So a couple things have a happened since my last post. Well for one, I'm starting to get in the swing of things and have a routine going. Class during the day, which by the way is getting a lot easier! I can understand practically everything my teachers say. I'm also getting better at speaking, but my comprehension is great! After class I play with the girls until lunch. Then after lunch it's siesta time!! My favorite part of the day. I usually sleep at least two hours. It's wonderful. Then I get up, freshen up and meet with my friends in the plaza for dinner.
On Thursday it was a holiday, so we did not have school. Instead a few of us took a trip to Madrid! After we ate our packed lunch, we stumbled across this beautiful rose garden in Parque Retiro. It was unreal. It reminded me of the Secret Garden. Flowers everywhere.
After that we hopped on the metro (all lead by me! I was so proud of myself for figuring it out) and went shopping! There were so many cute shops there such as H & M, Mango and Sfera. I didn't find anything though, which was disappointing! After shopping for a loooong time we visited Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. This is where Real Madrid plays. Half of us waited outside while the other half went on a tour. I didn't mind sitting outside because the stadium had free wifi! Which is something I cherish here. I got to Skype with my dad which was really nice. (oh and a little funny fact, here they pronounce wifi "weeefeee" I giggle every time I say it). After the stadium we had Chinese food for dinner. It was interesting (the word I use to describe everything here...not bad, just interesting.. And "different" is another common word I use). We rode the metro to the train stop after and rode the train home. It was a long but nice day.
Friday we had class as usual. After siesta, the entire group met up at Derusty for a fancy meal together. I believe this was included in our trip price because we didn't pay anything. For an appetizer we had paella (which is starting to grow on me) and then we got to pick two courses. I had shrimp in a garlic sauce first, and then a steak second. It was all very yummy and pretty American, which was nice. Then for dessert we had chocolate something (gross) and then champagne! It was all very lovely. We learned how to say "YOLO" and "that's what she said" in Spanish. I believe those will be very useful terms to know.
After dinner we headed to the bars. This was our first official weekend night on the town. It was around 11:00 and we were literally the only people there. Apparently things don't get started till around 1:00 here. We met some locals, which I enjoy because I get to practice my Spanish! By the end of the night we had gone to 2 or 3 different bars. It was a lot of fun. Oh and they play American songs here all the time. They don't speak English here, but they know all the words to "Call Me Maybe"...
As for today, I relaxed in the house for most of the day. Until 7:00, unlocking Netflix on my phone was the highlight of my day. Today is a huge festival in Alcalá. La Noche en Blanco. I'm not a hundred percent sure what this is celebrating but it was a lot of fun! All the museums are open for free and there are a lot of activities! I saw dancing, singing, and plays.
My favorite thing I saw was a drum line. They were amazing! Put MSU drum line to shame (sorry Grahm if you are reading this!). They had a lot of girls in it and they were hardcore. I took a video and am going to try and post it to Facebook. Definitely worth watching! Also, I tried a new dessert called Rosquillas de Alcalá. They look like doughnuts, but when you bite into it, it's like a flaky pastry crust. Delicious!!
All in all it has been a great couple of days. Got a little homesick at times but I think having a routine, and great new friends is really helping. Also learning the language is making things easier (obviously). It is just exhausting not even being able to know what you are ordering for dinner. Tomorrow we are going to Segovia, so I'll have a lot to blog about tomorrow!
Oh and it is 1:46 AM here and I can still hear the festival going strong. People know how to party here! Hasta Mañana!
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