First 2 Days in Madrid

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Today was the first day of classes.  Each class was only an hour and fifteen minutes today.  First I had Hispanic Film from 10:00 to 11:15.  I don’t want to complain on my blog but I also don’t want to leave anything out.  This class is basically being taught as a graduate level class.  I was not prepared for that so after class I was very overwhelmed and needed to switch out.  Also after taking Conversation in Malaga I wanted to continue and take an advanced conversation in Madrid.

From 11:30 to 12:45 I had History of Spain.  The teacher is nice but the class is very boring.  She just stood there and talked the entire time with not much expression.

I then spent the next couple of hours trying to figure out what classes I could take instead of Hispanic Film.  The problem was that the advanced conversation was full.  Options like opening a class at 6:30 in the morning or taking a night class were all being thrown around.  I was so overwhelmed.  I then had to meet my partner because we had a presentation to do for Friday’s class for Hispanic Film.

On a side note I finally bought a fan and with the help of Olivia put it together!!

From 5:30 to 7:30 I took a Madrid city bus tour.  Madrid is absolutely beautiful!  I can’t wait to hop on the Metro and explore around.

After I went to my room and worked on the presentation until 3:30 in the morning.  It was awful.  The reading was so hard to understand.  I went to bed very upset.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Today was the first full day of classes.  The classes are also in the building.  My schedule is Hispanic Film 9:00 to 12:15 and History of Spain from 2:30 to 5:45.

Today I woke up at 7:00 to meet my partner in the lobby at 7:30 to finish up our presentation.  He didn’t show up until 8:05 because I kept having the front desk call his room to wake him up.  I was really upset because I spent all night working on it and he shows up late.  Long story short he asked if we could present on Monday and the teacher said yes.  Well, I dropped the class so I don’t have to present.

After class I ran to sign into Advanced Conversation and finally got in.  I can finally relax now knowing I am in the class I want to take.

After this I went to lunch and then to my next class, History of Spain.  This class is going to be tough because the teacher speaks really fast.  I don’t like history to begin with let alone learning it in another language.  I don’t think she speaks English either.

After class I took a much-needed siesta.  Around 7:30 I went into town with Laura to buy water and snacks.  I am really weak so I took my little suitcase with me so I could put my case of water in it to carry back.  It was genius I must say.  The security guard in the supermarket laughed at me though.

After that we went to dinner.  The food here is much better than the hotel food so far.  They try to change the meat selection everyday and the staff are awesome.  It is nice because breakfast, lunch and dinner are included everyday except dinner on Sunday.

At 10:00 we saw a Tuna show.  It was four men with guitars who wore a traditional outfit and sang.  It was really fun and interesting.  After I came upstairs and updated my pictures and blog.

My new schedule is Advanced Conversation: Business Topics with the same teacher I had in Malaga from 9:00 to 12:15 and History of Spain from 2:30 to 5:45.

I am starting to finally settle in here and am beginning to relax!  I am glad that I am finally done running around figuring out my classes and can now just focus on work, exploring and having fun :)