An attempt to remember what I did/saw/ate each day here in Spain!
Monday, January 13th
- arrived at the airport, cab to the hotel
- Starbucks wifi theft
- Welcome lunch and safety presentation
- Walk through the area with Spanish students
- Free time in the hotel with friends and sangria… 🙂
Tuesday, January 14th
- Hotel breakfast, meetings about academics, living, and safety
- Met Chloe and our host mom, arrived to our apartment, ate lunch with host family
- Language placement test (icky)
- Dinner with Cristina (host mom) and her friend, who has two IES students as well, Molly and Emilia
Wednesday, January 15th
- First day of orientation class
- I have no recollection of what else we did or what we ate. Oops.
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But here’s a photo from this day! Chloe and I in front of an arch near our university
Thursday, January 16th
- Orientation class, meeting with Madrid police about safety (lots of these safety talks! which, I suppose, is better than no safety talks…)
- Guided tour through Historic Madrid–Teatro Real, Palacio Real, and lots of interesting history. Did you know that Madrid was originally built to protect Toledo from invasion from the north?
Below here is the last remaining piece of the wall that used to surround all of Madrid, like practically all cities used to have (some still do!)
Friday, January 17th
- Segovia for the day!
- Delicious lunch at Fincha El Rancho en Torrecaballeros
Segovia was beautiful…as I’ve already said. I decided on this instead of more aqueducts photos, you’re welcome.
Saturday, January 18th
- Parque del Retiro with Spanish students. A gloomy day for a walk through the park (it rained), but still cool to see!
- Chloe and I became real adults and went out for drinks and dancing at a discoteca for the first time! Lots of fun with new friends, and lots of dancing. LOTS OF DANCING, it was exhausting. And we learned that we’re not all that good at Spanish/Latin dance, even if there are very talented gentlemen leading!
El Palacio de Cristal in el Retiro. Can’t wait to go back when it’s sunny and warm out!
Sunday, January 19th
- Excursion to the Templo de Debod
- Coffee and chocolate with Emilia and Chloe in a nearby cafe. There are so many places here where you order a cup of warm, melted chocolate and churros (or other bread-type products) and dip them in the chocolate!
A group of us at the Templo de Debod
Monday, January 20th
- More fun orientation class, and an informational meeting about Universidad Complutense where I’ll be taking classes with other Spaniards!
- Delicious dinner with Chloe and Amy, another friend. Amy found a restaurant in a guidebook, and it was absolutely incredible. We ate octopus!
Amy and I at El Mollete–I felt like a true grown up with my wine. Which probably shows that I’m a child, if it excited me so much.
Tuesday, January 21st
- Orientation class, and a meeting with a Professor at both IES and at Universidad Complutense, to give us an idea of what our classes and semester will be like. Lots of differences from the US! Apparently it’s common for about 2 people in a class of 70 to get an A. Not sure if my Hermione habits will be able to deal with that, but we’ll see how it goes.
- Lunch with Molly and Emilia at a Japanese restaurant. I was surprised–Japanese food in Spain was pretty similar to in the US.
Wednesday, January 22nd
- Orientation class, meeting about diversity with a wonderful speaker! He was a journalist from the Caribbean, who has now lived in Madrid for about 30 years. Lots of cool insight into the state of Spain and it’s views on diversity from an outsider who wasn’t raised here.
- Meeting with IES advisor about what IES classes I’ll be taking at the Colegio Mayor San Agustin with other IES students
- Walk through the Universidad Complutense campus. It’s huge! And full of graffiti! And kind of reminds me of a high school in an 80’s movie. But I’m sure I’ll love it and love my classes there!
Some notable graffiti. “Zona feminista”
Thursday, January 23rd
- Second oral placement test. I guess I did well–I was placed in the second highest group, the next one above mine is for native speakers! *hair flip*
- Tour through the inside of the Palacio Real. Absolutely INCREDIBLE. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos inside, but it was incredibly gorgeous.
- Went out for tapas and drinks with a group of other IES students, and I ordered a mojito that was the size of my head. Spain is crazy.
Mojito the size of my head
Friday, January 24th
- Visited the Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid to see an exhibit on the Real Academia Española. Lots of really interesting language and linguistics info, and history of the start and evolution of the Real Academia.
- Chloe and I got a tasty (and cheap!) dinner in La Latina, a neighborhood in Madrid.
Saturday, January 25th
- Visit to the Museo del Traje today–museum of clothing and fashion as far back to the 16th century! We saw this robe that Carlos III can be seen wearing in a painting, it was so incredibly cool.
- Went out again with some friends we made last week, and ended up staying out until 6am. That kind of time is normal for when Spaniards go out at night! Insane. I don’t think I could live like that on weekends.
Sunday, January 26th
- TODAY!
- Slept till 3pm after our late night yesterday! Or should I say…early morning.
- I tripped down the stairs today and sprained my ankle pretty bad, so I’ve spent this evening with my foot elevated and iced, dreading the start of classes tomorrow….
¡Madrid! 
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