21 in Roma!!!

Where to even start with my birthday! How about with the wonderful birthday dinner my Senora made me!! Since I was leaving for Rome on the afternoon of my birthday she decided that we would celebrate the night before. Victoria (my senora) was so excited to celebrate my birthday. She made what I wanted for dinner, which included Tortilla Espanola, delicious veggies and (of course) chocolate ice cream! They sang to me and I got a candle in my ice cream! It was great to have a birthday dinner with my Spanish family, since when I first decided to come to Spain I was sad that I wouldn't get to celebrate with my family and friends at home. This was almost as good!! 

My actual birthday was kind of dull at first. I had two finals to take in the morning and then I had to go straight to the airport in order to fly off to Rome!! It was a long day of travel. Carolyn, Alyssa and I got to the airport super early (because none of us like to be late) so we waited around for two hours before our flight took off. Of course our flight was delayed a little also. It was a day full of waiting. Once we landed in Rome we had to wait even longer for the shuttle to the center of Rome. Once we got to the center of Rome we had to find somewhere to stay. Yes, I did go to Rome without knowing where I was going to be staying. I don't recommend that to anyone. While it worked out fine for us, it's always better to know where you are going to be staying. By this point, I was feeling a little bummed because it was my 21st birthday and all I did was travel all day. Three of the guys I was traveling with noticed and they bought me a birthday bottle of wine that we all shared to celebrate my birthday and the fact that we were in Rome! It was really sweet! 

I traveled with a fairly large group (8 people), which makes it difficult to make decisions that everyone is okay with. We noticed this right away, when we were searching for somewhere to eat, since by the time we figured out where we were staying and everything it was already around 11:30 pm. We were all starving so we went to the first restaurant we found and agreed on. I had some delicious lasagna, free birthday hot chocolate (one of my friends told the waiter it was my birthday) and a birthday toast with my friends!!! 

After dinner, all of us were exhausted and (at least all the girls) wanted to go to bed. But, according to my friends I was not allowed to go to bed since it was my 21st birthday. It was a good, chill night with a few of the guys in the group. So while I didn't have the typical American 21st birthday experience, I ended up having a great day and night!  I mean I was in Rome!!! 

Birthday dinner at my home stay!! 

Carolyn and I on our way to Rome!!!

First dinner/birthday dinner in Rome with the group! 

I wish I could move my feet that fast...

Week four brought on nothing all that new. It was the last week of my orientation class though so that was exciting! However, that also meant three tests, two papers and a presentation (all in Spanish) to prepare for. I thought I was only here to have fun, I didn't know I would have to study!! Don't worry I'm just kidding! I'm learning a lot and loving it!

While the week was pretty normal, the weekend was exciting! On Friday the 23rd the Marquette group went to see Flamenco dance. It is an amazing form of dance. The dancers are so passionate and intense about it. According to one of my friends (who is a dancer), Flamenco is like tap but on steroids. One of the dancers was male and he honestly didn't stop moving for a good 10 minutes. It was so impressive.Unfortunately, I brought my camera but forgot the battery in its charger so I didn't get any pictures of flamenco. That night also included my first experience with the 6am metro! While it is nice to not have to pay for a taxi home or wait for one of the creepy night buses, it is sort of hard to stay awake until 6am.

We also went to Reina Sofia that weekend. Reina Sofia is one of the larger and more popular museums in Madrid. It holds work by Dali, Picasso and many more. The highlight of this museum was being able to see Picasso's "Guernica" in person. I have seen pictures of it so many times before, but to stand literally 10 feet away from it was amazing. I'm not even that big of an art fanatic and I was speechless looking at it.

Overall, it was a good weekend! The more time I spend in Madrid the more I love it!