Hasta luego, Spain!

Here's Claudine, the French lady who I visited all semester. She's great! She's lived in France, Spain, Germany, the U.S... and she can go back and forth between languages so quickly! I had to say goodbye the other day, which was sad, but I'm glad I got a picture to remember her by! Plus, with Skype, I'm hoping to call her to see how she's doing!

Here I am, with my luggage, about to leave Spain! Actually, I didn't leave. Intense fog in London caused me to be rerouted to a direct flight to Chicago through Iberia (even better... a direct flight!). However, that flight got overbooked, so Iberia offered me 600 Euros in cash, a 4 star hotel for the night, another direct flight to Chicago, and food... wow! I decided to take them up on it, and I must say, it was pretty cool to see the customer service lady bust out the 200 Euro bill. I didn't know those existed! A nice way to get a little money back after all the spending that comes with a semester abroad! I'm writing this blog from my hotel...luckily I had my laptop bag (my luggage stayed at the airport) so I could take advantage of the free wireless internet.

I stayed with Heidi, a fellow American study-abroader, for my last few days. My last night (well, my original last night), we walked around and did one last walking tour of Madrid! It was QUITE chilly, but the Christmas lights were beautiful and it was a great way to end the day. We stopped at Starbuck's for some hot chocolate (ok, not very Spanish-like, but it was SO cold...we needed something to warm up with!).

Here is the Puerta del Toledo, which looked especially cool with the lights they put on it! I will miss the monuments in the city... this was built I think as an "entrance" into Madrid by one of the kings.

Madrid, I'll miss you! Hopefully, I'll make it back before I'm 80, but until I can make it back, I'm glad I took lots of pictures my last few days! :-) See you soon!

Sometimes, Viajar-ing is Intense

Wow. Today was INTENSE. It was one of those days when you realize that traveling is not always a piece of cake. I started the day by going to Immanuel Baptist Church to see my SLU friend Amanda sing in the choir. Then, I had to duck out early to meet Chey, another SLU friend. Chey and I decided to grab one last churro and then I went to help see her off at the airport!

Let's just say we got a workout. Chey lived in a building where Cervantes lived! Yes, this was where he wrote Don Quixote, and Chey was lucky enough to be placed with a lady who lives here! After she bid goodbye to her family, we lugged her HEAVY suitcase down the ancient wooden stairs. Then, we walked to a metro, went up and down stairs with the luggage, switched at two stations... then, when we finally got to Barajas Airport, we had to catch a bus to the other terminal! The handle broke on the suitcase... it was that heavy! Then, when Chey checked in, they said her luggage was too heavy. I must say, I don't understand why the weight limits are so incredibly strict. They told us you can have two checked bags with up to 32 kilos each. Chey had one bag that was 44 kilos, and one that was 12. But, no, you have to have each one under 32... arg. We spent about 45 minutes re-arranging her luggage and she ended up having to check a third bag, which costs extra of course :-( Sheesh, we were so exhausted and sweaty by the end of it! Later today, I packed my suitcases too, and they are HEAVY! I will probably need to throw more out, or I'll have to deal with the same situation as Chey did...


Chey saying goodbye to her house! That's a plaque above the door signifying that Cervantes lived here.

Here I am with the broken handle from the suitcase. I decided we could use it for an antennae. The British Airways guy was a little confused as to what it was I was holding...

Here are Chey and I, completely exhausted after all of it! I'm just glad she didn't have to go through that all by herself, that would have been a nightmare. So, I sent her off and came home and took a nap!!

So, today, I have taken 4 Metro rides, 2 bus rides, and 1 taxi, and I'm taking a taxi in about 15 minutes to go to my friend Heidi's house with all my stuff! This is it, I'm leaving Alicia's house today and spending the last couple days with Heidi in her piso in Madrid.

Anyhow, just had to share my crazy day with you all! Hopefully, mine will go smoothly on Wednesday when I fly home. Don't know if I'll get on here before then, so next time I write, it'll probably be from home!!

A Night in Saudi Arabia

So, Doa and Fawwaz, two SLU-Madrid permanent students from Saudi Arabia, invited all of us from the Interfaith Retreat to come over to their house for dinner! They live about 45 minutes from Madrid. It was AWESOME. They were incredibly hospitable, constantly bringing us drinks, appetizers, tea, food, dessert, etc.!

Here are some pictures:

Jen and I toasting to the last night in Madrid! (Jen left today... I'm still here for a few days, but most of my friends went home on the group flight) This is some kind of cherry juice...


Doa and I! I am going to miss this girl! She is the nicest girl EVER.

Anna and I, the two tall, white, Midwesterners. Ok, we could never pass for Saudi Arabians, but we had fun dressing like them!! Anna didn't want to take off the outfit, it was so comfortable!

Doa and Fawwaz helping one of the guys put on the traditional male outfit.

Dancing with Alex... Alex is an amazing dancer! Here I am wearing the traditional Saudi Arabian dress. I love the colors...

Doa with the feast they prepared for us!! It was definitely one of the best meals I've ever had...

It was really fun to get all the Interfaith Retreat people together again one more time. It was pretty incredible to spend a night enjoying all of the food, music, dancing, and clothing and hanging out with Doa and Fawwaz's family. We had people from the U.S., Germany, the Phillipines, and Zimbabwe there... imagine this group all eating, dancing (in several different styles), teaching each other phrases from our languages, and just enjoying a great time. None of us wanted to leave, but by 1 a.m. or so, we finally piled back into the van to head back to Madrid. On the way back, Fawwaz translated a bunch of the Arabian songs we were listening to for me... which was cool... and it was funny, because every time I asked, "What is this one about?"... it was always about love! Seems to be what 90% of all songs are about anywhere, right?

Well, I have 4 more days in Madrid. Finals are done, and my roommates left early this morning! Sad... I am enjoying a few more days just seeing some of the things I haven't seen yet and not wanting to leave...

Time is running out...

Here are some pictures from the last week or so... time is running out, but I'm trying to make the most of it!

Here's Sara packing... it was weird to take the suitcases that had been sitting on top of our closet all semester and begin packing! We had fun trying to take them off down... it got a little wobbly for a moment and both I and the ceiling lamp almost got into trouble!



This is a house nearby the school... the leaves are pretty and are falling now, which seems a little late to me, but that's ok, I don't mind that winter isn't quite as intense here! :-)

The Christmas lights in Madrid are AWESOME! They really know how to decorate. This is from El Corte Ingles, the big department store chain in Madrid.

We went one last time to watch my host-lady sing at Luchana! We also got Amanda to sing "Close Your Eyes," and she was awesome! From right to left: Amanda, Fabian, me, and Jen.

So, for a belated Sara's-birthday-present, I got her the chocolate version of Scrabble (yes, the pieces are made of chocolate! yum)... haha, it was in Spanish, so we made it into Spanglish Scrabble. We busted it out today in the snack bar with some people to take a break from finals. And interestingly enough, we found out that Christine's parents (Christine is the one on the right) met at a Scrabble tournament!

As you can see, it's been an ecclectic last while here... we're all taking finals, trying to enjoy Madrid for a few more days with everyone, and getting ready to go home! It's crazy... I think we're all feeling the mix of emotions that come with finishing up the study abroad experience... I think everyone, of course, will be glad to have finals over with, though. I've taken 3, and I have 2 left on Friday. Then... it's one last night hanging out before the majority of people fly home. We have to move out of our housing by Saturday, so most people left by then. I'll be staying for the last few days with a friend from church, Heidi. Then, it's back home by December 20th! Wow. Ok, time to get back to studying and sleep. Hasta luego!

It's finals week!

Well, they've finally arrived... final exams. Hard to believe the end of the semester is really here! We're all in a hurry to study and still take advantage of our last few days here in Spain! I'll be back in WI on December 20th... so luckily, I'll have a bit of time to enjoy Spain after finals end. This week should be pretty intense - I'll let you know how it goes! I'm off to sleep so I can wake up early tomorrow and do school work. The joys of college life! :-) (There is something semi-thrilling about finals though... it's like a race against time to get the best score possible.)

My Beef with Post-Modernism...

So... since we're just about done with the semester, in lots of my classes we're reading/discussing more recent literature/cultural stuff. You know how in American History class in high school, you start with Plymouth Rock and then end with a quick overview of the 90s? Well, that's where I'm at in my British Drama, Spanish Literature, and Spanish Culture and Civilization Classes. All of them are survey classes, so they cover a wide range of time, and now, of course, we are at the most contemporary stuff. Therefore, we're talking a lot about "post-modern" ideas.

I've learned a lot about the whole post-modern era. First of all, I think the name "post-modern" is an intellectually pretentious term. Haha, but that's besides the point. Basically, in a nutshell, post-modernism refers to an era in art, literature, philosophy, etc. (beginning in the late 1950s, maybe?) in which things are broken apart... things aren't looked at in traditional ways. A black spot on a canvas is no longer a black spot on a canvas... the order of things is turned around... traditional form/order/thought no longer applies, or is highly questioned. Ok, that's a somewhat vague description, but maybe that's why you can understand why I get a little tired of trying to study it.

Basically, I just don't get it. Ok, yeah, I understand the concept of analyzing things and seeing them in a new light. But as we talked about in my Spanish Culture and Civ. class... breaking things apart and criticizing gets old. I guess I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the ideas of "post-modernism" and appreciating them the way I appreciate earlier periods in literature/art... overall, I just don't like it.

I'm glad people are trying to be innovative, but art now seems to be so much more than just artistic ability. That has both positive and negative consequences... cause a guy who can paint amazing landscapes, but who doesn't expell some incredible meaning behind each color and line, has less of a chance of making it as an artist nowadays. Something just seems a little odd about that to me. At the same time, I think it's interesting that art is now more than just a painting, it has a more complex meaning. That is kind of interesting in its own rite, I guess.

Some of the stuff I've read/watched for my classes from this era has been WEIRD... I guess that's what's kept me thinking about it.

Any thoughts?

Salamanca y Otras Cosas

Plaza Mayor in Salamanca - the view from our hostal!

A picture of one of the buildings from the University of Salamanca.

Amanda took a picture from the Plaza Mayor of Jen and I on our balcony at the hostal. It was an amazing view!

So, I tried to go to bed at 9 tonight, since I have to get up EARLY to write a paper and prepare for a presentation. I woke up about 10:30 and realized, my body is confused by my attempts to mess up the sleep schedule... so, I thought I'd say hello. Tomorrow is the last day of 3 of my classes, and Thursday is the last day of class for my other two classes. WOW! I can't believe how fast this semester has gone... there is so much I need to do before I leave in 2.5 weeks!



School has been very busy lately... ever since the beginning of November, school has been just going non-stop. I am a little nervous for finals... it will be a challenge to balance studying for them and wrapping up everything else here. Luckily, I have about 5 days after finals before I fly home, so I'll have a chance to enjoy Spain stress-free after I finish all my tests!



My paper that I'm writing is on the play Man and Superman, by Bernard Shaw. Very interesting... I love/hate it at the same time. It's very witty and makes a lot of interesting commentary on society, and at the same time, it's really wordy and I don't agree with all of Shaw's philosophical views... sometimes I've been thinking as I read it, "Shaw, stop thinking so hard." Anyone read it?



I'm giving a talk next Sunday in my ward at church, in Spanish! I'm a bit nervous, since it'll take definite preparation to speak in Spanish, but I'm also kind of excited to have the chance to do it. Learning "church" vocabulary in Spanish is sometimes a new branch of Spanish for me, since the words aren't ones I learn in classes. However, it's been cool to learn how to understand the scriptures and talk about the gospel in another language.



It's been rainy here the past few days... and it's finally getting chilly and winter-like! (The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, and in Madrid apparently!) :-) Actually though, it's pretty dry here... they're talking a lot about how they need to save water...



I went to Salamanca on Friday night. The Plaza Mayor all lit up at night was gorgeous!! I wish I could have spent more time there... unfortunately, the university was closed, since we were trying to tour it on Saturday, and it's closed on weekends. The University of Salamanca is like the "Harvard" of Spain, it's OLD and beautiful. It made me think of Harry Potter... cause it seemed like the kind of place where students would wear robes and carry candles in the dark hallways...

Our hostal was awesome - only 15 Euro a night per person, with a balcony onto the Plaza Mayor! We lucked out for sure... we had a great time just walking around the city and looking at everything all lit up at night. Since it is a university town, we tried to see what students were up to on a Friday night, which we finally figured out after wandering the streets alone for a long time, haha. Amanda, because of her blonde hair we think, was attracting all types of cat calls from men... sort of funny!

Ok, well, I think I'm going to try to sleep again soon. P.S. I finally figured out that I had to "moderate" my blog comments... so if you've tried to comment and it never showed up, I'm sorry! I didn't realize I had to "approve" them... I changed that now so you should be able to comment freely. I was beginning to wonder if anyone ever read this! Hehe, so anyhow, sorry about that. Have a great week everyone! I'll write again soon :-)

If I could create classes at SLU-Madrid...

Classes I would like to see SLU-Madrid offer next semester:

El Corte Ingles 201: Course Description - A class covering the history and set-up of the famous Spanish department store. Material includes learning the 7 floors and their departments, memorizing the store locations within Madrid and Spain, and learning how to best navigate within the store.

The Mysteries of the Tobacco Stand 101: Course Description - A class offering the student information on the many offerings of the tobacco store (other than tobacco), the cultural evolution behind buying metro passes at a tobacco store, and how to ask for international stamps.

Churros Con Chocolate 389: Course Description - A course for the advanced churros con chocolate eater, including the history of the dessert, where and when to buy it in Madrid, with a final project culminating in a student collage of pictures of the student eating churros on several different occasions. Class also includes a creative writing contest with pieces inspired by the dessert.

McDonald's in Spain 220: Course Description - A class that answers the following questions: Where did McCafe come from? How do McDonald's Playlands differ between the U.S. and Spain? Why is McDonald's helado en cono (ice cream cone) so good?

Student Trip Planning 399: Course Description - A class offering students information on how to fit in everything they want to see in one semester... the class includes several class field trips in various parts of Spain and Europe, a power-point presentation comparing the wide range of student hostels, and a research paper on unforgettable/interesting/weird/amazing travel experiences.

Hmm... maybe I should pitch my curriculum ideas to the dean? What do you think? :-)

Strasbourg!

I went to Strasbourg, France this weekend to visit my cousin, Andrew. We had great weather and I got to see a LOT in 2.5 days! Here are some pictures from the weekend:


Here are Andrew and I at the top of this observation tower in Kehl, Germany. Kehl and Strasbourg are neighbor cities on the Reine River... which is the border between France and Germany. The view was amazing...

Of course, being from Milwaukee, we had to eat bratwurst in Kehl! It was GOOD... and I'm not always a huge bratwurst fan.

Here is a view of the Reine from the observation tower. To the left is Strasbourg (France), and to the right is Kehl (Germany). To the far right (farther than the picture shows) is the Black Forrest.

Strasbourg is known for their Christmas markets... they are in the town squares, and they consist of lots of booths and tents like this filled with vendors of candles, Christmas ornaments, chocolate, jewelry, etc.! It was so fun to walk around there, especially at night... there were LOTS of people.

I thought this was funny... in the Euroairport in Basel, Switzerland... you can enter either France, Germany, or Switzerland... from the airport! Crazy, huh? Here's the France/Germany exit.

The Christmas lights were everywhere... and it really made the city look like a Christmas fairy-tale. In the backround is the Strasbourg Cathedral.

Here's the Switzerland exit!!

It was a fast, but great weekend. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to Strasbourg earlier in the semester when I could have stayed longer due to high flight prices... but it turned out well to come this weekend, and it was especially fun to see all the Christmas stuff!

Basically, I spent the weekend hanging out and catching up with Andrew, one of my Milwaukee cousins who is studying at the University in Strasbourg. I got to see the campus, meet some of his school friends, bike over to Germany (it's only about a 20 minute bike ride, hehe), check out the city, and relax. It was fun to stay with Andrew and see his apartment there... and I got to watch movies for the first time this semester on his computer! I finally can say I've seen "What About Bob?" and it was hilarious. It was probably the most laid-back of my trips this semester, and that was great...

A few things I will remember about Strasbourg: eating amazing pastries and food in general(baguette flambee, apple streusel tart, banana/nutella crepe...), walking around at sunset with the Christmas lights and the roasted chestnut vendors, biking to Germany, and just spending hours talking about anything and everything with my cousin!

Only about 3 weeks left in Europe! I can't believe it. I am already sad to think of leaving...

Interfaith Retreat

This past weekend I went on the Saint Louis University Interfaith Retreat. It was awesome! Seriously, it was one of the best experiences I've had here. The retreat was held at a Christian retreat center in Loeches, about an hour from Madrid. Here are some pictures from the weekend:


The sun was setting when we arrived late Friday afternoon. The view from the place was beautiful.

Here are Peter and Priyam. Peter helped plan the retreat... he's a student studying here for the semester from the Saint Louis U. home campus in Missouri. We've traveled a lot together this semester and have become good friends! Priyam is a permanent student here from India. He gave a presentation on the Hindu faith, and I had fun talking with him about yummy Indian food!

Here are Tadzoka, Amal, and Nick. They lead a Bible study on Sunday morning...

Here are Caley and I... lying on the floor before we started the "Imaginitive Prayer." It was a prayer lead by Peter... and it was cool to think that all of us were praying in our own way, yet together, as people from several different religious backgrounds!

I signed up for the Interfaith Retreat pretty last minute, but I'm so glad I did! We had people representing several different faiths: Islam, Hindu, LDS, Catholic, Baptist, non-denomonational Christian... the goal of the weekend was to learn about each others' faiths and to get to know each other. I've been on retreats before, but this one was special... we all shared very personal feelings about our faith with people we barely knew, and of course, we all bonded quickly! It was awesome to hear about Islam from people from Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen... they explained their faith and as we all shared our own backgrounds, we really discovered how similar our religions are in many ways. We talked about the difficulties of living our religions in today's world, the misunderstandings among our faiths, etc.

We were woken up in the morning by the call to prayer... a Muslim song that is played in the morning to signify that it's time for morning prayer. We also had a Catholic mass on Sunday, and for many, it was their first experience in a mass. Father Reck, the Jesuit who lead the retreat, explained the mass to everyone, which was great. And he said he knew of my great uncle, Joseph Sheehan, who was a Jesuit. Small world!

I am sad to think that I am leaving in a month, and some of these people I may never see again after that. However, I'm so glad I took advantage of this chance to get to know all of these awesome people. If only we could all get together under similar circumstances... perhaps our world would not be so full of hate.

Another day in Madrid comes to a close...

As I'm sitting here, I can hear the faint back-drop of honking car horns, my roommate talking to a friend on Skype, the radio buzzing as my host brother winds down after a day of work, and a baby in a nearby apartment crying. The sounds of the city... it's funny how they seem less distracting as they used to. I guess living in a city, your senses are bombarded every day with sounds, sights, and smells. After a week or so, I think I began to automatically filter out these things, as a natural process of getting used to it all ... but of course, when I sit back and let myself notice it, I realize how much is constantly going on around me. It's an inclusive feeling, being part of such an ocean of constant human movement, and at the same time, it can be almost overwhelming. At times, the crowded subways and city air makes me long for a stroll in an empty country field or something, but thankfully, Madrid has great parks, which help when I need some nature.

Despite the controlled chaos of living in a big city, I notice the longer I'm here, the more things I can pick out that suggest Madrid is much smaller than it really is. For example, I often see this one man sitting on the same bench with his German Shepard at his feet as I walk to school. The dog is a puppy, and I've seen him get a little bigger over the semester. The same homeless man sits on the same busy street corner, with a slight smile on his face as he watches the people pass by, hoping for a coin or two. The garbage truck comes down our street every night between 1-3 a.m. The same store keepers run their cash registers and greet customers. The same crowd at Luchana's piano bar every Monday night dances and enjoys familar songs. The same group of locals and missionaries play soccer on Saturday nights at 9 p.m. at the field across the street from the chapel. This city may be huge, but each person has his or her own routines and community, which, if you notice it, you can be a part of.

I'm enjoying this acclimation, and it's already hard to think of leaving this small shared bedroom, my nightly "cena" (dinner) with my housemates and host-lady, my small SLU community, the Church members I've met, and my new-found routines and enjoyments. However, I knew when I came that this semester would someday end. Luckily, I still have over a month to enjoy my life in Madrid. I'm glad I had to chance to see my family and two of my good Milwaukee friends over here and introduce them to my temporary but real existence in this city. I'm realizing now why everyone says you should study abroad for at least a semester... anything shorter than that, and it's hard to ever really feel like you "lived" here. I know I'm not a Spaniard, but I'm grateful for this chance to learn what it's like to be one and to experience life as one.

Ok, I'm going to step back into my world here and get ready to eat dinner and study... and whatever is the backdrop of your world right now... the daily sights, sounds, smells... the nice and not-so-nice... I'd love to hear about it.

Retiro Park - A Haven in the City

Some pictures from Retiro Park outings:


Sara studying in the park one day when we had a picnic.

The gardens are amazing.

Sara, Dan, Chey and Caley when we had a picnic a month or so back. Chey brought some wine and chocolate (don't worry, I just had the chocolate!) and we relaxed on some towels (we don't have blankets) and talked and studied.

Today, Jeannette, Marisa, Luis, and I went to Retiro to show Jeannette and Marisa (my Milwaukee friends!) around. You would never guess it was Nov. 10... it was sunny and warm and a perfect day. Here Marisa took a shot of Luis and I when we all ate some tortilla de patata (Spanish omelette) and some sandwiches at a cafe in the park. Notice Luis has just a t-shirt on!! It must have been in the 60s for a while today... according to Marisa and Jeannette, Wisconsin is very cold right now. I must say, this weather is preferable!

One of the many beautiful fountains in the park. I decided today that if I ever run for president... I'm going to create a law to promote more fountains. :-)

Marisa, Jeannette, and I in front of the pond in the center of the park. You can't see it, but there were people boating around on row boats...

So, El Parque de Buen Retiro ("Retreat/Seclusion Park") was originally royal land... and it was later opened up for all of the public to enjoy. It is HUGE... think Central Park in NYC... and it has tons of pathways and trees and statues and fountains and flowers and accordian players and little dogs and people.... I got excited when I heard birds chirping as we walked in the park. I guess I hear "wildlife" less than I realize! I see dogs all the time, but beyond that... not a lot. Anyhow, Retiro is my little wilderness in the middle of the city!

Things I love/Things I miss

Now that I've been here in Madrid over half of the semester... I'm thinking it's a good time to take stock of all the changes that have happened in my life in the last 2 months... of course, I've experienced a lot of new things, but surprisingly, life also feels pretty normal and comfortable over here. Everyone always talks about how study abroad changes you... makes you open up your perspective, makes you experience the unfamiliar and make it familiar... it does. Yet, I feel like the same girl I've always been. With that intro... here are a few things I've discovered here in Spain that I love, and a few things I miss about the U.S./home.

A Few Things I Love About Spain:

-people are a little more chill sometimes
-churros con chocolate
-speaking Spanish
-meeting lots of new, interesting people
-the small class sizes I have here at SLU-Madrid
-the tightknit Institute program at Church
-people seem to live healthier lifestyles in a lot of ways... more exercise, better eating habits, etc.
-seeing/learning about so much history... it's completely integrated into the culture
-small, neighborhood grocery stores
-cute, well-behaved dogs everywhere!
-having so many amazing places to visit so close to where I live... in Madrid and outside of Madrid
-my Madrid friends (from my SLU program and Church)
-doing new, interesting things, all the time

A Few Things I Miss:

-watching movies (I'm not a huge movie buff... but I don't have any DVDs and I never watch movies... I miss that)
-being able to have people over
-being able to cook my own food (just once in a while)
-feeling like I can communicate what I really want to say sometimes
-my family and friends!
-alone time (just once in a while.... overall I am a social gal and love being with people, but once in a while, I'd like to have a little retreat house... where I could veg out, sing out loud without people hearing me, hehe, write, think, etc.)
-my guitar/violin
-Peanut Butter and Chocolate ice cream from 31 Flavors :-)

Well, I can't complain, life is amazing, wherever you are, and it's interesting to see what things you enjoy about the changes or miss from before. I'm trying to just soak it all in here and enjoy it, since I'll get to enjoy the things I miss soon enough, but this my one chance to enjoy life in Madrid. Entonces, a toast to Madrid!

Family Time

My family came to Madrid! Of course, I had to take them to get churros con chocolate! Here's a picture of Aunt Joan and I enjoying some of my favorite Spanish treats...


Here's Mom, Dad, and I at the Plaza de Espana.

So much has happened in the last couple of weeks... it's hard to know where to begin! Well... the second round of midterms is coming, which is hard to believe. Time is flying here! I'm realizing that I'll be coming home before I know it. For that reason, I'm trying to take advantage of the time I have left!

My parents were only able to stay for one day in Madrid, sadly, but it was good! They met Alicia, my host-mom, saw the school, met a few of my friends, and we all went out for a nice traditional Spanish meal - cocido (a Spanish stew with garbanzo beans, potatoes, pork, sausage, etc.)

Aunt Joan is able to stay for the week, so she's staying with Alicia and all of us and we're roomies! :-) Let the sleeping photo wars begin!

To give a brief history, on a family vacation in 7th grade, I took photos of the family members sleeping, and ever since, Aunt Joan has tried snapping random pictures of me sleeping. I woke up to her taking one of me today! :-) I'll get one of her before this trip is over...hehe.

Next week, I have more visitors! Two of my Milwaukee friends, Marisa and Jeannette, are coming, and I'm SUPER excited for that too. We might go to Granada for a couple days, and of course, we'll all do all the Madrid sights.

Anyhow, I'll write again soon... right now I'm getting over having a cold and the stomach flu... overlapping each other! Ug... the past few days have not been healthy ones. Hasta pronto!

Church in Madrid

Here is Catherine, another study abroad student from the U.S. in my ward here, and Robert, an LDS guy from Ecuador. At Institute, we have dance lessons on Friday nights... right now they're teaching salsa and cha-cha-cha, hehe. It was so much fun!


Here is the Madrid, Spain temple! It is gorgeous both lit up at night and during the day... there are fountains and flowers surrounding the temple. The temple is right across from the Stake Center and the other Church building, which contains the Missionary Training Center, a Distribution Center, Insitute, a Family History Center, and a place for people to stay who have travelled to come to the temple.

Here's a picture of two of my friends from Insitute... Luis (from Bolivia) and Jose (from Venezuela). They are two of the nicest guys I've met in Spain! I've met some great people here at Institute and at church... everyone has been so nice.

Here are Brother and Sister Eames... a senior missionary couple from Arizona who help in the Church Education... they teach Institute, run the office, and help with activities... they are so much fun! They're like my surrogate parents, hehe... and they taught us cha-cha-cha. They both speak Spanish very well too... all the kids in Institute love them!

Well, this gives you a taste of what it's like to go to the LDS church in Madrid. The LDS connection, world-wide, is alive and well. I've had a lot of fun going to church in Spanish, meeting people from South America, Spain, the U.S., and other European countries... watching General Conference at the Stake Center, going to Institute... etc.! There is a strong group of members here, and of course they quickly have made me feel welcome.

My ward, the Madrid 5th Ward, is about a 15 minute metro ride away... or a 45ish minute walk. My bishop is from California... and the dean of Saint Louis University-Madrid! I have a few other American students in my ward too, here through various programs. Last week, I went to the Madrid 7th Branch, which is an English speaking branch. It consists mostly of Nigerians, and the others are a mix of Americans and other non-native English speakers. I must say, I think between all of us, we had a hard time understanding each other's English, since Nigerian English has a strong accent and the others spoke English as a second language, but I LOVED listening to the accents! The branch was tiny... but it was a lot of fun!

Anyhow, just thought it'd be fun to share a little of this aspect of my experience here. Going to church in Madrid has been awesome, and one of the best ways to actually feel a part of the community here.

Fashion - Sometimes, You Just Have to Say No

So, living in a bustling, international metropolis, I see different fashion all the time. As a whole, Madrilenos seem to be a fairly trendy, fashionable, well-dressed bunch. I definitely feel like I sometimes stick out, walking around with my big backpack and my tennis shoes. Of course, I am trying to minimize this "Where is she from?" reaction by attempting to blend in. But... as I don't have endless funds, nor the energy, to always be trendy, I guess sometimes I just will have to stick out.

The 80s are a full swing here in Europe. I've noticed this return to the 80s for the last year or so in the U.S. too... and despite my initial protests, it's kind of fun being able to wear whatever weird, mismatched outfit I want and to perhaps justify it as fashionable. However, there is a definite limit to the fashion risks I'm willing to take. Spain seems to really enjoy this 80s throwback, and if you're familiar with the clothes at H&M, which I'd say, have a definite European and almost over-trendy feel... that's pretty much every store here! Big jewelry, oversized t-shirts, polka dots and stripes, leggings, jeans that are tighter at the ankle... and my personal favorite: mullets.

Yes, mullets are everywhere here, and not just in Madrid. Apparently, a friend who went to London said they all over the place there too. On TV, in the metro, men, women, they have mullets! I just don't think I can accept this one, folks. I'm sorry. I just think it's ugly.

I'll wear a striped shirt... maybe even a chunky necklace, but no, I will not get a mullet. Sometimes, you just have to say "No!" to fashion. :-)

Barcelona Fun

This weekend, since we had fall break at SLU, just about everyone went somewhere. I had friends who went to Dublin, Paris, Lisbon, etc. etc. Wow! It'll be fun to share stories this week. I went to Barcelona in my continuing efforts to see as much of Spain as possible - and also because I've heard it's awesome!! And, no surprises, it was! Here are a few highlights:

Here is a picture of Justin (one of my SLU buddies) and I behind a random window inside the Picasso Museum. The museum was very interesting, especially to see Picasso's early work before he got into cubism. He was very versatile... he did amazing portraits and impressionistic paintings early in his career. It was interesting to see his styles change over time. Ok, this picture has nothing to do with Picasso, but I thought it sort of looked like a jail, so I thought it'd make for a funny picture. Apparently, I'm excited to be in jail.



Here is a picture of Justin, Allyson, Christine, and Crista in front of the Christopher Columbus statue by the harbour of Barcelona. It was raining all that night! We were all soaked by the end.
My laminated Barcelona map that Dad bought me before I came to Spain ended up being a great rain helmet. Way to think ahead Dad!

This below is a picture of my room in my hostel. There were 6 girls total in my room (I didn't know anyone from before)... and it was not very spacious, to say the least! It didn't help either that one of the girls had strewn her stuff all over the room... clothes, bottles... I had read pretty un-impressive reviews of this place, called Rambla & Catalunya Hostel, so I knew it wouldn't be all that great, but since I booked so last minute, I didn't really have many options. And honestly, I didn't care much, I mean it was cheap and I was only there to sleep. The shower didn't drain, it was loud, and the staff seemed a little apathetic, haha, but hey, it was a place to sleep! Luckily, the hostel my other friends were in was nice. I learned its definitely good to book in advance and find a hostel with a good review!

We saw lots of modernista (Catalunyan Modernist Period) architecture, like this apartment building designed by Gaudi, the most famous of them all! The architecture in this city was amazing - an incredible mix of Gothic, Modernista, Barroque, and recent. I really like it...

The Gothic cathedral of Barcelona is also very pretty. Sadly, a lot of it was covered up, since they are restoring it, but the inside was beautiful! It was sort of dark inside, since it was raining hard outside, but it had a very soft ambience, with the lit candles, the high ceilings, and the stained-glass windows.

Well, that's a taste of the trip! We took the overnight bus both to and from Barcelona... which overall worked really well. Sleeping on a bus is not easy, but it did make the ride go faster and saved us a lot of money on sleeping arrangements! I definitely needed a couple intense naps after the busses though! Overall, this trip was great... I hung out with a lot of different people and got to know them better, had my first European hostel experience, saw the sites of Barcelona, had awesome seafood paella (the Spanish national dish), and ate my first "Mexican" meal since coming to Spain! I had nachos at the Hard Rock Cafe, and even though they weren't really all that amazing or authentic, they were great because I had been craving Mexican for a long time!

I hope I make it back to Barcelona someday... I would really love to see the Dali museum, more Gaudi architecture, and to see a concert inside the world-famous Catalunyan Music Palace,which is naturally lit by this amazing mosaic stained-glass dome. There is so much to do in this city!

Maybe it IS sinking in!

So, apparently all this Spanish is sinking in somewhere in my brain. Well, at least that's the hope I felt today after my roommate Sara told me the following story:

Last night... as Sara and I were peacefully dreaming, apparently I suddenly started mumbling in my sleep, which woke Sara up a little. Then, I said really loudly (she actually used the term "yelled") in my sleep, "Pequeno!" Then, I guess I was translating in the dream, cause I then said, "Very small." Um, I have no recollection of what that possibly could have been about, haha, but the fact that I was dreaming in quasi-Spanish was an exciting discovery!

Don Quixote and I are friends now...

This is Dulcinea, Don Quixote's love interest. Um, she doesn't seem too interested!

Here I am, pretending to be deep in my reading of DQ. The professor read us the chapter about Don Quixote fighting the windmills... which was quite funny. I was glad to finally understand why these windmills are so famous!

And here is one of many DQ statues all over this area of Spain... needless to say, he's a popular guy around here!

Well, yesterday I ventured out with a group from SLU on a tour of places related to either "Don Quixote" or Cervantes (the author). It was really cool and somewhat surreal to actually see the famous windmills associated with Don Quixote. To be honest, I've never read the story, but I hoped that I could soak in enough cultural references so that someday when I hopefully do, I'll hopefully remember some of it.

We stopped at a house where Cervantes lived, which was pretty cool... although he had the biggest wine storage I had EVER seen.... well I haven't seen that many wine storage areas, so maybe that's not helpful, but it was huge!

We also went to Consuegra, which is this town about 1.5 hours outside of Madrid. It had a row of the famous windmills near a castle. So beautiful! The view, on top of the ridge, where the castle and windmills were, was amazing.

Then, we went to a town where the woman who inspired the character "Dulcinea" lived. In the story, Don Quixote falls in love with Dulcinea, a woman who he builds up to be a princess... when in reality, she's not so amazing, and she's not a princess either. That's of course, part of the fun of the story. Anyhow, that's why I included the picture of Dulcinea's statue.

Now, I need to read the book. Given that it's 1100 pages long, I don't know if that'll happen in the near future, but I do feel this trip was helpful in understanding the most famous work of Spanish literature. I hope I am a little closer to "getting" it.