I AM HERE

 I am sorry I have been negletting what I am sure are hoards of readers, but I was trying to make my first week of Spain completely techy-free. I COMPLETELY failed on that front and frequented Facebook, Twitter, and Spanish celebrity gossip pages on Google (at least they were in Spanish, right???).

Warning: This post is entirely too long. I will allow you to break it up into two reading sessions.

Here goes the SparkNotes (©Kellyn comment) version of my life the past 9 days.

Thursday: Arrive at JFK, meet a bunch of people on our trip at the gate, go on the plane, manage to sit next to Natalie, enjoy coach (sarcasm? yup.), go on the bus to Hotel Regina at Plaza del Sol, random girl who turns out to be totally awesome asks Natalie and I to room with her, we have chicken and french fries for dinner (DONT THESE PEOPLE KNOW WE ARE TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM AMERICAN CULTURE? Whatever, it was free. Can't complain too much).

My whole life for 10 months is limited to the contents of these bags. Que Horror. 

Friday: Free Breakfast! Then we had what we all agreed was the most intensive Intro-to-life-in-Madrid session imaginable- classes, travel, Instituto (the place where we will be taking classes) rules, home-stay rules and everything in between. We got Tapas in the typical Madridleño fashion that night then went to a club called Commo that felt eerily similar to a Frat party (NOT A BU ONE, mind you, this one actually had a majority of people with both the X and Y chromosomes!)

Saturday- We pack all our stuff (or lack there of- I don't know how I am going to live off this for 10 months) and went to our home-stay in cabs. To give you a ballpark figure, it was definitely one of the top 20 most nerve-racking moments of my whole life. I rang the door bell and met Remedios, my host mother. She is really tiny and cute and the apartment is HUGE. I think there are 7 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms a kitchen, a dining area, and a living area. I found out there were 3 other girls living there too but they are not returning for another week from a Spain trip. I also find out I DO, in fact, have a Spanish "padre" and he is a hunter which is why the hallway is lined with 60-70 deer horns (Not an exaggeration). At night, Natalie, our new friend, and I walked around the city for "La Noche en Blanco" (The White Night), which is a festival of sorts in Madrid which runs all night. All the museums stay open and it was ENTIRELY EXHAUSTING. We went home really early (12:30ish) and it was thoroughly embarassing. Whatevs. Blame it on the jet-lag.

One of the first things I saw upon entrance to my new home. Tantos cuernos. Good thing I am not a PETA person.

Monday- Real life starts! I like to shop around, so I went to every class (which really confused my fellow students) and decided on Translation, the Contemporary Spanish Novel, A Cervantes class, and Contemporary Spanish Politics. All of my classes are completely in Spanish. It is a little overwhelming.

Tuesday-Thursday: Pretty Standard. Class. Fixed my international phone. Found out my Spanish family and home-stay are awesome and they have a house on a farm in the country-side, etc. Went to a club full of Americans on Wednesday and got a free T-shirt. Kind of made my night.

Thursday night- Bought my FIRST BOTTLE OF LIQUOR IN A GROCERY STORE!!!! Such a special moment. Then... EL KAPITAL CLUB. Ridiculous. Got in for free (saving 20 Euros)  In a nutshell Kapital= good-looking people, 7 floors, Karaoke, descending dry ice, poles, mayhem.

Friday- Myself and 6 other Americans take on El Museo de Reina Sofia. I apologize to the modern art lovers of the world, but I only appreciated the Picasso stuff. Ever heard of Guernica? Yeah. Saw that. If I had emotions, I definitely would have felt something. At night we went to El Parque de Buen Retiro, ate cheese and bread and drank wine like good ex-pats should.

So beautifully overwhelming in person. Photo barely does it justice. 

Saturday- YAY TODAY! Natalie and I took on the bottom floor of the Prado and failed. There are too many amazing things to see there. Good thing we get free tickets (thanks BU abroad programs!). The Goya dark paintings room is BY FAR my favorite. Saw Saturno devorando a su hijo, La romeria de San Isidro, Dos viejos comiendo... so amazing. THEN we went to the zoo with about 12 people from our program. As expected, it was full of crying children, poop, smells, etc. Hilights= dolphin show, flamingos, bears, spanish warning signs.

La Romería de San Isido (Francisco de Goya)

...y los flamencos at the Madrid Zoo. A day in the life...

And here I am. I am getting used to this whole Madrid thing. It is a lot to get used to. I will talk about feelings Monday, promise.