El Cine

Gavin (my buddy/roommate in Madrid), Megan (my roommate here) and I went to the movies tonight to see a film in English. We saw Atonement, and although it was quite sad, I would recommend it. It was really refreshing to be the one who really understood what was going on. However, getting into the movie was rather confusing (like everything else!) You get to choose where your seats are: front, middle, or back, and the usher leads you to the seat printed on the ticket. It was strange. Aside from not dubbing over a lot of the movies, they also had very American-sized and priced snack items. Huge drinks... only no ice.

So we're having an early Friday night... absolutely unheard of here! We're getting up early tomorrow to tour a Cava-making factory. Cava is to Spain as Champagne is to France, so it should be interesting. The photos I saw of the museum/distillery were gorgeous. Besides if we don't make plans to do something on the weekends, we'll just waste them away in bed or do a little walking about the city. I've decided that the infamous Barcelona party scene, although sometimes fun, isn't really for me. The discotecas are an experience, but not one I hope to have again any time soon. I'd much rather sip sangria at a quiet local bar and get to bed early so I can enjoy how beautiful the city is during the day.

Class has been going well. It's been pretty boring and it's hard to get excited about when there is so much to see and do rather than be locked up in a classroom. Monday we start culture classes, so hopefully they will be more interesting. Unfortunately my schedule has me starting class at 9:30 and ending at 7 every day! While I'll have breaks, I don't have any free afternoons to take off somewhere and not worry about returning. Luckily school is just blocks from the beach and my home and warmer weather is just around the corner. I'm sure I'll be spending plenty of my time between classes basking in the sun on the sandy shore.

I believe we are going to watch an episode or two of Weeds on the sketchy site that lets you watch TV for free. ABC.com doesn't work here, so we suffer through the obnoxious Asian sub-titles... hey it's in English, and it's a chance for mindless entertainment.

I'll try to update more frequently... and hopefully I'll figure out how to add pictures soon.

Salud, Erin

Hola Chicos,

Barcelona has been keeping me busy. It´s such an interesting city. There is a little bit of everything: the beach, lots of parks, museums for all my favorite artists, beautiful markets, nightlife, shopping, and much more. It´s hard to get used to the crowds and the language barrier, but it´s all very exciting. There is so much I want to do!

My family is also quite interesting. They are from Africa, Guini (?) I think. The mom is extremely nice, but we still don´t understand each other well at all. The children are nice, they enjoy American rap and hip hop... very loud rap and hip hop. The father is still a mystery. We haven´t met him yet, but I have some theories about why that is. Yesterday a lot of extended family came over for the entire day. My roommate and I had lunch with them, but neither of us were feeling great and the food was very different (possibly African cuisine) and we could barely choke it down. We felt so rude, but we had to leave and just lay down in our room. All the rest of our meals at home have been great, really healthy and flavorful.

I´m getting pretty good at navigating... except when it comes to metro stops. We´ve gotten turned around nearly every time we get off. I´ve still yet to find a decent sized supermarket or similar store that would have more options of packaged food and shampoo and such. That is my mission for today. I also hope to meet up with Donna before she leaves town, but communication has been limited.

I think this computer is about to kick me off though, so I will write more later. I´m off to explore and spend more money I´m sure. Classes started today and I´ve got to buy books later.

Miss you all mucho! Let me know what´s up in the states!
-Erin

Barcelona

This will probably be short. I've not been able to connect to the internet since my last post, so I have lots to say... but it will have to wait. The good news is, my family has internet in their home... their tiny home!

We made it to our final destination today though, after a long day on the bus. I'm really excited to get out and see the city tomorrow. My family seems nice. However, they speak very little English. These first few weeks will be interesting to say the least.

More to come

Hasta luego - Erin

Estoy en Madrid

Hola!

I made it to Madrid. After years of anticipation, a missed flight, and lost luggage I´m finally a temporary Spanish resident! I´ve discovered that my Spanish skills are not really up to par... I´m pretty much just speaking in English to make sure the people I talk to know I don´t know what´s going on! Hopefully I will get more comfortable with it though.

I´m currently hanging out in an internet cafe inside a Subway/Dunkin´Donuts... so this is very new and different for me! I also haven´t gotten to shower yet, and don´t have many clean clothes, so I kinda feel like I fit in!

Anyway, I´m excited to be here. If anyone has suggestions of things I ought to do before I leave Madrid in a few days, let me know.

Miss you all already!

-Erin