Thanksgiving in Madrid

some of the girls after dinner

me with the yummy dessert

For Thanksgiving, we were determined to find a good alternative to make it seem as if we were still in America. After looking around and checking out websites we found out that Hard Rock Café was having a Thanksgiving menu on Thursday. Immediately we made a reservation for 8 people. We all got dressed up in the formal dresses we brought to Madrid but had yet to wear. To start, we had pumpkin soup, which was actually delicious. I had never tried pumpkin soup before and was pleasantly surprised.  Then for the main course, we were served turkey, stuffing, some gravy on the side, broccoli, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. How yummy does that sound?!? It was exactly what we wanted. For dessert we had apple tartlet with some vanilla ice cream.  Everything was beautifully displayed and tasted great. Amanda, Anna, Jenna, Melanie, her sister, Lauren, her sister, and me all had a wonderful time sipping on wine and enjoying great Thanksgiving food.  Although it was nothing like Thanksgiving with my family in Potomac, it was a great alternative and one of my favorite nights in Madrid.  

Copenhague

view of Copenhagen from our hotel room

My trip to Copenhagen was so much fun! It was great seeing my mom, even for just a few days.  I got in at about 10 p.m. on Thursday and went to the Radisson hotel to meet my mom. It was a beautiful hotel and our room was on the 23^rd floor. The view from our window was spectacular. We could see the whole city. On Friday morning, we woke up at 9 to start exploring the city. We opened our shades and saw that it was snowing! My mom had forgotten to bring scarves or gloves.  We just were not prepared for snow weather. It was really pretty at first but then turned into rain and it rained on and off the majority of the day. Also, random fun fact, it gets dark in Copenhagen by about 4 p.m.  We decided the best use of our time would be to take a city bus tour.  The tour was around 3 hours long and we had a great guide who was decked out with her red jacket, red gloves, and red hat.  She was definitely a character.  Mom especially loved the bus tour because the bus driver was from Iceland so she got to chat about Iceland for a bit and use her Icelandic.  During the tour we went all around the city and learned about the buildings.  We then stopped at the royal palace and watched the changing of the guard.  It was really funny, lots of stomping.  It looked like a funny dance.  Afterwards, Mom and I got pictures with the guard in his little box, but sadly you have to stay 1.5 meters away so the photos are pretty awkward haha.

Mom and me with the guard

Once the bus tour ended, Mom and I headed to the National Museum where we learned all about Denmark over the years.  It was really interesting.  There was even stuff about Iceland in the museum! My favorite part was the toy section from the 1960s. There was one room full of dollhouses from the time period.  Next, we went to the Glyptotek Museum to see some artwork.  The museum has a lot of impressionist works, which are my mom and my favorite.  After exploring all of the floors, it was about 5 p.m. and Mom and I realized we had not had lunch yet.  We were clearly too preoccupied with the museums.  We grabbed a bite to eat and then met up with Amanda and Dori and walked around the city.  That evening I went to a beer tasting with Dori’s abroad program.  We learned about 6 different beers and then had little glasses to taste them in.  Some were way too fruity, but others were pretty good.  One of the beers we tasted had coffee, raisins, and chocolate in it.  That one was a lot to handle and smelled super funky.  Beer just shouldn’t have those things in it.  Friday night I went to a mid-semester party for DIS (Denmark International Students).  I got to see Langley, which was great!  

Mom and me at Nyhavn

On Saturday morning, my mom and I woke up and went to Christiania.  Christiania is a part of Copenhagen that has actually separated itself from the EU and is its own governing area.  It is full of crazy artwork and kind of looked like a place where carneys would live.  Definitely an interesting part of Copenhagen- my mom and I did not quite fit in with our preppy looks.  Next, we walked around the city and headed for Nyhavn, one of the main canal areas where all the boats tie up.  It was so pretty and the streets were beautifully decorated for Christmas.  Dori and Amanda met us here and we checked out all the little booths in the Christmas market.  Then, we went to Rosenborg Slot, the castle in Copenhagen.  It was really neat to see all of the different rooms and see the decorations.  On the top floor were the king and queen’s thrones from back in the day.  Our favorite room was the basement with the royal jewels.  The crowns were absolutely stunning.

Amanda, me and Dori with the Little Mermaid

After the palace we saw the Little Mermaid.  She is the icon of Copenhagen and loved by all the danes.  Lucky for us, she had just been placed back in her spot earlier that day.  She had been at the World Expo in China since April and after winning 3^rd place was returned to Copenhagen.  When we got there, news crews were still crowding around and the crane was still nearby.  I’m so glad we got to see her!  Our last stop for the day was Tivoli- the amazing amusement park that Disney World was based off of.  Langley, Amanda, my mom and I entered the beautiful winter wonderland and treated ourselves to delicious pastries- seriously, Copenhagen has the absolute best pastries.  I may have gained 10 pounds during this trip, but hey I’m on vacation, right?!?  We walked around and saw the amazing Christmas lights and all rode on the swings- even Mom J It was so much fun! That evening Amanda, Dori, my mom, and I went to a recommended restaurant on Nyhavn right by the water and had an amazing meal.  Afterwards, my Mom went to roam around the city a bit more and my friends and I went back to Dori’s dorm room for a party her dorm was hosting that night.  I met lots of DIS students and a few danes too. 

the entrance to Tivoli

On Sunday morning, my mom and I woke up early and grabbed some delicious pastries for breakfast.  Eating the pastries had become a normal habit for us at this point. We just couldn’t get enough of them.  We then hopped on a canal cruise that took us on a tour of the city and showed us some places that we hadn’t explored yet.  It was really peaceful and a great way to spend the morning.  Then, we got off the boat, walked back to the hotel and I grabbed a taxi to the airport to catch my flight back to Madrid.  All in all, I loved Copenhagen.  It was a really fun trip and was so great to see my Mom for the first time in months.         

Spanish Plays...Ayy yi yiiii

Scene from El Mal Juventud

My program has an assignment called the “Cultural Passport” where we have to do all different things around Madrid to receive credit. By the end of the semester you need to have at least 7 items in your passport.  This sounds great in theory, but the annoying thing about it is that the events have to be things a typical tourist would not do. For example, going to a bullfight does not count. Going to a Real Madrid soccer game does not count. Going to a see a Spanish movie does not count. Going to certain museums that seem too touristy/don’t have a Spanish focus do not count. So, because they decided to make this somewhat frustrating for us students, they have an employee, Pablo, who is in charge of organizing activities to places that are allowed for the passport. With the program I have gone to 2 different plays. One was a series of small stories thrown into one play and the other told the story of 6 different characters and involved romance, alcoholism, as well as suicide. I have gone to plays in America, none too risqué, but I have still seen a decent amount. I don’t know what the norm is for plays in Spain but because of these 2 plays I have now seen 4 grown Spaniards completely naked. And, every time it surprises me.  In the first play I went to, these 2 couples were having lunch and then one of the couples left and the man pulled his pants off and did the dirty deed. Later on in the same play the woman is playing a person on the beach and gets completely naked. Shortly after a male actor walks around the stage…completely naked. Also, side note, I was sitting front row for that one. Scarring? Yes, probably. For the second play, called "El Mal Joventud", there were several dancing numbers.  During one of the songs, one of the actresses took her top off and made sexual movements on a bed.  Then, later on, two of the girl actresses get into a fight and start crying, which then leads to the two women taking their tops off and making out. Normal?  Finally, to end the play, an actress gets into a fight with one of the actors and is yelling at him to hit her.  As they are fighting it suddenly turns into a “let’s rip each other’s clothes off” scene.  They both got completely naked and then proceeded to have sex on stage.  Although I do appreciate the arts, I really thought it was just unnecessary for the actors to take their clothes off during certain scenes.  It seemed like the play was created by a boy who was trying to put all his hopes and dreams about what girls do at sleepovers into a 2-hour performance.  It just got annoying after a while.  I think that after these 2 theater experiences, I am going to take a break from Spanish plays for a while.   

Beautiful, beautiful Paris

To start, my trip to Paris was amazing. It is such a beautiful city. Amanda and I lucked out and happened to have a hostel that was 2 minutes off of the Champs-Elysees. We were given a private room, which included a bathroom, and provided with breakfast.  AND it only cost 28 euro a night! It was fantastic.

Unfortunately, due to the France strikes, Amanda and I had issues with our flight. Two days before our flight we received an email from Ryanair saying our flight was canceled due to the strikes. Great. Just super. Quickly we go to skyscanner and start searching for flights. Luckily, Vueling still had open seats for a flight leaving Thursday afternoon. Then comes Thursday afternoon…our flight got delayed. Almost all of my flights while abroad have been affected by the France traffic controller strikes. It is getting VERY frustrating.

Finally we arrived in Paris. We took the train and then the metro to get to our hotel. Lucky us, two 20 something men chose to use the area between the two cars on the train to “hot box”. For those of you that do not know what that means, it means to smoke marihuana in a small space so you get even more high. The overwhelming smell of marihuana was not pleasant and the older women next to us we not pleased. Once we got off the metro we couldn’t quite figure out how to get to our hostel and there weren’t any street signs, which made it even more confusing. We knew it was 6 minutes walking away (thank you googlemaps) so we found a bicycler and hopped on in! It was actually really fun.

Friday morning we woke up early and went to the Eiffel Tower. As a child I always thought it was a silver color, but soon discovered that it is more of a brown color. Oh, the things you learn in Europe. We got in line and waited our turn to take the elevator to the top. Once we got up there we realized just how windy it was. We walked around the entire top part, looking at all the different views of the city. It was truly stunning. Very similar to the view from on top of the TV Tower in Berlin.

view of the Champs-Elysees from the top of the Eiffel Tower

Next we headed to the Musee D’Armee where we saw all sorts of weapons, clothing, and automobiles using during the wars. It was really neat to actually see all the items. I have never been in a museum with so many physical items. One area was just halls and halls of guns. Another room had soldiers and there horses, all dressed as they were for the war. To end the tour we went into the church and saw Napoleon’s tomb. It definitely grabs your attention immediately. In the center of the church there is a huge hole that shows the floor below with Napoleon’s enormous tomb (probably could have fit 20 Napoleon’s in it). 

Next stop: Jardin du Luxembourg. I have decided that if I marry a European, we are getting married here. It was absolutely beautiful, especially with the fall colors on the trees. There is a pond in the center where people were playing with their remote controlled sailboats.  Chairs line the bond and the other areas for spectators to take a moment to look around and relax. After the garden we met up with 2 of my other friends, Alison and Gabi. The 4 of us walked back towards the Champs-Elysees and saw the Arc du Triomphe that is the focal point of the Champs-Elysees.

At Jardin du Luxembourg

On Saturday, we woke up early and hit up the museums. First was the Louvre and next Musee D’Orsay. The Louvre is ginormous. We spent over 2 hours and still didn’t get a lot of it done. The 3 different sections are just too large to do at one time. Any of you that have done it all in one day: you are insane. We did see the Mona Lisa though which was cool. It surprised me by how tiny it is. There are so many amazing pieces of work in the museum that the Mona Lisa seemed somewhat insignificant to me. At Musee D’Orsay we saw tons of impressionist artists, such as Monet and Renoir. I absolutely loved it. It is probably one of my favorite museums. It was the perfect size where it had a lot of art to take in but was not overwhelming. They also had an exhibit with a variety of works by Van Gogh that I really enjoyed. 

The light show on the Eiffel Tower

After grabbing a bite to eat and relaxing in our room, we went to the Eiffel tower to do the nighttime bike tour with Fat Tire bikes. I have become obsessed with bike tours. I think they are such a great way to see a city and are a lot of fun, especially when you get to wear a light-reflecting vest! We biked to Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter, the Louvre and other places, stopping at each and learning a little bit about the history. We then took a 1 hour-long boat tour and were provided with lots and lots of red wine. Seeing Paris at night was absolutely stunning. After the boat ride we all had to get back on our bikes, which after a few glasses of wine was somewhat difficult. We the saw where Princess Diana’s car crash was- there is a huge gold flame above the tunnel. It was weird to see the area that I saw plastered all over the papers and television 14 years ago.  

One of my favorite things about this bike tour was a 30-year-old man that joined my group. He was ridiculous. As we were going down a hill one time he yelled, “Watch out mother fuckers!” Another time when he was talking about Texas, my guide asked him, “Oh, did you go to UT?” to which he replied with, “Nah man, I didn’t go to school. I went to jail.” He was a character and had us all laughing the entire trip.

The Hall of Mirrors

Sunday morning, we woke up and headed to Versailles for the day. Versailles was something everyone has to see. Although the lines are long to get tickets, it is definitely worth the weight. The Hall of Mirrors, along with many other rooms, was so elaborately and elegantly decorated. My favorite part was the gardens. They are HUGE. We probably spent an hour walking all around outside. It really looks like something out of a fairytale. We then went to Mary Antoinette’s little town and saw her cottage. It was really cute. She had a farm/zoo in the town too- pigs, donkeys, goats, sheep, and other animals surrounded the little houses.

Monday morning Amanda and I woke up and went to the Champs to grab some crepes before our flight. I have now fallen in love with nutella and banana crepes thanks to Paris. They are beyond delicious and I could eat them for any meal. I am determined to learn how to make them when I get home. 

Just for fun :) Some more photos from Berlin

Kristin with the Currywurst truck

Me "jumping the wall"

Danke and Ausgang

Kristin and me on the roof of the Reichstag

Danke and Ausgang. The only 2 words I know in German. They are quite useful though. Danke means thank you- i.e. I said it every single time I had to ask for directions because I was lost. Ausgang means "exit" another very helpful word when you are trying to figure out the crazy metro/tram above ground and underground system Germany has. It quickly became my favorite word. From October 9- 13 Kristin and I frolicked around Berlin together. On Saturday morning we both got settled in to Swisshotel, a great hotel that Kristin booked, right by the Zoologishter Station. We then walked around Berlin and went to Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (the Parliament building). Luckily the line wasn't too long so we only had to wait about an hour to get inside and do a guided tour of the dome. The view from the roof was great and we were able to get a sense of other possible sights we might want to visit during our trip.

The next day we did a bike tour with Fat Tire bikes from about 11-3. It was sooo much fun. Our guide, Tam, was also quite the jokester. In his tutorial about how to ride a bike he said, "Now you want to place the bike seat facing forward, unless side saddle is your preference...who knows." On the bike tour we went to about 20 or so different touristy sites in Berlin, including Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, and Tiergarten (the huge park in Berlin). We both had not been on bikes in a while so we were a little rough at first, but after a few almost collisions and lots of laughter, we got the hang of it. We also had a husband and wife pair that were on a tandem bike. It was great entertainment to hear the wife scream and reprimand her husband for going to fast or turning to sharp. Our bikes also had names so that we could find them easily after stopping at each location. My bike was named "Shakira" and Kristin's was "Wesley Willis." We at first thought that Wesley was a child of Bruce Willis' but after some blackberry searching we discovered he was actually a singer/somewhat of a schizophrenic. Interesting that Kristin "accidentally" chose this one. Our bikes also had bells and squeaky toys on them which was great. The last person in the group who made sure none of us got separated, named "The Ass Man" was a military man living in Germany. He was insane and whenever we reached any stop would yell "Your ass is here!" or just simply announce his arrival by yelling "Ass Man!" I am so glad we did the bike tour. It was a perfect way to see the city and the tour guide was really friendly...and cute. He was born in England but then lived in Australia for the majority of his youth so he had a australian/british combo accent. I don't think an accent can be any sexier than that.

Kristin and me having dinner at the top of the TV Tower

During the rest of our time in Berlin, we visited several museums, especially the fantastic museums on Museum Island. One of my favorites was the Pergamonmuseum where they had the actual ruins from Roman times. It was as if we had just entered a giant's castle the archways and columns were so big! Kristin and I loved going from museum to museum looking at all the different works of art on display. We also went into the Berliner Dome and climbed to the tippy top where you are allowed to go outside on the roof. In addition to all the sight seeing, Kristin and I ate extremely well during this trip. We managed to find great meals everywhere and the service was great as well, even at the restaurant where Kristin broke the curtain holder! hahaa. I think the best meal was the one we had at the TV Tower. You take an elevator to the top and after your ears pop 3 or 4 times you have arrived at the top. The restaurant rotates slowly and after about 45 minutes you have made a full rotation. We had a great dinner there and had a silly waiter to make it even more fun. It was a beautiful view of the entire city lit up at night time. Berlin is a fantastic city and I am so glad I was able to spend 4 days there with Kristin. We had a great time! Love you Kristin for flying all the way from NYC to see me!

A Day FULLLL of Gelato and Pizza

On Friday, October 8th I headed to the airport extremely early (i may have snoozed a bit in the airport) in order to catch my 6 a.m. flight to Milan. When I was looking for a flight to Berlin to meet Kristin it actually turned out to be cheaper for me to fly one day earlier, stay a night in Milan, and then meet Kristin in Germany on Saturday morning. This flight was also my first experience flying RyanAir aka the cheapest airline possible that most abroad students use. They have strict rules though. It costs 15 euros to check a bag- so that wasn't happening. You can only have 1 carry-on and it has to be less than 10 kg (they make you put it in this box and if it doesn't fit you have to pay). Now I would never say I am a very good packer so having to limit my clothing/shoe options to only what could fit into my backpack was pretty difficult. I also needed my peacoat for the chilly weather that was to come in Berlin, so I had to be sure to bring that. I'll give you a mental image of what I looked like waiting in line to board. Clothing: jeans, leather boots, top, sweater, huge yellow scarf, peacoat, awkwardly bulging peacoat pockets...may or may not have been due to the socks and underwear that I shoved inside so that my bag would be small enough. Also, please note that it was 75 degrees in Spain and I was flying to Milan where the weather is just as warm. Basically, I looked ridiculous.

In front of the Duomo in Milan, Italy

So I finally arrive in Milan, oh and everyone on the plane clapped when we landed safely...super reassuring. I then figured out which buses to take to arrive at my hostel in Bergamo, Italy. It was really surprising to me how many people in Italy do not speak english. In Spain I feel like the majority of the people speak both or at least know some english, but in Milan, nothing. How many words of italian do I know? One. Grazie. It could only get me so far. I settled in to my hotel and then went to the train station to catch the next train to Milan. After about 40 minutes, my 4 euros train ticket dropped me off at Milan Central Station. It was about noon at this point so I decided I should probably get something to eat. PIZZA. It was delicious. I know people always brag about New York pizza, but wow Italy really knows what they're doing. Next, I hopped on the metro and went straight to the Duomo where I got a headset and did a 2 hour tour. I was also attacked by the many men standing outside the Duomo holding corn kernels. Before I knew it they shoved some in my hand and I had 5 pigeons on my arm eating out of my hand. They quickly grabbed my camera and started taking photos of me. It was both fun and terrifying and somewhat gross.
After my tour I walked around Milan for several hours, going in and out of stores. I stopped in a gelato shop and after asking the employee what was the best flavor, got a cup of nutella flavored gelato. It was delicious. Next, I went to La Rinascente which is a 10 story building that has every possible designer you could think of. I was in heaven with all the beautiful clothes and bags. They even had a christmas section already set up which made me happy. At around 7 p.m. I bought some pizza for dinner because, I mean, why not indulge? It's amazing and it's vacation! I then headed back to Bergamo on the train. Completely exhausted, but really pleased with my day in Italy.

Barcelona

La Sagrada Familia

My trip to Barcelona was a lot of fun and also extremely exhausting. It was the last trip that my program was taking us on, meaning they created the schedule and we had to stick to it. I believe I clocked in a grand total of 10 hours of sleep for the weekend. It causes me to pop a blood vessel in my eye. Really attractive, I know. We arrived early on Friday morning and went to Monjuic to get a view of the city, did a tour of La Sagrada Familia, went to Villa Olimpica to see the water, hit up Parque Guell to see even more of the crazy art in Barcelona, walked around Barrio Gotico, went inside la Iglesia de Santa Maria del Mar, and finished the day with a guided tour (in spanish of course) of the Picasso Museum. The Sagrada Familia was something else. So bizarre but so impressive. The guide told us that hopefully it will be finished in 20 years...construction began by Gaudi in 1882. I also really enjoyed the Picasso museum. It had works from his entire lifetime and was really neat to see the transformation in his technique and style over the years. The artwork for his teenage years was stunning. I could not get over how talented he was at such a young age. On Saturday, we went to La Casa Batllo and did a tour of La Casa Mila, both creation by Gaudi. It is fascinating to see how he was beyond ahead of his time and made such modern buildings. He was very inventive and really liked to show off his talent. I definitely recommend visiting La Casa Mila if anyone ever goes to Barcelona. Saturday night my program set us free and Jenna, Amanda and I spent the night at Jane's apartment (another Dukie).

Duke kids at IceBarcelona

Now onto the bar scene. Barcelona knows how to party. There is a chain called Espit Chupitos which is a shots bar that sells over 580 different types of shots for 2 euros each. You essentially look at the huge board with all the options and choose the one that sounds good to you. For example, my friends did the Harry Potter shot which entailed the bartender lighting a good portion of the bar on fire and then having it disappear (it was quite magical, as it should be). There were other fun names like Tarzan, Kiss of Death (it had hot sauce in it), Kill Bill, Willy Wonka, Terminator, Teletubbie, and my all time favorite Monica Lewinsky. I witnessed another girl ask for this shot and was somewhat scarred for life. She was blindfolded and then very inappropriate things happened to this poor girl. Her friends video taped it. One of the highlights of the nightlife there was going to IceBarcelona, an ice bar right in the heart of the club arena. It was -8 degrees celsius inside so your body could only last for about 40 minutes before you had to leave. Everyone is given black gloves and huge jackets with fur hoods to keep them warm. Everything inside was made of ice- the bar, the seats, the glasses, the bear statue, even the model of the Sagrada Familia (extremely impressive). We also went to a discoteca called Opium which was huge and, like discotecas in Madrid, had dancers on platforms in minimal clothing.

Overall, this trip made me really happy that I chose to study in Madrid. There were just too many spaniards trying to sell me beers, bracelets, or unknown items from a sketchy plastic bag they were toting. It was overwhelming. Also, within those 3 days I was in Barcelona, 3 Duke kids had their wallets stolen. That would just not be okay. Maybe protecting my bolsa 24/7 is what caused me to pop a blood vessel?

Oktoberfest

This past weekend I went to Oktoberfest. To say that Oktoberfest is eventful is an understatement. This weekend was also "Italian weekend" aka Lauren and her girl friends should be very careful of the super aggressive italian men. The trip started off a little rough. My flight was at 3:30 pm on Thursday but due to the France air strike all of the flights were either being delayed or canceled. After waiting for about 2 hours, I finally boarded the plane and then we sat on the plane for another hour before finally taking off. Lufthansa was a great airline though and I luckily was given an emergency exit seat so I was able to sleep the entire time. I met up with all of my friends at The Wombat, the hostel we were staying at for the weekend. We then went to Der Pschorr for dinner where we had made a reservation for about 15 people.


On Friday we woke up around 10 a.m. since we had made a table reservation back in April for a table in the Hippodrom tent. We went to our table at 12 and were informed that we had a 300 euro voucher to spend however we wanted. Thus, craziness began. Each tent has brewed its own type of beer so they all have different tastes (and are also all much stronger than normal beer). We had a great time ordering all sorts of platters to split for lunch and made friends with all the germans around us. About every 20 minutes the older men sitting next to us would start singing and cheers our glasses. In the afternoon we decided to explore the outdoors and went on some of the roller coasters. Why roller coasters and drinking are at one venue, I do not know, but I was determined to ride roller coasters no matter what. I went on the huge Ferris wheel, the log flume, and a roller coaster that has left my arms covered in bruises because it was throwing us around so much. The picture below is the view of Oktoberfest and all the tents from the Ferris wheel.

On Saturday we woke up at 6 a.m. to get showered and get to the tents. It was a mad house. There were thousands of people scrambling to try to get into a tent and to get a table. If you do not have a table, you can't get beer. The tents each fit about 5,000 but they are completely full by 9 a.m. and trust me, people are not planning on leaving anytime before 2 p.m. We luckily found a table in Hofbrau house, which is the main Oktoberfest tent and probably the rowdiest. We stayed there all day and hung out with all the other Duke kids that were there. Everyone was standing on the benches and dancing and singing along to Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline", Bruce Channel's "Hey Baby", and some german song that I knew the tune to by the end.

View of the Hofbrau tent

Discotecas

This past weekend was my first full weekend in Madrid. It also happened to be the "Welcome International Students" weekend for all of the discotecas here. The clubs here are insane. I was speechless. They have dancers doing crazy performances and they have singers doing renditions of popular songs, such as Lady Gaga's Bad Romance (that is what the picture above is of). One of the clubs has 7 floors in total so the options are endless. You can be at the Karaoke bar on level 4, the hookah bar with couches on level 7, or on the dance floor (complete with dancing poles) on level 1. That club turned off all the lights and had dancers in black body suits covered with glow sticks (see below). Another thing about the club scene here is that the clubs do not open/start going until about 1:30 a.m. and they close at 6 a.m. when the metro reopens. I honestly do not know how the spaniards do it. One night of dancing for 4 hours and I'm pooped. Luckily there is a 24 hour churros place 3 minutes from one of the clubs :) 

Real Madrid game

On Wednesday night, several students from my program and I went to Estadio Santiago Bernabeu to go see a champions league game between Real Madrid and Ajax (they are from Holland). We all put on some form of white clothing to support the team and went to our seats....they were probably the 3rd from the tippy top of the stadium but hey that's life on a budget. We could still see everything clearly and it turned out to be a pretty fun game. There was a crazy irish man one row in front of us who took his shirt off and was swinging it around screaming and blowing a horn. Ajax must have hit 3 shots off of our goal post. In the end Real Madrid ended up winning 2-0. One of the goals was off of a corner kick. I can't get over the foot skills these players have- especially Cristiano Ronaldo. Hopefully I will make it to another game sometime soon. It was definitely an experience.

Conchita

My spanish madre, Conchita, is something else. One of my favorite phrases that she says is "WAH!" She will say it for almost anything she dislikes, for example:
-I say I might get a phone with a company called "Orange"...WAH
-the news said they are closing a mine and people are losing jobs...WAH
-Amy Winehouse came on the screen...WAH
-people died in a car crash over the weekend...WAH
-I say I have a lot of homework...WAH
Almost everytime she says it my roommate and I start chuckling. She also likes to ask us where we are going and then will tell us if we need to hold our bolsas (purses) close.  Every night during dinner the tv is either playing some reality dating show that is ridiculous or the news. I think she has a secret obsession for the dating shows or maybe she just enjoys mocking the people's outfits. Last night we found out that her ringtone for her cell phone is Yellow Submarine. She does not know english. I love it.

Welcome to Spain!

I arrived at my homestay on August 29th at about 9 a.m. My roommate and I met our homestay madre, Conchita, an adorable grandmother who is full of energy and does not speak a word of english. We then proceeded to sleep for the majority of the day until she came into our room yelling "ALMUERZO! YA!" telling us its time for lunch. These first 2 weeks in Spain have been awesome.  Instead of jumping right into classes, the Duke program sends us on 2 trips- one to Galicia (region in the north) and one to Andalucia (region in the South). In all of the locations we have tour guides that speak only spanish and travel with us.

We were in Galicia from September 1-5. We went to Santiago de Compostela and A Coruna. Above is a picture of me at Plaza Mayor in A Coruna. In Santiago I went into the cathedral and we were allowed to climb up to the roof and walk around which we pretty neat. From there we went to San Andres de Teixido where we could see the Atlantic Ocean from the cliffs. Then we spent the weekend in A Coruna, a gorgeous beach town.  The professors went back to Madrid for the weekend so we were free to do whatever we wanted. One thing that definitely stood out on the beach is that european women don't seem to own bathing suit tops...I don't know how I would feel about that happening in Stone Harbor.

On the following Tuesday, we left for Andalucia and stayed there until September 12. We started off in Granada where we visited La Alhambra which was absolutely insane. The gardens were beautifully constructed, always with some sort of fountain and every color flower you could imagine. Every room had intricate designs on the walls- I can't even imagine how they created this so many years ago. We climbed to the highest tower and were able to see all of Granada from there. Wednesday night we got on a bus and headed for Sevilla. One of the things we did in Sevilla was visit a Flamenco museum where we were given a 1 hour flamenco lesson. I think dancing just isn't really my thing. I'm going to blame it on my genes, but it was still a great time. Next, we went to Los Reales Alcazares which is a royal palace in Sevilla. It was very similar to La Alhambra with its intricate designs and sculptures in every room. Some of the rooms had tapestries that were made in the 1500s that had to be about 50 feet wide.  On Friday we visited the Cathedral of Seville. It is the largest gothic cathedral in the world and the 3rd largest church in the world. Holy moly is right. At the end of our guided 2 hour tour throughout the cathedral we climbed the Giralda, which is the bell tower in the cathedral. It was about 35 flights of stairs high but it was all ramps- quite the workout. From there you have a great view of Sevilla and can see the roof of the cathedral which was cool as well. It's a good thing I'm not afraid of heights. Finally, on Saturday morning I hopped on a train at 8 a.m. and headed to Cadiz, a famous Spanish beach town. Cadiz has a great mix of old and new city aspects. It still has huge city walls and lots of plazas. It is currently the most ancient city that is still inhabited in all of Western Europe. Almost everyone from my program chose to go to Cadiz for the weekend so we stayed on the beach until about 6 p.m. We were even lucky enough to somehow come on a weekend when they were having an air show so I got to see lots of cool planes doing some crazy tricks!

In front of La Alhambra