Hay una huelga!!

Today started out pretty normally. I went to grammar class this morning (boring!) and then headed back to the metro go back to my apartment. My friend Selina and I went to a bakery in the metro station. They had so much stuff! I got a really tasty sort of pretzel-wrapped hot dog, and then a piece of cake for later after dinner :)

When I got back to the apartment, I took a siesta for about an hour and half, and then got up to eat La Comida before I had to go to the Prado for my Art History class. We had Tortillas Espanolas, which honestly are a lot like cheese omelets, with french fries on the side. My senora laughed at me because I like ketchup on my eggs. She says that here, ketchup is mostly a kids food. To some extent it's like that in the US, but I mean I was eating two things that I like ketchup on!! haha whatever, I just really like ketchup :)

When I went to class, we weren't sure whether or not we would be able to get into the Museum because there is a big strike (huelga means strike in Spanish) going on today. Apparently a lot of people who work for the state are having major salary cuts, so a lot of people are taking the day off to protest. I saw a bunch of people headed toward Sol to protest when I was on my way back to the metro station after class (we ended up being able to get in). The only thing that I saw that was a little scary is they increased security in the metro just in case people got a little out of hand and excited on the way to protest. Mostly I wasn't effected at all, so if you hear about it on the news, DON'T WORRY!! haha I'm just fine :)

Art History is still interesting. We just finished talking about Titian, and lately we've been covering Velazquez. I love being able to actually see the paintings!! It's so much better than seeing the image on a powerpoint! We have sub this week. I guess I like him ok, but I don't like the way he corrects our Spanish. Instead of just correcting us, he says stuff like "we don't say that in Spanish!!" and makes us feel a little stupid...but I like what he has to say about the art. Sometimes with our other professor, I have things that I really want to say, but he talks so much that I don't really get a chance. I guess I'm just used to a lot more discussion. It's hard enough to interpret art in English, let alone Spanish! But I definitely think I'm getting a lot out of the class.

Just as I was getting back to the apartment, it started to rain. This is really the first time it's rained since I've been in Europe. It sprinkled a little bit when we went to Segovia, but now it's really windy. When I got back, Ana was struggling to bring in all the laundry and make sure the Chinchillas were covered up on the balcony. I love that she has pets!!

After I changed into some comfy clothes, I did my homework, and even studied a little for my grammar midterm on Thursday! I got to skype with my mom for a pretty good amount of time, which was nice! I've realized that the internet reception is better when I go out into the common area. In my room, the calls keep getting dropped.

The temperature has dropped about 10 degrees with the rain, which will be nice at night. I've been pretty hot because I'm used to sleeping with air conditioning, so I'm looking forward to a cooler night :)