¡Hola! Today was a good day, and kind of productive I guess. I woke up around 10, ate breakfast, and came back in to sleep because no one else was up. I re-woke up at 2 and got dressed and such. I decided to "dance" again, and I knocked on the door of the living room and let myself in. I sat on the couch next to Monica, who was holding a cat. It was sooo cute! It's only a month old and it's fur is so fluffy and gray! He's really feisty too, just like a little playful kitten. It doesn't have a name and I don't think he/she belongs to Monica, but it was fun to meet him/her. Pilar and Maria Teresa were trying to get Carlitos to do something at the table, and I think my being there distracted him. After a while, Monica left with the cat, and Pilar headed to the kitchen to do something, so I just kinda left.
It's really awkward being here sometimes, I wish I could speak Spanish better or that I was more outgoing so that I would try to speak more. It's hard enough for me in English. I ended up going sightseeing to Sol, where we started our scavenger hunt yesterday. I took a few pictures and walked around. I was sooo hungry, but I didn't buy anything to eat. One, I'm such a cheap person that I don't want to spend a lot of money for food. Two, I'm kind of afraid of ordering food, as odd as that may sound. It's hard to communicate, and there are so many options, I don't know what to try! I actually saw that Orange (a phone company) was open, which was odd because most things were closed today. I guess it was since Sol is more of a touristy area? Anyway, I went in and looked around. Fun fact: it turns out that this company has different "mascots" for each type of phone/card they sell. For example, the "dolphin" phones are the pre-paid phones, and the squirrel (SQUIRREL) card is 15euros worth of minutes. I was excited to see a squirrel hehe. I tried to ask an employee to buy a phone in Spanish, but the woman knew I was American (I had a cheat sheet in my hand) and started speaking in English. In order to buy a phone, I needed my original passport. A copy wouldn't work.
Back to the metro I went. I came home, got my passport (and sunglasses, which I had forgotten), left my camera, and headed back out. When I got there, two girls from USAC were there as well. I don't remember her name, but I talked with one of the girls for a while when we were waiting in line. She lives in an apartment with two of the other girls that were there with her. After a long ordeal, I ended up with a 15euro phone, with 25euros worth of minutes on it. Everything is in Spanish, the manual, the receipts, everything on the phone. It's exciting! I added the numbers from those that posted online and I realized I didn't know my number. The woman at the store said it was on my minute card, behind my battery, so I turned off my phone to get it, and when I turned the phone back on, it required a password.
I was skyping with Brandon ( :] ) and he suggested the last four numbers of the phone number, which I now know. It worked, which was good because I was on my last try, but then it asked for a PUK # so that I could change the passcode. My first thought was, what is a PUK? It was 8 characters, so I searched my papers for an 8 number code, and put one in. I thought it worked, because it asked for a new passcode, but then said the PUK was wrong. I finally figured out it was on my minute card. Then all was good. So I now have a phone for emergencies and contacting the people here in Spain.
This was all minutes before dinner. Dinner was quite delicious tonight, it was a homemade lasagna with lots of cheese (yummy yummy Brandon :p). It kind of burnt my tongue, but it was worth it! I had an apple for dessert. I like that my host family eats healthy, it makes it easier for me to try and continue my goal of being healthy. I've already lost weight being here for four days. I walk SO much more than I did in the states, I eat healthier, and I eat less (more like a normal sized portion). I'm too shy to ask for more at dinner, which is actually good because I can eat more, but I'm really full. After I ate my apple tonight, I was stuffed! I will admit I did buy some galletas (crackers) and Oreo's (just one package!!) at a store not too far from my apartment. It's so hard to get used to 9:30 dinners! I was fine yesterday, today I was starving when I was walking around, but when I got home, it wasn't too bad anymore. This mid day hunger may also be a reason to why I'm losing weight. I'm not sure.
Anyway, school starts tomorrow and I'm excited to have something to do! I'm going to go to my first class, then go to the USAC office to get some last things taken care of, like getting my library card, getting the wi-fi passcode for the university network, and signing up for an intercambio. An intercambio is a Madrid local that wants to practice their English, so we meet up and talk in Spanish or English, depending on the day. It'll help me because it'll not only force me to talk in Spanish, but it'll give me someone to show me around Madrid, to places where locals go. So I'm hoping they have an intercambio for me. After I see about that, I'll hang around until lunch, and then head to the bookstore (which I should probably find an address for) to buy my school books. Then, either homework (if I get any) or walk around stores. I'll probably bring my camera too, I'm hoping I'll have several photo inspirations. I'll have to wait and see though.
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