Palace, El Rastro, and some interesting meals...

Right now I'm writing from our tv room of the TV house with my wonderful mother and two sisters of Spain, Elvira (madre), Elvira (hija) y Belén. We're watching Gran Hermano-or Big Brother, a still popular reality show here. Most of the tv shows I watch with my family would be considered very cheesy in the states. Right now I also should be working on my Teatro (theatre) homework that's due tomorrow, but have been putting off for much more diverting activities. Just to make sure that my parents know that I'm actually taking classes here, let me share the names:

Historia del Presente-all about what's going on in present day spain-politics, social issues, etc.
Teatro-reading 6 plays famous in Spain and analyzing
Idioma-Spanish language, practicing our skills and learning important conversational spanish.
Cuentos-short stories in spanish, analysis
Spanish Culture and Civilization- a class taken with the professor who corresponds with BC, a wonderful woman named Ana. We will go on trips, take notes, and write papers on Spanish life and history.

A little bit about my family...they're hilarious. They are extremely patient with Meghan and I while learning Spanish and love to fill us in on Spanish insults and humor. All three woman are very into fashion and love to recommend the perfect place for cheap this, or fashionable that. They are also not shy to voice their opinions, and make sure to ask why we didn't finish our plate, or their opinions on the looks of celebrities.


There have been many highlights in the past few days but I'll just go over a few briefly:

The Royal Palace: unfortunately I came down with a bad cold the other day, but was still able to appreciate the beauty and magnificance of the Royal Palace! Every single room (Apparently there are over 2,000 of them, yes, 2,000) is completely different and decorated with all sorts of cloth, paintings, etc.

El Rastro: An amazing market place that takes up at least a few streets of either side. You could find anything from shoes, to jewelry, to scarfs, ohh all sorts of great stuff. And as far as europe goes, it was all very inexpensive. Meghan, Jenny, and I very much enjoyed walking around and trying to barter in Spanish...it didn't work very well for any of us.

Meals: Spanish food certainly is some of the best in the world. Everyone loves the tapas, jamón, sangría, and pretty much anything served at a restaurant. With the families though, many of the students feel they have perhaps been served an overabundance of the culture. Let's just say, Spain is no place for a picky eater.

Capital: Spain is also known for it's night life. The other night a bunch of BC students went out to a discoteca, or nightclub for our friend, Andres's birthday. The discoteca was called Capital and had 7 floors, each with a different type of music, very exciting!

Well...I really must get to my actual homework. Make sure to send updates of anything going on in the US that we need or would want to know about!

Hello family and friends!

Today Meghan and I took a spontaneous and wonderful walk around downtown Madrid, guidebook in hand. We visited several plazas and came upon the Royal Palace, Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. In the basilica we decided to take the guided tour because we had heard there was a beautiful painting of Goya over one of the altars. For only 2 euros, this was one of my most magnificent spectacles I've seen so far. In every corner of the huge cathedral there was a gorgeous painting, carved choir benches, marble altars, and painted ceilings. This website shows you a little bit of the outside and gives a little history, but unfortunately it doesn't touch the beauty of seeing it in person:
http://www.gomadrid.com/sights/san-francisco-grande.html

Afterwards, Meghan and I decided to venture to find a dulcería, or a place that we could get pastries. We found a little spot down a small street that sold all sorts of types of tratas (cakes) including chocolate mousse cake (of which I got a large portion) and banana and chocolate fudge cake (meghan's choice).

A fun cultural note: I was noticing today how although I sometimes think Spaniards aren't as friendly as American's, it may be only because I don't understand half of what they're saying. Every place that we go the departing words are "Hasta Luego!" (See you later!), even at the post office and dulcería when we likely won't meet these people again.

As usual, hope you're doing well!

First week

Well, it has been quite a long time since I've been able to post! It has been quite a long and busy week since I first arrived. In the morning each day, we have had orientation with the school that we are attending while here: Carlos III (named after an important monarch from Spain). In the afternoon, the students of BC have been attending culture and language classes at a school called Sampere, located right next to the Central Park of Madrid: Retiro.
This morning I'm waking up at 8:00am (2am for most of you!) and it's still dark out. It's been something to get used to, the absence of sun until later in the day here. Soon, with tickets in hand, I'll be heading on the metro and then a bus to get to Carlos III for our first days of normal classes. Since I last posted, I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my family: madre, Elvira, and Belen. Meghan and I end up speaking to them in Spanish for an hour or more over meals and around the TV (blasting out hilarious Spanish soap operas, or often news about our american election). Unfortunately, I've slacked a bit this morning getting ready, reading the BC newspaper on-line, so now I must rush off to school. If you're interested, there's a great article from my friend and neighbor also staying in Madrid here:
http://media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2008/09/15/Features/World.Record.Madrid.Spain-3429840.shtml?reffeature=htmlemailedition
The picture used is of the royal cathedral and one that I took.

Also, I've been taking lots of pictures which can be found at:
www.shutterfly.com
username: sweenecm@gmail.com
password: pictures

I hope that everyone is doing well, and make sure to keep me updated on everything in the States!

En mi casa!

Well, I can't believe that it's only the second day here, quite a bit has happened. Today, Meghan and I met our family: Elvira (our madre), her two daughters that are our age, and a dog (un perrito) named Coral. The town home is in an adorable area with a nice, safe quiet street right near one of the bigger parks in the area. Hopefully I can go there to walk or run-although I've heard and seen that if you are running down a street you may as well be wearing a big sign that says AMERICAN.

Aventuras en idioma (Adventures in language):

For lunch today I tried to order a chicken sandwich and apparently almost ordered an entire chicken when thankfully, Meghan caught on and saved me.

Somehow Meghan and I still haven't figured out what the two daughters of the family are named, hopefully we will soon.

Here are some fun pictures!

We made it safe and sound to Madrid! Meghan, Ashley, Amy and I are staying in a hotel room named Petit Palace until tomorrow when we will meet our host families. We spent the majority of the morning and afternoon sleeping since none of us slept well on the plane. Our hotel is located on a major walkway named La Plaza del Sol. It is absolutely beautiful, near many old churches, the oldest restaurant in the world (!), and the royal palace. We've also witnessed many fun street performers. I've taken a bunch of pictures which I will post as soon as I get a chance. I hope you all are doing well and I miss you!