Aventuras en Madrid

Well I'm back for the latest of my life abroad and I'm happy to say some interesting things have occurred since my last post.

First of all it is very hard to type in English right now. I find myself thinking in Spanish frequently, even when I'm not in class. It's really difficult to switch between the two languages and I often find myself speaking a mix of the two (I would like to think I have made a new language, but I think the reality is that my Spanish could use a bit more work). The language change also makes classes here very exhausting. While each class is only an hour a day, two days a week, by the end of the day my brain feels so fried from focusing on EVERY word that I find myself begging for the sweet relief of chemistry once more.

If you are interesting in the classes I'm taking here is a list with my feelings on each:

Spanish Culture: YES

Spanish Literature: YES

Spanish Conversation: YES

Spanish Painters: YES

Spanish Theater: NO NO NO NO NO

Apart from musings, when we last left off I forgot to mention that the Fund was throwing us a party style dinner to which they had invited dozens of local Españolos, both young and old. The goal of the dinner was to get to know each other and find partners for a conversation exchange program. The dinner was great and I met a bunch of people. I ended up being partners with a girl named Mona (her name tag said José, but that's her last name and her actual name is Maria, and her other last name is Rodriguez... P.S. people Spain have a lot of names). I'm really excited to start our conversations, which are two hours once a week: first hour in Spanish and the second in English.

The trip to Madrid that I mentioned in my last blog was an interesting experience. The day started with a tour of the Royal Palace. After came a bus tour of the city. Finally we got to lunch which was at the Museo del Jamón which translates to... brace yourselves.....

¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡THE MUSEUM OF HAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently Spanish ham is a delicacy and it's served uncooked. I was told it was like spanish sushi, only with ham. We were all really excited because our lunch was included in the program fee.

We were served fried chicken for lunch. Fried chicken. At the ham museum. Who'd've thunk it?

After lunch we were given free time. This is where I discovered one of the highlights of Madrid; there is a four-story H & M. Oh, and it's down the street from another H & M. Oh, and between them is a store called Zara, which was described to me as a european H & M. On an unrelated side note, my faith that there is a just and loving God has been renewed. Needless to say shopping consumed most of our day.

The busses left to go back to the Fund at 6:00 (or 18:00 for all you world timers), but I was one of the many people who decided to extend the trip through the weekend. My roomie Sandy and I found our Hostel with little trouble. The accommodations were nice and for the two of us we were given a room with 5 beds (I quietly calmed my urge to make a fort). After unpacking for about a minute we were surprised to discover that many of our other friends had booked the same hostel and their room was right next to ours.

Plans for the night were dinner and clubbing for my friend Kina's 21st birthday. I would like to just forget dinner all together, but I feel it involves some necessary life lessons in european dining:

1. Just because a waiter puts olives, bread, and water on the table without you asking, that doesn't mean it's free, but if he puts pig liver on the table you may partake.

2. Splitting a meal is a difficult concept for Spaniards.

To explain the latter, two friends and I wanted to split two entrees between the three of us. Somewhere a grave miscommunication occurred and the three of us were all served two entrees each. At 11 euro a plate we were on our way to having one hell of a birthday. After realizing the error, we tried to explain the misunderstanding to our waiter who, with regret, informed us that we would have to pay for the entrees regardless. 110 euros later we were happy to not be washing dishes and left.

Note to Family Members: The adventures in Madrid ended here. We went home, said our prayers, went to bed, and lived happily ever after. The end.

Continuing:

The fiasco at dinner called for heavy drinking, and heavy drinking in Spain calls for lots cheap wine, and cheap wine in Spain tastes like grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Regardless of the meaty aroma of the vino, we decided to do like the Spaniards do.

A word on Spanish night life. Everything here seems to be pushed back a few hours, this includes going out. Most clubs in the US close around 2 or 3 in the morning. Most clubs in Spain seem to open around 2 or 3 in the morning. This made for a long night that involved rain, a british guy I couldn't understand for the life of me, an irish bar, and a woman wearing lingerie who tied herself to a rope and rose 15 feet into the air and proceeded to show the club her danger-zone while pouring champaign at the same time.

The only real failure of the evening: The DJ had no idea who Ke$ha was and we had to go the whole night without a little Tik Tok (don't judge). After a much needed taxi ride we made our way back to the hostel and fell asleep.

The next morning started bright and early (and a little blurry). We visited the Prado museum and a Starbucks. We missed our train home by minutes and had to buy tickets for one leaving a few hours later. This gave us a little time to explore the Madrid Train station which is AMAZING (there is a turtle pond IN the station). We boarded our train and finally made it back to our beloved Fund.

Well, there's your Day in the Life. Lindsey and I are going to Málaga this weekend (God willing) so stay tuned for updates. Until then, peace, love and happy thoughts!