I apologize for the delay; my schedule got a bit hectic. I think I left you right before I had orientation. I like the SLU people a lot; they are fun, friendly, and up for all the adventures that I am. My only drawback is that they are all American, mostly very similar to people at UR. After spending the night with a handful of representatives from various countries, I was a bit disappointed by that. Like I said, however, the people are really great. I have made many friends and look forward to developing those friendships more.
Back to events- we met at the university, sat through an orientation speech, then boarded buses to go who know's where. I sat next do a girl Alex. She was a good choice because she seemed to have all the answers- for phone, money, where to go, everything. Once we got off the bus, we found ourselves in what I learned later was a retreat area. There was a lot of downtime involved throughout the day which most people spent talking to different people getting to know others with the common questions: "Where are you from and what school do you go to?", "What's your major and what classes are you taking?", "How's your host family so far?" (almost everyone at St. Louis is staying with a host family, but I am very glad to not be in that category). Our productive activities included getting phones (flip phone with basic features and expensive calling plan) and went to a seminar about how to be safe in the city, what to expect, yada yada. We had lunch- meals are interesting here- for lunch, many people have several courses. Of entrees. It's normal to have una hamburguesa then when you finish un sandwich and then a bowl of pasta. Then you're supposed to pass out for your siesta. Instead of siesta-ing, we split up into different activities. I played ultimate with some people, including two that I think will continue to be good friends - Cassi and Tom. Afterward, we went back to school, and split up to go home.
My apartment is unfortunately pretty far from the university. Between the twenty-five minute metro ride and the twenty to thirty minutes spent walking, I have to leave pretty early to get there in time. It is, however, closer to the center of Madrid where the fun takes place, and halfway in between my and Leah's universities, as hers is very south and mine is north.
That night, Leah, Selina (that's really how to spell her name I learned) and her boyfriend, our Russian roommate Jenna (pronounced with soft j- jjjjjjjjjenna), and I went out together that night. First, we went to a tapas bar and were eating and drinking. I was at the end of the line of our chairs at the bar and after we'd been there a while started talking to the guy next to me. He was older, but nice and friendly. Soon I realized he was quite drunk. He found the name "Página" quite funny. We left soon after that, though, because he got a little to touchy on my face, head, and neck for my comfort. I know people are more touchy here, but that was a bit much. We then met up with one of Leah's friends from school who goes to Richmond back home. His name is Jordan, and he was with his roommate Pedro, who lives in Madrid and was turning 22 and his 19 year old brother, Carlos. They took us to a trendy bar that looked like the inside of a cave. The specialty drink was huge, so four of us split it. The liquid (a milky cinnamony alcohol) came from the ceiling when it was made. The DJ was playing pretty good music, though most everything was American. It's surprising to me how people who don't even know English will prefer American music. Another note is that people in Spain do not dance like Americans, and the American way of dancing is frowned upon and thought of as trashy. Something to keep in mind.
The Spanish way is typically to wake up and get ready, maybe have some coffee or churros, go to work, come home at around 2 for big lunch and siesta, return to work around 5, work for a few more hours, then come home and relax before going out for tapas and drinks. From there people go to bars, clubs, and discotecas. They stay out till six or seven and go home. They wake up the next day, shower, rinse, REPEAT. More power to them, but I am not quite on that schedule yet.
We came back at 1:45, so we could catch the metro that shuts down from 2-6. Although it's only a 6 euro cab ride away, we need to figure out the buses that run all night to avoid this charge. The next day I met up with the SLU people, and we went on an excursion to El Escorial. Though I had been before, it is an incredible place, as you can see from the pictures. We took some photo-ops and got a brief history of the church inside. We were then free to do whatever. The unfortunate thing about this amazing trip, was that we didn't have a lot of guides. We were free to roam the small town with no idea of when or where to meet back up. A group of us walked around for a bit and decided to grab a bite to eat, but since it was siesta time, the only place we could find open was an American-style restaurant. It wasn't completely accurate, but it was good food. Something that I need to get used to here is that time is not that important. When you go out to eat, they usually wait a while before greeting you, you wait more for food, then you wait for the check, then you sit and wait more until you're ready to leave. At home, eating is a get in and get out operation. Here, they don't consider it "waiting"; they're simply talking and visiting. No one is ever in a hurry or rushed. People will sit in the park doing nothing, not reading or listening to music. Just sitting. I'm not there yet, either.
Anyway, after a hassle of rounding people up trying to figure out where we were going, we made it to the bus. We piled on and I rested my eyes only to be woken up five minutes later by the girl next to me letting me know we stopped again. We were literally dropped off with nothing said. Everyone began snapping pictures of the monument with which they were unfamiliar. Because I had been here before, I provided some background to some people. It was the giant cross built for Francisco Franco's grave. Inside, which was blocked off, is a beautiful cathedral, and below it are a bunch of tombs. I don't remember exactly who all is buried there, but it's quite a few because the name of the monument is "The Land of the Fallen". Soon someone yelled at us to get back on. Chulo = Cool.
The next time I was waking up was when we were back at school. I met up with Tom and his roommate Kevin, and they took me to El Corte Ingles, which is sort of their version of Target or Walmart because it has everything. It's interesting though because each El Corte Ingles has its own theme of things it sells- it could be electronics or books or clothes. We first stopped at their host family's house, where their crazy host mother yelled at them because they brought me. Then we went to the store. This one had a lot. 6 floors! I was primarily looking for a fan, school supplies, or things like that. Well, nothing like that, but I did get a lot of food, which was nice because it was getting expensive eating out all the time.
After carrying three bags of groceries with me on my long metro ride home, I arrived and cooked dinner for Leah and myself- spaghetti, corn, and a salad. I know it's not Spanish, but give me a break I don't know how to cook that stuff yet! The kitchen is very hard to cook in, especially for someone who is not the best cook to begin with. The gas burners are started with a match, and basically have three temperatures- super super hot huge flames, really really big flames, or off. Regardless, I pulled it off- it wasn't a complicated meal.
That night I met up with people from SLU, and we went to various bars, collecting our free shots from different promotions we'd heard about. Unfortunately, it was the second night out of two that I ended up taking care of Jjjjjjjena who came with me.
The next morning we started classes! I was excited to see what the permanent students at SLU are like. Information Technology was first, which was good; it felt like a Richmond class, and in fact I met a girl from Richmond in the class. Then I had a few hours until my next class, which Cassi, Tom, and I used to wander around, learn the area, and have lunch. My next class was Graphic Design, which is taught in Spanish. I'm a little worried about it, only because there are 6 of us in the class and I'm the only non-native-Spanish-speaker. I'm worried that because it's a computer-related class, he'll use technical phrases that I won't know. We will see. Another thing about the class that I didn't like is that it's in the basement, and since there is no AC anywhere and we depend on open windows for circulation, it was very hot. My last class of the day was Business Ethics, which I think I will like a lot. It's a discussion organized class, which I like. I met another person from Richmond in this class as well!
After classes, I went home, but could not get in because I still don't have the key to get in the lobby downstairs, and we haven't figured out how to buzz people in yet. I decided to go to the grocery store until someone could help me. I bought some croquetas to heat up, which is a mozzarella stick looking thing with either chicken and cheese or ham and cheese inside usually. I made that, and potatoes, but with the stove-top problem, things weren't cooked to perfection sadly.
We had people from SLU come over for a little bit to see the apartment and to drink a little before going out. They then left to meet up with some people, while Leah and I left to meet up with her international friends from the first night. We met up in Sol, a timesquare type area where people meet and go to various bars in the area. We went to a bar for a little, then decided to check out a discoteca. We went to Joy, which is I guess hard to get into because there was a very long line. Leah, a Dutch Laura, and I went to another line to try and go in through the exit. The bouncer was telling a man that he could go in if he paid 150 euros for a private table. The man pulled the cash out of his pocket, so we asked if we could pretend we were with him. He brought us in with him and guided us to his couches and table on the sidelines of the dancefloor. I felt like a paid hooker or something, and when he started making us drinks, we bolted for the bathroom and didn't return. We stayed for a little longer, but left at around 2:30. Outside we saw Pedro! We told him of our experience getting in and he let us know that he works there so we should just ask him. Good to know. He helped us get a taxi reluctantly and called us lame a few times for going home so early.
This morning I had Operations Management and Management Science, which I am concerned about because it uses calculus, and the professor is apparently very difficult- two bad things. But all my classes are pass-fail so hopefully it'll be a good idea to get this out of the way here. This is my first time to have to myself in days, so I have just been relaxing since then.
Sorry if I bored you with details, I think I did myself a little bit, time for a siesta!
