¡Qué Semana!

(El Estadio de Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain)

Yikes! I'm getting behind on my blogging. Let's see if I can remember any of what I did this past week. . .

Monday: My Spanish class was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday (the professor had a family emergency), so I had to inform Julia that I would be around for lunch. Now if you remember, the last time this occurred, it ended with me in tears, so I was a tad nervous as I walked into the salon. But she handled it quite well, I thought, (maybe because Ines was there) and a few hours later we sat down for lunch. I had to head off right away to meet my new Intercambio, Rosy. She is a PhD student in computer science working on her thesis, which she said might be as long as 1,000 pages (I don't know that many words in Spanish and English put together and repeated seven times). It turns out that Rosy is from Mexico, and we ended up chatting for a solid hour about how abrupt and rude Spaniards are. She even brought it up! So there seems to be an official difference in mannerisms between the mother country and all of us poor colonized schmucks. . .

Tuesday: I had Historia del Presente this morning and was thoroughly annoyed that other people were saying that they had already started their essays (due in one week). I hadn't done anything for my paper but bookmark about 17 websites on my Internet browser and print out some newspaper articles about recycling. So after class, I stuck around campus and got all my sources together and made an outline so that I felt accomplished. I got back to Julia's in time for lunch (ham rolls and lentils) and then plunked myself down and started writing. I had planned to write about pollution: land, air, and water, but by 10 pm, I had finished writing about just land and my paper was 3/4 long enough. Unlike the average time-saving student I did not decide to stretch what I had, rather, I decided to delete about half of what I had and go back and write about air and water, too. I think it's things like this that make my stress level so high.

Wednesday: Today was the last day of Ana's class. We we were all hoping for some guidance in studying for the final. We've covered all of Spain's history plus a good amount of the relevant art that goes along with it. She's told us that we will be shown 6 slides and will need to write a mini-essay for 5 of them - in Spanish, of course. Someone asked if the slides would just be paintings we've seen, and she responded that the slides could be anything, from buildings, to paintings, to pictures of people. Gulp. After class, we all had to run to our last 2 hour Historia class. I spent a good deal of the class reading about the economic history of Japan. Historia, as a class, really isn't designed very well. We write an essay about a topic of our choosing as our only grade - there is absolutely no incentive to go to class, (except to learn, I guess, or read economics articles). I ate lunch with Lizzie in Getafe, (I had brought ham rolls and peppers from home) and then we toured the nearby supermarket before I had to run back to Spanish class. The professor told us that the class was essentially finished and that no new information would be on our final, so that was a relief. But then she told us she's giving us back our last tests, but that first we were going to work in pairs, take the test again, and correct those tests in class as review. Now, when I take a test, I like to write down everything I know, hand the test in, and not think about it again until I see my grade. I am very superstitious with tests and have a whole process worked out. I do not like to be tortured by having to take the test a second time and wonder twice whether I had put down the correct answers or not. It was an agonizing class for me. But I did fine, so I just want to get through the final. Then I had my weekly meeting with Jennifer - the Spanish week - a little rough, but still good. We discussed frosting, which apparently is another thing that I am going to have to introduce to the Spanish culture. Jennifer and I decided to have a baking fiesta next week, so I can demonstrate another of the wonders of America to her. We then walked back to the train and got churros con chocolate (they have set up a semi-sketchy churros stand set up in the parking lot of the train station). Then I had to hurry home and change because I was off to the Real Madrid vs. Zurich fútbol game at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium! A bunch of people were going and we were meeting at TGIF's for dinner beforehand. I grabbed my Real Madrid bufanda (Spanish for a scarf) and walked to the restaurant. We all sat and ate - I had chicken fingers (which were exorbitantly priced - 11 euros), and almost felt like I was back at one of the BC football games (I do miss BC's chicken fingers). We then headed to our gate. There were people everywhere - Real Madrid is the biggest team in Madrid and one of the biggest teams in Spain and it was rumored that Christiano Ronaldo (currently the highest paid fútbol player in the world) was playing for the first time since his injury. We climbed to our seats - the only ones we could afford were high enough to make the field look like a fuse-ball table - and started unlayering (although it was pretty cold outside, the stadium has these huge overhead heaters, and we were right up there next to them). The game was fun to watch - it goes much faster than football - and Real Madrid won 1-0. And Ronaldo played, which was probably the most exciting part. Lizzie and I walked around afterwards and ended up going back to Julia's apartment. Julia and Ines were both asleep, but we tiptoed around as I gave her the tour. The house is practically a museum. Then Lizzie went home and I tried to get some work done, but since it was about midnight, not much was accomplished.

Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving! I had my last CEH class today (the classes for Americans) and only have 2 or 3 econ classes left (a Grados class - for Spanish kids - they go longer). After class, all the BC kids met at the Prado for Ana's tour (just packing in another 20 paintings or so for our test which is in less than a week). It is interesting to actually get an explanation of the paintings, though, so I enjoyed the tour. Then when that was finished, it was off to Thanksgiving dinner! The BC program booked us all a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at the Cornucopia restaurant (?) so we all had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing (2 servings for me - Lizzie didn't like hers), spinach, cranberry sauce, and walnut bourbon pie. Satisfactory, but still not like home. There are quite a few BC families visiting over Thanksgiving break, so it was nice to meet friends' parents and see how similar they look to their parents. It was a good time, but I missed everyone back home. Then Lizzie and I walked to Plaza de España and took the metro to Nuevos Ministerios. We ended up walking to McDonald's for McFlurries and chatting for a solid 2.5 hours (sitting on a bench outside in the rain after McDonals's started to close). I then hopped back on the metro and got to Julia's by midnight and turned out some more of my Historia paper.

Today: I studied. I have not even seen daylight because my blinds have been shut to prevent distraction. I only left the room for lunch, dinner, and bathroom breaks, so I would like to think I was somewhat productive. I studied for my Spanish final (on Monday and Tuesday), wrote more of my Historia paper (due Tuesday) and studied for Ana's final (on Wednesday). Still plenty to do and I don't think I will be leaving the room the rest of this weekend, unless I run out of food and need to go to the supermarket. I'm always a wreck during finals, so it's best for me to just remove myself from society for a few days. But I'm currently in quite a good mood, because since Thanksgiving is over, I can officially start listening to Christmas music. I had started within four hours of finishing my turkey. I have more Christmas songs on my iPod than non-Christmas songs, so I need to get started right away. Sometimes I burst out in song, which probably alarms the neighbors, but since I'm under finals stress, I think it's completely acceptable. Currently playing: White Christmas from "Christmas Sing with Frank and Bing." Love it!

Día Tres con Las Amigas

(Me, Lauren, and Melinda at La Puerta del Sol in Madrid)

Sunday: We gave ourselves an extra hour this morning and didn't meet until 10:15 at La Tirso de Molina, the metro stop closest to the girls' hostel and El Rastro. Before heading to El Rastro, we stopped at the Starbucks in Sol, as the girls were craving the muffins and coffee that isn't available in Parma. I got a chocolate muffin and a small hot chocolate, so I was content.

We then walked to the Rastro while having a conversation about the spirit world (is that what people call it?). Melinda's aunt is a medium and/or exorcism-er (she has a collection of possessed items in a tunnel in her house). I told Melinda I have a possessed iHome and two computer speakers to add to the collection (the iHome turns on by itself and slides back and forth between different radio channels and you can hear voices talking in my speakers when they're not even plugged into the computer). Me and technology - it's a fun relationship. Lauren said her parents have been to a couple group medium events and that her mom is convinced about the spirit world. It was an interesting chat.

El Rastro was as crowded as ever, but Lauren managed to find a cool sweatshirt and a belt. We walked around for a while, looking at all the stuff for sale and all the people, and then got on the metro and hopped over to El Banco de España, a good place for tourist pictures. One woman asked me to take her and her friends' pictures and even showed me exactly where to hold the camera. I moved a little on the first one and she made me take another. So afterwards, I had her take our picture. Then we walked to El Prado and wandered through the different exhibits. The place is huge and I know very little about art, but with Ana's class, I'm starting to pick up a little bit more, and art museums are becoming a little bit more interesting (although I think I still prefer the science museums).

After the Prado we were outside, walking back towards Banco de España when we saw a lady in a green trench coat running and jumping on the benches that line the street. We didn't find anything strange in this, as just yesterday, we were rolling down hills in Retiro, so we're not really in the position to judge. I became alarmed, when a little bit further down the sidewalk, we saw her on top of one of the streetlamps, feeling the lightbulb. She jumped down and we noticed that she was just wearing a trench coat and boots, nothing else. She then ran over to one of the street vendors and licked one of the paintings he had on display. He shooed her away really quickly so she turned around and started following a woman who was walking towards the Prado. The second woman had no idea she was being followed and having her hair sniffed by this other lady. By this point we had stopped in our tracks and were just watching her, trying to figure out whether she was un poco loca or on drugs. She ran over to a low billboard advertising the Prado and felt the lips of the woman in the advertised painting. We decided she was a little crazy. She kept running around and following people, and then she ran off up some stairs. Very strange - incredibly strange. We kept walking, me a little nervous that we were being followed by the lady in the green trench coat.

We got to Pans & Company for lunch, a wonderful place that I've mentioned quite a few times before. It's just a fast food sandwich shop, but it is fantastic. During lunch, we got onto the subject of Melinda's pageant past, which I had known nothing about. Apparently, she won one of California's scholarship pageant competitions (which is more prestigious than the beauty competitions), and had she not moved to North Carolina, would have been in the running for Miss California. She had walking training and interview questions and everything. That's pretty cool.

After a quick stop at Haagen-Daaz, we took the metro back to the hostel and the girls checked out. We headed to the airport and off they flew back to Italy (which they love, by the way. I'm a bit jealous of their food situation, to say the least). I took the metro back to Julia's and although I tried to be productive, I promptly fell asleep at my computer, an occurrence which probably had something to do with only getting nine hours of sleep throughout the entire weekend. I woke up and remembered that I needed to design the guide covers for my Spanish class and send them to the teacher, so I did that quickly, only to find out that the files were too big to send with my internet connection. I figured out how to send them eventually and then Julia called me for dinner. Ines is still here and I really hope she sticks around. She really nice, keeps Julia occupied all day, and helps keep the conversations going (sometimes Julia and her just talk and I don't need to say anything at all!) She also made Julia buy a Pandoro (an Italian breakfast cake) and a box of cookies, so she's okay in my book.

Must sleep - I'll try to catch up more tomorrow!

Día Dos con Las Amigas

(El Palacio Cristal in El Parque del Retiro in Madrid, Spain)

Saturday: We met at about 9:30 am near the Bilboa metro stop to check out the breakfast at a cafe that was rated well in my student guide and recommended by Lauren's sister. The place is called Café Comercial and we all ordered tortitas, which is Spanish for pancakes! I don't know why I didn't know this word before. I managed to order for all three of us, a feat about which I was quite proud.

After we had finished, we walked towards El Palacio Real, stopping to do some shopping along the way. Lauren found a pretty shirt and both girls found awesome bags. I'm saving my pennies for London. We hit Gran Via, stopped at Starbucks, and then wandered through the world market held in Plaza de España. We then reached Palacio Real and saw that the line was a solid half an hour long. We took turns waiting and instead of waiting even longer for a guided tour, we decided to do the self tour through the Palace. I remembered next to nothing from my previous time, so we made up stories instead, which is always more fun. Plus, if we ever needed some real facts, there was an elderly couple from Texas (I know this because I chatted with them while I was helping them figure out how to use the storage lockers) using audio-guides with the volume turned all the way up. I liked them.

After we finished the Palace tour, we walked back to the metro past El Teatro Real, passing a parade that was celebrating the 20th anniversary of the signing of a children's rights act. We took the metro to el Parque de Retiro stop and started looking for the restaurant, Alfredo's Barbacoa. After my getting lost another few times (my friend's would call it lost, I would call it temporarily going in the wrong direction) we found the restaurant, which was packed. This restaurant supposedly has the best burgers in Madrid, though, so there was no way we were going to go anywhere else. It was about 3:15 and we got on the list with an hour and 15 minutes wait, so we all shared a small chocolate passion-fruit ice cream from a nearby ice cream store while chilling on a bench in Retiro until about 4:30.

Once back at the restaurant, we waited for another 15 minutes before we were led to our table, but I think it was worth it. The place has a decidedly American theme, although many of the flags were Confederate flags (?) and the burgers were good and authentic (I got a roasted onion and cream cheese burger - mmm. . .). But those poor deprived Spaniards! All the Spaniards in the restaurants were eating their burgers with forks and knives. My very American friends and I were going to take no part in that, so we ate our burgers as they were meant to be eaten - with our hands. We did notice that the little boy at the next table picked up his burger and started eating with his hands, although his parents refused. Then the restaurant's host, Jorge, who had been very friendly with our table since we arrived, brought us three shots of Southern Comfort. I actually finished mine - so I guess you could call that my first real drink, (even though I sipped it instead of shooting it). You only get free shots in a restaurant in Spain if you're pretty, so it's a kind of compliment, and Jorge also asked to take our picture for the wall of fame, (although from the looks of the pictures, you don't need to do much but eat hamburgers with a table full of girls). So if you're ever in Madrid and go to Alfredo's Barbacoa, check out the pictures on the wall - I'm up there somewhere.

Lauren, Melinda, and I then spent the rest of the afternoon at Retiro, rolling down hills and doing photo shoots in front of fountains, with the leaves, and on a random picnic table. We also saw El Palacio de Cristal, a glass palace in the middle of the park that houses art displays. At first, we thought it was empty, but it was actually a modern art display which involved randomly placed ladders and strings. Odd. As we were exhausted, we decided to head back to the girls' hostel before dinner and dancing. They slept while I did research (I got the short end of that stick), and after finding out that the paella restaurant we had originally wanted to go to required reservations and was all booked for the night, I asked the hostel-front-desk-people (for lack of a better title) for another and they provided me a name and directions. I crashed in Lauren and Melinda's room - in a bed which they told me was unoccupied - and after a 45 minute nap, we were up and dressed and ready to go.

We walked to La Fragua de Volcano for paella (pretty good) and then to Dubliner's, an Irish pub near Sol. This is where the rest of the BC kids were hanging out and since Melinda knew quite a few of them, we stopped by to say hola. This is the pub in Madrid where BC kids can come to watch the BC football games but it's interesting to think that in Boston we can't even get into such places because we're not old enough. Lauren and I ordered Cokes and chatted while Melinda socialized and afterwards we headed to Joy for dancing.

Apparently, I'm not up on my discotheque lingo, because while I was able to get us through the rest of the weekend with my Spanish skills, the bouncers were confusing me with talk of a list and pre-tickets and such, and I'm still not sure what they were telling me. We were probably quite an amusing sight to the Spaniards. I kept repeating, "¿Qué lista?" and when they asked Lauren how old she was, she responded, "89," (I believe she thought they were asking her what year she was born). But we eventually got into Joy with the help of the guy standing behind us (who also, coincidentally, had the 3 extra tickets we needed). Melinda and Jack went off for a minute and never came back, so me and Lauren danced with the rest of the BC group for most of the time. They had periodic shows with music from Grease, so that was interesting, but by 2:30 or 3 am, we were ready to call it a night. We found Melinda and the girls walked back to their hostel while I shared a taxi with Jack and got dropped off at Julia's. Day 2 complete!

Día Uno con Las Amigas

(La Biblioteca Nacional de España in Madrid, Spain)

Sorry I haven't written in so long! This is the last week of classes and next week is finals. Therefore, I actually have work that needs to be done. This has become a somewhat foreign concept while in Spain, so I've been a little pressed for time recently. So anyway, I'll start with last week. . .

Friday: Lauren and Melinda's plane landed at 11 am, so after explaining to Julia and Paquita (I've finally asked her how to spell her name) that I wouldn't be around much for meals during the weekend, I headed off to the airport to meet las chicas. I got ripped out of a euro when a man I thought was asking for directions was really begging, and I couldn't get him to go away without giving him money. I was peeved. But the girls got in right on time and after successfully buying them metro cards (which involved conversations in Spanish) we took the metro to their hostel.

After they checked in and got situated, (and after Lauren gave me presents - two bracelets from Florence and a box of chocolates from Parma - the girl knows the way to my heart) we walked around the Sol and Plaza Mayor areas. We saw a lot of Christmas lights being put up and also walked through a chic accessories shop with more sales people than customers. We then went to La Casa Labra for lunch, a small tapas bar which is where the Socialist party is rumored to have secretly started in 1879. They really have only 3ish things on the menu, so we tried them all: tuna and tomato skewers, bacalao (or cod) croquettes, and bacalao fritas (fried cod). It was all really good and it was warm enough to eat outside, where we could watch all the people that were shuffling in and out of the tiny room where you place your orders. We then headed on over to La Chocolateria where we got an order of chocolate con churros and an order of chocolate con porras. We planned out the rest of our trip using my student guide book, Lauren's sisters' recommendations, and a map I took from a tourist booth at the airport (probably should have invested in one of those about 3 months ago).

Then it was off to the National Library, but since we found out that the library is closed to the public (I know, right?), we took the metro back to El Corte Inglés, where after some shopping, we went to see Tommy Hilfiger. He was at the store for a book signing and his new line's promotion, so we stood around and watched the presentation. We also met Mrs. Hilfiger, who looks to be about 30 to Tommy's 60 or 70. Bit of an age difference there.

Since we were planning on going to a flamenco show that night, I wanted to change, so we all walked from El Corte Inglés to Julia's. Julia had her sister, nephew, and sister's nanny over. The nanny, Ines, just had a knee surgery and will be staying with Julia and I for a while, so I got to meet some of Julia's family again. The sister, Marta, (mother of the Princess of Sicily) speaks a little Italian, so Lauren and Melinda were able to show off their Italian mastery for everyone. I was impressed. They said that they didn't remember any Spanish from what they learned in school, but I think their Italian far makes up for that.

After I got changed, we headed back out to Chueca, where we were planning to have dinner. We were going to go to tapas bar recommended by Lauren's sister, but we ended up at a different place, Bazaar, which her sister had also recommended. We got mushroom croquettes, roasted tuna with mango salsa, a potato, ham, and egg dish, and a chicken and pesto crepe to share. For dessert, we got fruit skewers, a fruit and ricotta lasagna, and a chocolate cake-like thing. It was all quite tasty and the restaurant itself was really cool. It was all white and decorated as a high-end pantry. I liked it a lot.

Then we headed to La Latina, where we went to La Soleá for flamenco (after my getting lost about 3 times - maps seem to worsen my sense of direction). The flamenco was free, which was great, but there wasn't any dancing; only a guitarist and some singers. The restaurant pays only the guitarist for the night and the singers are gypsies who meander in off the streets and perform. It was really crowded but an authentic atmosphere. We also sat next to some characters who seemed quite smitten with Melinda. At about 1 am, we left so that I could catch the last metro back to Cuzco, and the girls walked back to their hostel. Day one complete!

¿Porqué, clases, porqué?

(El Museo Caixa Forum in Madrid, Spain)

Yesterday, after waking up early, I headed off to Ana's class at Universidad Complutense. We learned about the declination of the Spanish/Austrian empire after the Catholic monarchs, so in other words, some pretty scintillating stuff. I did participate in class, though, and said something about how the deficit led to the decline (which I'm sure sounded all the more brilliant as I said it in Spanish). I actually got nervous while I was speaking, because I felt like Ana was looking at me funny. I thought that maybe Dan, who had spoken right before me, had said the same thing as I, (I was too busy practicing my comment in my head to listen to what he was saying). But no one else seemed to notice anything, so I think I was safe.

I then sat through 2 hours of Historia. I realized that I would have to leave a half-hour early, so that I could be back at Julia's for my registration time. The professor is a talker, and I ended up having to sneak out of class, as she was still talking 10 minutes into our break, which was when I needed to leave. I flew back to Julia's and prepared myself for registration. I had my spreadsheets assembled, my codes neatly in order, and the UIS program open. As soon as it hit 2 pm, I started typing in the codes of the classes I wanted. I got the first three with no problem. The fourth, a marketing class, wouldn't let me register, but I knew my advisor could take care of that one, so I wasn't worried. But my last class, my fun class - Broadcast Programming and Promotion - wouldn't let me register either, and since it is a Communications class, is outside the power of my advisor. I tried about seven times, but I wasn't getting any closer to outsmarting the system, so I went back to the course listings on the Internet. The course wasn't full and I didn't see any reason for why the system wasn't letting me register. The only thing listed next to the class number was the name of the TA, Maj Restri. Then it clicked. Maj Restri is not a person, but rather an abbreviation for Major Restricted, a funny little saying which means that a Marketing major can't register for that Communications class, no matter how many times she types the code into the system. So now I needed to find another class and quick. I tried to think of fun classes I have heard of people taking, but I couldn't think of one, so I started searching the course listings. I perused the Psychology, Music, Art, Sociology, Communications, and Language departments, but most of the classes had Maj Restri as a TA, or were with lousy teachers, or at conflicting times with the rest of my schedule. I settled on a Psych class, Emotions, but later changed it, as the Emotions professor has the worst evaluations I've seen at BC. So, I am currently enrolled in Vocal Performance, and am watching the registration system to see if my Broadcasting class is still open, (as the department head whom I emailed said that I could take the class if it were still open at the end of registration). So now we wait.

I then took the train back to Carlos III to meet Jennifer for lunch. She had invited me over for lunch, so I was awfully excited. She made a salad, a pizza-like dish with crust, cheese, caramelized onions, and tomato slices, and a cheesecake. She is officially the best Intercambio ever. I brought her chocolates as thanks. We ate at her family's house in Getafe, which was really nice and she gave me a tour of both the house and the neighborhood.

We then headed back to school for class. I went to Economics, where the professor decided we would discuss our essay topics individually with him. We were free to leave after we chatted, so I was out of there after 20 minutes. I was heading home on the metro when my metro card stopped working (at least it popped out of the machine this time). It wouldn't let me through any of the tourniquets. I asked a security-lady what to do and she said something which I translated to mean, "Wait until tomorrow and ask someone at a ticket window," (I've since tried this strategy and it actually worked, so I was glad it wasn't too big of a problem). Then it was back to Julia's for dinner and homework until 4 am. Ugh.

This morning I was up by 9:30 to finish the rest of my homework. This week in Spanish class, we have been split up into groups of two and assigned a Spanish city about which we must create a visitor's guide (that will all be compiled in a class book). Lilia and I were assigned Toledo, and since we had to skip class yesterday to register for classes, we had to do some research at home before class today. I made a list of things to do in Toledo, places to eat, etc. and designed a page layout for our guide.

While I was working, Julia left to do some errands, and Baquita came in and complained about Julia for a good 10 minutes. Apparently those two are really getting on each others' nerves. Julia is being Julia and Baquita is actually standing up to her, so there's some definite tension in the air. They had a fight today about the which is the right size of macaroni to buy. I'm trying to remain neutral.

After lunch, I took the train to Getafe and sat down in Spanish class. Lilia and I got to work right away on our guide. Lilia had already written almost everything we needed, so we just edited and then I arranged everything nicely in my layout. Mónica, the professor, came over towards the end of class and complimented me on my graphic design skills. She then asked me to design the cover for our class' guide book. I was flattered, but realized afterwards that I should have bargained for some extra credit.

All the BC kids were going on a class trip to El Museo Caixa with Ana, but we had some time to waste before we needed to leave. Therefore, Nick, Callan, Lilia, and I headed over to the nearby wonder of a sandwich shop. For 3 euros, you can get a sandwich bigger than your head and the walls of the shop are covered with different ingredient combinations. I had eaten lunch not long before, so I didn't get anything, but on our way back to the train, I did grab a bag of cookies from one of the vending machines, (imitation Spanish cookies, of course).

We took the train to Atocha, having an interesting conversation about Dominican gangs in Spain, and then walked to the Caixa. The museum is only 2 years old and is in a really cool building that used to be an electricity plant. There are these nifty old brick walls and modern metal-work that is supposed to resemble an Arab window design. There is also a vertical garden that covers the whole side of the building next door, so that was pretty cool.

Unfortunately, the tour of the exhibit was pretty dull. The displays were about Palladian architecture; Palladio came up with the idea of mixing styles from different eras together. We got these funny-looking headphone sets that made my neck hurt, and I had a hard time focusing on and thus understanding the guide. I think much of the tour was lost on me.

Lizzie and I headed back to Atocha together, stopping at a souvenir shop to do some browsing, and met up with Lindsey, who was also heading back to Nuevos Ministerios. At Nuevos Ministerios, I got on the metro and went home. After my dinner of macaronis (which Baquita will argue are too large and Julia will argue are just fine) I've been fairly productive, so I'm feeling pretty proud of myself.

Lauren and Melinda are coming tomorrow! I'm going to meet them at the airport and take them to their hostel (at least, that's what I'm going to try to do). It will be a fun and utterly unproductive weekend. Yay!

Mis Problemas con Investigación

(The famous Tio Pepe sign in La Puerta del Sol in Madrid)

As Monday morning rolled around, I again opened up my computer and started editing my paper (I use the word editing loosely; when I edit in Spanish, I essentially check to see if the words look like they're in Spanish. They generally do, so it's a very quick process). I started to wonder whether I should site my sources - normally I would, but for this paper, my sources essentially consisted of Wikipedia, and I wasn't sure whether it was worth it. My computer has automatically adjusted to some sort of Spanish internet system, and reliable sources don't seem to pop up very often. Funny story: I was researching information about the Madonna of Humility on Google and my blog popped up as the 5th listing. If I'm the 5th most creditable art source in Spain, Spain's in trouble.

So I sent the professor an e-mail asking her if she wanted us to cite sources and I fully expected her to say no. She responded that yes, we should please cite our sources. Shoot. So I spent the rest of the day trying to find all of my Wikipedia information on other, more reliable websites. I succeeded, but it took me a solid 5 hours of extra work.

While I was working, Baquita came hurrying in and told me that Julia was on the phone with Paloma. I nearly had a heart attack. I asked Baquita whether Paloma had called Julia or Julia had called Paloma, and she said she hadn't been there for the beginning of the call and wasn't sure. She also said she knew they were talking about me, but that she wasn't sure of the context. I fully expected Julia to come charging in and kick me out, but I still haven't heard anything from Julia about the phone call. Suspicious.

During economics class yesterday, Nick told all the BC kids that the class registration system for next semester doesn't work on the internet connection at Carlos III (laptops or desktops). This is causing a lot of people problems, as they are having to skip classes, go back to their homestays, and register there (we have a set 15 minutes of registration time during which we log onto the system, usually see that all of the classes we want are already filled, and scramble to come up with a different schedule - your heart is beating so fast that it counts as exercise). A few kids don't even have an internet connection in their homestays and are going to have to call in their classes, which is going to be quite an expensive phone call. I am going to have to miss Spanish class, run back to Julia's, register, and then run back to Carlos III to meet Jennifer for lunch. Tomorrow will contain a lot of transportation.

Today I had Historia del Presente, (we learned about ETA - the nationalists or terrorists, depending on who you talk to) where I saw Lizzie for the first time in a while. She was in good mood because her boyfriend got his first job offer with Bank of America. I told her to get him over there and fix my debit card situation, which has still not been resolved. But now I have a connection.

After Spanish class I took the train back to Madrid with Lilia. We were talking and it sounds like pretty much everyone is ready to go back to the US. I think the fact that finals are looming (and the fact that all the finals are in Spanish) is making the whole situation more stressful, and there's a lot of very tense people walking around.

Ever since, I've been working on an application essay about how I fulfill Jesuit values (loads of fun!) and watching Youtube videos about BC. As much of an adventure as Spain is, it will be good to be back!

¡Más fotografías!

I've uploaded my pictures from El Escorial and El Valle de los Caídos. There aren't very many, as in Spain, pictures are prohibited in most museums. I think that's a silly rule, so all of these pictures are stealth shots - I only got yelled at twice for 20 pictures, so I think it was worth it.

Here's the link: http://gigiinmadrid.shutterfly.com

Enjoy!

Mucho Escribiendo

(A ceiling in the monastery of El Escorial, Spain)

This morning I got up early and managed to pump out another paragraph of my essay before I met up with Kathryn at the Tirso de Molina metro stop. We wandered around El Rastro for a couple of hours - she was looking for a belly-dancing skirt for a class she's taking at her gym. We found a small stand with a bunch of them and we were looking at the different colors, but geez - there seems to be a market for belly-dancing skirts. The stand was packed and I couldn't turn around without bumping into somebody. She ended up getting two and we kept walking. I was telling her about how Amanda and I want to go to the Real Madrid vs. Zurich fútbol game, and she said I needed to get a Real Madrid scarf. She said that everyone who goes to the fútbol games wears their team's scarf, so we went and found another stand selling these scarfs and I bought a blue and white one for Real Madrid. So now all I need is tickets.

After we wandered a bit more, (which is really hard to do at El Rastro considering how many people there are) we ended up walking to Sol, because I was still on the hunt for postcards. There was some kind of anti-garbage demonstration going on, so there were about a million people at Sol, too. I thought the demonstration's information would be helpful for my sustainability paper, so I was looking for the people who hand out flyers and such. Of course, there weren't any. The one time I'm actually looking to take something from one of those street advertisers and they're not there! How inconvenient. But we saw the huge Christmas tree (made out of lights) that is currently being assembled, found a couple good spots for postcards, and passed a bunch of street performers (one swing band and 3 of those human statues). We had a little bit of time before I had to be back to Julia's for lunch, so we stopped at La Chocolateria and ordered a plate of chocolate con porras (like churros, but supposedly bigger and better). We grabbed a table outside, and after a bit, the waiter brought us our order. But horror upon horrors, he brought us plain old churros instead of porras! We were deeply upset, but he had already scampered away and I didn't have much time left - so we just ate the churros con chocolate instead, (really not that unhappy of an ending).

I got back to Julia's and we sat down for lunch. I had garbanzo beans in sauce and beef stew, both of which were mighty good. We talked about fútbol and she said that her brother has season tickets to the Real Madrid games. He must be loaded as well, as the tickets for just the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona game are over 1,000 euros. She also mentioned that her father had an awesome library back in their old house. She said it wasn't quite large enough to be made into a museum (the thought hadn't even crossed my mind) but that it was still quite impressive. She gave me the name of a museum, El Museo de Lazaro Galdiano, which is apparently a similar style mansion to the one she grew up - or at least, I think that's what she was trying to tell me, (the owner donated all of his stuff to the state - so there is furniture, paintings, jewelry, silver, etc.).

After lunch, I worked on my paper. Ana asked for 3 pages, and right now, mine's 4.5 (I always have been a rambler). It's interesting stuff though. For example, I learned that in all of those paintings of Mary with Jesus on her lap, they are sitting on the ground or on a low cushion. This is because, in Latin, "humus" means ground, which is the root of the word, "humilitas," which means humility. Therefore, this positioning is symbolic of Mary's humility, and all of these paintings fall under the category of the Madonna of Humility. Then, I was zooming in on the painting online to see if a pattern in the background was a lily (another sign of Mary), and I noticed that the embroidery on Mary's robe was actually the words for Ave Maria. I thought all of this was very interesting and that's why my paper is now 1.5 pages too long. I do love symbolism!

Then after some thrilling economics reading, Julia and I had dinner. I asked her where she had been that afternoon, and she said she went with her sister Marta to visit Marta's nanny (I'm not sure if that's the word she was trying to say or not - she was attempting to say it in English) in the hospital. I guess she just had a knee surgery and is going to be out of commission for a while. She's actually coming to stay here on Thursday for a week (which I guess is a valid reason why Lauren and Melinda can't stay here this weekend - I don't know why she didn't explain this to me in the first place).

I also applied for my first internship today. It was listed on one of BC's career center sites, so I uploaded my resume and cover letter. The internship process has officially started and now there's a whole bunch of applications that need to be done one right after the other. I secretly enjoy it though; writing in English seems so much easier after you spend the whole day writing in Spanish!

El Escorial y El Valle de los Caídos

(El Valle de los Caídos, Spain)

Because I needed to be somewhere on time this morning, of course my alarm clock failed to wake me up. Fortunately, my sense of panic did, and I flew to the metro and managed to make it to our meeting spot on time. I wasn't even the last one there. We ended up leaving a half-hour late anyway because we were waiting for Don. He was waiting at the metro station for a friend who was coming with us. He must have lost track of time and we couldn't call him, because Apelcom cancelled his service because of this whole Bank of America locked card issue that everyone is having. We drove around the block to pick him up but he wasn't there. We then saw him walking frantically up the street. We flagged him down and the whole bus pulled over to pick him up. As we were driving out of Madrid we saw all the workers putting up Christmas lights. The displays are going to be amazing - there are lights everywhere. They don't turn them on until the end of November, but I am getting really excited!

We drove about an hour to El Escorial. It is in a very odd town. It's all built on the side of a mountain and the houses are all modern, but it all seemed very strange. Maybe it was the cloudy weather or the lack of people on the streets at 10 in the morning, but the whole town seemed kind of spooky. We had about twenty minutes to walk around or get breakfast. A bunch of kids got gofres con chocolate (waffles with chocolate) at a street stand and then we met up in front of El Escorial.

El Escorial is a monastery, university, library, basilica, the traditional crypt of the Spanish monarchs, and the palace of Felipe II de España. It was his life's project but the whole complex was built in only 21 years (compared to the normal 200 years for most of the other buildings in Spain). The outside looks very much like a fort, (we were told the Hapsburgs - including Felipe II de España - were quite austere and invested more money in their paintings than in the outsides of the buildings). We split up into two groups and started our tour. The whole place wasn't heated, so it was rather chilly, and we started by just going through and looking at where Felipe II lived with his family. It was all very simple and dark. We talked about paintings for almost 1.5 hours, so the tour dragged a bit (especially because I was hungry by this point and thinking about gofres con chocolate). We saw an old sundial type invention that was used to coordinate all the clocks in the palace and the throne of Felipe II, one of the most powerful monarchs in history.

The tour picked up when we went down into the tombs to look at where the last 4 centuries of Spanish monarchs are buried. Quite extravagant; all these elaborate sarcophagi inscribed with names of people that I've learn about in classes for years. After the tombs, we stopped at the library, where there is a copy of every book written before 18th century (pretty spiffy) and then walked back out into the main plaza. Our tour guide explained that the basilica was closed because of construction, so that was a shame (it is the central feature of El Escorial and supposed to be awesome). The basilica has a relic of every saint minus three and the place must be huge, judging my the size of the dome. From the plaza you can see the spire on top of El Escorial, which contains what appears to be one gold brick. It really stands out as the rest of the roof is black slate. We were told that when they were building El Escorial it was debated whether the whole thing should be built of gold. Unfortunately, they hadn't quite collected that much gold from the Americas, so that wasn't a possibility, but they didn't want the commoners to know that, so they put the gold block in the spire as a sign that they had the wealth, they were just making a statement of strength by making the whole thing of stone. And apparently, it's not just a brick, but a solid gold box that contains relics of saints that are supposed to protect El Escorial. But because that whole story was told in Spanish, there might be some personal interpretation in there.

After our nearly 3 hour tour, we got a bathroom break, during which Kevin, Jack, and I got separated from the group (Spaniards don't seem count to make sure everyone is there). I called Lizzie, and we ran to meet up the group. The then walked to a nearby park for our picnic. Ana had brought food for everyone, which she had packed in two rolling suitcases that we had been dragging around all day. She had about 10 loafs of bread (which comes with the crust cut off in Spain), cheese, and of course, ham. There were drinks, fruit, cookies, and chocolate, so we were all happy. I didn't even notice how cold it was.

We then hopped back on the bus and drove to El Valle de los Caídos, a monument that Franco had built to honor all the Fascists that died in the Spanish Civil War. Because of this, it is quite the controversial monument. Even more so, because lots of people died (mostly Republicans) building it, (it was freezing and there were really dangerous working conditions) and Franco had them all buried there, too, much to the anger of the families. It is this huge cross, church, and monastery built on top of a mountain, and lots of people, even today, want it torn down. It is also very austere and the stormy weather added to the effect. Also, all these monuments are half in the clouds because they are all built on the tallest mountains so that they are closer to God.

We walked into the church and my jaw dropped. The place was huge and built completely into the mountain. We learned that the the whole nave is actually longer than that of the Vatican, which isn't allowed in Catholicism. I think Franco probably knew this when they were building, but they put up a gate about halfway down and declared that to be the start of the official church. So the "church" with the vestibule and anti-vestibule put together are significantly longer than the Vatican. The nave leads to a huge wooden crucifix above the altar; Franco went out into the woods, picked a tree, and had the whole thing carved in front of him. The dome, (above which is the peak of the mountain and the big concrete cross) is all ornantely decorated with saints and Spaniards (but only Fascist Spaniards). There are two chapels with doors that lead down to the huge crypt, (us normal people can't go down there) where all the unnamed Fascists are buried. And behind the altar is the tomb of Franco himself. I think you really get a feel for him standing in this church and I was more impressed with El Valle de los Caídos then with El Escorial.

It was also interesting to learn that there used to be a river that ran through the mountain. Franco, unconcerned, told them to build there anyway. Now there are big water stains all over the ceiling and big pots everywhere to catch the running water. This seems to me to be quite a large problem as the whole thing is situated under the weight of a mountain and a 152 meter high concrete cross. But who am I to judge?

We got back on the bus and drove back to Madrid. I took the metro back with Amanda and stopped at a convenience store to get more toilet paper (yes, the toilet paper is still an issue). Then I decided to go for a walk. I wandered north past where I usually go for my runs (I say that like I run often - rephrase - my two runs). It seemed to take me less time to get there walking then running, so that's not a good sign. After about 45 minutes of exploring, I turned around and headed back to Julia's. I had a good dinner, (cheese wrapped in ham and fried - unhealthy? Yes. Delicious? Yes) and we also had a decent conversation about natural disasters and global warming. Then I wrote another paragraph of my paper for Ana and decided to go to El Rastro tomorrow morning with Kathryn. I also received notification that Hayley has a Facebook, so I am about to Skype home and investigate further.

Mi Teléfono No Funciona

(Gardens at La Alhambra in Granada, Spain)

As I lay in bed this morning, hitting snooze for the 4th time, I noticed that my phone wasn't making it's alarm sound, it was making its texting sound. Ponderous, I thought. So I squinted at the screen which proudly said that my current phone bill was 78 euros. That's when my eyes popped right open. Annoyed, I rolled out of bed and started looking for the phone company's phone number. I have made two, count 'em, two phone calls this month and that does not add up to 78 euros. As I was squinting at my contract, trying to read while still adjusting to the sunlight, my phone beeped again, and this text said that my credit card wasn't approved and that my service was about to be cancelled. They must not know about Morning-Gigi or they would have waited until at least noon to throw me these curveballs. I finally found the phone number and was greeted by a chipper, "Buenos días!" It was far too early for Morning-Gigi to have a phone conversation in Spanish, so I responded, "Hablas inglés?" Thankfully, she did, and I told her about the texts. She said to disregard the one about the 78 euro bill, (they seem to send those out just for fun - several of my friends have received them, too) and I told her about how I knew my card has been locked (story of the last month). I asked her if there was a way to switch the payment to a different card and she said yes, I would just need to come down to their office and sign a form.

So I showered, got dressed, and hopped on the metro. I got off at Plaza de España and found the building. I knew that Apelcom was on the fifth floor, so I was looking at the telecom buttons, (none of which were labeled) and trying to figure out whether I was in the right place. Apparently Aplecom's revenue isn't quite enough to have a store-front window. So I was standing there looking confused when a guy pulled open the door and got in the elevator. I hadn't thought to just try the door, so that seemed like a good idea, and I followed his lead. There was a sign pointing me to elevator B down a hallway so I found the elevator and hit five. After a bumpy landing, the doors opened onto a dark hallway of what looked like residential apartments. I was about to turn around and go back downstairs when I saw "Apelcom" written on a sheet of computer paper that was Scotch-taped to one of the doors. The thought crossed my mind that this was the culmination of my conspiracy theory and that I was going to be kidnapped right then and there, but I didn't want my phone to stop working, so I took my chances.

I rang the bell, (which was so loud that I jumped) and a lady opened the door. "Estás abierto?" I asked. She said yes so I walked in. There were two or three desks in a room filled with stacks of paper and file cabinets. The place was a mess and I could see why they keep sending everyone incorrect texts. I assumed this was the woman to whom I had spoken on the phone, as there was only one other guy in the room who seemed to be playing games on his IPhone - which is not an Apelcom product, I might add. I told her I needed to change the card on my account and she gave me the form to sign. I changed it to Mom's credit card, which is the only working card I have right now, (sorry if you read this before I call you tonight, Mom) and then walked back out into the scary hallway and took the scary elevator back downstairs.

I wanted to buy some postcards and I was in a pretty touristy area, but unfortunately, there were none to be found. I went back to the metro and decided to head to Sol, where I knew there would be a ton of them. But my subconscious must have been thinking otherwise, because after a few stops, I noticed I was on the line that goes back to Julia's and not on the line to Sol at all. Funny how that happens.

So I got off at Julia's and broke out the homework. Julia was out somewhere and Baquita came in at 2 and asked me if I wanted lunch because she wasn't sure when Julia was coming back. I said sure and had just finished eating when Julia walks in. She wasn't pleased.

Julia: "I will call if I'm not going to be back for dinner."

Me: "Oh, okay. I'm sorry I ate. I was hungry and not sure when you were coming back."

Julia: "2:30." (thanks for the heads up)

So I just worked on homework all day until Julia called me for dinner. I was having fish - a whole fish. I have no idea how to go about eating a whole fish, so I was pretty certain I was going to endure some critiquing during this meal. So before starting, I asked her what was the proper way to eat a fish like this, and she just did it for me. Quite the process, it turns out. It was a good thing I asked or I would have been picking at the trout bones for the next hour. She mentioned during dinner that her late husband's parents live in NYC, and are bigwigs for GM. I didn't ask how big of bigwigs they are, but she knew the CEO's name off the top of her head, so I'm thinking big enough.

She then went to get something from the living room for me, which turned out to be an advertisement to see Tommy Hilfiger at a promotion in Corte Inglés next week. I'm definitely going. This line of promotions must be the reason why I saw Claudia Schiffer there yesterday (turns out she's pretty famous - I did my research). And I will bring my camera.

Off to El Escorial and El Valle de Los Caídos tomorrow!

Modelos y Español

(La Capilla Real in Granada, Spain)

Yay - my Spanish test is over! It was difficult and long and all in Spanish (but that was to be expected) but now it is over and I can proceed with forgetting everything I learned.

I studied in my spare minutes yesterday - which were few and far between as it was Wednesday and Wednesdays are always long. I had Ana's class at 8:30 am, which wasn't too bad. I seem to be understanding a little more each class and I found out that we are taking a class trip to El Escorial on Saturday. I don't know why I realize this before, but it was news to me. Luckily, I have no plans except for homework which I will be more than happy to avoid. I then had two hours of Historia del Presente with the teacher of the other class section (our teacher was out). I thought she was much more interesting (we looked at pictures of the Berlin Wall all class) and I could understand her Spanish better. She finished the class by talking about Spanish family structure and I was interested and understanding, a rare occurrence here in Spain. Then after lunch with Lizzie, I had Spanish class, where we spent an hour and a half asking questions about the themes that confused us. It was good review, but I got nervous hearing about how much information was going to be covered on the exam. After class, I met with Jennifer. This week was our Spanish week, so slightly more stressful on my part, but we seemed to get through everything okay. We discussed our London trip - she's trying to sort out a situation with her boyfriend before she buys tickets, and waiting for her before I buy my tickets. Unfortunately, I'm watching the prices go up and up, so if she doesn't decide soon, I guess I'm going to have to book a flight without her. On the plus side, she invited me to lunch at her house next week and even mentioned dessert, so I'm thrilled! Plus, it will be nice to see a house and family that isn't Julia's. Next item on the docket was Economics, where we had to officially declare our final paper topic. I decided on to write about the globalization of Japan after WWII, so hopefully that turns out to be somewhat interesting. Then it was back to Julia's for dinner and although I tried to get in some studying, I talked to the family and Uncle Ted and Jerry on Skype and fell asleep instead. Oh, well.

Today I woke up early to get in some of the studying I missed last night. I actually got in a good four hours worth, but unfortunately, it was a terribly boring four hours. I did get to talk to Baquita, who was upset with Julia, because Julia wouldn't let her borrow the phone to call the construction workers at her house. That Julia and her antics. I wrapped up my studying and caught the train to Getafe. Everyone was nervous for the test and I stayed until the very last minute, but I'm relieved to not have to study anymore.

I needed some contact solution, so I stopped at Corte Ingles on the way home. Of course, I detoured to the grocery store (completely allowed, because that's originally where I thought the contact solution would be). I asked one of the workers where the "liquid for cleaning the lenses of my eyes" was and she took pity on my lack of vocabulary and pointed me downstairs to the Óptica. But on my way out of the grocery store there was a big crowd of people standing around a small promotional stage. There were photographers and everything. So apparently, I'm one of those people who will wait in a line because they figure everyone must be waiting for something interesting. I waited in this crowd for a solid half and hour without knowing what I was waiting for. But then everyone started clapping and the supermodel whose picture was all over the promotional signs and a woman who I deduced was the name behind the new perfume they were promoting came on the stage. Everyone started taking pictures but, of course, this was the first day I decided not to bring my camera to school. Shoot. I looked up their names afterwards; the designer's name is Alberta Ferretti and the model's name is Claudia Schiffer. It would have been a funny picture - Alberta came up to about Claudia's bellybutton.

So then I headed downstairs to the Óptica where I waited in another line, (but this time for contact solution). I was actually quite proud of myself, because I asked for that box of contact solution in perfect Spanish (asking for things and favors was one of the topics on my test). The woman didn't give me the usual blank stare or pitied smile; she simply turned around and handed me the box. I might as well have been a Spaniard.

Then it was back to Julia's. There was a guy cleaning the back elevator I use, but he said he didn't mind riding up to Julia's floor. I pressed the button and he said that he's been working on the floor above Julia's floor. I'm well aware of this - there has been construction going on for quite some time up there. I had previously asked the doorman about the family, and apparently a new family is moving in and completely remodeling everything. But here's how my conversation with the construction man went:

Me: "So how much longer will the job take?"

Rodrigo: "Probably about a month, there's quite a bit of work to be done." (Julia will be disappointed - she said the other day that they would be done in a week)

Me: "Must be a lot of work."

Rodrigo: "Yeah - the apartment is the whole floor."

Me: "Yeah - it's the same on my floor."

Rodrigo: "You own the whole floor?"

Me: "Oh no. I'm studying abroad and living with a señora who whole owns the whole floor."

(elevator stops, I exit)

Rodrigo: "What's your name?"

Me: "Gigi, and yours?"

Rodrigo: "Rodrigo. Wait, Gigi? How do you say that in Castellano?"

Me: "Uh, Gigi. . "

Rodrigo: (confused look)

Me: "My full name is Gabrielle"

Rodrgio: "Ah, Gabriella!"

Me: "That's it - goodbye!"

Rodrgio: "Goodbye, Gabriella!"

He seemed like a friendly fellow. Julia probably wouldn't approve of my talking to him. I was impressed that I carried on that whole conversation in something resembling Spanish. I did absolutely nothing productive the rest of the night, so that was nice. I'm currently working on uploading pictures to Facebook, but it is tedious and I will probably fade out before I finish. I've also discovered that you can chat with people on Facebook and so far I've chatted with Rachel, Kathryn, and Cioci Heather. Tricky business, that Facebook.

¡Mucho Trabajo!

(A view of the gardens at La Alhambra in Granada, Spain)

This week seems to have become alarmingly busy. I don't know where all this work came from, but I'm really hoping this is just a blip in the system until finals roll around. I have a Spanish test on Thursday, an art history paper due next Wednesday, two final papers that need to be researched (one on the economic history of Japan and the other on sustainability in Spain), internships that need to be applied for, club applications that need to be finished. . . I shan't bore you with the details.

Also, I'm officially on Facebook. After two years, I have succumbed to peer pressure and finally opened an account. My e-mail inbox has been exploding and I already feel the pulls of addiction. There are so many people and so many pictures to look at, but I refuse to become a Facebook addict and will stay strong. Unfortunately, I think this might actually become another one of those ways in which I inadvertently avoid society (similar to my phone and e-mail accounts). I read and/or listen to everyone's friendly messages, but then never seem to respond in a timely fashion. My Facebook wall posts (I believe that's what they're called) are stacking up, and I actually haven't responded to anyone yet. There must be a way to send big group messages, but that's probably not quite socially acceptable. But then again, neither is not responding. . .

I had a stomach ache all yesterday morning, which slowed down the Spanish studying. I'm not sure what caused it, (although the possibility of Julia's poisoning me crossed my mind - just kidding. . .) but I felt better by the time I left for class. We are writing fairy tales with a twist in Spanish. We each have a partner, and each group must pick a classic fairy tale, and re-write it so that it ends differently. My group's story is Cinderella (or Cenicienta, en español). Everything is the same until the day after the ball, when Cinderella wakes up with swollen feet (the fairy godmother's spell had some negative side-effects). She goes downstairs and tries to explain to the Prince that she was the girl with the glass slipper, but he dismisses her as ugly and turns out to be quite shallow (after all - he didn't even know her name after dancing with her all night). Cinderella's step-family kicks her out because she can't do the chores anymore and she moves into her own apartment. After the fairy godmother fixes Cinderella's feet, she meets her new neighbor, Carlos, who is muy guapo and not shallow at all. El Fin. It'll be a movie any day now.

Then I had Economics. Every Monday we have quizzes on the readings (which are usually upwards of 30 pages). Each week I do the reading, outline the reading, and do the reading again, but it doesn't really seem to help. He asks really random question, which sometimes have little to do with the reading and are usually hardly in English (whoever writes those quizzes could use a grammar class). The best grade I've gotten so far was on the week where I accidentally read the wrong reading. Go figure.

Today was just a lot of Spanish studying. I had two classes, neither of which were remarkable, but afterwards, I stopped by the grocery store to pick up some school supplies. I got to the checkout and handed the woman my money and she said, "You can't pay with this." I gave her a blank stare (wondering if this was a further development in the conspiracy theory) but then realized I had tried to pay with Moroccan dirhams. They look quite a bit like euros and if I were the cashier, I wouldn't have noticed the difference. I must have put them in my wallet when I was fishing through my change box looking for coins because none of my cards were working. Then I couldn't remember how much she had said the bill was or how much I had already given her, so I kept handing her coins and she kept asking me for more. Of course there was a long line behind me, and I think Hayley would deem this another embarrassing story.

Francesco was over again today and Julia seems to be much nicer to him than she is to me. But he really is a cutie and doesn't scream when I'm near him, so he's okay in my book. He even has the little comb-over that all the royal babies in the movies have.

Now it's off to bed - have to get up before the sun tomorrow.

La Teoría de La Conspiración

(La Alhambra in Granada, Spain)

Yesterday was a half-hearted attempt at productivity. I didn't get through much homework, but I did finish some resume/cover letter/internship work. At about 3, I decided I needed a break, so I decided to go activate my new debit card (the one BOA replaced my Lisboa-captured card with) at one of the nearby ATMs. I tried the first ATM, and nothing happened, so I tried a second, and then a third. Nada. Now I was worried and went back to Julia's and tried calling the activation system over the phone. The card still wouldn't activate, so I called customer service. After waiting on hold for a half-hour, I finally got to explain my problems to someone. The woman checked the system and said that all three of my cards (the one still in Lisboa, the one I have, and another one that's in the mail) are all permanently locked. She comforted me by saying, "That's weird, I've never even heard of that before." She checked with her supervisor, who also had never seen such a problem before, and she told me that since they can't unlock a permanently locked card, they would have to send another one to Norwich, so that it could be forwarded on. I asked her what would happen if that card gets here and doesn't work either, and she said, "That shouldn't happen." So I'm sure it won't. . .

This whole process took much longer than expected, and although I only had about 7 euros, I needed to hurry to meet Jennifer (my intercambio) by 7. We met at Sol and she showed me around downtown, pointing out good restaurants and things to do. I discovered on this walk that the Royal Palace, Sol, El Rastro, Gran Via, and even Atocha are all very close together. I had thought they were in different corners of the city - go figure. Jennifer and I headed over to a park where there is an Egyptian museum and some old Egyptian buildings to look at. We passed about three botellóns on the way, (the big street parties that Spain is famous for) and after taking pictures of the monuments we walked back to Sol, passed a mariachi band, and then stopped at a tapas bar, Cantina Alhambra, for dinner.

We ordered bravas (potatoes that come with a spicy tomato sauce and an aeoli sauce) and morcilla (blood sausage). Our dishes also came with bread toasted with olive oil and mini ham sandwiches. Everything was really good - even the blood sausage, which I was not planning on liking. We were there for a good hour and a half chatting, and after we paid, we decided to walk down Gran Via to the Atocha area. We passed some interesting neighborhoods, with Jennifer pointing things out all the way, and even passed Kapital (the seven-story discotheque which I am determined to go to at some point). At about midnight, we got back on our designated trains and headed home.

I had to get off the train at Nuevos Ministerios and switch to the metro, so I stuck my ticket into the tourniquet machine, like I usually do and the doors opened, like they usually do. But my ticket did not pop back out of the slot like it usually does. Problem. That ticket is a month pass that costs 33.5o euros (like $50!) and November is not over yet. I just stared at the machine for while, but nothing happened and it didn't seem like my ticket was going to be showing up anytime soon. So I was now standing in a holding area between two sets of tourniquets and there were no security or maintenance people wandering around. I needed to fork over another euro to buy a ticket out and I now had about only 1 euro left. Because I didn't see anyone helpful, I got back on the metro to Cuzco and told the ticket lady there what had happened (all in Spanish, which was very complicated - this story involves a lot of past tense and weird vocabulary). I asked her if she could print me another copy of the ticket and she said no. So I asked her what I should do and she said go back to Nuevos Ministerios and find a security guard who could call someone with the keys to the tourniquets.

I got back to Nuevos Ministerios and found a security guard (which took some time because Nuevos Ministerios is one of the biggest metro/train stations in Madrid). As planned, a maintenance guy followed me back down to the tourniquets, but unfortunately, he said he didn't have the key to my tourniquet. Lucky me. I asked him who did, and he said nobody because it was too late (it was now about 1 am). So he told me to write down the tourniquet number and come back tomorrow morning. No money and no metro card. My three theories: there's a government plot against me, the FBI is secretly testing me for job, or Julia's rebelling by shutting me out of Madrid.

So I dragged my sore feet (I hadn't been wearing my most comfortable shoes this whole time) back onto the metro and went back to Julia's. I called Alicia, and it was good to catch up with the BC news. I then set my alarm (as I was accumulating quite a to-do list) and passed out.

Today, I woke up an hour later than planned and after doing some homework and eating breakfast, walked back to Nuevos Ministerios (with my sore feet) and searched for a helpful-looking person. I had been practicing my story in Spanish in my head, so people seemed to be understanding me alright. I got back to tourniquet number 2167 and waved down the security guards. I prepped my story with my usual, "Please excuse my Spanish - it's only so-so," and started in on my well-rehearsed dialogue. Then one of them whipped my ticket out of his pocket. I said, "Yay!" and they told me not to worry at all - my Spanish was great. I like them - helpful and full of compliments.

As I currently have no access to money, Mom very kindly offered to send me some through Western Union. So I took the metro to the closest Western Union, and after a slow conversation with the money lady, (there was a solid wall of glass between us and, of course, we were speaking Spanish) I got my money and headed back to Julia's. We ate lunch, where we had a conversation about all the great things Franco did. There was less crime, less poverty, and less dissent back then, Julia said. Quote of the day: "I wouldn't really call Franco a dictator. . ." I wasn't going to argue her.

I then studied Spanish for four hours and only got through my notes once; there is going to be a lot of information on this test. Julia was out most of the afternoon, but came back for dinner. We chatted about art; she said her parents had a "precious collection." I'll bet. She went out again at about 10. I'm practically a hermit in comparison.

Una Semana de Chocolate

(A view of Granada, Spain)

So this week has been fun. I've cried about 5 times, eaten a solid 20 euros worth of chocolate, and avoided anything that mildly resembled exercise. Let me explain:

Monday: After a nice, long day of classes, I returned home for dinner with Julia. Here's how our conversation about world history went. . .

Julia: "Well, America wouldn't even exist if it weren't for Spain."

Me: "Well, nobody would exist if it weren't for Africa."

Julia: "What are you talking about?"

Me: "You know - how humans started in Africa."

Julia: "In Egypt?"

Me: "No, Central Africa, I think. That's where they found the oldest human body."

Julia: "You mean Adam?"

Me: (pause and cautious head tilt) "No, that's not what I mean at all."

Julia: "Well, if you don't believe that Adam was the first human, then you aren't a Catholic."

Me: "You don't believe in evolution?"

Julia: "I believe in the Bible. Everything else is theoretical. You can't believe everything some American scientist tells you."

Me: "I don't believe the discovery was made by just one American. I think it's a fairly well-supported theory."

Julia: "There is no evidence to support that theory."

She ended up calling one of her historian friends, who seemed to agree with me. She still avoided apologizing, though. I decided that the Julia situation was not improving and that I would be visiting Ana, the BC advisor, the next day.

Tuesday: After my first class, I trooped on up to Ana's office, where I began to regale her with my most recent Julia-stories. She got upset and started explaining that I was experiencing first-hand, what someone with a Franco-ist mindset is like. After I started crying a second time, she called the housing director, Paloma, and said that I should be moved out of Julia's. Ana told me to come back tomorrow and meet with Paloma and her husband Juan, who would have a gameplan worked out. So after my second class, I went home with my heart pounding. Julia and I sat down for dinner, and surprisingly, had a decent conversation. She even attempted an apology (which oddly enough, did not include the words, "I'm sorry,") so then I felt bad that I had talked to Ana. Meanwhile, chocolate was just evaporating out of the cabinet where it is hidden from Julia.

Wednesday: I got up bright and early to get to Ana's class. We were discussing the Catholic monarchs in Spain and then entered into a short lecture about how, even today, people of high-classes don't except that Spain is a mix of cultures and Franco's regime taught everyone that Spain was essentially the center of the universe. I think Ana's lecture was somewhat influenced by our chat the day before. So after that, most of us had to go and sit through two hours of Historia del Presente. We were discussing the education system in Spain, and I was so bored that I was drawing little apartments in the margins of my notebook and planning where I would put all my furniture. Don't judge.

After lunch, I went back to Ana's office to meet with Paloma and Juan. They started telling me about how they had two families all picked out that I could go and visit and how they could come and help me move all of my stuff when Julia wasn't around. They said they would have to call her first and try to get her to return the November check. This whole conversation was turning my stomach, and I told them I was awfully nervous about this and about how I wasn't sure whether moving is worth all the trouble when there's only about a month of school left. They said they would give me a couple more days to think it over and this was when I started crying a third time.

But life was looking up as I skipped Economics to go on the BC trip to the opera. The performance was held in El Auditorio, a big concert hall in Madrid, and the opera was La Vida Breve. It wasn't a full-out spectacle of an opera. There were two opening orchestra pieces, one of which was composed by Ana's brother. Her whole family was there are she said she started crying when she heard it. The second act was the opera itself. There wasn't scenery or many props, and everything was performed in front of the orchestra members, who sat right on the stage. Even though we couldn't see everything, (our cheap tickets were actually above and behind the stage) the singing was awesome and there were some dancers who really good, too. The opera was set in Granada, so it just happened to be relevant to Ana's class.

I got back home at about 10, and was relieved that I could eat alone. But to my surprise, as soon as I finished, the doorbell rang and in walked a woman who identified herself as Maria, Francesco's mother. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this was the Princess herself, live and in person. I was already in my PJs, so I just looked as glamorous as could be, but she spoke in English, so I could at least communicate properly. She seemed nice enough, but she only just stopped by to get Francesco and then was out the door again.

Once I was all cleaned up and settled in my bedroom, Julia came in and told me that my friends from Italy wouldn't be able to stay anymore (even though I had asked her this twice before and everything had been okay). When I asked her why, she simply said, "There would be problems if they stayed here." So I went to bed in a huff, ready to move out again.

Thursday: I only had one class today, but afterwards, a bunch of the BC kids were meeting Ana at the Museo de Thyssen for guided tour. It was a really nice museum and Ana explained to us certain paintings that we will probably see again on our final. I do like looking at art when it's explained to me, and Ana used a microphone that was connected to our individual ear-pieces, which magically made me understand everything she said, (and no, it wasn't translating her into English). After the Thyssen, Lizzie, Elisha, Steve, and I walked to Plaza de España, where I caught the metro back to Julia's. Nothing thrilling in the dinner conversation; I steered away from any potentially controversial topics. She did seem to think I was lying about the opera having two opening acts, though, and I had to bring out the program before she believed me.

Today: I woke up determined to make a decision about whether I was moving out of Julia's or not. I pondered, asked Baquita (the maid) for advice, and pondered some more, and decided to call Paloma and ask her to move me. I kind of wanted to be like Harry Potter when he was saved from the Dursleys by the Weasleys. Suddenly, in walks Julia and asks if I'm happy here. I froze, thinking she had overheard my conversation with Baquita. Then she said that Paloma had called her and explained that I was unhappy and asked me why. I decided it was now or never, so I went on and on about how I feel like she judges me unfairly and doesn't really like me, and how some of her manners in the US would be considered rude, (I think I even managed to say all of this somewhat eloquently in Spanish). She apologized and said she loved me (which I found awkward) and then brought me a handful of chocolate (which she has been hiding somewhere or else I would have found it by now). This is very uncharacteristic of Julia, but I hope she stays this way. We had decent conversations at both lunch and dinner, so maybe the situation will begin to improve. This is one of those aforementioned roller-coasters of emotion.

¡Más fotografías!

I uploaded my pictures from Córdoba and Granada onto the Shutterfly site.

Here's the link: http://gigiinmadrid.shutterfly.com

Enjoy!

Día Tres en Córdoba y Granada

(A home in the Albaicín of Granada, Spain)

We woke up on Sunday to another one of those wonderful continental breakfasts and I stuffed in as many chocolate croissants as is (somewhat) socially acceptable. We then headed upstairs to pack up all of our stuff and met in the lobby to put our luggage in the storage room and check out. Robert met up with the group and we left to take a walk around the Albaicín (the historic neighborhood).

We learned that the Albaicín is protected by UNESCO as a world heritage site, and therefore has become quite the neighborhood to invest in. People who buy homes there must follow certain building rules to preserve the feel of the area, so all the millionaires are moving in and paying the "real" families who lived there before to move out. So while the buildings of the neighborhood are being preserved, the people of the neighborhood are not. The area used to be quite rundown and didn't even have running water until the 1960s. It is built on a hill, and the streets are very windy and steep. We climbed quite a bit, (and it was still very hot), but at the top was a great view of Granada and the Alhambra.

We stopped at an old home turned restaurant so we could see what the inside of the houses looked like (or the courtyard, at least) and then travelled on over to El Monasterio de Santa Isabel la Real. This is a pretty simply decorated convent, as all the money in Granada went towards building the Capilla Real. I can't remember anything else about the history of the convent as Robert suddenly mentioned that in the convent live baking nuns who sell their goods to the public by means of a little turntable. Now I've seen Samantha Brown do this on the Travel Channel, so I was pretty excited. You go up to this little wooden door and ring a bell. A nun on the other side will answer, and you open the door and see a little wooden turntable. The nuns can't be seen by the public, so they show you what baked goods are available by spinning the collection around for you to see. You can then ask what the prices are and place an order. You put the money on the turntable and spin it back around, and they will spin back your boxes of cookies. It's really quite a lot of fun. We all lined up like the diligent students we are and a few of us ordered something with Robert's help. I got a bag of lemon muffins. I also decided I would make a great nun.

We then wandered back down the hill and ended up back near Plaza Nueva for lunch. A bunch of the BC kids stopped to get a poster of their names written in Arabic, and after that, Kevin, Jeff, James, and I stopped at a kebab restaurant. I ordered yet another falafel kebab, (which was delectable) and we ate outside in the Plaza. There was a marching band that went by at one point, so that was cool, and after we finished our kebabs, we stopped at an ice cream shop. I got a scoop of chocolate brownie ice cream, which kept me occupied until we got back to the hotel.

We all grabbed our stuff and got back on the bus. I sat with Kevin on the way home and all of us watched Juana La Loca, a Spanish movie that tied into the history of Granada. After that movie, (I missed about half an hour in the middle due to drowsiness - and then was very confused for the end) we watched The Orphanage, a Spanish horror movie. I saw that with mom and Hayley when we were in Alaska, so I managed to get some Econ reading done on the bus.

We got back to Madrid at about 7 pm, and after taking the metro home with Amanda, got back to Julia's at about 8. Julia and I sat down for dinner and were talking about my trip. I mentioned that I liked the food in Granada because it reminded me of the food in Morocco.

Her curt reply was, "No."

I said, "No, what?"

Julia: "The food in Granada is Andalusian."

Me: "Oh, I know - but it has Arab influences."

Julia: "No. The food in Granada is Andalusian."

Me: "But it is very similar to the food we ate in Morocco."

Julia: "No."

Keep in mind that I don't think she's ever been to Morocco and doesn't seem to know what Moroccan food is whenever I bring it up. It's good to be home!

Día Dos en Córdoba y Granada

(Eva Esquivel, a gypsy flamenco dancer in Granada, Spain)

On Saturday, Katherine and I headed downstairs at about 9 am to grab some of the continental breakfast from the hotel. In my opinion, continental breakfasts in Europe are far superior to those in the US. The hotel had a wonderful spread of warm pastries, which included chocolate filled croissants. There was also ham and cheese for sandwiches, yogurts, cereal, and fruit. I was pleasantly surprised.

The group met at 9:45 and walked to the Capilla Real (or the Royal Chapel) where we met Robert, one of Ana's friends and a professor at the University of Granada. He was our tour guide for the day and gave all the talks in English. Yay! La Capilla Real is where Isabella and Ferdinand are buried as well as Juana La Loca and her husband, Philip. Isabella and Ferdinand were originally buried in the Monastery of St. Francis in the La Alhambra, as the Capilla was still being constructed when they died. But as stated in Isabella's will, they were to buried in the Capilla upon its completion. During the Napoleonic invasions, the coffins were opened and looted and when Granada later flooded, everything in the unsealed coffins got pretty nasty. You can still go see the coffins though. The Capilla is also very nicely decorated. There is a huge iron gate that used to separate the nobles from the commoners, and it is one of the first gates signed by the artist. Before the Renaissance and humanism, such artists weren't given credit for their work, but this gate prominently displays the message, "I was made by the master Bartholomew." There is also a huge altar space with very elaborate scenes from the Bible (with Charles V disguised as a wise-man - he wanted to be included in the decorations) and the sacristy has been converted into a museum. The coolest thing in this museum is Isabella's jewelry box where she stored the jewels that she ended up giving to Columbus to fund his journeys to Asia/America.

Next, we walked up a really steep, mountain-like hill to La Alhambra, a fort built in the 8th century, which became a contained town of Arab palaces in the 13th century. We stopped at the gate where Robert explained the ancient security system. To break down the doors, invaders would have to walk under a covered area. If invaders reached the door, the Arab soldiers could pour hot oil down on them from the covered area above. You can't see any of this from the road, and attackers wouldn't figure out the system until too late.

We then walked into the Alhambra and Robert explained that the much of it was built with money collected from the Jews and Muslims after the Catholic occupation. Muslims and Jews could stay in Spain if they converted to Catholicism and paid extra taxes, but when they revolted in 1568 and lost, everyone had to leave. When the French later invaded Spain, they thought the Alhambra would be the perfect place for a military district and decided to knock down all of the Arab palaces in the process. During the process an Arab, who had only one hand, went around and disconnected as much of the dynamite as he could, so the palaces that remain are thanks to him. The French got caught up in Russia and never finished their construction. Eventually the whole place fell into disrepair until it was later refurbished and used for a music festival in the 1950s.

The place is pretty cool. It's spread out over all these hills with great views of Granada. There are lots of gardens, aqueducts, old ruins, and restored palaces. We learned a lot about the history of everything and had plenty of time to explore on our own, too. I also learned that gypsies live in caves in the mountains and are very tricky. They will offer you a sprig of rosemary and then grab your hand to read your palm. Then you need to pay, and since coins are bad luck, the least you can give them is 5 euros. We all watched a woman have this very scam happen to her. I could make a decent living doing that. . .

A bunch of us then went out to lunch at a kebab restaurant in La Plaza Nueva. I got a falafel kebab (which is falafel and salad stuffed in a pita with tasty sauces) and loved it. I'm a big fan of kebab. We went back to the hotel for a minute, turned on the TV, and saw the Disney Channel playing their Halloween marathon - I hadn't even remembered it was Halloween.

Then after that we were on our way to the Hamam (the Arab baths). This Hamam was much more of a spa than the authentic one in Morocco (although the effect was altered by their attempts at Halloween decorations which included people walking around in masks and paper pumpkins hanging on the walls). There were a bunch of pools with different temperatures, ranging from really cold to toasty hot, and you just go soak for a while. There were no Moroccan ladies surprising you by dumping buckets of boiling water on your head or scrubbing off the top layer of your skin, so this was a bit more relaxing than the authentic baths. These baths were in a dark cave-like room and there was this relaxing music playing in the background. There was also a room off to the side with candies and Moroccan tea, so the whole experience was quite nice. To top it all off, I had my first-ever official massage. It was somewhat awkward, because I didn't realize massages are generally topless, and I wore a one-piece, which complicated things a bit, but after that was settled, the massage was really great. I would highly recommend one - although I would also recommend wearing a bikini.

After the baths, Katherine and I walked back to the hotel, stopping to buy some chocolate for our candy-eating Halloween fiesta later that night. We had quite a bit of free time so we wandered around the Albaicín and did some souvenir shopping. I bought myself two Moroccan lamps (which would have been a whole lot cheaper in Morocco, but oh well), some earrings, and a pasta bowl made in Granada. I am really starting to acquire a collection of souvenir pottery. I have my pasta bowl, a pitcher from Segovia, and four bowls from Morocco. Those will be fun to transport back to the US.

We stopped to grab dinner at a tapas/bocadillos place. I got a spinach and cheese omlette bocadillo, which was pretty tasty, and a Fanta Naranja. We then had to meet up with the group so that we could walk to the flamenco show where we all had tickets. It was about a half-hour walk from the hotel through a pretty part of Granada, and almost the entire way, I told the advisor, Ana, my Julia stories. I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but she was appalled and said that I should move out. I'm still not sure what to do about this situation.

We got to the flamenco show, which was in El Centro Internacional de Estudios Gitanos (or the International Center for Gypsy Studies). They have a big auditorium (which I liked, because you can see more that way) and behind the stage are these huge windows that overlook the lit-up Alhambra on the opposite mountain. The show was awesome. There was one dancer and four musicians and they were all really impressive. It was also cool to think that they have a school for gypsy studies, (I wonder if they teach them about how coins are bad luck).

After the show, we walked back to La Plaza Nueva, where Lizzie, Katherine, and I sat down at a restaurant for dinner, although I ended up getting a gofre con chocolate (a waffle with chocolate). It was delectable. From the restaurant, we could watch everyone walk by in their Halloween costumes. Halloween is a new holiday in Spain, and the Spaniards haven't quite figured it out yet. They get dressed up in costumes, but because there isn't any tick-or-treating, they just walk around the city. I think not getting candy completely contradicts the whole point of Halloween, but who am I to judge? After a quick stop at the hotel, the three of us walked around looking for a discotheque, but the only one we found looked like it had a dress code and was expensive. So we ended up going back to the hotel and eating the chocolate we had bought earlier and watching more bad Spanish music videos. Happy Halloween!