A Day of Class Pt. 1

       Last night I was able to video chat with my mother and sister for the first time since reaching Spain. It was nice to be able to show them my apartment and talk for a moment even though we are roughly 4,500 miles apart. I still had yet to complete my reading assignment for class, but it was nearly 1 AM when I ended the video chat. So, I decided that I would finish the remainder in the morning before class at my program's study center.
       When I awoke this morning, I got ready and headed out by myself before 8. Throughout the last few days, I have familiarized myself with the barrio (neighborhood) that my apartment is located in and I walked with confidence towards the Metro station, La Latina. I greeted a few strangers on the way with a simple buenas dias (good morning) and they would respond in a similar manner. Even though these encounters were short-lived, the confidence in my Spanish speaking abilities bloomed as I continued to walk down la calle (the street) towards the Metro. Despite the simplicity of a statement like buenas dias, it was a confirming feeling knowing that the words that I had just spoken actually made sense to the person I was speaking to. For there have been far too many instances in which that hasn't been the case.
      When I arrived at the study center, I realized that it wasn't going to be open until 9 and that I had to read a whole chapter before we were supposed to meet at the study center for class at 930. I continued down the street until I came across a coffee shop that had tables that I could sit and read at. I purchased a cafe con leche (coffee with milk) for 1.50 euro and sat down to knock out the reading.

      For those of you that know me well, I'm sure the following won't come as much of a surprise. I felt quite energetic after the first coffee, but decided that I would get another so that I could power through the last few pages of my assignment. Boy was that a mistake. It was like I was Flubber from that old Robin Williams movie in that I felt like I was bouncing off the walls due to the caffeine. However, despite this feeling, I still managed to finish my assignment in time for class. 

       During class today, we headed to el Museo Arqueologico Nacional (the Spanish National Archaeological Museum). We walked as a group from the study center, because it wasn't too far away. On the way to the museum, we passed one of Madrid's most picturesque monuments. I'm not the slightest bit embarrassed of looking like a tourist, so I had my friend Bruno snap this photo of me.

       Within our class reading, we reviewed early inhabitants of the Iberian peninsula, or what is now more commonly known as Spain and Portugal. At the archaeological museum, we were able to see everything from ancient statues to incredibly intricate mosaics. It was a great learning experience and allowed me to really get a sense of Spain's early inhabitants and the lives that they lived thousands of years ago.

       After the museum, we had a short lecture back at the study center and then we were free to go about our day. The weather has been fantastic everyday so far with sunny and cloudless, blue skies and temperatures in the upper 80's. I couldn't ask for much more.

Thanks for reading,

       RCE