4 Day Weekend and not much to do…

As I said before, it’s getting harder and harder to keep track of specific days, times, and events. So these are the highlights, or at least everything I can remember that’s worth talking about. We had a 4-day weekend this past weekend because there was a holiday on Tuesday, so we got Monday off as well.

(-) 5 tapas: school
ILP sucks so much. Last week we had 5 consecutive days of classes, so I subtracted one tapa for every day. I still can’t manage to stay awake, especially since I have a sugar crash from breakfast everyday around 11.

(+) 2 tapas: Susi’s Birthday
Since Sept. 3 was Susi’s 21st birthday, a bunch of us went out to celebrate. We tried going to this bar but it was super packed so instead we went to a restaurant where we got 9 pitchers of sangria and about 5 raciones (plates a little bigger than tapas). Everyone had such a good time that some didn’t even go to school the next day! Also, Chelsea showed up and I finally got to see her for the first time in Madrid. After the restaurant, people split off, so Chelsea, Susi and I went back to the bar (El Tigre) that was packed earlier. This time it was almost cleared out so we were able to get cañas and huge portioned tapas! We were so impressed that we made a trip back to the same bar only a few days later for even more tapas!!

Me, Chelsea, and the Birthday girl with her birthday crown!!

(+) 2 tapas: Joy with Chelsea!
Friday night was the beginning of the four day weekend for us UCers. Most people left to explore Spain and Portugal, but I stayed behind to play in Madrid. I joined Chelsea and two of her new friends for the night. We went to a discoteca in Sol called “JOY” at 2:30am and stayed until the metro re-opened at 6:30am. It was tons of fun dancing to all different kinds of music, but mostly European techno junk, all night! Unfortunately by the time 5am rolled around we were all sort of grumpy, tired, and hungry. Now we know next time we should take a nap before going out until the sun rises.

Che and me before going to Joy

(+) 1 tapa: catching up on sleep
I spent most of Saturday and Sunday getting the sleep I missed from going out all night. Woohoo

(-) 1 tapa: Apartment hunting
Apartment hunting sucks more than it does in San Diego.

(+) 1 strangely flavored tapa: Daytrip to Segovia
This was probably the oddest day of my extended weekend. 5 of us girls that were still here decided to make a daytrip to Segovia and we were supposed to meet at 7:30am at the cafeteria. I went down only to find out that it wouldn’t open until 8:30 because of the holiday, and ended up lying in bed, awake, fully clothed, for an hour. We didn’t even leave the bus station in Madrid until 10:30, even though our original plan was to leave by 9:30. Once we got to Segovia we went straight for the Roman Aqueduct and took lots of touristy pictures. After doing that we didn’t really know what else to do so we just took a lot more random pictures as we walked towards the city’s Plaza Mayor. Once there we found the beautiful Cathedral, attempted to go inside, found out we had to pay for entrance, and just decided to leave Segovia instead. Mabi, angered by the entrance fee, renounced her religion (Catholicism) on the spot. I led us in the wrong direction, but almost to the Alcazar, but we were too hungry to do anything so we just walked until we found cheap food. After eating we took the 1.5hr, 12Euro bus ride back to Madrid. We left thinking Segovia was a beautiful city, but we were mostly unimpressed because it was so small and sleepy. We stopped in a pastry shop right when we got back to Madrid, and it immediately started pouring. We were only about 10min walking from our dorm, but instead we opted for a taxi ride so we wouldn’t get wet. By the time dinner rolled around it seemed like we hadn’t even gone to Segovia, and we concurred that it was in fact one of the weirdest days/daytrips any of us could remember. That night was also the craziest thunder/lightening/hailstorm ever!!!!

Segovian Aqueduct

Me, Susi, Ariel, Natasha: boyband pic atop the aqueduct

Susi, me, and Natasha outside the Cathedral

Natasha (who never made it into the air in any of the pictures), Mabi (who worked really hard to get up), me, and Ariel (who usually made it jumping in the frame).
One of the many, many attempts at a jumping picture while we were wondering what to do with our time in Segovia. This was the closest we got to all being in the air at the same time.

Spanish Oddities and Other Thoughts on Life

(+) 1 tapa: Spanish hairstyles
While seriously ugly and clearly lacking good judgment, men run amok in this city with the most absurd hairstyles. There’s the regular mullet, the rat-tail, the dread mullet, and the single dread rat-tail. I have also seen the occasional single dread on a few women as well. This only received a plus because I enjoy a good laugh every time I see one of these.

(-) 1 tapa: Gold diggers… the gross kind
For some reason men and women alike think its socially acceptable to pick their nose on the metro, in the middle of the street, waiting at a streetlight, inside a bar, etc. They just go straight for the gold without any second thoughts. BLECH

(-) 1 tapa: Small apartments
Apartments here are tiny, rooms akin to walk-in closets in the states.

(-) 1 tapa: Lack of personal space
While I generally don’t mind people getting too close to me in line or touching me for emphasis during conversation, I truly cannot stand being grabbed and groped by men in bars/clubs.

(-) 1 tapa: Normal eating hours
Breakfast at 8am, lunch at 2:30pm, dinner at 9pm. It’s not so much the hours I mind, it’s the fact that Spaniards don’t snack, thus leaving me extremely hungry and irritable in those hours between meals.

(+) 1 tapa: Late dinners
Like I said before, I don’t mind eating late. In fact, I embrace it. It reminds me of living in San Diego and waiting until the last minute to eat. And it also reminds me of home, when we don’t sit down for dinner until very late due to bad planning.

(-) 1 tapa: lack of sleep
The only down side of eating so late is that I don’t get to sleep until late. And if I have to eat breakfast at 8am, then I get very few hours of sleep. I don’t understand how Spaniards function like this, but hopefully I’ll acclimate.

(-) 1 tapa: the weak $
Even though the dollar has been appreciating these past couple of weeks, it still SUCKS. The reason I don’t really eat between meals is because I don’t want to spend money on over-priced food when I’ve already paid for the meal plan at my dorm. I’m also very tempted to buy so many clothes here, but need to save my money for more important things, like travel and rent.

(+) 1 tapa: IVA
IVA = VAT = sales tax. While IVA is extremely high (something like 16%), I learned that if I save my receipts I can be refunded at customs when I eventually leave the country!

(-) 1 tapa: blog upkeep
I’m already disliking this blog business. It’s already become somewhat of a chore, but alas I know I’ll benefit from having written it all down once I leave this fabulous country.

(-) 1 tapa: my internet connection
My computer LOVES to HATE internet connectivity. It once again has become allergic to wireless internet. In San Diego it hated to function, at home it rarely connected, and now here in Madrid it refuses to let me have access even when everyone else in the entire building has access. I’m never buying an HP computer again.

(+) 1 tapa: vinegar
Since all the food in the dorms is composed of salt, ham, and potatoes, vinegar has become a lifesaver. It transforms the food and makes everything taste better, or just tolerable.

First WHOLE Week in Madrid

First Week: (+) 4 tapas

(-) 2 tapas: School
Monday we had placement exams and I ended up in the middle group, which was lucky because the cost of our books was at least 10 Euros less than the other groups. As of now I’ve already had 5 days of classes and am already bored out of my mind, can barely pay attention, and fall asleep by the 3rd hour. Oh well, at least my Spanish is improving?

(+) 2 tapas: Shopping, Spanish style
This past weekend I went shopping with Mabi and Natasha on the popular street Calle Princesa. We pretty much stopped in at every store because everything looks good and new and fun. I pretty much died inside Zara and wanted to build myself a home there. Spanish Zara > poor imitation U.S. Zara.

(+) 1 tapa: Parachute Pants
Apparently parachute/Hammer pants are alive and kicking here in Madrid. And they rock.

(-) 2 tapas: Apartment hunting
… sucks. Mabi and I went to see a couple apartments, got lost more than once, only to stumble upon closets worth 350 Euros/month. Then we got on the one metro line that was under construction for the month and had to take the most roundabout trip to meet our group for class, including 4 different metro lines and 45 minutes of lost time, which leads me to…

(+) 1 tapa: Madrid city tour
Mabi and I ended up being one hour late for our class tour of Madrid because of our Great Metro Ride of 2008. We met up with her group (mine was long gone) and missed pretty much everything about the history of Medieval Madrid but just in time for the walking part of the tour. Then we all met up and got sangria (which I couldn’t drink) and tapas (which I inhaled) with the teachers.

Kilometro 0 in Sol, where all distances in Madrid are measured from (i.e. Madrid to Barcelona)

(+) 1 tapa: Finding out I have 2 left feet
Some girls and I went out salsa dancing in Sol. It was very interesting due in part to the variety of characters we met and the dancing we explored. I was pretty sure I knew how to salsa after taking lessons in P.E. in middle school, only to find out I was sorely wrong and actually SUCK at dancing. I actually head-butted some poor man! It is quite possibly the hardest dance I have ever tried. Nico and Ariel, on the other hand, turned out to be pure geniuses at it and had the boys after them all night. In spite of my total lack of salsa coordination I still had tons of fun and also mastered the basic Merengue step. Now I know I am definitely never going dancing with my grandparents!

The salsa girls and 2 strangers we danced with at the club.

(+) 1 tapa: Finally meeting Nacho
Friday night everyone in the EAP group got dressed up to go

to this big club called Kapital. I invited Nacho, Jessica’s coworker’s cousin’s step-son (yeah, interesting connection), and I finally got to meet him after the numerous emails we had been sending back and forth. Unfortunately the bouncers at Kapital decided to be complete assholes that night and carded about ¼ of the group, and didn’t accept my international student id card as official identification, even though a few others used the same ID but weren’t carded. Instead, 4 others stayed with me and we went bar hopping nearby and were offered tons of free chupitos (which I also couldn’t drink).
Nico, Steph, me, and Mabi in front of the Banco de Espana.

Nacho 1 (Nico's friend), Natasha, Mabi, me, and Nacho 2 (my friend). He and I decided to make silly faces. I personally believe we made the picture better :D

Nico, Mabi, Natasha, and me in front of some really pretty hotel.

(+) 2 tapas: Sergio Ramos
… is really hot. We watched him play for Real Madrid in a sports bar near the colegio mayor. Fun times.

These days are passing by pretty fast, and I haven’t been able to keep track of time, or when any of these events happen. When I name days, it’s just a guess because I really can’t remember specifics at this point. All I know is, Spain is very interesting… read next post to understand why.