El verdadero final

It was a very weird two weeks following my last final at La Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. My internship had intended, I had no class, no responsibilities, no obligations. I have never been good at relaxing (I think that would take a 3 year dose of Spain, not a one-year one), so I almost went crazy. Thankfully, because BU will reimburse us up to seven euro for going on 'cultural excursions' in Spain, I decided to get all the money culture I possibly could out of my beloved university.

The Clothing Museum of Madrid 

Like most sad departures, Natalie leaving was a great way for me to reach out and spend more time with other people in my program. My intrepid museum partners immediately became Steph and Allie. During those two weeks, I went to 6 movies (all originally made in Castellano Spanish because those are the only ones BU will cover) and visited about 10 museums. Cultural reimbursement money: 54 euros, the equivalent of about $78. Oh, and I got a lot of culture blah, blah, blah.

"I am here, but nothing" art installation by Yayoi Kusama at La Reina Sofia Modern Art Museum.

Note: I am still not good at relaxing despite having two full weeks of practice. 

Just before my period of relaxation, starting May 21, peaceful protests began in Madrid in La Puerta del Sol, primarily in the form of a large-scale camp-out. The protestors were mostly students voicing their dissatisfaction with... a lot of stuff. Supposedly, their message sought a change in policy and expressed their anger toward President Zapatero's handling of the economic crisis.

La acampada del Sol

As foreign students ourselves, we were only affected by the faint smell of urine emanating from the Sol metro stop. A lot of us decided to visit Sol to get a better smell and see the "camp" for ourselves. By the time I got there, the tents had been set up for almost two weeks and the mini-town that had been created had shrunk to about a fifth of its original size. By reading the protestors signs and seeing how they lived, it was clear that any original message they had was very convoluted. Of course, with weed, public drinking and excessive dreadlocks messages tend to be confused. Any demands the student protestors had (they didn't) would not and could not be met. 

After 3 weeks of dirtying and vandalizing the city's central square, creating an uncordial welcome for tourists and giving Spain a worse global image, (almost) all the hippies left. 

Totally respecting the hippies protestors "message"

At the beginning of the July, I was lucky enough to see some familiar faces, which is always a good thing. One of my friends who is Dutch and living in Amsterdam for the summer came to visit and I got to see some new bars and clubs in Madrid. El Pez Gordo for drinks was a major win, but Sala Heineken was a sort of mini everything-I-hate-about-Madrid-youth world, with a lot of mullet dread-lock haircuts. At any rate, it was a great night because I got to see Willa! 

Yay for visitors!

El Bar Imperfecto. Site of the best mojito in Madrid.

A few days later I got to see my friend Dana, who I have known since I was about 8 because he is good friends with my older sister. He was in Madrid for a month taking some courses at La Universidad Nebrija, which probably sucks as much as Autónoma. Ironically enough, Dana also taught Spanish at my old high school, but he was fortunately never my teacher (because that would be awkward). Visiting with Dana and catching up was a very welcome event in my two week nothing-period. 

So excited about visiting the Prado Museum with Dana 

The weekend before I left for my two week trip to Italy, I spent some quality time with my host family. We watched Despicable Me together in Spanish, made Paella, went swimming at their condo's pool, and did other adorable things. I got to meet a lot of my host parents' extended family as well, which reminded me how different my second host family was from my first, truly letting me into their lives and treating me like a family member.

I got EXACTLY what I wanted when I moved into their apartment. When my host-mom, Marta, scolded me for leaving a cup on he coffee table without a coaster, I couldn't help but smile because it made me feel like a part of the family- no special treatment, which is what I wanted. I never felt like Marta was getting paid, not once. Even when Pablo asked me OVER AND OVER AND OVER for a piece of gum or to play soccer with him, it never got annoying. Not once. I feel so lucky to have gotten what I wanted in the end. Mejor tarde que nunca. 

THE HOST FAM: Martin, Marta, Pablo, and I at Escorial