Caitlin's email from Sept. 21 to Oct. 5
10-5-2007
Okay, so I was right about the maid, she does NOT speak Spanish. She is
apparently Romanian, and she has been here for at least 6 months, but still
doesn't understand or speak Spanish. The whole family was joking about how she
just throws out words in French, English, Spanish, or whatever when trying to
communicate. My host mom has to tell her what to clean with signs...its pretty
funny.
The other day I made plans for my vacation week. We are going to go to Sevilla,
Jerez (where sherry comes from), Ronda, Córdoba and Granada. We budgeted
everything out and all-inclusive in should be less than 550 Euros...and I think
that's pretty good for a full week of travel! Now all we have left to do is book
the hostels and make reservations at a few sites!
I'm very sorry that I did not write yesterday, but it was too boring, I did not
have enough tidbits to share...I hope you didn't mind waiting a day!
Yesterday after our conversation class Jess and I searched for an English travel
bookstore. We needed more information about Paris (we are going there in
December after the FSP) so we could make some plans!! So we took our little mini
notebooks and jotted down the necessary information because the books were
almost 30 Euros!! We felt a little conspicuous sitting in the corner and
treating the bookstore like a library, but come on, we are students on a budget!
Neither of us knows anything about Paris, so this will be quite an adventure. I
am mostly worried about this whole French thing, I am going to look like such a
dirty American because I can't pronounce anything in French.
Last night we went to an Irish pub called Dubliners, most of the group met up
there, but we didn't stay long. That place was filled with Americans, and they
had like all the playoff games playing there, so obviously it draws a big crowd
from the US. We left after about a _ hour so we could get to the discotheque
Palacio Gaviria while it was still FREE. This place is an actual palace that
they turned into a nightclub. Although it was very pretty, and fanshy-shamshy, I
was not a big fan of this place. It was a little sketch because most of the guys
in the club were old...not like old old, but old enough for it to be a little
creepy. It was not a young crowd at all, and that's what I was expecting,
especially on a Thursday night! Every guy who talked to me was a lot older than
me. It was foreigners' night at the club so they gave you silly little stickers
with the country you were from. Pretty much everyone I knew and everyone I met
lied though...so there wasn't much point! I guess the best thing about this club
was that it was big you we could easily ditch sketchy dudes...there were three
separate dance floors, and a few small bar rooms as well.
Afterwards, around 5:15am, when I was trying to claim my coat at the coat check
I realized that the little card they had given me with the number was pretty
much destroyed and you couldn't read it!! Then, when they asked me what my coat
looked like I forgot which one I was wearing and described a different
one...whoops! I finally got it right though, and it was all good. We went around
the corner for churros y chocolate...it was yummy...especially after all those
hours of dancing!! We then headed to the metro because we had succeeded in
staying out until the metro reopens at 6am! YAH! It was quite an interesting mix
of people going to work and people coming home from a long night out on the
metro...hehe. So it was a fun night, but I am not exactly planning on going back
to that club. I am glad that I achieved my goal of staying out until the metro
opened again.... it's like an adventure. I will admit though that I was pretty
much falling asleep in the metro station and on the metro, it's a good thing I
was with Jess so we could keep each other awake!
10-3-2007
Okay, so apparently my parents have been confused...this Sam that I have been talking about is in fact a girl, not a guy, I know that seems strange to you all, because pretty much all my friends have been guys...but apparently that is changing! I have only hung out with girls...like all girls....all the time....big change from the big D and high school too.
So, the PDA here is great...wait, that came out wrong....its great to watch, in every single park couples are just making out. I have included a great picture, in case you feel like you are missing out. I guess everyone goes to get down in dirty in the streets, metro and parks because everyone lives with their parents pretty much until they get married, and they can't be macking on each at home. I guess Spaniards live with their parents for so long because housing is expensive, and they don't believe in renting....its beneath them or some such. Sounds like a good plan to me to just live off your parents for a while...hehe...don't worry parents...not planning on doing that!
Yesterday I went to Templo de Debod, an actual Egyptian temple in the middle of Madrid. It is pretty cool. I guess the Egyptian government was retarded in the 60s and decided to build a damn to power their country and drown all their national treasures along the river. Yeah, so the rest of the world got together and worked to 'save' the temples and tombs. They cut them all into pieces and moved them. This one was a gift from the Egyptian president to Spain for their help; they sent it over block by block. Its really cool, now I feel like I have been to Egypt...actually its kind of like the one they have at the Met in NYC, but bigger and outside. Basically Egypt is stupid...and they don't respect history or heritage: totally lame.
So, for all of you who want to send me car packages, or just a nice letter (and no mom, I don't want your pet trout) here is my address:
Caitlin Halpert
Alcalá 177 4$FB D
28006 Madrid
Spain
I am really excited because I am going to go see a ballet here! YAH! Its not Spanish ballet, but still....it will be pretty sweet, we are seeing Cinderella, but I have to wait until November 7th!!
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10-2-2007
We went shopping last
night, and it was quite an excursion. We went to sooo many stores! I bought a
sweater, 2 shirts and pants. Finding pants was sooo annoying because I have NO
idea what size I am, and every time I think I figure it out, its different at
another store. Shopping here is crazy, the stores are so incredibly crowded,
it's a challenge to get from one side to other. Not only that, but they tend to
be huge, at least the good ones, like Zara and H&M. Its fun, but then it just
gets tiring and overwhelming having people everywhere and having to wait in
lines for everything. There was even this little shoe store that you had to wait
in a line to even get in!! I mean, there was a good reason; they had 6 Euro
shoes! I have also decided that I will not buy any more coca cola here, because
I realized that it is massively expensive. I had one at a café last night and it
was 2.50 E...that's like almost 4 dollars for like an 8oz bottle!
So for dinner last night we had fried hamburgers, and fried pasta drenched in
olive oil. For lunch today we had fried chicken, although fried, at least I
recognized it, and knew how to eat it! At every other meal I have to watch my
sisters to see how they eat. I have no idea how to eat a whole fish with the
spine and bones and head! I liked the simple ease of eating fried chicken, no
bones, no spitting out inedible parts, just eating. I don't think I will ever be
able to think of fish in the same way from now on! Especially since I just came
from Hawaii where they had great fresh fish, that was simple, delicious and not
fried. I really miss not fried food...anyone want to send me a non-fried care
package??
Not much else to report.... hope you are all having fun, and make sure to send
me updates about what YOU are up to!!
 Spanish humor - Translation: 100% of women think he is gross,. 82% of men wonder how he dotted the i. |
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10-1-2007
YO, so there are
certain things here that make me feel quite at home. For instance, every once
and a while when I am walking down the street I get the wonderful whiff of frat
and I am instantly transported to Dartmouth campus....aahh...the memories of AXA
basement and the smell of frat in the morning, nothing compares! So I am glad
that I can experience that here as well when I stroll buy certain bars, at any
time of day.
Today we went as a whole group to Alcalá de Henares which is a little village
like place 40 miles outside of Madrid's center. It is really old, so it has lots
of old stuff there...yippy. We saw the place where Catherine of Aragon was born
and where Ferdinand and Isabel met Christopher Columbus for the first
time...pretty sweet right? We also saw were Cervantes lived...We took lots of
pictures and wandered around a lot. We went in a beautiful cathedral, but it was
pretty plain on the inside. It was so somber though because there was an
organist playing and lots of praying going on. It was kind of, not it was REALLY
disorganized, because I didn't even know we had an excursion until last night,
and I didn't know where we were going, or why it was important, or what time we
would get back. It is getting frustrating how disorganized this FSP is. I have
heard too that other LSAs and FSPs are the same way, no one really knows
when/where/what they are doing. I hope it gets better as time goes on. And even
though it was the TA who organizes these side trips, I can't blame her, because
she only has the information that the professor gives her, not to mention she is
really cool, so there is no way we could blame her for the craziness!
Then we had some lunch and headed back to the city. When I got onto the train I
noticed I had a missed call, and guess who it was....Carlos, one of the guys I
met at the club on Friday. I thought that was pretty good that it only took him
three days to call me. So, I called him back, and we talked, and I am pretty
sure we are going to hang out or something on Friday, but I really have little
to no idea, talking on the phone is really difficult, but he did talk nice and
slow for the stupid American. We was very patient with my repeated "Qué?...Qué?"
So, since everyone was sitting around me on the train when I called they were
very interested in "my Spaniard." So silly. They are just jealous because
apparently no one else met any Madrileños this weekend...that is soooo lame to
only talk in English!!
So....I finally gave the gift to my host family that I brought from home. I
know, I know, that was supposed to happen when I first got here...but I was
sick...that's my excuse and I am sticking to it. I apologized for forgetting,
but they really liked the picture mommy...thanks!
Another thing, apparently in the US, "Ambulance," is written backwards
(according to my aunt), but I have never seen this. I live in the middle of
nowhere...come on now. SO I guess Spaniards aren't that advanced if we have it
in the US too.
Anyway...I am going shopping today to replace my ripped jeans! YAH!
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9-30-2007
Okay, so I did
absolutely nothing yesterday, lame right?? Oh well. This morning I got up to got
to the Raina Sofia Museum of modern Art with Sam, because its FREE on Sundays.
It was nice, but we spent two hours there, and only looked at one floor. I saw
lots of Dalí and Picasso, but I also liked Pablo Gargallo, Julio González,
Cristóbal Ruiz, Alfonso Ponce de León, Ángeles Santos, and Diego Rivera.
So I was walking down the street today ad I noticed that there was a firetruck
coming towards me, but it didn't say "BOMBERO" it said the mirror image of that!
I was like what the hell! Then I realized that it is actually intelligent,
because when people in cars look in their rearview mirror it will read
"BOMERO"!! Who thinks of that?
I have still not really gotten used ot eating here. It is sooo much food to have
two big meals a day, and always with something fried. Today we also had like
pureed spinach and zucchini soup it reminded me a little too much of mushed up
grass...like something hard core vegans would eat....a little too earthy, but
paired with fried beef??? I just don't understand!
You will be happy to hear that I have fixed some of the problems with my
computer, and now I can download .dmg files! YAH! So, I have Skype now and you
can call me from your computer if we are both online at the same time. All you
have to do is download it and my skype name is lovelycatalina. Okay, well not
really much to report....miss you all!
9-29-2007
Spaniards seem to love
oil. Every single cooked food is drenched in oil, from salads to fried eggs, to
fried fish...oil, oil and more oil. It gets a little tiring. Today for lunch we
had something that I think was cooked cabbage....I really have no idea it was
purple and king of leaf like, but only tasted like oil, and garlic...so....I
have no idea. We had pork too, I guess I don't like pork....its gross.
Yesterday we went to an exhibit of Patinir at El Prado (I am sorry Deb, but I
have never heard of him!). We didn't have a guided tour so it kind of sucked to
just read the descriptions and really have no idea. Not to mention I have no
idea who St. Jerome is, and that is pretty much all he painted. I tried really
hard to appreciate the art, like Deb has taught me, but I found it difficult. It
was a lot easier with the rest of the museum and art work I had seen before, or
that I had hear of, like Las Meninas, El Hermafroditao, El Tres de Mayo, and
others. I really liked Goya's work, but I didn't look at his pintuars oscuras,
and those are the ones that sometimes scare people away. We only looked on the
2nd floor of the museum, so we will have to go back to see the rest.
After the museum Tess, Jess, Sam and I went to a little terreza to have some
tapas action. It was a little cold sitting in the shade though, so we didn't
stay long. Then dinner, and then time to go out!
I went out to have sangria with Jess, Sam, Sam's host sister (María), María's
boyfriend and friend. After our drinks we walked to a club called "Cats." This
club was sooo cool; I loved it. It had great music, even some Engish music, and
tons of people. We got there around 1:45 and it was just starting to pick up,
Sam left at 4, but Jess and I stayed until 4:30, we would have stayed longer,
but some guy she was dancing with was bugging her, and she has a boyfriend...so
we got out of there. Us three girls were extremely popular...to say the least!
It was fun to meet some real Madrileños for the first time. I think its
interesting here because it seems like guys like to dance more, are better at
it, and don't mind dancing with each other, which is COMPLETELY different from
the US. It was not at all like the chi gam sketchiness I love. AND we can wear
cute shoes to dance here because we aren't in frat basements! Not only that, but
the club was the most full when we left, and there were still people waiting in
line to get in! It was CRAZY. It was so cool, in some parts of town there are
way more people on the street in the middle of the night than during the day!!
We took a bus to a plaza near our apartments and then walked about 20 minutes
home. So I got to the apartment around 5:10 in the morning. It was convenient,
and a lot cheaper than a cab! I wish we had stayed out until the metro opened
again though, because I think that will be hilarious....it is now my goal.
It totally sucked though that on our way out of the club I dropped something,
and when I kneeled to pick it up my pants ripped all the way across the
knee....it was so sad...now I have to go shopping...hehe
My host mom FINALLY asked if I had any dirty clothes today...YAH! Now they are
hanging out to dry! I was beginning to worry that she would never ask.
Oooo...another thing I really have the urge to run through the house barefoot,
but that is just not done here. They wear shoes or slippers ALL the time...it
takes so much effort to remember to wear footwear all the time...I am so not
used to it.
9-28-2007
So, conversation class
is actually pretty cool. The professor is really nice and easy to understand, I
wish we actually got a grade in this class!! The only part that sucks is that I
going all the way back to the University...which counting all the walking time,
takes about 35 minutes one way. So going back and forth twice in one day is a
little annoying.
After class we went shopping in Chueca, which is a funky little district that
has great shopping. It was a very busy area, with tiny little street filled with
people. I bought a cute shirt and some shoes too...yah, now my toesies won't be
cold any more!
So, I was planning on going out last night, but instead I was lame, stayed home
and watched The Hills and The Real World online...I know, I know, but I was
tired, and I just didn't feel like being out until all hours. Not to mention
most of this group is really ragey, so I don't really want to hang out with them
and just go from one bar to another. I want to go to a disco tech! Sam's host
sister is sick right now though, so she can't take us...sadness. There is this
one group of kids on this FSP who go out almost every night, and I just don't
understand why! You could stay on campus and be ragey for FREE...here you have
to pay money....and like I said before...I would rather buy shoes...they should
put that on a bumper sticker...I want that bumper sticker!
So the maid definitely comes more than twice a week, she was here again today. I
also realized that she totally does not speak Spanish, I think she speaks
French, but I am not really sure. At least I think she is using French words,
and assuming that they are similar in Spanish. Either Spaniards in general are
obsessed with cleanliness, or just my host family, because when I woke up for
breakfast, the maid was scrubbing the top of the cupboards, with a stepladder.
In the time it took me to eat breakfast, she hadn't moved an inch, she was still
scrubbing at the same spot!!!! Who the hell cleans the top of their cupboards,
let alone SCRUBS them??
So, my host mom told me this funny story last night...(I need to preface this by
saying you cannot unlock the door from the inside without a key) she said "so
you remember that day we left together at 9:30am? Well apparently when we left I
locked the maid in the apartment, and when I came back at 1:30pm, she was still
sitting there, and waiting!! I don't remember locking the door, but I must have.
So I asked her what she would have done if there had been a fire, and she said
she would have called the police....haha" So I was thinking about this for like
10 seconds....and then I realized that I was the one who had locked in the
maid!! Whoops...the thing is, I hadn't figured out how to unlock the door yet
really, and I had forgotten something, and I went back, couldn't open the door
(turned the key the wrong way) and locked the maid in....oops. Don't worry, I
have now figured out how to use a lock and key...give me a break, I am a country
girl with no need for such things!
This morning, after breakfast, I walked to Parque Retiro, which is the big,
central park in Madrid, and it's really close to the apartment building. I
explored a lot of the park, and it is BEAUTIFUL! It is so much quieter in the
park that it was almost a shock when I left and was back on the street with lots
of noise, cars and people. The park has such a romantic feel, its cute; there
are paths in every directions, and little fountains and benches everywhere.
There is also a big rectangular lake in the middle for rowboats. It's all very
quaint. I have attached a few photos if you are interested as well!
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9-27-2007
Okay, why the hell is it hotter in VT and NH right now than Spain!?!? It is in
the 60s today, and was yesterday as well, but since mom told me it was in the
80s at home, I totally dressed wrong yesterday and was freezing! I want warm
weather! Also, I totally need to buy some pretty closed toed shoes since I only
brought sneakers, thanks mom, and I need to keep my toesies warm!
After siesta yesterday I met up with Sam and Jess and we went shopping for our
books for literature class, it was annoying trying to find the books in the
edition that our professor wants us to buy. After this, we went to a plaza near
my apartment and had churros con chocolate. Churros are like fried dough sticks,
and the chocolate is like hot chocolate crossed with pudding, thick and rich. It
was good, but not chocolaty enough for me! The portions were a little big for
only 3 hours before dinner...but it was yummy. We had to wait forever for them
to give us the check though...we were sitting and sitting and the waitress just
never came near our table!
Okay, so they have some great public service ads here, like, they freak you out.
There is this ad against anorexia, and it just shoes this naked emaciated
woman...its nasty. Then they have ads against cocaine and stuff, why don't we
have that in the US? All we have ads against is marijuana, but there are so many
other drugs that are way worse, like cocaine, heroine, meth...come on people!
Today we had art and history...they weren't too too bad, but I won't really know
until an exam comes around. We have our first conversation class today, but I
don't really know what to expect...
9-26-2007 - España
Okay, so reading the newspaper here is WAY more interesting and informative than
any American paper that I have ever read. There was only one article about the
war in Iraq and a wall American troops are building through the center of a
town, but it was so poignant, even in another language, I learned more in those
3 minutes than I have from any other news I have ever read or seen. El Mundo,
one of the main national newspapers is great, it isn't filled with trash, or
ads, or huge colorful pictures. There is news on every page, like real
news...about the world, not gossip or celeb news, or advice columns or
horoscopes!
So riding the metro alone is becoming a real challenge for my agoraphobia...I
just really hate people....and they are too close to me on the metro, its too
hot, and I am too nervous about having my money stolen! I know, I am just a
little bit crazy no biggy, that's me.
Oh, you all will be happy to know that I am most certainly over my sickness
because I have gotten my appetite back! Delicious! I haven't really gone to any
real restaurants yet; I'm not ready to spend money on food yet. I would rather
buy shoes...yeah shoes are way better than food, and they last longer.
Today I had three classes in a row, sitting in the same seat, in the same room
the whole time. It was intense, to say the least. I think I can only make it
through because we only have homework in one of the classes, literature. That
makes it a little easier to take. I had my first class of art history today, and
that professor is definitely the easiest to understand. She is always checking
to make sure we understand what a word means, and she writes a lot on the
board...thank god.
Ooo...I have a poll: Where should I go for my week break at the end of October,
beginning of November?? Portugal, Canary Island?....anywhere else? The only
places I am not open to, and the Balearic Islands, Toledo, Granada, Salamanca,
and Barcelona, because I have either already been, or will be going there.
Okay, enough questions...I am excited because after tomorrow, I have a 4-day
weekend! Finally I will go out and enjoy the night life....I should start saving
up on sleep now...just kidding, I don't really think it works that way, but I
wish.
Wow, I have really rambled enough for today...and its siesta time....night night
9-25-2007 - España
Hello again! Okay, so today was my first real day of classes, and it was a
little intense. The Dartmouth professor is pretty scary, she gets all up in your
face during class, and she talks fast and she always seems like she is just a
little bit pissed off. We also had history today, and I like that professor. He
talks REALLY fast, but he is really organized, and we all know that I value that
over any thing else! I am a little worried about classes, but we don't really
have any work to do, its more paying attention and taking notes. The hard part
will be when we have exams!!
For our literature class we are reading a play Don Juan Tenorio, which is about
a guy who sleeps with lots of women and kills lots of men, he is like the
original "player" in Spain.
I finally bought a phone yesterday, so now everyone can call me, my number is
666300239, and the country code for Spain is 34. It was such a huge ordeal to
get a phone, there were so many of us in the store, and it was confusing to
start a whole new phone plan in a different language.
The weather here is really beautiful, its pretty much a perfect temperature all
day. The only sucky part is that the metro is reallly hot, especially when it is
filled with people.
I am really loving siesta here, it is saving me from pure exhaustion, because
everyday after lunch, I can sleep for about an hour, and I feel so much more
refreshed!
Okay, well, I don't have too much more to report, but if you have any questions
or anything interesting to report from home, let me know...entónces hasta mañana
9-24-2007 - Spain Update
Okay, so i think that I already am getting into this whole Spanish thing. Every
time that I think about what I am going to write in this update, I think about
what I will say in Spanish, and then I am like....wait a second....they speak
ENGLISH! By the way, thanks for the feedback on my updates, I will try and keep
the entertainment level nice and high.
So today we finally found out what the hell is going on. And I am so excited
because this is the first year of this program where we only have classes 4 days
a week....yah for no class on Friday!!!! I have three classes a day, but each
day is different. I have Art, Literature, History and Conversation (this grade
is a part of the literature grade). Only the literature class is taught by the
Dartmouth professor, but we have all the classes together, in the same room (the
professors come to us!) AND I only have classes in the afternoon on Mondays and
Thursdays! I am soo exxited for all the free time! ALSO we have three excursions
planned: on Oct 6th we are going to Toledo, on the 19th we are going to either
Segovia or Salamanca, and on the 14th and 15th of November we are going to
BARCELONA!!! This trips should be awesome because they are paid for by
Dartmouth, yah for free stuff. We also have activities every week without the
professor that Dartmouth also pays for, like visits to El Prado, or Los Jardines
Botanicos. Its a pretty sweet deal.
The University is a huge public university with more than 100,000 students! It
is sooo not up to date though, all the computers and everything are way out of
date...its kinda weird.
After our orientation or whatever at the school I went with a few friends to El
Corte Ingles which is a store that is like Filenes combined with Macy's combined
with Target, combined with Best Buy combined with Borders, combined with a
grocery store. Anything under the sun that you could want can be purchased at El
Corte Ingles. The one that is 2 blocks from my apartment is sooo big that it has
to be in two buildings across the street from each other which both have 8
floors and 1 or 2 basement levels as well!!!!
Anyway, I am feeling much better now, I am glad that my cold is going away
rather quickly, because now I can finally get to know my family and enjoy my
stay. I found out today that my host dad works for a company that either prints
or manufactures (not sure which) the snazy boxes that milk and oj come in here
so that it doesn't need to be refrigerated. He is in charge of all of southern
Europe, so he travels a lot. Right now he is in Switzerland for the week.
Well, its time for my siesta! hasta mañana...
9-23-2007 - More Spain
Hello again, so I finally walked around the city today. All of he FSP students
met up with our professor, and we thought she was going to tell us more
information about classes and stuff, but no, she took us on a uber long walk
through Madrid. I of course, was not prepared and was wearing improper footwear
and now have HUGE blisters on both my heels. Good job Caitlin. Tomorrow we go to
the University and maybe then she will tell us more....it always seems to be
tomorrow tomorrow that we will find out what the hell is going on! Anyway, I
have included a few pictures here of my walk and of some street performers whose
soul purpose is not to move, its pretty sweet. Oh, and there is also a picture
of some guy parachuting with a Spanish flag, there were like 5 of these guys
over El Paseo del Prado, I have no idea where they were planning on landing!!
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Okay, so I didn't end up going to Noche en Blanco last night, I was far to
tired. I ended up sleeping like 12 hours, way to make a first impression with my
family by not waking up until noon! Even the girls who had stayed out all night
were awake before I was. I did make it out of the apartment once last night
though, I went for a walk with my host parents and we went to a Tapas bar with
my host sister and her boyfriend. They talk so fast to each other I am lucky if
every once and a while I can understand a word. Whenever they speak directly to
me though, I can understand...thank god.
I did find out yesterday that my host mother smokes, which kind of sucks, but
other than that, they are really nice, she cooks well, and they can all speak
English if need be. I still don't know any details about the term, I am supposed
to find that out today when we all meet up again. The professor told us
yesterday she didn't want to give us any information when we were all still
tired, which was probably a good idea!
I should probably go socialize now!
Hasta luego
9-22-2007 - My host family
Hey all, so I met my family today....they seem cool. I am living with a mom,
dad, and three sisters. Two of them are 16 yr old twin girls, and the other is a
19 yr old girl. Their apartment is really nice and everything, I have a bitty
room, but i do have wireless!!! I am still really sick, so when I got here, I
slept for like 2.5 hours....its felt so good, but I feel like I could easily
sleep for a week! I live on a really nice street, it kind of seems like 5th ave,
it has tons of great stores and everything. Tonight in Madrid its Noche Blanco,
this means all the museums and things are open all night, and are free. Its a
pretty cool event that happens once a year. That sounds pretty sweet to me!!
9-21-2007 - I made it to Spain!
Everything went smoothly until Philly...where my plan sat on the runway for two
hours before taking off! I did have a seat next to the other Dartmouth
girl...like I was in 16A and she was in 16B....it was a crazy coincidence. She
seems really nice. When we finally made it to Madrid (after I didn't sleep at
all!) Like 6 other people from our trip were there, or got there shortly after.
I was convinced to take a taxi to the hostel...damn it....(only 12,50 E each)
And then we walked around for an hour. We planned on taking a nap when we got to
our room for an hour....but we ended up sleeping from 12:30 to 4:30...whoops. I
dunno, I was pretty tired, and I am still, so I don't think it will screw me up
too too bad. Our hostel is pretty nice, but the beds are bunked, and I am on the
bottom with about 2 ft of head space! Thank god for my lack of claustrophobia!
We are planning on having paella and snagria for dinner tonight....if I can
crawl out of bed again. I truly feel like death, and this cold I have developed
is not helping at all! My bag is really heavy...but i can manage it....there is
a girl on the trip who brought 2 that size, a rolly carry on, and a back
pack...how did she plan on managing all that stuff by herself??? Anyway....bleh.
I will e-mail again soon, I haven't gotten my SIM card yet, but when I do I will
let you all know my number!