Lately life has been pretty ordinary! I have fallen into a schedule here in Spain and not much changes day to day. I go to class in the morning, eat lunch at the Facultad after class, come home and do homework, eat dinner and go to bed. I'm reaching the point in the semester (which I reach no matter where I am) where I just want the semester to be over with! That might have to do with the midterms I just took and the papers and tests I see looming off in the distance. While I'm not sure that I am quite ready to leave Spain yet (good thing I still have about a month left) I know that in a month I am going to be very excited to be coming home!!
While everyday is basically the same around here, I have gotten to do a few new and exciting things over the last few weeks. A few weeks ago, Allie and I decided that we wanted to take advantage of one of our Wednesday's off and go to Toledo, Spain. Toledo is about an hour and half way from Madrid, however, we took the AVE (the high speed train) and were there in just about a half hour. We spent the day wandering around the city and taking in the atmosphere. Even though Toledo is really close to Madrid it had a completely different feel. In fact, it was different than any other city in Spain that I have been to. The city is very old fashion and still has mostly all the same old buildings it had when it was first built. Some of the highlights of our day in Toledo were; seeing the Cathedral (Gothic style), seeing the Museo del Greco (full of his famous artwork and things from his life), and seeing the Iglesia de Santo Tome which holds one of Greco's most well known and famous pieces of artwork, "El Entierro Del Senor de Orgaz." Seeing this painting was probably my favorite part of the trip!
This week two of my friends and I decided that we wanted to try and see a Real Madrid futbol game. Without buying our tickets before hand, Gabrielle, Mary Rose and I took the metro to the Stadium and walked around to try and find tickets. Of course the ticket booth was all the way on the other side of the stadium, but eventually we found it, purchased our tickets and found our seats! The stadium is huge and the futbol fans get so into it! I would compare it how I would imagine being at a football game in the USA would be like (seeing as I haven't been to one I don't actually know). The futbol fans might even be more intense. Real Madrid ended up creaming the other team, scoring three points in the first 12 minutes of the game! It was such a great experience, and even though I don't really like soccer or even know how it is played, I'm glad I went!
Yesterday was Thanksgiving, as all of you know! The Marquette group got to eat dinner at a restaurant called Botin. It is the oldest, most famous restaurant in Madrid known to be a popular dining choice of Ernest Hemingway. The restaurant tried their hardest to make us a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and while it wasn't horrible it just wasn't the same. There wasn't any stuffing, which is my favorite part of the meal. It was great to be with all my friends to celebrate the holiday but I couldn't help but miss my family. However, getting to Skype them all while they were at my Grandparent's house was a decent substitute.
Of course, I can't forget what Thanksgiving is all about, giving thanks. I just want to say that I am incredibly thankful for the experience I am having here abroad in Spain and that I even get to be here! It is an experience of a lifetime and I never forget how lucky I am to be here! I'm also thankful for my family. Without them I wouldn't be who I am! Can't forget my amazing friends who I can't wait to see and catch up with! Also, all the friends I have made while in Spain. It is because of them that I am having such a great time! I love you all!
I'm off to explore Barcelona this weekend! I'm so excited to explore yet another Spanish city. However, I'm not quite sure I'm ready for the 8 hour overnight bus there and home. I'll let you know how that goes next week!! :D
Because it is getting so close, I have to add my countdowns:
My dad comes to Spain in 11 days!
I come home in 27 days!
See you all so soon!! :D
