¡Bienvenidos a Madrid!

So first of all I would like you to know that it is kind of hard not to write this in Spanglish. If I'm thinking at least some words in Spanish, that bodes well for the rest of the semester, right?

So Madrid is AMAZING. It's huge and beautiful and has nice weather (for now) and the best Metro on earth. How am I ever going to go back to the T? Here trains have a schedule (what?) and actually stick to that schedule (double what?), and there are signs that tell you how long you have to wait for the next train (never more than 5 minutes).

We arrived in Madrid on Thursday morning all jet lagged except those smart people who took sleeping pills on the plane. Besides BU, there are students from Northwestern, Harvard, Villanova, and a bunch of small colleges. Ray, who is the program director (recently dubbed el Rey Ray), took us on a bus to our hotel and we finally got to take showers and nap, which was of course the most important thing. Our hotel was in the Plaza del Sol, which is a big plaza with lots o' tourists in the center of the city. That first night Amalia (one of our profesoras) took us on a walk to see the Plaza Mayor, the Palacio Real, and other touristy spots nearby. On Friday, we went to the Instituto Internacional where all our classes will be and had daylong "serious" orientation - choosing classes, filling out your abono (in order to get a Metro pass), checking out the library, etc. And of course Friday night we lived the typical madrileño life and checked out the local bar scene (though we were not typical madrileños because we didn't stay out till 6am).


La Puerta de Alcalá

Weird European Cars

Barajas Airport International Terminal

Saturday we all said adios to the Hotel Regina and met our host families. My taxista was very nice, practicing his English while I practiced my Spanish. He even instructed me on a bit of useful slang. Carmen, or Menchi, is my señora and ella es buenisíma. She's super nice and a great cook (she even teaches cooking classes locally). She lives in a cute barrio with lots of tiendas, and is very patient with my Spanish. We went on un paseo (a stroll) yesterday after I got here and she showed me the Metro stop, the cheap shops, and we stopped for drinks and tapas twice.

Last night was la Noche en Blanco, which basically means stay out all night. All the museums were open and free, and there was music and performances and activities for kids all throughout the city center. It seemed like the whole city was out on the streets, and it was probably not the best idea to go out in a huge group because we were a) indecisive about eating and b) kept getting separated and having to find one another. I didn't stay out too late cause the Metro closes at 2 and I didn't want to miss it (otherwise you are stuck until 6 when it opens again), but today I found out there is a buho (a night bus) that stops close by so I won't have to worry about that again.

Buses that look like insects

La Noche en Blanco garbage

So. Many. People.

Yeah, that's Donkey Kong on the side of that building.

Today Amalia y el Rey Ray took us on a walk through part of el Parque del Buen Retiro, down el Paseo del Prado, and near the Real Jardín Botánico, telling us all about the history of the park and museum and los Reyes Borbones (Bourbon kings) and the Enlightenment in Spain. Tomorrow, classes start at the Instituto. I'm taking History of Spain, Women in Spain, Contemporary Spanish Politics, and Spanish Film. Things I still have to get used to: the lisping (sometimes you say an "s", sometimes you don't), using Euros (4.5 Euros is a good deal for sangría, right? Oh wait, let's do some math...), and the toilets (I used my first unisex bathroom last night. Que awkward).