El Kapital

1/19/12

The Metro at Sol

Today we didn't have to be at the school at 8 in the morning yay! I got there at about 12 where we listened to the remaining presentations from the professors. Somehow the classes weren't as interesting as yesterday's, but I finally have an idea of what I want to take. Hopefully I actually get all the classes I want. After that, I took my oral exam. We were all assigned to various professors throughout the day to meet with them for 5 minutes in their office. They would ask us questions about ourselves, why we're in Spain, and what we want to do in the future. The main purpose is to evaluate our Spanish level again. I met with this one lady who was really nice, and truthfully those few sentences have been the most Spanish I've spoken since we've gotten here.

Since I arrived in Spain, I found that I have had trouble speaking. I wasn't sure if it was because I haven't really practiced for a while or if I'm just not actually good in Spanish. Then it hit me that I've been thinking in English and translating it into Spanish, which is a horrible way to do things since things don't always translate. When I spoke to the professor, I thought in Spanish and did pretty well! Too bad I didn't do that well in the written test. Turns out, I was placed in the avanzado or advanced class. Don't get too excited, it's only the 2nd level out of 4. There's intermedio, avanzado, avanzado alto, and superior. I don't care, I just want to learn. Being an English major, I do have a strange love for grammar (although mine isn't always correct). One of the problems I have with Spanish, besides being extremely nervous about conversing with Spanish speakers, is not speaking because I know I'll say it wrong. I'm trying to change that though.

Me with Angela and Nereyda

Well after school, I went with Angela and Nereyda to Sol to shop. The best stuff ended up being at H&M. It's good quality stuff, but it is a little expensive. We also went to this shoe store to get some boots, and everything was really cheap because they're liquidating or something. I ended up getting some nice boots for 6.90 Euro, which isn't bad for boots. Then we went back to our homes to eat dinner. What I love about my homestay is that Maru actually lets me into the kitchen and lets me help her cook. I had a nice little dinner, and then I rested for a bit because tonight, we were hitting the club :)

So the club has 6 floors! The first floor is the huge dance floor that plays contemporary music (a little more fun to dance to than the 80's music in Mexico, although that was fun too). It was so cool because since there are a lot of people dancing, it gets pretty hot in there. Every once in a while, they have these things that shoot out a huge jet stream of thick mist to cool everybody off. The second floor was a karaoke bar, so I felt right at home. The next floor was a smaller dance floor that played R&B music, and the 4th floor had a lot of seating where it was quieter and could talk. The 6th floor was a big room where there was a fountain, lounge chairs, and softer music so that you could just hang out, and many people smoked.

6th floor of El Kapital

In Madrid, the clubbers make people in the U.S. seem like amateurs in a way because they stay out until 6am. 6 AM! When I first heard that, I was like these people are crazy, how can they stay up for that long? Actually, it's pretty easy when you're having fun. We even met other people from our program. They were trying to speak Spanish to me, and after a while I finally said, "I speak English. I'm American too." They laughed, and we found out they were at Carlos the III too. Angela and I were dancing, and when we looked at the clock it was 5am, and we were surprised at how fast the time went by. The Metro opens again at 6, so we went outside to get away from the smoke and took the Metro home. Overall, it was a fun night.

Mis padres, if you are reading this, don't worry. This was a Thursday night, and we don't have class on Fridays. I will focus on my schoolwork lol. Also, Madrid is the capital, but it is safer than most big cities. In New York or L.A., you could get shanked, but it is safer in Madrid. Anyways. That was probably one of the craziest nights ever...but also crazy fun :)