Today had many ups and downs, perhaps more downs than ups, but it's still a good experience. I used the metro to get to the right area of Madrid to meet up with the group for our scavenger hunt today. As usual, once I got off the metro to street level, I got lost. I asked about four people for help, and they were muy simpatico (very nice), but I didn't understand much they said. I simply nodded and walked in the direction they pointed in until I could ask someone else. Like usual, I eventually found my way. We were split into groups and given a sheet of paper with tasks on it and told to meet at Parque del Retiro (a large park nearby).
I was paired with three people, Jullian, Paula, and Miriam. We had to go first to El Museo del Jamón (the Ham Museum) and ask what the best type of ham to buy was. Then to La Casa Encendida (a museum) to ask about the exhibits. Our next stop was the tropical garden in the Atocha Station. This was really cool, tropical trees, vegetation, and a small pond with turtles. I tried to take a picture for Brandon, but I didn't have my camera and my phone didn't work so well. We then asked many questions at the information desk and our last stop then was to a tobacco shop to ask what the cheapest cigarettes were. We did so and made our way to the park, where eventually all the groups came.
The scavenger hunt was really lonely for me. I am naturally a painfully shy person, and getting to know people is hard, especially when we're supposed to be speaking a different language. I don't like getting lost either, (which I accepted before I got here that I will get lost many times) because it makes me feel very confused. So I'm shy, lost, and confused with three people that I don't know. At least they all speak perfect English. Ah the irony. Once all the groups arrived at the park, ate sandwiched provided to us by our program people. So far I haven't had any really authentic Spanish food, which disappoints me a little. Last night's dinner was a pasta salad, with tuna, lobster, egg, pepper, and green olives. I tried everything, but could not muster the olives. They were not my cup of tea.
All in all the scavenger hunt was a good experience though, I'm glad I did it. It did mean I had to miss out on buying my textbooks (today's hours are 10.00-14.00) because the hunt didn't end until 1:45. I guess I'll buy them after my first class. We're all USAC students, so I'm expecting not many other students will have them either. I went with three other people to try and find a place to buy cheap cell phones, but the shops were all closed, and since it's a Saturday, they won't reopen until Monday. Two of our group went home, and I was left with two girls to go shopping. We went to one store and there was nothing that I loved, so I didn't buy anything. We all headed home after that. On our way on the metro, a man and woman came on the train with a piano player, one of the small ones that Jason used to have. They were playing music and it was really cool.
On my way back to my apartment, I stopped at a small store that was still open and browsed around. I ended up buying una bolsa (a purse). I love it, it's like a brown satchel :) It's smaller than my Tech bag and it has zippers, so I feel more secure with it while about in the city. It was also cheap at 12 euros. It took me a while to get my key to work in the door. The first time I realized I was at 63, and I needed to be at 63B, so I moved down a door haha. Then once I was in the building, I was able to get to my floor and apartment door with no problem. It's hard to get my key out of the door, but I've never been good with keys, so that's probably why.
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