Madrid!!!

Hola! I have not written much lately because we really have not done much in the past two weeks. The weekends before Madrid we were just trying to save money because of Madrid so we stayed in Santiago and went out here. Everything has been going well our friends from Brazil left almost two weeks ago it was very sad. Last week we had a class activity where we learned how to dance Galician style haha. It was actually pretty fun and interesting, I had no idea that Galicia (the state we live in) had such a Celtic background. I felt like I was dancing in Ireland.

So last weekend we went to MADRID!!! I loved it there so much it was amazing. On Friday night we arrived in Madrid and found our hostel, which actually turned out to be very nice. After we got ready really fast we met in a close plaza for the bar crawl that we all signed up for. We were waiting for awhile and sure enough the most shady looking guy ever strolls up and tells us he’s the guide lol. It actually turned out being pretty fun we went to like 5 different places, but the money we paid for the bar crawl only got us a shot at each bar and no entry fees, we still have to pay for other drinks which sucked. Once we finally got to the discoteca I ordered a beer, and it was Budweiser!!! American Beer! And then the lady told me it was 7 euro and I was like holy craaappp. Saturday morning we woke up and visited Plaza Mayor which is the main plaza in Madrid. There were several acts going on and cool stuff to see there. After that we went to a palace that used to house kings and queens of Spain. It was so awesome inside and we went through several rooms including the throne room. I tried to sneak some pictures because we weren’t allowed photos but I got caught so I had to stop haha. After the palace it was time for the SOCCER GAME. The stadium is called Santiago Bernabeu  and we watching Real Madrid vs. Levante. The field was so amazing and watching the game was so much fun. It was my favorite part of the whole trip and I am so excited to watch Barcelona and go to Camp Nou in April. Saturday we decided to sleep and get ready for another full day on Sunday.

Sunday morning we woke up and some of the girls went to Museo Prado but I’m not really into art that much so I decided to wander off to the famous market that takes place in Madrid every Sunday. It was so fun and definitely very cultural. There were streets full of small shops on the sidewalks and it seriously never ended. I walked around forever and still hadn’t seen everything by the time the other girls met up with me. There was a little bit of everything, clothes, food, jewelry, soccer jerseys, handmade crafts, and many people playing music on the corners. It was definitely one of the coolest things I had experienced. After we left the market we went to a huge garden that is in Madrid and it was also very pretty. There were 3 or 4 palaces in this garden and we visited a few of them, it was beautiful there. Gardens and parks are one of my favorite things about Spain. Also, Sunday we found MEXICAN FOOD. I was SO excited to find something spicy for the first time its not even funny, I was eating jalapenos like candy I swear hahaha. It was delicious. That night we decided to go out but realized quickly that there was not much open on Sunday nights surprise surprise. We ran into these guys from Argentina who just made fun of our American Spanish accents haha, but I thought it was funny too because we must sound ridiculous. We all ended up at a salsa bar. I think that we accidentally stumbled upon some serious culture because the dancing was AMAZING. I have never seen women and men move the way they were in this bar. I probably looked so dumb just staring at everyone but it was so awesome. A couple of older men tried to teach us a little bit but the steps for salsa are surprisingly difficult, us Americans have no clue how to dance lol.

Monday we decided to go to Toledo which is a very historical city close to Madrid. It was so beautiful. The city is build basically on the side of a mountain but a river runs around the whole city kind of like a moat around a castle. It was amazing, Toledo is also known for its sword making which may seem kind of strange but it was interesting. We talked to an old man who has been making swords and silver objects like necklaces and plates for over 60 years. It was interesting to hear about it all. The roads in the old town were even smaller than in Santiago but the buildings were so tall; it was definitely claustrophobic, haha. So we left Toledo a little early in order to go to Reina Sofia before we had to catch the plane home. Reina Sofia is a museum that is famous for its Picasso paintings. It also houses the famous Guernica which is a painting by Picasso that represents the people of Spain during the time in which Franco was a dictator here. It was so cool to see such a famous painting. Also something that I really liked here was they had a room full of probably 100 framed newspaper articles from all over the world reporting the 9/11 attacks on the United States. It was so sad but I was very happy that they dedicated a room to this in the museum. I couldn’t believe once I thought about it that it has been 10 years this year. Time flies. Speaking of time flying next week is March already and I cannot believe it. I have been here for almost two months, I love it here and I do not want to go home!! So time needs to slow down! However, I am SOOOO excited for London in two weeks, and then Rome and Barcelona in April. Things are great here and I am really enjoying traveling around. Hope everything is fantastic at home! Take care! <3

same 'ol

This past week has been pretty uneventful. Last weekend we stayed in Santiago, I'm trying not to spend as much money this month because last month was outrageous. The nights are getting pretty repetitive here, bar til 3 or 330, discoteca til 7 or so haha. I still like it, but I'm very excited for Madrid next weekend. We are going on a pub crawl in the city and then sunday to a real madrid game. Drinking and soccer (in Spain), what else could I ask for!!! Last Thursday Aimee and I booked our flights to London for the break we have in March. I am SO excited. We also booked our Harry Potter tour, which may be the best thing I do while Im in Europe haha. Booking this trip also made me realize how ridiculously weak the dollar is. Its killing me over here, 1.75 US dollars is 1 pound in England. Like I said, KILLING ME. But thats ok, I figure this is once in a lifetime chance. I decided to splurge and go ahead and spend the money to go to Rome as well. We are planning to go at the beginning of April, Im pleased with that decision. Last Saturday my family was out of town and it was so great, I did whatever I wanted in the house, Becky came over and we watched the Real Madrid game it was so fun. Then I realized that we have no microwave in this place because we were going to make popcorn. No microwave, and no toaster, so strange. My mom sent me a package with MOUNTAIN DEW in it last saturday. I cannot explain how excited I am to recieve that. Im not completely sure where its going to end up once it gets here but hopefully I find it haha.
Usually there are these 3 huge dumpsters outside my front door to the apartment building I live in. So today I was walking home and I realized that I was at the end of my street and I was so confused, so then I realized that they moved the dumpsters and that was my only real way of knowing which door was mine haha. So I had to like peer into the doors to figure it out. Its pretty ridiculous, but at least now I know. And my host family thought it was pretty funny when I told them so at least they got some entertainment for the day.
Today we had a class activity going to a museum and I realized that I really dont like art that much and I mostly dont understand it at all haha. Some things looked like scribbles that took 30 seconds and it was supposively famous artwork, definitely not my thing. On Tuesday we had volunteering again, let me just say that it is NOT working out. First off we walked in and no one acknowledged our presence. Then they pretty much told us they dont need us. Im probably going to stop going because its seriously so unorganized and kind of a waste of time because we dont do anything while we are there but watch kids do their homework in Gallego (its not like we can help). However, I really enjoy my internship it has been great so far. I think that my spanish is getting better and I'm starting to feel better speaking it. 3 more months!!! Hopefully they slow down, miss you all in the states! take care.