Hallo Deutschland :)

We went to Munich, Germany last weekend. It was so amazing! I immediately fell in love as soon as our train left the airport and I had the chance to see the beautiful German countryside! The first couple train stops seemed to be in the middle of nowhere: only a few trees, a handful of cottages, and a couple overflowing bike racks were in sight. As we entered the downtown part of the city of Munich, the city grew much more dense, with tall buildings and sky scraping clock towers. Once we checked into our hostel, we walked down to a famous city square where town hall is: Marienplatz. Town hall is a gorgeous German building, not only full of classic European detailing, but also full of color! The building has a colorful front piece of detailing which stands out against the normal stone walls. Looking around the skyline in Marienplatz there are about six clock towers, each adorned with golden hands and roman numerals, as well as different colored rooftops! You can’t help but smile when you look around the city; it’s so full of color and cute [what I thought looked like] Dutch-inspired buildings!

That night we went on a beer tour to three of the best beer gardens/beer houses. Each place brews their own kind of beer, and let me tell you, they know what they are doing! Don’t get me wrong, I’m no beer connoisseur, but German beer is by far better than anything we have in the states. One of the places the tour took us was the most famous beer garden in Munich called Hofbräuhaus. The place is gigantic! It has the classic “beer garden” as a courtyard in the middle of the building, which reaches two or three stories, I believe (we didn’t get to explore the whole thing it was so large). This ‘garden’ is where they used to keep the beer cooled before fridges were invented. It’s covered in chestnut trees for shade, and is now used as a terrace for dining. They maximize their space with long wooden tables, which customers share with others, and it creates a fun, friendly, outgoing atmosphere! There is a band constantly playing classic German tunes inside, and not only do the waiters and waitresses wear lederhosen and beer girl outfits, so do the some of the customers! In one room of the building, they even have a stage for performing little German skits and such! Despite the enormous size of this place, it was completely packed Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, even during the lunch hour there was a large crowd there! The food here, as well as in all of the restaurants we tried in Munich, was amazing. During that weekend, I had the best bratwurst, weiner schnitzel, sauerkraut, and potato salad! My mouth is watering just remembering it!


One of the days we went on a tour of the Dachau Concentration Camp. It was a very interesting experience, one that I cannot completely explain. The tour guide was insanely informative, expanding on the details I’d previously learned in school, and giving insight to how everything ran, how the people of the town felt, etc. The craziest part was the location of the camp. I had always pictured them like desolate, isolated, ominous things sitting in the middle of nowhere. I was wrong to say the least. Less than 5 minutes on a bus there is a school, with little children playing outside, surrounded by more residential area. It’s astonishing to think that people lived so near to such a disastrous place. The dead winter trees set the tone of the tour, and seemed to give a much more realistic feel to the place. Most all of the buildings have been reconstructed, but they have simulated the camp as it used to stand in 1933.


After that little tour, we needed a something a more uplifting, so we went back to Hofbräuhaus and soaked in the happy German music, ate some fantastic food, and sipped on a tall house brew. Experiencing this amazing vacation made me realize how badly I would love to come back for Oktoberfest! :)

The Luck of the Irish

This weekend I chased the leprechaun's in Dublin, Ireland. This was probably one of my favorite cities so far. The people are extremely nice, everyone spoke english, and the food was amazing (very American)! It rained the entire weekend, but luckily was never too cold. Once we arrived, I realized how the Irish are complete drunks. There are small pubs everywhere around the city. I asked the front desk of my hostel where we should go this weekend, and he said the Guinness factory, whiskey distillery, and pub crawling (everything he recommended had to do with liquor). Naturally, I listened to exactly what the guy told me and we added a couple other things! My friends and I bought a hop-on-hop-off 3-day bus ticket so we could tour the city. The first place we decided to go was the Guinness Factory. It was very interesting how they brew there own beer. Did you know they consider water there most important material in beer? This factory alone supplies all of the United States, along with 71 other countries with Guinness. The exhibition takes place over 7 floors, in the shape of a 14 million pint glass of Guinness. For dinner, we went to a local Irish pub where they brew there own beer. This place was so good that we ended up coming here everyday.

The next day rained all day, which put a damper on our activities. We ended up hanging out in the hostel with some other people we had met the night before. Then when we attempted to go outside, we got dumped on. We jumped on the hop-on-hop-off bus and rode it for the entire 3 hours. We got off the bus at St. Patrick's cathedral. This is the largest church in Ireland and we ended up spending many hours inside. Then we got back on the bus and rode it back to our hostel.

On our last day it was a wonderful, sunny day. We decided to take a free walking tour of the city. This was very interesting learning about the history of Dublin. The guide was very entertaining and informative. Then we went to the Jameson whiskey distillery. This distillery produces over one million gallons of whiskey per year. It was our last night in Dublin, so we did an official pub crawl. We met with a tour guide and he lead us to the most "popular" pubs in Dublin. I had such a great time in Ireland and was very sad to leave. But I am back to Alcala for two days then I head to Germany! :)

Halloween Weekend in Amsterdam

This weekend I went to Amsterdam. I decided to fly stand-by because the flights were extremely expensive. Unfortunately, the day before I left all of the flights filled up! It was a nail-biter getting on, but after being in the airport all day, I got on the last flight of the day. I landed in Amsterdam at 11:00 PM and was planning to meet my friends at the hostel. As I was walking down the jet-way I was thinking how RETARDED I am for flying to a foreign country, finding transportation from the airport, and trying to find my hostel all by myself. Luckily, my good friend Kendal had an inkling that I was on the flight and waited at the airport for me! I was so happy to see her when I walked out of security. We found a taxi and drove right to our hostel. We got there so late that we ended up just going to bed.

The next morning we began just walking around the city. Amsterdam is absolutely gorgeous. Since it was fall, the trees were bright yellow/orange with leaves falling. There are many rivers/canals that flow under all the streets. The only bad thing about it being in the fall was that it was freezing. It was about 4 degrees celcius (which equals about 40 degrees farenheit… I think). We went out for a nice breaksfast at a little bakery. We rented bikes and toured the city. But since it was so cold, we ditched the bikes and found warmer things to do. That afternoon we went to the Heinekan factory. We got to see the inside story on how beer is made. After that we went to dinner at an all you can eat Chinese restaurant.

The next day, we wondered the streets again. We got lunch at the Hard Rock Café to satisfy our craving for some American burgers, and boy did they taste good!! After lunch we went to the Anne Frank house. The line was extremely long but it was worth the wait. It is amazing to see what Anne Frank and her family had to live in for over 2 years. The Anne Frank house displayed photographs, film images, the diary, and original objects that belonged to her. After this museum we went to the torture museum. This was sad to see all the horrible ways they used to punish people in the day. That night we went to a little bar to celebrate the first day of Halloween!

On Sunday, I headed straight to the airport because I was flying alone and was attempting to take the public transportation to the airport to save money. I had no idea how long it would take me, so I wanted to go with plenty of time. I ended up getting to the gate 2 hours early. But there was NO ONE at the gate. So I just thought I was a little early. When it was one hour before departure, I began to get a little suspicious so I went to talk to a ticket agent at a different gate. I soon realized that it was daylight savings and the clocks had been set back an hour. So I was actually at the gate 3 hours early. But the flight was empty so I had no problem getting on.

Sunday night was Halloween. As soon as I got back to Alcala, I headed straight to Madrid to celebrate the festivities. Kim and I met up with some of our spanish friends. The first thing they did was paint our faces. In Spain, they celebrate Halloween but not like Americans. Everyone dresses like the dead, with blood running down their faces. No one was a princess or wearing a cute minnie mouse outfit. They painted black circles around our eyes, with a spider web coming from our forehead, and blood coming from our eyes and mouth. We ended up just hanging in the park with other local spaniards and then we went to a discoteca. I had a great halloween, and it was a great finish to my weekend.

San Sebastian

Sorry it’s taken me a week to post about my last weekend’s adventures! This week was midterms, so I was studying for exams and didn’t have much time to write about my fabulous weekend! My parents took Kim and I up to Northern Spain to the Basque country.

We stayed in San Sebastian for two nights, in a gorgeous little apartment with stunning views of rolling green hills. First of all, I must explain that San Sebastian is relatively near the boarder of France, so the french influences throughout the city were very prominent. The city lies on the northern coast of Spain so it has great views of the Mar Cantábrico, but at the same time it has stunning green hills that reach toward the sky. The people dressed so classy every day with dresses, pea coats, heels, and collared button up shirts! The old ladies dressed up in their sunday best, every single day… It was adorable. There was significantly less smokers around compared to Madrid, which was a huge plus! Also, every family walking the street seemed to have a fancy stroller pushing their newborns on a walk around the promenade, my favorite strollers were the vintage looking carriage types. 
The first day we were there we walked around the historic district a bit, and saw a gorgeous neo-gothic cathedral (from the outside) lit up at night. The way they had the lights shining on the church made it look amazing at night! We didn’t stay out too long because it had been a long day of driving, so we went back and relaxed at the apartment.

The next day we headed into downtown. Luckily we hit tapa time just right! The streets in the historic district were flooded with people, and we were a little hungry, so we decided to check out a couple tapa bars. The food was amazing. They display their tapas on the bar (unlike Madrid), so it was very nice to see exactly what you’re getting to eat! We went to three different places, and the food was amazing at all of them! They had lost of salmon items, some kind of cooked mushrooms (they were SO good!), but my favorite of all is a dish I’ve already had before. The pimientos rellenos (stuffed peppers) were amazing! I found out that the Basque country in Northern Spain is where these peppers became popular, so it was nice to get a taste of the original delicacy! After tapas, we climbed a huge hill to the top where there lies an old castle and a huge statue of Jesus. The view from the top of the hill was stunning! You could see the whole city, the sea, and an island off the coast. After we climbed down from the steep hill, we were hungry once again. We found a little place and got some food and churros and hot chocolate for desert. Churros and chocolate is a classic dessert or breakfast choice here! After eating we wandered a little and found another gorgeous church. We saw tourists entering, so we walked inside as well. As soon as we step in, we hear a priest speaking, so naturally we sat down to experience a little Spanish mass. As we sat down in the back of the church, I looked down the aisle, and what did I see you may ask? A bride and groom kneeling at the alter! We had crashed a wedding on accident! We couldn’t believe that we just walked into someone’s wedding celebration! Oops! We snuck back out the back, and no one saw! That was pretty much it for the night. We went back to the apartment and played some cards, then went to bed!

The next day we drove back to Madrid, but we stopped in Burgos for some lunch along the way. We found a little chinese restaurant to eat at, and it was so good! I hadn’t had chinese food in probably two months at that point, so I was happy to eat a little something other than the Spanish food or fake American food that I’ve been having! 
I loved San Sebastian so much, it was such a gorgeous city and it had amazing food. After our trip, I decided it is one of the cities I must live in, at some point in my lifetime!

Semana de Padres

It was so great to see my parents. I was skeptical if I would be able to find my parents (since they do not have cell phones), but the meeting point worked out. The appartment that they rented for a week was in a great location and seemed very new. On Friday, my parents and I met up with Kim and her parents. We walked through Retiro park and the moms and daughters got a row boat on the lake. In early afternoon, my parents had to take a Siesta from their long days of travel.

The next morning we visited Toledo, a city about an hour outside the center of Madrid (only 30 minutes by train). Toledo was the old capital of spain until the 16th century I believe. They’re known for their metallurgy, and more specifically their swords and armor, so the streets are lined with stores that sell swords and knives! The cathedral in the center of the city is gigantic! It took over 250 years to build, and it is insanely intricate outside. We didn’t get to go inside because there was construction/restoration going on, so that was a slight bummer. Toledo was so pretty with lots of hilly, narrow cobblestone streets, but we did a lot of walking up and down hills, making it a very long day on our feet! The views from the top of the city were gorgeous, looking down on the river that surrounds the city! After we finished with touring Toledo, we went back to madrid and got tapas with Kim’s family. The place we went was so much fun, and we got to try a lot of different kinds of spanish bocadillos (sandwhiches) and pints of beer were just one euro! This place ended up being a common hangout for my parents and I.

On Sunday, we slept in pretty late. My parents went to a bull fight and I headed back to Alcala for school the next day. On Monday after my classes, I went back to Madrid. We toured the Palacio Real and then went back to our bocadillo shop. On Wednesday, my family came to Alcala to meet my Spanish family. My house mom cooked homemade Paella and Spanish tortilla. I was worried lunch was going to be awkward because of the language barrier but it went really well. My host mom even brought out the China and we sat in the dining room table (which I have never done before). It was quite funny watching my mother fling her seafood on my dad’s plate when my house mom was not looking. After lunch, I showed them my school and some points of the city that I had been shown on my tour of Alcala. We sat down on Calle Mayor and got tapas, a common occurrence for my friends and I during the week! My parents got to meet a couple of my new friends that I have met in Spain. It was so great for my family to be able to see the city that I have lived in for the last 3 months.

Marbella/ Medieval Festival

Yay we had a five day weekend. This weekend I went to Malaga with my best friend Kim, and her parents. It was so nice to see a familiar face. When we got to Malaga, Kim’s dad rented a car and we started driving to our resort without a map or any sense of direction whatsoever. Luckily we found a gas station and got a map, and we were already on the right road going towards Marbella! Unfortunately, we got a little lost on the misleadingly marked roads, but we eventually found the resort, right on the beach! Kim and I immediately went down to the beach to soak up some sun because it was supposed to rain all weekend! That night we went to a restaurant at the hotel and got some drinks and appetizers, then we walked the beach at night, it was so much fun!! Since back home at U of A the tucson-ers were celebrating family weekend, we celebrated a Spanish family weekend of our own :) The next day was cloudy and drizzly, so we drove to a little town called Benehavis. It’s in the Guinness Book of World Records (supposedly) for having the largest number of restaurants in the smallest town. It reminded me a bit of San Fransisco with steep hills and gorgeous views! The next day in Marbella, it surprisingly stopped raining and there wasn’t even a cloud in the sky! Kim and I headed down to the pool for the day while her parents went to meet up with their friends who were staying in a nearby town. The next day we drove through Malaga and took a hanging tram tour of the city, kind of like a ski lift with beautiful views of the Mediterranean sea! Then I headed back to Madrid, while Kim and her family went to Barcelona.

During this long weekend, Alcala was having a huge Medieval festival. It was supposedly the second largest festival in southern Europe. The market was over 6 kilometers long, and consisted of street vendors, tents, various animals, and LOTS of good food and beer. On Tuesday, I spent most of my day at the festival just walking around and people watching. On Wednesday, after classes finished up I went to Madrid with Kim’s family. We walked around the city and we showed them Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real, and the cathedral at the Palacio. I had never been inside the cathedral, but I’m so glad I got the opportunity! It was absolutely gorgeous. The architecture is very gothic with classic gothic arches and grey concrete/stone, but the ceiling and the artwork on the walls is unbelievable colorful! The contrast of the grey stone walls with the vibrant, patterned ceiling was amazing! It was strange to me how many different centuries of art were represented inside: Baroque, Modern, Manneristic, Gothic, etc. Tomorrow my parents come into town! I am so excited to see them!

Corrida de Toros

Yesterday the girls and I went into Madrid for our first bullfight (corrida de toros). Everyone told us girls we were going to hate it and Kendal’s host mom was worried we were going to end up crying at the match. It ended up being one of the coolest things I have done in Spain so far! First, a brief introduction to bull fights…There are 6 bulls in total that are killed, and three toreros (matadors) so each gets to fight with 2 bulls. There are four rounds I believe, in the first, the bull is let out into the ring and “warmed up” by a series of amateur toreros so the main torero can get a feel for the bull’s movement and actions. Then the picadores come out, they are men on horses with lances. When the bull attacks the horse it gives the torero a clue to which side the bull favors to attack. After this round, the amateur matadors work with the bull again, and then the banderilleros come out. These men have “banderillas,” colorful sticks in which they run and stab into the bulls back muscles. Finally the main torero is the only one in the ring with the bull. He does a series of passes trying to impress the audience, and if he has a good pass the whole crowd will yell “¡OLE!” Finally the torero finishes the bull off with a sword into his back. If the audience thinks it has been a good match they wave white handkerchiefs in the air. If the torero has a good match he can ‘win’ one or both of the bulls ears. Receiving the bull’s ears is a sign of good luck in Spain. (Sorry if that explanation was a little graphic).
The first bull we saw was killed so cleanly, it died instantly and (I think because of his clean kill) the torero won BOTH of the bull’s ears. The Spanish people sitting around us kept talking about how uncommon it is to win both! The next bull of this torero, he won another ear so three all together for the day. At the end of the whole fight, people raised this matador on their shoulders cheering and taking pictures; it was an awesome celebration. None of the other bulls were killed as cleanly (which was sad) but the first one was so amazing to watch. The two other matadors each won one ear total, so they were alright compared to the other torero. I feel kind of terrible for actually enjoying the bull fight since everyone says how horrible it is and such; I’m hoping this doesn’t make me a terrible person, but it was so awesome to experience a tradition that has been around forever, something that all the spaniards got so into cheering/ shouting “Ole!” from the stands, waving their white flags, throwing clothing (jackets and hats) into the ring, it was awesome. It’s probably cliché to say, but I felt like I absorbed so much traditional spanish culture just by being a part of the crowd, and by seeing a good fight.

Córdoba, Granada, Úbeda

This weekend we went to Córdoba, Granada, Úbeda in southern Spain (Andalucía). It was our school trip through the U of A so there was a fairly good sized group of us. The nicest part was staying in 4-star hotels, having real dinners, and having tour guides to show us around! Oh and I can’t forget not having to pay for entrance fees for anything, that was a definite plus! 
After a 5.5 hour bus ride from Alcalá, we arrived in Córdoba. The city was pretty small, and had a very historic feel. We went on a tour of the city through the gorgeous, yet tiny, ally ways. Then, we visited the Mosque-Cathedral. I felt like such a nerd, but I loved this place so much due in part to the fact we learned about it previously in my art class. It was first erected in the 8th century as a Mosque, and was expanded in later centuries to create the amazingly large building it is today. Right when you walk in you see the famous red and white striped arches supported by pink marble, granite, and black marble pillars. After the spanish reconquista, the mosque was turned into a Catholic church. The king built a cathedral in the center of the mosque with gothic/renaissance style. This may be the most interesting part of the building, because it has this unnatural ability to blend two completely different religious buildings. This is probably my favorite place that I have seen in Spain so far. Words don’t do it justice! That night we had dinner and wine at the hotel and that was it! 


The next day we drove 2 hours to Granada, a much bigger city than Córdoba. It had a similar feel to Madrid since the streets were lined with great shopping. However, Granada is much more beautiful! A river runs through the lower valley of downtown while much of the city rests on the nearby hills. Our hotel had a pool/terrace on top of it’s eighth story, and the views of the Sierra Nevada along with the rest of the city, were amazing. After hanging out at the hotel for a little bit, our group took a tour of La Alhambra, an old muslim community/fortress/palace (or something along those lines). Needless to say, it was also gorgeous, like all the other sights I’ve seen! And again, the detailing of these places is so amazing! In one of the rooms of La Alhambra there was a tiled picture of the Pillars of Hercules, which I have also learned about in art class (it’s so fantastic to see the things I’m learning about, firsthand!).

That night Kim, Kendal, Gretchen, and I went out on the town. We had no idea where to go, so we were asking people on the streets where a nice place to have a drink is; unfortunately, no one was kind enough to help. Finally we ran into some people nice enough to respond to our questions. Halfway through our conversation with these guys one of them says he’s from Amsterdam and asks us if we know where that is. Of course, we say yes; and he responds something along the lines of ‘doubtful, Americans are terrible at geography.’ This isn’t the first time we’ve been hated on by foreigners (some guy in Barcelona, oddly enough also from the Netherlands, told me he hated Americans when I told him I was from the US; then he turned to his friend and started talking crap in Spanish about Americans… Umm, helloooo I can understand Español)! I don’t understand what some people have against Americans… We’re not all the same; why all this stereotyping? 


The next day we traveled to Úbeda (a town I had never previously heard of). It was extremely small, but the interesting part about it was that most of the building from throughout history. The town was built as a small pre-roman community protected by a wall surrounding the city. The churches and buildings we saw on our tour were very pretty, but at this point in the weekend, my feet were killing me, my camera had died, and our tour guide’s accent was too difficult to understand. Honestly, I tuned out most of the tour. After the tour all we wanted to eat was something American, but since Úbeda is so tiny there was no restaurants at all to fit our needs. After a little wandering and checking countless menus, we found an italian restaurant and it really hit the spot! 
After lunch we had a 6 hour bus ride home to Alcalá, and that was the end to my weekend!

¡Viva Barcelona!

Kim, Kendal, Gretchen, Joey and I went to Barcelona this weekend! It was amazing (except for the weather). We got in pretty early on friday (10:30am I think?), but it took us about 2 hours to make our way to/find the hostel. Our hostel was really cute, filled with the exact stereotype of backpacker-type people you would expect at a hostel. We stayed in a room of 8, so we had the chance to meet some new travelers: there was one guy from England and one from Italy in our room, and we met some others from the Netherlands, Germany, and more Americans. After we secured our bags, it was time for some sightseeing!

First we went to the Sagrada Familia, a cathedral still under construction since the death of it’s architect, Antoni Gaudí. The construction began in 1882 and isn’t expected to finish until 2026! It is the most intricate building I have ever seen, with detail covering every inch of the walls. Even the inside is completely detailed with stained glass windows and beautifully crafted pillars that rise up to an elaborately designed ceiling. Needless to say, there are many elements that make the Sagrada Familia a gorgeous cathedral. Next we decided to wander the city a little and go to “Las Ramblas” the big street in Barcelona stretching to the sea port/beach area. Along Las Ramblas you can find tons of street performers, outdoor cafés, shops, etc. That was all we could fit in for the day before it started raining on us, so we went back to the hostel. 


Saturday we woke up and walked down to the beach hoping for a little bit of sun, we were disappointed that the clouds dominated the sky. We walked up through Las Ramblas again and sat down at a little café for lunch. We talked, played cards and people watched after lunch was over. Finally we decided to go to Parque Güell, a park with lots of Gaudí architecture. After climbing some extremely steep hills and using probably 5+ outdoor escalators, we arrived at the Park. (The girls and I had to stop for ice cream in order to take our mind off the ridiculous walk). The view from the top of the park was definitely worth the climb! We could see all of Barcelona and the clouds above the Mediterranean looked incredible. After soaking in the views, we traveled up and down the park and finally stumbled upon the Gaudí house, his famous mosaic lizard, and some other architectural gems. The sun began to set and we knew it was time for dinner so we grabbed some food and a bottle of wine from the grocery store and headed back to the hostel. 
That night we went to a little bar called Chupitos (when I say little, I mean the size of a small hallway) with our Arizona group. They had literally tons of drinks, we tried one called the “Harry Potter shot.” They lined up the glasses, put an orange on top with some sugar, and lit them on fire, then the bartender proceeded to shake something onto them creating sparks flying out of the flames. It was so cool! 
Sunday we woke up early, went to Las Ramblas and played some more cards at an outdoor café while watching the street performers (it was finally sunny and there were lots of interesting people out). Then we headed back to the airport and came home to Madrid!

Madrid Round Two

Our second weekend trip to madrid was more successful! We went to el Parque Warner, which is kind of a 6 flags type of amusement park in Madrid. First when we asked the concierge at our hostel how to get there she gave us directions to “Parque de Atracciones de Madrid” so we went on a short wild goose chase through Madrid trying to find the right theme park. When we arrived at the wrong park there was only one visible roller coaster and we knew that we were in the wrong place so we asked a lady for directions and she was insanely nice but couldn’t get us exactly there. After asking two more people for directions, stalking a childrens’ camp field trip (we slyly found out they were going to the same park as us), a metro ride, and two trains, we finally got there. It was a really fun day once the lines shrunk down and we got to ride the coasters a bunch of times! After the day at the amusement park, we went back to our hostel and cleaned up. Then the girls and I went out on the town for “El Noche Blanco” celebration. The streets were packed. Literally, it was like swimming through people to try and get anywhere. There was music performances, street vendors lining the streets, and little activities all throughout the city. On Gran Vía (a major street), they had set up big swing-sets in the middle of the road for kids and adults too. As we were wandering one of the streets, a candy store began to blast Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance and out of nowhere, four gay guys start dancing in unison. They immediately had an audience surround them because they were really talented and fun to watch! The lines to go inside the museums were way to long to stand in, so we just walked around and explored the city. All in all the night was interesting and fun, but we were so tired that we passed out kind of early.

First Week of School

My first week of classes went really well. I go to school Monday through Thursday for about three hours a day. I love the idea of not having Friday classes! J I am taking intermediate Spanish, introduction to phonetics, literary analysis, and Spanish conversation. However, the literary analysis class was a little out of my league. So three of my friends and I decided to go the easy route and enroll in Theater: theory and practice. We have no homework, no exams, just a performance at the end of the semester. Besides the fact that I have never acted before, it sounds like a breeze. There is anywhere from 6 to 15 students in each of my classes, so there is definitely no sleeping during class. I feel like each class is a private lesson with the teachers. I live about 2 miles from the school, so my friends and I walk to class everyday. The 30-minute walk is not bad now but as winter approaches we will have to figure out a different mode of transportation.

I really like my host family. We are slowly beginning to communicate better. They eat, drink, and talk a lot. So far the food has been pretty good and I have eaten basically everything. Sometimes it is just better that I do not know what I am eating. After dinner the other day, I found out that I had eaten rabbit. But the next day she made me pizza, which tasted amazing!

So the other day I realized that the apartment is still a mystery to me. I have only seen the kitchen, living room, and my room so far. My friends make fun of me because I do not even know who all lives in the same house. I think either one or two of her daughters live in the house but I am not sure.

Anyways, this weekend my friends and I are going to Madrid again. This Saturday is a festival called “La Noche Blanco.” All museums as well as the metro are open for free all night. There is a party in the streets with different activities, exhibits, and musical performances all over the city. It sounds like a once in a lifetime experience, so the girls and I are staying the weekend to experience it! I will post again after this weekend is over to tell you about it! Hasta luego!

First Weekend in Spain

On friday, our group of American students had a guided tour through Madrid during the day. We saw the Palacio Real where the king used to live as well as many other tourist-y sites like the Plaza del Sol, Plaza Mayor, Cine Callao, y más. The school group went back to Acalá after the tour, but a couple of girls and I stayed and had drinks in the Plaza Mayor and then went out on the town. The Plaza Mayor was such an amazing spot to people watch and soak in spanish culture; it’s a square full of people and street performers and sidewalk cafes, surrounded by what I believe are all apartment buildings. The architecture in Plaza Mayor is beautiful (similar to all of Madrid), with european details covering every inch of the square. Cobblestones cover the ground, and one of the sides of the surrounding buildings is covered in a beautiful painting.

On a less extravagant note, we went to McDonald’s for dinner, because it was cheap and we can read the menú haha, it’s the little things like knowing what you’re ordering at a restaurant that really matter sometimes! Plus, believe it or not, the McDonalds’ here are really nice inside, and they serve cerveza as a soft drink choice with your meal! So we were the typical Americans and played Kings cup in McDonalds! :) Sitting here and chatting with the girls over a couple Mickey Ds’ beers was probably the highlight of the night. We went to a discoteca and met up with some local people to show us the nightlife. There nightlife is crazy, things do not start until 2 AM. This is going to take me some time to adjust.
The next day my host mom woke me up early to take me to the fish market. Everything is so fresh and the market smelled horrible. I was so happy to get out of that place. We had a feast for lunch then I took an extremely long siesta. My host family took me to see Lolita (a popular Flamenco singer). Then we went out for drinks with the entire family. When the entire family gets together it is so overwhelming because I swear everyone speaks at the same time. I do not know how they understand each other. Sunday was a lazy day, I ran errands with the girls and then we sat down and talked about the vacations we want to plan while we are here! Oh and for dinner on sunday, I am pretty sure we had pig heart and ears in our rice. Ah this food difference is going to take some time to get used to. But tomorrow is my first day of school! I can't wait! :)