USC Upstate: Study Abroad – Madrid

Sorry it’s been so long since I posted. I’ve been really busy with class and keeping up with life in general in Madrid.

The reason I titled this thankfulness, is because of something I am slowly discovering. People here can understand me better every day. And the more I listen to Spanish, the less I try to mentally translate and the more I just understand in Spanish. That’s something I never saw happening, even though sometimes I do think in Spanish, I think it’s the matter of hearing it spoken by other people, and understanding without the extra pause of translation. It feels great!

Also, I’m very thankful for the opportunities I have while here. I’ve gotten to see lots of incredible things, including El Escorial, and Palacio Real. And there are no signs of stopping in that department. Tomorrow, we’re going to the Congreso, and Saturday to Toledo, followed by a bullfight on Sunday. And I just found out that before we leave, we’re going to Real Madrid match! I’m really excited about that! We get to see what their two newest players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, bring to the team.

Anyway, this experience is teaching me so much about Spanish and about myself. I’m so glad I’m here.

Well, yesterday was my birthday, and while I’ve spent it outside of the US before, and without my family, this was the first time I spent it with people I haven’t known that long. Not that the girls aren’t great, but when it’s your birthday, being with old friends and family is generally what you want.

We went to Palacio Real first, and it was absolutely stunning. We only saw around 20 rooms out of 2800, so yeah. Serious business! It was pretty cool walking through rooms where kings and queens and all other types of royalty had walked. Unfortunately, we weren’t really allowed to take pictures very much. Or I’d be posting them for you to see.

Anyway, after that, we went out for lunch to celebrate my birthday, which was fun, but by the time we got back, we were rather exhausted. So I came up to my room to rest, and thought, “I’ll call my mom w/ my calling card.” I went down to use the phone here, but the guy told me it doesn’t dial out, it’s broken.

So, dejected, I return to my room on the verge of tears, and sign online to see if my mom was there. She’ wasn’t, but another wonderful mom, Mrs. Rush, was. She ended up calling my mom for me to let her know I wanted to talk to her.

So Mom called last night, problem solved, and homesickness beaten. For now.

We went to Nebrija today to take our placement tests, and I was surprised at how easy parts of it were. I think honestly I psych myself out and don’t trust myself to know as much as I do know. I felt much better when all was said and done.

Then I went out to find the Tobacco store on our street, so I could buy stamps, but alas, twas closed for Siesta.

But I managed to find a gift for a friend while I was out.

And now, I’m waiting for dinner!

Talk to you soon!

By the way, if anybody has anything specific they want to ask or have me blog about, email me!

hudsonee@email.uscupstate.edu

Today, we moved into the residencia, and sadly, I don’t have a roommate yet, and if and when I do, she will probably not be Spanish. However, Maria Angeles, our Resident Director, told us that we can go to this particular place and they will put us with Spanish speakers, so we can help them with their English and they can help us with our Spanish. And of course, there will be classes, and the Spanish speakers who work here.

Anyway, later today, we’ll be going to Salamanca to spend the weekend. It should be a lot of fun… We’re going to go horseback riding, take a walking tour, and go swimming! That sounds like fun to me!

Next week, we start classes, so I’m interested to see how that is going to be.

But right now, I’m getting familiar with the Residencia.

Well, here I am in Madrid, in a really nice 4-star hotel for orientation week. Tomorrow we leave for a short trip to Salamanca, which should be a great deal of fun.

Upon arrival here in Madrid, I was instantly struck by the fact that the culture just flows through everything from the buildings and statues to the restaurants and the people. I’m surrounded by such beautiful places here in the center of the city… Not too far from me is Puerta del Sol, which is a big circle in the city where you leave the shade and are just blasted with sun… It’s really a very interesting place, full of people, with lots of news stands and things. The first time I went there, I saw nuns and priests sharing the 10 commandments. Very interesting.

There are many shops and boutiques (I already got my Real Madrid Football Club jersey!), and so many restaurants that it’s almost impossible to decide where to eat.

One interesting thing about the restaurants is that the waiters here are much less attentive than those in the U.S. It’s not that they’re rude, but once you get your food, they basically leave you alone unless you ask for them. However, one lady in the restaurant where I ate lunch today was super nice and helped me and 2 of the other girls here with our Spanish. She was really nice.

Like I said before, this city breathes culture and history. Everything here seems to be a mix between the progressive and the traditional… But the traditional is so strong.

I’m not really sure what else to add at this point… But stay tuned.

~ Erin Hudson