Yesterday we went to La Puerta del Sol to get Spanish cellphones, since thusfar we've been constricted to communicating via Skype (which can be difficult, because it requires one to be at the computer to use!) Getting phones was really interesting because none of the workers spoke any English! However, we managed to do it; I guess when you have twenty people you can figure it out eventually. We've had some problems with meeting up at the Metro, so being able to text each other should solve this problem. I'm lucky enough to live extremely close to the University - our condo is the closest out of all of them at only a 5 minute walk - others have to leave 45 minutes early to get on the Metro.
Speaking of the Metro - those things go WAY underground! My stop is at a street called Guzmán el Bueno. To get a sense of how far underground we have to go to get to the train platform, picture the length of an escalator at the mall. Now, multiply that by five. Yeah, we have to go down 5 full-sized escalators, plus a handfull of stairs, just go get to the platform!
The funny thing is that although I'm in Spain, there are definitely American/English language influences everywhere! For example, there's a KFC in La Puerta del Sol (and a McDonalds, but those really are everywhere). I'm fortunate enough to have a papelería (school supplies store) right across the street from my house, and when I went in yesterday to buy notebooks for class, I saw that a lot had english text in the designs ("I like to dance" was one of them). Also, they were playing "Tik Tok," in the store, which is a hit song back in the states.
I'm adjusting well and having lots of fun, though! The strange thing is the mealtimes. I'm hungry a lot of the time because we have a relatively small breakfast (just cereal in the morning before class), then a large lunch at 2pm, and then dinner at 9:30pm or so. The stretch from breakfast -> lunch is definitely harder to deal with! For lunch, we have different things - I just finished eating cooked mixed vegetables (green beans, peas, brussel sprouts, carrots) with little bacon pieces plus fried fish. I'm not sure what kind of fish it was, but it's whatever fish that comes in fishsticks at the grocery store. I'm not a big fish person (besides salmon) but it is definitely true that you will eat whatever when you're hungry :)
There's not much to do today since we (the students) have been pretty busy going out every day since we've been here - plus, classes have started, so we actually have a lot of stuff to do. It's not just reading - for example, we have several assignments that involve visiting various places in Madrid and reacting to them as foreign exchange students. Also, this Friday we're taking a field trip to Cordoba, and next weekend we will be traveling to Asturias, a province in the northern part of Spain.
I'll leave you all with a picture since I'm going to tomar una siesta (take a nap!) or perhaps go to a nearby park and listen to music/read. It's a lovely day - sunny and 82F with absolutely no humidity. My favorite!
This was a La Puerta del Sol yesterday while we were exchanging money before getting cell phones.
que bellisima! tengo celos ;_;
ReplyDeleteAhhh....so good to see you enjoying your surroundings, though understand your problem getting used to the meals. Still, it's a good experience and like you said, you'll eat anything when you're hungry.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a really nice place and I'm especially glad you have American friends you can hang out with. But who knows...maybe you'll meet some Spanish amigos too?
Keep the news coming!
Love,
Mare
Yes, the meal times seem strange but I'm sure you are adjusting to that quickly. The weather in the pic you sent looks great....unlike the hot, muggy weekend we had and then clouds/rain to start off this week.
ReplyDeleteSpain was one of the European countries I would have liked to have visited when I was working for the airlines but it never happened. My Spanish is on the level of a two year old. However, I am sure I would have managed if I had stayed in one of the tourist areas. In any case, you're getting lots of practice, huh? When you return, you should be able to speak quite easily to all the Latinos here in 'Carolina del Norte'!
Anyhow, keep the posts coming along with more pics.
Hablamos pronto!
Scott