june 23: paris, part 1.

Once upon a time, I went to Paris at the end of my study abroad program. Unfortunately, as I was blogging about this experience, my body could not take any more and I fell asleep. Since then, jet lag has been trying to kill me. So, I'm going to try and pick up from where I left off on June 23 and hope I don't fall asleep again. It might happen. Just a heads up.


June 23, 2012
Right now, I'm situated in a quaint little Parisian hotel in the Latin Quarter, kicking myself for not getting the wifi password earlier. Hence, this will be posted late. Our hotel is precious. The rooms are very small and strangely shaped, the halls are like a maze, and the hair dryer looks like a vacuum cleaner attached to the wall. Can't wait to try that one out tomorrow! The wallpaper is toile and is basically a bunch of small scenes on wallpaper. And it matches the sofa/bed I'm sleeping on. Also, the wooden beams are exposed in the ceiling and all I can think about it Beauty and the Beast. 

Saturday never really started for me because Friday never really ended. We ate, I showered, Sara napped, we said goodbye, and hopped on the metro at 12:30. Sitting in Madrid's airport for five or so hours was harmless enough, except for the two boys beside me. I'm used to staring. I'm used to people saying things about me in Spamish, but this was too much. I was being verbally accosted by an idiot who didn't stop to think I might know Spanish and understand every nasty thing he was saying. 

When we finally were able to checkin and wait at our boarding gate, many people made it a point to walk by and comment on how my three friends were sleeping and not keeping a hand or eye on their bags. A lot of people were sleeping, including a man who slept at the desk at our gate and had to be woken up by a team of paramedics because no one else could force him awake. While all of this is happening, the four of us board the plane. Instead of using a system like that of Delta's, seating for EasyJet is a free for all. Sara and I found one row of three and Cynthia and Olivia took the one across the aisle from us. Everyone was joking and dreading the fact that the man in the floor at the gate might have to sit by one of us. By one of us, I mean Sara in her middle seat. The people in front of us were very protective of us and wished he would go. He fell asleep as soon as he hit the chair, coughing violently every once in a while. We were terrified that this sleeping man that smelled very strongly of alcohol was going to puke his guts out during the flight, but we got lucky. He didn't even talk.

We landed in Charles de Gaulle airport and spent way too long trying to find out how to get to our hotel, which Metro passes we needed, and how to get 9,00€ in only coins. (Seriously, Paris? What machines ONLY take coins? Rude.) I don't remember much about this part of the trip except that while waiting in the airport, the first song I heard was a Bee Gee's song. Really? We finally found the metro and coins and hopped on the train towards the city. About six stops in, the rest of the people living on the outskirts of Paris hopped on. You couldn't breathe, there were so many people! The family beside us was Italian, and I spoke to them a tiny, tiny bit. After speaking Spanish for so long, my Italian is as rusty as the Tin Man after being stuck outside in a hurricane. 

We metro-ed, we Italian-ed, we asked for directions, and we waaaaalllkkkkeeedddd to get to Hotel Minerve, which has already been described. After dropping off our bags, we headed out with two immediate goals: 1. food. 2. Notre Dame.

Food was easy. There's a little crepe stand right down the street from our hotel. Good grief, I can taste that banana, nutella, almond crepe right now. I had one Saturday and one Sunday; that's how delicious they were. The man that owned the stand was precious. He knew a few words in English and he would correct our pronunciation of French words (amandes=almonds, pronounced "amanday") and smile so big when we got it right. I hated to tell him goodbye on Sunday. 

Finding the Notre Dame wasn't as difficult as we originally thought, especially with bellies full of nutella and banana crepes. To get to the cathedral, we had to walk across a bridge. This particular bridge is covered, COVERED, with padlocks. The Pont de l'Archevêché is a small bridge near the Notre Dame, and you can't see the wrought iron on the walls of the bridge because of all the "lovers' padlocks." It was breathtaking. There were locks of all different shapes and sizes and colors. I'm assuming the couple places the lock and throws the key into the Seine. But, Europeans are strange. It may not be that way at all. 

As we expected, the line to get into the Notre Dame was hideously long, but it was free admission, and who in their right mind would go to Paris but not go in the Notre Dame! Let me tell you, it was worth it. The inside of that cathedral is absolutely beautiful. I don't think words will even do it justice...I'm going to have to put some of my pictures in all of my blog posts to help explain things. Anyway, my toe kept cramping up while in the Notre Dame and I fully expected to see Quasimodo swinging down to the bottom level with his gargoyle friends. Needless to say I was disappointed when that didn't occur. 

At the moment, I am disappointed in myself for letting jet lag get the best of me. More later. 

hasta luego, españa.

We finished class today before noon and waited for everyone else to finish at 1:30. Perfect score on my exam, almost perfect score in the class. Roberto was sad to leave us, I think. We were definitely sad to leave him. I'm going to miss his neatly trimmed beard with unavoidable five o'clock shadow at 9am and the shirts he wore everyday for two weeks straight. Spaniards.

It's Friday, June 22. The trip's pretty much over. Here I am, saying goodbye to a city that's so graciously been my home for the past four weeks. Madrid is a money pit and a time warp, but oh how I adore it.

We haven't had to tell Paloma goodbye yet, but we will soon after dinner. Good thing I get to come back and see her on Sunday!

So dinner, shower, packing everything up, and then taking the metro to the airport at 12:30 tonight. Our flight to Paris is at 6:40am...so I'm about to be BFF's with Madrid's airport for the first time this weekend.

So here it is. The official goodbye to Madrid. Goodbye, creepy people that stare on the Metro (you secretly made me feel good about myself. Exotic. By you always stared for too long...). So long, land lady and friend (I WILL come back to see you if I come back to Spain, thank you for the invitation!). See you next time, Retiro. Palacio. Puerta del Sol. Plaza Mayor. Toledo. Sampere Institute. Luki that lives downstairs. Cute kids with down syndrome I see every morning. Man that sings Queen across the courtyard. Churros. Donuts that might be better than Double K. Adiós, tapas and meriendas and eating meals at really strange times. See you NEVER, jamón (at least not for a few months). Bye bye, New Yorkers, beautiful weather, unmentionables hanging outside to dry, and walking to a historic monument older than my country everyday.

I have to come back here someday. Have to.

sneaky madrid.

I think Spain is trying to make me stay here for good. In class, we reviewed all of the information we've covered this week, from about 1740 to present day. We finished watching a really great movie about post-war Spain. And, to top it off, we watched my favorite Spanish movie of all time: El laberinto del fauno. Núñez had us watch it in AP once upon a time in high school, and since then I've written more than one paper on it and used it in my AP exam. My professor laughed at me when he pulled the DVD box out of his satchel because I was so excited about seeing it. I can't help it!

Besides class being great, Sara and I met up with Joy and Cecilia to say goodbye to San Ginés and the most delectable churros and chocolate Madrid has to offer. We stayed for over two hours, and it was wonderful. We split an order of churros, dipped 'em in some chocolate, drank the leftover chocolate, and talked about everything. The Civil War, Franco's regime, Hitler, Afghanistan, Grissom High, Bob jones High, Huntsville High, camp, our professor and whether or not he has a kid, etc...

A guy came by for an hour or so to sing and play his guitar. He was the best street performer I've heard these past four weeks, and there are TONS. He had such an amazing voice and played music I love: soft, slow, mellow. He left before we could give him any euros, but I pray he keeps playing and singing. He absolutely made my day.

Sara and I were the only ones at dinner tonight (score). Aka, I got to talk politics and banking and bailouts with Paloma. Terribly interesting, educated, and opinionated that woman. She's not afraid to share her opinions either, which is typical of Spaniards. In a way, I really respect it. It all leads back to how much passion they have for every facet of life. A Spaniard runs the gamut of emotions twice a day, I believe.

See how sneaky Madrid was today? Making me fall in love with the city all over again, right before I have to leave. I've thoroughly enjoyed my final Thursday in Madrid, but now I HAVE to study. (Read: recopy my messy notes and hope the facts commit themselves to my memory. It's a multiple choice test; I'm not too worried.) Then, I'll dream about Paris and hopefully forget that this weekend will be full of traveling and hanging out in airports. Yikes. Paris, you better be worth it, buddy.

la corrida de toros.

Madrid is beautiful at eye level. It's beautiful as bus level. But it's even more magnificent from the top of a building.

We galavanted off today to view our favorite city from atop the ayuntamiento or city hall, basically. I'm not a fan of heights. It's not that I'm afraid I'll tumble, I just get a wave of vertigo if I'm too close to the edge. I didn't let that stop me today. It was so worth it. Madrid was extra windy today atop the ayuntamiento which made for some funny hair pictures with the perfect backdrop of a beautiful city.

I'm really going to miss exploring Madrid. I went off solo today after our adventure to the top of the ayuntamiento in search of final gifts for my family and friends. I spent more time in the Plaza Mayor and had the most wonderful six minutes with an artist. His name is Daniel, and he paints flamenco dancers, bull fights, and silhouettes of Don Quijote. Perfect for tourists.

The painting I bought from him is a depiction of a torero (bullfighter) ignoring the bull. Why? I'm not sure. What's called in Spanish? I'm also not sure. I've been googling for a while and can't find anything about it. If Daniel is making it up, that just makes the experience funny. The colors are bright and the painting is wonderful. He showed me how he wraps it and rolls it in a tube to protect it while I travel. All of the paintings were 30-35€, but he said he would give me 10€ off any painting. The one I loved was 35€, and I very honestly and disappointingly told him I only had 20€. He gave it to me anyway! I haggled and didn't even mean to!

The best part? Obviously, he signed the painting when he finished it. But, before he rolled it up for me, he resigned the back, wrote today's date, Madrid, España, and Plaza Mayor. I know I'm a nerd, but I'm never going to forget that conversation. Perfect souvenir. Plus, I don't think I could handle seeing an actual bullfight, so this is as good as it gets!

Sara went salsa dancing tonight and I decided to stay in after dinner and re-coup. New blisters formed during my three hour shopping adventure today and I needed to rest. Insomnia hit me like a ton of bricks last night. It's been nice to listen to music without headphones and paint my nails without having to worry about bothering someone.

Big plans for tomorrow to start wrapping up my stay in Madrid. We're re-doing some of our favorite things (churros) and saying goodbye to some of our favorite places before hunkering down to study for a final on Friday. Sweet dreams, dear friends. Here's to hoping I actually get a chance to dream tonight!

free finger and patrick swaz.

I loved today for the following reasons:

1. My finger is no longer in a splint. I no longer have to wear a bag over my hand when I shower and I don't have to worry about my finger smelling funny from sweating under a bunch of medical tape. Hallelujah!

2. We visited the Palacio Real today. It was incredible. It's hard to believe that kings and queens actually lived there until the past twenty years or so. There are 2800 rooms in that palace. They still use it when foreign dignitaries come to visit, and we got to see all the rooms they use for dining, gaming, smoking, coffee-ing, etc. Carlos III was the first king to live there...he mandated that most of the important monuments in Madrid be built. He's kind of a big deal, and he has a strange nose. Had.

3. Taking pictures outside the palace was fun today. Some people jumped, some people smiled, lots of people laughed, and Ted made us take two group photos. Ted is one of our professors from Auburn. He's awesome.

4. I finally got to Skype with a dear friend today! Who knew Vienna and Madrid are on the same time zone?! I'm so proud of her going off on her own and following God's plan for her. She is constantly making me examine my own walk with God, whether she means to or not!

5. I learned how to say that someone wears the pants in the relationship today in Spanish. Llevar la voz cantante, to wear or carry the singing voice, like in a chorus. How interesting, no?

6. In class today, our professor wanted to know where the word Yankee came from (ironic?) We told him it was from the Revolutionary War, we think, and that now it was just used to describe people from the North. He told us he loves the movie "North and South" with Patrick Swayze, except when he says Swayze it doesn't sound at all like it should. It came out like...swaz. Everyone had a good laugh at that. Our professor is so personable. I thought at first he only cared about history and teaching, but he's warmed up more to us and we all love him.

7. Paloma is letting me leave my big suitcase in her house this weekend when I visit Paris. Bless that woman. She told me today I would have to get Gonzalo's email address before I leave so I can keep her updated on my life and see how she is, too. Leaving her is going to be rough.

8. I also got to Skype with the female part of my family today (mom, AM, and Becca). They crack me up every time we skype. Something always happens that gives us all the giggles, and makes Sara giggle too. I'm sad I can only Skype when daddy is at work. How was I blessed with such an amazing family?

9. Lastly, I need to tell you about the man who talks to our landlady. Every morning, we leave at 8:30am to walk to the university. Every morning, the landlady is sweeping or mopping or something with both the doors open. There are a couple of people out there with her. She always says "hola" but rarely smiles. One of her friends, an older man with a slight pot belly, says good morning to us everyday. Everyday! He makes eye contact and smiles, but it's not the least bit creepy. Yesterday when we were coming home, he saw us from way down the street and waved his arm waaaay over his head at us because he had to leave before we got there. So, this morning, I waved really big at him as I walked out the door and he just laughed and said good morning. I love my new friend. I don't even know his name.

donut lovin'.

I just want the world to know that there are donuts in España that are just as good, if not better, than Krispy Kreme. I know, I was shocked too after my first bite.

There I was, walking down calle Ibiza, hoping to ward off hunger pangs and restless ready-to-be-home-but-not-ready-to-leave-yet feelings with a small donut. My favorite dessert. I love them over ice cream, cupcakes, and cake any day (unless it's Nan's chocolate chip pound cake or made from scratch brownies. They are both in a league of their own.) I thought I'd give it a try here in Madrid, thinking nothing could beat the Double K.

After that first bite, I literally stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stared down at the delicious, fluffy morsel in my hand. Did that really just happen? Had my faith in Krispy Kreme faltered? Did it just fall from #1 to #2 behind this precious little donut? Did that man think I was crazy for studying my donut so intently?

It did. It happened. It all happened.

And I'm so glad it did, but now that's just one more thing I'm going to have to say goodbye to and miss terribly when back in Alabama. This donut...oh this donut. Perfectly cooked, perfectly iced. I can't get over it. I'll never forget it.

In other news, one of the New Yorkers just brought a boy into Paloma's apartment without asking her. The New Yorker is only changing bags and grabbing something, but still. Paloma is fit to be tied, I can hear it in her voice. She told the poor boy it wasn't a big deal, but it is. The first thing they told us in the orientation at the university is that you don't have anyone over without permission first. It's not your home. Nan would whip me if I invites someone over without telling her first, and she's my mom! It's a huge cultural thing in Spain. Paloma already doesn't care for this girl because she's rude and has bottles of alcohol in her room, also without permission from Paloma.

Also, it rained today. It hasn't rained since April! Granted, it wasn't very hard rain and it only lasted about ten minutes, but still. Everyone was rushing to the windows of their apartments to see what was happening. It was beautiful.

I was so hungry all day today. I think we just walked so much this weekend and only really ate bread with Nutella that my body just couldn't fill up. I think Paloma knew it. She made some kind of creamy cauliflower casserole, pork, salad, and bread for dinner. So dadgum good.

One more week and I'm home. Let's do this, Madrid.

ay de mi alhama.

I honestly thought today was never going to end. Don't get me wrong, I adored Granada. The Alahambra was outstanding. But it was hot. And Granada, you are full of baby mountains that make walking feel like I'm running another half marathon. I'm not exaggerating. The baby mountains were so bad that when we came down from the Alhambra, we PAID to take a bus. You know they're rough when you don't even want to walk down the mountain. Plus, we had to take out bags with us. Yucky.

I'm glad I got to see and experience the Alhambra, even though I was worn out and tired of Europeans not having any sense of personal space. In high school, we studied a poem called " Romance de la pérdida de Alhama." it's from the viewpoint of the Arabic ruler of Granada when the city was conquered by the Reyes Católicos. It's very sad and full of adoration for Granada and despair at having lost it. Besides it being one of the most important things in Spain, I wanted to see the Alhambra because Núñez (I think) made me study about it in high school. I can't believe I'm seeing and living down the street from monuments and buildings and palaces that I've spent the past six years studying and pining after. The closer I get to leaving, the harder I know it's going to be.

I'm glad I ended up going to Sevilla and Granada this weekend instead of leaving the country for a day and spending tons of money on plane tickets. I love Spain, why wouldn't I want to see as much of it as I can?

We made it back to Madrid after a five hour bus ride complete with loud phone talkers and a noisy small child. Luckily, Paloma was ready for us! We had fried pork chops, fresh cut tomatoes, and mashed potato soup. I imagine it was puréed and it was incredible. She talked with us for a long time during dinner, telling us about her trip to Disney World 20 years ago and how the plane almost crashed. She loves roller coasters and hit up every one of them at Disney. Obviously, she loved Epcot. She told us she loved Disney just as much if not more than her kids! I know I say this a lot and gab on and on about Paloma, but she is such a blessing in this experience. I don't know what I would have done here with a different adoptive mom for four weeks.

My body is yelling at me again; the shoulders demanding sunburn relief, the feet calling out for band aids for the open blisters, and the muscles are still mad but thankful for the weekend's workout. To bed I go.

P.s. my best friend leaves for Tanzania tomorrow. Please say a little prayer for her sometime. She's going to need a lot of strength to keep up the courage she's already demonstrated and a lot of patience to deal with traveling and a new culture. I have every faith in Deacon Krista, but it can only help if we all lift her up in prayer. Love you, dear future roommate! Stay safe, and keep in touch. See you in August!

la vida es sueño.

I absolutely love Sevilla. I honestly think I could live there and love it forever. The Guadalquivir? Beautiful river. The Alcázar? Beautiful palace. The bull ring? Too expensive for two college students. Luckily, our tickets for Alcázar were only 2€ with our student ID's.

El Real Alcázar de Sevilla was breathtaking. It's obviously a mixture of Arabic architecture and Catholic influence, but the detail on the building is incredible. Using colored tile on the walls, ceilings, and floors is really popular in the south of Spain because the Arabs occupied Spain from 711-1492 (history class, what up?!). I can't describe how beautiful it is and I'm terrified my pictures won't do it justice. I'm kicking myself for not being able to post pictures on the blog!

After the Alcázar, we walked around for a while in search of various plazas and bread to eat with our monstrous jar of Nutella. Side note: we bought Nutella and apples and bananas and granola bars in hopes of saving money eating out. #collegekids

Continuing the adventure: my favorite part of the day was finding the Plaza de España. I literally stopped dead in my tracks. First, part of one of the newer Star Wars films was filmed there. Two, part of the new Sasha Baron Cohen movie The Dictator was filmed there. It's beautiful in the movie too, don't worry. There's a huge fountain in the Plaza, so we definitely say and put our feet in the water for about twenty minutes. The building in the Plaza is one of the largest buildings I've ever seen in my life. It arcs around the plaza and has a MOAT. A moat! How awesome! You can rent boats for the moat. Spaniards love to rent boats, I guess. The building is brick, I think, but it's speckled with that beautiful colored tile so I wouldn't mind if it was made of dookie. Obviously, I would mind that and I would be disgusted, but you know what I mean.

We walked all over Sevilla today and sweated worse than pigs. My Chaco's rubbed two blisters on each of my feet that have now become open wounds. Did I mention it's almost 100 degrees in Sevilla, but 80 in Madrid? Sevilla, you're beautiful. But you are HOT.

Somehow, our bus situation in always an adventure. After saying goodbye to Tarsi and watching The Dictator trailer about seven times, we went to a bus station. Wrong. This particular bus station stops sending buses to Granada at 2:30. It was 4. Across the city we went using the public transit, wishing we were on Madrid's Metro. We got on our non-air conditioned bus to Granada with five minutes to spare. Everyone was in a tizzy because we were all going to Granada, but the bus had a different destination taped to the window. Too tired to worry about that, Sara and I got settled. The girls in front of us go to Ole Miss, so that was nice.

Three hours later, we got lost trying to find our new family. We should have been prepared for getting lost, but we weren't. We finally made it to Stephanie and her precious dog Misou, who made me miss Piper so badly my heart aches we haven't met Marco, Stephanie's boyfriend, but maybe we will tomorrow. He works at a tapas bar. She speaks over five languages. And she's from Belgium. Legit.

We have made so many international friends this weekend. First, the boy from Ireland. Then a couple from Arizona stood in line behind us (they're son works for the FBI. Should have gotten his email!), then a couple from Sydney, Australia took our picture in the Plaza de España. A man from Switzerland also took our picture and told us about a wedding he went to yester night. Now, Stephanie is from Belgium and has lived in Spain for five years, perfectly picking up the language from hearing it. I can't wait to see who we'll meet tomorrow!

A lot of people got married in Sevilla today. A LOT. At all times too. Even the people who were wed in the middle of the day had guests in black tie attire and all the ladies wore hats like the British. Gosh, I live Spain.

Stephanie, Marco, and Misou live on a hill. Seriously, we climbed like 50 stairs to get up here. But, the view is breathtaking. The apartments here are so much prettier than anywhere else I've seen so far. We went to dinner about a fifteen minute walk from here and had Italian- it so hit the spot. I'm thinking I want BBQ and Krispy Kreme when I get home...then I'll go right back to wishing Paloma was there and that the fruit in the US was as fresh as the fruit here.

adventure.

Friday = test day = diet coke = two cups of coffee = only missed one question on my exam.

Paloma made us meat loaf, the garbanzo soup, tomatoes, and bread for lunch. I ate way too much, but I'm going to be living off of nutella sandwiches all weekend! Sweet Paloma made Sara and me two sandwiches each for the road and kissed us both goodbye, wishing us a great trip to Sevilla and Granada. She's really like our mom.

After waiting for a long time in the train station with a gross smelling but very nice man from Alicante, we finally got on the bus. Left Madrid at five, got to Sevilla at midnight. Didn't make it to our room until about 1:30. It's been a long day.

New people to know:
1. The Irish guy that sat in front of me on the bus. I regret not talking to him until about six hours into the trip. We kept making stops and Sara and I would get ready to get off, but no one else would. He finally explained that they make a few small stops along the way, but he would let us know when we got to Sevilla. No lie, I had a hard time focusing on and comprehending what he was saying because of his incredible accent. He asked where we were from and "whereabouts" in Alabama did we live, why are we in Spain, are we living in a hostel, we're with a family? Well that's "grand." I think I could have listened to him talk all day. He asked where we were going in Sevilla and we told him we had no idea; we had a map, an address, and adventurous spirits. Unfortunately, our adventurous spirits faltered a little when we couldn't even make it out of the train station without our Irish friend. Thankfully, he showed us how to get to our destination. He thought it was funny. So sweet.
2. Tarsi. He's hosting us for the evening. Sometimes, his mother lives here. This weekend, she doesn't. But, Tarsi is very nice. He wasn't even mad when we got here so late and couldn't find his apartment building. He came out to the street to find us! He showed us our room, got us some water, and we haven't seen him since. He has maps for us and a list of places we should go to while we're here.

For now, I've quenched my adventurous spirit in hopes of resting my burning eyes and weary body. Ready or not, Sevilla, I'm hitting you full force en la mañana!

zucchini.

It's Thursday...you should all know what that means by now. Study, study, study. I only took breaks today to eat, pee, shower, and now blog/Skype. Such a drag, I know.

We did get to watch part of the EURO cup during dinner though, and I've been able to keep up with it via the men that live across the way. By the way they yelled, I'm pretty sure Spain won. Or is winning. Just watching fútbol on tv with Spaniards is an adventure.

I bought the Spanish equivalent to Munchies today during my break. They were good, but it was just cheetos, a few dorito type chips, and some bugles. No pretzels or anything exciting. But I did get two Paloma meals, including some incredible zucchini soup. Who knew zucchini was good, much less in a soup?

My favorite part of today was very small, but oh so terribly cute. Sara had to mail some postcards and the most adorable old man was in the post office. He had a cane and was totally white headed with the cutest little old man voice I've ever heard.

There's another old man we pass every morning on the way to class. I always smile at him, but he doesn't keep eye contact very long. I don't know if he's just polite or doesn't care. Let's go with polite.

My favorite thing we pass every morning is a small group of kids, three or four girls and a boy about seven or eight years old. They all have down syndrome or something similar to it, and they are precious. Every morning they are giggling and laughing and talking to whoever happens to be sharing the bench with them. Their parents or teachers (I'm not sure who they are) wait with them. I don't know if they wait for a bus or get to go to a special school. I don't know their names or stories and we've only said hola one time these past few weeks, but I pray for them everyday. I don't know what it is about them that makes me want to be friends with them. Krista Greenemeier, maybe you can move here to work with them in a few years? I'll come back too and show you the ropes. Maybe we can live permanently with Paloma?

flamenco dancer in the making.

If I could have the last 20 years back, I would train to be a flamenco dancer.

I went to see Carmen (the opera, but as a flamenco ballet) this evening with about 12 other girls from our group. It was fantastic! Tickets were only 10€ and I'm sure it wasn't the best performance of Carmen ever, but it was still so impressive. Flamenco is like tap dancing on steroids plus really full, flowy skirts plus hand and arm motions plus a guitar plus a singer plus light clapping that doesn't seem to go along with the rhythm, but really it IS the rhythm. It was fascinating to watch and I am so glad I was able to experience it. I got so into the story that when it ended I was dumbstruck.

Sara and I decided after the show that we are meant to be flamenco dancers. Can't you see it? If I can't be a flamenco dancer, I'll just be an Irish dancer. Or maybe both.

Before the show, Sara and I went to dinner. We hated to eat away from Paloma's table, but we were afraid we wouldn't make it home in time for dinner. Although we were sad, we made up for it by eating PAELLA! I had paella with seafood in it. Absolutely incredible. I have to find a paella pan in the States and learn to make it. It's too good to leave in Spain.

We got out of class early today to visit the Museo Thyssen, a private collection museum of the family Thyssen, the same family that started ThyssenKrupp, Reed's new employer. #smallworld

It wasn't very interesting. What impressed me was the amount of artwork a family can collect (buy) in two decades. There were Goyas and Grecos and Picassos and so many more that I didn't recognize and can't remember.

There aren't many other updates for today. Spanish men still stare and make kissing noises at us. Paloma's cooking still rocks. The New Yorkers are still strange, and class is still wonderful. I really can't believe that God blessed me with this opportunity.

belong.

I felt like a Spaniard today. It's happened a few other times on the trip, but it's usually very fleeting and followed by a totally American move on my part. Not today, my friends. Nope, today it was a real, strong awareness. I just kept thinking, "You could belong here. You DO belong here." When we went to Alicante for the weekend, I missed home. But it wasn't Alabama I missed that weekend...it was Madrid. How weird is that?

I've realized that I really connect well with places. I'm big on tying memories to the place they happened. I love to visit somewhere again and remember what happened there and how I felt and how everything smelled and sounded and what people were around and why I would remember in the first place. It terrifies me to know that I may not come back here. It also terrifies me to know that a part of me is already nestled here and will never leave. I don't think Madrid will let me stay away...Honduras won't let me stay away. That's why I take pictures of everything and have such horribly long blog posts. I don't want to forget anything.

I think part of my "I can be a Spaniard" realization today was the outfit. Flowy cream shirt, cobalt blue slacks, Spanish made sandals, and a white, cream, and matching blue scarf. It also helped that we walked all over the old part of Madrid today, including the Plaza Mayor. Have I mentioned how much I adore Madrid?

Sara, Cynthia, Olivia, and Tyler (all friends from our Auburn group) and I walked to all the major buildings we saw on a walking tour at the beginning of our trip: Banco de España, el ayuntamiento, the Plaza Mayor, el Mercado de San Miguel, etc. We hopped into H&M, Zara, Mango, and a few other stores looking at the crazy European clothes. I love it. This afternoon was great, just walking around the city, window shopping, taking pictures of anything I wanted, and getting a few more things for my family.

It's already Tuesday. Which means I'm already almost halfway done with this week. Which means there's only one week after that. Which means I'll leave this place in ten days. TEN DAYS.

Don't worry, Sara and I are taking full advantage of it. Tomorrow, we go to a museum with our group. Tomorrow evening, a flamenco ballet! Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we're going to Sevilla and Granada. Next week, we're taking salsa lessons and visiting the Palacio Real. Then Paris. Then lots of flying. Then home. My. Oh my.

I'm so glad I branched out and hopped over the pond.

similies.

I decided to be brave today and run in the Retiro (the huge park). The weather has been incredible today; just sunny enough to be beautiful, just windy enough to need a cardigan, and just cloudy enough to look like it might rain soon. Spain needs rain. It's flowers are looking drab.

Anyway, running in the Retiro was refreshing. For five minutes. Then my body started to complain. It started slow, from my gut. Then my knees caught on, then my lungs. How in earth did I ever run three half marathons in four months? How did I let my favorite thing become a roadblock? I'm glad I ran today and I'm falling even more in love with the Retiro. But by the time I made it back to Paloma's, my face was glistening like a nose hair after a sneeze. That's about what I felt like too.

Today is Monday, which means we started a new class today! I'm taking history, which covers from literally the beginning of people in Spain to the present day. My professor is a male, which is kind of unusual in our school. There's only like three and all the rest are females. The class is mainly lecture, but he takes small breaks to ask us what we've been doing in Spain and where we're going this weekend, giving us suggestions on things to visit. He lived in Ireland for five years and has visited most of Europe, and he's just really intelligent. He lectures like he's having a conversation with you, like there's nothing more important to him than giving us the information he's processing. I already have a lot of respect for him and I don't even know what his name is!

He's kind of paranoid, I think. He made two comments about avoiding cancer today: one in reference to how sunburned we all are after Alicante, and the other in reference to the glass bottle he uses for water just in case plastic ends up killing us all. He also has this deep, throaty genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up. You know?

I'm finding it harder and harder to deal with the New Yorkers. One: they use our shampoo and soap in the shower. Have they ever asked? No. Does it really matter? No. But it's rude. How are you going to use something that's not yours without even asking? Two: they use Sara's soy milk... That she pays for. One of them tried to use it in front of me and I asked her to put it back. She said she was only going to use a little bit, but Sara bought that for herself! If they want soy milk, they buy it just like Sara did. Three: they was their faces but don't rinse all the soap off. How do we know? The soap bleached one of Paloma's hand towels. She was all over them like a colony of E. coli on room temperature Canadian beef. It's one thing to use mine and Sara's things, but how dare they be so inconsiderate about something that belongs to the lady who opened her house to us like family? I don't appreciate it one bit. Plus they take too long in the bathroom. Paloma comes in our room almost everyday to tell us how she feels about them. She's not a fan because she thinks they aren't nice. Hm.

Paloma is on the phone a few rooms away and I can hear every word she is saying. What a fireball, that Paloma. I wish I could bring her back to Auburn with me. She would be such a fun roommate.

la arena

It's 1 am. We got back from Alicante about two hours ago. Longest. Drive. Ever.

I underestimated the beaches in Spain. It was gorgeous. The water was so blue and SOOO much clearer than Gulf water. I think the Lord knew I needed a peaceful day. He blessed us with beautiful weather and nice people around us. Unfortunately, the ladies do like to go topless. A lot. From ages 0- 60. All weights. All shapes. All disgusting. We did not partake in the ta-ta party.

Laying in the sand with the sun above me, a slight breeze blowing to cool me down, and people speaking Spanish all around me made for a pretty wonderful day. Plus, the hotel packed bocadillos for us: one tuna and one ham and cheese. Their bread was fantastic and the sandwiches were good until the wind picked up and literally created sandwiches for us.

But seriously, who forgot to pray for no sunburn? It happened. The whole backs of both my legs, splotches on the fronts, and part of my back. It's not the worst I've ever had and thank goodness it wasn't the top part of me. Our bridesmaid dresses for AM's wedding are floor length, so I won't have to worry about evening the legs out.

We stopped at a rest stop in the way back to Madrid (home). It was quite literally the nastiest rest stop ever. Seriously, the places we stop at in Honduras are nicer and cleaner than this place (insert missing Honduras and my children here). But, everyone was watching Spain tie Italy in the EURO 2012 game so that was highly entertaining. Spaniards are hilarious when watching soccer. I'm quickly learning how to cuss in Spanish, but don't worry I'm not saying any of the words!

I know I'm forgetting something, but my brain can't function right now. There's probably pesky sand stuck in there.

uneventful.

Today has just been a long day. We left Madrid at 9am and stopped an hour or so later in Segóbriga. What's that, you ask? The most boring Roman ruins left. I'm serious. There was a really small amphitheater type area, but it was fenced off because it was being worked on. The museum was a room about the size of my den in Auburn and nothing interesting happened there. I was disappointed that we stopped in Segóbriga, but it's part of our class credit.

Three hours and 60% of a book later, we arrived in Alicante. We checked into a hotel and went straight to your a castle. It was pretty, but the views from the top were better than the actual castle. It's right by the sea and you can see the whole city. Our tour guide showed us where soldiers were imprisoned during the Civil War. A lot of them carved their names and the date in the stone floor. Evidently, Alicante was the last Republican city to fall to Franco.

We walked from the castle back to the hotel, and I decided I'm not a huge fan of Alicante. Besides the fact that I'm not really a beach person, Alicante is kind of dirty, literally and figuratively. The sidewalks aren't very clean, the people don't dress as nice as they do in Madrid, and there are tons of, ahem, non family friendly stores and clubs. Everywhere.

Dinner at the hotel was wonderful. We sat at tables of four and shared a salad without receiving separate plates. We had bread, pasta with tomato sauce, a huge toasted chicken leg and thigh, French fries, and a small ice cream for desert. I'm totally content and really looking forward to breakfast and lunch tomorrow!

I'm exhausted, mentally and physically. Being away from home (which today is Alabama AND Madrid) is starting to wear me down quite a bit. Reed is apartment hunting and furniture shopping in Mobile before he starts his new big boy job and it's killing me to not be there for him. My friend Russel is getting married today. Piper is at a kennel. Etc., etc. I'm looking forward to starting a new class next week and for the trips we have planned, but I'm also ready to come home.

Sorry for being such a downer today. I just need to sleep, and maybe find some chocolate or a doughnut. Or both :)

freddie mercury in spain.

Things that definitely brightened my day:
1. Cookies
2. 80 degree weather
3. A ten minute cat nap
4. The black cocker spaniel that lives downstairs. His name is Luki and he loves me.
5. The man that lives across the way from us. We can see in his windows; he can see in ours. He's been putting on a concert for us all afternoon, complete with every cliche Queen song imaginable and "Blue (Da Ba De)," in horribly broken English. Hilarious.

Pretty sure I aced my final today, and I'm pretty sure it was because I had a coffee and a diet coke. Yikes. Just can't get over the sleepy feeling! I'm kind of sad to be finished with my film class...I really loved it. I love being exposed to different cultures and film is a great way to do so, especially if you're going to be stuck inside a classroom with no windows for four hours. Plus my teacher was super sweet. She asked each of us what are plans are for our lives, and I'm fairly certain she's convinced I'm going to be a spy/CIA agent. She also loves Princess Bride and the Goonies. She's practically American.

Maria, Gonzalo's girlfriend, spent some time at the ER today. They thought she had a virus or something because she was really sick, but she just suffers from migraines. She just came back home and she looks like she feels miserable. She's so wonderful to us; I really hate that she's had such a rough day. Maria always asks me about my film class and what we've been doing around Madrid. I think Sara and I
are going to get her flowers later.

We've decided the roommates are pretty okay, but they take too long in the baño and that's just inconsiderate. They're still strange. But tolerable.

Sara and I ate leftovers for dinner (at a normal time!) and then talked for a bit while pinterest-ing. I cannot get over how greatly God blessed me with a friend like her for this trip. Paloma gave us a hard time for not seeing Spain's nightlife, so we both got ready and bit the town...in search of chocolate. Supposedly there's a place in our neighborhood that serves churros con chocolate, but it evaded us tonight. We walked for about half an hour in search of the chocolateria. It turned out to be a good thing though; I knocked a few calories off the bum bum to make room for the chocolate Freddo Freddo ice cream and cone. I'm sure I'll regret that ice cream tomorrow when I'm laying on the beach in Alicante, but at least I won't be nakey like some of the Spaniards might be!

hump day.

I've officially fallen in love with cherries. I'm not talking about the ones they put on your ice cream that are syrupy and disgusting. I'm talking REAL cherries. FRESH cherries. We've had them for dessert for the past two nights, and I can't get enough of them. I'm afraid fruit is much more fresh (fresher? Scott?) here than in the States, and it's going to be a nasty surprise when I get home!

Today is the halfway point for the trip. I left Wednesday, May 23 and The program ends Saturday, June 23. That's 32 days, people. And today is day 16. I don't like that time has gone by so quickly, but I'm so glad I'm not new on the scene, getting lost in the metro and bringing unnecessary attention to my American self.

Today was another one of those boring day-before-a-final days. I've been here studying and procrastinating like a pro. Today was also return-laundry-to-the-Americans day. I din't know how Paloma can stand to do laundry for strangers (pretty much), but I do know that laundry just smells better in Spain.

I really need to study. These directors from the 80's and 90's are giving me a hard time. Their themes are interesting. Some of them still deal with the Civil War but some of them have moved on to more contemporary social problems. The film we watched today was "Te doy mis ojos," about a man who abuses his wife. I thought it was going to be very typical, but the film showed both sides of the story. The man loved his wife and went to therapy to try and learn to control his anger, but he just couldn't do it. There was some sort of mental roadblock he couldn't get past and she just couldn't live with him breaking her every other day. It was so sad because he tried to stop verbally and emotionally abusing her, he just couldn't. I'm not sympathizing with the character or trying to justify his actions, but I do pity him.

Anyway, the change of pace from Civil War to modern times has been interesting. There's nudity and sex scenes in every movie we've seen since the 80's. Franco died in 1975 and the censorship he imposed on the country, including the film industry, was lifted in 1978. Spanish directors and screenwriters exploded with things that had been censored in the past, and now nudity and sex scenes are to be expected in most Spanish films. It's sad. I don't think that is liberation; I just think it's kind of tasteless. But it's Europe. Everything runs a little differently here.

Okay. Nun cookie, study, sleep, then beach this weekend. Start praying now that I don't burn and that all the Spaniards don't decide to make it a nudist beach.

get your eyes off my face.

I was easily frustrated in class today. It was miserably, almost unbearably hot in our classroom. There's air conditioning in the hallway, but not in our little baby classroom. It made for a long four hours and a slightly grumpy LB. I did get a 99 on my midterm, though. And I did get to watch another movie. And Paloma's ham sandwiches have gotten significantly better, or maybe I'm just getting used to them.

Accomplished my alone time today. I read more than half of a book free from kindle on the iPad. It was wonderful. I was away in my own small world, wrapped up in a pointless story I didn't have to think about, forgetting how hot it is here and how long we have to wait to eat like Spaniards. It was the perfect remedy to my blues from yesterday.

Spanish pet peeve of the day: staring. I don't know if it's a European thing or a Spanish thing or if I'm just drop-dead gorgeous (probably the last one, yeah?), but people stare here like their lives depend on it. There's no "oh they looked at me so I'm going to avert my eyes really quickly and act like I wasn't staring." There's no apologetic smile. Just a stare. Deadpan. Or a removal of the sunglasses to get a better look while muttering "guapa." Or sometimes a creepy smile from a man. Or an interested smile from the boy wearing the Laker's shirt today. Sorry I'm not sorry that I'm taken, buddy.

A group of us went to el Museo Reina Sofia this evening. Admission is free after 7pm, but the museo closes at 9. Unbeknownst to us, university students get in fo free all da time!

If you've been keeping up with my museum visits, you already know how this one went. FYI, Picasso and Dalí are all up in this joint, including Picasso's Guernica. It was so much better in person than I thought it would be. I was just awestruck at it's enormous size, and by the protection the museum offers the painting. Three guards, multiple surveillance cameras, and a huge sensor all around the work.

I think all of the protection is a little ironic. Guernica is a small village in Spain that was bombed by German aircraft in 1937 during Spain's Civil War. Hitler and his forces had given aid to Franco during the war in order to test out new weapons, and Guernica became a target as it was a hotspot for the Republican army. Unfortunately at the time of the bombing, the village was inhabited by mostly women and children, as the men were off fighting the war. Picasso's painting depicts the horrors of war and the wretched effects it has on the innocent. He was commissioned by the Republican government to paint Guernica for the World's Fair, and obviously it's a criticism of Franco and his government. That's why all if the security is ironic to me; it's a criticism of how the government should protect the people.

Knowing all of that (plus some that I won't bore you with) while looking at that piece of art and all of Picasso's practice sketches made my heart ache. The Spanish Civil War is just so interesting but so difficult to study at the same time.

I wandered around the museum a lot by myself; I need to be able to absorb and process the art I've dreamed about seeing. I am loving the museums here. Who knew I was such an art lover? #sophisticated

Sara and I took the Metro to the museum and back. There are usually musicians at all of the stops playing for money. Today, we saw a violin player we'd never seen before. Involuntarily, I started humming along with him until we passed him, and then realized the song was "Oh Sacred Head." It wasn't the best, but it still made me miss home.

My friends scattered today. One in New York, one in Tanzania, and one in Austria. Say a little prayer for them if you can. Traveling can be scarier than we all want to admit, and everyone can use a little more encouragement to avoid the homesickness.

madrid's best kept nun-ish secret.

Volver: a movie we watched today in class involving hiding murders of husbands, having your father's child, your mother faking her own death, and keeping secrets. Thanks, Almodóvar for keeping it real with strange movies about Spanish women.

My presentation went well today, I really had nothing to worry about. She let us sit and just talk to everyone and she contributed a lot too. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. But for real, we probably will have chicken for dinner tonight because the other girls don't eat red meat. Or ham. I'll keep you posted.

Adventure of the day: el Convento de las Carboneras. Tucked away in one of the oldest areas of Madrid, Madrid de Los Austrias, is this small convent. The building doesn't even look like a church and there's an academy housed in the rooms beside it. In this small, closed convent, the nuns sells different types of cookies to help support themselves. Since it's a closed convent, you never see the nun you buy the cookies from!

After some miscommunication from google and a misleading modern store of the same name, we found the secret door to the convent. After standing in front of it for a few minutes looking like the ignorant tourists that we are, a Spanish lady came over to us. She smiled, asked of we came for the cookies, and then rang the bell. (Why didn't we think of that?) A voice came over the intercom and the lock gave way on the old door. Our new friend pushed it open and ushered us in, telling us which way to go. We walked slowly past her into the shadowy hallway and inched towards a patch of sunshine. The ancient door closed behind us and both of us were beginning to wonder what we'd gotten ourselves into. We followed the lady's directions and found ourselves in an open patio area with plants and a staircase and green doors followed by another similar one. Then we stepped down and heard a voice from behind a window with a lazy-susan type of contraption. The nun spun the lazy-susan around a few times and suddenly, there appeared two boxes of cookies! She told us we could choose from the two, get them both, and we could get as much or as little as we wanted. Sara and I decided on a box of mantecados de yema, shortbread cookies made from sugar and egg yolk. I paid her for the cookies and wished her a beautiful day. She wished me the same and Sara and I snapped some pictures before we left. The lady who helped us was waiting outside and gave us cards with the Virgin Mary on them, asking for money. Since she was so sweet to us, we helped her out a little.

There are beggars in various places all over Madrid. Spain is in an economic crisis right now, but you wouldn't be able to tell by just being here. People still go shopping. People still dress very nicely and eat out A LOT. it's the same way Americans have been acting during our economic crisis, which is why it's hard for me to justify giving to some of the beggars here. There is opportunity here just like there is in America. I look at some of the beggars here wearing shoes with layers of clothes and a cup of change in front of them and see my kids from Honduras. Without shoes. Dirty. Humble. And before a few months ago, without hope of a good meal everyday. I'm not saying that there are not people in need here, and I'm definitely not the one to judge who deserves what. But jobs are available here, even in a crisis. Jobs just aren't available in Santa Anita.

Even though we didn't see the nun, she sounded precious. She had a little old lady voice, but she was so very nice and cheerful. The image of Sally Field as the Flying Nun kept jumping into my head, even though I'm sure this Spanish nun looks nothing like Sally Field. You never know, I guess.

I think I need to escape for a bit tomorrow afternoon. Take a run, duck into the used (and adorably old) bookshop I've passed a few times, and browse through the fair again outside our house. I can feel myself getting tense and agitated even though I'm excited and happy and...it's exhausting. I think it's from lack of hugs. And solo time. While there is no one here I wish to hug, especially not the older creepy man on the metro that stared the whole time he walked past us, there is a cure for the solo time. Mañana.

justice beaver, a crime fighting beaver.

I finally figured out how to make accent marks when typing on the Ipad. Newb, I know. Please excuse any grammar mistakes or typos; autocorrect is my enemy.

The weather was phenomenal today. Gonzalo, Paloma's son, told me that no one my age in Spain says the word "phenomenal." If they do use it, they are "pujo" or "puja." People that wear Gucci and Prada. Preppy. He laughed and said "you're not preppy." Agreed, Gonzalo.

Walking to class was genial (great) today, and the nice weather made my attitude in class much better than normal. We watched a movie called "Belle Époque" with a really young Penelope Cruz. It was totally scandalous but really sweet at the same time. Accidentally, Sara and I grabbed the roommates' cheese sandwiches (blegh) instead of our ham sandwiches. Luckily, we swapped during our 15 minute break. They add an extra 45 minutes each day this week so we complete all the hours we need to get full credit for our courses. Not fun, but así es la vida.

Tomorrow I have a ten minute presentation on José Luis Cuerda, famous Spanish director. I don't really know who he is either, so don't worry about it. His movies seem phenomenal though. Jaja.

After class, I finally found some postcards! My afternoon was filled with writing postcards, Skype, mailing the cards, buying some apples to snack on this week, and tons and tons of research. I love walking around our little barrio alone. I mean, I love walking around with Sara too, but I think we both respect each other enough to realize we need our alone time. I bought a small pastry for my snack today that I probably won't eat again... It was very large and very chocolately. I eat more chocolate here than at home because I don't have to worry about kissing a certain someone who abhors chocolate. Paloma puts these baby chocolate pieces in our room and they are hard to resist. I should probably go running with Sara the next time she goes. She is diligent, that Sara.

Dinner was a mixture of things, but Paloma made her broccoli again. It is so good. I don't know what she does to it, but it's wonderful. I'm going to have to get some of her recipes before I leave. Her food is too good to leave in Spain.

Exciting news: beliebers everywhere in Madrid are camping outside the Hotel Villa Magna because Justin Bieber is in Madrid! A group of us girls from Auburn were going to stake out his concert, but I don't think there is actually going to be one. Girls cry here for JBiebs just like at home. And they use the word "belieber" instead of a Spanish translation.

Writing postcards made me miss people today. That doesn't necessarily mean I want to go home, I just wish my people were here too! Words don't do this trip justice, and it's killing me that I can't upload my pictures to show everything in my blog. June 27th-ish will be rough when I have to go through them all and miss everything I've come to love.

I'm fading fast. Until next time I am sincerely,

Slightly friends/family/puppy/but-not-home sick.

vuvus and yanks.

Ahem. I wish to begin today by declaring my permanent hatred for the vuvuzela. I will come back to this nuisance shortly.

Madrid was cooler today than it has been recently, I am SO grateful for the slight relief. Alabama may be the death of me when I come home and have to get used to more than 87 degrees and humidity. Oh humidity.

Sara and I hopped on the metro pretty early this morning (for a day off, it was pretty early) to go to El Rastro. El Rastro is kind of like an open air flea market, except it's individual and sectioned off booths full of everything from clothes to paintings to "as seen on tv" items to magnets to antiques to scarves, etc. The best part? It literally covers like five blocks of a section of Madrid. They close and block off the area to cars and there are just people EVERYWHERE. Spaniards, Americans, and every other type of European to can imagine. I heard languages today that I've never heard in person before. I held my bag closer to my body than I ever had before (pickpocketers are professionals in Madrid). I spent more money than I planned to, but I'm also pretty much finished with souvenirs for everyone. I think. I won't say what I bought today. I don't want to ruin any surprises!

We spent close to three hours at the Rastro then came home to eat the sandwiches Paloma made for us that we accidentally forgot here. Oops. I have to say I enjoyed sandwiches much more today than past days because our sandwiches were still cold when we ate them! Spanish ham tastes so much better when it hasn't been sitting in my bag for four hours. After lunch, we napped. We needed naps, badly. I cannot seem to catch up on sleep here. I'll think I'm doing great and getting used to the Spanish schedule, but then exhaustion hits me like a ton of Iberian hams.

At 4:30, we left Paloma's to head towards Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, home to Real Madrid F.C. It was awesome! Real Madrid was playing Manchester United in a charity alumni match called "Africa en mi alma." of course, I know next to nothing about soccer and the two clubs that I watched today, but I definitely have a new appreciation for soccer. The atmosphere was incredible, and it wasn't even a real match! They do chants and they do the wave SOOO much better than we do. I still don't understand the game and why there are so many people on the field. But it was an experience I wouldn't change for anything.

The stadium was almost full. They had four parachuters drop down before the match and two of them held the flags for each club. Then they introduced all of the alumni players, which kind of took forever. Everyone ooh-ed and ahh-ed at every play and grimaced when someone hit the ground. Also, each small child had a stupid vuvuzela. I thought at first "how cool that something from South Africa and the World Cup became so popular all over the world!" Then, I realized that the noise. Never. Stops. I don't like loud things. Vuvuzelas stress me out.

The game was more exciting than other ones I've watched, but Sara and I still left after the first half (sorry, fútbol fans) to beat the crowd on the metro and make it home in time for dinner.

There are two newbies staying with us and Paloma now. They are from New York and interesting. I'm not sure if it's just the difference between northern and southern personalities or jet lag or or the fact that Sara and I eat everything and they don't eat meat... But dinner was kind of awkward. Hopefully it'll get better and we'll all get used to being around each other. Yankees. (insert prayers for patience here.)

biggest monastery ever.

Seriously, I thought our tour of the Monesterio de El Escorial would never end. It was interesting for about an hour, but the hour after that was a drag. I hate saying that because it makes me sound like a spoiled brat not enjoying my expensive experience. I had fun today. I shopped a little today. I visited quaint little places and learned about one of the most religious kings of Spain. I hung out with some new people who are convinced that someday, I will be a hoarder. (I am NOT a hoarder. I just like to have another bottle of shampoo ready when I get low in my current bottle. Doesn't everyone?) I had fun exploring today and taking pictures. But the tour was tooooooo long. Thank goodness we could all find a way to entertain ourselves afterwards.

We saw over 150 tombs today in that monastery. It was kind of creepy. I also learned that when a king or queen dies, they put their body in a waiting room to decay and after forty years or so, the monks take the remaining bones out and place them in the tomb. I'm not sure what our guide called the room, but the root of the word is "pudrirse," which means "to rot." Gross. The present king of Spain is in a dilemma though; he is in his late 70's and has to find a different rot room and tomb because the one we saw today is full! Sorry, Juan Carlos. Good luck.

After El Escorial, we visited el Valle de Los Caidos (the valley of the fallen). Up in the kind of mountains outside Madrid is this HUGE basilica where Franco, the last dictator of Spain, Primo de Rivera, the first dictator of Spain, and the remains of many soldiers from the civil war are buried. Interesting fact: they like to think all of the remains are of Franco's soldiers, but there's no way to be sure. There could be some republicanos lurking behind those big doors!

Franco and Primo's graves are on either side of the huge altar in the sanctuary...where people still go for mass. It made me kind of sick to my stomach to think that people go there to worship. First of all, it's made of concrete and not very inviting. It's very cool inside the basilica but it's more than just the temperature and the fact that there is no way for sunlight to come in. The atmosphere is cold and austere. I just feel like it's a mixture of praising God and praising Franco, and it shouldn't be like that.

The view from the basilica is beautiful though. It's all Spanish countryside and at the top of the mountain is the tallest cross in the world. It's 150m high and very impressive. It took prisoners of war (really, Franco?) 18 years to complete el Valle. You used to be able to walk/hike to the top, but there's not enough money to maintain the trail. I bet the view from up there is incredible.

Sara and I snacked again today at our little Rodilla restaurant across the street from Paloma's and talked about our plans for the free weekend. I realized today that Wednesday is the halfway point for the trip. Say what?!

I also realized today that I'm in my own little world here. I can't text my friends and family and see them everyday to stay caught up on their lives. I feel like I'm missing out on everyone else's summers and I feel horrible about it. People are getting married and going on mission trips and moving and getting jobs and it bothers me that I can't hung someone's neck and tell them how proud I am of them. Just know that whether you're in Huntsville, Auburn, New York City, Tanzania, Austria, Honduras, Ghana, or just sitting on a (or buying a new) couch, I'm not neglecting our friendship! I'm just supporting from afar and wishing I could be in fifteen places at once.

happy birthday, deacon krista.

Today, I went to Spain's equivalent to the DMV. It's the same here. Sara and I took the wrong Metro, ended up on the other side of the city, and didn't meet everyone else until nearly six. No worries- they made an appointment for five but the DMV still hadn't done anything for them. See? Same.

I'm kind of dead after that midterm today. It wasn't hard at all and I'm confident that I did well, but it's because I studied so hard yesterday and yester-night. Worn. Out. We were going to go get dessert after dinner tonight but we didn't even get around to it.

I did get to talk with my mommy, though! I'm so grateful to whoever invented Skype. And computers. I'm not homesick, but I miss my family and friends. It helps that my mom and AM are do dadgum funny that both Sara and I laugh when I Skype with them. Doesn't help that daddy is still at work when I am about to go to bed. But, asi es la vida.

Today, when Sara and I were at the wrong metro, we made friends with a nice security guard. He's Egyptian and Spanish and is all for learning as many languages as possible. And he has a friend in Washington. He took good care of us though and made sure we took the right line after we talked with him.

Tomorrow we go to El Escorial and La Valle de Los Caidos. I'm excited because it's where Franco lived during his regime and it's an important historic monument I suppose, but it's also going to be really difficult, I think. He was friends with Hitler and Mussolini. Yikes.

I haven't seen Paloma all day. She was bebopping around this morning and then had a barbeque to go to! One of her friends is leaving the hospital to go home today after a long fight with cancer. He's in remission now and they are all going to surprise him when he arrives home. It's almost midnight and she's still gone, but she's a Spaniard. Typical!

My eyes are crossing. I have to sleep.