free to laugh, I did. After that, I really was fine because I know that the people and places I love will still be there when I get back!
There is so much stuff in my room right now, I really need to start putting it in suitcases before I go nuts. Packing update to come soon.