Week 2!

Between classes, trips (cathedrals, and monasteries, and temples, oh my!), and continuing to discover Madrid, so much has happened in past 9 days since I’ve written. I hope you're comfy, because this is a long entry- and if not, then just enjoy the pretty pictures. 

My classes have started, but aren’t yet in full swing—everything is progressing at a fairly leisurely pace. All of my classes are with AU students, at a international language institute called Mosaic. Right now I’m enrolled in a Spanish politics and history seminar and a Spanish women’s studies class, and will also be beginning an internship (though the internship and its starting date has yet to be decided—while Latin America and Spain have ample differences, the unhurried lifestyle is not one of them), and am hoping to also add a public speaking class. My schedule is fairly empty right now, and I've got a lot of free time in the morning (not that I'm complaining about having time to sleep in...), but I can't wait to get my internship!

My women’s studies class is taught by a woman named Julia who I estimate to be in her 60s, who speaks absolutely no English, yet is extremely accommodating. While I’m expecting to improve my Spanish by learning entirely in that language, the grades in the class are based entirely on content, rather than correct grammar or sentence structure. We went to see the movie Suffragette yesterday, which I loved. For those that are unfamiliar with the movie, it tells the story of the suffrage movement in England, something that I learned was especially notable, as there has never been a major motion picture made regarding European suffrage movements. I was particularly struck by how applicable the movie was today. Women are depicted rioting, to bring attention to their fight, because only “deeds, not words” will create results. This mantra encompassed how the women felt they had to go to extreme measures to get politicians and the press to acknowledge their fight, and I couldn’t help but compare it to the relatively recent riots in Baltimore and Ferguson. There are, of course, a number of differences, but it was impossible not to see the similarities, and how over time, so much can stay the same.

My Spain Seminar class is dedicated to learning about the history, politics, and geography of Spain—kind of like a general social studies class. So far, we have talked about the political parties of Spain, gone over the geography of the country, and discussed the role of the monarchy. For next week’s class, each student was assigned to research a certain autonomous region, and I will be looking of Galicia, which is where my host parents are originally from. The director of the AU Madrid program, the charismatic Paco, teaches the class. Paco, whose main area of focus is art history, is so excited about the class material and his enthusiasm is infectious. The class is primarily in Spanish, but sometimes he’ll give half a sentence here and there in English.

On Friday the 8^th, the entire group headed to Toledo, a beautiful town packed with history, about an hour outside of the city. Our tour there was based on its nickname as the “City of Three Cultures”. Toledo has a rich history of both Muslim, Jewish, and Catholic communities, and during our time there, we saw a synogogue (Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca), monastery (San-Juan de los Reyes,) church (Santo Tomé Church) and cathedral (Cathedral de Toledo), and learned about a mosque. It was astonishing to learn about how the religions, architecture, and overall culture melded into the incredible history of Toledo. While I loved learning about the city’s history, seeing the ornate architecture, and wandering around the cobblestone streets, my favorite part of the trip came at the end, and did not involve any of the former. While staring off at the beautiful view with a couple friends, we saw a young couple rise up from the steep drop on the other side of the fence, and scramble over. Responding to our curious looks, one of them pointed to a wall that we could jump over, to walk out onto a cliff. Would anybody reading this really be surprised to hear that I followed his directions and hopped the fence at a UNESCO World Heritage Site? Climbing out to the protruding cliff was exhilarating and absolutely beautiful. I climbed out probably further than I should’ve (sorry, Mom), and when I realized how incredible the view was, I was so stunned I nearly fell off the edge (don’t worry, I’m still here)! I felt like I was on top of the world!

The following weekend (the 15^th and 16^th) we traded our busy city life, for some nature, and traveled north to Rascafría. Rascafría is a cold and mountainous municipality, and while it had a small and quaint town, the biggest draw to the area is a monastery that we stayed right down the road from. After settling in at the hostel where we were staying, we walked up to El Monasterio del Paular and got a tour from a monk. As we walked through the monastery and cloisters, my mouth was probably open the entire time- it was so gorgeous! It was nearly overwhelming how much history and art was right in front of me, but the monk gave a great tour, explaining the significance of everything. After the tour, we had some free time and were able to walk to the town, which although fairly simple, was very charming. One of my favorite moments of the trip was joining a pair of 10 and 11-year boys in their soccer game. While my actual participation the game was limited, I cheered them on from the sidelines, while fielding the constant spurt of questions they were firing at me. A highlight included when the 11 year old found out my name was Raquel- his jaw dropped and he dramatically exclaimed “madre mía!”, before explaining to me that his teacher’s name was also Raquel, and apparently looked like me.

 
 
 
 

Some notable personal excursions this week included going to a Spanish nightclub for the first time, and celebrating a birthday. Spaniards take their nightlife very seriously, and after a week in Spain, I felt like I should see what all the hype was about. The remarkable thing about Spanish nightlife is the timeline, which honestly, shouldn't be that surprising. Everything in Spain is later- lunch is at 2, dinner is at 9 (though that's on the early side), which makes the nightlife late. I met some friends at a bar around 11, and at about 1 am we headed over to the club. At 1, this place was...pretty empty. So we waited, and danced, and waited some more, and by 3, it started to get packed. The metro shuts down at 1:30, which one might be confused by and ask "if the nightlife goes so late, why does the metro shut down so early?" And the answer is because Madrileños don't need to use the metro during that time- they party until 6 or 7 am, when it starts back up again. (When I told my host parents that closing time in Washington D.C. is 2 or 3 am, they didn't laugh, rather they were just plain confused). I attempted to party the Madrileño way (partly because I wanted to see if I could do it, partly because I didn't want to pay for a taxi), but I ultimately succumbed to my sleepiness. All in all though, it was a successful night. I didn't get anything stolen, danced a lot, saw a saxophonist, and didn't get trampled when a fight broke out in front of me- wahoo! 

My friend’s birthday was on Monday, and on Sunday she invited me to her homestay, where her host mom prepared a delicious lunch. We were encouraged to feast on feast of lasagna, salad, wine, and (of course) jamón, not to mention cake! I loved meeting another host mom, and learning about her life. Now in her seventies, she told stories about her travels as a young woman through South America, India, and Europe. With such good food and good conversation, it was a lovely afternoon.

In the mean time, I’m trying to plan some of my other travels! With the program, I’m going to Andalusia, Cataluña, Portugal, and Northern Spain, but I’m also trying to fit in some weekend and spring break trips. Right now I’m thinking about Budapest, Prague, Geneva, and Morocco, but I have a feeling those will be subject to change! I’m also trying to figure out my post-semester plan. I’m planning on going east, and then working my way back west by volunteering at hostels in for 4 weeks at a time, with some additional traveling in between. Whatever I decide to do, I’ve got to decide quickly because those flight prices are rising!