Fathers,
So far our trip has consisted of trips to castles, rail trips to barcelona, and much much more. Even more is yet to come, but none of it would happen without you. We both have had a great time and we look forward to adventures ahead. The summer has been great and as I see our spending accounts dwindle, I want you to remember how much your sons thank you and are aware of the great sacrifices that made this trip possible. (and if you feel so obliged as to throw in a few more bucks, all the power to you....) We are some of the luckiest kids around to have these chances and we hope to take advantage of them.....and of course to utilize our course material to our own greater knowledge. So as we rail back to Madrid today to finish out your course...we promise to attempt to deliver the most suprising fathers day present ever....to pass the course.
Thank you again and we hope you have a great day back home,
Happy Fathers Day,
DJ Slay & John Oregon
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Granada to Barcelona
Our theme of incredible experiences doesn’t seem to end. We spent Monday and most of Tuesday in Granada which was full of experiences we almost could not believe. Our general consensus is that Granada was our best trip yet. Located in the south of Spain, Muslim culture still has a prominent influence on the city. We visited the Royal Chapel which is the burial place of the Catholic monarchs Isabelle and Ferdinand which was only built after the Christians regained control of Spain in 1492. We spent a solid hour and a half in a Moorish bath house which was a great way to recover from the hectic week and prepare us for the days and nights to follow. After the bath house we went to a small bar and watched the US play Italy in Confederation Cup soccer in south africa. The US blew a 1-0 lead to lose 3-1 to the defending world champions.
Later that night, Albert and some of the other boys from the trip experienced the distinct muslim culture by spending some good time in a rather authentic and "decked out" hookah bar.
A dark den with lavish couches and ritual music, we ordered different teas to go with our hookah and it seemed to be right up Albert's alley.
The final and perfect cap to the trip was a long tour of the Alhambra. Everybody in the class says that single tour was hands down the best class we have had yet. We simply cannot put into words so look it up and you’ll get a taste of what we walked through. The gardens or “carmens” throughout the entire city were spectacular but the architecture of the Alhambra combined with its gardens were almost too much to handle.
Wednesday we took our second and final trip to the Prado. We studied the famous Spanish artist Goya from the Baroque era which is considered the golden age of Spanish art. We’re all pretty much fans, but it is difficult to beat Velazquez.
Today we visited the Reina Sofia Museum for the first time. Our teacher spent time explaining the combination of classic and modern architecture the two buildings that make up the museum. We also spent a little time as cubist artists ourselves before entering the museum. The topic of the day was the great Picasso who according to our teacher is undoubtedly the most influential and important artist of the 20th century. We went chronologically through his works which was a difficult task because the museum was recently reorganized so that paintings are not grouped by artist but by topic. Guernica was the highlight of the trip and spectacular to stand in front of. One of Picasso's most famous works, it is the gem of the Sophia's collection and definitely a beauty to witness.
*Sorry its been a while since postings, but lackluster internet combined with intense studying made it difficult to post often. I will post pictures as soon as I can because they take quite a long time to load. Thanks for the patience
We hustled back to the residence to grab our luggage for this weekend and barely made a train to Barcelona where we have only experienced more hassle so far. We met the nicest cab driver in the world, who played english techno music, talked soccer, and played more techno music......but then he turned out to be a crook after he dropped us and two classmates off twenty minutes away from our hotel after a 30 euro ride. After finally arriving at the hotel, our feelings of relief were almost immediately destroyed after we were informed that we had to book another room for the weekend because of the number of people in our group.
The good news is that we have made it, and there is no doubt we will have an incredible time this weekend although it might be slightly more expensive than we expected or were informed. Tomorrow we plan on getting up at a reasonable hour to make the most of our short time here. Hopefully we will mix in time at the beach with visits to museums such as the Picasso museum.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
June 11-13
A lot has happened since our last post so we'll tackle each day one at a time.
Thursday was the highly anticipated trip to Toledo. It did not disappoint. The city was beautifully decorated for Corpus Christi, a very important Spanish holiday. We wandered through the narrow, and sometimes steep, streets of the city and visited various landmarks. We began with the Synagogue of Mary the White which may sound contradictory, but its history provides an explanation. Toledo has been conquered by several civilizations although it is a defensive town, and when the Moors conquered it, they tolerated other religions. The Moors' tolerance allowed Islam, Christianity, and Judaism to flourish side by side in the city. The building began as a synagogue, but when the Christians reclaimed the city, they did not have any tolerance for other religions so the synagogue along with other non-Christian holy sites were converted to churches. The styles of all three religions can be noticed in the building, and at times seem awkward together. We finished at the Cathedral of Toledo. The cathedral is a spectacular site and houses ornate carvings, paintings, and stone work. Simply put, it was gorgeous.
We took our first trip to Museo del Prado Friday. We had a little trouble finding it somehow, but it also met expectations once we arrived. We only spent an hour and a half there and covered four important Spanish artists. We began with Ribera, moved to Murillo, then Zurbaran, and finished with Velazquez. All fall under the Baroque genre although Velazquez cannot be fully categorized. According to one of his contemporaries, he was "the painter of all painters." His most notable works included his Crucifixion and Las Meninas. Many Spanish artists attempted a crucifixion painting, but Velazquez' is considered by many experts to be the best or most beautiful.
Today (yes, Saturday), we took a trip to Segovia which we were both unfamiliar with before the visit. The entrance to the city was marked by an ancient aqueduct we quickly discovered dates to the first century. It was an unbelievable experience to stand next to a 2,000 year old construction. Next we moved to the Segovia Cathedral. While it was not as spectacular or ornate as the Toledo Cathedral, it was still very impressive. In fact, John liked it more than the Toledo Cathedral. We finished with a visit to the alcazar of Segovia. Alcazar is an arabic word for castilla which means castle in Spanish. After touring all the rooms of the castle, we climbed to the top tower where we were provided an outstanding view of the surrounding landscape and skyline of Segovia. It was probably the best part of the day.
Next up we are planning on attending a famous flea market in the heart of Madrid after a long Saturday night. Monday and Tuesday we will be in Grenada which again should be incredible.
Thursday was the highly anticipated trip to Toledo. It did not disappoint. The city was beautifully decorated for Corpus Christi, a very important Spanish holiday. We wandered through the narrow, and sometimes steep, streets of the city and visited various landmarks. We began with the Synagogue of Mary the White which may sound contradictory, but its history provides an explanation. Toledo has been conquered by several civilizations although it is a defensive town, and when the Moors conquered it, they tolerated other religions. The Moors' tolerance allowed Islam, Christianity, and Judaism to flourish side by side in the city. The building began as a synagogue, but when the Christians reclaimed the city, they did not have any tolerance for other religions so the synagogue along with other non-Christian holy sites were converted to churches. The styles of all three religions can be noticed in the building, and at times seem awkward together. We finished at the Cathedral of Toledo. The cathedral is a spectacular site and houses ornate carvings, paintings, and stone work. Simply put, it was gorgeous.
We took our first trip to Museo del Prado Friday. We had a little trouble finding it somehow, but it also met expectations once we arrived. We only spent an hour and a half there and covered four important Spanish artists. We began with Ribera, moved to Murillo, then Zurbaran, and finished with Velazquez. All fall under the Baroque genre although Velazquez cannot be fully categorized. According to one of his contemporaries, he was "the painter of all painters." His most notable works included his Crucifixion and Las Meninas. Many Spanish artists attempted a crucifixion painting, but Velazquez' is considered by many experts to be the best or most beautiful.
Today (yes, Saturday), we took a trip to Segovia which we were both unfamiliar with before the visit. The entrance to the city was marked by an ancient aqueduct we quickly discovered dates to the first century. It was an unbelievable experience to stand next to a 2,000 year old construction. Next we moved to the Segovia Cathedral. While it was not as spectacular or ornate as the Toledo Cathedral, it was still very impressive. In fact, John liked it more than the Toledo Cathedral. We finished with a visit to the alcazar of Segovia. Alcazar is an arabic word for castilla which means castle in Spanish. After touring all the rooms of the castle, we climbed to the top tower where we were provided an outstanding view of the surrounding landscape and skyline of Segovia. It was probably the best part of the day.
Next up we are planning on attending a famous flea market in the heart of Madrid after a long Saturday night. Monday and Tuesday we will be in Grenada which again should be incredible.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The strange, the absurd, the bizzare, the awesome.
It's been great to study, socialize, and tour all of Madrid but in only a few days we've encountered quite a few strange yet hilarious aspects that we thought would be appropriate for their own posts.
Albert was stunned when he first saw this billboard campaign across Madrid which portrayed one of his favorite television characters. An advertisement for Schweppes tonic which reads "Here. Now." we saw an energetic Hugh Laurie from Fox's House. Apparently Laurie's work has come to grand popularity in Madrid and it prompted this campaign.
In case you are not sure, this reads "Museum of Ham." There are a few of these across Madrid we later found out but it is still amazing how much natives love the meal. Ham can be found in almost any food including potato chips. To prove that we are at least learning a few tidbits of knowledge, the reason spaniards adopted ham as a popular food was to be a subtle attack against the islamic and jewish nations, both of which do not accept the meal. After centuries of war and oppression, the spanish catholic nation wished to shed the remains of arabic and jewish culture from the country.
In case that last description was long and boring....this is just a bull we found. We actually are going to a bull fight this week to see a long historic part of spanish culture.
All the police, maintenance, and cleaning forces in the city wear this uniform which from head to toe resembles the outfit for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles....amazing
One of the other students on the trip, wearing his "Sun's out, Guns out" t-shirt to Corpus Christi in Toledo, Spain. We got a guard carrying a very large rifle with a bayonet to pose although he didnt understand how the shirt connected to the picture.
And here it is, Albert's gripe of the day:
Spanish power Real Madrid completed the second of their 3 big summer signings which includes Brazilian midfielder Kaka (92 million dollars), Manchester United winger Christiano ronaldo (Record 131 million dollars), and most likely Valencia striker David Villa (estimated 27million). With these huge signings, Madrid most certainly seems a force in an economy that has forced so many teams to sell their most talented players. Hopefully, FC Barcelona can battle the star studded Real squad next year.
Albert was stunned when he first saw this billboard campaign across Madrid which portrayed one of his favorite television characters. An advertisement for Schweppes tonic which reads "Here. Now." we saw an energetic Hugh Laurie from Fox's House. Apparently Laurie's work has come to grand popularity in Madrid and it prompted this campaign.
In case you are not sure, this reads "Museum of Ham." There are a few of these across Madrid we later found out but it is still amazing how much natives love the meal. Ham can be found in almost any food including potato chips. To prove that we are at least learning a few tidbits of knowledge, the reason spaniards adopted ham as a popular food was to be a subtle attack against the islamic and jewish nations, both of which do not accept the meal. After centuries of war and oppression, the spanish catholic nation wished to shed the remains of arabic and jewish culture from the country.
In case that last description was long and boring....this is just a bull we found. We actually are going to a bull fight this week to see a long historic part of spanish culture.
All the police, maintenance, and cleaning forces in the city wear this uniform which from head to toe resembles the outfit for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles....amazing
One of the other students on the trip, wearing his "Sun's out, Guns out" t-shirt to Corpus Christi in Toledo, Spain. We got a guard carrying a very large rifle with a bayonet to pose although he didnt understand how the shirt connected to the picture.And here it is, Albert's gripe of the day:
Spanish power Real Madrid completed the second of their 3 big summer signings which includes Brazilian midfielder Kaka (92 million dollars), Manchester United winger Christiano ronaldo (Record 131 million dollars), and most likely Valencia striker David Villa (estimated 27million). With these huge signings, Madrid most certainly seems a force in an economy that has forced so many teams to sell their most talented players. Hopefully, FC Barcelona can battle the star studded Real squad next year.
June 10
June 10: Bus rides, rambling streets, and more
Just one of the many spanish flags we saw during our double-decker bus trip
Just one of the many spanish flags we saw during our double-decker bus trip Today marks the end of our classes on theoretical knowledge of Spanish art history. A total of eight hours was spent in the past three days solely dedicated to learning about eight centuries of Spanish history and the art that accompanied it. Ask us anything about Moorish mosaics, the significance and difference between various arch styles, flying buttresses, iconoclasm, or the Renaissance in Spain along with a number of other related topics, and we will be able to tell you anything you want to know. While class has been fairly fun because of the group of people involved, we are both pretty relieved to be done with this portion of the program. Classes could be a little rough as they lasted for three straight hours yesterday and today.
The end of our theoretical classes today means the beginning of the more hands-on learning tomorrow. We will also begin to learn about more modern art history beginning Friday. The class is taking a day trip to Toledo tomorrow to visit the Cathedral of Toledo and spectate part of the Corpus Christi celebration in the town. The trip promises to display some beautiful architecture and offer some cultural exposure. Friday we are taking our first of two trips to The Prado Museum which also promises to be an incredible experience. We'll report back later on both trips.
Speaking of cultural exposure, we both feel that our Spanish skills have improved dramatically only in the few days that we have been here. At the beginning of the trip, we both recognized the importance of actively trying to improve this skill while we are here. While most people would not expect that bar hopping would have any intellectual benefits, we have found that it is the best way to work on speaking Spanish. Bars are full of people who love to talk and meet new people. Bars in Madrid are full of native Spanish speakers who love both of these things as well. Could there be a better place to learn how to speak Spanish? Our skills improved especially yesterday, and that is most likely due to the fact that we went out with some new friends in our residencia who are from Granada and taking some classes in Madrid. We made new friends and learned a valuable skill...what a night. Don't get the wrong idea here though, we work on our communication skills in other situations as well. Communicating with our landlady has been difficult at time, but it gets easier with each encounter.
In the late afternoon both BC classes took a double-decker bus tour ride throughout the city. Hopefully pictures will come soon. They will be from a limited selection however because Albert's camera was low on battery, and John cannot put pictures from his camera on Albert's computer. Everybody enjoyed seeing the whole city finally and getting a better idea for its size and style. Highlights included the Royal Palace and scenic Retiro Park, both of which are located close to our residencia.
Famed Real Madrid Football's Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
How the heck do you get that up there?'
Main Square
I've seen better
A view from the Afternoon
Famed Real Madrid Football's Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
How the heck do you get that up there?'
Main Square
I've seen better
A view from the AfternoonAfter a tiring first few days, we are packing it in for our first quiet night in anticipation for tomorrow's trip.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The beginnings...
June 8/9:
The Siesta went about as well as could be expected. It was great at the time, but waking up was harsh especially because it was the sound of hard-falling rain that woke us. We're probably still feeling a little bit of jetlag. No need to worry however as "la copa de bienvenida" solved our problems. We met at our learning center and took a short walk around the corner to a local bar that served excellent sangria. There we met people from the other BC program, Virginia Tech, University of New Hampshire, and other foreign countries. A good time was had by all.
After a few rounds at the welcoming program, about 15 BC students and ourselves decided to grab some dinner at a tapas restaurant. We hopped on the Metro and got off in hopes that we would quickly find the type of establishment we were looking for. Although tapas are said to be "everywhere" here, the group really struggled to find a venue large enough to accommodate us. Eventually we found a restaurant that John thinks highly of and Albert does not like at all although he admits the food was good. Highlights of the restaurant included an ever agitated waiter, some good bread, some delicious croquettes, and some mashed-potato paste that was not a hit.
After sangria and some drinks at dinner, we all decided it would be a good idea to go out on the town for a little longer. Some members of the group had attended a local bar called "Nike Bar," and John had heard of it also so the whole group decided this would be an appropriate spot to start the night off from. Little did we know at the time that Nike Bar was located in a part of Madrid with a prominent gay population. Many happy couples and bar-hoppers looked oddly at our group of loud Americans in the area, but no problems arose however, and everybody had a great time. Everybody ordered more sangria, but John and Albert broke the trend by ordering "calimocho," a drink suggested by John that consists of cheap red wine and coca-cola which instantly became a hit although John's father never believed that anybody in the world would drink such a concoction.
We did run into a slight problem: on our way to the next bar/ dance club, which we left shortly after arriving, a Spaniard threw an empty alcohol bottle in the direction of our group as we were posing for a picture. Our best theory is that he wanted us to know he was annoyed with all of us, but we're sure he did not intend any harm, although Albert thinks differently. Some girls in the group said they had a similar experience the previous night. However, while no drinking took place at our second stop, it instead hosted a multicultural dance session consisting of spanish pop, Britney Spears' Toxic, I Kissed a Girl by Katy Perry (which possibly rang true for many club goers in the area) and Shakira. We left the bar and avoided more confrontation with the men outside the bar.
Although it seems like this blog is centered entirely upon our drinking experiences, we'd like to let our readers know that we were assigned a small amount of homework today in class, and we worked diligently today on completing it. While we are having an incredible time with new friends in the exciting city of Madrid, we still realize we are here for a class, and that is our first priority always. We simply think that we will effectively be able to balance our work with the infamous Madrid nightlife.
The Siesta went about as well as could be expected. It was great at the time, but waking up was harsh especially because it was the sound of hard-falling rain that woke us. We're probably still feeling a little bit of jetlag. No need to worry however as "la copa de bienvenida" solved our problems. We met at our learning center and took a short walk around the corner to a local bar that served excellent sangria. There we met people from the other BC program, Virginia Tech, University of New Hampshire, and other foreign countries. A good time was had by all.
After a few rounds at the welcoming program, about 15 BC students and ourselves decided to grab some dinner at a tapas restaurant. We hopped on the Metro and got off in hopes that we would quickly find the type of establishment we were looking for. Although tapas are said to be "everywhere" here, the group really struggled to find a venue large enough to accommodate us. Eventually we found a restaurant that John thinks highly of and Albert does not like at all although he admits the food was good. Highlights of the restaurant included an ever agitated waiter, some good bread, some delicious croquettes, and some mashed-potato paste that was not a hit.
After sangria and some drinks at dinner, we all decided it would be a good idea to go out on the town for a little longer. Some members of the group had attended a local bar called "Nike Bar," and John had heard of it also so the whole group decided this would be an appropriate spot to start the night off from. Little did we know at the time that Nike Bar was located in a part of Madrid with a prominent gay population. Many happy couples and bar-hoppers looked oddly at our group of loud Americans in the area, but no problems arose however, and everybody had a great time. Everybody ordered more sangria, but John and Albert broke the trend by ordering "calimocho," a drink suggested by John that consists of cheap red wine and coca-cola which instantly became a hit although John's father never believed that anybody in the world would drink such a concoction.
We did run into a slight problem: on our way to the next bar/ dance club, which we left shortly after arriving, a Spaniard threw an empty alcohol bottle in the direction of our group as we were posing for a picture. Our best theory is that he wanted us to know he was annoyed with all of us, but we're sure he did not intend any harm, although Albert thinks differently. Some girls in the group said they had a similar experience the previous night. However, while no drinking took place at our second stop, it instead hosted a multicultural dance session consisting of spanish pop, Britney Spears' Toxic, I Kissed a Girl by Katy Perry (which possibly rang true for many club goers in the area) and Shakira. We left the bar and avoided more confrontation with the men outside the bar.
Although it seems like this blog is centered entirely upon our drinking experiences, we'd like to let our readers know that we were assigned a small amount of homework today in class, and we worked diligently today on completing it. While we are having an incredible time with new friends in the exciting city of Madrid, we still realize we are here for a class, and that is our first priority always. We simply think that we will effectively be able to balance our work with the infamous Madrid nightlife.
Barajas Airport and Beyond
Welcome friends,
Having never done a blog before, we are both very thankful to simply have this opportunity. If you decide to check in every once in a while, we will be journaling our June 6-July 15 trip through back streets, museums, beaches, and everything in between of Spain, France, and Italy. The main part of this trip consists of a Boston College Summer Study Abroad Program to Madrid, Spain where we will be studying Art History in a city well known for it's artistically diverse heritage. So thanks for coming and we hope you enjoy reading...
June 7, 2009
After connecting flights and a 6 hour cross-atlantic trip, we finally arrived at Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain at a local time of about 7:30Am. We met our shuttle with a group of BC students. Weaving in and out of thin, crowded, and sketchy one-way streets we arrived at our residencia: Residencia Club Universitario Rosales on Alvarez de Mendizzabal N' 44, '4. The 5 story building located in a tight street between hookah bars and Pepe's bar seemed a strange place for our month-long stay in Madrid. Meeting our landlady,who speaks no english, we attempted to understand dining times and housekeeping policies. She then pushed us into a small elevator that seemed closer to a laundry chute that barely could fit John and I with our backpacks; possibly the strangest elevator we had ever been in. The room on the 4th floor is a small 2 person bedroom with no bathroom but an oddly placed sink and miniature shower, as well as a small balcony. After hours of rebooting and pen-throwing, we finally found a way to get internet. We are on a floor with mostly BC students in either 1 or 2 person bedrooms.
^Our random, small, yet powerful shower.
And of course the first 30 seconds after arriving Albert decided to lie on the bed only to look on his arm and see a spider crawling. John bravely dispatched the spider and saved the day although he remained a little paranoid the rest of the day that he would find a nest of spiders in the room or even worse on his bed. We unpacked our bags and prepared to leave for our first meeting with the BC program at our learning center.
Our first encounter with the Metro (subway) was interesting. Getting through the gates took more effort than it should have because one our program coordinators did not have the Metro passes for half of the boys in our residencia. After initial difficulties however, everybody decided that the Madrid Metro sets the standard for how all subway systems across the world should be. We have never seen a cleaner or more efficient rail system.
After an initial greeting at our learning center with both programs (about 40 kids and two teachers along with some spring semester students still here), we walked through the "Borbons" (I hope that's right) of Madrid on our way to a paella restaurant. It was a very nice walk that included El Parque and El Prado.
The paella was as delicious as it was bizarre. Dinner began around 9, and the restaurant was deserted not because it was so late but because it was earlier than most Spaniards prefer to eat dinner. Six giant platters of the traditional Spanish dish were brought out to us. The various forms of the classic meal included seafood paella, chicken paella, veggie paella, chicken and veggie paella, fish paella, and "paella negra" labeled so because octopus ink colors the rice black. Although the black paella looked appetizing in no way, John tried it and said it was pretty good but not as good as the seafood paella.
We'll work on posting more pictures of the room and area later, but we've been quite busy.
After a long night of getting to know everyone at a small pub called Dubliners, we walked back to the room since the Madrid metro system closes at 1:30am. The 1:30am end of service is the one negative quality about the otherwise perfect Metro. However, Dubliners was a great time as we got to meet the other students from our trip and watch MLB baseball, soccer, and the beginning of the Lakers game at 2am because of the 9 hour time difference from the west coast. At the pub, we met a group of British rugby players who were in spain for competition, as well as a group of recently graduated BC students looking to celebrate/mourn leaving Chestnut Hill.
June 8:
Thanks to some quick and impressive knowledge of the subway system, Albert guided us to 11am class at Sampere, our learning center. (named after Alberto Sampere) At the center, a map with pins indicated cities and nations where students at the academy had studied. We both were glad to place the first pins for the cities of Cincinnati and Portland on the map. After class and a filling 2-course meal at our residence's kitchen, we settled in for a nice siesta...
Having never done a blog before, we are both very thankful to simply have this opportunity. If you decide to check in every once in a while, we will be journaling our June 6-July 15 trip through back streets, museums, beaches, and everything in between of Spain, France, and Italy. The main part of this trip consists of a Boston College Summer Study Abroad Program to Madrid, Spain where we will be studying Art History in a city well known for it's artistically diverse heritage. So thanks for coming and we hope you enjoy reading...
June 7, 2009
After connecting flights and a 6 hour cross-atlantic trip, we finally arrived at Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain at a local time of about 7:30Am. We met our shuttle with a group of BC students. Weaving in and out of thin, crowded, and sketchy one-way streets we arrived at our residencia: Residencia Club Universitario Rosales on Alvarez de Mendizzabal N' 44, '4. The 5 story building located in a tight street between hookah bars and Pepe's bar seemed a strange place for our month-long stay in Madrid. Meeting our landlady,who speaks no english, we attempted to understand dining times and housekeeping policies. She then pushed us into a small elevator that seemed closer to a laundry chute that barely could fit John and I with our backpacks; possibly the strangest elevator we had ever been in. The room on the 4th floor is a small 2 person bedroom with no bathroom but an oddly placed sink and miniature shower, as well as a small balcony. After hours of rebooting and pen-throwing, we finally found a way to get internet. We are on a floor with mostly BC students in either 1 or 2 person bedrooms.
^John working diligently on his first blog in our small spanish room
^Our random, small, yet powerful shower.And of course the first 30 seconds after arriving Albert decided to lie on the bed only to look on his arm and see a spider crawling. John bravely dispatched the spider and saved the day although he remained a little paranoid the rest of the day that he would find a nest of spiders in the room or even worse on his bed. We unpacked our bags and prepared to leave for our first meeting with the BC program at our learning center.
Our first encounter with the Metro (subway) was interesting. Getting through the gates took more effort than it should have because one our program coordinators did not have the Metro passes for half of the boys in our residencia. After initial difficulties however, everybody decided that the Madrid Metro sets the standard for how all subway systems across the world should be. We have never seen a cleaner or more efficient rail system.
After an initial greeting at our learning center with both programs (about 40 kids and two teachers along with some spring semester students still here), we walked through the "Borbons" (I hope that's right) of Madrid on our way to a paella restaurant. It was a very nice walk that included El Parque and El Prado.
The paella was as delicious as it was bizarre. Dinner began around 9, and the restaurant was deserted not because it was so late but because it was earlier than most Spaniards prefer to eat dinner. Six giant platters of the traditional Spanish dish were brought out to us. The various forms of the classic meal included seafood paella, chicken paella, veggie paella, chicken and veggie paella, fish paella, and "paella negra" labeled so because octopus ink colors the rice black. Although the black paella looked appetizing in no way, John tried it and said it was pretty good but not as good as the seafood paella.
We'll work on posting more pictures of the room and area later, but we've been quite busy.
After a long night of getting to know everyone at a small pub called Dubliners, we walked back to the room since the Madrid metro system closes at 1:30am. The 1:30am end of service is the one negative quality about the otherwise perfect Metro. However, Dubliners was a great time as we got to meet the other students from our trip and watch MLB baseball, soccer, and the beginning of the Lakers game at 2am because of the 9 hour time difference from the west coast. At the pub, we met a group of British rugby players who were in spain for competition, as well as a group of recently graduated BC students looking to celebrate/mourn leaving Chestnut Hill.
June 8:
Thanks to some quick and impressive knowledge of the subway system, Albert guided us to 11am class at Sampere, our learning center. (named after Alberto Sampere) At the center, a map with pins indicated cities and nations where students at the academy had studied. We both were glad to place the first pins for the cities of Cincinnati and Portland on the map. After class and a filling 2-course meal at our residence's kitchen, we settled in for a nice siesta...
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