Mi vida en Madrid

SOOOO, I knew I'd be horrible at updating this thing; I'm deeply sorry for such a long delay...as such this entry will probably be super duper long, so I apologize for that as well. I've been in Spain for about 2 weeks now, spending the first week traveling with the USD gang to some of the major cities in Spain and now my first actual week in Madrid. All I can say for now is that I am absolutely in love; I never want to go back to America. Yes, that is a bit dramatic and possibly exaggerative (if that's a word) to say, especially since I've barely started my journey but it's the truth and I just had to get it out. Spain is just the shit, to be blunt. I'll start from the beginning...so I arrived to Madrid with mah girl Kelly, as scheduled on that Wednesday night (31st of August) after almost missing the connecting flight in Frankfurt, Germany because of the ONE hour layover to get off the plane, go through customs AND security, and run across the world to get to the terminal. Ridiculous. But we made it, and life couldn't have been any sweeter. The cab ride to my host mom's house was wayyyy better thankfully. My driver was super nice and gave me a 20 minute crash course on the pros/cons (but mostly pros as far as I could tell), and overall lifestyle of Madrid. He even took the short route apparantly and I only had to pay £25! :) I finally arrived to my host mom, Señora Carmen (who is the cutest, nicest yet strong-willed Spanish woman), and my two other roomies, Melody and Nancy...I can't express all the excitement in our house. After a delicious Spanish dinner which included the traditional tortilla española (FAVORITE Spanish food ever since), we went out for my first night in Madrid in the heart of the city: Puerta del Sol. First, some hookah place to meet up with some USD peeps, then the famous Dubliners (an Irish pub) to meet up with more USD peeps slash get drunk, and finally, some gay club that I still don't know the name of, to meet up with even more USD kids slash get drunker slash dance the night away. I wish I had documented at least some portion of this night but in the midst of all the emotions and excitement, I completely forgot my camera :(...all I can say is, Madrid did me dirty that night and it was SO much fun.

i love my roommates!

Next began the Travel Seminar...a full 9 days hitting the major cities in Spain: Toledo (which I missed because of the Hurricane...see previous post), Barçelona, Valencia, Granada, Sevilla, and Córdoba. Each city was so amazing in its own way and I enjoyed every minute of it - Barçelona with its mix of Spanish and Catalonian culture, plus the extremely crazy/intense nightlife; Valencia- the little town with weird and beautiful architecture by Gaudí; Granada, with its young, college-y feel plus the world-renowned Alhambra palace, Sevilla's Gothic cathedral and bell tower over-looking the entire city, and Córdoba's famous 2-in-1 cathedral and mosque. ALL of it was spectacular and an experience I will never forget. I would go into more details but then this would be a novel, so picture time!

Just outside Club Shoko in Barcelona, first steps in the Mediterranean Sea!

La Sagrada Familia

Las Ramblas, Barçelona

Palau Saint Jordi

Plaza de España, Barçelona

La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencas

Look at doz fishies!

Granada! My favorite place

My lover, Maddie <3

Plaza in Granada

La Alhambra, Granada

Beautiful garden in Alhambra

Bell tower overlooking the city of Sevilla

the gang

Some European breakin it down..........Sevilla

Córdoba

The man who started it all...Pablo the tour guide

Opon our return to Madrid, I got sick, inevitably (and am still trying to recover after 6 days). We went out every. single. night. Seriously. (okay, so we maaaybe stayed in once or twice, but you get the message). The Spaniards definitely know how to party. But anywho, me and Melo didn't do anything but sleep the rest of the night Friday and all day Saturday in order to save up the little energy that we had to get to Kapital, a SEVEN-story club in Madrid. Not real. And let me tell you, this place was BAD-ASS. Every floor had different music, I forget what floor is what but I spent most of my time on the 5th floor...Spanish music :). Sick of dancing? No prob, just head on over to the roof and take some me time on their comfy couches. No big deal. It was INSANE. Only problem, its superrrr easy to get lost (take it from me) so stick to someone! It was a grand old time.

Theta kite with my roommateeee

Pre-Kapital at Dubliners, of course

Me and Maddie, we're gonna get married soon.

The next night, me Melo Amanda and Kelly went out the night before school started (of course, cuz its Spain) to watch some American football at Dubliners which was aiight...not that into football but the main highlight was the deee-licious crepes with nutella afterwards. Mmmm que rico ;). Yes, we're ready for our primer día de escuela. The first day of school was pretty exciting to be honest, mostly because it's in SPAIN (still can't get over it, as you can tell). I'm only taking core classes but they are pretty interesting so it works. During one of my breaks, my new best friend Maddie (whom I'm obsessed with and can't believe we just now met...go read her blog, you'll see why) and I went exploring in Madrid and happened to find a cute little park with little market stands everywhere, and Spaniards chillin as they usually do. Perfect place to reflect and just be. It's the little things like this that make me realize how great life is, and how lucky I am to be here. To continue, the rest of the week was pretty much like this day...super laid back, with more and more knowledge to gain every day. Today was the last day of classes for the week (cuz there's no class on Fridays!!!) so I'll be going out pretty hard tonight, especially since it's opening night for all the clubs. But first, it's time for some dinner with my wonderful Spanish mom and two roomies...don't worry, I'll be sure to save some leftovers! :)

she so prettay

random little park in the middle of Madrid

Un besito,
J.