First entry

Disclaimer: These entries will be a few days behind, as internet is hard to find and also very expensive. There will also probably be multiple days under one post. I hope you all enjoy my posts as I am enjoying Barcelona. Please comment!

Day 1 – August 29th – Friday
We arrive in Madrid and take a taxi to the hotel. i was lucky enough to sit next to a fellow study abroader who also happened to be Puerto Rican. so as she chatted away with the cabbie, in an attempt to make friends and earn a fair price, and i sat by adding in my random questions every few minutes. The first place i went was El Corte Ingles, which from its name, you can tell its pretty American. it resembles an American grocery store, yet there are subtle differences. you can't buy botox shots in the states and of course everything is in liters and euros. there is, of course, a starbucks right outside, though i neglected to go. Next, i took a 7 hour nap. then i woke up, ate some food, had a beer or three and went to bed.

Day 2 – August 30th - Saturday
I've never seen such an extensive breakfast buffet. sausage, eggs, gazpacho, beans, bread, 6 types of juice, 12 types of fruit, yogurt, coffee and really tasty water. After breakfast, my hotel roommate, Nicholas Tapia, and I go for a little walk around Madrid. down la calle princesa, through the Parque del Oeste, where apparently, Spaniards are very open with their sexuality, and there was a wild parrot! After grabbing a bite and a beer at McDonald's, we headed back to the hotel and i participated in my favorite Spanish tradition to date: the siesta. that night, we went out to an Irish pub named O'Connell's (yes, it was very Irish) with 2 Serbians (Philip and Ana), an Englishman (mitch), and a Texan (tony). after a few drinks theres, nick wanted to go find a salsa club. so after walking around looking diligently for el Son Cubano, we finally discover it and pay the 8 euro cover charge to do some intense dancing. mostly with women our mothers' age. not that there weren't younger girls, but the older women were sitting by us and they seemed to appreciate it more. turns out one lady had a 20 year-old son named Nicholas, whom she hadn't seen in quite some time, so dancing with my half Mexican 20-year-old friend Nicholas was very fun for her. These two ladies were from Uruguay and Colombia, respectively, bringing out country interaction number up to five. Madrid is truly a melting pot, though i hear that Barcelona is even more so. We left the club 2:30am, just as it was popping off. I don't know how, but our sense of direction guided us through this city of 4 million to our hotel. what a night!

Day 3 – August 31st – Sunday
We're supposed to go do some site seeing with the group today, but we'll see about that. its time for another great breakfast buffet. Well, that was wonderful. Today, me and Nick skipped the ISA trip to the Valley of the Fallen and El Escorial in order to do some sight seeing of our own. We hopped on the metro at Argüelles and rode to nearby Sol to check out the largest flee market in Europe and it WAS huge. we probably walked about 2 miles just among the shops and stands just watching the people and listening to the sounds. Next, we wondered around some of the back streets of Madrid looking at the other little shops, most of which were closed, as it was Sunday After getting slightly confused and lost on the metro, we made it back to the hotel, grabbed some food, and again participated in the siesta. After that, it was off to the Plaza de Toros with Tony, Max, and Philip, to watch the most controversial pastimes of Spain, the bullfight. Yes, they killed the bull, actually six of them. Yes, it was bloody. Yes, it was very exciting and an extremely unique experience that can be found nowhere in the states. I took plenty of pictures. It was definitely the most unique thing I've seen so far. I also had a hotdog for dinner, though the actual hotdog was the only part that was traditional. After that, some kind of mayo/ranch/mustard sauce and then fried onions, lettuce, tomato, and some other unrecognizable, but equally delicious toppings. Tomorrow we leave Madrid nice and early to travel to Toledo in our next stop before Barcelona. Madrid was amazing and its only supposed to go up from here, so we'll see how much better it can get.

Day 4 – September 1st – Monday
Today we enjoyed our last breakfast buffet at Hotel Husa Princesa right before all the loud American girls arrived, which was nice. Now we pack up all our belongings and visit el Museo de Reina Sofia before heading to Toledo. At first, I was skeptical about this museo, mostly because Nick's guide book didn't rate it as high as the Museo Prado, which is nearby, but I was very plesantly surprised. It is home to one of my favorite and most famous paintings: “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso. It was amazing to actually see this masterpiece in person after learning so much about it in my time studying Spanish. It is VERY big and sends a very powerful message. Also, there was a series of pictures showing the painting in different stages so that one could see how Picasso's thought evolved and the order of things being added. One of the strongest images in the painting, the eye with the light bulb in it at the top was originally a sun. Also, the light bulb and the flower, which stems from the broken sword, were almost the last images to be added. This museum also housed a few of Dalí's painting, which are always fun to look at. We all wonder what our dreams mean and even what the really look like. Dalí was able to capture his with stunning vitality and imagery. Such detail and genius (or insanity) cannot be ignored. I can't wait to go to the museums dedicated to these most famous Spanish artists. The Museo Reina Sofia also had an exhibit on some new ideas that are just developing in the field. Theo Jansen, whom i had actually already heard of, has created a new species of dirt moving animals out of electrical tubing and zip ties which operate solely on the power of the wind. You have to see these beasts to believe them. They are incredible. There was also an exhibit that involved a video camera which when you stepped in front of it, the “mirror” made from various things (one was made of trash, another “weaved,” and the third out of light bulbs) responded to your movement. Its a little hard to explain, but it is amazing to watch in action. After the museum, which thoroughly surpassed my expectation, we bid our farewells to Madrid and took a little bus ride down to Toledo. I don't know how long it took because I slept the whole time. After checking into our hotel, it was time to find some food. Unfortunately, our hotel was not as conveniently located as before and the closest restaurant was about a twenty minute walk. Luckily, the hotel had a very nice restaurant. I got calamari and an interesting take on lasagna which was delicious. And it was very outrageously priced either. With a full stomach, all I could do next was watch a little TV and go to bed.

Day 5 – September 2nd – Tuesday
The breakfast buffet at Hotel Beatriz was not as good as that of Hotel Husa Princesa, but still better than any continental breakfast in the states, and included in the price of a room. After this, we went on a bus and walking tour of Toledo, which was fairly interesting. The town of Toledo is home to only about 78,000 people, but it is a prime location for defense as the highest point in the area. Founded well before Christ, it has been occupied by Romans, Muslims, and Christians alike, each leaving behind their own history. The Arab influence in easily seen in much of the ancient construction, though some old mosques have since been converted for other uses, such as synagogues. The cathedral was probably the most impressive building, having a bell tower almost 100 meters high which houses the largest bell in Spain. However, this bell was only rang once, and when it was, it broke all the glass in the area and even broke the bell itself. After a nice two-hour stroll, we got food and wandered around for a bit. Then it was back to the hotel for siesta and then some pool time. This evening we had a meeting with our ISA directors about our homestays. This was an interesting meeting that revealed a lot about many of the people who came on this trip. From the beginning, I was surprised by the number of people who don't speak Spanish at all. Many of them at least attempt to learn or understand, but others sat there complaining the whole time that they didn't understand a word. If they just tried to listen, maybe they could start to pick some of it up and surprise themselves. I guess I am one of the lucky ones, being able to understand pretty much every word, even when I'm not paying close attention. So for me, the more Spanish they speak, the better, while it would be better for many of these kids to study abroad in England. Also, as the ISA directors have told us plenty of times, it is very uncommon to be noticeably drunk in public. I can't tell you how many of these kids, more often the girls, come down to breakfast wondering what they did the night before. Its very easy to see where the term “ugly American” comes from. But at least a handful of us aren't here for an extended spring break and I've found many of them. After the meeting, I again ate a wonderful dinner in the hotel restaurant and made a couple new friends. I also had the most in depth conversation since leaving the states with my friend Nicolas and our new friend Jamie. We ran the gamut from politics to friends at home and even touched on spirituality a little bit. By the end of dinner, we were good friends with plans to spend time together in Barcelona. We have an early wake up call tomorrow (7am) and as I stand on my balcony talking to people back home as the clock reaches for 1am, there are taxis pulling up to the hotel to take thirsty kids our to the clubs. We'll see how many of them keep us from leaving on time tomorrow.

Day 6 – September 3 – Wednesday
Happy Birthday Mom! I was the first one to wish her this on the day, thanks to my being six hours into the future. And sure enough, as I sat on the bus, waiting to pull out of Toledo, we were waiting on one person who was soon discovered in a drunken stupor in their room, having slept through the wake up call and repeated knocks on their door. But that is behind us now as we tear through the countryside at 100 km/hr towards the city I've been waiting to visit as long as Spanish has been a part of my life. The countryside is quite interesting to look at, though I've been fading in and out of sleep. There are steep cliffs covered in trees and fields with bails of hay. There are also sunflower fields and wind farms, though not all of the windmills I've seen so far are actually moving. But they are giant! I'm sure that each blade on the propeller is at least twice as long as our 55 passenger bus. After our eight hour drive, we made it to Barcelona! I met my temporary father, Fernando, at the bus and we walked about five minutes to his apartment. It is small, but homey. My roommate Matthew Jones and I share a room off to the side of the flat. We are on the second floor with a balcony overlooking the street. I enjoy standing out there watching the little cars and motos drive by. We also met Teresa, our Señora, and their son. We had a nice dinner of salad and Spanish tortilla, which is egg and potato and very delicious. We enjoyed a piece of fruit for dessert. I liked talking to Fernando and Teresa during the dinner, getting a different perspective on the world. They enjoy talking about sports because, as Teresa said, politics is too controversial, the economy is too bad, and the weather is always beautiful. They have had many past students stay with them and they had many stories about them. They have had people from Germany, Austria, Japan, and of course the United States. Of the Japanese, they spoke of their extreme reverence to their parents, even to the point of arranged marriages. Fernando said he would NEVER put up with anything of this sort. I'm glad we agree on this, as well as many other things. He is probably one of the biggest F.C. Barcelona (thats the soccer team here) fans I've ever met and has already told me that he will take me to a game and see the museum and even walk on the field! How exciting! After dinner, Matt and I went out to find an internet café, which we found only about a block away. After that, it was to bed as we have a placement test in the morning and will have to ride the metro for the first time to get there.