Week 1

I've now officially been in Madrid for a week and loving it. (especially since I figured out how to connect to the internet in my residence last night; I felt so disconnected without internet. It's ridiculous how much I depend on it to connect with people, but it's such a necessary part of my life right now).

Adjusting to life in Madrid hasn't been as much of a shock for me as India was. I've been able to walk around the city by myself anytime without having to worry about my safety as much as I did in India. I didn't go off campus once by myself the whole semester that I was in India. I don't have to worry about what I wear—except I do care because I obviously want to be fashionable—in the same way that I did in India. I take the metro everywhere; it's so convenient, fast, clean and easy to navigate. With my student ID I bought a month pass for only 28 Euros. It's only the fourth of February, but I've already used the buses and metro so much that it's more than worth it to by the pass. Also, there are sidewalks! (Yeah, western civilization, right? Well, I can't tell you how much it bugged me that I had to walk in the streets in India). Not only that but the sidewalks are so clean! The whole city's rather clean, as opposed to Hyderabad. I'm glad that I'll never have to smell burning garbage while I'm here or look at rivers and streams filled with trash. (If you remember I posted a picture of it earlier).

So far I haven't had much trouble with the language. Of course, I'm still learning, and I don't always understand what people are saying to me at first, but I get it eventually. I live in an apartment with a woman who's a writer, and I have kitchen privileges, which means I get to cook for myself. I have a lot of freedom to come and go as I please, which is also nice, since other people living with families have to go home for meals and be in better communication with their host families. That's not to say I don't talk to my host mom every day, which I do, but I just like the freedom to not have to worry about coming home by a certain time. And it's nice to be able to shop for groceries for myself and eat whatever food I please, where as other people don't have such a luxury.

The weather thus far hasn't been that great—it's been unseasonably cold, it's rained more than usual, and it snowed on Sunday—but I'm enjoying my time in the city nonetheless. Yes, I know that in comparison to the weather in DC or Kansas City, it's actually a bit warmer in Madrid, but since I expected it to be much more temperate, and I didn't pack my rain boots, I haven't really liked sloshing around in the rain. I'm not letting it get to me though because I know this is a wonderful city, even when it's all cold and gross outside. I got so soaked on Monday commuting to school. First of all, I didn't know where I was going, so I wandered around the campus for a while looking for the building I was supposed to have class in, and in the process I sloshed through puddles and got soaked up to my knees. Needless to say, by the time lunchtime came around, and I had a break before orientation began in the afternoon, I was ready to go home and change out of my wet clothes. I bought some skinny jeans from Zara on the way home to change into so that they wouldn't scrape the ground as I walked (like my boot cut jeans) and pick up water. Thus, my legs have been much drier over the past few days, even though it has been raining.

So far Orientation's been great—a bit boring at times though, when we have to talk about things like how to matriculate into classes at Complutense (the University I'm attending). Outside of the orientation classes that I've had, I've had the opportunity to walk around important parts of the city and visit the Prado. Yesterday we had a guided tour of the Prado where we go an in depth look at the paintings of El Greco, Velazquéz and Goya. The tour was all in Spanish, obviously, and it was so wonderful. I didn't realize how large Velazquéz's body of work was, and I was so impressed by it.

I've also had fun catching up with my Georgetown friend who are on the program with me and reconnecting with them, since I haven't seen them since May. It's nice to have people I already know the on the program with me, so that I don't have to go through that lonely period in the beginning where I don't know anyone, like I did during the India Program's orientation.

I really like the neighborhood I live in—Malasaña. Apparently it's the sight of where Madrid's cultural revolution started in the 1980's after Franco's death. It's a very hip place, kind of like Soho in New York or Le Marais in Paris. I love it's narrow, cobblestone streets and fascinating shops, cafes, restaurants and tapas bars. I still have much to learn about my neighborhood, but that can all be done once the weather improves. It's no fun exploring in the rain.

I'm excited to see where this semester takes me.