Not to brag, BUTTTTTTT...

...Aindrea and I definitely saw the King and Queen of Spain last night.

STORY TIME:

So I was chillin in my room, conjugating verbs like a champ on studyspanish.com when Aindrea came in and told me that someone important was coming down the street outside our apartment. We look outside to see the normally busy street with not a single car on it and policemen lined up along it. First, some policemen on motorcycles drove by, then some important-looking black cars. And THENNNNN we saw the King and Queen's car! We knew it had to be them by the way it was being driven surrounded by four other cars, one on each side. It was black and shiny and had a fancy seal on it and flags too. Yup. ROYALTY. So excited. Some other people drove by after them in other important-looking vehicles.

So yeah, that was kind of AWESOME :)

Had a wonderful Carnaval weekend! My next post will include pics and the whole recap. Right now I'm focusing on my two midterms this week and three next week. AH!

<3

Love and other ridiculousness.

(sorry we all look a little distressed in this one haha)

International Gamma Phi lovin'! Was able to Oovoo with Anna, Judith, Danielle, Susanna, and even the one and only Alley Meyer last night. Pretty much made my evening. That and going out dancing with my roomies and getting back at 3AM. Even if the hip-hop floor at Kapital let us down. Overall, I'm just surrounded by some pretty excellent people :)

Oh by the way, I got a haircut Monday. That was an experience in itself haha They did a good job though! It is indeed short. Before I went, I prepared key phrases in Spanish: "I would like a haircut", "Do I need an appointment?", "Could I make an appointment?", "A little longer/shorter, please", "For the love of God, stop cutting!". I might've been kidding on that last one. Well the moment I stepped in the place and said I wanted a haircut, they whisked me away to the back to start sudsing up my head. About 20 minutes and 10 euro later, I outta there. Bam.

So this weekend is Carnaval in Spain (and other countries in Europe, so I've heard). Costumes, parades, parties, the whole bit. So in-between studying for my three midterms next week, I'm gonna try to partake in these festivities. Parade tonight, possibly. PICTURES SOON, I PROMISE. I feel so bad for not taking many. I told myself that with the three day gap between the end of my last final and my flight home, I'm just gonna go crazy and take pictures of everywhere and everything in Madrid.

Heyyy UR! Enjoy your spring break :) I still gotta figure out what I'm doing for the first half of Semana Santa. I'm thinkin about just staying here in Spain, maybe with a day trip to Valencia and Córdoba. Yep. Work in progress.

fin de semanaaaaa

Another great weekend! Lovely weather too.

Friday I had class, of course. Afterwards, I went to a mall in the suburb of Leganés with some engineering ladies. Then I came home and got dinner at the cutest little Italian place with the roommates. It was legit and extremely delicious. And what better to finish off the night than watching a Disney Channel movie in Spanish and Skyping with my Big!

Yesterday I went for a run in Parque del Oeste and ran around the Templo de Debod, which is an ancient Egyptian temple that was rebuilt in Spain in the 60s as a gift for helping Egypt save some ancient temples. Really pretty area and a great view of the city, too! Pics to come, I promise. Then Gillian made cookies and we had friends over and it was just a lovely afternoon. Went out to Kapital with some friends until the wee hours of the morning, ending our adventures with 5AM chocolate con churros :)

Today, we ambitiously woke up at 9:30AM for what has become our Sunday routine of breakfast at the Chess Cafe and then El Rastro. We also went out for Indian food, after which we came home and took a much-needed nap. Now I'm just studying and trying to mentally prepare myself for the week ahead. I can't believe we're starting March already!! Gonna be a fun month, for sure. Oh and don't forget midterms! Some fun happenings this month include a trip to Granada with IES (to see the Alhombra, a really old citadel that we're studying in my Art&Arch class) and hopefully taking a day trip to Valenica for Las Fallas! Ahhh yes.

Much love to everyone at home and elsewhere! Missin' you folks like crazy and wish you were all here to share this experience with me. I guess this will have to do ;)


PS I'm sorry I've been really bad about pics. My camera battery has been dead for a while and I just keep forgetting to charge it. Boo me.

PS AGAIN:

<------story of my life. (xkcd.com)

Estoy contento :)

The past two days have been really great.

First of all, the weather has been phenomenal. Sunny and 60s and it's supposed to get even higher by the weekend. If you know me, you know I thrive on sunshine.

Yesterday I did my usual Tuesday thing. Slept in 'til about 9, dragged myself to the gym. Which, as much as I hate to admit it, always makes me feel better. But don't tell my boyfriend. Then I had class and such as usual. Except my Art and Architecture class took place in the Museo Nacional del Prado aka. one of the most prestigious museums in Madrid/Spain/Europe. Really cool stuff. After my class at Carlos III, Mateo, Beth, and I went to 100 Montaditos for, what else, montaditos! Which, in case I haven't mentioned, are little itty bitty sandwiches. And there are 100 kinds at this place. YUM. Overall, just a great day. Real morale booster. OH AND I GOT MY MOMMA'S VALENTINES DAY PACKAGE :D

Today was nice as well. Did the class thing again. Then I went to Torres Kio with Steve and Will to take some fun pictures. The Torres Kio are these two buildings that were built on a slant. Like so:

So yeah. It was just fun. We'd learned about the buildings in my art and architecture course and it was cool to see them in person. Plus we (mostly Steven) took some really cool pics :)

Weekend! + Spanish friends!

Weekend?

Friday night: Out for tapas at El Tigre. Basically, you buy a decent-sized drink at this place and they just keep feeding you tapas. Croquetas, patatas bravas, slices of baguette with chorizo and ham and cheese and just yummy things. Pretty much my new favorite place. Om nom nom.

Saturday: For some reason, slept until 2:30PM. Yeah. I think it may be because our blinds were closed and therefore my body had no idea what time of day it was because there was no sunlight. Regardless, I was a slug. That is, until we went out to celebrate my roommate Gillian's birthdayyy! Yayyyyy :) OH! Booked my flight to Ibiza (an island east of Spain) at the end of April with all the other roomies for Sari's birthday. One last hurrah before we all peace out. Basically: just gonna be a really awesome time.

Sunday: HAPPY BIRTHDAY GILLIAN! Went out for indian food for lunch in this cute little neighborhood near Lavapiés. Yummmm I love indian food :) Continued my slugness into the remainder of the weekend. Oh and I studied too.

TODAY! Ugh. Monday. 9AM class. However, afterwards Sam and I met up with some Spanish students, Sergio and Diego. We chatted with them for a while in English and Spanish, taught them some English slang, learned about the different languages within Spain, and various other things. What I learned today:

Yo soy torpe. - I am clumsy
Actualmente - Right now (NOT actually)
Normalmente is used more often then frecuentemente. Both mean normally/usually/frequently.
recoger - to pick up
equivocarse - to be mistaken

Hooray for learning and being able to practice my Spanish! Really though, I think this is just what I need. Sweet. Studying for the rest of the day. Might make something fancy for dinner. Who knows. I've been really bad about working out lately since it's been so cloudy and not nice for running. Ah well. TOMORROW.

Hasta luego!
(Which Sergio taught me how to say all smushed together, sounding more "stago")

I MADE DINNER. PRODUCTIVE PROCRASTINATION!

be amazed.

^click through to recipe!^

eep.

My first midterm tomorrow, ladies and gents. Oh how I wish I were in Carlson Library surrounded by study snacks. Wish me luck!