Madrid: No Hay Dos Sin Tres

Ok first of all, weekend in Madrid = CRAZY. We started off our trip with a bus tour of the city where we almost got eaten by a giant bug on the bus. Then we headed to the Palacio Real which was incredibly beautiful and took a few secret pictures inside the palace when the security guards weren't looking. Each room was elaborately decorated and had priceless artwork. The views of Madrid from outside the Palace were pretty spectacular as well.

Grand Entrance! The horses get parked at the bottom of these stairs.

And every room had beautifully painted ceilings

So happy to be there!

After the palace tour, we ate lunch at El Museo de Jamón (The Museum of Ham) where we expected to have a fabulous meal of jamón which is what Spain is known for, but instead were served fried chicken and french fries?... anyways, our guided tour with the school was finished after lunch and we were free for the remainder of the weekend! After successfully navigating Madrid to find our hostel, we took a quick siesta, went shopping, ate some topas (finally tried some jamón), and got ready to hit up the discotecas. Before going to the club, we hung out at the bar in our hostel until about 12:30. Got to the club around 12:45 for the "early bird special". haha the club was EMPTY when we arrived! So we explored the SEVEN FLOORS of the club for a few hours until people started showing up and then danced the night/morning away. After returning to the hostel in the early morning and sleeping for about 4 hours, we were off to a full day of excursions. We started with a nice walk through El Parque de Retiros, followed by wondering through El Museo del Prado (where we saw amazing paintings by Goya and Valasquez), enjoyed gazpacho and a bocadillo at a little restaurant, took a short siesta at the hostel, ventured to Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol, indulged in some churros con chocolate at a famous chocolateria where we were serenaded by an accordion in the street where we were sitting, and finished off the day in a crowded local bar while we watched Spain beat France to make it to the semi-finals of the Eurocup. We did not waste any time in Madrid!! Although exhausted by Sunday, we managed to pack up our things and head to one last museum (La Reina Sophia) to see masterpieces by Picasso and Salvador Dali, and buy my very first train ticket back to Toledo.

El Museo de Jamon

Inside our fab hostel

La Kapital- la discoteca (nightclub) 

Parque de Retiros

Chocolateria San Gines

After our long weekend away in the big city, it was nice to return back our little city of Toledo and spend some time with my host family. Classes during the week followed the same old routine as last week. The weather here has been one for the records (literally!). While watching the news with my host mom, I found out that this week's temperatures have been the hottest that it has been in Toledo (and all of Spain) in the past 100 years!!! All week, the heat remained around 105 degrees Fahrenheit! It may not seem bad to you guys back home, but let me just say one thing: we don't have air conditioning. Two other exciting events during this week were Flamenco dance lessons (which was more challenging than I expected...I felt like I was just running in circles when they turned the music on) and returning to the Plaza de Toros to watch the incredibly intense Eurocup game where Spain beat Portugal in a shootout! (YAY FOR THE EUROCUP CHAMPIONSHIP ON SUNDAY!!)

Viva Espana!

Although all of these crazy events have been a lot of fun, some of the best experiences that I've had is spending time with my host family. They really are very welcoming and have made me feel at home. Geli has cooked me a new dish every day so far so that I can try as many new foods as possible! I've been a pretty adventurous eater as well: I've learned how to eat an entire shrimp (head and all!), I've been served an entire baby squid (and ate as much as I could), and tried some very different looking chorizo. Although the weather has hit record breaking temperatures, we still have eaten soup and other rich/hot dishes for lunch! Cafe con leche is a regular breakfast, post-lunch, and post-dinner beverage (served hot as well). Funny side note: the first time I was preparing my cafe con leche for breakfast by myself, I grabbed the the sugar jar out of the cabinet and dumped a hearty spoonful into my glass only to find out I had actually grabbed the salt jar by mistake...

I finally feel accustomed to the lifestyle of a Spaniard: late nights with early mornings and afternoon siestas, big lunches at 2:00 PM and small dinners at 10:00 PM (although my host mom always serves me a full meal for dinner while she and Luis might have a small salad. She loves to see me eat!), no personal bubble aka talking with your faces very close to each other, and giving 2 kisses before leaving the house, upon returning, or meeting someone new in the family. 

Tonight I had my first intercambio with Jorge and his novia Laura where I got to practice my Spanish and Jorge got to practice his English. It was a really good experience AND I got invited to dinner at Jorge and Laura's apartment for dinner next week! Tomorrow I'm venturing to El Escorial with the rest of my classmates and then relaxing in Toledo for the remainder of the weekend. Sorry for the long entry! Much love to you all!

Pinch me...I think I'm Dreaming

¡Hola! I made it to Toledo, España, without any problems (thank goodness) and I absolutely love it here. The day that we arrived was INSANE! We basically got off the plane, got on a bus to Toledo, listened to a short orientation, and then were whisked away by our host families for the rest of the day. It was quite the experience...especially running on a minimal amount of sleep after traveling for about 24 hours! I live in an apartment in Poligono, a modern suburb of Toledo, that is about a 20 minute bus ride outside of the old walled city where my school is located. My host parents, Geli (pronounced "Haley") y Luis, are so amazing. They love talking to me and teaching me about Spanish culture, history, sports and just about everything. Both of them are retired which means I get to spend a lot of quality time with them practicing my Spanish and laughing a lot. They have a daughter, Raquel, and son, Ivan, both of which are grown up and living on their own so I haven't been able to meet them yet. Ivan is a musician in Madrid and also works as a interviewer for a university TV program. I'm not really sure what Raquel does, but she has 2 jobs, one with the government, and knows a variety of languages.

The first weekend in Toledo I spent a lot of time at the Fundación (my school), learning my way around the city, and hanging out with the other students. We got a full tour of the city and it was completely breathtaking. There is so much history packed into the tiny walls of Toledo. Besides fun stuff like touring the city and dinners in the courtyard with live music, we had placement exams, interviews, class planning, and an orientation where they showed an extensive video about pick-pockets (whom are quite crafty and technologically advanced these days!) Classes started on Monday...but that's not really that important (just kidding Mom and Dad! haha)

Kelsey, new friends from Notre Dame and I with the best view in Toledo

On Tuesday, I explored the Mercadillo in Toledo (flee market), where it was very hard to resist buying things because it's all so cheap!! And on Wednesday after class (my classes go until 9 PM!! which is not customary in Spain) a bunch of students headed over to La Plaza de Toros to catch the second half of the Spain vs. Croatia game with all of the Toledo residents (if you're not watching the Eurocup, Spain won!...and is pretty much the bomb.com) Another fun activity we like to do here is go to the bars, which is pretty easy since there are two of them right next to our school. I haven't gotten to explore too many of the bars yet...but they are pretty awesome and give you a plate of free tapas (appetizers) every time you buy a cervesa (beer). Last night a few of us went to the Feria de Poligono (pretty much the same as a county fair) and enjoyed some fresh (very greasy) churros and some quality people watching. 

Plaza de Toros

Well, that's all I have time for today! I am off to Madrid for this morning for a fun weekend of exploring the discotecas and some other more educational stuff too ;) Next time I will have to fill you all in on some of the cultural differences that I have been getting used to. Muchos besos y un abrazo fuerte to everyone back home! Miss you guys!

So after changing the layout and background and title and description about a bajillion times I have finally decided on something that is somewhat visually appealing for my first blog. Typical, right? Anyways, I can't even fathom that I will be living my long-time dreams in T-48 hours! An eight week endeavor to Spain (and a few other countries) with valiant intentions of becoming a more fluent Spanish speaker, finally immersing myself in a centuries-old cultures, plans to meet lots of new friends and of course have a whole lot of fun.


I (completely) over-packed on Sunday, un-packed and re-packed yesterday (managing to eliminate about 2 piles of clothes), and added a few more small items today, including just one more pair of shoes...how am I supposed to live off of 3 pairs of shoes for 8 weeks?! I just needed to add the 4th pair. I also ventured to the UW-Bookstore to pick out some gifts for my host-family. After roaming the store for about an hour and calling up my little sis for some advice, I finally decided on a nice Wisconsin beer glass and an aerial photo poster of Madison. I have quite an issue with making decisions if you haven't noticed.

One suitcase and one back pack...yikes! Had to pack pretty tightly!

Besides packing, my imagination has been going crazy thinking about the adventures that this study abroad trip will bring. My program has not given me many details about who my host family is, where I will be living, or even what to expect during the first couple days in Spain, so I have gone through every possible living situation in my head keeping myself prepared for anything! haha The last few things that I need to accomplish before I depart are: 1. teach one more group fitness class (which my Dad will get to experience for the first time! Woohoo!) 2. get my haircut 3. last minute Target run for an energy converter, travel shampoos, etc. 4. spend some quality time with my sister (I will miss our beach days together this summer!!) and 5. a home cooked meal by the best cook in the world (Thanks Mom!)

I truly can't believe this day is so close! I will be sure to check that I have my passport about a million times between now and Thursday morning and then check once more just to be positive. Hope everyone has a great summer here in the States! As for me, I'm off to Toledo, España! ¡Hasta luego!

Last night out with the roomies! Kelsey (far right) will be my travel buddy on this trip :)