Domingo ~ Sunday morning I woke up early to meet Tess at el Rastro, a neat outdoor market that is only open on Sundays from 8 until 2 or 3. There are at least fifty tents selling everything from ropa (clothes) y joyas (jewelry) to art and local food! As I was walking to the metro, I ran into Catherine, a girl in our program, and she decided to tag along. We didn't get to el Rastro until around 1:30 but it was just enough time to take in the sites and look like total tourists clinging to our bags to ward off pickpockets. After exploring for a while, we wound up in La Puerta de Toledo for lunch where Tess and I split a bocadillo del manchego, the best cheese in Spain, and then we all enjoyed a fresh postre for dessert! Being the bit of the nerd I am, I decided to call it an early night so I'd be ready for mi primer dia de clase. Having survived a week of classes, I can honestly say that I'm enjoying them! (With the exception of my Spanish Women's History class, but that's just because it is a little on the boring side.) Hate to break it to everyone back at Wofford, but we only have classes Lunes through Jueves, something we all agree is amazing! As for mis horarios..
- Lunes: Hispanic & Latin American Women Writers' literature, Spanish Grammar (todos estudiantes have to take this), & the History of Spanish Painting. My grammar teacher, Sonia, is extremely nice and has promised to be our "temporary madres" while we are in Spain, saying she'll even fuss at us when we forget to wear a scarf! She also is filling us in on random facts about Madrid and Espana. For example, pepper spray is illegal here so some people carry around hairspray for proteccion -- I'm not sure it has quite the same effect but it's better than nothing!
- Martes: Spanish Grammar & History of Spanish Women
- Miercoles: The nice thing about Wednesdays is that they're different from my regular schedule because while I have mi asignatura de literatura and grammar class in the morning, I also have a Contemporary Spanish Film class and then head to different museums for my art class! This week we were at the Prado looking at works by Greco. Es fantastico to be able to see the works we're learning about in person and with our teacher as our personal tour guide! Unfortunately the Prado doesn't allow you to take pictures, but google La Trinidad de Greco if you want an example!
- Jueves: Thursdays are the same as Tuesday but it also means the weekend has begun!
Before I tell yall about my amazing weekend in Paris, I have to include some other highlights from last week! Tuesday night, Cristina invited some of her amigos over to have cena with us. I don't remember the woman's name because she came late and said her name VERY fast, but the star of dinner was definitely our new friend Ynigo. Ynigo is quite the character! He is an older man from Bilbao (where we are headed this weekend with IES) but has been living in Madrid for the past 15 years. What makes him unique, however, is that he owns castillas (castles) and vineyards! He brought some of his vino over for dinner and was full of stories about sus adventuras in Russia, China, and in America. He speaks fluent english but spoke in Spanish for the mayoria of the time so that we could improve our espanol. It was quite a night! We ended our week in Paris with another dinner at Lateral, which has become my favorite lugar de tapas by far. Any and all visitors will be forced to eat there!
The delicious postre Tess and I shared!
Tess & I
Where algunos y todos visitantes will be eating!
Wofford does Madrid! (Will, Lizzy, An, Thomas)
Pictures and stories from Paris to come soon - time for mi tarea!
im sad i never went to lateral...i need to come back
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