The S’s of Spain

School
Day 3 into orientation week at Carlos III and I have confirmed again the fact that I am a huge nerd. And while I know I’m a huge dork, I’ve been able to fool a few people.

Today was our Copa de Bienvenida with the dean and professors for our program. Before I get into the details of the copa, let me tell you a bit about Carlos III. Its in a suburb of Madrid called Getafe. Getafe is ugly. SO ugly I’d go as far as saying it hella ugo. The university itself is rather nice. The main buildings of the small campus are old barracks and are centered on a central plaza. We have 2 cafeterias, which use the oddest ordering system ever. You go to vending machine things, which print out receipts for you. Then you take those tickets to the counter where they serve you the food you purchased from the machines. I’ve had so many cafes con leche there that I’d be able to find the button on the machine with my eyes closed. But not all students over here drink coffee in the morning. Many drink Mahou- a beer brewed here in Madrid. All the cafeterias have it on tap.

My favorite cafeteria is the smaller of the two which has outdoor tables and a grassy knoll where students hang out. The place has a very laid back feel to it and I’ve been thriving off the academic setting even though my classes have yet to start. A couple days ago I just kicked back in the plaza and read for a while.

adriana thinking academic thoughts

kickin' it west coast style

Anyway- the Copa de Bienvenida. We went to the Club de Professores where we were served lots of tapas and little sandwiches and drinks. The little sandwiches were great, especially the smoked salmon ones. I scarfed so many of those suckers down. I also downed a couple of fantas and had a couple glasses of Mahou. Because that’s just what people do here. It is completely acceptable to drink at 12 in the afternoon.

I’m pretty sure I’m going to like my classes here. The Spanish history profs seemed really cool and explained that they will tailor the class to our interests. And the more I think about it, the more I want to stay on for the extra month and take a class with non-international students. I found a class offered by the human geography department that sounds very interesting that I could probably count towards my minor.

The Spanish students here seem nice. Although I’m already getting sick of the mullets. Worse than the mullets is the PDA that is everywhere. Groping, kissing, touching, making out. Anywhere and everywhere. Our theory after talking to our 28 year-old tour guide (Antonio with an A) yesterday is that because a) all Madrillenos live with their parents b)the walls are really thin and c)most people don’t have cars they have to get as far as they can in public because they don’t have anywhere private to go. Also, the guys are just really sleazy like Michelle warned me.


Shopping
After spending a 10 day tryst with the pound I’ve pledged my allegiance to the beautiful and wonderful euro. Sure, style in London is amazing, but its so expensive. Over here, we have some of the same store and the prices are so much better. The shopping ban I imposed on myself have been temporarily lifted. I bought myself a pair of green heels at bershka, a clothing store which plays the best music. Twice I’ve wandered in because I head a familiar song coming from their pas from across the street. Then yesterday Emelia and Adriana and I took ourselves shopping for Valentine’s Day. We hit up H&M, Camper (where I bought the most awesome mary janes/ballet slipper-ish/black leather flats ever which also happen to be super comfortable), and Zara (where I bought a couple things).

Today at the copa someone told me my hair was very ‘London’ which led to discussing London fashion and my new favorite store based there, topshop (I can thank Bernadette for that one). Turns out there’s a topshop here in Madrid in Puerta del Sol which was excellent news to my ears but not my bank account. I checked it out today and its not nearly as amazing as the one in Oxford Circus and doesn’t have the full wall of tights and footless tights. But I’m just glad to have a topshop.

Sangria and Strawberries
Sangria and tapas was the best way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the girls last night after shopping. We found a super-cute tapas place by Opera that served the best sangria I’ve had over here so far. Tapas have become pretty routine in my European diet. As have strawberries dipped in melted cadbury milk bars. I had some this afternoon with Erika. It was a great snack to tide me over to dinner which is served at 10pm over here.

Siestas
I’ve yet to take one. I hear they’re great.