I Love Dance

I had a day to myself on the Saturday before Phil arrived so I decided to see the local ballet company called the Victor Ullate Ballet Comapany, they had a showing of all choreography created by their director.  The 6 pieces were based upon classic ballet fundamentals but had modern movement and interpretation.  It was truly fantastic! What was also very unique and consistent was the type of dances that have been chosen to represent this company.  All of the dancers, male and female, were very strong and defined, not grossly muscular but very prominent definition.  The females were not soft and dainty as some ballet dancers, and the males were some of the tallest ballet dancers I have ever seen (one had to be at least Phil’s height).  Despite this different variety, each was incredibly talented and beautiful; even though they were strong and carried such a presence the movement was complimentary and showed off the body as a piece of art itself.  Once piece in particular that was simply amazing was in the final where the dancers ended up in leotards and body suits in a nude color.  The lighting was not too bright so it seemed that the dancers were nude but without the exposure of body parts.  As I mentioned, each dancer was fairly defined, and the choice of a nude bodysuit amplified the creativity of the movement and the celebration of the human body.  Mixing point and classic ballet variations to modern jerky movement it was truly a blend of the classic and new to bring forth the vision of the director.  If you are interested in his work, look him up online, I haven’t had the chance yet but if I find a link I will post it.

Some friends and I decided to see another flamenco show, this time with a  dinner included…well so we thought.  There are many dinner/show places in Madrid, and the Casa de las Patas was recommended by my Spanish teacher.  A friend called ahead to make sure it was a package and she was reassured it was.  When we arrived to the restaurant we were seated right next to the stage and the our eyes were level with the stage (thus looking up a little to the dancers).  However, when we looked at the menu dinner was not included with the show and the show was already $25.  We were a little nervous because the menu was ridiculously expensive…Phil and I shared a half a bottle of wine and a small appetizer.  Despite the attack on our wallet I would have paid 100 more euro for the dancing we saw.  Two guitarists, four flamenco singers (including one female) and nine dancers graced the stage with a passion and talent that was hard to internalize.  Three of the female dancers were I older and experienced and another was a younger girl of apprentice level, however all of them despite “putting on a show” truly exuded the flair and passion that is typical of a flamenco dancer.  It reminds me of Zembekiko of the Greek culture where it is used as a means of expression for feelings and emotions…these women had the same.  There were some songs that were sad and the angst within their faces was as if their heart was just broken…you couldn’t help but cry too.  What was fantastic was that each dancer was different from the other in style and skill level…one woman was great at fast turns while stomping her feet, the younger girl was very expressive and stunning, the other could do amazing sequences minutes at a time without breaking a sweat…and the last woman to dance…words cannot describe.  She was androgynous looking because of her very strong features, but she was very beautiful at the same time.  She played on this look of hers and danced a finale in a male costume, which was similar to a matador.  Her entire body was solid and she commanded attention…you could not peel your eyes away from her.  Anyway, her sequence of movement, steps, stomps and variation lasted at least 15 min…the sweat was pouring down her face but she was still so beautiful.  I took so much video of her so I will post that too.  Anyway, the show lasted over two hours and by the time we left my ears were ringing and my heart was pounding from the intensity of it all…I felt like I had been dancing for two hours!  Oh and worth mentioning, the same dancers put on the same show 15 min later for another group of guests and another 2 hours.  After that show I was thoroughly convinced I need to start learning Flamenco.       

SPANISH CUSTOMS AND QUIRKS

I decided to try to keep track of the differences I’ve noticed in between the Spanish culture and others I have seen, here are some so far:

1 - Obvious – Obsession with Pork.  Every store that has food has Jamon Serrano, Jamon York and Iberico, two of which are the cured and dried version.  Now I have always been a sucker for prosciutto at home, but this is overkill.  I mean I love ham and cheese sandwiches but this has been my lunch now for over a month!  It’s the only thing you can get on the go without having McDonalds or Burger King.  Ok so this is the typical lunch on the go: there are bocadillos which are baguettes of bread with just ham (all kinds), just cheese, ham and cheese or tortilla (which is a omelet with just egg and potatoes).  Then there is sandwich mixto which is square sliced bread (called Pan Molde here, which my roommate and I thought meant bread with mold at first) with ham and cheese melted.  This is my favorite; I could eat like 3 of them to really be full.  Finally, there are the baguettes which are mini baguettes with any of the above mentioned fillers. 

2 - The cafeteria at school has these sandwiches as well as Amstel on tap and other beer and wine selections.  This is something unusual but fantastic!

3 - Spaniards are obsessed with donuts.  Dunkin Donuts are everywhere and another brand they sell in stores called Donuts that when you go to the store, people have about 10 of these packages in their carts.  I mean its intense.  I have not succumbed to the donut obsession…I prefer their homemade sweets like chocolate croissants.

4 – Spaniards are embarrassing beer drinkers.  Ok Im not sure if it’s a Reno thing, but I know I love beer and so do all the people I know back home.  Spaniards don’t have any world famous beers, their selection is Estrella, Mahou and Cruzcampo.  I think the latter is the most known…however Spaniards add lemon fanta to their beer…oh my gosh are you kidding me?! Call me crazy but just drink some juice with soda water!  You should see the looks I get when I have a beer without juice, bigger than half a pint and its like unbelievable when I have a Guiness (which by the way is not that tasty here).

5 – Spaniards and Europeans in general have to be matching.  If you have a pink shirt on, you most definitely have a pink bag, belt or shoes to match.  I know that matching is better than not in some sort of color scheme…haha I don’t know.

6 - A new fashion fad here in Spain...genie pants.  Almost every girl wears these pants, that are cotton with a fit loose around the bum and the crotch seem can either be at the knee or lower...basically it looks like you have junk in your pants.  Not to mention they fit at the ankle tightly like old 80s jeans...sometimes its cute, but most of the time its uh weird.

7 - I would say 90% of the teenagers in Madrid have facial piercings, and one in particular that is a small white ball that is under the lip or right above like a Monroe.  However, they are very small and so at glance it appears that all these kids have huge whiteheads on their face...sorry for the graphic wording but it cracks me up! 

8 - Phil has noticed this...most of the people in the stores HATE breaking a 50 euro bill, either they can't count or are too lazy but every time phil offers one they scowl and huff and puff and ask for something smaller.  

9 - Grandparents are a big part of the lives of their grandchildren.  Only on the weekends do you really see parent with their children, rather during the week most grandparents are out with their grandchildren.  Newborns to young teens there is a strong affection and relationship between the children and their elders…also there is a general respect towards elders that we don’t see very much in the states, from all ages.

Almost Done

My last two weeks in Madrid were a whirlwind, a movie literally on fast forward at like x34 speed and I was doing my best to keep up.  I had a midterm in every class that was either a test or project or both combined.  So all my work and studying kept me from venturing out too late or causing a ruckus in the streets of Madrid.  I did however finally make it to the Prado museum (which is free every night from 6-8) with Sonya and we spent three evenings wandering around and drooling over the incredible skill of the artists within.

The Prado has quite an extensive collection of the 13^th-17^th century paintings from Flemish, Italian, Spanish, German, and English styles.  I never thought I would be able to determine the differences between each, but once you look at enough within a short period of time and all together in the same area the differences are clear.  It is first important to note that all painters of this time were interested in depicting the life of Christ.  Whether it was the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, the Birth or the passion, I would guess every single painter had completed some work that was religiously inspired.  To me its beautiful not only because of my Christian background but because depicting something you have never seen before is the hardest and it is a true creation of the imagination of that painter.  Also, when you have 100 paintings of the Crucifixion it gives the opportunity to begin to interpret what the artist was thinking and what techniques he used.

The Flemish style of painting is very unique, because for me, it is the farthest from reality.  Typically almond shaped faces with very full cheeks and tiny facial attributes seem like the comics of the time.  Not to say they look ridiculous, just very different, and the second attribute is that they are very angelic like.  The subjects in the paintings are all very pale and angelic whereas those attributes are typically saved for angels or other supernatural elements in other styles.  Despite the different take on reality, I did enjoy Flemish painting, especially one in particular called “The Garden of Earthly Delights”.  This was painted on a three-fold panel of wood and depicts the earthly temptations that man comes in contact with.  There are literally hundreds of figures in this painting and creatures that I find absolutely amazing and creative.  You must look it up online.

This week I also experienced when public transportation fails you are basically screwed.  Sonya and I take three trains every morning to get to school, and the second train, line 6 is a joke.  Well they are doing construction on it but basically it runs when it wants to and is never on time.  So this particular morning we get to line 6, wait for 20 min then someone comes on over the loud speaker.  All of a sudden the masses are making a frantic run for the door and out of the metro.  Sonya and I are dumbstruck and have no idea what is going on because I could not understand what the heck the lady was saying.  So I ask a nice lady next to me and she says the train is not coming for another 30 min…well that sucks because our class starts in 30 min.  Luckily we were able to call USAC offices and they laughed that it wasn’t a big deal and they would tell our teacher.  What is hysterical is that there are only 4 girls in my class, one was out that day for a hurt ankle so it was the one girl with our teacher for 45 min till Sonya and I strolled in.

Speaking of my teacher, he showed us a Spanish film called “All About My Mother” which was part of Sundance Film Festival, I think, but at any rate was really good…I suggest it to everyone who likes crazy stories especially ones that include transgender and dry humor.  It was a fantastic story, but to be quite honest I was quite uncomfortable watching it with my teacher…well he is young so I guess it wasn’t a big deal, but there were many sexual references and heres the kicker…he kept translating some of these words and references into English!  Hahah oh man, this teacher is so funny, first of all because every time he says something in English his voice drops as if he’s afraid to speak English, and then he saying these words it was like the funniest thing I have ever seen.  Anyway, good movie nonetheless…

I took some friends of mine here to a Greek restaurant that I found a review for from the New York Times, called Delfos.  Oh man it was soooooo good.  To start we had hummus, feta, aubergine paste, roe paste, and three more with warm pita bread and dolmades.  Then we split some chicken souvlaki and the grand finale was a huge plate completely covered of sweets.  Baklava, galactobureko, rum cake, yogurht with honey and a few others.  There was enough for each of us to have at least 4 pieices, it was amazing.  Needless too say, my friends are hooked and want to come to Reno for the Greek festival.  The waiter there also spoke Greek and it was fun to switch between Greek, Spanish and English depending on what words I knew the best.  Which I have a new appreciation for people who are fluent in more than one language because I have had Spanish in my brain 24/7 for the past 3 weeks and it was sooo hard to remember the Greek words.  I believe the point of fluency  comes from being able to switch between languages without difficulty and without forgetting the words.  Some day ill get there!

more to come!

El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen

Yesterday was our second guided field trip and it was to a city an hour north of Madrid called El Escorial.  What's there?  There is a royal palace/monastery in El Escorial commissioned by King Philip II after his reign as king.  Apparently King Philip II was very pious and built the Church dedicated to St. Lawrence for his father Emperor Charles V and for himself to live in.  The entire building is said to be about 160km or 100 miles of corridors, rooms, gardens, etc.

The guided tour was nice we only get to see about a fraction of the entire grounds but we did get to see the Kings private rooms, the rooms of his daughters, some of the gardens and the amazing burial vault and library.  The entire palace is just basic stone, tapestries and paintings...Philip had loved to collect paintings and art.  When you get down to the burial vault underground, it is gold, marble of all shades and basically magnificence.  There are room after room of marble tombs with elaborate carvings and amazing detail.  Also in the hallways to the monestary, there are like 30 ft high frescos painted by an Italian artist of the life of Christ.  Again...no pictures inside but I did get some of the outside.

The Valley of the Fallen is actually kind of a controversial issue for Spaniards.  Francisco Franco was the one who commissioned the building of this monument, and it was for the soldiers that died in the Spanish Civil war, of both sides from the right and left.  However, most Spaniards think that only soldiers of one side were buried there and wont even go to pay respect if they were in opposition to that side.  Its hard to explain when I cant remember the names of the parties.  Anyway, Franco is buried there along with Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera who is another important figure in the history of the Civil War.  What is amazing about this temple is that there is a cross 125 m high that sits on top of the rock, while inside they carved 300 ft deep for a basilica with an altar, (mass is held their daily) crucifix and a dome that contains a 6 million piece mosaic.  The basilica was just amazing, and within the crypt that is sealed lie 70,000 soldiers.   Behind the basilica on the other side of the rock is a monastery for benedictine monks that care for the whole place.  

This morning Sonya and I went to El Rastro which is supposedly the biggest flea market in Europe.  It was a lot of fun and I bought classic Spanish fans, castanedas and some other goodies.

I have posted more pictures...including last week's visit to Toledo.

This weekend I have soooooooo much homework and midterms this coming week.  Phil is coming on Sunday so that is something to look forward to!

And it is freaking hot here.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043474&id=23801844&l=dd82de6ba6

Gracias Cucarachas

Hooray!!! We have moved into our new apartment today, which is quite a little place.  So far it appears there are no traces of bugs (knock on wood) and it is very clean.  The rooms are small but we have a little 3 ft terrace outside of our little living room overlooking the main road, and a nice little kitchen.  My bed feels like a bean bag so we will see how I sleep tonight! PLUS the best part...we have free internet which is unbelievable!  If you want to set up a time to Skype let me know!!!!  Thank you to the cucarachas for kicking us out of the old apartment!

Today marks 2 weeks here in Madrid and halfway through my classes.  Im sad how fast it is going, and can't believe how much material we have already covered.  Tomorrow we are going to El Escorial and visiting the Valley of the Fallen...I will give the history lesson afterwards.

The weather is hot again and Im missing the rainy weather...however we might visit the pool this afternoon for some sun.

I will post more pictures and videos now that I have the internet at my disposal...can't wait!

OH PS If you would like me to send you a postcard please email me your address...I have quite a few but there are some that I forgot to write down before I left, don't be shy I love to send them!

Besos.

Happy

It's been a hard but good week at school...some days are just really tough in language class.  My vocabulary needs serious work but I seem to do well with grammar and verbs.  Next week is midterms already and holy buckets I have to study.

Tomorrow is a big festival day for Madrid and other cities...in which I still have yet to know exactly why, but I do know I don't have school tomorrow and no one works, except for restaurants etc... This weekend I may go to Granada and see the Alhambra, Katherine Lundgred has offered for me to come stay with her, so we shall see.

Oh a happier note, we are moving into a new apartment on Friday, one that is hopefully free of cockroaches.  I will update on how it is.

Today my Spanish teacher said she taught in Reno for a semester in 2001 and didn't necessarily like Reno, but she did remember the best pizza she has ever had at Pub and Sub...when she said that I flipped and was delighted to hear about a bit of home.

Last night I saw the flamenco/ballet performance of Carmen....and pretty much left speechless and breathless.  I have never seem Flamenco before and I have fallen in love...I want to be a Flamenco dancer.  It sounds so cliche but the passion and the emotion exerted is unlike anything I have ever seen, not to mention the physical fitness.  Everyone needs to look up Flamenco on YouTube and see it.  So pretty much I think I am going to go see it again.  Not to mention the comfortable feeling I felt being in the theatre...it just made me so happy.

Thats all for today, tonight I am meeting my intercambio Beatriz who lives here.  We are meeting at Starbucks, which who by the way charges 4 euros for a tall frapachino.  

Take care!

When a Foreign Language Turns on You

In Spain, Spaniards refer to jokes or jokes that are longer stories, as chistes.  For my conversation class we were supposed to find some to repeat in class.  I looked online for mine and found one that was cute about a parrot and another that I thought was funny...being what I thought it meant.  So I told it in class and got a shocked look from my teacher...I mean she chuckled but definitely looked at me weird.  So I told her I thought it meant something to do with the heart being stomped on, and lo and behold it was some kind of reference to sex that I was completely oblivious to.  Not to mention, from what I gathered it was pretty explicit...and she mentioned that it was something that Spaniard boys tell one another.  Im pretty sure it was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, especially as I got a weird look from a classmate, but thank God my teacher is really nice and laid back and said "No te preocupes" "Don't worry about it" when I repeatedly said how sorry I was.

After I went and told one of the USAC directors and she laughed so hard and gave me some new phrases I should use carefully:

Me embarazado, one would think it means Im embarrassed but it really means I am pregnant.

Me constipado, we would think I am constipated, but it really means I have sinus congestion.

Ahh the joys of learning a foreign language!!!

Tomorrow, I get to meet Beatriz, who is an intercambio through the USAC program.  USAC sets up the American students with Spaniards so we can practice Spanish and English.  I am looking forward to meeting her as I talked to her on Skype before I had left the country.

Tonight is the ballet! I am sooooo excited!

Besos

Holy Toledo!

On saturday, USAC took us on a tour of Toledo, which is one hour outside of Madrid. The story of Toledo is impressive because after Romans and other Christians conquered the area, Jewish and Muslims also laid claim to the city. Ever since, Christians, Jews and Muslims have been living in tigh proximity of one another and have managed to maintain their identity and some sort of peace within. I was absolutely shocked to hear of this, because as we know, Jewish and Muslims have one of the most prevelent conflicts in our world today. What is amazing about Toledo, is that it is basically a hodge-podge of each religion. Of all the many churches, especially the main cathedral you can see elements of each religion as well as gothic, rennaisance and modern architecture. The main cathedral is absolutely stunning (will post pictures) and is considered the main cathedral of all Spain, beacuase at one point it was the religious capital of Spain. Inside the cathedral there are old artifacts including a gold leafed Bible for one of the kings and a crown that Queen Isabella wore...Im pretty sure it was her. The Cathedral took 400 years to make so that explains the different styles of architecture and also why there are pagan carvings within (workers were sometimes unsupervised and put whatever they want). Also, the head cardinal of Spain lives right next to this Cathedral. Unfortunately, for all historical sites in Madrid, there are no pictures allowed, so all memories must be stored in my brain for review. T

Toledo is also known for its Mazapan (Marzapan) and sword making. The little city sits on a hill and consists of narrow cobblestone streets that are so authentic and historic looking you really feel like you were in the Middle Ages. I kept picturing vendors with their pushcarts and the people of the city bustling about. It was a truly beautiful and magical place that I would love to visit again, for more than a day.

Other than that, school has been intense to say the least, and the weather is pretty unusual. Its blustery and always looks like its going to rain but hasnt. Its quite the tease when we are trying to hang our laundry outside and are constantly paranoid that it will rain on our cloths.

The cockroach situation had seemed to be better, but last night we had a brigade attacking us from the toaster. Thank God we had a friend over who witnessed our situation so we are in fact not crazy and over-reacting. At this point I am convinced that the spray we were told to use is ok for killing those that we see but in fact is not penetrating the walls in which they are living. I am also sick of my apartment smelling like the spray and am pretty sure we have lost brain cells. We are going to talk to our housing coordinator again this week to see what the next step is.

I did find real milk since my last post so that was quite the relief...I am however still dissapointed in Spanish food. I love spice and flavor and Spanish food is kind of bland. Maybe beacuse my budget allows for only not very expensive restaurants but I also have not been living off bread and cheese. I have however, found great spanish wine by the bottle at our local supermarket for 2-3 euros each...quite the deal.

Tonight we may go to the museum and tomorrow see a ballet inspired by Flamenco. I think we are going to try a good tapas bar tonight and hopefully my dissapointment will be relieved, because the best meal ive had so far was at an Indian restaurant. wah wah...

Ok well I should probably get off the computer, as other spanish students are eyeing me down.

Love, Hugs and Kisses to all

Anna Maria

ps i have some pictures posted
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043474&id=23801844&l=dd82de6ba6
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043459&id=23801844&l=e2fe0f99d7

La Cucarachas and the Quest for Real Milk

Today was my second day of school at the University Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid.  I am taking Spanish Composition, Spanish Conversation and a Women's Study class.  All my teachers are great and very helpful, especially the Spanish teachers who have to put up with our lack of speaking skills.

The biggest news is that we have cockroaches in our apartment that have seemed to get bigger since the first day we saw them and have been procreating.  I kid you not I saw a mom with her baby.  I wasn't too bothered at first, I mean we are keeping our food in safe places, but it wasn't until I woke up one morning to use the restroom and I saw a few crawling on the wall where my bed is, that I lost it.  My roommates and I have made complaints to our landlord and housing coordinator at the University and they are in the process of cleaning and disinfecting.  I looked up characteristics of cockroaches online, and one site said they could enjoy nibbling on ears, once I read that my roommate had enough and ever since is worried about her ears.  

Its nice to have a schedule now that we started school.  We leave for the metro around 7:30 am, change twice and arrive at the university around 8:30.  Class starts at 9 until 12:30 and again a 1:50-3:30.  I am going to have a significant amount of homework every night but I will be completing 7 credits in a month that will be most helpful for graduating in December.

Over the weekend we had a great time, and literally walked for about 10 hours each day.  We saw so much in two days and have barely scratched the surface.  I have fallen in LOVE with Plaza Mayor (a huge plaza in central Madrid with cafes, vendors and beautiful architecture) and Retiro park which is like the central park of Madrid.  Im looking forward to spending time in each to do homework and read.  The spaniards have been very nice (except for one waiter) and most of the students are helpful...they can pick out us Americans from a mile away.  

I am the oldest of the group of students I am with so its a little disconnecting. Im pretty sure most of them think Im weird because I haven't talked that much.  But most of the time I am just absorbing everything that is happening around me that I get lost everything.  Besides, its hard for me to explain why Im here in Madrid, I think its very personal, only because Im here for me...and not to party or meet Spaniards.  Im not even worried about not having all day long to sight see, its nice to have a schedule and just do my own thing.  Anyway, I have made some nice friends so far, and my roommates are good fun so everything is good.

My Spanish is getting better and better everyday, and words keep coming back to me.  Although, I tend to sometimes mix the Greek words I know with the Spanish I am trying to say...for example...I wanted some juice and I said jimon instead of zumo and almost ordered coffee with turkey instead of coffee with ice.  For the most part, I think I have been pretty understandable and able to communicate.

So food wise, I have tried so far a lot of great cured ham, and tried paella that I was disappointed with.  My diet has consisted of a lot of ham and cheese in all sorts of forms (thank god for the great cheese) and delicious ice cream that reminds me of Greece.  We have not stopped for real tapas yet but we plan on doing it this week.  And my quest for real milk is because most stores here don't have refrigerated milk...its usually in a box sitting on a shelf.  I need milk for my cereal so I am going to the equivalent of the spanish walmart today to find some...we'll see how that goes.

The metro is super easy and typically safe, pickpockets are a little easy to spot and as we have learned they are not super threatening and just want some cash.  I have the benefit of blending in here better than my on the whiter side friends here, so its nice to feel like Im not sticking out.  Spaniards seem to be simple people, much like the Greeks, with a love for food and good conversation.  Plus they are very affectionate, I can't tell you the amount of make-out sessions I have seen in public.    

This week I plan to attend a ballet and some opera, we are also on a quest for a good flamenco restaurant with dancing.  Im sooooo excited!

My flickr account is acting slow, so i will post pictures soon, Ill post the link here on blogspot.

Hola!

So today was my second day in Madrid, so much has happened in two days! The flight was miserable and long, the typical complaints of not enough space and nasty food, yet now I get to say I heard disgruntled flight attendants complaining about their awful jobs and yelling at me because I asked for a blanket. 

I've met a ton of students from all over the place and I have been hanging out with the gals from Queens and another from Fresno.  Im pretty sure some of the other kids in our group think I'm weird because I have been very quiet...I think I'm still in shock and just absorbing everything I see and hear.  I feel so comfortable here...maybe because I have had the opportunity of traveling before (a lot of the students in my group have never been abroad before) or because Madrid reminds me of San Francisco.  I love listening to the conversations and get lost in translation...literally.  But I feel so comfortable here, maybe I lived here in a past life.

My Spanish is ok so far...I have the amazing capability of understanding a lot (just like with Greek) but don't have the confidence to spit the words out.  I also feel like my Spanish is a jumbled mix of knowledge in my brain that needs to be sorted out.  Hopefully this intense course I am taking will pushing past the threshold.  

I have to laugh because, if you know me or have traveled with me, I have been known to ALWAYS over-pack and bring waaaay to much.  This time I promised myself I didnt want the hassle of lugging huge suitcases up the metro stairs (which are 2-4 flights, not as bad as London but still significant) so Eve was kind enough to lend me her backpacking backpack.  THANK GOD I did because I have already had like a million instances where I was relieved I had a pack and not a huge thing of dead weight.  Plus I have to mention the cute first timers abroad coming with two huge suitcases and a carry on that have no idea what they are doing.  Which I have to say puts everything into perspective. I definately have been very blessed to have the opportunities to travel and that alone gives you a sense of maturity. 

My roommates are cool, both from Chicago and totally different.  Agata is Polish and Sonya is half Indian and each have been to their families countries.  So nice to have people who have cultural backgrounds for me to learn about!  Plus they understand my life more because of my background.  Our landlord lady is crazy...yesterday she gave us the lowdown on the flat and how it works, she likes to repeat herself and yell at Agata because she speaks the best Spanish.  During our tour of the flat she managed to misplace her mobile, and when we returned from the store her handbag was dumped all over the couch.  We called it and it was in the toaster!! I had to leave the room because I was laughing so hard, but she blamed it on the two boys that showed us around that work for USAC, and said they weren't normal especially the one with the earring.  And she always talks about the last group of students that stayed here who were boys and destroyed the flat...yea she's still angry she's talking about it right now.

The university is nice and small, kind of like TMCC.  I will be taking two classes there, composition and a women's study class...so Ill be in class early in the am and the afternoon.  My commute by metro to school is about 45 min so Ill have plenty of time to observe and read on the way.

Well today we are sight seeing so I will write again later.

Besos,

Anna Maria 

Spain Address

I have an address for Spain:

Anna Maria Desipris

C/O Alvaro Carredano, USAC Madrid 

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 

Campus Vicálvaro 

Pº Artilleros s/n 

28032 Madrid, SPAIN

15 Days and Counting

Well, I thought it would be fun to set up a blog for friends and family to read on my adventure to Spain.  Most of you know how badly I have wanted this for such a long time, and even though Ill only be gone 6 weeks (compared to the 6 months I wanted), I consider myself very lucky and blessed to have this opportunity.  So, save my link and read up when you get a chance! I leave May 27 and on May 28 I will be in Madrid, Spain when the adventure begins...getting from the airport to my hotel for the evening.  For any of you that have visited Spain, please please email me of any "MUST SEE" places you feel would be a perfect addition to my explorations.  Now, I must copy my passport, get paper work in order and a write a research paper for a class before I even get to Spain.  

Y necesito estudiar espanol!