Moving day!

Sunday was moving day! Allie and I got up and finished getting our stuff packed! It took quite some effort to get all of our stuff into one taxi (cars are smaller here) but we made it all fit. Somehow my stuff seems to have multiplied during the first 12 days that I have been in Madrid. We took the taxi to our home stay and started to get settled in.

My room is really cute! It is the perfect size for the next three and half months! The house isn't far from the university, only 5 metro stops (about 20 minutes) away. The apartment is so pretty. It is in a really old building with an old fashion elevator (which is tiny). She has so many beautiful art pieces around the house and lot of pictures of her family.

I didn't take long to unpack all of my things. Physically I am unpacked and settled in, but I am still not used to being in my home stay. It is weird to not be with the rest of the group all the time. I'm a little lonely and bored sometimes but I am still getting used to the change. It is really nice to have my friend Allie in the same house as me!! I don't think I would be okay if I didn't have a friend with me! So while it was nice to finally get settled into my permanent home for the next four months, it was a hard change and made me miss home. Once I get more used to my surroundings and having to actually make plans with my friends (rather than walking down the hall) it will be so much better!

My Senora is really nice!! She wants us to feel comfortable and at home in her house so she makes sure we are okay all the time. It is nice to know that she is looking out for us and wants us to be happy and comfortable. Victoria (my senora) is a little difficult to understand, but with time I will get more used to her accent, pace and voice. There is another girl (Allegra) in our same home stay also. She has been here for two weeks already and is very settled in. She is from California and here with a different program so we only really see each other when we're back at the house. She is really nice, and it is nice to have her here because she knows how the house works already so we can ask her questions (in English) if we don't know what to say it in Spanish.

So far I have only had one meal at my home stay, but it was one of the better things I have eaten while here! It was nice to have fresh food rather than dorm food. I'm still getting used to the eating times especially now since we don't have every meal provided to us by the dorm. We have to get our own lunch after classes everyday (around 2) and then we don't eat dinner until 9:30 or later.

Okay, that is all for now!! I promise to keep on top of this!

Miss you all so very much! Con mucho amor!! :D

3 day weekend!!

During my three day weekend, I decided to explore a part of Madrid that I hadn't seen  yet! Ali, Alyssa, Carolyn and I went out to lunch first because since it was a holiday in Spain and the Colegio was not providing us with food. Which is really inconvenient but we managed.

After lunch the girls and I went to Parque del Retiro to spend the day outside. This park is the biggest park in Madrid and it is absolutely beautiful. While walking through the park I was in awe of everything! The atmosphere of the park is so European! It is a haven in the big city. Right now it is my favorite place in Madrid. Through out the park there are a whole bunch of different historical buildings and artifacts, along with gardens and fountains. In the park there is a small lake where you are able to rent boats to float on the water for an hour. We didn't do that on Friday but plan on going back very soon! After walking around (and taking a ton of pictures) we found a spot to sit down and do our homework. This was so peaceful! I will be doing this a lot of times during the semester. 

On Saturday, we went shopping, of course! There are so many shops in Madrid! It is hard to not go shopping!! There weren't many people out on Saturday because it was the day after a festival. Most people in Spain leave when there are long weekends. We stayed in that night in order to pack for MOVING DAY!!!

Classes and Siestas!

 Sorry I haven't updated in while everyone! I have been busy with the first week of classes.

Orientation classes started last week! I'm taking three classes during orientation. They are History and Politics of Spain, History of Art in Spain, and a Grammar review class. The classes are interesting enough. I still find it hard to take notes and pay attention to 4 hours of Spanish lectures. All of the professors really know what they are talking about and they try very hard to make their lectures interesting. Focusing on what they are staying and trying to write down all the important information takes a lot of concentration. Classes start at 9am and end at 1:30pm.

Last week I was still living in the Colegio Mayor. After classes we would walk or take a bus back to the dorm for lunch! That was really all I did during the days last week! Classes, homework and siestas :D

Monday night we went on a bus tour all around Madrid! It was really interesting to see all the things that we hadn't seen already! However, being exhausted from classes and homework I fell asleep during some of the tour.

On Thursday after classes, me and a few other members of the Marquette group went down to Plaza Mayor because there were local artists painting and selling their art there. No, I didn't buy anything, but all of the painting were so gorgeous! We walked around for quite some times, looking at different small stores. Most of them are touristy stores but there were still a lot of interesting things. That night, we decided to embrace the fact that we didn't have class the next day and went out at night. While most Spaniards stay out until 6am because of the metros, I couldn't make it that long! I was able to stay out until 4:30am before I was completely tired. I'm building up my tolerance for the night life here in Madrid!