madrid--- take one

Having lived in the country for the larger portion of my life, and in a small town before that, the shift to a city could have been disastrous. Suddenly nothing is calm, everything is always moving, peace has redefined itself as the presence of only a few crazies on the metro, and quiet assumes that you're taking into account the cars, the honking and murmuring of voices past your window, the din of your upstairs neighbors, and the ever so occasional bird that dares to fly among the smog. I never would've placed myself in a city, I'd have chosen the more piteresque, "postcard" location-- I guess that's why they don't let you choose.

Turns out Rotary actually knows what they're doing :) Despite some of my fellow exchange friends experiences that contrast this impression, I've had nothing but luck and good fortune during my time here. I feel well cared for, but I'm also proud, feeling like I took a lot of initiative towards my own success. I ventured into Madrid two days ago with the other exchange student Jesse who lives in Majadahonda, and we met up with two other exchange girls who are living in various parts of Madrid. They walked us around the city, it was remarkable how well they already know their way in such a giant place. We saw the Royal Palace and the Cathedral that is right next to it. We walked along Gran Via and went to Plaza Mayor and Puerta de Sol. We stopped at a famous bakery and had Spanish pastries (you could almost feel your teeth disintegrating, they were so sweet). We walked through Parks and around street vendors and wacky performers; two of the highlights being a man who played whole compilations using crystal glasses of various shapes and filled with water to various levels and a man who was dressed entirely in sequins besides a goat mask that adorned his head and banged on pots. We sipped Coca-Cola Lights (there's no such thing as Diet Coke here) as we walked past the aritificial lake in the park. The wonder of the buildings here dwarves anything that I've ever seen in the United States, or anywhere else in the world for that matter. The carvings on the buildings are perfected down the the last feature on every angel, saint, rose, horse, and fountain. The city is clean and beautiful, and history radiates from every streetlamp and cobblestone. It's amazing to me how this doesn't seem to affect the people that live and walk among it every day. Then I flipped perspectives and realized that I do the same with the gorgeous, natural beauty that I'm surrounded by in Minnesota.

I'm suffering from a slight cold, my lungs are a little crackly and I'm finding myself blowing my nose into floral scented Kleenex quite often, but I'm sure with the gorgeous (admittedly chilly) weather and being out and about all the time, that will clear up very soon. I've been to two discotecas at this point, both were great adventures. Guys and girls don't dance with each other here, we all sort of just dance together. It's not dirty in any way, everyone is there to just have a good time. On the other hand, the amount of PDA (Public Display of Affection) is totally overwhelming-- it's not unusual to look over and see one of your friends locking lips with someone else for a few minutes, only to return to the group totally unphased. I refrained (and plan to continue refraining) from this particular aspect of Madrid nightlife-- I just don't think I'm Spanish enough for that one, folks.

I'm learning ways to deal with the "overwhelmed" feeling that I sometimes get after coming home from an entire day of Spanish in school, where, if I have both Philosophy and History in one day, my brain can get a little frazzled. More and more, however, I'm finding myself not literally translating everything in my head, I just hear and process, there's not a lot of hoops that the words have to jump through in my head anymore (such as, what tense is this in, what does the verb mean, in the context of the sentence what are they saying, does this person have a lisp?-- oh wait, no, everyone talks like that, etc.) When I do get run down with it all, I watch one of the DVDs that I brought with me in English or I read a book in English-- and I try not to feel guilty about it. I'm submersed in this language, there's no doubt about that... The occasional episode of House isn't going to reverse all of that learning, right? It's strange to think that just by being here, the language is soaking into me. I'm unconciously "learning", without sitting down and studying for hours. It makes me feel constantly productive and thoroughly international :)

Besos y Abrazos, Sami