Getting accustomed... more or less.

Hey all! I know it's been a hot minute since I've posted, but it's been a bit crazy around here. I got moved into my apartment about 2 weeks ago, and have since taken 3 exams, written 2 papers, gotten enrolled in classes, and learned more of Madrid. It's been a wonderful two weeks.

Last week, a few of us went out for tapas-- this is when you buy a drink, you get a plate of food to go with it. El Tigre, a tapas bar in the heart of Madrid, was the first tapas bar I've been to this year and a couple of other students from my program accompanied us. The sangría was great, and we got heaps of food to go along with our drinks. I'll definitely be returning. Below I'll attach a few pictures, and these are some I'll upload to Facebook as well.

Malasaña, the neighborhood in which I live, is full of life and sights to behold-- I've really fallen in love with it and it's in such a perfect location. I'm out where there is nightlife and tons of little shops to spend money in (oops!), but am close enough to other students that it's not a problem to meet up to go shopping, grab a bite to eat, etc. My roommates are fun too, and we're all starting to get used to each other's company, and as the language barrier becomes less of an issue as I'm getting used to speaking Spanish again, I find that communication has opened up and gotten much better and entertaining.

I can feel my feet callousing up which is great, because that means I can walk farther every day in whichever pair of shoes I please. I definitely prefer seeing the city on foot-- it helps me orient myself a bit better and I get to go at my own pace, seeing things and places that you would't ever see on a bus or in the metro. This city really is marvelous-- in the rain, sun, during the night or day.

Anyways, I don't have too much else to tell other than that people seem to love (or question, I've found) my blonde hair. I'm considering dyeing it. It's gotten me a lot of unwanted attention and quite frankly, it'd make my world if people stopped speaking to me in English (the blonde hair and 5' 8" stature give me away), so I'm sitting on that idea for about a week before I make my decision. Either way it'd be temporary hair color because it took me so long to grow this mop out, and I'm not ready to permanently part with it.

Please don't hesitate to shoot me an email or comment!

Un abrazo fuerte,
Emma

My friend Mimi and I at El Tigre! Not pictured: Jarod, Bailey, Chris. 

We also made it to Retiro Park and I finally go to see the Crystal Palace! My new favorite spot in Madrid. I'm seriously in love with this location. 

Monument of Alfonso XII and the pond:

Perfect Piso/Place

I have an apartment!!

Today, I went and paid my deposit and first month's worth of rent on a cute, wonderful little place in the neighborhood Malasaña. This neighborhood is known for its location close to campus and its lively environment, but I must say that I have an interior-facing room, so I'll be avoiding a lot of the noise that way. I was fortunate enough to meet my future roommates when I initially saw the place on Monday, and I'll be living with two Spanish girls and a French girl. They seem really sweet and I think they're going to be great compañeras. I got a great deal on the room and it's really in a great location. I'll attach pictures below for your viewing pleasure-- enjoy!

The common living space:

And the kitchen is great! 

Finally, the bathroom. 

¡Mil besos desde España!

Sweet, sweet Segovia.

¡Muy buenas!

It's been an absolutely amazing week here in Spain.

To keep it short: I've been on the hunt for an apartment and have been attending what we're calling our "Curso intensivo," intensive course, chock-full of grammar, history, politics, and art of Spain. It runs from 9:00-13:30 each week day, and has been followed by orientations with the U.S. Embassy and the library (that has branches in each building on campus). I've seen some pisos already, and have a couple more to look at but I still have plenty of time to find an apartment that is to my liking.

Classes have been going great, and it's been an absolute pleasure getting to know my compañeros. Other than that, I don't have much to share about the past week. It's been exhausting but rewarding in so many ways.

Today we went to a town outside of Madrid called Segovia. It boasts the most complete remaining Roman aqueduct and a town full of splendor and maravilla, wonder. The "Acueducto de Segovia" is a really neat thing to see. You can even walk up to see where it initially comes out of the mountain, and follow it all the way down to where there are layers of rocks stacked to make this absolutely ingenious, impressive structure. Segovia is a beautiful place, and is also the home of the Alcàzar of Segovia, literally translated to "The Castle of Segovia," which is really neat because of its history. I don't want to make this too pedantic, so if you're interested in reading about it, here's a link to the Wikipedia article. Here's the gist: The àrabes, Arabs, built this fort on top of Roman ruins, and was eventually used as a jail, and ultimately became the castle for the Reyes Católicos, Catholic Kings Ferdinand II and Isabella I, you know, the ones who gave Christopher Columbus the money and boats to find the New World (even though Isabella was the one who really gave Columbus the chance...). Anyways, I digress. Here's the Wikipedia address: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcázar_of_Segovia But you can climb up the 132 stairs, all of different heights and depths, to marvel at the sight from the top of the castle. It's surreal.

We were able to enter the Segovia Cathedral as well. It's an absolute wonder-- it was one of the last gothic cathedrals built in Spain and it's absolutely gorgeous. I'm not kidding. Between the cathedral, the aqueduct and the castle, I'd say that Segovia is one of my new favorite places in Spain. I was wandering around like such a tourist today, with my mouth gaping and phone out, taking un montón of photos.

Below I've attached some pictures from today; I hope you all enjoy!

Here's the aqueduct:

Here are some pictures of people near the aqueduct so you can get an idea of how tall it actually is: 

Next is the Segovia Cathedral in all its wonder: 

And the castle! 

We hiked up to the top and the view was TOTALLY worth it. 

On our way to Segovia, we passed the cross that Franco had built for his burial and the Valley of the Fallen to commemorate those who died during the civil war. 

Right by the aqueduct, there is a copy of the statue of Romulus and Remus, whose story is pretty interesting. It tells of two boys who were abandoned by their mother and found and raised by a wolf. They grew up and Romulus ended up killing Remus, and because of that, the city of Rome was named after him. This is also really interesting but I'm trying to keep it easy for the sake of brevity. Here's the wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_and_Remus

Here's the view from just north of the aqueduct: 

One thing that I absolutely love about Madrid is this nice juxtaposition between old and new: I feel like there is a limited amount of places in the world you can take a picture of two things that are from different periods right next to each other, and be able to enjoy what that means. Spain is a magical place, and every day I find something new to appreciate. 

Thanks for looking! Besos from España :)