Day 1 of Classes!

Vivian and I took the Metro this morning! It was a pretty exciting adventure! Walking to the center takes about 30 minutes, so we have that option as well, but we're still pretty jet-lagged, so it may take a few days before we're ready to do that...at 9 we all gathered in the lecture hall of the IES Center (which is actually part of a residence hall at the university) and handed over our laptops so they could get set up on the wireless network. That was pretty difficult since mine is new and I'm trying to be really careful with it! Then we went to our Spanish grammar classes. I think mine will be really easy, but a nice review as it's been since 9th grade that I even took a grammar course! My professor is really nice, and we did some getting-to-know-you activities with our classmates.

After our grammar classes, those of us taking Art in the Prado, and people taking the History of Madrid don't have classes until 4 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so we decided to go get some food. It was about noon, which is a strange time for Madrilenos to eat, but for us, it's lunchtime! We found a place called Cafe y Te, and we all ordered burgers!! No joke, on the menu it said Genuine Beef Burguer, spelled just like that! I thought it was pretty funny. It tasted great! After eating we went back to the Center and hung out for a couple hours before we had to go to class. We're all taking it easy, still getting over being so tired!

I'm really excited for my Art in the Prado class! Since I can't take any art classes while I'm here (it has to do with the schooling system), at least I can study some really great art! We meet 3 times a week, and 2 out of those 3 we will actually be meeting at the Prado!! So exciting! AND our midterm assignment is a photography assignment! I can tell I'm really going to enjoy this class :)

I waited around for my friend Matt to get done so we could take the Metro home together. He lives in my barrio, so we basically go the same way, but then I get off one stop before him. When I walked up out of the metro, I had absolutely NO IDEA where I was! There are about 5 exits for my metro stop, and they all come up on different streets! I walked around and tried to figure it out, and finally had to stop someone to ask. It's kinda weird to talk to strangers here because when you walk by someone on the sidewalk, no one makes eye-contact! Living in the south, people always smile or say hi, but it's definitely different here! People do stare on the subway, but not at your face. Mostly at your clothing or shoes. And if they stare at your bags or pockets, you have to be careful, because they might be trying to figure out the best way to pick your pocket!! We've been warned about that a lot. Actually, on my way home today, a lady told me to take my umbrella out of my side pocket of my backpack and put it in my big pocket because some people will take anything! It was nice of her to tell me. I think she could tell Matt and I are American :)

Eventually I found my way home, thank goodness! I will definitely have to try to figure out which exit to use when I get off the metro...I got home and took a little siesta. People think that everyone takes siestas in Spain, but Madrid is such a busy city that you are lucky if you can fit one in!! I talked to my parents on Skype, and then had some dinner (la cena) around 9pm, which is normal time for a light dinner here. I know that some people from the program have been going out at night to bars and clubs, so I might go out tonight if my friend gets back to me, but I am still so tired!