So… I am way behind on my blogging and for that, I apologize. I had a lot going on the past few weeks! Midterms, papers, week long excursions to Africa, you know. In my last blog I said that I was going to work on my next post as soon as possible. I lied, sorry. I was going to, I promise! But then I didn't So this blog post is going to focus on my three weekends in a row that I spent in Madrid. Later, I will post about my weekend trip to Salamanca with my program and then a third post about my trip to Morocco! I shouldn't have that much work to do this weekend so I have no excuse to not write these posts. If I don’t write them… permission to scold me.
My friend and I had a small lunch, my host mom packed me some sandwiches; she’s the best. We saw the sea lions put on a show and that was neat to experience in Spanish. The show itself was very similar to the ones at Sea World or any other zoo but this was in Spanish! I understood everything pretty well, I think it helped that it was probably a show targeted toward children. Nonetheless, it was very enjoyable.
Anyway, after spending three weekends travelling, I needed a break. I hadn't had much time to explore Madrid so I was looking forward to three weekends at my home away from home. The first weekend in October was great. The weather was really nice, sunny but not too hot. That weekend… what did I do? I went shopping with a friend, I don’t think I actually bought anything but it was nice to get out and be with other people. That Saturday, I went to the Madrid Zoo! It was awesome, to say the least. It was pretty big, not too far from me, and not that expensive. They had lots of cool animals and shows and an aquarium. I was nice to not really be in the city for the day. Even though there were signs that said don’t feed the animals, a lot of people were throwing food to them. I have some great pictures of people throwing baguettes at the bears!
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| Look at this big guy, begging for food. |
Even though I had a great time at the zoo, there were some problems for me. It was kind of dirty, the water didn't look too clean and I felt bad for the animals. Also, people feeding the animals freaked me out! You can’t do that in the US without getting kicked out. It made me nervous, and I don’t think the animals should be eating people food. Then there were all these birds that were chained to the ground instead of being in enclosed spaces where they could fly. T hat made me sad, and some of the birds were bald eagles! America’s bird should be flying free, not chained to the ground!
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| Pobrecito. |
The next morning, I went the el rastro (the giant flea market) again to buy souvenirs for all my people. I think I spent too much… some of the stalls were the same but others seemed new so I had to check them out and of course having Euros on me didn't help. Somehow, I managed to buy new earrings and scarves and I really have no self control. I probably shouldn't be allowed to return to el rastro. After that, my friend came over for lunch since my roommate was with her boyfriend (he came to visit, so sweet!) and my host mom was out. I think my friend really enjoyed herself, she was very jealous of my homestay so I’m feeling very lucky to have been placed where I am.
The next weekend was a very lazy, rainy weekend. The weather wasn't so great, very gray and drizzly. I went to dinner with a friend from school on Thursday night; we had margaritas, nachos, and a burrito. It was interesting, we met up and then spent about an hour walking, trying to find a good place. Mexican food isn't my favorite but I was getting hungry and I do love a good margarita. The rest of the weekend my roommate and I hung out together, we made guacamole (her favorite), watched a movie, and went shopping (are you sensing a pattern?) We needed to buy some clothes for our trip to Morocco, I didn't bring any long sleeve shirts with me (I don’t believe in sleeves) and we had to cover up in the cities. And honestly, that was about all I did. I know, so boring, so lazy… sorry I’m not sorry. It was very relaxing and enjoyable.
Wait, forgot to mention that I met the rest of Elisa’s family! On Sunday, our host mom had friends and family over for afternoon tea. I think they had a funeral to go to and the custom is to have tea? I’m not sure why exactly they came but it was fun. The tea was good, there were tasty little desserts and it was neat to meet everyone.
The next weekend my roommate went to Dublin so I was home alone! It wasn't too bad, Thursday night I stayed in and got caught up on my shows. The next day I went shopping (three weeks in a row, I’m bad I know. But I don’t think I bought anything) and for dinner we went to Plaza Mayor to have calamari sandwiches. They were pretty good but I only half of mine, I have a thing with weird textures and calamari is give or take for me. After that, we met up with some friends of my friend, a German guy and a French girl. We were in Lavapiés, a neighborhood where they were having Tapapiés, certain bars had tapas and beer for a Euro each. That was fun but very crowded! I left around midnight because I am old and I get tired early. Haha, just kidding. Maybe. I wanted to be able to take the metro back home (it closes around one, I think) and I had been up for a while.
The next day was another lounge around the apartment day but for dinner I went a met a friend at a restaurant called Delhi, she’s Indian (but from Pennsylvania) and was really craving India food so we went and had dinner. It was so delicious! Also, good reminders for us, my first experience with Indian food was with two of my best friends (hi, Cinta and Lauren!) and it made me miss them but also glad that I have them in my life. Does that make sense? Am I getting too sappy? Okay, moving on.
After dinner, I went and met my friend (she goes to Ohio State!) and we went to the apartment of some of her friends to party. And by party I mean watch dubbed TV, drink and eat. We hung out there until about… 2:30 AM and then we went to a club to dance. The cover charge was hella expensive (16€ *expletive*) but it was worth it. A lot of Spaniards do this, they drink before they go to the clubs because it’s so expensive but a drink is included in the cover. Anyway, we stayed (there were four of us) and danced until the club closed around 7:00 in the morning. The metro doesn't open until 6:30 anyway so I would have been stuck walking, taking a cab, or waiting for the metro. It was better that we danced until seven, believe it or not. I finally got home around 7:30 and immediately fell into bed.
I got up around 1:30 that afternoon and wandered into the kitchen for a light snack before lunch. That’s when I noticed that the table was already set for six people. Normally, it’s only me and my roommate (who is in Ireland at this point), our host mom, Elisa, and her daughter, Paloma. Which makes four. Minus my roommate. So obviously that meant people were coming over and I looked like hell so I decided showering might be the best option. Elisa´s family came over again, her daughter Paloma and her husband Christoph (not sure if that’s the correct spelling, he’s half German! So obviously we spoke ein bischen deutsch). Elisa’s granddaughters were there two, they are 14 and 12, I think Blanca and Belen. Their parents weren't there though, their mom has cancer, I met her at the tea party we had.
We had a nice family dinner and they weren't too shocked when I said that I came home at 7:00 in the morning. It’s the norm here in Spain, for the youngsters. In the afternoon, my roommate came home and she told me all about Dublin. I’m going there soon and am very excited, I got a nice preview!
Anyway, wow, once written down it seems like I did a lot! But this post is three weekends worth of adventures so I guess it’s not too bad. But there you have it, my weekends in Madrid! I only have a couple left, this weekend included so I need to finally go and explore some museums. Maybe I can do that when my dad and aunt come! WHICH I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
Okay, look forward to my post about Salamanca real soon! ¡Luego!
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