una loba

I have a wolf notebook here in Spain. I got it in a shop that we call "Chinos" because they are almost always owned by Chinese people and carry a wide variety of useless and useful oddities... Sudoku books are displayed next to wigs which are the shelf above permanent markers and nylons. It's the Spanish version of a dollar store. I purchased a blue notebook there that features several wolves, my most favorite animals, as seen on ridiculous black t-shirts with an inevitable blue and purple themed scenery in the background with a moon reflecting upon a glassy lake, and if you're lucky, the wolf is howling (not making fun of these... I happen to own one). In my wolf notebook there are directions to metro stops, the location of the few places in Madrid I can scrounge up some Dr. Pepper, and reservation numbers for tickets that I've bought for when various family comes. There's a list of things that I want to purchase at the famous street market here before I leave, El Rastro, phone numbers of friends and tutors and movie theaters. My wolf notebook essentially contains my obsessively, disgustingly organized life here in Majadahonda, Spain and flipping through it tells more than I could ever begin to explain in a blog or in person.

This week it rained almost every day. The weather was anywhere from 40 degrees to 50 degrees and they are gearing up for what they call the "Perfect Storm" because we had about 30 kph winds here. This week for school wasn't much of anything, the end of our second trimester ocurred on Thursday and I didn't even recieve a report card this time as teachers acknowledge that I'll now begin to really start travelling and taking advantage of the fact that I'm in EUROPE and want to see whatever I can in my incredibly short time left here. I can't say all my teachers are happy about this; having gotten decent grades on their tests, they want me to proceed with the same amount of diligence and intensity, but quite frankly, I already did my senior year of high school one time around, I'm not looking to sign up for another one.

It was on the bus into Madrid the other day that I was listening to Shakira's "She Wolf". Here in Spain that song is called "Una Loba" (which literally means female wolf) and it was originally recorded in Spanish so I prefer the Spanish version. Judge me if you will for listening to Shakira, I love her, haha. Anyways, I realized that I was singing along easily and efficiently with the song, completely understanding what I was saying, grasping the concept and the details without measured and intended thought. As simple and small as this seems, what it meant to me is that my understanding has moved into areas other than face to face conversation, I'm hearing overhead announcements and comprehending, I'm seeing signs and following without a thought, and I'm hearing She Wolf and loving every word because I know what every word means. I noted several of the lyrics in my notebook, alongside a reminder to buy some more Carmex, and smiled my way through the rest of the ride. No wonder wolves are my favorite animals, they're sure doing me a lot of good here in Spain :)

At the same time that I'm really starting to feel myself be absorbed into the Spanish life and the Spanish culture, I'm still taking time to do the touristy things that I, as an American, should absolutely do before I leave. The two most famous museums in Madrid (and in Spain for that matter) are the Reina Sofia (a more modern museum, holding Dali and Picasso) and the Prado, which has one of the biggest and most varying collections of art in the world. It would be more than a little ridiculous to say that I'd gone to Spain and come back without seeing these wonders, and they're just two of the classic examples. So, I went with my exchange student friend Emma to the Reina Sofia on Saturday and marvelled at Dali and strained my neck in several different directions to attempt to even begin to understand Picasso (to no avail, by the way). I saw "La muchacha a la ventana" which is one my favorite paintings and is the picture shown. The photo in which I'm standing making a stupid grin face is called "The Face of the Great Masterbater" and is a Dali... Sometimes it's better not to ask questions, I think.

My dad's mom, Grandma Jan, and my dad's sister, Laura, come next weekend on Delta flight #108 (as noted in wolf book) and I'll be more than ready to pick them up and show them around my town on Friday morning. It's almost surreal to be seeing family members. I've been surrounded by them my entire life and then in a 9 hour flight distanced myself for a full 6 months. In a matter of another 9 hour plane ride they'll be back in my life; my spanish life. After their departure next Sunday, it's a whirlwind of vacations. The 8-17 I'm gone on a trip with Rotary through Andalucia and Portugal and then I have more family (including my mom) arriving on March 23 until April 5. WHEW!

All my Loba Love to you, Sami



La muchacha en la ventana


Ridiculous Face for your viewing pleasure


Emma and I in the Metro. Twooo Wuvv

a londres

Cheers, Mates!
It has been a bit since I've updated and for that I am ever so sorry. Good news is that I had a legitimate excuse as I was strolling the streets of LONDON, ENGLAND from February 11- February 16 with my friends from good ol' Northfield, Minnesota- Mackenzie O'Connell, John Linford, and a friend of John's named James who lives in England. Mackenzie is on Rotary Exchange in Germany right now and John is living in Gloucester, England for the year working. They are both dear friends and when we planned this adventure back in November, there's no way that I could have predicted the stupendous, marvelous, glorious time that it ended up being. I'll tell most of the stories through pictures with captions, as this usually tickles everyone's fancy the most and it's the easiest way to follow along. Being my usual somewhat disgustingly organized self, the photos will, of course, be in chronological order so it's like you were there! Haha... Sort of :)


Majadahonda on the day that I left, Thursday, February 11... Flight was incredibly smooth and I landed and met Mackenzie in the Gatwick London Airport


London, England the next day on Friday, February 12... England lived up to it's rainy reputation, a pair of Wellies Rainboots were in order and were purchased within the next 24 hours :)


Standing outside of some of these buildings, like Westminster Abbey, was almost surreal, to think that I'm coming from one incredibly gorgeous and historic European city and walking right into another, it reminded me again that the life I'm living is out of a storybook. When people asked us where we were from, we had to explain that we were from the United States, living in Germany/Spain, and in England for a vacation... As if the other life wasn't vacation enough? :)


Buckingham Palace. I swear all of these photos won't just be me in front of cool buildings



^^ How to Know You're In London ^^



That is not the Ministry of Magic, but the British Museum. I loved how all the entrances were free, donations only. Not only did I appreciate this as a poor (future) college student, but I liked the idea of anyone and everyone being able to appreciate what the museums had to offer. We also went to the Tate Modern Museum which was mindblowing.


Mackenzie and I outside of the British Museum posed on a lion


Where we stayed in London was right next to the Tower Bridge and we strolled down to see it at night with the lights... It speaks for itself


The four of us-- from Left to Right-- James, Mackenzie, John, and I


Mack and I--- You can make out Tower Bridge in the background


The ridiculous amount of plug-ins and adaptors necessary to charge our appliances... We went from American to European to British


The English countryside on a train ride



We went to see a show in the West End in London... Tickets were pretty cheap and Chicago is always worth it. The performances were incredible, though the attempts to cover the British accents were about as successful as Mackenzie and I's attmepts to speak WITH a British accent... So not all that successful :)


The London Bridge Underground stop... The tube in London isn't quite as easy to navigate as that of Madrid. London seems to be a much bigger city in my eyes after living here for all this time... I'm not sure geographically how the cities compare, but London's sheer size was a bit overwhelming for this Spanish gal.


Picadilly circus, complete with new plaid Wellies :)


If you can see the RAVER stamp on my hand, it's from the fantastic club that we went to Saturday night in London called Fabric.


Is this the real life, is this just fantasy? Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see.

I wish you all the joy that comes from Fish and Chips, Mushy Peas, and a Rotary Exchange year like mine... Samantha Roma