Before I start I would like to give you my new schedule so you can see how busy I really am.
Mon/Wed: Grammar 9:00-10:30, 10:45-12:15 Art and Architecture 12:30-14:00.
Tues/Thurs: Grammar 9:00-10:30, 10:45-12:15 Literature 14:30-16:00
Fri: Grammar 9:00-10:30, 10:45-12:15
So if you're really good at math and you add up all those hours, that 21 hours of class PER WEEK. Anyone who gave me a hard time about not having many class hours at Clark can stop complaining.
Monday began our 4th week of class! We have two new German girls in the class, which is good since it was basically everyone else's last week. We started our elective classes this week as well. So Monday I had Art and Architecture with Mario from 12:30 to 2. Katie is also in the class with me. It seems like a very interesting course; hopefully I can remember some stuff from Stone Age to Our Age!!
Tuesday I had my first day of Literature with Ana. I really like Ana, but I was mostly forced into Literature for lack of people at the school and their inability to offer me a different class (where I would have been the only student, also something I did not want to do). And then there's poetry. Don't even get me started on poetry. If it doesn't rhyme, I don't like it, no matter what language it's in. My interpretive skills when it comes to poetry are nil. And what does the tree symbolize? It's whatever you think it is. After class on Tuesday I went on the cultural activity which was a guided tour of Madrid de los Austrias (Madrid as it was when the Austrian (Hapsburg) kings ruled). I found out that the part of Madrid I live in is the oldest because it was first occupied by the Arabs.
Wednesday after class I went out to lunch with Verena at VIPS. I had some pretty tasty french fries :). We then attempted to do our homework in school, but failed. Then I went with Mario and other people from the school to an old metro station (no longer functioning) that has been turned into a museum. The guide was very knowledgeable, and the station was pretty cool. I had all the old ticket booths, the old white tiles, the tiles advertisements, everything from when it was originally constructed (in 1919 I think, but don't hold me to that). The cool thing is the metro still runs through the station, it just doesn't stop there. So it's almost like there's a ghost train riding through. Ooo scarryyy.
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| One of the old tile advertisements from the old metro station! |
Thursday after class and homework and such, I went to karaoke with people from school. Ana led the expedition, singing probably a half a dozen songs (and for each song you want to sing you have to buy a drink). And it being on my bucket list, I gathered up my courage and sang!! I sang "I Will Survive" and I'm not lying when I say that a good 75% of the bar was singing with me. There are awesome pictures s proof. Then Katie and I sang Bad Romance a little later in the night. This time I think we had about 95% of the bar singing (and it was considerably more full at that point). Our final selection was Party in the USA which didn't go over as well as the other two, but it was still fun for us to sing. We didn't leave until 1:30 am, which is very late for an old lady like me. But we had a blast.
Friday = recovery day (especially since we had class in the AM).
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| Outside of El Escorial |
Saturday we went to El Escorial with Sonia. I didn't miss the bus this time. We saw the castle part in the morning, then took a break for lunch, and saw the monastary/church part in the afternoon. There was a wedding going on and all the women were wearing these crazy hair pieces. It was so cool. Apparently there's a 2 year waiting list if you want to get married there, so I put my name down now to reserve a place for the future..... kidding, obviously. When we got home I took a nice nap (I needed it) before eating dinner and getting ready to go out. Katie and I met in Sol then took the bus to Mikaela's house where we hung out for a bit before going to this crazy discoteca called Karousel right near Mikaela's house. The place was huge and there were a jillion people there. There were show girls and some crazy entertainment going on. We danced our little hearts out until about 4:30 am when we needed to take Mikaela home. Katie and I finally achieved our goal of staying out all night. We took the metro home when it reopened at 6 am. What a night.
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| Verena and I at the discoteca. |
Sunday...SUNDAY. See Friday and multiply it by 1 million.
