My First Week in Madrid

Hello my dear avid readers. I am very sorry for my lack of updates. I am afraid that I have been settling down here, and by the time I got a chance to write a blog I was utterly exhausted! I will try my best to fill you in on what has happened these past few days. I don't even know what day it is...My host mother said that it was Saturday tomorrow and I was shocked. I didn't even realize that I've been here for four days already.

Okay, so my lost post I was waiting for my flight to Madrid in Dublin. Can I just say that waiting for 8 hours in an airport when you are just exhausted is not fun. Not fun at all. I just wanted to sleep, but it was so cold. In fact, when I was finally able to board my plane I still couldn't sleep because it was so cold. I got a few minutes here and there, but I would wake up freezing. Oh, and I woke up right before we landed with a upper and lower lip swollen on one side. Also remember that I haven't been able to wash my hair since early Monday morning. So, Tuesday night I met my host mother at the airport in Madrid looking like a mess. Nice. Off to a good start...

Do not fret though! My host mother is very sweet and caring. I couldn't have been given a better host mother. The children are absolutely adorable. A bit overwhelming as they yell at each other in Spanish. But, they are good kids who are also very sweet. They are now introducing me as their sister!

If you don't know, I am living in Las Rozas de Madrid. That is just outside of Madrid itself. On Wednesday I went with a girl named Eylo into Madrid. She showed me how to take the bus and the metro. I bought passes for both (Yay). We went into Sol. I'm sorry, it is now Vodafone Sol... The Spaniards are not happy with the new name change. Vodafone is a mobile company here in Europe. Anyways, what I saw of Madrid in those few short hours was fantastic. It is absolutely beautiful here! It feels strange walking around a European city though. A good strange.

I haven't had tapas yet, but I had this delicious treat. It was watermelon juice with frozen yogurt, fruit sauce, and fresh mangos. Eylo has one too, but with orange juice. Oh! Orange juice here is delicious. I squeeze oranges for my breakfast. Best orange juice I've ever had.I have tried a lot of delicious Spanish food though thanks to my host moms wonderful cooking. I hope I can remember how to make some of the delicious to impress all of you back home.

As far as my Spanish is concern, I am picking it up rather fast. The mother is constantly telling me what things are in Spanish and how to say something in a sentence. The kids are eager to help and they usually speak in Spanish to me. I try to read anything I can and figure out the meaning. I should be registering for a class for the month of July. I would August, but we are going on a trip. The mom has a lot of antique history books that she says I can read once my Spanish is up to it! Incentive!

Lets see... What else, what else. Oh! I may be joining a sports club. That should also help with my Spanish. I have plans this weekend with another au pair. Well, I need to get to bed. It is 2:40am here. I will attach some pictures though! Now that I am settling in I will be able to post more! Oh! One more thing. Time here is crazy. I kept saying afternoon meaning one thing, but to Spaniards it is a whole different time period. Morning here doesn't end until 2pm. Afternoon ends at 9pm. Lunch is at 2-3pm and dinner is at 9-10pm. The kids don't go to bed till 12-1am.

 Picture above is of a street I passed by. I thought it was very beautiful. You may not think so, but this isn't your blog is it? So enjoy the picture!

 This is a picture of the royal palace. Didn't even notice the lovely couple until I loaded the pictures onto my computer.

                                              A statue that is in front of the royal palace.

                                                          The royal palace...again!

This is rather neat! Can you tell what type of architecture this is? If you guessed Egyptian then you are correct! It is called the Temple of the Debod. Beautiful!