1st week of classes!

Well, it's that time of year again...time to start classes!! I was beginning to think this was just a 4 month vacation....unfortunately, turns out we have to do some studying too. haha.

So last Monday we ventured to our new campus for our first day of class. Now, officially, we are students at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, a Spanish University here. However, since our program is so big, and a lot of us (well, most of us) don't speak fluent Spanish, they couldn't have our classes at the actual campus this semester. So, we have class at this other venue, which is like 30 mins away from Comillas, called the Sergio Arboleda campus. It is nice to have our own place, with professors we understand and classmates we can communicate with, but it is kind of a bummer that we don't have class at Comillas, because now its a lot harder to meet the Spanish students and integrate with them. Ah well. 

So, Monday morning, we didn't have class until 1:00 (our 11:30 was cancelled) so Court and I left  about 2 hours early, because knowing us, we would get lost. And hey, sure enough, we did. To get to campus, we need to get on Metro line 6 (which is a circular line, so very easy to get on the wrong way) and then we need to get off at Principe Pio and then get on a certain train to take us to school. So, by some miracle, we got on the right metro, and made it to Principe Pio. We got there, and we're feeling all  confident, like we got this. We found our friend Sukhpreet, who was also heading to class, at the same train stop, so we thought we had it. Well, turns out, the 3 of us ended up getting on the wrong train, which took us about 4 stops in the wrong direction, before we finally asked a local and found out we were not going the right way. So we had to get off, get on another to take us back to Principe Pio, then hop on the right train, going the right way, to take us to school. Then, once you get to the train stop by school, its a good 10 minute walk to campus. We made it with about 10 minutes to spare...yes, this is why we leave early. So, that was that...but don't worry, by the end of the week we got it down :) 

Classes seem like they are going to be pretty good, haven't gotten too far into the material yet since its the 1st week, but I like my professors and I am definitely taking some interesting classes. I'm in Problem of God, Ethics, Ecology(with lab), Management, Spanish 4, and the travel seminar class, which is business. So I'm taking quite the variety. The Problem of God and Ethics courses I can already tell are going to be pretty heavy in discussions and debates- the topics and issues we cover are pretty powerful, and people have some strong opinions about them. Ecology is not too interesting to me, but I've never been much of a science person. I'm glad to be getting the class and lab out of the way here, so I will be done once I get back to USD. Management and the travel seminar should be interesting, since I'm a business student...and I've already gotten to know the teacher, because he was with us all throughout our trip, so that's good. Lastly, Spanish is definitely going to be difficult, but that's good, because we're in Spain, and obviously it is important to learn and get better at the language. So, that's classes...already have tons of reading to do, but we've found some nice parks and cafes to go read at, so no complaints! ( There's a crepe cafe right next to campus...I will be there a lot!!!)

On Friday we got to go check out the actually Comillas University and its facilities- we have access to their library, study rooms, gym, computer lab, and any other resources we may need so that's really helpful. And that campus is only a 10 minute walk from our house! So convenient! I'll probably spend most of my studying time there- its a really nice school and definitely not as deserted as our campus.

(So I have to admit I didn't take this picture...I kinda forgot to take any so I took this from online haha. but it is what Comillas looks like! I'll take some on my own and put them in my next post:))

Other than classes, I've been having a pretty low-key week, trying to get over being sick :( I think I'm finally starting to feel better, so that's good. Trying to drink lots of tea and get extra sleep- I definitely don't want it to get any worse. 

We did do some fun stuff this week though...

• Explored where we live! So of course we've been walking to and from the metro, and in and out of our apartment, but other than that, we hadn't explored much around our apartment till this week. So we decided to go out and see what there is, and we found out that we live in a pretty cool area! There's tons of cafés and bars in walking distance- and many of them have some pretty good deals for an inexpensive lunch or Menu Del Día. We found this place called Rodilla's...it's nothing fancy, and looks like its a chain, but they have sandwiches and salads for really cheap- and its really good! We also came across a lot of cafés that will be good to go in and study/read, and order a yummy pastry or something :) There are also a good amount of little clothes/shoes stores, which is dangerous....but we're definitely enjoying that! So today, we walked the other way, away from all the restaurants and such, and found this beautiful park, Parque del Oeste! It is sooo close to our place, which is so nice because we will be going there a lot to study, run, maybe have a picnic or somethin!!

• Going Out- So we did go out a few times this week- mainly just bars and stuff. Dubliners is definitely our 'go-to' bar, they have good prices on drinks, there are always a lot of people there, and there's always some people who can speak English to you! It's good too because it's in Puerta del Sol, which is where everything is, so it's easy to go to a club or another bar afterwards.   We've met so many people, and had so much fun just talking, dancing, and hanging out with everyone. I definitely am going to miss being able to order drinks when I get home! Thursday night we went to this club Joy, it was a blast- we somehow were able to get in for free which was awesome. We went in with a group of about 10 of us from USD, and we all had such a fun night dancing, going up on stage, and just hanging out with everyone. Something to note though- drinks at the club are beyond expensive...5 euros for a shot, like 8 or 10 for a mixed drink- so its definitely good to go to a bar beforehand so you don't have to pay for that.

• Gran Via- Yesterday we had the day free so Court and I decided to take the metro and head to Gran Via, one of the most popular streets/areas in Madrid. The buildings were all so beautiful, and there were so many people out and about, it was a really neat place. Tons of shopping there- so we definitely went in a lot of stores. We had lunch at this little restaurant that had made-to-order mini Spanish omelettes that were delicious! And we ordered a pitcher (jarra) of sangria for the 2 of us, not knowing just how much that it would be...but we still finished it! It was a great afternoon. 

Interesting/notable things I've noticed or have happened...

1. BUG BITES

Okay, so I've been getting eaten alive by bugs here...and for the longest time I was wondering whyyy that was happening. So then, I realized, that with it being so hot here, and having no A/C, I sleep with my window wide open every night. And they don't have screens here...not exactly sure if that's just my host mom's thing or if that's a Spain thing...I'm thinkin its a Spain thing. So, of course, that's how the bugs are getting in every night. But that is quite unfortunate, because now I need to choose between waking up with new bites every morning, or sleeping in a sauna....yeah, usually the bug bites win.

2. BUS STOPS

Alrighty, this is kind of random but I just have to mention it- so apparently they have bus stops on the freeway here?? Yeah...SO weird. We started taking the bus to class, cuz it's a little shorter- and it takes us on the freeway (well, I'm not sure if they call it a 'freeway' here, but it certainly resembles what freeways are like at home) so all of a sudden, we're riding, and it just pulls over. I was wondering what was wrong...maybe the bus broke down? Was there an emergency? What's up? And then I notice there's a bus stop right there, on the side of the freeway- and new people start getting on, and some off...just like no big deal. Then we started moving again, right back into the 70 or so mph traffic. Alrighty then. I guess that's a thing here. Personally, I'd be a little sketched getting off a bus on the side of a freeway, but hey! If that's what they do here!

3. MCDONALD'S 

So at home, McDonald's is a bad, cheap, fast food restaurant, right? At least that's pretty much what I always thought. Well, here, McDonald's has quite a different reputation. I mean, it's still McDonald's, but they are SO popular here. And so nice! When you walk in, you would never even know it was a McDonald's. There's one by our place that is 2 stories, with a whole separate 'McCafe' section, with pastries, desserts, coffee drinks, smoothies, and so much more! Then, in a different area, there's the regular McDonald's, with of course the normal hamburgers and such, but also, there's fresh salads, wraps..who knows what else. Then on the second floor, its just a huge area with booths and tables and bar seats- all modern looking and nice. I never thought I'd say this about a McDonald's, but it's actually a really neat place to just sit and have a snack and enjoy some A/C!

4. METRO BY MYSELF!!

This is a short one, but I just have to say that I took the train and metro home by myself for the first time this week! And I made it without even getting lost! I felt pretty cool...really made me feel like a local, putting my ipod in, getting on and off at different stops and knowing where to go, putting my metro pass in the machine...haha. But yeah, I definitely feel more confident now about knowing how all the transportation works and how to get around the city :)

So that's all for now....sorry I didn't have many pictures this entry...I'll have to take some more next time that I can put in :) Well, I'm going to finish some reading now for class, then head to bed..week #2 of classes tomorrow! Thanks for reading!