EL PRADO
El Prado is huge! This was the first tour that I went on where I could follow what the tourguide was saying about each picture. We only saw a handful of paintings by Velazques and Goya, and I still learned a plethora of information about each. I´m planning to go back and see everything else this week sometime.
PLAZA MAYOR
Plaza mayor is in the center of Madrid, it´s a very open space surrounded by older tall buildings with copies of Velezques paintings painted on the wall. There are several cute outdoor restaurantes there too. The weather at night here is PERFECT. It´s never too hot or cold (atleast it hasn´t been yet). We went to the palace, but I´m unsure of facts or history about it. It was grand and beautiful though!
SABADO
Saturday was a big day. Two students and I spent the whole day at the zoo! We saw every animal there and had time to take a siesta in the grass. Once three o´clock hit you could watch people stop in the middle of the path, find a nice sunny grassy spot and sleep. Siesta is something that needs to happen more often in the states!
After the park we went out to TGI fridays. After finally getting used to the food here, the american food did not settle well with my stomach. The soccer game was a blast! Real Madrid won 8-1.
ESPANA VS MEXICO
I notice that if I mention that I learned spanish in Mexico, the spaniards role their eyes, sigh, and begin to tell me that mexicans don´t speak the real educated spanish language. I´m used to spanish pronunciation, however i like that spaniards speak a little bit slower.
OTRAS COSAS
I want to be able to...
Eavesdrop on an argument on the subway and understand it.
Comprehend how much a meter or a kilometer is.
I´ve learned how important transition words are like ¨and then¨, ¨so¨, ¨however¨ ¨in addition to¨.
Favorite things here
The metro- Its so fast and cheap! You can travel get anywhere with it!
Walking- I want to keep walking everywhere when I get home- I feel better, I sleep better, I can eat more and not gain as much weight too!
Parks- El Parque de Retiro is this huge park next to the school. I´ve literally spent three days there and still saw new things each time. It´s full of botanical gardens, an art museum, sculptures, fountains, monuments, and probably more!
MANEFESTACION
There are protests going on in Sol right now. Hundreds of younger people in madrid are camping out in protest of the economy. From what I understand 40% of people ages 18-25 are unemployed. I´m not sure what the protesters want the government to do, but they sure are getting alot of attention. So far there hasn´t been any violence, just tons of signs plaguing the city.
PROFESOR
My profesor Alavaro is very vocal about his views. He believes that Anarchy is the answer and the system is flawed. He keeps trying to get us to debate politics in class, but we don´t really know the right vocabulary for that.
PERSONAS
I´ve made some really good friends here. I´m excited to see where those friendships go also. When preparing myself for spain my thoughts were ¨I´m going to learn so much spanish, see so many things, and eat so much good food¨. I didn´t really think about the conversations I would have with my teachers, classmates, random waiters or people on the street.
I´ll upload pictures later!
Buenos Dias!
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