The end of our second day in Madrid is upon us. Well, not really. But our orientations ended not too long ago so the majority of us are taking a descanso, a rest, to freshen up before the weekend. In all, these first days have been great! Fighting the jet lag has been a challenge, but after a couple quick siestas and orientations, we got settled right in and started enjoying each other's company. This program is called WIP/T, which stands for Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, and Tulane, and consists of a group of students from all over the U.S. that attend said universities. We've got a really good group of students, and I think we're all very excited to get to know each other better. Last night we were introduced to our program coordinators and administrators, talked about general safety and knowledge, and went over the subject of phones and their role in our lives-- both our American smartphones and the little ones here that we'll be using to contact each other and Spanish friends. Today was dedicated to information about housing and advice on where to search for a piso, or apartment, and our later orientation consisted of information on banking, safety when going out, Spanish customs and habits, and how to make amigos.
We're currently residing in a dormitory called Residencia Galdós just a short distance away from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where I'll be taking classes this fall and coming spring. It's a very interesting place-- full of bright students, ideas, and futures. I'm very excited to start my studies there. On Monday, we have a language placement exam to see which class we will attend with the Reunidas courses-- Reunidas is a the product of a bunch of universities who got together to create classes and environments in which American students can feel safe and have class with other Americans. Since our residence in the dorm is only temporary, the responsibility has been relinquished to us to find an apartment for the year. The coordinators have contacts that we can get a hold of to rent apartments that students have had in the past, and are with landlords that the program has had éxito, success. Another suggestion that was made to us was to check the bulletin boards in the different facultades, or buildings, for apartment listings so we could find a couple of vibrant, passionate Spaniards with which to live and have fun. The game is on.
Seeing as we have tomorrow off to explorar y disfrutar a Madrid, explore and enjoy Madrid, I've made a list of things I have to go buy-- like a smaller wallet to discourage pick-pocketers and a small notebook in which I will write useful vocabulary and apuntes, notes.
Other than that, I don't have too much else to say but I'm falling in love with Spain all over again! It's such an enchanting place, and I'm still in shock to believe that it's going to be my home for the next year.
^ The flight that took me to Chicago and subsequently, Madrid!
^ The exterior of Residencia Galdós.
^ The common area on the main floor next to the cafeteria.
Above and below are pictures of the cafeteria.
^ The room in which our orientations have been held.
This and the next three pictures are of my and Mimi's room!
Thanks for reading! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any comments or questions. Saludos!
This is my second test today. Miss you Emma!
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