Today very chill...

I know this is like Spain and everything but I love this frase... Il dulce far niete.
It is Italiano for << the sweetness of doing nothing...>>

Anyway class this morning was a little bleh even though we did get done earlier in the day. Then majority of our 12 students went out to go shopping and grab something to drink. I know Christina P, Lauren anad Jane, as well as myself wear about the same size shoe. It is annoying a little because we want the boots everyone else wears... or at least something similar. So we look and look and find a few but don't really decide to buy quite yet. And then we sit for some cafe,no cervezas yet but that's ok. The current goal was to find El Corte Ingles, which is like the department store here..... you know macys, nordstroms.. etc etc etc.
 Yeah I just decided to go home earlier... it was only like about 1 pm. so I came home to Ana and Abu. Ana doing her normal playing with everything and watching tv at the same time. Anyway I decide to settle in my room and end up taking a nap.

I wake for lunch and eat. For lunch I had lentil soup, and something else for which I cant remmeber what it is right now. However the food is beyond good. Yum!

I go to my room and lay for quite some time, only to decide to actually go on a paseo. I tell mi madre espanol and she recommends going by the river. The same river spoken about in the orientations of this program. El rio es muy hermoso. Yo quiero visitar el rio todos los dias por el paseo. I took pictures and I will show you... =)  Aqui, a mi izquerda, hay un foto de el rio.  Muy herimoso, no? Yeah so I make one big circle and make it back to the area I started.... Then decide to see if the store from the Toms website, really sells Toms. Yeah, no it doesn't. So then I swing my way around blocks and end up in a store called Blanco. OMG! i love it. It's like Love Culture.  and I love LoveCulture. Yeah so I find some boots perfect my size a little small at the calves, AND AND AND..... they are only 8€. That is the best freggin' deal ever in the whole world. LOL. yup, I buy of course and then some. all great prices!

I come home and sit and walk around the house... but poor poor Ana, the little one. She is sick... =( "no bueno" as my friend says. Yeah then she gets taken the hospital... and then I'm left to spend the evening/night.

Il Dulce Far Niete.

FOTOs

Hay mas fotos para ver. Por favor, no les importa la falta de claridad.

HERE HERE HERE click HERE

There will be more. But for now, I think these are caught up? Maybe? some I believe are still from Madrid.

possible extra extra

• portugal
• morroco
• amsterdam
• france*
• italy*
• london*
• greece
• turkey?

son possibles.

After the first day....

I feel a little jumbled.... because many things are happening at once... or at least one after the other and blaaahhh!!! Anyway =0\  whew...! today I woke at about 8, walked to school with Abu, who is  mi abuela... it's hard to comunicate with them because I knew how to get to class... I just didn't know exactly how to say it with her understanding...Anyway class was interesting.. at first Christina, nuestras profesora, put each one of us on the spot to tell something about what we are studying in college... like the same introduction of every first class. Then break at 1130 to 12, then we have conversation with another teacher, pero yo no recuerdo el nombre de ella. This class, honestly, was a little bit more active and fun. But I think it may just be the first day and 103, in the morning... was just in the morning. We will see about the class tomorrow morning.

I came home, and was a little worried about getting in because my family forgot their keys at home when we all left this morning and they came by the school to get my spare, which was fine but I didn't know how to get in. I buzzed the button downstairs, no answer. And then another person who lives in the building, went in and was unsure about either going in or waiting outside. Anyway I figured if I went in and possibly knocked on the door, 5th floor of course, and someone would open, and fortunately they were home. No worries, I had a back-up plan in case that didn't work. Abu y Ana was home, so double no worries... lol.

uh I then met back at the palacio for a mini guided tour around Leon. Our classes are at the palace, but a newer part of it. It is beautiful. Hopefully I could pull out one. (Later..... )

We went everywhere... or at least most everywhere. It started about 6:15 o 6:20 y went about 2 hours. SOO TIRING! Anyway, after the group said bye to guide person... and we went around to somewhere to chat and have una cerveza o un vino. Esta Bien! We get tapas with our drinks... so good! chat for awhile and decide to move over to another place, which I forget the name of the place too.  Anyway we stay for a little while because at some point at the second place, it was about 9:20 o sobre 9:30. Y Cena is supposed to be at 9. uh oh! so we make our way home separately, which turns out fine. I get home and I was worried thety were waiting or something... but they said it was okay because we eat at 10. "no eres tarde.."      whew!

Yeah had pizza, and water and watched some cartoons con my hermana menor. Pokemon, some transformming things.... and then iCarly and Spongebob!! I love it... some dubbed english and some just straight spanish. Anyway yeah I finish this, and bed to go I am....

Hasta Manana! o Hasta Luego!

You'd think I'd forget..

I had to make this with the letters that were available..... can you read it?

mi familia y la primera dia de las clases.

Just got home from my first day of class... and I LOVED IT! Going back into Spanish class is a good thing that I am in Spain and living with a family that doesn't understand me but you know back in the states, it was hard to do an hour of spanish and then go english for the rest of the day.  Yeah loving it more every day....

My family is so cool. At home home, two brothers, many boy cousins... yeah is diferente here... two 'sisters'. The older one is 11 years old, and another that is small. I haven't quite asked her how old she is, but I will get there. Right now, were sitting in the "play room", watching cartoons. Pokemon just ended.... aahwww I remember Pokemon...

Also in the apartment(house) it is one mom. (quite unsure about the dad yet.... don't want to ask questions too soon...) and one grandmother.  You know Abu (grandmother), she reminds me a little of ... haha nvm I'll mentions later...


I hope times get better, I mean for the weather and the interaction between my family and I. It's a little funny now because I don't really understand but it will get there.

Pictures

Here are some pictures....

I sort of dumbed down the amount I've been taking.... Now that I am in Leon, Spain, I am situated for the next two and a half months so not many pictures yet.

CLICK AQUI POR FAVOR

All the Madrid pictures and like outlining what I've been doing...Arg so tired.

Roomies..

This post is skipping on still in update mode... =)

Today the quarter sort of starts. Maybe not the best day to start, although the sun has come to show its face. I’m currently on the bus to Leon. So goodbye to Madrid for now. Yeah had a conversation with Paul M about how the points rack up for Madrid and not for Seattle. But the magnificence of Madrid and its characteristics of modern and that historical feel.

Our hostel was great , and I agree with Jane that the only down part of it all would be that there isn’t a common room. In overall the roommates came and go in my two-three nights as I was there. I’ll briefly connote each: Anupe: described as knowledgeable, insightful and entertaining. I wasn’t the one who had experienced his presence first-hand but I have met him. Erika, Rodi (?) and another which I forgot her name. These girls are sooo far in the game with the traveling deal. Rodi(?), she has been travelling forever with her family and now by herself, but of course she’s just met up with her friends but she has been traveling alone. As they were in a couple of German guys who were very sorta secretive and to themselves, they weren’t at all sketchy or anything to worry about but they didn’t share much. And so they were there for that one night only too. Jane and I came back to find another solo traveller. I seem to never remember his name but we refer to him as Italy because he was Italian and also didn’t talk. Bianca: she goes to Berkley in Cali. And she is very insightful as well. I commend her for her solo travels. She’s off to Roma to study Italian. Rona (who had said to remember her name was think of Corona and bam! Rona!) She’s from Georgia state (east) and goes to Georgetown. Tom, who at one point kept being referred to as Stanford (because he goes there…) he’s cool too. I remember his story about a personal guide in Morroco and almost get mugged. It was scary but that convo led to the safety of travelling and whatnot. Anyway last but not least another couple of guys from …. Uhhh some place but I don’t think they said from where… neither do I remember their names…

And then Paul M, also stayed in the same hostel, just different room, who actually in fact had a single room with a nice view of our street, Calle de Arenal. BTW I love Calle de Arenal. It’s full of people, and stores left and right with resturantes, bars, clubs and even a church and a teatro.