First off, I'd like to apologize to all the faithful readers out there who have checked my blog religiously, but who time and time again have been disappointed when I have failed to update consistently. (aka Phil, sidenote, thanks for the comments, i like to know someone is reading out there) Second off, Happy Belated Birthday Pat. Sorry I forgot; it's only out of love it slipped my mind. ALAS, I begin another entry. It has to be short. Lo siento. It's nearing 4 am here, and I have class at 10:30. In this manner, I intend to provide listed highlights of my past week to give you a taste of la vida madrilena as they say here.
- Comillas - my university for the semester, a beautiful place for beautiful people, it's very preppy and the students flash alot of wealth, kids dress to impress daily, which makes me feel a bit less awkward since I brought 4 to 5 pairs of khakis to Spain and 1 pair of jeans (Note, almost no one wears khakis or shorts, two rules I break almost everyday...yea I know, badass right) Anyway I have small, intimate classes and I am blessed with tremendous professors who are completely approachable and very willing to help the international students in any way. I feel more like I am attending a Jesuit institution here than I do at Georgetown. It's partly because Comillas is effectively a larger, Spanish version of a prep school. Today I grabbed a cafe con leche with my sociology professor. We proceeded to talk for 45 minutes about the a) Spanish learning system, b) the economic crisis (a very popular topic here), and a little about where he lives and where he comes from. I'm in a couple classes solo here; I wanted to take a few where I would be forced to meet some natives, and "today was a good day," (Ice Cube lyric) In my strategy class, not a solo class, but nonetheless I met a stunning French girl (yea, I know not exactly native Spanish, but is "ethnic" the right word?) during a group project. She spoke great english and more or less understood my humour, quite a feat considering I don't even understand my humour alot of times. In my sociology class, I met some other cool cats during another project who seemed a) very interested in the American viewpoint on things and b) in a bit of awe about the fact I was from around D.C., and that I went to Georgetown. In Spain I feel more proud to be american that in any other time in my life. In a sense, especially with the GU name, it feels like you're telling people you're from a really prestigous royal blood line.
Classes here are less rigorous than at Georgetown because I feel like less is expected from the students as a whole. I do have a significant amount of writing and reading to do for a couple of my classes, but I am not stressed because two of my classes met once every two weeks. I have time during the week to complete the assignments.
- Matt and Blair showed up this week to experience a taste of Madrid. Matt showed up Monday morning after he had some delays with his flight. (Got a facebook message from him Sunday morning, "Yo man, I'm in NYC, got delayed at JFK, hitting up bronx zoo tomorrow, I'll see you Monday morning." In staying in my house, Matt has been forced to rekindle the Spanish language fire that had burned in his heart until the end of freshman year. A bit rocky at times, he has displayed great patience and wherewithall in bringing the language back to life. Blair is staying with my friend Ryan in an apartment about a 10 min walk away. He seems to be picking up phrases and some communicative skills during his stay here, yet, at times the young man finds it hilarious to string together non-sensical phrases. His latest and greatest "Barajas to Rebajas," which literally means "Barajas (the name of airport here in Madrid) to Sales or Discounts. I feel like both are having a great time, and that they are enjoying a quick peek at this world.
- En la casa, Host sister has bronchitis. She continues to work, sometime she has up to six pilates classes in one day. She is always tired, kinda like Pat, and always complaining how sore she is. It's a tough life. Her doctor also told her last week that she has to quit smoking. She has been clean for a week, but she also talks of how difficult it already is, in fact she frequently uses "imposible" when describing the situation in spanish. Juan Miguel, her artist brother showed up for lunch today, guy is super super cool, keeps telling me how I have to come and visit his art studio in Madrid, great moment when my host mother goes to get one of his latest exhibition advertisements, it's a powerful piece ( an old woman shrieking with an intense emphasis on the emotive aspect). I said "tengo miedo cuando lo veo." "I'm scared when I look at this." The family loved it...I was serious.
- Lastly, I ran into my spanish professor from last semester at Georgetown when I was walking on the street yesterday. Amazing...un mundo pequeno. She was visiting Madrid for GU's spring break. She couldn't have been nicer, but I was in utter shock that I had run into her in this massive city at that particular moment. In the conversation, all I could muster up were slang terms I had learned in my GU orientation class. I spitted out that yea "I attend a really "posh and preppy" universidad, and that there is alot of money there. I felt a bit stupid, but then again, that the way of life here sometimes.
Well, all for now, I will be more religious about my upkeep in the future. Be easy readers.
Hasta luegooo,
B
On Saturday the Georgetown program took a short bus one hour north to the historic Spanish town of Segovia. The place is famous for two things: its Roman aqueduct and its delicious pig. On Saturday afternoon we dined gratis, reveling in a succelent feast that centered around this farm animal. Among the most memorable moments was in bringing the pig out on a platter, the server made a large demonstration in cutting the pig parts with just a plate. His purpose was to show the meat was so tender that a knife was not needed to cut the body. He then proceeded to toss the plate in the air so that it smashed into pieces on the ground. Quite a spectacle. Another interesting aspect of the trip was the mini snow storm that hit shortly after lunch. After 3 or 4 weeks of sun and 70 degree heat, it was odd to be exposed to cold weather again. But, I kindof liked the challenge of weathering the elements again. Makes you feel tough when you're trecking along outside. The trip was very short, and we returned to Madrid around 7 oclock. The night was relaxed, and with Sunday came a grand, family dinner. My host mother's cousins, grandkids, sister and her husband, and my host sister all gathered for a racuous feast of pulpo gallega, specialty cheese and bread, olives, lucious strawberries, and my host mother's famous paella. The paella consists of a risotto like rice, calamari, shrimp, chicken, and vegetables. It's quite a dish. and she makes it a massive skillet for special occasions. A very Spanish weekend; I have to say. This week I make my preparations for a trip to Italy. I'll be in touch.
