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