The misfortunes of my car while I am 6,000 miles away...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr3DXlUzQMk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

My cousin is learning to drive using my car. I think my dad and brother are enjoying it too much. Lee, no jumping me car please. I know how much you love to do that.

Good job Gene! You are going to be a driving pro in no time!

Also, I love how you guys made a YouTube video of this whole experience just for me. Oh, and how I am blamed for the broken water line. I'm not responsible for my cars actions when I am 6,000 miles away!

Sooooo

I promise I will update this soon! Oh, and that I am still alive. I'll attach a picture to prove that I haven't been taken... Yet.

A Random Update

So, I should warn you that this is an utterly random update about a single event that occurred today. It will probably be rather boring for you, but this isn't your blog. I write what I want! Also, no worried emails dear family about the subject matter you will soon read.

As you may realize I do not have a car here in Spain. Instead, I rely on the public transportation system. My trips often revolve around the bus schedule. Because of that I don't stay in Madrid past 11:30pm as that is when the last bus leaves. Well, it says 11:55pm, but I did not want to risk missing it. There is a night bus, but I had no idea where I needed to get off or where to find the darn bus in the first place.

Guess what happened tonight. I conquered the night bus! Yeah, I am pretty proud of that.

Sophie and I went to see a movie in Madrid, but the only showing we could make was at 10:30pm. I was a little anxious, but I decided to squash those feelings and just go ahead and take a chance. Oh, we saw Antes Del Anochecer. Just in case you were wondering. It was also a rather good movie. But, that is besides the point! This isn't a movie review blog!

Moving on!

Sophie and I walked to the metro and said our goodbyes for the night. She and I take a different line. I arrived at Moncloa and had no idea where to go next. So, I followed the other people as they seemed to know. The only open exit took us outside, and I had no idea where to go from there. As luck would have it, the bus I needed happened to arrive at that very moment and stopped across the street. I again followed a huge crowd of people as we all waited to board the bus.

I had manages to successfully find and board the bus I needed; however, where to get off was a completly different matter. I knew that one stop was too far so I was going to just exit the stop before that one. Thank goodness I was actually paying attention or else I would have greatly over shot my home by a long ways! The stop I needed is actually right in front of the sports club, and is only a 10-15min walk to where I live. Which is a huge relief because I was worried that once I got off the bus I wouldn't know where to go!

The even better news of this story is I can now stay later in Madrid with friends without having to worry about catching my bus. Well, the metro stops at 1am apparently, but that's a different matter.

Also, is there anything quite as peaceful as walking under the moon in a quiet city and only hearing your own footsteps?

A Very Outdoorsy Weekend in Spain

First, I must state that I am about to murder my laptop. All I want to do is update my blog and it just keeps slapping me in the face. It is about to be thrown at the floor with extreme force. I am sorry floor. I know you did nothing wrong, but now you will soon be an unfortunate casualty of battle.

Anyways! Let us move on, shall we?

I must admit that I missed Spanish class... Terrible, I know! Please don't scold me my dear reader. I went out of the house with the intention of going, but then a friend of mine asked if I wanted to hang out with her that night. Maybe not the best excuse, but whats done is done. I went out with her and had tapas for the first time. Oh, and tinto de verano! It is delicious in case you were wondering.

I also finally went to the park just outside of Moncloa! I've been wanting to go walk around in it, but I never had the time as I was always rushing to class or rushing home. It is such a gorgeous park! I will post pictures below. I found this neat little island that you could get to by jumping on rocks. It was covered in clovers and had a willow tree. I fell in love with it, and just laid there for a good while enjoying the lovely greenness. I also found another tranquil spot to lie on the grass and watch the clouds float across the sky. A random dog joined me for a bit before continuing on with his human pal. 

Well, this has now been my third weekend here in Spain. The weekends are my free days and I try to get some exploring done on those days. This weekend I ditched the city and heading into the beautiful mountains/countryside of Spain. On Saturday a friend of mine had invited me to go to a lake, Pantano de San Juan, with her and some of her friends. She texted me early Saturday morning that she was ill and couldn't make it. Which put me in a dilemma! I didn't know her friends and didn't know if it would be too awkward if I went without her. Well, I went anyways because I am just that awkward. You know what? It was a fantastic day! I met three of the nicest people who were just absolutely funny and so sweet. We spent the day at the lake and even went kayaking! That was a blast! I went home with a happy heart and a burnt face. All in all a wonderful day!

Which then brings us to what I did today! My host mother wanted to take me to the mountains to see the house we will be staying in soon for a week or two. The house is located in a cute little village in the mountains not too far from Madrid. The house is older, but very beautiful. The view is spectacular! I spent the day playing futball with the kids (I am going to come back to the US a pro), hiking, and practicing my Spanish. My host mother says that I am starting to speak Spanglish which is "muy bien" because it means I am thinking of the Spanish words and using them as much as I can to get my point across. I am also understanding more and more! So happy about that!

What else, what else...

Oh! I am going to France the end of August! If you can't tell then I will reassure you that I am very excited about it!

I think this will cover it for now. Until next time!

The Ups and Downs

Hello my beautiful, avid readers! What shall I inform of you first? My Spanish is still muy mal. Oh woe is me! Will I ever get the hang of this language? I swear my tongue works against me as it refuses to make the sounds needed of it.

I have also been quite ill with homesickness. Such a sad sickness really. It often involves teary eyes and a sadden soul. Now, it is not that I don't love Madrid. I think it is a lovely city, and I am enjoying my adventures out into it. It doesn't prevent that longing for my own niche I've made some 6,000 miles away. I am filled with a longing for the loved ones that are back home (that are eagerly awaiting for my return). I miss my family, my friends, and of course mi amor (Estabon!). I know it is not an uncommon thing to be homesick, and everyone tells me that it will pass. However, I think that I will constantly miss my loved ones. I may have the travel bug buried inside me, but I am still quite a homebody as well. I will enjoy my time here, but I will also be counting down the days until my feet touch California once more.

Well, shall we move on to less depressing topics?

Today I ventured out into Aranjuez with a wonderful girl named Sophie. She is another au pair here, but she is from Ireland (the lucky lass!). We took the train which was a great experience in itself. I love train rides and this was my first here! We got off on the wrong stop, but that is what exploring is about right? Making wrong turns here and there, but finding things you never thought of before. We waited for the next train and jumped on once more. Three stops later we were at our destination! It is a beautiful place about 40 minutes south of Madrid. Do not fret! I will attach pictures below. So demanding...

Anywho! We got a late start and arrived there maybe past 5pm or so. Our first priority was to find food as we were both starved. Finding food was quite the challenge. Everywhere was closed! Hours here are so different than the US. We finally found a place, but the kitchen was closed for another 15-20 minutes. So, we ordered some cold cokes and they gave us some chips.  Oh, another thing that is different here than back home is that refills on drinks cost money. Which is terrible for me because when I get hot I gulp down my drink. Which I did today... It is a strange thing to miss about home, but I miss my refills! When I return I shall be like Thor and shout "ANOTHER" every time my drink is finished. Okay, back on track! We got our food and fed our tummies. Once our tummies were quite happy we went to explore the Royal Palace and the beautiful gardens. It really was quite beautiful. I think it is my favorite place so far here in Spain. I could spend hours there. Before it got too late we jumped back on the train and headed back to Madrid.

I suppose that is all for now. Next weekend I am going out with Sophie again, but this time to hang out by a lake. That will be fantastic considering it is so hot here I am pretty sure I am going to just melt into a puddle.

Officially finished my first week in Madrid

Okay, so today (or yesterday now) marked a full seven days since I arrived here in Madrid. I have been here for a whole week! Wow, it doesn't feel like its been a week. The days really are flying by. I am trying to plan a trip to Barcelona this month and it feels like this month is going to be over in no time at all!

You might be wondering what has happened since my last post. Well, fret not my dear ones for I shall tell you of my adventures. First and foremost, you should know that I started a Spanish class! Hooray! I've already picked up quite a bit in the week I have been here just by being constantly exposed to it. Tonight (or last night) I had my first class and it was great! The teacher is fantastic! I was a bit worried, but he is a very funny and patient teacher. In my class there are about 16 students. Only two of us are American. Most of the class is made up of people from Poland and China. All the students are great! They are all very helpful and a cheerful bunch. I am very pleased with the class I am! Hopefully, I will soon be speaking Spanish!

Oh! Random tidbit time. I learned today that I speak Spanish with a Mexican accent, and I need to stop it. I need to practice, practice, practice to break away from that habit. It is subtle things like how they say gracias. My tongue needs to be pushed between my teeth when I get to the "ci" part of gracias. Also, I need to learn to make the hard "r" sound which also involves my tongue, but this time it touches the inside of my top front teeth. My poor tongue... It isn't use to making these sounds. I will get it down though!

Next, I went into Madrid last Saturday and happened upon the Pride Day celebrations. It was amazing! There were so many people. They had roads closed down, and they were just filled with people. I've never been to something that big before. It was quite the experience. I will attach pictures below.

On Sunday I went out with an au pair from Poland. We wandered around Madrid for several hours. She had a handy map that showed all the famous places that tourist want to see when they are in Madrid. So, we started walking and saw practically all of them. I will post pictures of the places I saw below.

Be forewarned, some of the tile that makes the sidewalk is loose and it caused me to trip and actually hurt my foot. It has been painful to walk for the past couple days, but carry on I must! My host mother says it is not uncommon for people to fall in Madrid and actually break something. Which doesn't surprise me because everywhere you look there is someone with a cast on. I really hope I am not next...

Well, when I wake up tomorrow I will be beginning my second week here in Madrid. Only 11 more weeks left abroad!