Friday, July :El Escorial

School in the morning of course. Got out a little earlier than usual and went down to the library to wait for Amanda and we thought Catherine in order to buy train tickets for a day trip to Segovia on Saturday. Amanda made it but through a series of strange miscommunications Catherine does not. In fact she changed her mind completely. 

In the end it all worked out, but waiting in the hot library for answers was a little tiring, especially when it turned out we couldn't buy the tickets then anyway!

Patricia had made sandwiches for us as we were going on a short trip to Escorial in the afternoon...we went home had these sandwiches, and then I walked Megan through purchasing the tickets for us for Segovia..she sent them on to Maria Carmen who printed them for us. 

Then we rested until 2:40ish when we left to meet Megan at the Moncloa Station where we would catch a bus to El Escorial, the Monastary-Palace in San Lorenzo. 

It was just under an hour from Madrid stops included and was just beautiful. The weather in the past two days has cooled off some which has meant you can go outside and survive without melting for over 15 minutes. San Lorenzo is up in the mountains a little so it was much, much better. 

We all got a coca cola and then walked to through the very quiet streets to the Monastary-Palace. Couldn't take pictures, sorry. 

El Monastario de San Lorenzo del Escorial was commissioned by King Felipe (Phillip) II in ... As a monument to his victory over the French in one of the many wars between the countries on the day of Saint Laurence (San Lorenzo). It served as both a summer residence for the royal family and as a Monastary. Almost all of the Hapsburg and Bourbon Kings are entombed in the crypt along with the Queens who bore future kings and many Infantas (the royal children who would never be king/queen).  It is absolutely enormous with basilica, library, royal living quarters, etc. and possess incredible views. (There was a wedding in the basilica which meant we couldn't enter, but you could hear the music)

There are many famous works of religious artwork, including several paintings by El Greco. There is an entire Hall with murals on every surface depicting famous battles Spain won under the reign of Felipe II.  You could spend hours looking at all the details...you all should look up pics.  

Following our several hours of exploration right up to the closing we went off in search of something to eat. The little town had come alive with people and music. We quickly settled on a place. Sangria, pasta and lots of dessert! (it was hard to resist these as their placemats had pictures all over them)

After we had eaten, enjoying the music from a small concert in a park right accross from us we walked back to the bus station for the 10:00 ride back to Madrid. 

Thursday, July 16

There was a lengthy discussion in 1st class today for our participation grade. Covered subjects such as who had an easier life in their youth: you or your grandparents? Is it better to live/work in the country or in a city? and Is it better to learn in a group that has the same culture or that is multicultural?
2nd class more history. We also decided on the topics for our final projects. Mine is the Silver Age of Spanish literature. This presentation is our only grade in place of our exams.
Midterm Exam in 3rd class. Lot of writing but I felt prepared.

Amanda and I printed off tickets for a dance preformance we attended in the evening.

Lunch: lentle soup with veggies, am omelet and lettuce with olive oil and salt. Peach for dessert. 

Relaxed in the afternoon. At 7 Amanda and I got ready and went to the preformance. 

It was in the Teatro Real (royal theater) which is accross from the royal palace and next to the Plaza de Isabella II. It was quite grand with high ceilings and special salons for the wealthy folk. We were way up in the cheep seats on the 4th floor (here it is the 3rd floor as they don't count the ground floor as a level). It was a true lesson in "you get what you pay for," as we were literally in a dark corner where we couldn't even see the little video screens much less the actual stage. We were lucky that there weren't many people on our level meaning we could change seats.

The preformance was by the Netherlands Dance Company, a very famous company apparently, and was contemporary ballet. The dancing was very beautiful at times and then at others it was rather bizarre, especially in the second portion. What was terrible was that right at the beginning, after dealing with our dum seat situation, the main dancer appears in a tiny little hunched up ball in the front of the stage. He looks almost emaciated because of the lights and the shadows..then he begins to unravel in a way that seems reluctant, heavy, and almost painful. And right at that moment...when there is no music or any kind of sound in the entire theater Amanda says: "me in the mornings."  And this might not seem that funny but for some reason it was so extraordinarily funny in this sophisticated, silent setting that I had to plug my nose to silence my giggling. 

We really did enjoy the preformance, it was just very different than anything I had expected. 

Following the preformance we went home and did some homework. I talked to Mom, Dad, and Ethan. And that's about it. 

Salon de Goya

View of the other seats and the royal box from our height. 

 

 The beautiful chandelier that they turned it off right as I was taking this picture 

Royal Teatro



Tuesday and Wednesday: July 14 and 15

TUESDAY:
Kind of a sleepy day today, couldn't seem to wake up which was really frustrating in class. 
Culture we finished our packet and then we moved on to do an overview of Spanish History.  I felt very confident in this thanks to Montserrat's class at Marshall which went into great detail about nearly all aspects of Spanish History. 
In Language we went over the exam for Thurs. this stressed a lot of people out, but I feel alright about it.  The thing is that all B.2, C.1, and C.2 level students (I'm in B.2 now) are required by the university to take a Academic Certification Exam for foreign students learning Spanish which gives you a certificate that would allow you to study among native speakers.  The problem for many is that the exam is not specific for our level it is mostly based upon the C2 level, which we would most likely not be able to accomplish..
This means that on Thurs. I will begin my day with 90min. of reading comprehension, followed by Culture class, and then I will have 60 minutes of writing and 20 minutes of our classes actual final.  Then on Monday we will conclude with 90 minutes of auditory comprehension.  Luckily our professor will only be referring to the written portion as part of our grade.  The other two parts will not affect our grade....
Lunch: Chicken, broccoli soup and bread
shower, homework, studying, nap, more homework and studying, Yoga!, blog work and then dinner..
4 cheese tortellini with broccoli!
Bed



WEDNESDAY
We got out of the house pretty late around 7:55..Rushed to the station where we had 3 minutes to wait for the train. Good thing was that I say my Language professor Daniel in the station as well, I was not going to be late but the others were pushing it.  When we reached Canal (our transfer) we had once again to run down both flights of stairs/escalators to catch our other train.  I was first, then Alice, and Amanda came last getting stuck behind this slow guy on the escalators.  When Alice and I got on the train we both turned and she grabbed hold of the train doors to ensure that they would not close before Amanda and a couple other Nebrija students had made it on, it was quite a heroic thing especially for so early in the morning. I made it with plenty of time to spare as my professor had missed that train.
Class today was good.  We learned that we were not going to have the big exam I talked about above and that was explained throughout the entire class yesterday.  We continued talking about a Spanish history today.
On the way home I think I got really dehydrated as I suddenly became very dizzy.  Walking home was tough and it the house was pretty stuffy when we got there. I went to sleep for the 40 minutes before lunch.  Lunch was delicious! She made it on my request...A noodle and arugula salad with fruit, nuts, a little imitation crab, and cheese along with these hard boiled eggs with a yummy little mix inside.  I  still didn't feel great unfortunately.  We talked about mimes and acting today.
Took a long nap...woke up much better.
Had a chocolate and icecream bar that I picked up at the grocery store the other day.  Then I began reviewing again for my final tomorrow.  I think that it will be pretty good; it consists mostly of vocabulary and structures that we worked with last semester and this.
At about 9 Amanda and I ate dinner: Chinese noodles (like Ramen) and tuna sandwiches.  Alice, who has already finished her midterm papers, was away at the pool.  Then it was more studying and talking and finally bed.
 

Monday, July 13

Amanda didn't feel very well today so she stayed home.  Alice and I left the house at 7:53, which really is not good.  In our transfer we ran all the way down the two escalators to catch our next train and I guess that caught us up because we made it to the school with 5 minutes to spare. Usually we are exactly on time and we leave the house earlier.
Language class we talked about our favorite songs.  Each one of us looked up a video and then explained why it is our favorite... Most were American songs, even amongst the Thai students.  Only the Chinese students had songs from their own country. 
Culture we have been going over this packet/questionnaire about Spain and have learned a lot, at least I have, about the economics, history, cultural traditions, etc.  Today we talked about the immigration issues in Spain and elsewhere. Then our professors began looking up where we were all from...mostly the Chinese and Thai students. Really interesting to get a picture of where they are from.  He then showed us where he is from in Galicia (community right above Portugal). He apparently is from a small city near Portugal called Orense.

Talked to Maria Carmen, Abby, Catherine. Everything is going well.
Made it home
Amanda was much better
Lunch: Noodle soup with garbanzo beans, pan fried chicken, lettuce and cucumber salad, bread, chocolate pudding.
Took a nap...it was much longer than I intended it to be.
Talked about plans for the last two weeks with Amanda...AAAAAHHHH 2 WEEKS!
Did yoga with the girls.
Did homework.
Went to grocery store (Simply) picked up cheap, good food for dinner in the following weeks
Home...fixed dinner: Pizza, cup-o-noodles, sprite..
Watched a movie, had popcorn too.
Bedtime!

Sunday, July 12

This morning all of us in Patricia's house got up bright and early for Return to the Rastro.  We made it to La Latina by 10:00 where Megan was waiting for us and from there we entered the wild maze of vendors and their wares.  It was a very productive sweep through.

Later that afternoon: Lunch: a big bowl of noodles with meat sauce and yogurt for dessert. Worked on blog like crazy.  I took a short nap and then a shower.  Little nervous about exams this Thursday so I went through my notes and things.  On top of that there is still so much I want to do!!   Amanda went out to walk around and we agreed to roundezvous in Retiro park at 7:45.  Alice was at the pool.   

In the evening, I packed up a couple tuna sandwiches and water and then set off for Retiro.  Megan and Amanda were waiting with these very large popsicles in hand...I got one too.  We then had a small quiet picnic near the same place the Marshall group last month picnicked.  Alice eventually joined us.  It was very quiet and not too hot in the shade.  Amanda had had a nasty incident with this guy monitoring the toilet paper in the women's bathroom and so things were just a bit subdued.
At about 10 we made for home.
The metro was more crowded than usual when we got on and there was this very strange guy who decided to talk to Alice, Amanda and I.  He spoke Spanish but what we could understand didn't make any sense.  We got off at sol which is just one stop away from our usual at Opera.  It was really lucky we did though as there was a pleasant surprise waiting for us in the Plaza de la Villa:

A performance of traditional Galician dances:   (Sorry the pics aren't great...I can't get the videos to upload)

 

Saturday, July 11

Slept in until 10:30 had breakfast...toast and coffee of course.  Then Amanda and I went to the pool.  Alice was away on a mandatory school excursion (mandatory for Hunter College).  It was really very wonderful in the icy cold water today and there were less people than last time which was nice.  We figured out how to take the Metro loop which cut travel time in half.

When we got home for lunch at 3, Patricia had everything prepared for us but unfortunately had a bad headache and couldn't join us.  So it was a rather quiet lunch...we did practice our Spanish however.

At about 6 we walked over to the Palace intending to tour it but changed our minds when Amanda realized she didn't have her student pass and thus couldn't get the discount.  Instead we went to the Cathedral of the Almudena and then Temple of Debod.  The Cathedral is relatively new built in the late 19th century and consecrated only in 1993.  The Temple of Debod is a gift from Egypt in thanks for Spain's assistance in the construction of the Aswan High Dam and in preserving ancient sites.  The view from the Temple is just marvelous.  The part though was a dog who got away from his mom and went straight into the large fountain and wouldn't come out.

 

(The Virgin of Almudena, a patron saint of Madrid)

 

 

 

 

Below the Cathedral is a Neo-Romanesque Crypt.

There was a musical performance about to take place and several sopranos were practicing their parts.  It would have been a little eerie walking through the more than 400 columns in this dimly lit crypt, but the sweet, floating notes of the religious songs lightened the atmosphere.

 

This is the image of "Our Lady of the Flor de Lis" commissioned by Alfonso VI in 1083 AD.

 

"Where you go, I will go.

Where you live, I will live.

Where you die, there I will die

and there they will bury me.

And not even death will be able to separate us."

-Book of Ruth

 

 

 

Temple of Debod:

His partner off to the side got out when told but he romped around in the water for a good 20 minutes, eventually just lying down and playing with a water bottle he found.

After the dog finally got out we two decided to head home as well.  On our way out of  Parque Oeste (West Park) we saw a group of people dancing and singing.  We believe they were Hindu.

We made dinner at home: a Pizza and some soup.

This is apparently the month of weddings for our little church.  There were two today and have been several over the past couple of weeks

Just before 10 we walked up to Plaza Mayor where an event through the Veranos de la Villa Madrid concert-art series that lasts all through the summer, was taking place.  Tonight was a free performance by the Community of Madrid Symphony!
Other than the heat it was fantastic!!

The conductor was excellent...His movements did such a great job at conveying the sentiment of each piece and it was so much fun because the camera screen would show his face and you could see him quietly singing along.

 

 

We left at about 12 for home; the performance was still going on as the conductor kept indulging the crowds cries for an encore. 

It was a balmy, quiet evening following just a wonderful day.

Friday, July 10

All is continuing well at school we have talked about a lot of cultural things. Like eating 12 grapes with every strike of the clock in Puerta cel Sol here in Madrid as a countdown to the New Year. We have talked about the Recorriendo of San Fermin, the running of the bulls in Pamplona, which is this week.
Our host mom told us a funny story about that actually. She and her family we traveling through the north on a motorcycle, her dad was driving and he mother, two other sisters and she were in the side cart. They entered a small city and found it deserted, no one could figure out where the people were and her father was rather pleased with the lack of traffic when they rounded a corner and nearly ran smack into a giant bull. They had to quickly turn and speed away but were all screaming and very shaken.  This story was at lunch today. It's been nice this month because Amanda and I have been able to participate more and as a result direct the conversation to topics we are familiar with and can talk about in Spanish.

After lunch Amanda and I took a very long siesta...4 hrs long. This sounds absolutely awful, and it felt that way too, but I didn't budge until then. 

As a result we too were dead set upon doing something out and about in Madrid.  Unfortunately, no one else was really up to it apparently.  Megan has been feeling a little under the weather, Catherine had to study or something, who knows about Abby, and Alice was video chatting with her mom and her sister.  So we too went out alone.  We first went over to the neighborhood where our movie theater is to see about an event that was to be taking place in a big courtyard as part of a huge summer series of exhibitions, theater productions, movies, and more.  We found the terrace but it appeared that tickets were sold out and there wasn't much else to do.  So  from here we went to Plaza del Sur where we eventually had dinner at the same little Japanese restaurant we went to last week. We each had a big bowl of noodles and split a Vegetable Tempura.  After that we went over to the Chueca area, not far from Sol and went to a rooftop terrace for a glass of sangria and I suppose just a more sophisticated atmosphere...It is something that is suggested in many guide websites and books.  We were lucky enough to snag a small couch and were able to sit and talk for quite a while comfortably despite the crowds of people.  Made it home by 2 for bed.

Thursday, July 9: Lion King!

Ok, so the big event was in the evening...during class we continued discussing cultural information and in the other we played a game in groups where each person had a dice with little symbols on it.  Each would roll it and make a sentence using the symbol that appeared and together they were meant to create a story.  This was really great for our level because it meant we used a wide variety of vocab and verb tenses...My groups story was about a little dwarf who set off on a very dangerous adventure with demons, evil magic fish, and dinosaur islands to find his friends that lived in the sea.  In the end he learns from a scarab beetle that both his friends and the sea were in his heart all along.  Very  absurd I know but in Spanish it was a very good exercise. 
Amanda and I successfully printed off our tickets.  Headed home for lunch.  Lounged around and did homework and then... El Rey Leon!!!!!
At 7:30 we made our way to the Teatro Lope de Vega on Calle Gran Villa.  This street is apparently the "Broadway" of Madrid and the theater always receives the big performances.  There were tons of people but we made it in without any problem.  We two got a bucket of popcorn and a Coca-Cola each which came with a complementary souvenir cup.  We went up to find our seats at 8:15...we were seated separately but on the same level.  I was next to a French couple on one side, an middle aged Spanish couple to the other, and in front of us was a family of four with two young kids.  Before the show the little girl kept peeping up at me and then hiding back behind her seat. 
So the performance was all in Spanish, but it was so easy to follow.  I loved every second of it! The music was excellent and the puppetry was absolutely amazing! The lions had masks which if they stooped forward in a particular way would reach out and look like they were roaring ...At times to indicate distance they would use shadow puppets.  It was so much fun!  All the little kids around me were singing along or were utterly invested in what was going on.  At one point from behind me a little boy's mother began to sing and he shushed her. 
Pics:

The posters out in the front of the theater.

 

 

Us following the performance

 

 

 After we had left the theater and were making our way back to the Metro Amanda and I decided to take a detour over to Plaza de España which was all lit up and quiet.

 

 

And from there we walked home.  This took us back by the palace and buildings like the music academy shown below and then down the same streets we take every morning and afternoon.

It was a very warm and very quiet night.