Segovia and Toledo

I think I might regret not writing sooner because many things I think I may have already forgotten.  Like usual here in Spain, I have done a million and a half things that were very new and interesting.  Last weekend I went to Joy, which is a night club (unfortunately mainly american) that is in a theater down by Sol.  Saturday and Sunday I went on day trips and during the week I tried to survive class.  This weekend I'm trying to save money and get ahead in class because I'm going with my roommates Rob and Andy to Paris.

So Saturday I went to Segovia.  Pretty cool small town that's only about an hour from Madrid.  There are three main things in Segovia:  a cathedral, a castle and a roman aqueduct.  I've been spelling that last word wrong for the last week and spell checker's been harassing me so I finally looked up how to spell it.  By far the coolest thing in Segovia was the Roman aqueduct.  It was really impressive to see how ingenious the engineering was behind it and how large it was.  The castle and the cathedral were also impressive, but I did not care for either as much as the aqueduct.  The cathedral was quite large and had some cool organs, but I felt it was very threatening on the outside, maybe a sign of the time it was built.  The castle did not feel like what I think of when I think of a castle.  However, that I attribute to it being a Spanish castle and most of the ones I think of are probably French or English.  Even though the castle or cathedral were too impressive, the views were.  We went on a cold cloudy day, which seems like it would be bad, but as it cleared up in the afternoon, we had great views of the surrounding hillsides with cloud shadows and rays of sunshine streaming across the fields.  One thing that cannot be forgotten about Segovia is there pig.  Not just any pig, the cochinillo.  Cochinillo is the Spanish word for suckling pig.  Now that freaks me out a bit, thinking about the whole pig being laid out for you to eat.  However, I told myself I had to do it.  That is until I found out how expensive they were.  Then I ended up settling for another place and eating cochifrito, which is the same thing, but cut into smaller pieces.  I liked it, but not enough to go out of my way to find it, or even order it again for that matter.  It was just for the novelty.  For those of you who want to know what it was like, keep reading, others, just skip to the next ridiculously long paragraph.  It was cut into small pieces that could be separated from skin and meat.  However, the best part was the skin, crispy yet leathery, so it was best to eat them together.  The process of eating the pieces was quite a hassle because there were so many little bones you had to watch out for.  I missed most of them, but probably not all of them.  Also, I got a treat and so did my roommate.  Rob got one side of the jaw and I got a little white gland shaped like a kidney.  Your guess is as good as mine as to what it was.

Sunday I went to Toledo.  I was looking forward to seeing the difference between Toledo, Ohio and Toledo, Spain, and I must admit, they were quite different.  The city is on one hill (at least for the most part and it is really only the old part of the city) and it is surrounded by a river and a wall.  There are four bridges I believe, all of which are centuries old, to get from the surrounding hills to the center of the city.  I have some nice pictures on Picasa of course which you can look at at your leisure.  The city was very tiny and filled with small alleys and old churches.  Apparently at one time there were something like 30 monasteries that basically made up the population of Toledo, which made many people not want to live there since they would be in constant fear of God watching them.  Again there were many impressive views, but I was not too impressed by the town.  It felt very old and like it was only a tourist spot.  If there had been some other attraction, I could have lived there because it was so peaceful and austere.  Here I decided I needed some cheese before lunch.  The tour guide left us for too long and my brain started getting hungry and making bad decisions.  I went in a store and asked for Manchego cheese.  The woman told me 10 euros/kg.  I was like ok, that sounds reasonable, I can pay 10 euro for a wheel of cheese that will last me a real long time.  Well, turns out the wheel of cheese was 2 kilos, so I ended up paying 20 euro!  I don't believe I will ever spend that much on cheese again (but one never knows).  The church there was also quite impressive, but much more so than the one in Segovia.  It followed the same layout, but this one had a room with a lot of gilded objects and old bibles, a room full of pictures of bishops dating back to the first century, and a lot of artwork by el greco.  El Greco is Spanish for the Greek.  He was named this because he had a name that was almost unpronounceable and he was the only Greek in Toledo.  We got to see one of his famous paintings of someone being buried and I really have never liked a piece of artwork so much.  There was a lot of meaning behind it and I was glad to have the tour guide along to help describe it (this was a school trip and that's why we had a tour guide, the Segovia one was just some friends who got together).

I feel like I had some more to say, but that's about all that happened this week.  Class continued and I got an abono mensual for the metro (monthly pass).  Now all I have to do is get through next week.  Oops, I remembered.  I signed up to teach a section of ESL thinking that there was a teacher and I was an assistant.  Nope.  I'm the teacher and I have to come up with lesson plans for people who don't speak english.  Great.  I'll tell you how it goes.

My top ten lists

Top ten things I hate about Madrid:

10.  Being the foreigner

---- I stand out like none other here with my blondness and my 6-foot-threeability, not to mention I believe I sound like a Chinese kid that is studying in the states.

9. The crosswalk chirps

----When you walk past several of them going at the same time it sounds like 100 kids are playing laser tag around you

8. Not being able to access certain U.S. websites

----Hulu is down, I repeat, Hulu is down.  Why can't some network syndicated shows simply be broadcasted everywhere on the Internet?  Apparently America figured out how to get money out of other countries since American made cars aren't fashionable.

7. The Metro

---- For being self dubbed "the metro the rest of the world dreams of"  (I'll take a picture and post it) it sure is slow.  The metro takes almost as long to get to school as it takes me walking.  Not to mention that everyday I get on the circle line the train breaks.

6. The beds

----I'm happy to have one, but this is the first bed I've been on which I can feel the springs.

5. The one cent euro

---- They are the devil.  I'm positive I got one today, although I still have yet to encounter it.  It is wiggling it's way into the corner of my bolsillo (sorry wallet) and will stay there for eternity.  It'll stay there not because I don't know it's there (they always haunt you) but because I know it will never be of use.  I should have told the cashier I just didn't want it.  We both would have been better off.

4. Unfriendly Friendliness

---- The people seem kind of standoffish.  There seems to be an attitude of 'you are a pain in my side' but maybe that comes with a big city.  On the other hand, if you know a person, they are overly friendly and get upset if you don't say hi to them.  Also, there are some people who have no concept of personal space.

3. Creepers

---- Spain is full of creepers.  I don't know what it is, but this place is a breeding ground for the creeps.  Every time we go out, it tends to go from party to rescue party when all the girls are getting danced on by 40 year old men.  

2. Crazy one way streets with crazy rules

---- For some reason Spain (and perhaps to a greater extent Europe) is obsessed with traffic circles.  I'm thrilled I'm not driving because it is the craziest system.  People can walk into crosswalks and the drivers have to stop (I dont like testing this one).  Certain intersections have stop lights, but because of the buildings, there are traffic cops directing everything.  Also, almost every street is one way (That would make finding where you're going almost impossible without a gps).  Back to the traffic circles, they are absolutely crazy.  No lines, just a free for all swinging around from lane to lane.  Thanks but no thanks.  With all the crazy streets, and all the traffic circles/roundabouts, Madrid is one of the most difficult cities to navigate (not to mention all the buildings are so high and so repetitive that it is difficult to find where you are for a couple of blocks).

1. Not not having nothing else to hate

Top Ten things I love about Madrid:

10. The Metro

---- For all it's problems, most of the trains are amazing.  And it is ridiculously clean.

9. The Big city with a small city feel

---- When you look at Madrid on a map and when you think of it, big city comes to mind.  I'm not about to say it isn't, but it really isn't.  I walk to school only about 2 miles and I cover almost the entire city (extreme over exaggeration).  However, from my point in the city, almost everything is within walking distance (at least those things that you want to see).  So in my mind, this city of 3 million people (an exact, verifiable by census value) is quite small.

8. La limpieza

---- The cleaning crew.  These people are awesome.  It's like there is a gigantic swarm of cleaner fish following your every move.  Literally I can go a block before I see another cleaning crew sweeping up the sidewalks and removing trash from trash cans. 

7. McDonalds

---- McDonalds here is like McDonalds in heaven.  It isn't fast food anymore (and according to the prices it almost isn't), it is über food.  Instead of the mac, the have el mac.  Sounds the same, but it isn't, far from it.  It is on chibatta bread and is like the best patty ever.  

6. Marli

---- Having a person to help you with Spanish: good.  Having a mom to help you get around town, feed you at random and makes your bed: awesome.  Having a practically random person come into your room and tease you about your ropa interior: priceless.

5. Food In General

---- There are always new things to try.  Today I went into a supermarket for the first time and had fun just looking at the different things.  I wanted to get some food for snacks and when I got to the cookie aisle I was like OREOS! And then I realized that they were almost 3 euros, for like 400 g.  Instead I did some more looking and found these awesome Spanish-cheapo brand cookies for 67 cents!  Now that's what I call a cookie!  This Saturday a couple of us are venturing to Segovia, so I do believe I'll try something new... cochinillo.  The whole idea of it kinda grosses me out, but I'll keep you informed.

4. The Bocadillos

---- Especially from school.  Wow.  There is a picture on picasa of what I'm talking about (or there will be real).  These things are huge from school.  And only two euro!  Granted they aren't the most delicious, but for the money?  What a deal.  Otherwise they are just real good, if not filling.  Probably the best was from a place near the Real Madrid Stadium. mmmm. bocadillos.

3.  Rebajas

---- The sales here are awesome.  Most people would probably tell you the clothes are way too expensive, but they are much better for the price here.  Target and Walmart have cheap clothes, but they are cheap in quality too.  The clothes here are made well and are cheap.  It's like shopping at a Kohl's where almost everything is stylish.  Note the stylish and not awesome. The clothes are cool, but so far I have had problems finding exactly what I need.  Also, after January the sales may be over, in which case the prices will be high.  SHOES though are always the same price: cheap.  And although you can find expensive shoes, I find no need to when the quality and quantities are so high.

2. The Views

---- Everything here is old.  Real old, and it is so amazing to see everything from the past mixed with new things like cars and buildings.  Plus, from school there are awesome views of the mountains in the distance.  Did I mention that there are cool old buildings?

1. Siestas

---- Back in the states we don't have this word.  Basically it means relax, don't do it, when you want to get to it, cause whatever you may think, you really don't want to.  Also, it isn't about being a procrastinator as much as not doing what can wait until tomorrow.  If it doesn't get done, who cares? we'll do it tomorrow.

P.S.  I just emptied my wallet to find that infernal penny.  You may have guessed correctly that I was making some of that stuff up about the penny and you are right.  It was just drawn upon from other's experiences, however, when I emptied all the coins, there was no penny.  I searched and what do you know, it had lodged itself in the corner of my wallet, ATTEMPTING to stay there for eternity.  Now all the suspicions are confirmed.

Whirlwind

What a week.  This has been a huge over stimulation and now just feels like a blur.  From what I can remember it was great, but now as school is beginning I feel like I need another vacation.  Thank god I signed up for that retreat to Loyola.  That is going to be much needed. 

Today being inauguration day, I ended up going through the motions while thinking about how I could watch Obama's speech.  Since I had class at 10, 12:30, 2 and 6:30.  That last one was the killer that made me stick around until 7 and miss the speech.  This wasn't a huge problem since I ended up doing a bunch of homework, but I still just wanted to go home and watch the inauguration live.  Instead I rode the metro at 7 and was able to catch the speech online.  Just as a quick note, I thought it was good, but I think I may be one of those cynics.  Maybe I'll change in a few months.  

Interesting story about today.  I got lost.  Not good anywhere in the city, but it ended up being on the outskirts of the city and oh what a pain it was.  Now at least I know a little bit more about Madrid.  The circle line has this habit of breaking down while I'm on the train, so of course the one day I'm running late, I got a broken train.  This is one of those days when " Me levanté con el pie izquierdo."  (Literally I woke up with the left foot, but means I got out of bed on the wrong side)  Anyways, rather than staying on the tracks, I decided to hoof it from where the train broke down.  First bad decision.  When I surfaced I found a map and orientated myself and started walking.  In the wrong direction.  When I went full circle I figured out what I had done, but now I was really late and nowhere closer.  I decided I was not going to pay another euro to go two stops, so I just kept walking and walking.  Eventually I did find the road, but not until walking past several universities and through a park.  After that the day wasn't horrible, but I just was worn out and lost interest in the day.  These days are just so long that I am always tired when I get back.   The only good thing is that I feel like I'm studying more than ever before.  Hopefully will all work out.  Vale, it's dinner time.  Talk amongst yourselves.

Cold climates and Bad habits

This week has been cold.  I say this and instantly regret saying it, but in my mind it has been.  For the most part it has been around 30 degrees but now has increased to about 50 during the day, which is much more bearable.  However, at night time it can still get pretty chilly.  I was thinking about buying a euro coat (not that cheap, just style wise), but I after shopping at several stores with rebajas, I decided not to buy one.  I was really looking for some light weight jacket that would serve the purpose for the slightly warmer months and look more stylish than a ski jacket.  Rebajas by the way are sales.  At first when I got here I thought they just had the sale signs up all year round like in Mexico.  They signs seemed to be plastered to the windows, so it seemed like a logical explanation.  After talking with Marli, I found out that actually the rebajas are just like we have in the US.  The stores are merely trying to get rid of their winter stock.  I was very surprised today when I saw Lacoste finally had rebajas signs up.  That must mean we are nearing the end of the rebajas.  I decided to see what a rebaja meant as far as lacoste goes, and as I expected, a button up shirt (or down if you prefer) was about 70 to 80 euro.

Shopping for me so far has been, I regret to say this too, shoes.  I have basically turned in to a woman and now every time I go by some shoe stores, I feel the urge to go in.  This may sound horrible, but you've got to understand where I'm coming from.  In the US I wear tennis shoes.  That's it.  Here they wear dress shoes, well at least leather shoes.  Therefore, I stick out like a sore thumb (which I don't really know how that would necessarily stick out) and these shoes are sooooo cheap for nice dress shoes.  The other day I bought (what I consider to be) a really nice pair of leather shoes for going out for only 20 euro.  That's about 30 dollars, and now according to my friends, I look very euro (I was wearing a thermal at the time, so that's why I attribute it to the shoes).  Yesterday I was overcome by another store and wanted to indulge again.  I know I would have loved these shoes, but I couldn't get over the fact that they might only be for play (even though these were only 15!).

This brings me to another point.  Something I have always wanted stores to do in the US is done here on a regular basis.  Prices are set with tax included (maybe a little more expensive), but there is little need for change.  As of yet I have not seen a penny and I'm not even sure they exist.  I do carry a lot of change with me, but each coin is worth a euro or two, which is actually a sizable amount.

Another interesting thing here, as in most big cities, is the street performers.  Yesterday while shopping, we first passed a demonstration full of people protesting the palestinian/israeli war, and then we found street performers lining the streets.  I also found out that people line the Plaza Mayor also.  On a regular basis there are performers in the subway playing an accordion or something similar, but the ones in Sol are much better.  I saw a statue of a soldier with a flower in his gun, a statue of a guy playing a guitar and a guy frozen in the wind.  The most impressive was the guys with actual talent.  It seemed like a bunch of business guys who just decide to go out and play on the weekends and pick up a bit of money if they can get it.  The four of them were dressed well for a bum and that is why I think they were not bums, and they were playing classical music, which was quite impressive.  I did not take many pictures of these people but some will be up sometime today.

Time Flys

Wow, one week is already gone.  I've been absorbed in the new style of living and immersed in the new culture and have hardly had time to realize that this has been one week already.  I've seen a lot of Madrid already.  Definitely not all of it, but I've made a good start.  From Alcala to Retiro to Sol, I feel like I've been all over.  Now it's time to start exploring outward.  Tomorrow I will probably be going to the Rastro (big time flee market, also breeding ground for pickpockets) and possibly see a Real Madrid game.  I'm real excited about the latter half of that, should it come true.  

It's definitely interesting seeing how I've been stripped of all that I know and then expected to function normally.  Not only can I not speak the language (although I'm working on it)  I've had to learn all new professors and figure out a new schedule.  Here people do not go to sleep until about 12 to 1 or 2. When people go out it tends to be closer to 6 because that's when the metro starts up again.  Sometimes I don't want to stay out that late, but something usually ends up happening that I can learn from, so I'm never disappointed.  

Last night for instance, we went to Kapital, which is one of the best night clubs in Madrid.  It is kinda far (about a mile or two away) but it was worth it.  Kapital I'm pretty sure used to be a theater, but now is a night club.  It has seven floor (although the definition of floor is loose).  There is different music on every floor, but the best is the first.  The first floor is the biggest and has dancers on the stage.  A really cool part is that in the center of the ceiling there is a huge hole where a huge blast of CO2 will blow out and cool down the dance floor when the music gets to the right point.  The only real weird thing was that there was a guy that came out onto a balcony and started beating a drum to electronic beats.  Everyone else liked him, but i was kinda indifferent.  I respected what he was doing but I couldn't really get into his beat for dancing.  I definitely am not going back there without some girls and a promoter cause it was way too expensive.  It was 18 euros to get in and that was only one drink.  Talk about a rip off.  However, many of the food items here are rip offs.  I bought a sandwich today and it ended up costing 4 euros and all it was was bread and meat.

Apparently we are going out again soon, so this is going to be cut short and I might end up editing it.  I'm just a little tired right now to be writing well.  Today I rode the metro to Retiro and walked around Retiro, down to an anthropology museum, then to Kapital, then back towards sol in a roundabout way.  Overall a good day, but there was a lot of walking.  I was able to check out some different shops which was real interesting because the shops are extremely compact with escalators stacked on top of escalators.  But more of this later.  Hasta la vista.

New notes

I made it to my first Spanish class today.  What a pain.  I felt sooooo stupid.  I heard everyone else messing up, of course when it got to me I did the same things.  I was not prepared for it, so I'll blame it on that, but I could tell the professor was like I am so done listening to you.  I think I would have too, cause I wasn't saying anything of importance.  I'll be ready for Monday, but this is definitely gonna be a learning experience.  

After class I grabbed lunch from La Tienda Verde again.  I've heard it's great, but I think I'm trying to figure out how to order what I want.  Yesterday I ate a sandwich mixta, but that ended up being a ham and cheese sandwich made in a george forman.  Still not bad, but I wanted something more authentic.  I found the menu after I ordered yesterday, so I checked that today and decided, well I might as well start eating from the top down.  Whatever I tried, it was ok, not phenomenal, but it was DEFINITELY interesting.  I bought a mediano and the bread was good (of course like it had been stale for a week) but the interesting part was the meat.  I'm pretty sure it was ham, however, the ham was marbled and dark, so the entire time I felt like I was eating cold bacon.  Monday it'll be another sandwich (I don't have class tomorrow).

Since I didn't have a post yesterday here's basically what went down.  I talked to some people and I think I know how to get an Abono mensual (monthly pass) for the metro.  Also I figured out how to remove money from my account after walking around Sol and asking just about everyone what I could do to get money.  It was fun though.  I saw the city in a different light, as a person completely alone yet independent.  When I returned home I asked Marli and she set me straight.  There is an apartment across from the apartment that transfers money for free.

Yesterday I went to class, thought it was cancelled, found out it wasn't at like six, so at that point it didn't matter.  Went home about two hours after the class was supposed to end and took some time at home before returning to school.  My other class for the day was Organic Chemistry and when I made it back, of course the teacher REALLY didn't show up for this one.  Therefore, my day was basically a complete waste.  Some people went out last night, I did not.  I did not have enough sleep and was ready to sleep.  When the guys came home they apparently had a good time, but I was not up for it.  Today I'll be going out most likely since I don't have class in the morning.  Most importantly I need to find some girls to go out with because then guys don't pay cover.  Pretty sweet, but now that classes have begun, I don't see the people I became friends with as much.  We'll see.  Hasta Luego.

Gettin' Down to the Nitty Gritty

Hola todos.  I'm gonna try and write as best as I can.  I just want to write because there are so many things on my mind, but man am I tired.  I love the siestas here, but today we kinda missed it.  We're gonna sleep a little before la cena but I'm gonna write... wow I'm rambling.  

So just a few minutes ago, I finally started to realize how amazing this trip is going to be for me.  I am already starting to think in Spanish and trying to speak as much as possible.  It's tough because many of the students just speak in English, but there are many other opportunities to talk.

I'm so tired today because we went out last night to a place called Dubliner's.  Pretty shady and the guy wanted to id us and we were all like, are you serious?  We all look over 18, but the reason was cause there was nobody out that night.  I did not have an id on me so we had to walk all the way back to the apartment and then back, but we ended up having a good time nonetheless.  Today we heard that many things happen at Dubliner's that are not so good, but I don't really plan on returning to there that often.  The promoter just offered a free shot, so we thought we would stop in for awhile (the shot was of course the cheapest stuff they had, but it was only so that we didn't have to buy many drinks).  I know I won't be going out that often just to drink cause the drinks are all about 4 euros a piece.  That means you get a pint of beer or two shots in a mix drink, but still, not cheap.  

Por la mañana, we woke up at 8 and went to school, no issues this time (went to bed at 2 btw).  We had a stupid orientation meeting that basically covered issues that we already covered, however when we got out it was snowing, so everything was good.  I stopped at La Tienda Verde for the first time today.  I was expecting a place to sit, but it is ridiculously small.  The food however is reasonably priced and seems good.  I only grabbed a snack cause I knew we were getting lunch in about an hour, but that was tasty.  

In the afternoon, we went to a city called Acala with our group of students.  It was pretty, but loooooong.  We walked from about two to five and we went on a half hour train ride both ways.  I didn't get to eat until the train ride back, but it didn't really bother me.  I also got another passport photo for a metro pass and took lots of pictures in Alcala (not in that order).  There is an interesting story about Alcala.  Unfortunately I did not hear all of what the tour guide said but here's the gist:  There was a university, and a castle.  The castle was to keep the Christians out and was used by the moors.  The university was moved during the reign of Franco and got changed to the University of Alcala when he died.  Also, they have a stork problem.  Yes, storks.  Apparently you are not a citizen of Alcala until you have been pooped on by a stork.  Also the nests weigh so much that they have to be removed each year so that they don't build up and cave in the roofs.  There are some pictures that will be going up on the sister website soon.  Hasta luego!

Hello Spain

Well, now I can officially say: the beds are bad.  Not horrible, but not the most comfortable things on earth.  I feel like I'm sleeping on a board with a one or two inch pillow on top.  That made me wake up pretty early this morning, but I tried to just roll over.  While I was foolishly attempting to fall back asleep, several things were running through my head:  speak Spanish better, what to say to Marli, what did you get yourself into.  The main one was probably the most serious, but every time I think about that I always feel better about the next day.  I feel like I'm in trouble, but instead I change it to thinking, well your here, now what are you gonna do about it.  It's not like I'm going home tomorrow, so I'm gonna have to adapt to the situation and enjoy every minute of it.  I think today really helped with that.  I got myself up with my alarm (8 o'clock) but was up earlier like I said.  So I walked outside my room and "caught" Marli having a morning smoke and cafe.  Really I just didn't know that she smoked.  It seems like she just smokes in the kitchen and blows it out the window.  So even though I really needed to go to the bathroom, I decided to talk to her and when I ran out of things to say I asked her about desayuna (breakfast).  She took me to the salon (dining room/living room with tv) and showed me what we had.  I ended up eating toast, and surprisingly enough, cereal.  However, the cereal was chocolate oat clusters with solid chocolate chunks.  Now that's what I call cereal!  There was also peach marmalade and eclair like things, but I needed to get moving, so around 8:30 I started getting dressed.

Now the fun stuff.  I am in a room with Rob and Matt.  There are also two others, Ricky and Andy, down the hall.  I was going to take a shower, but decided all I really needed was a quick wash, so I never even ended up in the shower.  Meanwhile, I thought Rob was going to the shower and by the time I got out, the apartment was silent and I only found Matt.  Marli then returned and said in spanish you are gonna be late.  I was like whatever, ok lets go Matt.  I asked him whether Rob had gone and he said I don't know where the other guys are.  This was pushing 9 and we had to be there at 930, so with a 25 min metro ride ahead of us I said, let's go.  The metro was nice.  Really nice.  Like clean and new and bright, almost makes you forget about pickpockets.  Almost.  Luckily nothing has happened yet, but there are lots of fun stories like ipods getting the cord cut while your listening to music and the ipod is walking off in the other direction.  Anyway, we made it to our stop and said ok to the university.  When we surfaced from 3- 50 foot escalators, we realized we had no idea where the university was in relation to the stop.  After much confusion, we found a map and ended up arriving 15 min late.  Later we found out Rob WAS still in the apartment when we left.  However, when he came out of the subway, a house mother ushered him in the direction of the school, much like the way Ron Weasley's mom helped Harry... so he made it there before us.  

The first day at school was interesting.  We saw the three buildings of campus.... and went on a walking tour.  Campus is nice though.  Pretty location with so much around.  It really is a great city.  Everything is within walking distance or a metro ride.  My roommate Matt actually rode the metro from the Airport (one shady situation, but no other problems).  I will probably do that on the way back because it is 1 euro vs. 35.50.  I now have a phone, but I'm not giving the number out here cause the rates are way to high to be receiving calls left and right.  Back to what I was saying before, I'll be taking pictures of all around and labeling them for everyone.  The tour today gave me a lot of pictures, but I didn't take very many because I figured that I'd be around that area enough to take a lot of pictures.  So we traveled around the city with a huge group of people, I met a lot more of new people and caught up with some others.  We ended up at Plaza de España, so Rob and I just walked back to our apartment, which was like a block away.  So I guess a few of us are going to be going out in a few minutes and this post is long enough.  Tomorrow I'll continue with whatever's on my mind.

P.S.  A special thanks to Matt Feickert for enlightening me to Picasa by google.  I'll be using that website to post pics and there will be a link on here.  Right now there are only about 20 pics, but I'm having troubles with uploading.  I believe the website is: http://picasaweb.google.com/dwetzel0

Goodbye America

Well, this was an interesting start to a trip, but I wouldn't expect the trip to go without complications.  I was scheduled to leave O'Hare airport at 4:30, but was delayed due to 10 inches of snow.  I passed the time by visiting Woodfield mall for the first time.  It was definitely interesting with all the very slow sloping ramps and plethora of stores.  When it was time to go Dad, Mom, and I left for the airport and arrived around 6.  I went through security, grabbed some chicken mcnuggets as a last taste of America and headed off to the terminal.  There I was able to catch the rest of the Titans game (who lost) and missed the end of the Panthers game (who were losing).  In the process I met a guy named Barry who was studying north of Madrid.  When the plane landed, I didn't see him until after the flight, but it was nice to have someone to pass the time with.  We didn't end up leaving until about 10:45, but then it was alright cause at least we were on the way.  I met a girl named Kelcey and we had some laughs, but she had a long day, so she slept most of the trip while I tried to sleep, but eventually gave up.  The plane itself was old and I was not interested in the in-flight screen (not a movie until the last three hours, the music was dull, and the screens were far away).  However, I did enjoy the fact that I was able to have wine and cheese at 30000 feet.  We were served dinner and breakfast and given a few drinks, but I was glad when we landed, that meant good food and rest.  When we got over Spain I was surprised at the landscape.  It had rolling hills and was covered in snow as far as the eye could see.  Apparently it was 1 degree C above freezing.  I was embarrassed how bad my Spanish was, so I did not end up talking to the taxi cab driver until we almost arrived.  He talked about a manifestacion, which was basically a protest, and then he asked what I thought about Obama.  I just said, he hasn't done anything yet, so we'll see.  And he said the same thing.  Politicians talk during elections, but who knows what will actually happen during their period in office.  

I got to Marli's place and she was a delightful woman who was very happy to see me and she said she was used to students not calling ahead, so it was no problem.  Originally I thought there would be 4 guys, but there will end up being 8 staying with us!  What a party! (For all you doubters out there I will study, and I think Marli will keep tabs on me)  The bedrooms are pretty small, but it doesn't bother me.  I've been living in a small place for awhile now.  The ceiling in my room is actually high and soon I'll post some pictures.  Unfortunately the beds seem uncomfortable, but I'll talk about that when I actually know!

So that's about it for the first post, there are more things I could talk about (like the architecture of the airport) but I'll expand upon everything in the near future. Adios!