Cold weather and lots of Fun.

It has now reached the "point of no return" as far as weather goes in Madrid. Mother Nature made up her mind finally and decided it's going to be freezing from here on out! (Well, not quite freezing...more like 40's and 50's. But it's a big deal for me!) It has been entertaining finding ways to make the most of the weather and finding different ways to wear the same few cold-weather outfits I have. I'm definitely not used to having to dress warm: in Texas, there may be a few cold days in December/January but usually I can get by because it always warms up after a few days! As the temperature has been slowly dropping, I've passed the time cuddled in my bed reading, skipping instead of walking to class (gets the blood pumping!), stopping for cafés con leche, assimilating to Madrid fashion and wearing shorts with tights (It can actually look pretty cute and it stretches my wardrobe a bit!), and attempting to run at Retiro Park (getting a minor cold as a result; oh well).

My favorite part: the leaves are changing colors!!!!! I'm so excited! Once they change a little more, I'm planning on going out and taking a million pictures. This is a big deal for me since the leaves barely turn in Texas. 

Yesterday, Erika and I went shopping and attempted to go to a library/cafe place recommended by a friend (It was closed, but I'm definitely going back this week so I'll talk about it later). We were able to do some shopping in the Gran Via/Chueca part of town where I had never been before. I didn't buy very much but it was pretty great anyway. There were literally two H&M's on the same street! We also found the fanciest McDonalds EVER. It was extremely nice on the inside and even had a "cafe" section with little cakes and macaroons. 

Another way to avoid the cold: go to a Fun. concert!!! Last Sunday night I went with a few friends to see a concert by "Fun." which, for those who don't know, is an amazing American band that plays indie/pop music. It was surprising how big their fan base is here in Madrid: the concert was sold out and there was barely any room to stand and watch. I had a blast! They actually sound better live than on a CD, which was pretty awesome to me. I tried to take some pictures but I was towards the back so they didn't come out very clear. Here they are anyway: 

Also, in case you didn't catch it, I made a big effort not to use the word "fun" to describe anything in this post! (It may or may not have involved searching synonyms for "fun" on an online thesaurus...) My friends and I realized as we were standing in line for the Fun. concert that it's actually harder to avoid that word than you would think!

One more thing: for some reason, we turned our clocks back today in Madrid (a week before everyone in the U.S. if my research is correct). I'm not sure why we are a week ahead of you guys! Anyway, for the next week it looks like I'll be only 6 hours ahead instead of 7!

Until next time! Ciao!!!

El Escorial

Yesterday, I went with my friends Jenna and Bethany to El Escorial, which is an estate about 45 minutes out of Madrid. I don't really know how to describe it: it has a library, palace, monastery AND basilica inside (it was all one building)! It also has some very pretty gardens. It was very cool to walk where King Philip II used to walk with his children and "admire the view" in one of the rooms, to see the actual room and bed where he died and to enjoy the amazing library with some very old and very important books! (Including one by St. Augustine!) There were also a lot of tombs where past Spanish royals were buried. It was quite an experience!

Also, I'm happy because I just checked my grades and found out that I got an A on each of my midterms in my Spanish classes! It is definitely nice to see how much faster I'm improving being here in Spain. 

Happy weekend!!!

Found a church at last!

It has been a crazy week so far due to the fact that I had three midterms in the past two days! Normally when I'm at Baylor, midterms aren't a big deal (just like another test) because we have several tests throughout the semester. Coming here, however, almost all of my classes are organized so that our only grades for the entire semester are our midterm and our final! So aaahhhhh!
Anyway, now that I've finished the last one for the week I can talk about the fact that I've finally found a church in Madrid! On Sunday, I went with my friend Bethany to a church she had found the week before called Amistad Cristiana Evangélica. It was such a comfort to go to a church that already feels comfortable, with people who act like a family and with honest worship! Again, most of the worship music was music we sing at my home church, just in Spanish. (There were a couple Phil Wickham songs in there and even "How He loves"! It was great!)
Needless to say that was a huge blessing, and I realized how important it is to have a home church wherever you are: I think it is necessary to have that "recharge" time every week and to plug back into community. I'm so thankful!

Al teatro!

I may have mentioned this before but I am taking a class called Modern Trends in 20th century Hispanic Drama. We have read three plays in class so far, and last night was our class trip to the theatre! I have to say it was a pretty interesting experience! 

We saw two short plays: El amor brujo and La vida breve. The best part: music for both by Manuel de Falla! 

It was definitely interesting seeing a play completely in Spanish, and I really enjoyed part of the second play that included an extensive flamenco dance/music scene complete with castanets. I also loved the music--it made me realize how much I miss playing in Baylor's orchestra three times a week! (When I got home, I booked a ticket for a symphony concert in a few weeks!) 

Here are some pictures--sorry they're a little blurry! 

                                    (sorry for the terrible quality but I really liked the ceiling!)

This is to show that the stage was slanted! 

3 días en San Sebastián

Buenos días a todos! I just arrived back in Madrid this morning from an amazing weekend trip to San Sebastián with my friends Erika and Jenna. It was by far the most relaxing travel experience I have had so far! A beautiful beach surrounded by gorgeous mountains and a town known for its gourmet food? Traveling doesn't get much better than that. It was definitely the refreshing weekend I needed!

First a little info: San Sebastián (also known as Donostia) is on the Northeastern coast of Spain--about a 30 minute train ride from France. It is in the Basque Country, so everything, from the street signs to the restaurant menus, is written in both castellano (Spanish) and vasco (the Basque language). It also has a really cool culture! 

On Friday morning, we left Madrid and took a 6 hour bus to San Sebastián. When we arrived, we found our bed and breakfast, called Hospedaje Donostia, unloaded our things, and listened to one of the owners, Amalia, explain everything about the town. Then we decided to do a little exploring! We walked along the beach, took some pictures, and walked around the old part of town. Then we went out for pinchos for dinner! Pinchos are like tapas; there are probably dozens of pincho "bars" in the town, and the idea is to hop into one, try a couple, stay about 10-15 minutes and then go on to the next. They're hard to describe so I'll just show you some pictures:

Then we went back to the Bed & Breakfast and I had the best night of sleep I've had in a month. When we woke up the next morning, Amalia had made us scrambled eggs--they were to die for. I am usually not an egg person but I devoured them! With a cup of coffee and a couple slices of toast, I was good to go for the morning of hiking we had planned. We hiked up one mountain (well, more like a tall hill) to get to the top where there is a statue of Christ that was erected by Franco to be modeled after the one in Brazil. The building underneath the statue is a museum about San Sebastian's history, so we walked through that and then admired the amazing view from the balcony.

After that, we hiked back down and went to the aquarium--which was interesting because the main tank is actually a part of the ocean! Then we went to the main family beach called La Concha, and spent a slightly chilly afternoon there, ate sandwiches and did some homework. For the rest of the day, we did some shopping and had a fancy Basque dinner at a restaurant called Juanito Kojua--my meal totaled about 40 euro, but it was definitely worth it: my rice with clams was delicious, and the veal was amazing as well. (We made up for the expense by buying groceries the first day and eating sandwiches and fruit for lunch each day.)

On Sunday, we checked out of the B&B and decided to scale the other "mountain" by ways of a funicular: an old-fashioned train that felt almost like an old rickety amusement park ride. The view was amazing from the top of that mountain as well, so we went to a cafe at the top and spent some time reading and enjoying the cool weather. Then we spent the rest of the day at the beach. There was definitely a bit of a culture shock at one point: even though it was a family beach and not designated topless, more than a few older women around us decided it was totally okay to take off their tops while we were there. Just slightly awkward!

For dinner, we had pinchos again and were able to watch part of the Barcelona-Madrid game on TV at the restaurant. It was pretty fun to see the crowds in all the bars and restaurants and hear the cheering!

That pretty much concludes my weekend--it was definitely relaxing and refreshing just being around the beautiful water and mountain scenery.

Besos! Ciao!

Un mes!

I have officially been here in Madrid for a month! This past month, I have gotten to know a little bit of Madrid, traveled to five other cities in Spain, eaten paella and loved it, read two novels and 1 1/2 plays in Spanish, visited the Prado three times, and gotten homesick more times than I can count. It has definitely been an interesting month!

This past weekend was pretty interesting as well! On Saturday morning, I finally found the elusive Corte Inglés and did some much-needed fall shopping! (And also found rosin for my violin!! I was very happy about that!) The weather changed drastically a week ago--from about 85 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. I realized the hard way that I had only packed two pairs of long pants and one long-sleeved shirt--definitely not enough! I stepped into some awesome, thrifty and cute shops: Promod, H&M, and lefties, and bought a few things to keep me alive in this weather. Have I mentioned that I LOVE the shopping here? But there is too much to say about that... I'll leave it for another blog entry!

Anyway, later that day Tara and I went to the Prado because she hadn't seen it yet. We spent a solid hour and a half there, and then sat and talked for a little while outside of the building. As we were talking, we noticed a crowd forming in the street right by the museum--a protest! Our university has sent us several emails telling us to stay away from large crowds (because the protests turn into riots and someone always gets hurt). So we weren't really sure what to do--our way back to the Metro crossed that very street. We decided to wait it out, but the crowd kept getting bigger and the people were shouting, so we eventually left and took a roundabout way back to the Metro. As we were walking, we noticed another crowd of shouting people heading towards the first one! Sorry to say we missed out on that piece of news--but I'm glad I'm home safe and sound!

Then, Sunday morning I decided to be adventurous and try out a church by myself. I found an Evangelical Baptist church and went to their service. It was a little different from the church I attended in Granada--the pastor was significantly harder to understand, and I didn't like the music as much. There was one notable exception though: Sublime Gracia (Amazing Grace)! I enjoyed singing those lyrics in Spanish.

That's all for now! Adios! :)

A Rainy Day

Today I experienced my first rainy day in Madrid. Normally, I love the rain! Just not when it ruins my plans. My friend Tara and I had decided to do some sightseeing around Madrid this morning and see some of the famous spots like Plaza Mayor, Templo de Dubod, El Palacio Real, etc. But when we stepped off the metro and were already soaking wet, it didn't look like that was going to happen. We trekked around Sol (basically the center of everything in Madrid) for about an hour and a half, and were able to see the Plaza Mayor at least. After that we decided to admit defeat and went home. I know this isn't very exciting or inspiring, but that wasn't the point of this post: the point is to talk about what I did for the rest of the day! (Stayed home!)

Something I've been thinking about lately/struggling with is what to focus on during these months in Madrid. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting to do with my time before I came. Traveling, maybe... studying, yes... speaking Spanish, sí? I don't think I really planned what I would do with my time. I got the same advice from pretty much everyone before I left: "Make the most out of your time in Europe!" "Don't waste a second!" "See EVERYTHING!" "Live it up in España!" But I've hit a point where I have to ask myself how much of that advice I really need to follow. Is it worth spending all my money and time seeing everything, experiencing every aspect of Spanish culture? There's a very fine line between enjoying the culture and overly immersing myself in it.

This week someone held me accountable to this by asking me why I was planning a whole bunch of weekend trips away from Madrid. He reminded me that my initial goal for Spain was to perfect my Spanish! Somewhere along the way I had picked up the idea that I needed to explore the culture, experience everything, travel everywhere...essentially, turn a 4 month "STUDY abroad" experience into a "travel abroad" holiday.

It made me realize something. Just because I'm in Spain does not mean I have to turn into a typical Spaniard! (Or a typical American tourist for that matter!) There are some things about Spanish culture that I LOVE. But there are also some things that I don't love, like the dominance of the party scene, alcohol everywhere, and the more loose/liberal social relationships. Since I'm here, does it mean I have to immerse myself in that part of the culture too? Also, I barely ever travel when I'm in the US, so does it mean that I need to become a tourist now that I'm in Spain?

The beauty of my semester in Madrid is that I have time to make connections with my neighborhood, to frequent a cafe, get to know the waitresses, really practice my Spanish and make a mark. Even more importantly--I need to continue my life! I'm the same person that left the US, I like the same things, and I don't need to become a new person just because I'm in a different country. So that's why today, I stayed at the apartment, worked on homework, watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Skyped with my boyfriend. :) Good day overall!

I'm sorry for making you suffer through this rant; I just felt like I needed to put it out there!

Finally, because I promised my sister Katie:

This was the castle (called the Alcázar) that I saw on my trip to Segovia two weekends ago! It was beautiful!

Ciao! I miss you all! :)