Acting the Tourist

Hello Lovely People! It’s been a while since my last post, and for that I apologize. With this blog, I am trying to recapture specific activities and adventures as they occurred, not merely create a list of the things that I’ve done. I want to draw you into Spain with me, enticing you will the details. Unfortunately for y’all, a lot’s happened in the past few days, and I’m afraid a list is in order. But fear not! I’m including several pictures to spice things up!

Starting with Tuesday, I trekked over to the Nuevos Ministerios train station and rode a “cercanía” to my University. As it turns out, it’s very easy to get there when you know what to do. Unlike the metro, which is rooted in the deep underground with harsh lights and annoying, loud-speaker messages continually blaring out, the trains in Madrid are quite pleasant. These trains run above ground , offering an incredible scenic view that makes the trip very relaxing. And while my University is going to be a long commute, it is at least very pretty. Take a Look!

The rest of Tuesday was spent taking care of business, getting my classes organized, and continuing to orient myself to the city. That night, however, I met up with some other Americans and went to a Salsa club on the West Side of the city. It was absolutely fantastic! Those madrilènes can dance! I’ve never tried salsa dancing, but I decided that with my experience in two-stepping and swing dancing I would be able to pick it up fast enough. Well, let me tell you: I couldn’t. While I felt I was doing better than most of my fellow Americans, I couldn’t hope to compete with the Spaniards. In fact, I’m sure I looked silly, even borderline pathetic. But most of my partners were very kind, teaching me various moves and graciously giving me besitos afterwards (besitos are the little pecks that you give on someone cheek when you meet them. That night everybody was sweaty, so I had a really hard time trying not to grimace during them). All in all it was an awesome time, and I plan on going back next Tuesday.

On Wednesday, I ventured to a local supermarket to stock up on snacks and lunch foods. The good news: everything’s cheap. The bad news: I could not find pretzels, mustard, hummus, Chex mix, or coffee creamer. Yikesss!! I am having a great time here, but I’m still adjusting to the newness of it all (Another setback is that I don’t have access to many American websites, such as Pandora, Hulu, and Sidereel). I’m not complaining; so far I’m happy here. It’s just something I hadn’t accounted for.

To compensate for my rather unsuccessful shopping trip, I decided to play the part of the tourist and see the sights of Madrid. Because I had spent my first few days preparing for the next few months and settling in, I still hadn’t seen many of Madrid’s more famed buildings. I chose to start with a visit to the Prado, considered by many to be second only to the Louvre. On the way there, walking amidst the tightly-packed, even claustrophobic streets, suddenly I came upon the Plaza del Colon and-BAM! This greeted me.

Just your average obelisk of Christopher Columbus.

Continuing onwards,to La Plaza de la Cibeles, I saw this, La Ayuntamiento de Madrid:

Beautiful, no?

Arriving at the Prado, I saw a huge line wrapping around the side of the building. Because this museum is free after 6pm, many tourists, myself included, wait until then to enter. Luckily, however, the line move quietly, I was inside by 6:05, and I immediately dashed to the Goya rooms. I saw “Saturn Devouring His Sons”, and “Los Fusilamientos del 3 de Mayo” and it was incredible. Art buff that I am, these were some of the things that I had been dying to see! Because time was limited, after I finished with Goya I swung by the El Greco wing, chanced upon Velazquez’s “Las Meniñas”, and even spent some time with Hieronymus Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights”. I definitely have plans to go back.

On Thursday, I once again played the part of a tourist. I spent the early afternoon shopping along the shops of Fuencarral, taking full advantage of the rebajas (sales) that practically every store has been offering. Afterwards, I went to the exquisite Parque del Buen Retiro, a sprawling park that occupies 350 acres of land on the East side of the city. Just take a look at the park and the surrounding monuments:

La Puerta de Alcala

La Glorieta de la Sardana

And this beautiful church, the name of which I can't find anywhere

Upon leaving the park, I trekked across the city by The Bank of Spain,

And La Plaza Mayor,

Until I reached La Catedral de la Almudena and the Moorish walls.

The Moorish Walls are the oldest establishment in all of Madrid, dating back to the 9th century. As if this weren’t enough, on my way back to the Metro, I passed by El Palacio Real:

Tours are free on Wednesdays, and I’m just itching to get inside.

For the most part, it’s been a lot of walking, a lot of learning, and a lot of adjustment. I’m definitely having a great time, but I’m not going to lie; it’s hard. Many aspects of the Spanish government and its bureaucracy are very frustrating and difficult to deal with. It’s intimidating to talk to people in Spanish, and it’s even embarrassing when I can’t understand what they’re saying. And I do miss the element of easiness and comfort that I had in Texas. Not to mention the fact that I miss my friends and family, truly all of you who are reading this blog. But it is getting easier. Every day, I’ve been accomplishing little things, exploring more and more, building up my confidence (today I applied for a fancy-schmancy government-issued transportation pass). Every day, it’s easier for me to focus on the future on all that is to come instead of all I’ve left behind. And every day, I’m more and more aware of what a blessing it is to be here.

With my love from Spain,
Krista

Today all of the international students at Comillas University had an orientation seminar at the main campus off of Alberto Alguilera. Placement tests were given, presentations were made, and there was even a coffee and breakfast break, where tiny little donuts and chocolate pastries were served. It was delightful. Until, that is, the coordinators announced where individual meetings with each college’s advisor would be held. Business was to meet in the basement, engineers on the second floor, social work and theology on the second floor, and social sciences (including international relations and psychology) was to meet… at the other campus. Now, it’s not like this other campus is a bus ride way. Instead its located in a Northern suburb of Madrid, in the mountains, a good 45 minutes away.

And so, without any further directions, and without any clear understanding of the metro system, I enlisted the help five other students (also Americans, quite nice) from the same school and we tried to make our way to the Cantoblanco campus. It started off well enough; we were able to orient ourselves in the city, find the nearest metro, and even get on the proper line. But a little known secret is that you cannot ride the metro all the way to Cantoblanco. You need to leave the metro while you’re still within city limits and hop on a train. Without this knowledge, my newfound friends and myself found ourselves lost in Northern Madrid, unable to speak the language and unable to interpret the confusing bus signs (at one point we tried to take a bus to the University, but ended going to the neighboring university instead). It was quite the adventure.

In the end, we missed the advisor meeting. In fact, we didn’t even make it to Comillas. We did, however, spend over three hours on public transit, as well as wasted over 10 euro on bus/metro tariffs. It was one of the most stressful and annoying days of my life, and Madrid definitely got the best of me. But rest assured, it won’t be for long! Tomorrow morning, I will again try to find Comillas so I can register for my classes. Wish me luck!

With my love from Spain,
-Krista

And So it Begins!

As of now, I’ve spent two days in Madrid. A lot’s been going on, but I’ll try to relay it all.
Alright. Here goes.

So I made it to Madrid (hallelujah). Getting here was quite the emotional struggle; the day of my flight, I couldn’t get over the sensation of leaving to appreciate all that I was about to encounter. Because the next five months was a huge, gaping black hole of not-knowing, it was still difficult to adopt a sense of adventure. But I made it through the flight, got out of the airport alive, and even managed to take a taxi to my new home without much trouble. And all of this with my 75 pound suitcase, mind you.

Upon entering the apartment, my host Mom, Paloma Herranz, greeted me with a peck on each cheek. She then showed me the apartment in a flurry of Spanish, graciously rephrasing and repeating herself whenever I looked confused. I’m the 15th exchange student that she’s hosted, so she’s a bit of a pro at communicating through gestures and basic Spanish. When I told her I wanted to see the city, she played the part of my Mom well, refusing to take me out until after I had some sleep. After a couple hours of unpacking and taking una siesta the two of us set off on the streets of Madrid.

The city is very different from how I had imagined it to be. While there are old, esteemed parts of town, most of the city is very modern, with streets covered in concrete and facades covered in advertisements. It is very much llike any metropolitan city in the US in that sense. Just as I was beginning to feel back in the states, however, I’d come across a medieval relief on the side of a building, or a obelisk with a giant, Romantic statue on top, or a fountain and be shocked back into awareness. In the three hour walk I took that first day, I saw most of the highlights of Madrid, including la Plaza del Sol, La Gran Villa (the Times Square of Madrid), and el Mercado de San Miguel (where I sampled an excellent… tapa-like thing). All the while, Paloma spoke Spanish, telling me which stores to go to, which cervecias have the cheapest beer, which buildings were the most famous in Madrid. While I really wanted to take some pictures for this blog, to document the experience, I did NOT want to look like a tourist. Pictures to come when I can get around without a map!

After we had worn ourselves out, we stopped by a Churreria y Chocolateria where we had (if you hadn’t already guessed it) freshly made churros and cups of liquid chocolate. Not a joke: this was THE BEST thing ever.

The rest of my evening was pretty dull, spent only watching Spanish television and trying to sleep off my jetlag. But yesterday morning, when I finally woke up, I decided that it was the day that I would buy a cell phone. Because there are different cellular frequencies used in the United States and Europe, my American phone has been of little more use than a paperweight since I arrived. But let me tell you, going to the phone store was quite the ordeal. Although I had researched my various options, hoping to get both a local and international calling plan, I could not understand a word that the sales person said to me. Speaking to Paloma the previous day hadn’t done much to prepare me for the rapid-fire Spanish spoken on the street. But I was able to communicate that I wanted something cheap and without a contract, so the Orange representative hooked me up with this tiny, blue flip-phone (remember flip-phones? So jank). I’m still trying to figure out what I can do with it, but if I can text internationally I’ll let you know.

After I spent a few hours fiddling with this new technology, I actually set out for a church service. It’s common knowledge that Spain is overrun with Roman-Catholics and atheists; worship, particularly non-Catholic worship is hard to come by. So when a friend of a friend, whom I had been wanting to meet, offered to get together at Oasis Madrid Community Church, I jumped at the opportunity. The church turned out to be adjacent from La Plaza del Sol, in a tiny room over a McDonalds. Only around 40 Americans, Brits, and English-speaking Madrilène showed up, but it was a delightfully intimate experience. I felt incredibly at home and at peace. During the message, the leader opened the windows, and through them I could hear the songs of street musicians. And after the service, I talked to and made friends with another girl from Texas, one from South England, and one from Madrid itself. Having met a few people in the city was such a blessing.

Afterwards, I left and walked back to my apartment through the overwhelmingly large throngs of people, getting incredibly lost in the process. Even so, I made it back in time to share dinner with Paloma. My evening was tame, spent conversing with her, skyping, and researching my travel destinations.

I’ll admit, it hasn’t been the craziest couple of days. But it’s been enjoyable, and far more comforting than I was expecting. On Monday, I will be attending numerous info sessions and training seminars for all of the international students at Comillas, and that’s when I’m hoping things will pick up, when I’ll be able to meet dozens of peers. But as for today, I’ll continue to take it easy, experiencing Madrid poco a poco. I’ll continue to lay a foundation for myself in this new city. I’ll continue to practice Spanish with Paloma, learning and absorbing as much as I can. And I’ll continue to explore.

With my love from Spain,
Krista

The Time Has Come…

9 hours. That’s how long it’s going to take tomorrow for me to get from Dallas to Madrid. 9 hours of sitting. 9 hours of reading. 9 hours of Sudoku puzzles. 9 hours waiting in anticipation for my next five months to begin.

After spending tonight packing and tying up all lose ends, I find myself worried more about that 9-hour plane ride than the rest of the journey. Because it all really begins with that plane ride, and that’s when the idea of living abroad will change from a surreal idea to my actual life.

To be honest, I’m more anxious than excited at this point. There’s a lot I need to take care of before I leave. Even after I arrive in Madrid, I’ll have to go through customs and then get a cab to my host Mom’s house (Yikes!) and move in. And that’s only the beginning of my multi-week adjustment period, in which I’ll have to get used to the language, to being by myself, to the city. Even though I will switch over from worrying about the future to conquering the tasks at hand (the way I like it), that adjustment period will be rough. And it all begins with that plane ride tomorrow at 5:45pm.

In the midst of this anticipation, the only thing keeping me sane is the simple verse of John 14:27-Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. Such wise words to remember. Such a comfort that God will still be with me overseas, and that through him, I can do all this junk.

The next you hear from me, I’ll be in Madrid.
-Krista

The Backstory

Howdy hey! , I’m just your typical college student who’s choosing to leave behind friends, family, and familiarity to live in Madrid, Spain for a semester. While I’ve known I’ve wanted to go abroad for a couple years, only in the past few months have I made this dream a reality. I filled out the apps (bleh) and applied for scholarships (double bleh). I got my visa. I got a really large suitcase. I had meeting after meeting with my advisors to make sure that I’ll receive class credit, that I’ll have a place to live, that I won’t get robbed by gypsies.

Don’t be fooled though- I’m no where near prepared. Besides the fact that I don’t speak all that much Spanish (6 years of language-learning still haven’t left me confident), I won’t know ANYONE once I’m there. I’m not doing one of those fancy, affiliated programs with a bunch of other American-students; once the plane sets off I’m on my own.

Yes, it’s terrifying. Yes, it’s absolutely sucked saying goodbye to everyone in my life. Yet at the same time, Spain excites me more than anything in my life ever has. I cannot wait to be surrounded by history and art, to be constantly challenged, to be so completely independent. I cannot wait to have only God as a companion and the chance to admire His work and His beauty. I cannot wait until January 19th, when I fly from DFW International Airport to El Aeropuerto de Madrid.

So I invite you, whomever you may be, to buckle up and come with me. In creating this blog, I simply want to share my stories and misadventures, as well as to document the Spanish culture. Maybe it’ll be interesting, maybe it won’t be (I can almost guarantee that the next two weeks, before I actually get to Madrid, definitely WON’T be). But it’ll be my life.