amandainmadrid
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Below are the 19 most recent journal entries recorded in the "amandainmadrid" journal:
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01:37 pm
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Clearing skies
I took a day trip to Sevilla yesterday, and boy did it end up being a long day! I was a little nervous about traveling by myself at first, but it ended up being really nice. I left Madrid at 7:30 (which entailed leaving the apartment bright and early at 6:15) and arrived in Sevilla at 10:00. From there, I asked the driver of each bus that stopped at the train station if he went to the center of the city until I finally found one that did. Luckily, I quickly found a map, although it didn't do me much good- the streets of Sevilla are very short and windy, and often unmarked. I was constantly lost!
I saw this sign as I was waiting for the bus- apparently, it's the name of the street on which the train station sits. It made me really happy!
The two big sights in Sevilla are the huge Gothic cathedral, which was constructed during the 15th century, and the Alcazár, which was orginally constructed as a fort by the ruling Muslims in 913, but has been expanded several times since then. Both were really pretty, especially the Alcazár, which has huge gardens surrounding it.
Gardens at the Alcazár
I saw both in the morning/ early afternoon, took a break for some ice cream (it was at least 80 degrees!) and then headed over to the Plaza de España, a huge plaza with a fountain in the middle.
The arquitecture in Sevilla is also really pretty, and I could recognize things that I've seen in the Plaza in KC. Although the Plaza is somewhat lacking in palm trees! Sevilla has some of the tallest palm trees I've ever seen.
I caught the train back to Madrid at 10:00pm, and arrived a little after midnight. Then I had the most frustrating Metro experience ever! After midnight, the trains only come every 10-15 minutes, and I wasn't lucky this time- I had just missed the last one at the station. It finally came, and I was preparing to make a transfer, but when we rolled into the stop, the doors wouldn't open! There were at least 4 or 5 of us trying to get out of our car, but they never opened, and we all had to get out at the next stop, run around to the other side of the platform, and get on a train going back the other way. Which meant, of course, that I just missed my transfer and had to wait another 15 minutes for the next train to come. By the I finally climbed the stairs into the apartment, it was getting close to 2am! Needless to say, I promptly collapsed into bed and slept until 11!
Current Location: Apartment
Current Mood: studious
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09:00 am
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Ireland and rain (lots of it!)
My trip to Ireland the weekend before last was absolutely amazing- it was great to catch up with Kris, who's currently an au pair there. Cork is a pretty small city, only a few hundred thousand people. It's strange that a city the size of Kansas City is considered really small to me now! So we spent most of our time in the outskirts- on Friday, we went to Blarney, to see the Blarney Castle.
Then on Saturday we went to Cobh, which is the last port at which the Titanic docked. The weather was also beautiful the whole weekend, which according to Kris (and a vending machine we found that sold raincoats) is very unusual for late Spring. Which brings me to my next point:
It has been raining for 5 days straight in Madrid! I think we had more rain over the weekend than we'd had the entire 3+ months I've been here! It's been kind of a downer, because over the weekend I was planning on doing a few last "must-see" things I hadn't gotten around to doing yet. I did make it up to see El Escorial, a famous monastery about an hour outside the city, but because it was cloudy and drizzling, my pictures aren't the greatest. My plan to sit in the park and do homework also fell through! So instead, since I'm absolutely incapable of studying in the same room as my computer and bed, I've had to take refuge in Starbucks, which, while a delicious habit, quickly gets expensive!
Less than three weeks until I'm back in Raymore- I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I actually have a significant amount of homework, between writing final papers and studying for final exams, so I know it's going to go quickly. We don't have class tomorrow or Wednesday due to holidays, so hopefully I'll get ahead. This coming weekend, I'm planning to take a day trip to Seville (a little over 2 hours by train), which is the city after which the Plaza was designed. Hopefully the sky will clear up a little by then!
Current Location: Apartment
Current Mood:  cheerful
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02:18 pm
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Spring Break, etc.
Ok, Ok, I've been a little lazy about updating this... so here's a rundown of Spring Break:
After 34 hours on trains and in train stations, I finally arrived in Jena, Germany, to visit a friend who was an exchange student at my high school my senior year. It was so great to see Steffi after over 2 years! We spent the first night at her flat in Jena, where she attends University, and then took yet another train ride down to Schonbrunn, where her family lives. There, her mom and grandma cooked us lots of yummy, authentic German food (including rabbit!) and gave us lots of chocolate. We also visited a couple of other little towns in the area, and saw an old church, a castle, and an easter egg exhibit!
After a few days in Jena, I hopped on another train down to Freiburg, to see my friend Julie, who is also studying abroad this semester. Highlights from Freiburg included seeing the ruins of an old castle in a town nearby, hiking through the Black Forest, and climbing up to the top of a church to look down onto the city.
The last stop on my tour of France and Germany was Paris, where I met up with some other Grinnellians on Spring Break. It was a pretty rushed 2 1/2 days, because I wanted to see everything and there wasn't much time. I did get to see the Eiffel tower, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Arc de Triumphe and tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the outside of the Louvre (although I didn't have time to actually go in). And of course, I ate lots of crepes and baguettes! (mostly because we were all too cheap to buy real food- Paris is expensive!)
This Thursday, I'm heading up to Ireland for the weekend to visit Kris, who was also an exchange student at my high school. It should be lots of fun, and I promise I'll update again when I return!
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06:30 pm
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I'm here!!!
I'm in Schönbrunn with Steffi now! I arrived safely, so no need to worry (for a few more days, at least). My train from Paris to Karlsruhe was late, which meant I missed all of the rest of the trains on down the line, but I managed to figure out when the next ones were, and just showed up two hours late.... So 34 hours of travelling in all! It was lots of fun, though- I met some very interesting people along the way. And luckily, many of them spoke English.
We went for a hike today, which was a lot of fun. And I took lots of pictures, so when I get back to Madrid and can load them onto my laptop, I will post them here! Julie, who I'm seeing in Freiburg in a few days, called me while I was on the train yesterday- it was the first time we'd spoken on the phone since I left for Madrid, so it made me that much more excited to go see her!
I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on my adventures here!
Current Location: Schönbrunn, Germany
Current Mood: cheerful
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03:40 pm
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Almost ready...
I'm all packed, and almost ready to go! I'm planning on getting on the metro toward the train station at 11 or 12 tomorrow morning; my first train leaves at 2:30. Then it's just under 30 hours of train rides until I reach Jena!
I don't think I'll have internet access at the beginning or end of the trip, but I'll definitely have access through Julie's computer while I'm staying with her in the middle. So I promise I'll update everyone on my adventures in Germany!
Current Location: Apartment
Current Mood: excited
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11:43 am
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Low-key weekend
I realized on Friday that this was my last normal weekend in Madrid for awhile. The next two weekends I'll be traveling for Spring Break; the weekend after that, some friends from Grinnell are coming to visit (and as I learned last time friends visited, showing the city off is almost as exhausting as traveling); the weekend after that I go to Ireland to see my friend Kris; and then all of a sudden it's May! So I just relaxed in the apartment and at the park for most of this weekend. I went running with my friend Christine in the big park today, which was nice. I've been doing most of my running at a park near our apartment, and the biggest loop is only half a mile- and running around the same path 6 or 7 times isn't much fun! I also went to have coffee and see a movie with my friend Katey on Friday night- we saw The Painted Veil, an American movie that I highly recommend- it's a romance that takes place in the 1920s during a cholera outbreak in China.
Anyway, not much else new here. Only three days of class this week, then it's off to see more of Europe!
Current Location: Apartment
Current Mood: relaxed
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02:03 pm
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Pictures and Travelling
At Mom's request, I finally started backing up all of my pictures online. So far I have three albums up, one for each of our field trips with IES. I'll work this weekend on uploading my pictures from around Madrid.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=its5t9i.1akhf972&x=0&y=-4sc6n
You should be able to see them all there... let me know if it doesn't work. And don't worry, I'll keep putting pictures up here, too!
I survived midsems week okay, but I'm glad it's over! The exams weren't too hard, but since they were all essay exams, I was pretty exhausted from writing so much in Spanish by the end of the week.
In other news, I've almost finalized my plans for Spring break, which is in two weeks!
March 29: Leave Madrid
March 30: Arrive in Jena, Germany, to visit Steffi, a friend from high school
April 3: Travel to Freiburg, Germany, to visit Julie, my roommate for the first two years of college (she's also studying abroad this semester)
April 6: Travel to Paris! Meet up with Emily (my roommate here) and some other friends from Grinnell
April 9: Return to Madrid
I'm getting really excited! A little nervous about the 30 hour train ride on the first day, but hey, it'll be an adventure. I'm sure I'll be a pro by the end!
Current Location: Apartment
Current Mood: cheerful
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03:37 pm
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Granada
This weekend, IES took the program on a field trip to Granada, which is in the southern part of Spain. I absolutely loved it there- it's located near the Sierra Nevada mountains, but since it's near the ocean, it's also very warm. Therefore, we got to see snowcapped mountains while enjoying 70 degree weather!
The great thing about IES organizing the trip is that we got to do things I never would have done on my own. For example, we spent Friday evening enjoying Arab baths, which are basically a series of baths of different temperatures, meant for relaxation. A 10 minute back massage was also included! We also toured an Arab neighborhood, culminating in the most amazing sunset view I've ever seen from the top of the neighborhood.
We spent Saturday morning at La Alhambra, which is basically a fortress that was constructed by the ruling Muslims in the 12th century. At the height of the Muslim reign of Spain, over 1000 people lived in the fortress! It was really pretty- lots of plazas with gardens, and 16 towers that provided some pretty amazing views of the city.
Since we had to hike up a mini-mountain to get to it, we had a full Spanish dinner that afternoon. I lost track of the courses, but there had to have been at least 5. Once again, I ate several things that I'm not really sure what they were.
Finally, we went to a Flamenco show Saturday night. It was really interesting- Granada is known for traditional flamenco, which is a little different from the Hollywoodized flamenco in the rest of Spain. The show was held in a tiny cave and was very intimate- definitely very authentic.
I really enjoyed our time in Granada- it felt so different from Madrid, which, while distinctly Spanish, is also pretty Americanized. Granada seemed much more relaxed and peaceful. (Although there was both a Burger King and a Ben and Jerry's in Granada as well....)
Current Location: Apartment
Current Mood: content
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10:35 am
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Beaches and Palaces
Wow! Time is really starting to fly here- I can hardly believe I've been here for 6 weeks already! I think I've finally adapted to living here; riding the Metro to school everyday has become like second nature, I've become much more comfortable speaking Spanish to strangers, and don't get lost nearly as often.
Last weekend, some friends and I took a trip down to the island of Cádiz to celebrate Carnaval, the Spanish equivalent of Mardi Gras. The beach was absolutely beautiful- I managed to get sunburnt, in February! At night, the streets were filled with costumed people in what was sort of a city-wide, unorganized parade. Although the 7 hour bus ride each way was a little painful, we had a great time!
This weekend, 2 of my friends from Grinnell came to visit. Both of them are spending the semester studying abroad in Budapest, Hungary. It was great to get to show off Madrid for awhile. There are actually quite a few touristy things I haven't done here yet, since it seems like there's so much time to do them. One of them is visit the Palace. The king of Spain, Juan Carlos, no longer lives there (I think he lives in the outskirts of the city) but official events are still held there. It was absolutely beautiful! Every room we toured was intricately decorated with statues, chandeliers, tapestries... It was also a beautiful weekend, which was nice- 60 degrees and sunny every day!
Here's all of the Grinnellians in front of the palace: Rachel (far left) and Emily (second from right) are also studying in Madrid this semester; Anne (in the middle) and Will (far right) are studying in Budapest.
Midsemester exams start this week, so I'd better get back to studying!
Current Location: Apartment
Current Mood: good
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02:26 pm
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Kids, Soccer, and Toledo
Oops! I guess I've been a little remiss in updating this site. Sorry! In my defense, I've been pretty busy:
I signed up to be a teaching assistant at an elementary school in the outskirts of Madrid. Once a week, I teach an English lesson to Spanish 6-7 year-olds. They're so cute! I'm also really impressed by their English ability- I guess at that age, it's really easy for them to soak it up! The school is also far enough out of the city that the neighborhood and architecture have a much more Spanish flavor to them, which is nice. I've been there twice now, and both times, it's been a lot of fun- today we played Simon Says. All in all, I think it's going to be a great experience!
I also found an opportunity to play soccer, which is really exciting. A group of 15 or so of us started an intramural team- hopefully we'll eventually be able to play against other residence halls in the area. We played for the first time last Thursday, and it was really nice- although I was a bit sore the next day!
On Friday, the whole program took a field trip to Toledo, which is about an hour away by bus. Toledo is famous for being the intersection of the three most important cultures in Spanish history: Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim. It's been a stronghold of all three at different points in time. Therefore, we visited a big cathedral, a smaller temple, and a mosque. All were built hundreds of years ago, and all were gorgeous! It also helped that it was about 60 degrees and sunny all day :-)
This is a picture of the main retrato inside the cathedral. It was beautiful!
This is a view of Toledo that, as Nolan pointed out, would be perfect if not for the crane! It seems like Spain, like the US, is constantly under construction.
All in all, it's been a pretty good week!
Current Location: Apartment
Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Joan Baez
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06:56 am
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A Beautiful Weekend
My roommate is off travelling this weekend, so I've been doing some solo exploration of the city. Today is an absolutely beautiful day- close to 60 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. So this morning, I went to the Parque del Buen Retiro to do some reading for class. The park is sort of the Spanish equivalent of Central Park- it's pretty near the central of the city, but once you're in the middle, you forget that you're in a city of over 3 million people.
I've also found a little park that sits about a 10 minute walk from our apartment that's perfect for running in. In fact, after lunch, I'm going to go for a run!
Current Location: Apartment
Current Mood:  energetic
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01:12 pm
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Off the Beaten Path
It was a busy weekend! The past few days have been all about exploring Madrid, and this time, not the touristy part. On Friday, I went to a bookstore in the morning and purchased all of the required books for my classses- it was really nice to not have to buy a thick chemistry or biology textbook, for once! In the evening, some friends and I picked a random metro stop near the middle of the city and explored. We ended up finding a cheap little Turkish restaurant and ate kabobs, which were delicious. Saturday, we stumbled upon a horse-dancing show that was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It took place in a plaza in the heart of the city; we ended up waiting in line for an hour to get seats because there were so many people there.
I slept in pretty late Sunday in preparation for the Super Bowl, which started at 12:30am Monday morning, local time. We watched it in a room full of Americans at an Irish pub. One of the most surreal experiences here so far was loudly singing along with Billy Joel during the national anthem- for a moment, I almost forgot I was in another country! The room definitely held more Bears fans than Colts fans, so after the initial enthusiasm, things started to die down. By the time Prince was done, my fellow football-hating roommate and I had enough, so we successfully navigated the slow and unreliable nightbus system home and made it to bed around 4am... just enough time to catch some shuteye before rising for classes at 8! Needless to say, tonight will be early to bed for me.
Current Location: Apartment
Current Mood:  tired
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02:20 pm
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Routine
We started actual classes this week. So far, I really like all of them (although I've only been to each once). I'm especially excited about the class held at the Prado museum- definitely something I couldn't learn about in the states! I'm also really happy that my first class of each day isn't until 10:25- after having 8 o'clock class every day last semester, it will be nice to get to sleep in some! There aren't any classes on Friday, either, which will be great for travelling and exploring the city. Unfortunately, this wonderful schedule also means that I have class from 10:25 until 7 on Tuesdays. Therfore, I'm pretty exhausted right now.
On Sunday, after sleeping until past noon (!), I dragged my roommate, Emily, to see the stadium where Real Madrid plays. It was amazing! I'd really love to see a game there, instead of just wandering around outside. There was also a 3-story soccer apparel store adjacent to the stadium- I had to exercise a LOT of restraint there!
I've heard it's pretty cold in Missouri this week... I guess I won't brag too much about our 50-60 degree weather here. Well, maybe a little bit- it's great to go out in January in just a light jacket!
Emily and I in front of the stadium
And here is a picture of the front door to our apartment. We're only one floor up, which is really nice.
Current Location: Our Apartment
Current Mood: tired
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12:40 pm
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Free time
Hello again! After a busy week of orientation activities, we have this weekend completely free, giving us time to explore Madrid. Last night, I went with some friends to a tiny Mediterranean restaurant, where I had some falafel that put all falafel I've ever eaten previously to shame. Today was the free day at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, or the modern art museum, so a group of us checked it out. One of Picasso's most famous paintings, the Guernica, is displayed there, and I must say, it was quite the experience. Picasso painted it as a protest to the Spanish Civil war in 1937. There were also many Dalí paintings there, which I actually preferred to Picasso's. Tomorrow, I'm planning on exploring some more- I'd really like to find the Real Madrid stadium! Our real classes start Monday, so this is the last homework-free weekend for quite awhile... I'm just hoping they don't work us too hard!
Also, because I know it'll make Dad happy, here's a picture of the inside of our Metro station :-)
I took this today around 3, which is during the 2-5 siesta time, when most shops are closed. Normally there are many more people around!
Current Location: Our apartment
Current Mood: happy
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06:40 am
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Settling in
Things are still going really well here! We have reliable internet access at the center now, which is really nice- I had fallen a little out of touch with what is going on in the rest of the world. I had even completely forgotten that the State of the Union was last night!
We're in the middle of intensive language classes right now, and so far, I think they're going pretty well. We just finished taking a placement exam to see what level of language class we will be placed into for the rest of the semester. I've also finalized the other classes I'm taking, which are:
History of Women in Madrid
Goya and Velazquez at the Prado (this one's held at the Prado museum!)
Contemporary Spanish Theater
Modern European Political Ideologies
Also, here's a picture of me in front of aqueducts that have been standing for hundreds of years!
Current Location: IES center, Madrid, Spain
Current Mood: pleased
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06:51 pm
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Finally!
So far, internet access has been hard to come by! There was no wireless at the airport, and I had no access to Internet for my first whole week here! I finally gave in and decided to pay for time in an Internet café. Madrid has been amazing so far- I´ve been slowly adjusting to life in a big city. Madrid has over 5 million people, which is both a blessing and a curse- it´s always crowded, and there´s not much green space, which I´m used to. But the public transportation is amazing! I´m living in a homestay with a señora and her grown daughter, as well as my friend who is attending the same program. It´s been great- she provides us with two meals a day, and is an amazing cook. More seafood than I´m used to, but it´s all been good so far. A few days ago, we visited a neighboring city, Segovia, where I saw my first castle. I have some pretty good pictures that I can upload later when I can use my own computer. We have a free wireless connection on the campus, so tomorrow I´ll get to start using that. The weather here is also amazing- it´s been in the 50s most of the time. It got a little colder today and everyone was walking around completely bundled up, while my friend and I just put on slightly heavier sweaters- the 40s are nothing compared to Missouri winters! Anyway, that´s all I have time for now- I hope everyone is enjoying the snow!
Current Mood: happy
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10:01 pm
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12 hours!!!
So, tomorrow's the big day! I'm a little nervous, mainly about my language skills- my intentions to read a Spanish novel over break ended up being just intentions. But I'm sure I'll catch on quickly! We're heading up to the airport at 7:30 or so tomorrow morning- my first flight leaves KCI at 10:30. I have a layover in Philadelphia (and a pretty long one, so I'm sure I'll be updating again while I'm there) and then my flight leaves for Madrid at 8:50 PM. I'll arrive in Madrid around 10 Thursday morning local time- that's 3 AM Thursday KC time! It'll be a long day of travelling, but it will be worth it!
Current Location: Home, for the last time in awhile
Current Mood:  anxious
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09:31 pm
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Bored
Just trying to figure out how this whole thing works... should probably wait until Nolan gets home- he knows more about this stuff than I do!
Here are some pictures from Winter Waltz, the formal dance at school:
This is my friend Marta and I pretending we know how to waltz:
This is some of the soccer team, proving that we're tough despite our dresses!
Current Location: Home sweet home
Current Mood:  bored
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12:59 pm
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Test
Test
Current Location: Dorm Room
Current Mood: anxious
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