Sorry it's been a while...I had a busy weekend and didn't get around to posting. Life here has been good. The weekend was fun, but freeeezing! I did some shopping, although it's always so hard to buy something when you're actually looking for something in particular, and explored a bit more of my neighborhood. The area where I live is sort of a strange mix of residential and commercial. My street is filled with apartment buildings (most look pretty expensive) and then several banks and even a few car showrooms. Anyway it was fun to wander around, although I must admit I didn't last for too long in the ridiculous cold. I swear it was snowing everywhere in Spain except for Madrid (even the southern coast got some snow)!
Friday night a group of us went out to check out another one of the gazillion clubs in in the city. It was a fun night, apparently some famous British dj was spinning...but it got to be just a bit too much techno for me haha. The rest of the weekend was filled with homework, relaxing and wandering. Today marked the beginning of another week of classes and with a little rain this morning, the temperature seems to have risen a few degrees! Yes! Let's hope it stays that way...
I'm in the middle of planning a few weekend trips (to Barcelona, Florence and Amsterdam) so that's exciting. I can't wait to visit friends and see how their semesters abroad are going! :-) Also just found out the my family is coming to visit in April and we're possibly going to Portugal (?). Should be nice to see them and get to another country. If you've been to any of the places above and have suggestions, let me know!
Alright I must get back to my Art History homework and hopefully to bed early tonight to catch up on some sleep. Hasta luego!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
One down!
Done with the first week of classes! It's crazy to think that I've almost been here for two weeks. Feels like much shorter and longer at the same time...hard to explain I guess. Anyway classes went pretty well. It's a little more work than I thought I was going to have, but that's alright. Most of the work seems interesting and the Spanish is definitely challenging. I can't remember if I already explained this, but I'm taking two Spanish literature classes (hard!), a Spanish theater class and an art history class. I'm realllly looking forward to the art history class just because I've really never had a chance to take anything like that before, the Museo del Prado is absolutely wonderful (and that's what our class is based on) and the teacher is fabulous. It's looking like it's going to be a bit of work, but at least the class time will be entertaining.
This weekend a bunch of people are going out of town (some to Rome, others to Barcelona) but I decided to stay put so I can get to know the city a little more. I want to check out the not-so-touristy districts and cafes, stuff like that. However, it is so freezing here (LA weather has spoiled me...Lisa told me today she was going tanning...) that going outside is an ordeal all on its own. It's supposed to snow tonight, but they have been saying that for a few days and so far no snow...so we shall see. I'd really like to go to El Rastro this Sunday, which is Madrid's most famous and largest flea market. We'll see if I can get up and out that early on a Sunday morning, but it's supposed to be something you can't miss. Although it's notorious for muggings and pick-pockets so I probably won't bring much with me.
Today I bought my monthly metro pass (abono transporte) and it really made me realize that I'm going to be staying put for a while. Exciting! I put a few new pictures up on my Picasa site of my apartment and our outing to a Mexican restaurant (I know, I know...I'm in Spain...). I'll try and get more up soon but for some reason loading pictures is incredibly time consuming here.
Oh! And I'm trying to send out some postcards so if you get a chance please send me your address so I can get those in the mail! Gracias! Hasta luego!
This weekend a bunch of people are going out of town (some to Rome, others to Barcelona) but I decided to stay put so I can get to know the city a little more. I want to check out the not-so-touristy districts and cafes, stuff like that. However, it is so freezing here (LA weather has spoiled me...Lisa told me today she was going tanning...) that going outside is an ordeal all on its own. It's supposed to snow tonight, but they have been saying that for a few days and so far no snow...so we shall see. I'd really like to go to El Rastro this Sunday, which is Madrid's most famous and largest flea market. We'll see if I can get up and out that early on a Sunday morning, but it's supposed to be something you can't miss. Although it's notorious for muggings and pick-pockets so I probably won't bring much with me.
Today I bought my monthly metro pass (abono transporte) and it really made me realize that I'm going to be staying put for a while. Exciting! I put a few new pictures up on my Picasa site of my apartment and our outing to a Mexican restaurant (I know, I know...I'm in Spain...). I'll try and get more up soon but for some reason loading pictures is incredibly time consuming here.
Oh! And I'm trying to send out some postcards so if you get a chance please send me your address so I can get those in the mail! Gracias! Hasta luego!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Escuela
Classes started today. Woo hoo!...Not. But in all seriousness, I'm actually looking forward to having a little bit of structure in my week. I think it will make me feel like less of a tourist in Madrid, more like a resident. The first day wasn't so bad. I have three classes on Mondays and Wednesdays and then just one on Tuesdays/Thursdays so today was one of the long ones. The classes seem interesting (although I'm taking two spanish fiction classes and one spanish theater class on these days so that means A LOT of reading). I'm most excited for the theater class...the teacher is really low key and extremely knowledgeable about Spanish theater (he's an actor and a director here in Madrid) and judging from the syllabus we're going to be reading a lot of really well known Spanish plays. Yay!
In weather news, it got COLD here today. It's been pretty cold here since I arrived but for some reason today was ridiculously freezing and with a bit of rain. Not a fun walk to campus. Weather.com says it's going to snow here later in the week and I realize I'm going to regret saying this, but I'm kind of excited for there to be some snow on the ground! The rain I can live without though.
Tomorrow we have a group visit to El Museo Del Prado, which doubles as the first meeting of my art history class (Paintings in the Prado). I'm excited to visit the museum because since I've been here I've been seeing all these gorgeous buildings and museums but haven't really had the chance to go inside any of them yet. Also, last semester I took a class on Spanish art and we spent almost the entire semester talking about a few paintings that are housed in the Prado so it's going to be cool to see them up close and in person.
Anyway I'm off to bed. I have to get up early and try and get myself a metro pass tomorrow before the museum visit. I'll try and post new pictures soon! Adios!
In weather news, it got COLD here today. It's been pretty cold here since I arrived but for some reason today was ridiculously freezing and with a bit of rain. Not a fun walk to campus. Weather.com says it's going to snow here later in the week and I realize I'm going to regret saying this, but I'm kind of excited for there to be some snow on the ground! The rain I can live without though.
Tomorrow we have a group visit to El Museo Del Prado, which doubles as the first meeting of my art history class (Paintings in the Prado). I'm excited to visit the museum because since I've been here I've been seeing all these gorgeous buildings and museums but haven't really had the chance to go inside any of them yet. Also, last semester I took a class on Spanish art and we spent almost the entire semester talking about a few paintings that are housed in the Prado so it's going to be cool to see them up close and in person.
Anyway I'm off to bed. I have to get up early and try and get myself a metro pass tomorrow before the museum visit. I'll try and post new pictures soon! Adios!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Photos
If you want to see some pictures of my trip so far go to....
http://picasaweb.google.com/carlygoldsmith
Enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.com/carlygoldsmith
Enjoy!
A night out
Just a quick update about last night's events...
Trying to stay true to Madrid's crazy schedule, a bunch of us met up around 12:30 at Puerta del Sol, a pretty and always crowded plaza in the center of Madrid's nightlife. Because 12:30 was still really early to head to a club, we grabbed a drink and a snack at a Museo del Jamon (yes, it's called the Museum of Ham). There are a few of these are around Sol and it's basically a butcher shop with a bar in the center...pretty crazy and slightly ham-scented but very cheap drinks and a quirky atmosphere. Back on the streets, we were bombarded with club promoters handing out little cards granting you free or discounted entrance into clubs and bars (always nice to get a discount) so we headed into a free-entrance bar for our second stop of the night. The bar was a little mellow, but with a small dance floor downstairs blaring remixed 80s songs and techno versions of 4-year-old American songs. We didn't stay for long and moved onto a club in the Sol area. The club was crowded and hot, but very fun and we were there for a long time. A little after 5, when we were finally ready to ditch the strobe lights we headed for a classic Madrid snack: churros y chocolate. For pretty cheap you get an enormous plate of fresh churros and a coffee cup full of rich chocolate sauce for dipping. So good! We made it back on the metro in time to pass out as the sun came out and I slept until late afternoon on the only day it has been sunny here so far (oops!). But apparently that's completely accepted because when I woke up my host-brother and the other student living here were still asleep. :-)
Just though I'd update quickly. I'm going to try and post some of my pictures online. I'll put the link up on this site, so look out for it!
Hasta luego!
Trying to stay true to Madrid's crazy schedule, a bunch of us met up around 12:30 at Puerta del Sol, a pretty and always crowded plaza in the center of Madrid's nightlife. Because 12:30 was still really early to head to a club, we grabbed a drink and a snack at a Museo del Jamon (yes, it's called the Museum of Ham). There are a few of these are around Sol and it's basically a butcher shop with a bar in the center...pretty crazy and slightly ham-scented but very cheap drinks and a quirky atmosphere. Back on the streets, we were bombarded with club promoters handing out little cards granting you free or discounted entrance into clubs and bars (always nice to get a discount) so we headed into a free-entrance bar for our second stop of the night. The bar was a little mellow, but with a small dance floor downstairs blaring remixed 80s songs and techno versions of 4-year-old American songs. We didn't stay for long and moved onto a club in the Sol area. The club was crowded and hot, but very fun and we were there for a long time. A little after 5, when we were finally ready to ditch the strobe lights we headed for a classic Madrid snack: churros y chocolate. For pretty cheap you get an enormous plate of fresh churros and a coffee cup full of rich chocolate sauce for dipping. So good! We made it back on the metro in time to pass out as the sun came out and I slept until late afternoon on the only day it has been sunny here so far (oops!). But apparently that's completely accepted because when I woke up my host-brother and the other student living here were still asleep. :-)
Just though I'd update quickly. I'm going to try and post some of my pictures online. I'll put the link up on this site, so look out for it!
Hasta luego!
Friday, January 19, 2007
The First Week
So today marks the end of our orientation week here in Madrid...it's been a crazy hectic week filled with group activities and free meals haha. The past few days I've just been continuing to explore and get to the know the city (which is huge!) and the people in my program. We've had several guided tours of lots of different areas of Madrid, pointing out the government buildings, movie theaters that show American movies and the best bars. Yesterday we had a night tour of the theater district from the professor of the Spanish Theater class which I'm going to be taking starting next week. After that we had a USC-paid-for meal of tapas (yummy!) and wine. So fabulous to know that my tuition dollars are going to excellent bottles of wine! :-) It's funny because tuition for this semester is the same for a semester at USC, but somehow here tuition includes sponsored meals and trips and bar excursions! Makes me think that USC should probably start including this in LA...Anyways after the group meal we kind of split up and went in our different directions to explore the Madrid nightlife. We wandered around this area called Sol, which is one of the central points in Madrid and is filled with bars, shops, and tons of people. A few of us ended up in a very smokey Irish pub (of all places...) for a while and just hung out getting to know each other.
Bright and early this morning (well actually not so bright because it's been incredible foggy here...makes me think of San Francisco) we met for a day-trip to Toledo, a small town about an hour outside of Madrid. Toledo was so beautiful! We spend the day in old town, exploring the tiny, winding roads that were barely the width of one car yet miraculously buses attempted to navigate them. We had a really entertaining tour guide who took us through the city, to the cathedral (the 10th biggest in the world) and a sword-making shop and a small church to see one of El Greco's masterpieces "El entierro del señor del conde de orgaz". The painting was amazing to see because I had spent a while in my spanish class last semester discussing its importance. It's a huge piece of work that has never been restored and the colors and detail and still brilliant.
After our tour, we had a delicious (and once again fully paid for) lunch in a cute restaurant. It was long and leisurely and fun to sit and chat with the group. The bus ride back to Madrid was long because of traffic and we all dispersed to our homestays to rest up for tonight. I'm still adjusting to the night schedule here in Madrid. The plan tonight is to meet up with the entire group (read: 26 loud americans haha) and go out to a club. Things don't start happening here until around 1 am and the idea is to stay out until at least 6 so that the metro is up and running again for an easy return home. Luckily, tomorrow is Saturday so there will be some massive sleeping in!
So far, it's been pretty cold here...definitely colder than back home was over break...but scarily it hasn't snowed yet although it has snowed in LA. Crazy! That's expected to change soon though because apparently there is a massive cold spell coming in early next week that is supposed to bring snow to Madrid! I'm kind of excited actually because I've never lived where it snows but I'm sure that excitement is going to fade pretty quickly after my toes start to freeze off haha.
Alright I need to get in a nap before tonight! Lots of love to all! Hasta luego!
Bright and early this morning (well actually not so bright because it's been incredible foggy here...makes me think of San Francisco) we met for a day-trip to Toledo, a small town about an hour outside of Madrid. Toledo was so beautiful! We spend the day in old town, exploring the tiny, winding roads that were barely the width of one car yet miraculously buses attempted to navigate them. We had a really entertaining tour guide who took us through the city, to the cathedral (the 10th biggest in the world) and a sword-making shop and a small church to see one of El Greco's masterpieces "El entierro del señor del conde de orgaz". The painting was amazing to see because I had spent a while in my spanish class last semester discussing its importance. It's a huge piece of work that has never been restored and the colors and detail and still brilliant.
After our tour, we had a delicious (and once again fully paid for) lunch in a cute restaurant. It was long and leisurely and fun to sit and chat with the group. The bus ride back to Madrid was long because of traffic and we all dispersed to our homestays to rest up for tonight. I'm still adjusting to the night schedule here in Madrid. The plan tonight is to meet up with the entire group (read: 26 loud americans haha) and go out to a club. Things don't start happening here until around 1 am and the idea is to stay out until at least 6 so that the metro is up and running again for an easy return home. Luckily, tomorrow is Saturday so there will be some massive sleeping in!
So far, it's been pretty cold here...definitely colder than back home was over break...but scarily it hasn't snowed yet although it has snowed in LA. Crazy! That's expected to change soon though because apparently there is a massive cold spell coming in early next week that is supposed to bring snow to Madrid! I'm kind of excited actually because I've never lived where it snows but I'm sure that excitement is going to fade pretty quickly after my toes start to freeze off haha.
Alright I need to get in a nap before tonight! Lots of love to all! Hasta luego!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Hola!
Hi all! As of yesterday, I am in Madrid! After a ridiculously long day of travel, I arrived at my home for next four or five months...an adorable apartment right near the center of town. My homestay mom, my senora (for some reason it won't let me put in the special characters...) is wonderful. She's very sweet and helpful and patient with my lacking language skills. Also in the apartment is her son, who's in his late 20's and there's also another student studying in Madrid from Cordoba, Spain who's about my age but not very social (yet, anyway).
Madrid is absolutely beautiful! It is such a vibrant city with gorgeous buildings and parks and the people so far have been friendly and helpful. Today was the first official day of the program and after meeting at the school (which is a convenient 5 minute walk from my building) we spent the entire day touring the city. We took the metro and buses to familiarize ourselves with the public transportation (which is very extensive and organized). We saw a ton of the city, although it was very hurried so I'll definitely need to revisit all the places we hurried past. In typical Spanish style, we all had a long, leisurely lunch at a restaurant in town around 2 o'clock. The food's good...I'm still getting used to it and haven't had a big meal at my house yet so we'll have to wait and see how the cooking is.
This whole week is orientation. I'm not sure exactly what we will be doing but probably more touring the city and getting to know our way around. Classes don't start until next week so it will definitely be nice to have some time to get used to the Spanish way of life. As far as the language goes, I think I'm doing decently well. My family doesn't speak any English so it has really forced me to practice my Spanish and I think I'm getting my point across even though I struggle a lot. They all speak so fast that it's definitely hard to follow but hopefully my ears will adjust. Haha.
Anyway I'm going to head to bed because I'm still ridiculously jetlagged. Damn 15 hours of flying and the huge time difference! Hope everything is great in the states! I would love to hear from you either by email or comments or something!
Adios!
Madrid is absolutely beautiful! It is such a vibrant city with gorgeous buildings and parks and the people so far have been friendly and helpful. Today was the first official day of the program and after meeting at the school (which is a convenient 5 minute walk from my building) we spent the entire day touring the city. We took the metro and buses to familiarize ourselves with the public transportation (which is very extensive and organized). We saw a ton of the city, although it was very hurried so I'll definitely need to revisit all the places we hurried past. In typical Spanish style, we all had a long, leisurely lunch at a restaurant in town around 2 o'clock. The food's good...I'm still getting used to it and haven't had a big meal at my house yet so we'll have to wait and see how the cooking is.
This whole week is orientation. I'm not sure exactly what we will be doing but probably more touring the city and getting to know our way around. Classes don't start until next week so it will definitely be nice to have some time to get used to the Spanish way of life. As far as the language goes, I think I'm doing decently well. My family doesn't speak any English so it has really forced me to practice my Spanish and I think I'm getting my point across even though I struggle a lot. They all speak so fast that it's definitely hard to follow but hopefully my ears will adjust. Haha.
Anyway I'm going to head to bed because I'm still ridiculously jetlagged. Damn 15 hours of flying and the huge time difference! Hope everything is great in the states! I would love to hear from you either by email or comments or something!
Adios!
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