Sábado - 19.24

Today, I went to Segovia.

I got to campus about the same time as usual today, maybe a bit earlier. I ended up being a half an hour early for our 8:45 meeting time to go to Segovia. I wasn't the only one though. Alicia (a different one than last session) was on the same train I was on, so we sat on the bench and talked for a bit. She's in my cinema class, and she's the only one in the class before my conversation class. She's one of the only "new" people that says hi to me when she sees me. I like her. Then the rest of the people came, and we got on the bus and left. It really kind of irks me that we NEVER meet on time or leave on time, or start things on time. I know it's their culture, but man! We left fifteen minutes later than our "scheduled departure".

The bus ride was about an hour and a half, the average for the weekend trips. On the way to Segovia, we passed by a lot of really pretty views. There were mountains and a lot of clouds hovering over them. We passed by the huge cross that we're going to next weekend with El Escorial, which was pretty cool to get a preview, I thought. We also passed by one area that made me think of the drive up to Tech. There were lots of trees, that looked like pine trees, and the road was normal sized, not three or four lanes. It was nice, but made me miss my second home.

When we got to Segovia, we got out and walked to the Alcazar, which is the living quarters for the royal family, so basically a castle. I talked with Jennifer and David the whole way, and also Kristen. She's a new one from this session as well, but she's really nice. We (her, Jennifer, and I) talked about cameras a lot. Kristen has a Nikon too and was using it today. It was nice to talk to people and be social again. Jennifer said she's been doing a lot by herself this session too, which made me feel better about my being anti-social. Alicia was there too, but she was really tired (and hungover) from whatever she did last night, so none of us really talked to her much until after lunch.

As usual, the group was split into two when we got to the Alcazar. One group for those that wanted the tour in English, and one who wanted it in Spanish. I chose the Spanish one this time, because after meeting with Cora yesterday, I felt like maybe I could handle it. So did Jennifer, David, and Alicia. It was kind of funny the way that the group split too, it was like "session one" in Spanish, and "session two" in English... with a few exceptions, of course. I loved it this time, because all the rowdy, loud people were in the English tour, and the few people I like (or know, rather) from the second session were with us in the Spanish tour. I actually understood a lot of what she said too! I was so proud of myself! I had to watch her to get all of the information, so I listened to the first part of what she would say, and then I would take photos and half-listen. It was interesting to hear what she had to say too. We got to go up the tower to the very top too. The stairs were long and winding, so we were all dizzy and out of breath when we got to the top! I wouldn't be surprised if my legs feel that tomorrow. This is a photo of the Segovia cathedral from the top. It was so picturesque and beautiful!

After the alcazar, we walked back down the streets, getting snippets of information from our tour guide (Paloma) along the way. Then we were given free time. I went to browse the shops with Jennifer, Alicia, David, and Kristen (from the first session. I know, so many double names!). It was fun, I liked our group. I think Kristen and I were the only ones that bought anything. She bought a ring and a pair of sandals from one place, and I bought a ring from the same place. It's a gold band with a cameo on it. I love it! A few doors down I got a green hair-clip, and a few doors down again I got a turquoise colored ring. Then they were all hungry, so we went to Plaza Mayor to find food. We sat down and they all got a drink (cafe con leche for the girls) and a free tapa. I wasn't too hungry anymore, so I didn't get anything.

This was the PERFECT spot for us to stop at. Why? Because it just so happened that today, at the EXACT same time we were there, there was a "Festival Folclórico Internacional" (International Folklore Festival). They had dancers from four different countries, and they were traditionally dressed. It was amazing! We heard drums from the restaurant, and since I hadn't ordered anything, I headed out to see what it was. I got to see dancers coming into the square with their country. There were a few students (I think from the UK) to my right, and one started dancing. The others laughed at him and he replied "no one here speaks English and we're never gonna see them again". He then saw me chuckling and asked if I spoke English. I just nodded my head. He blushed while his friends made fun of him. I found it funny. But since I was there before the crowd gathered, I was able to keep a front row spot. I was so excited! Seeing the dancers made today well worth it... it actually made my week! To the right is one of the dancers from Argentina. This is probably my favorite photo I took today. We were that close to the dancers... this isn't my zoom! It was incredible! Below are photos of dancers from Mexico, and then dancers from Turkey, who also played the tambourine. It was so cultural, I loved it!

After watching the dancers, I mentioned that I wanted a picture with a dancer from each region. Jennifer said they probably would do it, so we headed out to ask them. They all did! (Minus Turkey, who left before we got to them). We got a photo from a Flamenco dancer who regrettably didn't dance. She was SO nice and so genuine! Plus she was gorgeous! David changed his profile photo to the photo he took with her haha. I was excited, because experiencing all their cultures (a little bit) by watching them dance had been so perfect for the time we spent in Segovia. Our free time was up a few minutes after that, so we met up with our Spanish speaking group. We got a few more tidbits of information along the way to the restaurant. Then, we finally were led inside!

We were all really hungry and so ready for food by this point. It was a nice restaurant too, the chairs reminded me of a wedding with the covers, and big bows on the back. I sat at a table with Jennifer, Kristen (session one), and Gary, who I met as we sat down. David and Alicia were sitting at a two person table behind us, so we could still talk to them. I felt kind of bad for Gary, because he was the odd person out from the table of guys on our other side. There were five of them and four chairs. So we tried to make small talk with him. He said he hadn't seen me much, and I replied that I don't get out much. Kristen then said that she wondered where I was for last session, since she hadn't seen me out much. I kind of laughed.

Then the food came. Well, the first pig came. Since we were a large (obviously tour) group, they did a "show for us". They brought out the pig and we had a few seconds to take photos. Then, the server cut the pig with a plate! A normal dinner plate, to show how tender the pig had become through the process. It was insane! He then threw the plate to the ground, causing it to shatter. I thought that was pretty cool, though perhaps a bit excessive. Then we sat back down and we were each given a portion of the pig. I have to admit, I was really glad I didn't get part of the face, or one of the feet. I think I got the rib section, but I didn't get organs, which I was glad for. Jennifer got a kidney, Kristen got an ear, and David got an eye. Eww! Alicia ate the kidney and the ear, and David ate the eye. I was glad I didn't see them eat it.

It was pretty good though. I like the food in La Mancha much better, I will admit. The pig was nicely seasoned though. We were given a big portion too, as per usual here in Spain. For dessert, we were given a cake thing with a scoop of ice cream. Ponche, is what it was called. It was so delicious! I wanted another piece! It wasn't served with vanilla ice cream either, it tasted like it had some sort of spice in it, but I don't know what kind of spice. It was absolutely the best dessert I've had here in Spain so far. On the way out, Jennifer noticed business cards by the door, so we grabbed one for our scrapbooks. I was excited. It's a fancy business card, even! Then we headed to the Roman aqueduct.

It was pretty cool to see, especially since they hadn't used mortar or cement or anything to hold it together, just pure rocks and gravity. Other than that, it was kind of disappointing, especially after the Alcazar and the Folklore Festival. It was cool though, and a great piece of history, so I was glad to see it. Then we headed to the bus to head back to Madrid. On the way though, about a five to eight minute bus ride from the aqueduct, we stopped at a small grassy area for photos. It was a great view of the Alcazar from below! Here's our group from today, minus Kristen, who wasn't around when we took the photo. Me, Alicia, Jennifer, and David the DU. Haha that's how I'll always think of him now. I also realized today we've kind of been "trading guys". First we went to Barcelona with Brendan, who then left at the end of session one. Then we went to the Basque with Julian, who stayed for that trip, and then left. Now we spent the day with David. Interesting...

The ride back was pretty quiet, I think most people slept. When we got back, I talked to Jennifer on our way to the metro. I told her I was planning on going to el Parque Juan Carlos tomorrow, which is the biggest park in Madrid. It's hard to imagine one bigger than Retiro for me, so it'll be interesting. She said she'd come along, but we're going to el Rastro first so she can shop and I can take some photos. We're going early too, so there won't be too many people around. Then, depending on whatever time we get done, we'll head over to the park. I'm excited to do something social again.

When I got back to my area of Madrid, I headed to the supermarket on my street. This morning was sad for me. My deodorant ran out. There's no way to get more of it either, because here in Madrid, all they have is roll on deodorant (eww!). It's like a liquid. I put it on my arm to see what it was like. It's like a goopy mess. It takes forever to dry, so it'll probably end up on all of my shirts. I'm not too happy about that, but it definitely beats going without deodorant. I'll be excited to switch back to my brand in the US. I'm still trying to make my shampoo and toothpaste last the last two weeks. We'll see how that goes. Anyway, when I got back to the apartment, I uploaded my photos to my computer, then Facebook. I read my emails too, and I had one back from the advisor of the enterprise I'm looking at joining in the fall. He described a bit of what I could do, and he said they wanted to become more diverse, since it's mostly CS majors or computer engineers. I think that's cool, because I'll definitely be able to find work to do, I wouldn't just be an noncontributing member. I'm going to go to their meeting in the fall, and potentially add the class.

After that had dinner. I really wasn't very hungry, that lunch really filled me up! It was a double decker sandwich today. There was a slice of bread, then a slice of ham, followed by red peppers (I think they were a mild form of red chili peppers), and another slice of bread. Then, the second layer was cheese, lettuce, and a hard boiled egg cut up. It was actually really good. I was surprised by the peppers. Pilar was in the kitchen today with me, also eating a sandwich, so I couldn't pick them off. It turns out I didn't need to, they weren't as bad as I thought they would be! I had yogurt for dessert. Then I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and now am probably going to bed real soon, I'm so tired from today! So I love you all, have a good night!

Viernes - 21.45

I had my midterm today, which I almost forgot about. When I got to campus, I walked into the building at the same time as two of the new girls, who were talking with Sima. When we got to the second floor, where my class was, one of the girls went to study for our midterm in front of the classroom, since the door was locked. The other left for her class. Sima asked me some questions about San Sebastian, which I answered with enthusiasm, since it's been my favorite city in Spain so far, and suggested places for me to go in Granada, since she went three weeks ago. Most of the places she recommended were bars, clubs, pub crawls, and hookah joints. I mostly nodded and said, 'yeah, I'll have to check that out', while thinking to myself that I had absolutely no interest in these sort of places, especially if I go by myself. She then said she wanted to plan a trip to Valencia for the third weekend, which upset me a bit, because on Facebook she made it seem like she was going the last weekend and that people should go with her, and not me. I'm over it though, because at this point, if none of the people that I talk to want to go with me, then I really don't care if anyone does.

I also found out a few days ago that the girls that originally wanted to go to Granada and Sevilla are planning on going the third weekend, which is next weekend. I'll admit, this upset me. I know they had seen my post saying I wanted to go, because they had replied to it. If they knew I wanted to go, I feel like they could have at least let me know their plans. I wouldn't have wanted to go anyway because of the weekend, because I don't want to miss the planned USAC trips because we've already paid for them with our tuition. One of the girls talked to Sima and I on her way to study for our midterm. She said they were deciding between Valencia and Granada for the third weekend. I would have suggested she go to Valencia that weekend, and then Granada with me the last weekend, but by that point I didn't really care. Her and her friend are two that complain about their late nights in class (the average time they return to their apartments: about 5:30), so I think I might have dodged a bullet. According to Sima though, there aren't any "good bars"in Granada haha.

Then Patricia came by to start class. She was late, as is very typical of professors here, I'm learning. The only one ever on time is Mar for our cinema class, and that's only two days a week. Anyway, she wrote down the paintings and artists we had all chosen before the midterm. Since I chose one of the Black Paintings by Goya, neither of the other two girls were allowed to do them, which they hadn't wanted to anyway. This is a bonus for me, because now I can talk about Goya a bit, then about the Black Paintings as a set, and then my painting, and then the techniques used. Plus the entire presentation is in English. This should be a piece of cake. One of the girls had a hard time picking a painting, and asked for a suggestion from Patricia. She gave her one that she said was "very pretty". The girl was like, 'oh good, I like pretty'. I had to chuckle to myself again, because the one I chose is the polar opposite of "pretty".

The midterm went really well. She showed us two paintings, and we had a few questions to answer for each. They were: 'who is the painter', 'when was it painted (in relation to their life)', 'what style is it', and 'what's the name'; basic questions. Then the first major question was 'describe the meaning behind the painting'. This was a piece of cake since she talked so in depth about them in class. I wrote really small because I knew I would run out of space with my answers. I had just enough though. The second part to each painting was basically 'describe the techniques used'. This also was a piece of cake. The second page to the exam had more general questions, such as 'what is tenebrism', 'who is Ribera', 'how does Velázquez use light', etc. These were all easy, and I know I got them all right except maybe the first one and the second one. I didn't know who Ribera was. Oops. It's only one question though, I'll be fine.

I have to say, this midterm was also a first for me. Why? Because I was the second-to-last person to turn in my exam, and the last person to hand it in was only after me because he had to put his pencil in his backpack and zip it up. The only other time in my life that I was the last person to hand in an exam was in the seventh grade in my algebra class because I didn't know how to do the problems. This time, it was because I had so much to say! All my answers were in small writing, so I hope Patricia's glasses work well enough! I could have written more, but I ran out of space for some of the questions. So that was interesting.

I then headed outside, since it was only ten thirty. My next class didn't start until 11:30. I sat in half-sun, half-shade in the courtyard while I went through my planner. I'm going to use the month pages for my scrapbook when I get back to the states, so I'm writing in what I do every day, where I go, if I have exams or presentations or whatnot. In my OCD style, it's all color coded with the five different colored pens I brought. I also used some more of the stickers in the back of my planner, like "test", "midterm", "final exam", "important", "study", etc. Now it's nicely decorated and colored.

I also ate one of my bananas that I bought last week, because they're just now starting to be ripe enough for me to eat. It was a nice snack. I've actually eaten like a normal person today... Then I played hearts on my phone because I wasn't sure what else to do. When I was waiting for class, Alicia, the girl in the class in the classroom before my class sat next to me again. She talked with another girl about what they were going to do today. It was pretty awkward for me, like I wasn't sitting there. This is the point when I realized I have done nothing social this entire month outside of classes, though I wouldn't even call myself social in them. This is also the point when I realized I haven't been invited to do anything with anyone, other than the museum with Sima, but that totally flopped.

The conversation class went well though, and was over quickly, as usual. Then I headed to the supermarket for lunch. I didn't want another sandwich (I think I'm to the point where I've eaten so many I'm sick of them...) so I grabbed another tortilla de patata. I also grabbed a Sunny D to add some sunshine to my day! I didn't have a microwave, so I ate my tortilla cold. It turns out it's just as delicious cold! And after I opened it, I used the plastic film to hold it, so I didn't even need a fork! Ah the mind of a creative thinker. After that I headed to the restaurante to meet Cora for our second session. 

It went awesome this time! I understood a lot more of what she was saying, and was able to communicate full ideas in Spanish! It was really exciting, she also commented on how shy I am, saying she was like me when she went to study abroad in Germany, but that one day she just started talking because she was tired of being callada (quiet). I'm still waiting for that day... She also said I speak Spanish well (thanks!), which was a boost to my confidence. We talked about art a lot today, since I mentioned that class was in the Prado yesterday and that I took my midterm this morning. I was able to describe the light in Las Meninas in full Spanish (though I stumbled and it probably wasn't completely grammatically correct). I was proud of myself today.

For our English hour, she had me go through a script for a play. It was so interesting! I was only able to get through a fraction of the pages though, so it's a cliff hanger! She did comment that I read fast, which I kind of chuckled at. I've been told that all my life. I guess that's what happens when you're a shy bookworm throughout all my years of schooling. After that, I headed back to the apartment, taking my time. I then got online, did my email and Facebook, and took my siesta. Carlitos woke up screaming at 3:30, effectively waking up everyone else and was crying and hollering for at least a half hour. I was not excited. But my nap was good! When I woke up, I looked through the email of more suggestions from USAC for our weekend. I found a few more things that looked interesting to pencil into my calendar. I also planned out Sevilla based on the time I'll be in the city and the hours of the places I want to visit. Hopefully I don't get TOO lost, because there's a lot of places I want to see!

Then I did some email, and then Facebook. I got to talk to Gabi, who's a Tech student in my degree in Germany right now for a co-op. We talked about enterprises, which I've been considering, but don't really know anything about. When I talked to Evie (my department advisor) she highly suggested CinOptic, which is the "humanities" enterprise, but it didn't sound really interesting to me. I'm glad I talked to Gabi though, because a lot of questions are answered now! After that I pretty much just did nothing except browse the internet, boring stuff like that.

Then I had dinner. Monica, Maria Teresa, and Pilar all ate with me today, a rare occasion! It was good too, cheeseburgers and fries; very American haha. I put ketchup on my burger, and I thought I had used a lot, but then I watched Pilar put some on Monica's burger... I did not use a lot. I used very little. It was really good though, and the fries were fresh from the fryer. I had yogurt for dessert, and came back to my room afterward. For the rest of the night I'm going to sit back and relax. I'm actually going to read some of Gabi's blog to see what she's been up to in Germany and to see how working abroad has been for her. Tomorrow I have the field trip to Segovia, and it should be fun. I think there's a big group going though, which I'm not too sure I like. On the plus side, I may be able to tag along with Jennifer and Alicia, if they'll have me. The field trip for El Escorial should be pretty empty, since many people are planning trips that weekend. I'm pretty excited for that one, but everyone else thinks it will be boring. I guess I'm a special kind of person... so until tomorrow, adios!

Jueves - 19.00

I woke up later than usual and took my sweet time this morning since I didn't have my art class in the morning. I tried to book my bus tickets to Granada and Sevilla, actually, but the internet won't take my credit card, so I need to go into the station to buy them. Then I finally left for class, and all went well. I got to the university early, as usual. I went over my notes for my presentation on my news article, and a few other USAC students came over. Most were in my class, two weren't. The topic of traveling came up and I mentioned that I was going to Granada and Sevilla, and then a few asked questions about the cost. Hopefully that means they're interested in coming with me! I told them I'd be buying the bus tickets later this week.

Class went okay. My presentation was decent, not good, not bad. Then I headed back to the apartment. I dropped my school bag off and grabbed my camera, and then went to the supermarket not far from my apartment. I bought a sandwich for lunch, and ate it on the way to the metro. I didn't eat it all, I wasn't hungry for it anymore. I then traveled around the world. I went to Argentina, Chile, the Indies, China, Japan, South Africa, Mexico, France, and back to the US! Not literally, of course. I went to the Jardines Botánicos (Botanical Gardens). I got the student discount, and only had to pay 1.5 Euros. I was more than willing to pay that for the upkeep of the gardens. It was amazing!

There were so many plants from everywhere around the world! I learned the names of a lot of flowers, trees, and brush. Of course, I didn't remember a lot of them, but that's what a camera is for, wink wink. I got so many photos too, it's borderline ridiculous. I learned I have two favorite types of flowers. I love, love, love white flowers, especially the white rose, but I also really love red orange flowers. I spent two hours in the gardens, walking around and taking photos. It wasn't busy, which I loved. It was right next to Calle Atocha (one of the busier streets here in Madrid), but it was so peaceful in the gardens I didn't even notice the sound of the cars. Inside the garden there were three really cool things (outside of the rest of the plants, of course). 

One was a building, which I went into. It was a museum! Even better, a contemporary art museum! I loved the pieces, for me they're more thought provoking than the other museum works I've seen, since most of those have a theme and a set meaning. This museum had more digital images, and some really awesome digital design. I took photos, since there weren't guards everywhere. There were several I really liked. One that stood out a lot was a photo of an office building taken from the outside. From here, you can see several floors and several rooms, which house desks, computers, and conference rooms. It was interesting because it showed the mundane, day after day tasks of an office. What's even cooler, though, is that it was shot later at night, so there weren't many people in the photo. It was just the lonely, hard working employees that are married to their work. I enjoyed it a lot, though I may be reading into it a bit much.

The second thing I wasn't expecting was a bonsai exhibit. This was really interesting because I don't know that I've ever seen them before in person, and certainly not so many different types! There were at least fifteen unique ones, spread out across two patios, separated by stairs. It was awesome. Since it was so much higher up than the rest of the gardens, it was a pretty decent view. However, there was the museum building blocking most of the gardens. On the second and also the third level of the patio areas were ponds! It was really cool, I love how they made all the parks here so pretty! (Probably because the majority of them were for royalty).

The last cool thing was a greenhouse building. It was weird when I entered, the jar was ajar, so I peeked in to see what it was and if I was allowed in. As I looked into the doorway, a draft caught the door, so it opened for me. It was creepy, but really amazing. I kept expecting to see snakes or other slimy creatures since it was so moist and humid, it was like a real jungle! I didn't though, which I was glad for. The only thing I saw was fish. I saw a lot of cool plants in here, and tried to get photos of the mist on the leaves, but I'm not sure how they turned out yet. I was pretty glad to leave there, it was so hot! The breeze outside was heavenly. I then slowly made my way back to the entrance, as I had class in a half an hour at the Prado museum, which was literally only a three minute walk from the gardens, since it's right next door. I arrived a half an hour early.

My timing here in Spain is really ironic. When I'm early, everyone else is late, like today, our professor wasn't there for like ten minutes (it turns out she just didn't know where most of our class was at), or for classes on campus, also like today, when my conversation professor was twenty minutes late for class! This was okay, because it gave me time to talk to people in my class, other USACers about my Granada and Sevilla trip. However, when I'm late, as has only happened about three or four times here in Spain, everyone else is actually on time for once. Last session, I was late to my culture class once, which was one of the only times it got started on time. But oh well, at least I'm early most of the time.

Class went well today again. The museum was awesome, but a bit more boring today because all the paintings we saw we had listened to her lecture about in class, so this time it was all repeated information. However, there was one painting that I really enjoyed. I don't remember the name, but it's a painting of a noble woman seated in a chair at a feast. What I enjoyed was the necklace she was wearing. It was a jeweled necklace, and the way that it was painted made it seem like it was catching the light and shining, like real jewels. It was absolutely magical, which makes me feel like an enthusiastic art teacher whose students roll their eyes at, but it's totally true. It made me feel incredibly lucky to be able to see all these works of art in person, because I never would have gotten that feeling or sight from a photograph.

After class, I stayed longer again. Patricia announced that class was over and started leading us to the exit. When we got to the stairs, I asked her where the Black Paintings by Goya were. She took me back into the hallway and pointed, and gave me directions. I then went on my way. I don't know if anyone else stayed this time. I got to see my chosen painting, "Saturn Devouring a Son". It was incredible in person, very simple, but with a lot of emotional feelings that I can talk about. Plus I can talk about the mythological story behind it, which is pretty interesting in itself. Then I can talk about how Goya painted these on the walls of his own home, never intended for others to see, as he was suffering from paranoid dementia. Then I can talk about the techniques used in the painting. I think I'll do just fine.

Patricia knew I was going to do this one, and took us by a painting that may have inspired Goya's creation by a different artist. One of the girls in our group said "gross", and turned away, unable to look at it. I chuckled inside, because Goya's version is a lot more twisted, meaning it's much more dark, and much, much more haunting, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to do it over others. I enjoy the dark, twisted subject matter, which makes the Black Paintings some of my favorite in the museum.

After I left, I headed home. I stopped into McDonald's just before the metro stop to buy a McFlurry, because I wanted ice cream and hadn't passed any shops that had it. It turned out to be pretty cost effective; it was the same price as a tiny cup in the average ice cream store, and with double the quantity. They don't have Reeses here though, so I got Oreo. I was also asked "chocolate or caramel". Apparently they put fudge or caramel on their McFlurries here. I got fudge. I saw four of the girls from my class and the other museum class here too, so either they stayed in the Prado longer or they walk really, really slowly.

I didn't want to eat my McFlurry on the metro, because that just seemed depressing. So I walked. I enjoyed the tang of my delicious frozen yogurt with crunchy Oreo chunks and warm chocolate fudge sauce as I walked in the sunlight. I was in a pretty good mood. I finished my cold treat just before el Museo de Antropología (Anthropology Museum), so I decided to go in. It turns out it's free for students, which isn't what their website says. So I got myself a ticket and went in. It was pretty interesting. The first floor was artifacts and information about the Philippines, the second held artifacts from Africa, a lot of pots, and the third held artifacts from the Americas. Most seemed to be from South America, and a bit from Canada even!

The first floor had a room that was by far the most interesting to me. It had a shelf of skulls, a mummy, and a skeleton from a "giant". The mummy was pretty creepy, since it wasn't wrapped like the Egyptian ones. You could see the browned, decayed skin hanging off the bones, and the hollow eye sockets. The skeleton was from a guy named Agustín Luengo Capilla, who was 7.7 feet tall! He joined the circus in his time, which I found interesting. The second floor was interesting too, and from the artifacts there, I have decided I will go to Africa. I don't know when, but I will go before I die. It was incredible to see all the items and cultural history there. I loved it! The third floor was interesting, and it had a Mexican altar for the Day of the Dead! After doing numerous activities in school, I finally got to see a "real one". There were sugar skulls there too, which I enjoyed, having decorated (and made) some myself.

Then I took the metro home for the last two stations, and walked back to the apartment from the Pacífico station. Then I transferred the photos from today onto my computer and went through them. There were so many! Then I uploaded them to Facebook, but only about half of what I had taken, since they're all beautiful, I'm aware that flower after flower gets a bit boring. So those on Facebook are some of my favorites.

After all that tedious work, I was called to dinner. It was late again today, but I didn't mind because I wasn't too hungry. That Oreo McFlurry sure did the trick haha. It was the string beans, potato, hard-boiled eggs again today. I'll admit, when I saw it, I was pretty excited. It's one of my favorites here, and it's so good! Pilar was in the kitchen today, and we talked a little bit. I told her I went to the Prado for class today and she spoke a bit about that, saying how it's one of the best and most well-known in the world and that she loves it. I also said I went to the botanical gardens. Then we talked about my classes, if they were hard, if I had exams tomorrow, that sort of stuff. It was a pretty boring conversation, but it counts!

Now I'm going to go shower, do my emails, and then go to bed!

Miércoles - 22.08

Class today was great, just like yesterday. We got more information about our presentation, for which we have to research stuff about a painter and one painting by the painter to share with the rest of the class. We have to talk about the meaning behind the painting and the techniques used in the painting. She gave us four options for the painters at the beginning of class; Goya, Picasso, Dalí, and Miró. She told us to think about it and let her know by Friday, but that only two to three people could do each artist. I wanted to do Goya, originally because of convenience. His paintings are in the Prado museum, which will be the first group to present, based on the schedule. Second, because for the Prado, all the paintings are listed on the website with a brief history of the painter and subject matter of each painting on display. Third, because we're going to the Prado tomorrow for class, so I'll be able to see my chosen painting in person.

During our twenty minute break, when Patricia came back, but before most of the other students, I asked her a question about Goya and how to see which of his paintings were in the Prado. At this point, one of the girls behind me said she wanted to do Goya as well, so I spoke up and claimed one of the other spots. When the rest of the class came back, she announced two of Goya's were gone, as was a Picasso, chosen by someone else in the class. The third Goya spot was quickly taken, so I was glad I spoke up earlier.

After researching today, I have my top three choices, in case one of the other girls gets to Patricia before I do tomorrow. My first choice is "Saturno devorando a un hijo (Saturn devouring a son)". My second choice, very close to being my first choice, is "El aquelarre (Witches' Sabbath). They both look really good, but I think I'm leaning more toward the first. My third choice is just in case both girls get to her first.

My second class was decent today. I think I'm liking that class less and less. It started out as my favorite, and now it's falling in standing. It's still good though. I present my news article tomorrow, and it took me FOREVER to find a new one, but I did. It's about an Android virus in China, but it should be easy enough to talk for two minutes about. Kristen and I also got additional homework, and I'm assuming it's because we're the two that talk the least in class. All we have to do is look up a common phrase here in Spain and then explain it to the class tomorrow.

Then my third class, the cinema class, is going even better than I thought it would. I have the first "big" assignment done, which is the presentation. All that's left is to present it, which should be a piece of cake. Then there's a paper in which we need to analyze the movie we watched in class today, and then the final exam. That's it. So it seems like a lot less work now than it did before. The work load did scare a lot of people off though, the class started with I think 12 of us, and now there's six. But I'm glad, I like it way better. The "loud" ones are all gone, so now it's just students like me; quiet, attentive, and respectful. We watched a movie in class today, and it was weird. I'm noticing a trend here with Spanish movies... but it was entertaining, and good to watch. Talking about it for the paper should be easy too.

After class I headed to the metro. I wasn't hungry, surprisingly, so I didn't get a sandwich. When I got back to the apartment, I had a small snack of peanuts and Nutella. Then I took a nap. When I woke up, I was going to go to the Monastary that's on my "to see" list, which is only free on Wednesday's, but I overslept, since it closes at 6:30. Oh well, I'll go next Wednesday. Instead, I finished reading for my art class, so I'm completetly caught up, and I finished my article for my conversation class and looked up the meaning of the phrase. I'm all set to go. It feels good to be done with homework, and to be ahead, like for my Conversation class with the final presentation and the film class with my film presentation.

After that I spent a lot of time on Facebook, email (chatting with Brandon again!), and other various internet sites. I also got the basic formatting set up for my book! I'm really excited for it to come to fruition. I need to figure out cover art though... I have time to do that later. It cooled down a lot today, so I was able to open my balcony door around seven, which hasn't happened in a very, very long time. There's a nice breeze flowing through my room now. I am able to sleep with my balcony wide open here, which is good because of the heat. At home I'm too scared to leave my window open. I have irrational fears of people coming inside. Here I'm too high up though, and I still leave the metal blinds down haha.

Then it was dinner time, fifteen minutes past 9:30. Monica ate with me today though, so it was chicken, french fries, and a lettuce salad. It was yummy! I like getting meat for dinner. I had yogurt for dessert again. Tomorrow I don't have class until 11:30, and then I'm done until I have class at 4 at the museum. I'm not sure what I'll do with my time. Maybe I'll go to the botanical gardens, which are right next to the museum. I'll have lots of time there then lol. I think it depends on how hot it is tomorrow. Maybe I'll go to a museum instead. I don't know, my options are wide open. I have all of Madrid to choose from. So until tomorrow's post, goodnight loved ones.

Martes - 19.51

I got up this morning and went to class, as usual. I went to the right classroom this time, as did the rest of my classmates. Class was really good today, which was good, because I felt like the total outcast today. There were six of us there today, and I was the first in the class, so I sat in my normal seat in the front row. When the other five came in, they all sat in a row, next to each other, two rows behind me. Whatever though, it didn't hurt my feelings at all since I don't know any of them, and I know they all went out last night. I overheard them talking about it; how they didn't get back until 5:30 in the morning, slept two hours, and then came to our 9:00 class. Talk about hard core partiers...

I also got my conversation book back from Jimmy. Apparently they don't need it for class anymore. I was really depressed about that. If I had gotten the money from him when I gave him the book, it would have been his problem. Now I'm stuck with a book I don't want and can't sell. Maybe I'll leave it in the office for another student or something. I don't know, I'll figure it out later. During class though, we heard someone outside playing some sort of instrument, it sounded like a mix between a harmonica and a flute. It was really pretty. Patricia stopped the lecture to tell us the history of it, how the sound took her back to her childhood. She also said that we wouldn't hear that particular instrument in Madrid, only because we were on the outskirts and only because Spain is in an economic crisis right now. I wasn't sure how that related, but I enjoyed the sound and the mini-history lesson.

During our twenty minute break, I tried to find a bathroom to use and to fill up my water bottle. Well, I found four bathrooms. All of which were locked. There were two on the same floor as our classroom, one on the floor above us, and one on the floor below us. I was very frustrated to say the least. But class went by pretty fast after that. I really really enjoy this class. It's so interesting to hear her talk about the paintings as well as the lives of the painters. She's really passionate about the subject too, which makes it much easier to follow along. I didn't feel sleepy as much as usual during class today, because I was taking a lot of notes and really paying attention. So that class is all thumbs-up.

My second class today was good as well. I sat in a different seat today because the air from the window was just too cold. I had goosebumps. Other than that it was good. We were split into teams for an activity, which I actually enjoyed. Not because it was a group activity, but because I knew a lot. There were about thirty questions about Spain, including geography, culture, traditions, economy, politics, etc. I knew more than half of the answers! I was the only one in the class that knew two questions about geography too. How ironic, since I don't know anything abut the geography in the US... It was fun though. The woman in our class, who I now know the name of (Lynette), was on my team. I don't like her much, she seems like the center of attention kind of person, one who does not stop talking! There was one question, "Do Spaniards eat a lot of fish?" The other guy on my team and I answered "yes" in unison, but Lynette said no. She kept fighting us on it too, especially when Sara asked us for a final answer. We would say yes, and she would fold her arms, shake her head, and say no. Then Sara finally said it was two against one, and that we were right. Lynette was then all smiles and congratulations, as if she had known all along.

At the end of class, Sara asked us to show our pictures we were supposed to draw and briefly summarize, since we only had a few minutes left. She said we would start with the best one, and then she told me to start. I guess she assumed mine was the best because she saw me drawing before class a few days ago. It was nice to know she thinks highly of me, at least in one regard. Then when she asked Lynette, she went on and on and on about her observations about Spaniards, her drawing, what Spaniards like, what's typical of Spaniards, etc. We didn't get to the last two people in class because she talked so long. But good for her, she's certainly getting in her practice.

After class I wasn't very hungry, so I went to the supermarket and only bought Nutella. Then I headed back to my apartment. Before my classes today I went to the USAC office to pick up a DVD. For our cinema class, we need to watch a movie on our own time and then prepare a fifteen minute presentation for the class. I was pretty excited, because it was bumped down from twenty minutes. We were given a list of movies to pick from Monday in class, and since I didn't know anything about any of them, I picked one at random that I thought was going to be about women on the border. When picked it up in the office, the title read in English, "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown". My thought was, "now this could be interesting". When I got back to the apartment, I watched it. It was definitely interesting.

It was a bizarre plot about a woman who wanted her ex-boyfriend back, since he had left her the week before. The whole movie is about her trying to find him and get in contact with him. Then there was a subplot in which her friend shows up to seek refuge in her apartment, since she unknowingly harbored terrorists in her apartment and is afraid of being arrested with collaboration. Then the son of the ex-boyfriend shows up with his fiance to look at the flat, which the woman wants to now sell. The fiance ends up passed out on the patio, having knocked herself out by drinking gazpacho spiked with sleeping pills. Then skip forward a few scenes, and the police and the man's ex-ex-girlfriend, the mother of his son, show up, having met in the elevator.

The police question about the terrorists, but before they can get answers, they're offered the gazpacho and pass out. Then the ex-ex-girlfriend takes their guns, and points them at the woman, revealing that she's mentally insane and faked insanity to get out of the mental hospital she was in so that she could kill her son's father. It was very bizarre. The movie ended with the woman saving her ex-boyfriend and the crazy woman being taken back to the mental hospital, but never explained what happened to the group when the police woke up. Cliff hanger I suppose. But it was pretty decent.

Then I left to meet up with a group to see the Archaeology Museum, which their website said they were closed, but the girl who was planning the trip didn't know, apparently. I went anyway, just in the off chance that the website was just outdated. Well, I got there five minutes late, and the only person there was David. We waited for ten more minutes, and no one else came. We talked for a while about the second group of students that came here for the USAC program. David is one of the more social ones from the last group, so he was eager to meet the new people and talk with them and such. He commented that they were much less friendly though. There's one that we like, that we think is making an effort, and her name is Talia, the same one in our conversation class. He said that when he went to Pamplona with them for the running of the bulls (he was the only one from the first session that went) the new group didn't include him in much, and that he got the impression that they didn't really like Talia. I found that interesting.

We headed over to the museum to see if it was open. I mentioned to David that the museum said they were closed on their website, and he had no idea. I guess I'm too much like my father in that I research things first. If I'm going somewhere, I don't like not knowing their hours, or how much tickets cost, or where the place actually is. Long story short, none of the USAC people look at websites before they decide to get a group together to see museums, or buy tickets, etc. We did get photos from outside the museum though.

(L: The museum entrance. R: A statue outside the museum.)

The trip wasn't a total waste for me though, because for my conversation class, we're supposed to have a news article that we present to the class. I present on Thursday, and found an article from today's paper. I actually had it with me because I knew the metro ride would be a long one and figured I could multitask and read it along the way. It's about robots being constructed to help the handicapped. Well, David is in the same class, and he presents tomorrow. We somehow got on the topic of that class, and he mentioned that it was hard to find an article to talk about, but that he finally found one today. As he was describing it to me, I pulled out my copy from my purse and asked, "this one?". He said yeah. So we were planning on doing the same one. I said he could have it, since I have an extra day to prepare. It's just my luck that he would pick the same one though! It was actually interesting too. But now I know I don't need to prepare a presentation or anything. I'm going to wait until tomorrow to see if there's something interesting in the paper. If not, I'll think of something.

When I headed back home, I was able to get a picture of this sign, which was in the metro. I've noticed a lot of their advertisements here in Spain, and since it's something that interests me, and deals with my major, I pay attention. I really like a lot of the ads here; they're interesting. Anyway, when translated, or half translated I should say, since half the saying is in English, it says "Spain needs you to speak proper English". It's an add for an English language class. I found it really interesting because it's obviously supposed to represent Uncle Sam, but a Spanish version with the Spanish colors on his hat. I guess other cultures are more in tune to the US than I had thought...

When I actually got back though, I started and finished the PowerPoint for my cinema class, over the movie I had watched today. I also read two articles for my art class, getting me caught up on that front. I took a break to let my brain roam wild, and then had dinner. It was the bean soup again today, and it was delicious again. I ate alone, since there's a lot of people in the living room that were socializing. I burnt my tongue though, I think chef Mike did a bit too much sometimes...

Now I'm going to wash my face, brush my teeth, and see if I can't manage to read a bit more of the next article for my art class. If not, then I'm going straight to bed, because I am tired!

Lunes - 21.43

 Well, I went to class today. A return to "normal life". I got to my art class at the same time, and sat down in my normal seat. The other students all came in on time as well, so we were all ready to go. Except, our professor was nowhere to be seen. It turns out that our class was moved to another building for the day since we don't have air conditioning in the classrooms anymore, and this new room "provides a better breeze". Other than that it went pretty well, I did the reading for my art class over the weekend and we went over a lot of the paintings that were in the reading.

My second class wasn't as enjoyable as it usually is, because everyone else in the class is friends (minus one woman that's just really loud). This ordinarily wouldn't be a bad thing, but since they're all comfortable talking with each other, they have no problem talking in class. I do. The windows in this class were open again too, and I will admit, I had goosebumps for most of the class. Shouldn't it seem warmer to me than to the native Spaniards? They make such a big deal about the air conditioning. My third class, the cinema one, was moved to the second building as well, to the same room as my art class was in. This class wasn't as bad as normal, mostly because I didn't pay attention. I did my homework for my conversation class; to draw a picture of a stereotypical Spaniard. I drew a dancer in a big flowy dress.

After classes, I went to the restaurant with people in my cinema class. It was kind of nice to be social again, especially after all the solitude of the weekend. I'm going to the archaeological museum with a group of people tomorrow too, which should be fun. There's supposed to be a cave replica! For lunch, I had a salad with pineapple, ham (of course), some type of seafood (I think crab?), and a sweet sauce. It was good. I also had a plate of seasoned rice with tiny chicken pieces. It also was good. I took an apple to go for dessert. Then I headed back to the apartment. I took a nap, and when I woke up, I got up and left. I headed to Teatro Real, because I got an email saying my ticket was ready and I could pick it up! I would have waited until later, but the seats are first come first served, so if I paid that much money for a ticket, I wanted a good seat.  This is the entrance to the ticket and box office areas. If the outside is like this, I'm excited to see the inside of the theater!

Then I headed back to the metro and went all the way up to Concha Espina, the metro stop near El Parque Berlin. I found out about this park a few days ago, and decided to go see it. It's a park in memorial of the Berlin Wall, and has three pieces of the actual wall. It was really cool to see, considering how much history surrounds the wall. I loved seeing the graffiti on the sections, it made it all seem more real, like I could see how the Germans reacted to the wall, instead of just reading about it. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but being there in person is priceless. This is one of the reasons why I love Madrid, it's got a little bit of everything! It's got Egyptian temples and pieces of the Berlin wall... where else am I ever going to see things like that in person??

Then I came back for the day. It was about 8 when I got back, and I uploaded the photos to Facebook, and started my blog post for the day. I didn't do any homework, but I have nothing due for tomorrow, so I'm not too worried about it. Getting out of the apartment and going to see the parks, the museums, and the cultural aspects of Madrid seems more important to me than studying the history of Spanish cinema or reading a thick book about art, especially when she recaps it all in class. I know I'm insanely lucky to be here, and I want to take advantage of everything I possibly can!

After playing around on the internet, I was called to dinner. It was interesting, for sure. It was a plate of peas with a few chorizo chunks, served with a slice of bread. It was good, but a bit disappointing. I ate alone today again, and after enjoying my yogurt dessert, I came back to my room. Now I'm going to go shower, because my feet are super disgusting! They need to be cleaned badly. Then I'm going to bed!

Domingo - 22.55

Today was another busy touristy day. I moseyed around a bit this morning after I woke up, again around 7:30. I did, however, go back to sleep until about 8:30. Then after eating breakfast and getting dressed, and after checking Facebook and email, I fell asleep. I woke up again around 11:30, and got up for good. I headed out with my purse and bag of trash (since I don't know what to do with my trash that accumulates, I don't have a trash can so I use shopping bags until they're full, and then throw them in garbage cans on the street). After I threw away the trash, I realized I had forgotten my camera. I was glad I realized that before I got too far! Then I headed to the metro. I got off at the Iglesia stop, about a half an hour to forty five minute ride with all the stops. Here I followed the signs until I found Museo Sorolla. It was really easy, I literally did not have to turn once.

The entrance was really awesome. It was a garden, which I later found out that the artist Sorolla had designed, and even helped to plant. This had originally been his family home, which added to it's charm. After getting my free entry ticket, I walked around. I started on the ground floor, which had a room full of pottery on display. It was pretty cool. Then I went to the first floor. This was the studio of the artist, and had three rooms dedicated to the production of paintings. The first was a typical museum, nothing on the floor, just paintings on the walls. There were two in this room that I really loved. One had a man sitting at a desk, working with glass bottles, presumably medication. The expertise of the bottles was amazing! The reflections and distortion was perfect, I had to take a photo. It's on Facebook. The second was a young boy swimming in water, a lake or pond or something. The water was fantastic! It was "clear" enough so that you could see the shape of the boy, but murky enough to be able to tell it was a lake or pond. It was beyond words awesome.

The second room had a table in the middle of it with a few books, not roped off, with a bench, some chairs, and some other odd furniture against the walls underneath the paintings. In this room it was easy to choose my favorite painting. The way the artist works with light is fantastic, I kind of geeked out about it. His paintings are so light and airy, as opposed to the dark tenebristic style that I'm learning about in my art class, and see in nearly all paintings in the first floor of the Prado Museum. The painting is to the right. I found it absolutely amazing. Almost all of his paintings have some sort of a beach theme, which adds to the light airy feel of his collection. It was amazing. The third room had considerably more furniture. It had the desk of the artist with books, pencils, etc. on it. It also had several chests about the room, and what looked like a really comfortable day bed. It had curtains you could pull around the cushions. It had more light, airy beach paintings all about.

The rest of the rooms were part of the family home. It was exactly the kind of house I love; old with a lot of charm, squeaky floors but not too squeaky, great big windows that let in a lot of sunlight, and little characteristic details, like crown molding and chair rails. I loved it, especially since it had a lot of the original furniture too, and it wasn't roped off (though there were guards making sure people didn't sit or use the furniture). It made the whole place feel really welcome and original, not like it's a fragile environment to be heavily guarded like most of the other museums. The rest of the floor had a living room (with some awesome yellow furniture!), a dining room with a really cool painting of fruits along the top of the room, and an area that had large bay windows overlooking the garden.

Up the stairs was the temporary exhibit, which was much more like a museum with glass cases and roped off sections. It was all still the same artist though, which was cool. What I loved about this floor was that you could see sketches the artist had made. It's not very often that museums put out the sketches of a painter, just the paintings. Since this is more up my alley, I looked at them for a while. It's still way above my skill level, but I liked seeing them a lot. This level also had cases in which there would be a portrait, and next to the painting was the shirt and jewelry that the woman in the portrait had been wearing. That was really cool for me to see because it made the portrait seem more real, like it wasn't imagined. I don't know. In the metro they had a print of one of Sorolla's paintings blown up and displayed on the wall, right when you get off the trains to advertise the museum. This is that painting. It's of two women in white walking along the beach. It shows again how the artist is such a master of natural light and bright, breezy colors. It was on the first level.

After leaving the museum I headed back to the metro, stopping into a little store that advertised magazines and books on the outside. I looked at some stickers for a few minutes, because they were really cool and would work well for scrapbooking, but they were way too expensive for me at about 5 euros a sheet. It's much cheaper to buy them in the US. I switched lines at Sol and then got off at Banco de España. I could see Fuente de Cibeles as I exited the station. It was a pretty cool statue, especially with the fountains all right around it and the Spanish flags. It's shown below. The plaza that it's in is really pretty too, the buildings are all really intricate in their design, which of course made it wonderful for taking photos! 

I got photos from a few different angles, but then edited out the ones with too many cars or posts obscuring the statue. I also realized that this area -Plaza de Cibeles- is the area everyone's been talking about for the night buses! So when the metro closes down, the night buses (which are also free with our metro pass) are up and running and stop near the metro stops. That would have been good to know last month. At least I know for future reference. Not that I really plan on going out much. I headed down the street to my next destination: El Museo Naval. I spent a lot of time in this museum. Walking in was interesting because the security was pretty heavy. They needed identification that they could write down in a book to show who had been there and on what day, and then they had a security machine (like the ones at the airport but I can't remember their name) that I had to put my purse and camera through. Then I stepped through a metal detector. Once that was all done, I headed up the stairs to the museum!

It was actually pretty cool to walk through a museum of things which I know virtually nothing about. There were a lot of tools that the crew and the captain used. A lot of compasses and a lot of fancy looking binocular things. There was also a lot of weapons, specifically knives/swords and guns. They had two HUGE globes, which were really cool to see, a lot of maps, a LOT of boat replicas, big and small, and a lot of knick knacks. It was really interesting, I liked it a lot. I will admit after looking at all the art museums, I kind of liked the change in aesthetic, since this museum didn't just have paintings, it also had material items, like compasses, globes, coins, medals, etc. Though they did have some breathtaking paintings on the wall here as well. I loved a lot of them, especially ones with one or two boats and a peaceful harbor. The water was amazing with really pretty shades of blues.

The museum was also really huge! There was a long row of rooms that I walked through, and there were I think three rooms off to the left and one off to the right. I made sure I saw every room by backtracking haha. I'm glad I did though, the museum was awesome. It was really cool to be able to see relics of the Spanish Armada, since while I know very little about them, I did learn a few things about it in school. It was also cool to see relics from Christopher Columbus's voyages, you know since he discovered America and all thanks to financial support from the Spanish crown. Overall, I really enjoyed the museum, more than I thought I would, to be honest. I wasn't sure how to get out of the museum though. I know it sounds silly, but the way I came in was really small, the only space to get in or out was through the metal detector, and there was a group getting ready to come in. I asked one of the guards, both different than when I first came in, if I was allowed to leave this way, and she said yes. The detector went off as I left, which was annoying, but then I was out!

I walked down the street a bit and passed the Prado Museum. Right next to the Prado is the Real Jardín Botánico (Royal Botanical Gardens). I wanted to go in, but since I had to pay I figured I'd save it for some day next week when I don't have anything to do. It's only 1.50 euros with the student discount though, so it's affordable. I will admit that I caved here and became a typical fat American. I ate lunch at Burger King. I told myself I wouldn't eat there or at McDonalds while here because we have them in the US, but I was really craving greasy beef! I'd say that about 60% of the food eaten here is seafood, 20% ham, 15% chicken, and 5% beef. I miss my beef lol. I have zero complaints about the food too, it was exactly what I wanted! Well, I have one complaint. I didn't get enough ketchup. They gave me two packets, and I put one on my "Big King Burger", since it didn't come with ketchup. It did have real lettuce though! I used the other ketchup packet for my fries, but ran out... so I had to eat naked fries. I also completed the survey online to get a free whopper, so I'm saving that for later. I have 30 "natural days" to use it, so I'm not too worried about when.

After I ate my deliciously unhealthy American lunch, I decided to walk home. It was about two miles. It would have been two stops had I taken the metro, but I was in a fantastic mood and figured I should probably walk off the grease. I'm glad I did though, because two things happened. One, I walked down the street I found my first or second day here in Spain (the museums are really close to the orientation hotel) that has tables of books. I'm a sucker for books, always have been. I ended up leaving with two books for a grand total of 50 cents. I found an Edgar Allen Poe book in Spanish, which was awesome because 1) it's in Spanish, 2) Edgar Allen Poe is my favorite poet, and 3) it was super cheap! I also left with the same book that I had to read for my composition class. Why? Because this version is signed by the author! I was so excited to find it, so I'm going to see if Alicia wants to buy the one I'm letting her borrow. If she does, awesome! If not, oh well, I wasn't expecting her to.

The second thing was that I could take pictures of the really creepy, giant baby heads. Every time I've gotten a taxi here in Spain I have gone by them. Once when Monica took me to their apartment to begin my home stay, once when I got home from Joy around four in the morning, and then again when I left Joy with Marissa and Morgan around 2 in the morning. They're really creepy, and I'm not sure why they're there or what kind of statement the artist was trying to make... they're right by the Renfe station, which is a huge area of traffic here in Madrid. I think they're made out of some type of stone, or cement, and I'm assuming they're relatively recent. The view behind one of them is of the city, but the "dirty" side of the city, with industrial buildings and smoke from factories, etc. I find them interesting. 

After all the adventures of today, I came back to the apartment and sat down. Lol I drank a bottle of water as I filled out my daily adventures in my planner and browsed the internet. I researched an art minor at Tech, and tried to see if I could manage to add it to my degree. Then I Skyped mom and dad at 7, and Jason was there too. (Ryan was there for a few minutes). After we hung up, I got productive. I emailed the adviser for the art minor and asked if she recommends me to add it. Then I also asked if the art history class I'm in here in Madrid will be able to replace the art history class necessary for the minor. I'm not holding my breath, because I was supposed to get all the transfer credits taken care of before I left. It would be nice though, since I think it's essentially the same thing, just focusing on one country's art.

Then I looked at the suggested list of places to see here in Madrid that was sent to us and researched them. I looked at their hours, their entrance fee, and where they are located. Then I got out my planner and penciled in all the spots according to their hours. Then I was called to dinner. Today it was spaghetti (with beef!) and a slice of bread. Pilar was there today, and she commented on how "morena" (dark) I am becoming. I told her it was because I'm in the sun a lot here. That was about the extent of our conversation though. After my yogurt dessert, I came back to my room to finish my calendar.

I decided to take advantage of the 90% discount offered to us through the University. Discount for what? An opera at the ROYAL THEATER. I'm super excited for it! It's called Ainadamar and it's about politics, the government, and art here in Spain. It seems interesting, especially since I know a lot of the history, (thanks to my culture class) but I don't know how much I'll understand. Because of this offer, though, I'll be seated in the first few rows, in the seats that cost 172 euros! I'll feel royal for a night. I'm not sure what to wear though... That takes care of two things on my Madrid wish-list; see the royal theater, and watch a play.

Now I'm going to stretch. All the sightseeing I did today made my legs hurt. Then, I shall go to bed.