day 101, man

so today marks that very-special-not-actually-that-important-101st-day.

I haven't done anything toooo exciting lately, but im having a great time. i'm getting closer to my friends and that in itself is just super relieving. my best friend here is laura, who I met the orientation day at school. shes 2 grades higher but we walk to and from school together. she's honestly my favorite person here. we always speak in English (she's Spanish but a fantastic English speaker), and with her i just laugh and we make jokes but we also talk about serious stuff and life and I cant believe ive only known her for 3 months. im helping her with her college applications and Thursday and Monday we're going to play soccer together with some of her friends. I love her bunches.

I guess another update would be that im hopefully joining an orchestra soon. my neighbor plays professionally in an orchestra, and we went and asked him and he gave me the bassists number so hopefully I can get lessons or something. so that makes me super excited.

also, I just learned how to make the tortilla espanola, so when I get back to the states I can show off.

so that's that. I would have more pictures and such, but I have most on my phone and its a pain to try and transfer everything.

happy 101 days to meee

M

a red tinte

this past weekend one of my spanish friends decided to dye all of his hair red. so of course,all the rest of us had to do some too. on Friday we didn't have school (I asked a couple people, and I heard it was constitution day but also that it was immaculate virgin mary day or something like that, so either of the two, all that mattered to me was that we didn't have school), so we went and bought dye, and walked to my fellow friend maria's house. and speaking of marias, there were 3 of us out of our group of 7. yeahhhh

 

 

so that was super fun. the girl in the bottom two pictures is marta, and sometimes we walk to or from school together, and shes pretty cool. im so thankful for my friends here. just that they accepted me and are helping me with my spanish. its great.

 

so otherwise this weekend... lets see. on Saturday I got together with my friend jameela and we watched an indian movie that I really enjoyed, and we made our own lunch! haha I know that's not much of an accomplishment but we had to look for all the food and that was hard enough.

 

then today I went to church, and ate with family and now im a-writin the blawg. so yeah

 

M

 

p.s. I dont know if anyone gets the pun in the name, but tinte is hair dye in spanish, and like red tint, and yeah sorry im not that funny

 

p.p.s today is my 3-month-aversary, so happy anniversary to meeeee

weekend with Mary

so this past weekend my exchange friend Mary, who lives in the canary islands, came up to visit Madrid and stayed at my house. so basically a weekend long sleepover. score.

so on Friday she came and settled in, but it was late so we just ate and went to bed. well, not really went to bed, but we were hanging in my room talkin. then Saturday we went into Madrid and I gave her the tour. its really cool knowing that I know Madrid well enough to be able to show people around and know where things are. its a great feeling. so we went to plaza de espana and puerta del sol and plaza mayor and gran via and palacio real and it was all super cool. in gran via they were having another protest. not surprising. so then we got ice cream and wasted our time until 3. I want to add that I saw these pants that I really liked and this guy was like 10 euros and im like mmmm im gonna think about it (meaning I was seriously going to walk a round a bit more and think about it) but then he was like 'okay, for you 8 euros' so im like okay i'll take 'em. so I wasn't even meaning to barter it down, but hey, whatever works. so then we were to meet some other exchange students and see catching fire. and oh my goodness I loved it. I think it was a huge improvement from the hunger games and I cant wait to see the next 2. so then after the movie we all hung out a bit, but then mary and I were both pretty tired so we headed home. but it was a great day. some pictures:

these performers we figured were from some university or something, but they were just walking around and singing and playing and it was great.

 

on the train

 

plaza de espana

 

plaza mayor

 

plaza de espana otra vez

 

our favorite street performer

 

palacio real with the view from the gardens

 

and us cuties.

 

 

but yeah that was saturday. then on sunday we were home for lunch and i took mary on a walk around aravaca. then she went into Madrid to see some of her American friends who were visiting Madrid and I got to study. yay. but it was needed. so then today I had school but mary went again into Madrid to see her friends, and she got back later and we hung out some more and took her to the airport. a sad day. but overall the weekend was fantastic. shoutout to mary who made it awesome, cant wait to see you in febrero

 

M

toledo with audrey

so yesterday Audrey messaged me and was like 'hey you wanna go to Toledo with us tomorrow?' and obviously I was like of course. making plans the day of or the day before is the exchange life, my friends.

so I got up early on a Saturday and took the train to principe pio where they picked me up and we headed off. its about 45 minutes away, so Audrey and I spent the way there listening to music. then we got there, saw about 10 million cathedrals, ate lunch, saw a synagogue, and basically walked in every crick and corner of Toledo. so it was a pretty awesome day. here are some of the awesome pictures (all mine this time)

 

 

so yeah. it was awesome. also I want to add that Toledo is known for 1) the churches, and 2) the swords. so in every souvenir shop there were mini swords and regular sized swords and wooden swords and everything of that sort. buuuuuuut I saw this awesome shop.

 

yes. that is elvish. from lord of the rings. from the one ring. so yes, I needed a picture. I saw a few more shops with the hobbit and the lord of the rings on their windows, so i'd saw they're doing their advertising well.

M

 

palacio real, thor 2, and all 4 javier's

so this past weekend was amazing. on Friday, after school, I went out to lunch with friends. for the first time ever I tried kebap. and I freaking love it. the kind that I got, durum, was basically like a burrito but with different sauce, which totally changes the taste. but it was good. so then I went home because I was planning on hanging with Laura, but she was busy. so I just stayed at home and downloaded music. speaking of which I've seriously found so many good bands recently.

anyway, Saturday was even better. I got up around 10, kinda sat around until 1330, and then left. I took the train to torrelodones, where my counselor, Javier, and his son, javi (whos 17), picked me up and we headed into Madrid. on the way there we were talking in Spanish about school and everything, and there was a part I didn't understand, and then javi turned around and said it in English with a perfect accent and I was soooooooooooooo surprised. I seriously was speechless. I don't know what I was expecting, but man, not that. so it was great to find out he spoke English, like, perfectly. so yeah, there was that. but anyway, we then went to the palacio real. so I had seen the outside before, but we got to go inside. inside a palace. I was inside a palace. a freaking palace! man, it was just really cool. I have to say my favorite part was the armory. there were all the helmets, and swords, and the horse armor, and it was phenomenal. (not my pictures)

so by then we were starving, because it was about 4, so we walked to the market of san Miguel. which is pretty small but really well known. its basically a ton of little bars/restaurants where you can walk around and buy expensive food. so that was good. I also want to note that it was rainy and cold, and we were outside for a long time. in case you wanted to know.

and THEN we went to this art exhibition 'surrealism and the dream'. which I loved. also, throughout this whole time I was getting to know javi, and I learned he was in a band and we were talking about music, so that was also really awesome. so then after the art it was about 8. and since neither javi or I had plans we decided to go see a movie. so we were driven to the theater and we looked at the movies, and we wanted to see thor 2, but it was on at 10. so we had and hour and a half. so we walked around through the little stores, and ate some food. so that was fun. then we saw the movie (it was okay, not the best, but good). and then I went home. so yeah, a full day. then there happened to be the internet... so I ended up falling asleep at like 230. but whatever.

then today, there was supposed to be a rotary trip to el Escorial, but it was canceled due to the weather. so I skyped with emmy for a bit, then ana, my mom and I went to eat lunch at my uncle Javier's house. and his sons are javi and jesus. so theres the 4 javiers. but we ate food and talked. I had earlier made plans for my friend Audrey to come over at 4, but we were at Javier's for longer, and I was trying to contact her, but it was a mess. so by the time we got home, she had been in aravaca for 1.5 hours, and was just walking around. so I felt bad, but she said she had fun, so I guess its okay. but then we talked and went on youtube and played the piano and that was good.

so yeah. a really good weekend.

also! I finished the avatar, legend of Korra season 2! oh my goodness, I love avatar. it was amazing.

-M

just some great friends

so here's just a few pictures of 3 of the great friends I have. starring Jose Manuel, Jaime, and Laura

patrick rothfuss

so this is all of us with pat (he's the one in the green with the awesome beard). I also forgot to add that this past week there's been a strike of the garbage men and other city cleaning people, so the walk there, and where we were standing in line, there was basically trash everywhere. I don't know why they were on strike, probably because they aren't getting paid enough, but it really made me realize how much they do. like normally its super clean, but man, it was dirty and sticky everywhere.

but it was sweet anyway.

two months? woah

so today I celebrated my two month anniversary! just kidding I didn't really celebrate. but today is also international hug an exchange student day, so that was good.

so basically things have been going well. I've been getting pretty good marks, except in lengua and historia. but that's normal, so whatever. and i'm becoming really good friends with a few people so that's pretty sweet.

today, after school, I went with a friend named Jaime to his house, and we ate ramen and pizza for lunch and watched spirited away (el viaje de chihiro). its one of my favorite movies, so that was pretty sweet. then we went into Madrid, to gran via, and met up with friends. I didn't know anyone, so it was cool to meet more people and show of my American-ness. lol. actually I had to say 'sorry, im American, what did you say?' a couple times because apparently I look Spanish... but we met up because there was a book signing (the name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss). so we got in line at about 1830 and waited and waited and waited until like 2100 and finally we went in. and he's American so I talked to him in English and it was pretty sweet. basically this was the conversation:

me: hi! *hands him book* I just wanted to say that I'm from Wisconsin, too. (he was born in Madison) do you know Platteville?

him: yes of course. *shakes my hand* what are you doing here (meaning spain)?

me: im an exchange student

him: wow. nice to meet you! I live in Stevens Point.

me: cool, my brother studied there.

him: really? cool. again, nice to meet you

 (we only had a few seconds to talk so that was it)


note: it was my friends book bc I don't actually have it. I hadn't even read it, I just wanted to go with. also note that this was the first ever book signing I've been to

so yeah, that was cool. and right now im super tired so imma sleep. I know there was someone who got pictures, so hopefully i'll be able to post them or something soon. but yeah. havin a good time here and I cant believe its been 8 weeks. my goodness

Halloween y Segovia

so yesterday was Halloween. here its pretty similar to the states where people dress up and go around for candy, but im not exactly sure how the kids knew where to knock because I didn't see any porch lights on... so I don't know. but as for me, I met up with some friends from school outside of the school at about 7, and we walked farther into pozuelo. my school is in pozuelo, but its right on the edge. anyway, they bought some alcohol in a chino, and we walked to a park. on the way we had run into some other friends and they came with us, as well. they were my Romanian friends and on the way I learned 1-10, I love you, and hey you in Romanian. so it was a successful walk. so anyway, we were in the park, and the parks here are mostly the same, except I've noticed they don't really have swings in a lot of them. but in this one there was this thing. I don't even know how to explain it, but in essence there were tires and we were going in circles and it was just super fun. so we hung out there and more people came. at one moment,  one of my friends got out tobacco and paper and all that stuff, and was trying to roll a cigarette, but apparently he didn't usually smoke and couldn't do it, and since I had seen it done so many times, i actually rolled it for him. i didn't smoke or drink or anything, don't worry family. i actually left before anything really got going, but that was because i knew it would take a while to get home, so i left at like 10. so yeah, overall it was fun, and i enjoyed hanging out with them. so at 10 Jaime (hai-may) and Irene (ee-reh-nay) walked with me to the train station of pozuelo, and there i payed for a ticket. but i noticed that all the security things, where you put your ticket in, and it opens the little doors, were all open. and then when i got to aravaca everything was open as well, so apparently i didn't even have to pay, but whatever. im supporting the economy. so it was a good night.

so today is 'dia de los muertos' (day of the dead). but i was told by Lucia that people here don't say that because its such a strong phrase, so instead they call it 'dia de todos los santos' (day of all the saints). so usually this day is for visiting graves and putting flowers on them or whatever you want to do. but apparently there wasn't anyone my family needed to visit, so instead i went to Segovia with my father, his sister, and her husband. Ana and my mother are in Istanbul for a few days for Ana's birthday (im so jealous). but anyway, first my father and i drove to Pilar and Carlos's house. and then we went in their car to their daughter Ana's house. so Ana actually kindof lives in a house house. like it was pretty big. and she had a backyard. all the houses were still attached on the side, but its definitely the closest thing to a house that I've come across. so i enjoyed seeing her and her 2 kids. then we 4 left and headed to Segovia. there was a ton of traffic, so it took a while to get there. but it was amazing. its known for the 2000 year old aqueduct, the cathedral, and the castle. there's also a set of mountains called 'mujer muerto' (dead women) for the way they look. i didn't bring my camera, but here are some pictures from the wonderful internet.

 

mujer muerto

 

catedral de segovia

 

pretty little view

 

really old aqueduct.

 

so yeah. it was awesome. we walked around for a while and looked at stuff and talked and it was just great. also, during lunch, we were talking a lot about the differences between America and Spain and it was really nice to be able to have input into the conversation. Pilar was super nice about including me and it was a good day.

 

 my 2 month anniversary is coming up and its so odd. but i am loving it here. im really learning to seize the moment. like, if im not having fun, i have to go up to someone and start a conversation, or i have to talk to friends and make plans. i have to take that initiative and its actually a really awesome feeling. so yeah. 

 

M

fiestas sorpresas all around

so this weekend has been a blast. on Friday I went to Carabanchel to hang out with my fellow American Audrey. we met up with her friends and went to a big mall called islazul. the only thing we ended up buying was donuts, even though we were there for like 5 hours. by the end my feet hurt really bad, but it was still awesome to meet audreys friends, who were really nice and funny. it was also my first time riding the buses here in Madrid. it wasn't anything too special, but there was one thing that caught me off guard. whenever we stop, the bus tilts down on the side that people enter. I would assume its so people don't have to step up so much or if someones in a wheelchair or something. I don't know. but yeah. different. so we hung out with her friends, then went back to her piso. since we hadn't eaten, her parents took us out to a Chinese restaurant. yay Chinese food! at first they brought out these Styrofoam looking chip things. surprisingly they weren't too bad... but anyway then we got these huge springrolls. I could've just eaten that and been full, but of course, we got more; a noodle dish, lemon chicken, rice, and Chinese bread, which I  might add, is not nearly as good as Spanish bread. but overall it was delicious. so then we went back to the piso. so my grandparents piso is relatively big, it has a kitchen, a big living/dining room, 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms and an extra little sitting room. but audreys was extremely small (but her family has some pretty sweet wall hangings) anyway, she has the 2 bedrooms and bathrooms, and then the kitchen/diningroom/living room are all like one big room with a counter kindof cutting off the kitchen. but I liked it. so we got into our pj's, layed down, and talked and listened to music for like an hour. its so cool to think that without rotary, I would never have met Audrey, but here we are, a Californian and Iowan having a sleepover in Spain. just think about that. wow. so we slept until 1045 when her mom woke us up because I had to leave. but we ate breakfast (healthy cereal, ew, and freshly squeezed orange juice, yum) and watched this video that her parents had made of a ton of pictures of them, I think it was some anniversary video or something, but anyway, her parents have been to so many places! its so sweet. I want to travel like that too. I was impressed. so yeah, then I left and came home and hung out for a while.

thennnnn at 1800 my dad and I headed out to our grandparents to watch the Barcelona- Real Madrid game. I ended up not watching it (we lost anyway) but sitting and watching tv with my abuela. she is seriously so awesome. she does cross-stitching (called petipua -like petty pwah- in Spanish if I spelled that right. it doesn't look or sound like a Spanish word but that's what it is, I think...) and she has alzheimers, so she always repeats things but its so fun to talk to her and chat, and since im understanding so much more, its just, I don't know, its great.

 

her beautiful orchids

                                           and her. she is precious. and her name is matilde.

so then we hung out there until about 2030 and then headed out to the bar thing where the party was being set up. I went in, and started helping put out food and stuff like that. then more people were coming in, and I talked with some family and met some of Ana's friends. then at 2130 Ana came. she came in, we sang, and then everyone just hung and talked for a while. then 2 of her best friends, Raquel and Irene, gave a little speech, then we talked some more. throughout this whole thing I met a ton of people, many of which were extremely attractive guys, so I was having a lot of fun. although, im still at that stage where I don't understand when people talk really quickly with each other, and with the loud music on top of that, I was a third wheel most of the time. but I still had fun. a while later they brought out a cake thing and ana blew out a candle. it wasn't really a cake, more like, jeez I don't even know how to describe it, but it was good. so then at about 2300 the parents went home and people started getting drinks and smoking and such. I did take a couple sips of my friends drinks when offered, but other than that I was still just hangin around. then finally at 0100 one of the guys and Irene drove me home because the rest of them were going to a discoteca, and i'm not 18. but I was glad because I was tired. so I got home and slept 11 hours. it was amazing. but here are some pictures from the partay

 

ana (right) and irene

 

Irene and Raquel giving a speech

 

the cake thing. also, that guy in the blue shirt, diego, was super nice and actually talked to me, so that was a plus

 

 

so yeah, that was super fun. also I want to add that today we went out to lunch with our grandparents, and for desert they had these little tubes, like tooth paste tubes, that were filled with either mango or raspberry stuff, and you just squeezed it into your mouth. lol they were actually really good....

 

M

huelga

so from October 22-24 there was a huelga. a strike. so apparently there was a change in the budget for education, and there were protests all over Spain. i'm actually watching the news right now, and it seems like it was mostly peaceful protest, but there was some violence as well. so as far as I know, it was only for public schools, and I know some people who didn't have it. but anyway, I had the option of not going to school, but we have an exam tomorrow, and I don't really have anything else to do, so I went anyway. so the first day, Tuesday, I think only 2 people from my class didn't come. then Wednesday, 11, and today 12. I think. but today the teachers also had their huelga, whereas the other days they had to come to work. so it mostly didn't affect classes, except today. today for bio our teacher didn't show, so we went outside and played soccer, which was actually really fun. and then in French since there were only like 10 people we watched videos and listened to music. so that was fun. so yeah, not too exciting, but different. I was talking to my sister and she said it's really common to have strikes here so I should probably expect another sometime during the year. so yeah, here's a picture of what was on the news

yep, that's whats happenin. but this weekend should be exciting. tomorrow i'll be going to a friends house and then on Saturday is my sisters surprise birthday party! my mom told me i'll be the photographer, so it should be quite exciting. so yeah, an update is soon to come

M

carrera de la ciencia

So today I did my first 10k! I woke up at 730 and we (my mom and I) left at about 8 with our neighbor Lola. The race was in Madrid, mainly in the street 'Serrano'. So we were supposed to meet up with rotary people beforehand, but we ended up not finding them. We also didn't get a number or tracker or anything, but whatever. So this race, this race, man, there were like 1000 to 2000 people. Which is why we couldn't find the rotary people. But we started by ourselves and ran about 3k until I saw a couple of my friends. But these girls were cross country runners, so I waited for the other people, who they said were a bit behind them. So I joined them and ran until the 5k mark. Which made me really proud. I've only ever done one 5k before, and I didn't run it all, so I was glad I ran that whole way. So then there was water and stuff and we started walking. I ended up walking with Audrey, one of my close friends, and we were talking and we went to about 5.7k and we saw that people were turning up ahead. Now Audrey also didn't have a number or tracker thing, so we're just like 'we're tired, let's just take a side street and cross over'. So we did. We ended up skipping about 3k. Lol but then we ran and finished with a time of 1 hour 03min. Yay! Haha, after that we waited for the other students and were just like 'yeah we ran the whole thing!'. It was great. Now since we didn't have the numbers, we couldn't get our official time or whatever, or get the tshirts or food that they were handing out (you got it in a bag after you turned in the tracker). But one of the rotary people gave me hers, so that was super nice. So yeah, then we just hung out and talked for a while, then headed home. So overall it was really fun, and I got to see more of Madrid and exercise and yeah, I liked it.