SICK!

As predicted, I am sick today :( I didn't go to classes at all (I only missed two), but I'm honestly kinda bummed because I missed a day at the Prado. Also, I felt like I was in the way because Tuesday is the day that Ana cleans our rooms and washes our clothes. I feel like such a bum! Mostly I've just watched movies on my computer all day...hopefully tomorrow I'll be all better and won't have to go to the doctor!

Another Monday!

UGH! Monday's are the worst, no matter what country you're in! I spent yesterday recuperating from a crazy day in Toledo, but it was still really hard to get out of bed this morning. I think it's because I have 2 classes in a row on Mondays, so I at school until 1:30. After classes I came home and had La Comida and took a little siesta :)

I spent some time hanging around the house a little bit, and then my friend Selina and I decided we would go see a movie. The problem was that we wanted to see Sex and the City 2, in English with Spanish subtitles...apparently that's easier said than done!! We walked around town for about half an hour checking at several movie theaters before we thankfully ran into someone else from the program, who was able to tell us where a good theater was. We bought this tickets, which were about 5 euros (pretty much the same as they would be in the US), and then we went to McDonalds!! haha I got another one of the FIFA glasses! YAY! Only 4 more colors to go :)

The movie was pretty good! I liked the first one better, but it was really nice to do something so normal as going to the movies, which is something I do a lot with friends from back home. Unfortunately, I think I'm getting sick...I can feel my throat starting to hurt. Hopefully I won't have to go to the doctor!!

The Rain in Spain stays Mainly in...Toledo!!

So today some friends and I went on an adventure to Toledo! When I got up this morning, I considered taking my umbrella, but then decided that I didn't want to carry it around (bad choice!). I met up with a couple of people at the metro station, and we headed over to the train station. I was SO excited to get on the train because I felt like I was getting on the Hogwarts Express! haha unfortunately I had to ride backwards, but it was ok. I loved just riding and looking out the window. I actually wished the ride had been longer! It was only 30 minutes. When we got there, it was raining. And I mean RAINING! I definitely regretted not having the umbrella! After we left the train station we had to wait for the train for about 20 minutes, standing in the rain. I wrapped my scarf around my head, and that was the best I could do! Getting on the bus was crazy! There were so many people trying to cram on there, and people in the back wouldn't move to make space. My friend from New York was yelling at people to move! haha luckily we managed to get everyone from our group on the same bus, which took us to the city center. I have never been on a more crowded bus! When we got to the city center, one of my friends really wanted to go to McDonald's, so that's where we went for lunch! They're giving out free FIFA souvenir glasses for every meal that you order off the McMenu!! They have 6 colors, and I want them ALL! Today I got blue, so I'll have to work on getting the other 5!

After lunch we found a gift shop that sold ponchos for 2 euros. It seemed like enough for a while, but there were these huge tarps over the streets, and every now and then they would spill massive amounts of water onto people in the street! We stopped again and bought umbrellas. I now have 2, but it was worth it. My new one is pink and says Madrid all over it :)

Our first tourist stop was La Catedral de Toledo. It was stunning! There was a wedding party leaving as we went in :) the best part was definitely the oculus (the big hole in the ceiling). When the sunlight shines through it, it literally looks like heaven! The frescos painted around it are amazing. Because of the rain, there wasn't really any sunlight, but they had alternative light sources that lit it up pretty well. There was also a lot of El Greco artwork, which is really cool.

After the Catedral, we wanted to go Alcazar, which is the castle. We spent a lot of time looking at maps that were dripping wet before we finally found it and realized it was closed. Bummer! But we saw it from the outside, so that was pretty cool.

Next we went to the Iglesia de Santo Tome, where El Greco was a member of the congregation. He was also buried there when he died! I actually stood in front of El Greco's grave. The fresco above it represented a scene from when he was being placed in his tomb. It was very interesting!

Next we stopped at the courtyard of a museum to take some pictures. We didn't go in, but the view was beautiful! Next we went to La Sinagoga de Santa Maria la Blanca, then passed by the Monasterio de San Juan de Los Reyes. We ended by snapping some really great photos at the Puente de San Martin (a bridge). Me and a couple friends hiked down this little path that took us down closer to the river and got some really great pics! We took the bus back to the center of the town. Me and a friend went to one of the terrazzas (an outdoor restaurant/bar) and had some pizza. One of the things Toledo is most known for is Marzipan (here they call it Mazapanes)! So obviously we had to go into one of the little shops where they make it fresh :) I bought 2 boxes. One for me, and one to send home! Hopefully I can make it last, because it is AMAZING! By then it had pretty much stopped raining, so that was nice. We took the bus back to the train station, and boarded the train to head back to Madrid. When I got home, all I wanted to do was shower and go to bed! I was so exhausted...and my feet felt like they each weighed 20 pounds because my athletic shoes were sopping wet!

And now, it is bed time! Tomorrow I'm going to stay here and study for my mid-term, which is on Monday. Boo! I'll be glad when summer classes are over! But today was really fun :) I'm so glad we went!

Rascafria!

So because the uncharacteristically rainy/cool whether we've been having in Spain, the itinerary for our day trip changed today. We were going to walk around the countryside a little, and visit these natural pools that were formed by the Lozoya River, but now it's too cold to swim :( bummer! But it was still a really fun trip!

We left the IES Center at about 9:30am and rode the bus for about an hour to get to Rascafria. I love riding the bus because I get to look out the window at the countryside :) I like being in Madrid, but sometimes the city life, with all the people and smoke, really gets to me, so it's nice to be in a more rural area. At around 11am, we got to the Monasterio de el Paular. It's about 2km outside Rascafria, and it's one of the most historically important Monasteries in the Madrid community. They started building it in 1390, and then continued working on it for several centuries. Apparently part of it has now been made into a hotel. At one point I think it was partly destroyed, and a lot of the art disappeared, but then in 1954 Benedictine Monks came and restored it. It's really beautiful! A lot of it is made of wood, even though it looks like marble and metal. Very impressive! The guy that was giving us the tour was really funny (unintentionally). He kept having Matt turn the lights on and off because he was tall, and then he made him walk up these stairs to sit in this little balcony where one monk used to sit and read to the other monks while they ate. It was hilarious! I took a picture :) he also kept getting when people used their camera flashes and saying "sin flash!", which mean "without flash" in Spanish. He also said "ON FLASH!!", which I'm pretty sure was his attempt at saying "NO FLASH!", but he just sounded like a German or something. It was priceless!

Next, since there were no bathrooms at the Monastery other than those that the monks used, we made a pit stop for about 20 minutes. Naturally, almost all the girls had to use the bathroom, so the line was really long! Luckily I was third in line. My friend Brook and I decided that since we had used the bathroom in a bar, we had to buy something, so we got ice cream bars. They were called something like "Choko Klack". It was like a chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar with a chocolate bar in the middle. I loved it! And they only cost 1 euro! Totally worth it!

Next we went to Pueblo called Buitrago del Lozoya, which is another small town in el Valle del Lozoya. Apparently the people who live there are a mix of Arabic, Christian, and Jewish. We took a tour of the small town and saw El Castillo de los Mendoza (a castle), la iglesia (a church), and El Puente Viejo (a really old bridge). There was also an old bull-fighting arena, and I could tell that it was definitely Muslim architecture (thanks to Art History I at Trinity!). There was a Picasso Museum too, but it was closed for siesta by the time we got done with the tour. We ate lunch on the old bridge, which was really nice. It didn't really rain much, but it was cloudy and cool. Honestly, I was glad it wasn't hot! We had some free time before we had to meet up at the buses, so me and some of my friends sat in a Plaza and sang Disney songs! haha a guy walked by and clapped for us and told us in broken English that his name was Jose. We made a new friend! haha

On the bus ride back we played "I'm going on a picnic", which I'm actually really good at! lol

I came back to the apartment and had a nice long talk with Ana, and rested a little while before going out to la cena with some friends. We found a Mexican food restaurant! Now, going to school in San Antonio, I've got some pretty high standards for Mexican food. The guacamole at this place was great, and so was the rest of the food, but it really wasn't Mexican haha.

Now I'm back at the apartment and EXHAUSTED! Tomorrow I'm going to Toledo with some friends, so I'm gonna get some rest!

Midterms already?

I had a grammar midterm this morning! Honestly, it really wasn't too bad. I studied for a couple hours last night, but the grammar is really just a review for me. Hopefully my test grade reflects that! haha Afterwards I came back to the apartment and took a lovely siesta for a couple of hours.

When I woke up, I sat down to eat la comida, and then decided that I would go out walk around town. I'm actually very proud of myself, because I found El Corte Ingles all by myself. A lot of people describe El Corte Ingles as the Spanish walmart or target, but it is so much more! It's like a giant department store that has everything! They have designer make-up, like Dior, Lancome, etc., and then they have a book department that's a lot like borders, an electronics department...pretty much everything you would want. Ever. I went to the electronics department (the store is so big that the electronics section is across the street) to buy myself a new memory card for my little Sony Cypershot. I brought both of my digital cameras. My little one is nice to have around for casual shots, and then I like to take my big one with me when I go to tourist sites. Sadly I haven't been able to upload any photos from the small one because the card isn't compatible with my computer. I'll have to go back to Corte Ingles for an adapter. Anyway, I was really proud of myself, because I asked the people to unlock the cabinet and get the one I wanted, and then pay for it all by myself. Yay for my Spanish skills! But then when I went to the clothing department to look around, the lady tried to ring me up when all I wanted to do was try stuff on haha oops...something got lost in translation there, so that deflated my confidence a little bit.

But next I went to the baby department to see about buying something for my friend who is expecting. I had a whole conversation with the sales lady about how I wanted something for a baby that I didn't know the sex of yet, and I wanted something that said something in Spanish. They didn't have anything, but she told me my Spanish was really good! Yay! I felt much better :)

I also went to the grocery department (yes, there is one of those too!) and bought everything I need to make hot dogs! haha I love hot dogs! And eventually I think I'll make Ana mac and cheese, because I make some awesome mac and cheese! When I was in line paying, I told the girl that I needed bags for my groceries, and she gave me a weird look and sort of shoved them towards me. I was confused, because at the other grocery store that I've been to, you have to buy the bags! I guess at this one you don't haha she probably thought I was crazy!

But anyway, it was definitely an adventure today!! :)

After that, I pretty much just came back to the apartment and relaxed a little. Tomorrow we are going on a day trip to a town outside Madrid called Rascafrias!

Rainy days

It was still raining when I got up with morning, so it was really hard to get out of my warm, comfy bed!! I woke up about 10 minutes late anyway. It was actually a little bit chilly today, so I had to wear a jacket to classes this morning. After grammar, I talked to some people about going to see Carmen next week. It won't be the opera, but it will be a flamenco show. I'm really looking forward to seeing real flamenco dancing while I'm here in Spain!!

Next I headed back to the apartment for a siesta before Art History. I woke up a little disoriented after my nap though, because it's still pretty dark outside because of the rain, and I thought it was the early morning! But I got up and changed clothes and got ready to go to class. Ana made tuna cannelloni for La Comida today, which is what I usually get at Piatti in San Antonio!! :) it was pretty tasty!! The tuna was from a can, but hopefully when my mom and I go to Barcelona after the program we'll be able to eat a lot of really fresh seafood. Honestly, I haven't had much since being in Spain.

I was just a couple minutes late for Art History, and everybody was waiting inside because of the rain. I couldn't tell if my professor was telling me I shouldn't be late just because of the weather, or if he was saying that the weather was very different today than yesterday. He talks very quietly, and the word for weather and time is the same in Spanish!! (tiempo). I think he was just making a comment about the weather, because he seems pretty nice. We talked more about Velazquez today. I hope we look at some of the same pieces in my next Art History class so that I can show off my previous knowledge! :)

Now I'm back at the apartment. It's still raining, and is supposed to all week. I wonder if they will cancel our day trip to Rascafrias on Friday. We are supposed to walk about in the country and then go swimming in these pools that are formed naturally by the river, but if it's raining that might not be as much fun...I guess we'll find out soon!

Tonight I'm going to stay in and study for my midterm tomorrow. I'll be finished by 11:00, so that will be nice! I'm not very worried about it. It's pretty much all a review anyway. Maybe I'll spend the rest of the day tomorrow doing something fun! :)

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 :)