Last night's dinner was interesting. It was really good, but I'm not sure what it was. I was given a slice of bread, as usual, and on my plate was a vegetable that looked like seaweed. It might have been something else, obviously, but I'm not sure what. I also had potatoes, which were yummy! On a separate plate were slices of cheese (provolone, I think), and slices of what I think is pepperoni, but I have no idea. I made little tapas (bread with toppings) with them, First the bread, then the cheese, then the seaweed stuff, then the pepperoni stuff. It was yummy.
After dinner I headed to Vinateros metro stop to meet the others for karaoke. It was a lot of fun. First, we didn't know where we were going, so Jennifer asked a group of females walking down the street. They were sooo nice! They actually walked us to the place, which was the opposite direction of where they were heading, and way out of the way it seemed. It was a woman and her daughter, and then another woman and her daughter. We thanked them profusely. We stood outside the bar for about five to ten minutes, because both Alicia and Jennifer tried the door, but said it was locked. When an employee came out for a cigarette break, we asked what time it opened. He said they were open, and pulled the door open. Turns out neither Alicia or Jennifer tried pulling the door, they had been pushing. So that was fun.
Then after a while Julian and Brendan joined us. They weren't at the metro stop when we got there, so we left without them, knowing they could find their own way. Everyone ended up singing. Mariam only did a duet with me ("Set Fire to The Rain" by Adele), but everyone else sang more than once. I also did a duet with Brendan which wasn't supposed to be a duet, but we didn't care ("I'm a Believer" by Smashmouth). I even did a solo to "Superman" by Five for Fighting.
(L: My solo in my new tank top! R: Jennifer and I)
It was definitely not how I thought the night would go, but I'm really glad I did it. There weren't any locals in the bar either, so it was just the seven of us and the two bartenders, who laughed at our theatrical singing. We left at one in order to get to the metro before it closed. I fell asleep almost as soon as I got back.
This morning was normal. I woke up, ate breakfast, went to class, etc. I decided to wear my new jumper today, and I was feeling bold, so I didn't wear shorts over it. It was cold, so I did wear my cardigan. It turns out that when I move in the jumper, it's not the right size. The buttons at my chest kept popping open, making me very frustrated and embarrassed, but I don't think anyone really noticed. Class was okay, we got our exam grades back and mine was not what I wanted it to be, but it was above a D, so I'm still passing for now. Between classes I went to the USAC office to fill out my mid-way housing evaluation, and also to talk to Susan about the metro pass yesterday. She said she would make some calls ad email me when I need to do something next, so that's getting taken care of.
After my second class, I headed to the supermarket to get my sandwich for lunch. Alicia stopped me outside the library and let me know that we're all set for hostels in the Basque for next weekend. I'm so excited! It's going to be awesome. On the way to go buy my sandwich, I was so frustrated with my outfit that I decided to button up my cardigan. Turns out that is also too small to stay buttoned. I quickly got my lunch and ate it before heading straight home. I changed and then headed back to the store to return the jumper. I now have store credit, so I'm not sure what I'm going to get with it. I was able to take a few minutes for a break before heading to ópera metro station to meet up with my regular group. We went to see the Palacio Real. It was much more fun with a group than if I would have gone alone.
(L: Me outside the palace near the metro stop R: Me inside the palace with Madrid in the background)
The palace was so pretty! I took a lot of photos outside, of the building and views. Inside, we weren't supposed to take photos, but I managed to sneak several. It was just so incredible! We were able to get in for free too, which was super awesome. The rooms had so much detail to them, I'm not used to it. One of my favorite parts was the matching wallpaper/curtain/furniture. It was in a lot of the rooms, and reminded me of the Alph Gam house with our Chinese men wallpaper and drapes. There were more features that reminded me of the house too, like the ornate chairs that we have in our dining room were similar to a lot found in the palace, but a more simple version.
After seeing the palace, we went for churros and hot chocolate at a place that Alicia's intercambio suggested to her. Mariam suggested we split one, which I was more than happy to do. It was cheaper for both of us (1.85 euros), and neither of us wanted 6 churros, which is what it came with, so we each ate three. It was really good! We added powdered sugar and mmm it melted right on the churros! The hot chocolate was good too. It was thicker than the US (like everyone always says), so I ate it with a spoon. I could have drank it though, it wasn't that thick. It was so rich though, like a Hershey's bar that had melted in the sun. It was a good experience. I had been wanting to try churros and hot chocolate here ever since I got here, I just didn't want to go alone, so I'm glad to have friends now!
(Half our group, Julian, Alicia, and Grace eating their churros!)
After the churros, we all went home. I'm not going to go running today, I'm going to make it an every other day event. Or, let me rephrase, I'm going to TRY to make it an every other day event. I'm so sore today in my legs, but I actually like it. Being sore reminds me of how good exercising is for my body and makes me feel good about myself because it means I did physical activity haha. Now I'm patiently awaiting la cena, hoping it's delicious. I can hear something frying, so I'm thinking French fries? After dinner I'm going to try and show Pilar my photos from home, and then shower, and maybe a bit of class reading before bed. I'm exhausted again! It doesn't help that I didn't get to bed until about two this morning either. So yeah, that was my eventful Wednesday.
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