Dia 2 en Madrid

Hola!!! Finally after 14 long hours of sitting on the plane and waiting between my flights, I arrived safe and sound in Madrid yesterday afternoon. My host mother, María, was kind enough to come to the airport herself to escort me back home, so I found her waiting at the gate with a sign with my name on it. It was a wonderful welcome--she greeted me with a huge smile, a hug and the customary kiss on both cheeks. Then before I knew it she was talking to me in hurried Spanish and we were walking at lightning speed to the Metro: she wanted to show me how to ride it. I haven't ridden it since then so I'm not sure if I really know how to use it, but it seems pretty straightforward; you just have to walk to the nearest station, follow the steps underground and pay for your ride or 10-ride pass at an ATM-like machine and then hop on the Metro to your destination (from what I could absorb in that jetlag-influenced, sleep-deprived blur). When we made it onto the bus María began to talk about concerts and classical music and her church, and before I knew what I was saying I think I agreed to play my violin at a mass at her church one Sunday... eep! So that will be interesting.

When we arrived at the apartment, most of my stress disappeared at once. It is pretty small, with three bedrooms slightly smaller than the size of a dorm, 2 bathrooms, a tiny kitchen, and a small living room/dining area. It is very quiet and very comfortable: María's level of cleanliness is about the same as mine, if not a little more disorganized. She has a lot of trinkets and papers and things on her walls and on the shelves of her house. In my room she put several poems and prayers on the wall and on my bedside table, as well as an angel figurine. She seems to be a pretty devout Catholic, which is a bit comforting, considering that the rest of Madrid tends to lean pretty heavily liberal and doesn't put very much focus on faith.

                     (Above: a picture of my bedroom, slightly messy because I was still unpacking)
After I took a nap and emailed my parents and Luis, María and I took a walk to my university so I could see how to get there. I thought I would be taking the Metro to class every day, but as it turns out, the walk is not bad at all--about 20-25 minutes, but it's a pretty easy route, the weather is nice and everyone in Madrid walks everywhere so I'm in good company. Then we came back home and ate dinner: chicken soup, grilled chicken, salad and fruit. I didn't have much appetite from the trip so I wasn't able to finish it, but it was delicious. Then I went to bed fairly early so I could catch up on sleep and prepare for today: Orientation at Saint Louis University!

This morning I woke up at 7:30, ate a quick breakfast of toast with peanut butter and fruit, and walked down to the university to meet my orientation group at 8:30. We took a bus to Guadarrama, a pueblo about 40 minutes from central Madrid in the mountains. There, we met at a retreat center and listened to all of the orientation speeches, separated into our groups and played cheesy "get to know you" games, ate lunch and were set free to play sports or walk around and talk. I met up with 3 other girls from Baylor and we hung out together for the most part. I did mingle a bit with the other students, but it was hard to connect with a lot of them since most of them have a very different focus for their stay in Madrid.
Which brings me to another thing: I didn't realize how much people drink! Or like to drink, or think about drinking, etc, etc. The most common conversation topic I heard today was about how someone wanted to get drunk, or where is the cheapest beer?, or what kinds of drinks do they recommend, blah blah blah. I guess Baylor has spoiled me from that side of culture so it was very surprising. Needless to say I am thankful that I have a few acquaintances from Baylor who have the same goals and wishes as me for these four months.

Anyway, the mountains are gorgeous. One of my friends and I are talking about getting together with some people to come back and go hiking. Here are a couple pictures:

Well, I'm sure I left out a lot but I'm exhausted at the moment so I will leave it at that. Hasta mañana!!