La visita de Kelly y mi primer viaje 10:32

This has been a good week! Kelly came from Rome to visit me here in Madrid on Friday afternoon, staying until very early Sunday morning—unfortunately, the only flight back that day, so we lost almost an entire day together. Kelly met a bunch of my friends on Friday, when we went out to an amazing Japanese food buffet—on a conveyor belt, like the Lickitung mini-game from Pokémon Stadium!—, found her hotel, and then went out for drinks and tapas with my friends!

Friday night, we met Alberto and a few Spaniards he met, Laurel, Duncan, and Berber to go out. Everyone in our program loves this little place in Chueca called El Tigre, and for good reason: the drinks are relatively cheap, and they serve you a HEAPING plate of great tapas with every beer/sangría. When we tried to go on Friday, though, there there was hardly room to breathe in El Tigre. So we took a short walk down the block, and found another little bar with much better drink deals and comparable tapas with half the number of people in it. Although we were still in a touristy neighborhood, I actually liked the second bar much better than El Tigre. It felt more real; more authentically Spanish. It was pretty busy, but you didn't walk by crowds of people and hear nothing but English. It was an actual place that actual Spaniards go, not a façade of Spanish-ness designed to draw non-Spaniards in.

That's what I like here. Madrid is a pretty big city, but it's not huge. It's not New York, where every square inch of Manhattan, more or less, is a giant tourist trap. You don't have to get too far away to really experience the native culture—in our case on Friday, just about 500 meters. But a lot of the kids here don't really seem to realize this, or don't care to embrace it. El Tigre was CRAWLING with Americans that night. And the night after. And when I was on the Metro with a few SU kids on Monday, they said they were going back again. Sticking with what you know you like is OK for a while, but there's a lot more to this city than the big, touristy bars and discos, and I want to explore that "hidden" side of it more often.

Saturday, Kelly and I really explored the city, finding some spots that I hadn't even been to yet. We started off with a coffee, and then set off for some sightseeing. We went to the Ópera Metro stop and saw the exterior of the Palacio Real and the amazing gardens in front. We worked our way through some side streets and found a pretty good looking paella place—typical Spanish food, and cœliac friendly, of course. From there, we made our way to Plaza de España and the big Cervantes monument and Quijote statue, and then we walked a bit more down Calle Princesa and found the Temple of Debod, an ancient Egyptian monument moved stone-by-stone from, well, Egypt to Madrid. The surrounding park was also very nice, and there was a serious view up there, not only of most of the city but also of the surrounding mountains.

Then, Saturday night was La Noche en Blanco, a huge city-wide arts festivals where most of the main streets close to vehicular traffic and people stay out all night, casually drinking and enjoying all the free entertainment and extended museum hours. (That sentence didn't even come close to describing it.) Calle Gran Vía, one of Madrid's busiest streets, was so crowded with people that you could hardly walk; it was almost like a city-wide crowded frat party. We saw a number of marching bands, did some of the dances they had up on the big screens, and listened to a swing band that made me wish I knew how to swing dance. We followed a crowd into a museum that at first didn't seem that interesting, but actually ended up being really cool: some architect and scale models and displays of his public works projects in various cities around Europe. It was just really interesting. We had to cut the night somewhat short to make it back before mass transit closed, because Kelly had a 7:10 flight in the morning, but we had a really good time experiencing such a surreal event.

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In other news, I finally got an assignment for my "service learning" today! I am going to be volunteering at an elementary school just around the corner from my house on Calle Pradillo assisting teachers in their English lessons for a couple hours a week. I really have no idea what to expect with this. I am hoping for something better than unintentionally saying something hilariously awful to these Spanish kids and getting laughed out of the room. At best, maybe this will go very well and convince me that education is a field that I could get into, after all.

This weekend, I am taking a somewhat short-notice trip to Valencia, which is a beautiful city famous for its paella and oranges and lord knows what else. According to Pilar, it's really gorgeous—marble sidewalks, anyone?—but the paella is nothing to write home about. They do, however, have a fantastic aquarium and science museum that I am definitely planning on hitting up. It will be interesting to see how this weekend goes. I am going to try to travel on the cheap, but this will be my first go at it so I should cut myself some slack if something goes wrong, too. I will try to take as many pictures as my sorry little camera can handle, and I'll be back Monday for—gulp—first midterms.

¡Hasta luego!




Super mega-entry bonus: I made a list.


American Foods I Could Really Go For Right Now*

• Mexican food, especially guacamole or Mrs Anderson Dip
  
• I forgot to mention Taco Bell. Taco Bell.
  
• Popcorn
  
• A nice, greasy Little Cæsar's / Papa John's / Dominos / Pizza Hut pizza; especially Sit-Down Pizza Hut lunch buffet
  
• Buffalo chicken flavored ANYTHING
  
• Pancakes
  
• Wendy's
  
• Pastabilites stretch bread, especially with the SyraJuice tomato dipping oil that Sam claims I abuse but IT'S FREE
  
• A Philly cheesesteak

* - May or may not actually be "American" but are nevertheless foods that are difficult to impossible to find here in Madrid.

¡Qué vergüenza, americanos! 20:09

Usually, I don't like to make blanket statements about Americans abroad. The stereotypes are that we are ignorant, narrow-minded, and boorish. While these things can certainly be true, I think that Americans generally travel pretty well and have respect for the cultures they are experiencing. Today, however, I was legitimately embarrassed to be American for the first time since arriving in Spain.

I took a trip with about 40 other SU students to El Escorial, a huge and breathtaking palace and monastery in a quaint, eponymous town about an hour outside Madrid. We got into the monastery and it was pretty clear right from the start that security was an issue there. We had to scan our bags and go through a metal detector, and I was told to go back and put my backpack away halfway through the tour because I didn't notice their passive-aggressive "please deposit in locker" sticker they put on it during security. There were guards in every single room, and I didn't get a very friendly vibe from them or anyone else there. But whatever—security guards aren't paid to be congenial.

El Escorial is a really important historical site, housing one of the most important and impressive libraries of original texts in the world, as well as having been the home—and now the resting place—of a dozen Spanish kings and queens. There is a lot of valuable artwork and intricate gilding and carving done there. For that reason, they have a rule that you cannot take photos anywhere inside the complex. It says this plain and clear in the front of every room: a camera with a big X over it. (Not even "no flash"; no pictures.) Of course, however, as Mr McGuigan predicted so many years ago, many of my American classmates could not help themselves. They snapped away, trying to be sneaky while all the while being seen and caught by the guards. In continually taking pictures in forbidden areas, these kids drew the ire of not only the guards, but also our tour guide (a professor at our school), the considerate kids on the tour, and even other random tourists who would loudly complain about (all of) us and alert security when someone was shooting a photo.

And it really didn't get any better as the tour went on—if anything, some of the kids taking pictures only got more indignant and angry that people were trying to stop them. Granted, other guests running around and telling on them is a bit prude, but you can't blame these concerned citizens, either. They respect the rules and respect the history and expect everyone to do the same. Most of the kids in our tour—the larger group with the tour conducted in Spanish as opposed to English—spoke no Spanish, and thus they paid little to no attention, preferring to goof around or loudly talk in English. The place was VERY crowded and made me a bit claustrophobic—the added effect of a handful of obnoxious, loud Americans didn't help.

I was extremely embarrassed to be part of that group. At risk of sounding pretentious, I know that I am a good traveler. I attempt to embrace the culture of the place where I am. I speak the language here in Spain. I am quiet, courteous almost to a fault, and I respect the terms and conditions of whatever location I am entering. Thus, I hated being lumped together with the handful of kids in our group whose behavior makes everyone—every member of our group, every American, and every tourist—look bad.

In better news, as we were leaving Escorial, there was a HAIL STORM! It rained, finally! One of the professors told us that this means fall is finally here, and we can expect more comfortable weather. (Indeed, the temperatures are dropping to the mid-20's this week, and I got to wear my new jacket for the first time tonight cause it was a little breezy and chilly!) Laurel and I spent tonight grabbing a glass of cider and sangria in La Latina and making a late Metro home—it was a fun night and something I could stand to do more of. I'm very excited because Kelly's coming to Madrid from Rome this coming weekend to visit. I can't wait to show her around the city and show off my Spanish-speaking skills to her—especially because one night she's here is the main night of the Noche en Blanco, which is full of free shows, concerts, and museums!

Having a great time in Spain. I'm going to buy post cards soon, so keep an eye out...

Estoy acostumbrándome a Madrid 13:28

I'm well into my second week of classes, and so I think it's safe to say the semester is officially off and running. I figured that since it's overcast with a threat of rain for the first time since we got to Spain, I could use this momentous occasion to provide an update.

I have enjoyed Madrid a lot. I took a little jaunt around the city with a couple friends on Saturday—the photos I took are on my Picassa page, on the bar on the right-hand side of the screen. It's not one of the oldest cities in Europe, but it nevertheless has an old-school charm to it. I like it better than Barcelona, which has a modern grid pattern and seemed very rigid and industrial at points. Here, there are winding streets that cut into each other lined with old buildings rich in history. I love Plaza Mayor and I can't wait to get out and explore some of the city's other treasures soon. (Soon it will be—my art history class goes to the Prado tomorrow afternoon!)

In addition to the night life—which I enjoy but is a lot "harder" than what I'm used to—there has been some other cool stuff to do here. I play pickup soccer on Monday nights in Barrio de la Concepción with a bunch of other people, and although I sort of suck (hard to believe, right?), it's still fun to get some fresh air and run around for an hour with some friends. I've enjoyed quiet nights at home with Pilar, watching movies or chatting with her and her daughter, Cristina. I want to get into some more quiet nights out, chilling with a bottle of wine and exploring a different neighborhood each time out. Done a little of this so far and really enjoyed it.

I also have some cool trips coming up this semester. There are lots of little day trips that the school puts on that one can sign up for shortly before they take place. I'm going to the ancient monastery El Escorial this weekend (also the one-time home of Spanish King Felipe II), and on October 7th I am going on a trip to London and Dublin with my friend Alberto (and anyone else who wants to come). The week after, I'm going to Rome to visit Kelly and the Snavelys (sounds like a band name), and I'm also hoping to get to Prague and/or Vienna before the semester is up. I am really excited to get to see some different areas in Spain, and some different parts of Europe I've never experienced before! Málaga may also be on the slate. The Morocco trip is also supposed to be amazing, but I just don't know if I have the money for it. (Sadly, the money and will to do the scuba diving trip to the Canary Islands also eluded me!)

That's about it for me lately. Things are just kind of moving along at a nice pace. I am excited to start my "service learning," working with children to help them learn English... and hopefully improve my Spanish at the same time. I feel like I need to find more ways to immerse myself in the Spanish language. I can easily spend all day with my friends just speaking English... but that's not why I came here! More designated nights in and longer sobremesas with Pilar would certainly help. My classes will, too! So much Spanish reading.

Well... it didn't end up raining. But the fact that I heard thunder was still a momentous occasion. Maybe the first time my bus comes first—before any others—and I'm not 10 minutes late to school, I will update again. ¡Hasta luego!