Off to the land of Mozart and Beethoven!!

Just days after I had returned from my amazing weekend in the Basque Country, I was off to Vienna with Christina. Since I've been here, I don't think I have ever done two big trips consecutively like this, so it was a bit overwhelming. Of course, I can't complain...both trips were incredible! I made it through the work week, still exhausted and a bit under the weather...but noenetheless excited for my next adventure. And an adventure...it certainly was!! If anyone remembers the story of my trip to Budapest with Christina, you know that it was great, but certainly not without some stress, improvising, and adventure. I have come to expect that travelling with Christina is always a lot of fun (we never seem to run out of things to talk and laugh about) and very efficient (we both love to see and do a lot!) but also always ends with some sort of exciting, funny story to tell! We start this adventure at 3:15 in the am, when we wake up and get ready to head out (Christina had "slept" over at my place the night before..."slept" in quotes because we didn't really do much sleeping). We walked towards Calle Princesa where we waited for the night bus for 20 minutes. We needed to take a bus to get to the airport bus..and when the first bus didn't arrive, we ended up takng a cab. Then, eventually, we got on the airport bus and made our way to the airport. We arrived, went through security, and got to our gate, exhausted but excited for the trip. Suddenly, though, we noticed that the screen at the gate no longer had our flight posted. So, I got up to look at the screen to see if there had been a change of gate and sure enough our flight was cancelled..yes, CANCELLED!! So...since it was 6 am and there was no one in the gate to talk to, we had to go back out, and basically all the way around the airport to get back to check-in (took about 15 mins). Luckily, we were flying Lufthansa, which is an airline that works to get you on another flight if you have problems. Also, luckily, there was a flight going to Vienna through Munich, leaving just an hour after our flight was supposed to leave. So, long story short, it all worked out in the end, but not without some panic and stress. We finally arrived at our hostel around 2 or 3 pm, and decided to walk to a restaurant that we had read about in our guide book (courtesy of a Madrid public library). After a bit of wandering ( a very scenic walk) and trouble with the map, we finally found the restaurant. We were the only people eating at that time (it was alreayd 4 pm by the time we got there), but the waitress was very friendly and served us no problem. The food was really great and a good find. We spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering around the city, walking by the opera house, the cathedral, and some of the other major sites. When we walked by the opera house, there were several men dressed up as Mozart, attempting to sell tickets for the show that night. Christina and I had bought tickets in advance, so when one of them men approached me, i politely replied that we already had tickets. Well, he started to talk to me, telling me how much he liked my hair, and before u know it..he was asking me to date him, basically. We ended up running into him after the show and he told me again how much he liked me, and another "long story short"...I was proposed to by "Mozart" (well that part was a joke for sure, but it makes for a good story). Anyway, Christina and I went to see a Don Quijote ballet at the Statstoper opera house, which was absolutely incredible. THe building is quite the sight to see, both inside and out, and the show was also really great. But, to "Mozart's" dismay, after the show, we were exhausted after a night of little sleep,a nd wanted to rest up for what we knew would be a very busy Saturday. Saturday certianly was busy...we really crammed in a lot in one day (there was just soo much we wanted to see). We started off the day with a delicious breakfast at Cafe Central, one of the oldest and most famous cafes in Vienna. The cafe was literally part of a palace, and it looked it!! It was so elegant, you really felt like you were amongst the literary and musical elite :) We also met a very friendly Viennese man at the cafe, who told us about the history of the cafe and palace, and well as other suggestions about Vienna and about travelling in Europe in general. Then we continued walking around, enjoying the beautiful weather, and taking in all of the sights (every building seemed to be magnificently beautiful!). We saw three different royal palaces, a square with museums, the national library, the cathedral and much more. Also, we went to the outdoor market by our hostel for a lunch of stuffed olives and peppers, homemade bread, hummus, and fresh Austrian cheese. That evening, we headed to Kursalon, another beautiful concert hall, for a night of fine dining and wonderful music. We had purchased a combo dinner-show ticket, so we got to eat a nice, long dinner at the restaurant at the concert-hall. We had some delicious cream of turnip soup, salmon, and some very ineresting desserts. We were by far the youngest patrons, but we enjoyed being classy and sophisticated :) And, the concert was incredible, probably my favorite part of the trip. It was a Strauss/Mozart concert, perfomed by a chamber orchestra, occasionally accompanied by dancers (Viennese waltz) and opera singers. The music was great and reminded me how much i miss playing my clarinet and being involved with classical music! Plus, we got lucky with our seats...we didn't realize that we didn't have assigned seats. Apparently we were just in a certain section, and people were seated on a first-come, first-served basic. Well, as we didn't realize this, we showed up only a few mins before the show, and the room was already almost full. But, I guess the guy assigning the seats liked us, because he allwoed us to sit in the second row on the side, right by the stage, which was definitely not what we paid for! The next morning, we checked out of the hostel, got another yummy breakfast at a Viennese cafe, and headed to the airport..back to Madrid once again!

Aventuras en el Pais Vasco

So..I'm running a little behind on my blog posts, because I have been running around a lot lately, but I will try my best to make some updates now. Two weekends ago, I went on my much-anticipated trip to Bilbao with Ruth. We had lots of time for silly moments and roommate-bonding, we shared lots of laughs and certainly lots of great food! We arrived to Bilbao late Thursday night, and Ruth's parents came to pick us up at the airport. I finally got to meet them, after all this time living with their daughter, so that was really nice. They were extremely friendly and welcoming. We went back to her house where we had a late dinner (Spanish style), with her brother as well (by late, i'm talking midnight!). We then went to sleep, to prepare for the busy day ahead. Friday was jam-packed with activity. We met up with Garazi, Ruth's friend from college (who I had met in Madrid several times), who took us to the area, outside Bilbao, where she lives. The view from her apartment was absolutely breathtaking. She lived right on the water, just a short walk from the beach and beautiful views of the mountains. We wandered around the area for awhile, taking silly pictures while the strong winds blew our hair in every which direction. Then, we got out first pintxo of the day at a restaurant in a nearby town. Next, Christina arrived (she had taken an early morning bus from Madrid and decided to meet us in Bilbao and spend Friday with us). We went to the Puerto Viejo (Old Port) in Ruth's hometown, Algorta, which was another incredibley beautiful site. We saw all of the old boats by the water, and wandered through narrow, hilly streets full of small, quaint houses and lovely restaurants, filled with the aromas of amazing Basque food! We stopped at one the restaurants and sat outside, enjoying our second pintxo of the day (a small piece of bread with goat cheese, crispy onions, ham, and olive oil..yum!). Then we wandered around the area a bit more, and drove to another nearby town (lucky for us, Garazi has a car) and saw the Puente Colgante (Hanging bridge), another cool site. Next, we headed to Bilbao centro, to see the major sites of the city. We had a yummy menu del dia (lots of food), and then walked around some of the central streets. We went to the Guggenheim museum, which was a really awesome building with some really cool exhibits, and saw the Universidad de Deusto, which is right next door (where Ruth and Garazi went to school). It was cool to see where my friends had gone to University, and they were clearly proud of the beautiful building and the great location! Then, we walked over to the Casco Viejo (the old, central part of the city), and saw the Cathedral, the town hall, and other sites. For dinner, we found a bar with amazing, delicious pintxos, but not before we passed by an ice cream store that had bacalao (codfish) flavored ice cream!! Some of the other interesting flavors included: txipirones en su tinta (squid in their own ink!) and Kalimotxo (a drink made of cheap red wine and coca cola). Christina was brave enough to try the bacalao flavor (we thought the names were jokes!) and assured us that it was as disgusting as it sounded and that there were, indeed, chunks of fish in the ice cream! Needless to say, the bar where we went for dinner had much more appetizing food. After a long day, we were all exhausted, and we headed back to rest up for our next busy day. The next day, Christina left early to go to Santander and Garazi had plans with family, so Ruth and I spent the day just the two of us. We took a bus to San Sebastian, which is only about an hour away from Bilbao. We lucked out with teh weather (as Ruth loves to remind me, it is almost always raining in the Pais Vasco...hence the abundance of green!). Luckily though, we avoided the rain, for the most part, while we were there. San Sebastian is a very pretty, small city, located right on the beach. For me, it was really cool and rather unique to be walking around a city, and to be able to walk just 5 minutes to a boardwalk-lined, sandy beach! We wandered around the town and walked along the bach for awhile, taking our time and just enjoying the sites and the weather. It was a nice day, more relaxing then the busy day before, and we had a lot of time to chat and catch up on life :) We had some more wonderful pintxos (including real txipirones en su tinta!) and headed back to Bilbao in the early evening. We met up with Garazi and had some pizza at Ruth's house, deciding to stay in and just relax, since we were all tired from all the activity. On Sunday morning, Ruth and I went for a walk around her neighborhood and got another view of the water. Later, Ruth's family (parents, brother, grandma, aunt, uncle) came over in the afternoon to eat, chat, and celebrate Ruth's brother's bday. It was really nice to meet all of them! We had a relaxing afternoon and a LOT of great food. When I commented on HOW much food we had eaten that weekend, everyone kept joking that eating was what los vascos do best! In the evening, we met up with Garazi and drove to a bar located right along the water, and got yet another amazing, and different view of the mountains and the water. Needless to say, I ended the weekend with a ton of amazing pictures!! After that, Ruth and I headed to the airport and made our way back to Madrid, where we arrived very late (our flight was delayed and we didn't make it back to the apartment until about 1:15!) We were absolutely exhausted and disapointed that we had to wake up early and work the next day, but also very happy about the amazing weekend we had shared together!

Carnaval, Futbol, Pamplona, y la primavera en Madrid :)

As you can probably tell by the lengthy title of this entry, I have a lot of updates to make!! The past two weeks have been busy and full of fun activities :) Two weekends ago, following the GC conference, I enjoyed a weekend in Madrid without a lot of work, which was great. It was Carnaval that weekend (the time before Ash Wednesday when there is a lot of celebration and partying), so everyone was out all weekend, dressed up in costumes, partying, and taking part in various celebrations throughout the city. My friends and I went to see the big parade that was in the center of the city, but there were SOO many people that we could barely see anything. Afterwards, I ended up going to an Atletico Madrid Futbol game, which was a bit of a surprise. Some of my friends had tickets and told me that there were still lots of seats and that I could just go to the stadium and buy a ticket. So, I tried it..and it worked!! I had been wanting to go to a Real Madrid game but hadn't gotten around to it (plus the tickets are really expensive and kinda hard to get), so this was a good consolation. Even if Atletico may not have been my preferred team, the game was tons of won (and less expensive) and they won, which made it even better!! That same weekend, I also went to the Teleferica (the cable car) with Ruth, which was fun! We got some really cool views of the city. And...we went, with a bunch of our other friends, to this great Galician restaurant (lots of yummy seafood!!)

The next week, I only had two days of school and then I was off to Pamplona with all the other Fulbrighters. Overall, the Fulbright trip was a very positive experience. It was fun to be with my friends and to also reunite with some people studying in other parts of Spain who I hadn't seen since orientation (and also reunite with some of the Madrid people who, for one reason or another, i just hadn't seen much...) We stayed in a nice hotel and were given lots of great food, which is always much appreciated by students who are used to staying in hostels :) It was also a very beautiful city and we were lucky to have beautiful, sunny weather, which certainly helped improve our experience! I have a really positive impression of Northern Spain- it is beautiful, the food is delicious, and teh people are extremely friendly. So, I'm excited to be heading back up north this weekend (to Bilbao and environs with Ruth!!)

After I got back to Madrid on Saturday afternoon, I spent the rest of the weekend with my friends Brandon and Keith, who were visiting from the States. We all went to Duke together, but I hadn't seen either of them in a few years, so it was really fun to re-unite! Plus, they had both studied abroad in Madrid four years ago, and were extremely excited to be back. We did a lot of walking around the city, chatting, laughing and eating more good Spanish food. It was really fun to have visitors and re-connect with old friends :)

And...this weekend, we had amazing weather in Madrid, so I took advantage of the sun and spent a lot of time outside. The weekend involved going out and catching up with some girl friends, sushi dinner with other friends, a nice, long,relaxing picnic in Retiro, multiple long walks around the city, one Duke bball landslide (and the return of Kyrie!), and another nerve-racking but ultimately satisfying Duke bball game that brought us to the Sweet 16! It was great! This week- back to my normal schedule more or less, and getting ready for my trip to Bilbao on Thursday night! Can't wait!

Proud Teacher Moments :)

Well, any of you who have been reading my blog or who have spoken to me at all about my experience here in Madrid know about Global Classrooms. Global Classrooms is the Model UN Conference for which Noel and I have been preparing out third-year students (14-15 year olds) for the past few months. We have worked extremely hard getting them ready for the conference, teaching them about public speaking, articulating coherent arguments, seeing the nuances of complicated issues, having confidence, and listening to the arguments of others. And the kids rose to the challenge, working hard and getting quite excited about the debate. Well, while it seemed like March 2nd, the day of the actual conference, would never come, it has indeed come and went and I must say, I am truly proud of my students!

I had high expectations for my students going in, because I knew that they could perform well and really challenge themselves, if they put in the effort. And, what makes me very proud as a teacher, is that they exceeded my expectations. In the end, they ALL worked really hard, they all participated during the conference, and what's more, they all had a great time on March 2nd, which to me, is what is most important.

Regardless of whether or not they won awards, they were all outspoken in their committees and they all showed that they have matured and learned a lot through the process. They have shown tremendous maturity and self-confidence, two skills that will serve them well in the future. And, while the prizes are certainly not the most important part of the experience, I must, as a very proud teacher, take a moment to brag. The delegations from my school won 6 awards, more than any other participating school! We had 11 delegations, so more than half of our delgations were formally recognized for their achievements. Out of 5 committees, 3 of the "best delegation" awards went to my students :) I couldn't be happier about how the day went!! And whats more...all of my students thanked us for our hard work and for helping them succeed, which really means a lot to me.

As I have mentioned previously, teaching can sometimes be a frustrating job, when the recognition and proud moments sometimes seem few and far between. But, it's moments like this one that make the job totally worth it. So, despite the long, tiring hours put into this project, and the feeling that it would never come to and end, I'm actually going to miss working with my kids on GC, now that it is finally over. I think this is an experience I will always remember, regardless of the careers that I pursue in the future.

Zaragoza....and other updates

This past weekend I went to Zaragoza with Christina and Cassandra, two of my Fulbright friends. Zaragoza is the fifth largest city in Spain and is located about 4 hours, by bus, northeast of Madrid. It was a really great trip for several reasons. First of all, we only decided to go about a week beforehand, and it was really easy (and relatively inexpensive) to make plans and get there. It was the kind of trip that was quite low in stress- all we had to do was take a bus from Madrid, we were only going fri night-sun am, and we didnt really have much of an agenda, except to see the city and enjoy a weekend away.

We all really enjoyed Zaragoza- the two main sites were a beautiful gothic basilica and an old, Muslim castle/palace, both of which were absolutely amazing! Also, we stayed RIGHT in the main plaza and directly across from the basilica, so we were in a great location. Also, the old center of the city was really cute- full of restaurants and bars, which all had amazing food! Furthermore, while Zaragoza is considered a city, its certainly much smaller and less bustling than Madrid...so it was nice to have that change of ambience for a few days. Its also always nice to return "home" from a trip, because I always seem to appreciate Madrid even more when I come back from somewhere else.

Other than the trip, there is not much new to report...the countdown to Global Classrooms is on; the conference is next week and we are busy as ever preparing. I'm getting nervous...but I feel like my kids are well-prepared, so i'm sure it will be great! Otherwise- basically business as usual....I've started to realize that I dont really have that much time left in Spain, which is kind of strange to think about. I've suddenly made a ton of travel plans, because i want to be sure to take advantage of my time here (although i love being Madrid as well).

Here is a summary of whats on the horizon:
1. Trip to Pamplona w/ Fulbright in a few weeks
2. Visit from some Duke friends
3. Trip with Ruth to Bilbao at the end of March
4. Trip to Vienna with Christina (and maybe Cassandra) at the beginning of April (planning still needed...)
5. Mallorca for spring break with Noel (and maybe Kelly)
6. Visit from other Duke friends!
7. Trip to Dublin with Christina in May!

Needless to say...lots to be excited about!!!!!!

A very overdue update...

I just realized that I haven't written in my blog for about a month now, so I figured that it was about time for an update, even if it is overdue. This past month, things have been very busy and I guess I haven't had much time to sit down and reflect on my experiences. So-I'll try my best to do that now. Somehow, I am halfway through my time here in Madrid, and it's pretty hard to believe. The time seems to have flown by, although when I think about how much I have done since I have gotten here, it's amazing that I have ONLY been here for five months.
About two weeks ago, I flew home to NJ for a short, four-day visit. It was my grandma's 80th birthday and my family decided to have a big celebration/ get-together in NYC (dinner and a broadway show) with friends and family. Although it was a really long way for me to go for just a long weekend, my family and I decided that it would be a nice idea for me to go home and surprise my grandma. When I first got to Spain, I hadn't been planning on going home at all before my scholarship was finished, so this trip sort of came as a surprise. I was a little worried about what it might be like to go home for such a short time and then come right back again to my life in Madrid; I thought maybe I would get homesick or have trouble re-adjusting back to my life here.
However, it turned out to be a really nice trip, even though I did experience a little, short-term reverse culture shock. When I first arrived, it felt really strange to be back, to hear everyone speaking in English, and to be back at my house in suburban NJ vs my small apartment in Madrid. As I was sitting with my mom in an Olive Garden, enjoying a nice lunch, I kept commenting how weird it was to be speaking in English, and to not have everyone looking at us (my mom laughed, of course). At the same time, I still felt very much at home very quickly; I have lived in Livingston for so long that even when I'm out of the country for several months, when I return, it still feels like not much has changed.
Furthermore, the change of scenery was really nice. It was nice to just relax at home, spend time with family, see some friends from high school and take a break from my busy city life in Madrid. My grandma was also incredibly surprised to see me and my visit really seemed to lift her spirits, which in it of itself made the trip worth it. Coming back after such a short stay was a little difficult at first, but I found that I quickly re-adjusted back to my routine here in Madrid. It was almost like i had never left (which to me was a good sign!).
Since I have been back, school has been quite busy. The Global Classrooms conference is now only a few weeks away, so we are in full preparation mode. The other teaching assistants and I have been working hard to prepare the kids, helping them with their speeches, position papers, and debating skills. We have spent a lot of time grading and correcting several versions of position papers and i have to say, I'm really proud of the progress my students have made. In the past week or two, we have finally told the students which ones are going to the conference and we are now only working with those who are attending. So, this means that I get to work exclusively with the best, most-motivated students, which is definitely more rewarding. I can tell that these kids have really learned a lot and it really makes me feel good to think that I have had a positive impact on their learning experiences. Teaching can certainly be frustrating and the rewards sometimes seem to be few and far between, but when you have one of those moments when you realize you have been a successful teacher and you have helped a student grown, learn, and mature, it really feels great!
Also, now that we are halfway through the year, I think my social science teachers are trying even harder to find ways to get me more actively involved in the class, which makes my teaching experience much more interesting and rewarding. So, although there are still frustrating moments, those proud moments really make the job much more interesting and rewarding.
My life outside of school hasn't changed too much- between tutoring, going to the gym, and seeing friends, I can't really complain. I am about to start tutoring another student this coming week; one of the girls I already tutor has a friend who lives a few blocks away, who was looking for an English teacher. I met her and her mom last week, and I'm going to start tutoring her after my other Tuesday class. This works out really well, becuase I am able to take on another student and pick up some more extra money, wihtout having to commit extra commuting time. Plus, the girl seems adorable and really excited about learning English, so I'm excited.
Otherwise, I have had a lot of fun the past few weekends- a good mix of relaxing and laughing with friends, going out and enjoying Madrid nightlife, and having time to myself to relax, prepare for school, watch some Duke basketball, work out etc. We have also been lucky to have very nice weather (for February) the past few days. Today, I went for an hour long walk around 5 pm and it was sunny and almost 60 degrees! After the frigid weather I experienced during my weekend in NJ/NY, I very much appreciated this early hint of spring! All I hear from my friends and family back in the Northeast is that the weather has generally been horrible- cold and lots of snow, so I certainly feel spoiled. I'm a little worried about how I'm going to manage in Boston next year!
In other news- I have some exciting plans/trips coming up, including a trip to Bilbao with Ruth at the end of March, and a visit from two of my Duke friends, Alaina and Rebecca, in April. So- a lot to look forward to! Anyway, I think that's about all the updates I have for now. More to come soon I'm sure....

Fun times with family :)

Last night, I made it back to Madrid after two amazing weeks travelling and spending time with my family. We did so much during those two weeks that I'm sure I won't remember to tell every detail, but I'm going to try my best to capture the higlights.

Here is a brief summary: The first week, my mom, dad, and sister arrived in Madrid, dead tired, after a long trip. They were in Madrid for half a day, and then we went to Portugal (Lisbon, Tomar, Mafra, Sintra) for several days, and then back to Madrid for a day. Melissa then headed home (back to work) and my parents and I went to Tenerife (one of the Canary Islands, off the coast of Africa) for a week.

As I said, when they first got here, they were REALLY exhausted, after basically not having slept for a whole night. Nonetheless, we still got to see some of the city. They came to my apartment and met Ruth (which was great!), and then I took them on a walking tour for a few hours- around my neighborhood (Arguelles/Moncloa), and then to Plaza Espana, Gran Via, Callao, Sol etc. It was Christmas Eve and we were nervous that we wouldnt be able to find a restaurant open for dinner, but sure enough, we stumbled upon something near Sol. We ate some tapas around 7 pm (they couldnt wait any longer haha), and then we basically called it a night.

The following day, we all flew to Lisbon, where we were only for a short time, before heading to the train station to go to Tomar (about 2 hours away). However, Melissa, our wonderful tour guide for the week, wanted to make the most of our time, and insisted that the cab driver stop at two sites in Lisbon that were near the train station, on our way. Now, I have to make a disclaimer so that my sister doesn't get upset with me- I'm not poking fun at her here, she worked really hard to plan our few days in Portugal and I really appreciate it! But...when we got in the cab and tried to explain to him that we wanted him to stop so we could see a tower and a bridge (mind u..it was raining and super windy out), he looked at us like we were crazy. He then proceeded to (lovingly, i think) poke fun at Melissa for the rest of the cab ride, telling her that she didnt actually want to see those things, and asking her if the tour book was "a good book?" I'm not sure if i'm catching the comedy of the situation here, but it was quite hilarious.

Anyway, the bridge was pretty cool, ill admit (the longest bridge in Europe). Some of the other funny moments of the trip also occured while we were in transit. For example, we were on a bus from Mafra to Sintra, and at one of the stops, this woman gets on and starts speaking to the whole bus of people (at least it seems). Apparently, she knew almost everyone...shes laughing, and handing out chocolates...of course we cant understand anything (Spanish and Portuguese actually sound basically nothing alike, even though they look very similar on paper), but it was quite the scene. And then, when we were in Lisbon on a trolley ride, this woman gets on and starts yelling out loud, about what, again we had no idea, but she seemed quite upset. Everyone is staring at her, and she just goes on and on, for at least 10 minutes. Then, some guys get off and take a picture of her, and she starts yelling at them, even once they are out of the trolley!! It was another very interesting scene.

And..let's see, some other great moments- definitely climbing the old castle/fortress in Sintra- that was absolutely breathtaking! It was quite the climb (I must say, a little scary for someone like me, who is rather scared of heights), but it was totally worth it! The views were absolutely amazing; probably one of the most incredible sights i have ever seen. I now understand why so many people told me that I had to go to Sintra while I was visiting Lisbon. Also, Lisbon itself is a beauitful city! Its very hilly- and when you start climbing, you can see the most amazing, colorful views of the city; it really is unique-looking. We also had a lot of great food everywhere we went; in Portugal, lots of great seafood (Bacalao, their specialty...as well as shrimp, octopus etc).

Back in Madrid, my family really enjoyed seeing where I had been living for the past several months, and hearing me speak in Spanish at every available opportunity. On Weds night, I took Melissa to Cien Montaditos for the one euro weds, which she really enjoyed. For those who dont know, Cien Montaditos is a bar/resaurant where they literally have 100 different little sandwiches for you to choose from. The sandwiches are mini, so you usually order a few for a complete meal..but its really fun to try different combos. Its normally pretty cheap, but on Weds, everything costs just one euro, including the drinks, so it always gets REALLY crowded. Melissa got a good taste for Spanish culture (incl the smoking, which she didnt enjoy), but otherwise, it was a really fun night (Side note here- Spain just passed a new law that outlawed smoking in bars and restaurants, so this will be different now...something i'm thrilled about!)

The next day, we managed to go to the Palacio Real, the Reina Sofia, Plaza Mayor, La latina, have lunch AND churros with chocolate, do some souveneir shopping, and end up back at my apt...so that was pretty successful in my book! We also had a very lovely dinner that night at my apt(courtesy of the Carrefour, the grocery store that i often frequent) of wine, bread, cheese, and olives (very Mediterranean! haha).

After this very fun but busy week, we said goodbye to Melissa, who had to go back to NY for work, and headed to Tenerife for a week of sun and relaxation. It was really beautiful there, and it was so nice to just chill, read, go for walks, work out, and most of all, soak up some sun! It was also fun speaking with the people there in Spanish...they always got really excited and were very friendly when I spoke to them in Spanish, probably because they are so used to having so many tourists visiting, and are not used to finding tourists who actually speak their language.

So, all in all, it was a great two weeks. It was really nice to see my family after being away for several months, and it was nice to have some time off!! But..I'm also happy to be back home in Madrid and to get a chance to catch up with friends here, settle back in to a normal routine, etc. Anywayy, I think thats it for now. Happy New Year!