Settling in...sorta.

Hello! So I definitely meant to write and post this earlier, but it has just been a crazy week so far. I seriously had almost zero free time, and the free time I did have I spent taking a much-needed siesta. :)

I think when I last posted I had just found my new apartment and was planning on moving in soon. Well I moved in! I actually ended up doing it the day after I paid and signed the lease. I didn't see any point in just hanging around the hostel. So I packed up my things and moved in to my new room! It took me all of 30 minutes to unpack (a sign that I definitely packed too light). However, I am far settled. There is still a lot to do/buy/arrange for my room, cause as of right now it is just a bed, dresser and BARE walls. 

Anyways, I also ended up going by my school, which was cool. I met all the English teachers, who were super nice, and just kinda toured the school a bit. I still don' know my exact schedule, cause the lady in charge didn't have it ready yet, but I am going to go back next week to find out. I DO know that I will have either every Monday or Friday off, probably Friday. That's right - 3 day weekend EVERY WEEKEND. It's totally fine to be jealous. :)

Anyways, that was all on Thursday, and the rest of the week/weekend after that went by pretty fast. I went out every night with two other girls in my program who are really cool. We had a blast, drank wine, met tons of new people and even went salsa dancing. Well, at least I ATTEMPTED to salsa dance. One day we went to this HUGE park in the Northeast of the city called El Parque de Buen Retiro, which literally means "The Park of Good Rest". Totally lived up to its name. The weather was beautiful and the two girls and I just lounged in the grass for hours, talking and people watching. It was kind of one of those "I can't believe this is my life" moments.

Spectacular.

The weekend was also filled with cervesas,

...sangria,

...and muchas tapas!

Croquetas, I really, really missed you.

So that was my weekend in a nutshell. I know I keep saying this, but I really think I will have to start posting more frequently so I can be more detailed. I just didn't expect to have so much going on right away!

Anyways, Sunday was the day my orientation officially started. Now, most of the kids in the program were arriving that day because that was when were SUPPOSED to arrive. I came early, because I thought it would take me a long time to find an apartment and I wanted to get a head start. Little did I know how easy it would be and that I would find it in a day, but hey. At least I got it done early and could relax a little. Anyways, I decided to still go and stay in the hotel, just to meet the other auxiliars and kind of be with the group. So on Sunday I packed a bag and went to the hotel. I checked in, dropped my stuff off in my room and then headed up to the rooftop terrace, where the group was meeting. The hotel is in an area called Moncloa, which is near the university, and the roof has a pretty sweet view.

This picture doesn't do it justice at all.

After meeting on the roof, we went to a tapas bar for a kind of cocktail party/mixer. I met SOOO many people. It was pretty cool, because everyone was from all over the US. After that, we went back to the hotel and hit the sack because the next morning we started all our orientation stuff bright and early. We were up by 8 am, had breakfast at the hotel, then went to this auditorium in the city for a bunch of presentations. They were pretty boring, just like how to find an apartment and how to stay safe, all stuff I already knew. We had lunch, then went back to the hotel for free time/siesta. I took a quick nap, then went with my friend Melisa to explore one of the other big parks in Madrid called Parque del Oeste (Park of the West), because it was literally right across the street from the hotel. Now I loved Retiro Park, but Oeste was REALLY cool. It was a bit more secluded and didn't have as many tourists, so it was quieter and more peaceful. It was also SUPER hilly and forested, which almost made me feel like I wasn't even in the city anymore (and also gave my legs a killer workout). Melisa and I wandered around for almost an hour.

I think it is going to be my favorite park in Madrid. It is seriously like you are in the woods in North Carolina or something.

Anyways, after that we met up with the group in the lobby and went on a walking tour of Madrid, which ended with a dinner of paella. I didn't take a picture cause I was too busy inhaling it. Then we went back to the hotel, ridiculously exhausted from all the walking (I'm telling you, you don't realize how tiring it is till you can barely stand up at the end of the night).

So that brings me to today, which was kind of more of the same. Another early wake up call, breakfast, then presentations, lunch, and now siesta time, which I am totally going to take advantage of as soon as I finish this post. Tonight we are going out to dinner again, then maybe going out? 

My plans for this weekend are pretty full. My main goal is to go to Ikea (yes, there is one here!) to get some stuff for my apartment. Like I said, I need to start making it home-y. Other than that I will probably be going out a lot (again) and hanging out with all the new people I have met.

I realize these posts have been mostly just recaps of day to day life, so I guess I should talk a little bit about my state of mind and emotions and whatnot. As far as culture shock/homesickness goes, I haven't really experienced any! Don't get me wrong, I miss my family and there are moments when I feel a little sad and far away, but for the most part, I have really been enjoying myself here. And more than that, I feel like I have very naturally adapted to the Spanish way of life. Almost immediately I started to eat, sleep and go out with the same schedule the Spaniards do. My Spanish has also come back a lot more than I expected it to. Maybe this is all because I have lived in Spain before, but I definitely am not experiencing any frustration or annoyance with the different way of life over here, which is something a lot of the other auxiliaries ARE struggling with. 

Also, I am surprised at how quickly I have fallen in love with the city. I will be honest, when I applied to this program my hopes were that I would get to go back to Sevilla, and when I got placed in Madrid, I was excited, but also partly disappointed. But every day I am more and more thankful that it turned out the way it did. I will always love to Sevilla, but Madrid is so wonderfully different. It is alive and bustling in a way that Sevilla was not. I love my neighborhood, with its thrift shops, record stores and countless amount of bars. I love that there is always something going on. I love the people, which is so great, because I really expected them to be mean and gruff city folk, but everyone I have met so far has been so incredibly helpful and open. Most of all, I love that there is always something new to explore in this city, and that there is literally something for everyone. 

So there you have it. Things are for the most part muy bien. I am excited and looking forward to settling in and kind of getting in my groove here. But right now it's time for that siesta. Hasta luego!