Cheers!

This past weekend consisted of a lot of "cheers"-ing...they just love saying that in Switzerland. From the moment I arrived to the Geneva airport with my friends on Thursday night and got on a bus for two hours to Interlaken, I knew it would be an interesting weekend. Our bus was full of a bunch of college students from all over Europe--most of which on our bus were extremely drunk, obnoxious, rude, and really just made me wonder who raised them. Needless to say the bus ride was less than exciting...but don't worry, the trip ended up exceeding all my expectations. 

Friends having fun!

When we arrived to Interlaken, which is a small mountain, touristy town in the middle of the Swiss Alps, all I wanted to do was go to bed as soon as possible (it was about 2 am at this point). We went to bed, and got ready for the weekend ahead of us. In the morning, we ate the free breakfast at the hostel, all the while bustling about our very exciting excursion for the day: skydiving. We booked skydiving earlier that week online from Madrid, solely for the purpose that none of us would be able to back out last minute. Though my bank account and I are currently in a fight after this adventure, I loved every second of it...well almost. 

Pics for mom in Interlaken!

Devin and I by the lake

We hopped in a van with the skydiving instructors and drove 20 minutes to the launch point. It was a beautiful sunny day in Interlaken and once we were suited up, we were ready to go in the planes. I think they must know that people get really antsy, because they had volleyballs and footballs lying around for me to throw around while we waited for half of our friends in the first plane to come down. I think knowing that they landed successfully made me more comfortable. My three roommates and I hopped in the plane with our skydive partners (my partner was Dave, such a gem) and took off. The views from the plane were amazing, and luckily each of our guides had a camera strapped to his hand so that he could worry about taking pictures throughout the jump and I could just take it all in. On a funny note, I remember as we were climbing to the proper altitude Dave leaned in and told me that we were about half of the way to the jumping altitude...and my stomach dropped as I looked down on the Swiss Alps that were already so far away and so small!

I was the last of everyone to jump, but as soon as they opened the door everything happened so fast that I didn't really have time to think about it. Then I did it! I jumped out of the plane at 13, 000 feet and then went for a 45 second - 1 minute free fall. I wish I could explain...but there are really no words to describe it! Dave let go of the parachute, and then we had a great ride down for another 6-8 minutes or so until we landed safely on the ground!! (only after he made a couple jokes about crashing, of course)

Ready...

All of my friends and I loved the experience...and probably the pictures just as much. 

After that we were all full of adrenaline and feeling good, so we went back to the hostel, changed, and went to explore Interlaken. The town was adorable, and we even went to one of the chocolate factories for a chocolate show and sampling; it was great, and so tasty. (I must admit, I really only had truffles and real Swiss dark chocolate for dinner on Friday). Speaking of eating...the five food groups of the weekend consisted of bread, chocolate, cheese, beer, and champagne. Friday night we had some cocktails with my friends and had a bit of an early night.

...set...

On Saturday, we had hoped to take a day trip to Zurich, but because of weather, the trip was cancelled. Instead, a few of my friends and I went on a very long and peaceful hike around the mountain to the lake while the other half of the group went to the snowy winter wonderland by train to another mountain town. (Anybody surprised to see that I picked the snow-free option?)

The chocolate lady was appropriately named Heidi

Saturday night we went out to dinner and then started popping the champagne for our friend Julianne's birthday who came with us on the trip. The club in the hostel was hosting a Captain Morgan themed party, where I coincidentally ran into Dave, my skydiving guide, while he was wearing an eye patch and dressed as a pirate...small town, I guess? The party was fun, and my friend had a great time for her birthday. I even won a t-shirt...woohoo.

....Go!

On Sunday we went to mass at the local church. Though I didn't understand a word in Swiss-German aside from amen, I still thought it was really interesting to experience how another culture goes to church! We boarded the buses again and hopped back on our plane to Madrid. 

It was a very tiring, but fun weekend...and much better than school has been the past few days. I'm just trying to stay ahead of the game for when my family arrives on Friday! I cannot wait to see them and show them around Madrid!! Unfortunately it's supposed to be a little chillier than normal this weekend, but still in the 40's with sunshine...can't complain!

Tomorrow's my birthday, so I'll be sure to update after I go out and celebrate with some friends...though I must admit that I'm not necessarily excited about being 20, I don't think this age is very meaningful..yes I'm not a teenager anymore but what's the point? I'll just look at it as an excuse to have a good time and get a jarra (pitcher) de sangria with some friends for lunch before class! I'll definitely cheers to that!

Love, Rachel

My roommates and I survived!!

Day trips!

I figured this picture was fitting...I haven't eaten here yet,
but it is very close to my apartment!

My apologies for the sporadic updates, though making this blog was a big demand from my family while I'm here..I seem to keep forgetting about it and updating it. But, I've made my own resolution: I'm going to try to update at least once a week, especially now that all of my traveling is really going to be starting on the weekends!

Just a casual Thursday night...

The oldest map of the Western World
at the Naval Museum

Friday my friends and I went to the Naval Museum for extra credit for my oceanography class. I must admit, I was less than enthused about the excursion, but it ended up being pretty cool! Maybe I'll take my dad there when he comes..I'm sure he'll eat that stuff up. Friday afternoon I went on a long run, in shorts, in January. It was great. The weather here is just so much nicer than at home, I love it! There's also a ton of dogs always walking around in the park. While it makes me miss Rocky, it's great to see all the pups!

My roommates throwing up their
sorority signs..

La Catedral de Toledo

Saturday a group of us took the bus for only 8 euro round trip to Toledo to check out the sights. For those of you who don't know, Toledo is known for the combination of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim cultures all in one city. It was a very nice day and I really enjoyed walking around this city on a hill full of ancient buildings unlike any I have seen in Madrid. (I just learned in my Spanish culture/civilization class that Madrid wasn't a very important city in Spain until after the middle ages). My favorite building was the Cathedral in Toledo...too bad we couldn't go inside. We sort of ran out of time after a little hiccup searching for our roommate Hillary who went missing for a half an hour or so. Thankfully she wasn't injured or taken, just went to the bathroom without telling us. We didn't let that bring down our day and we decided after that stressful we'd do the most natural thing: get lunch. I had my first paella Saturday and it was delicious! I believe I even ate rabbit..but if I did it tasted like chicken anyway. Saturday night we decided to take a night off from the discotecas so we could catch up on some homework and get ready for our day trip to Segovia on Sunday. However, we managed to muster up the energy to stop by the McDonald's about one minute from our apartment for some McFlurrys, which are much better than those at home, I must say. Kit-kat's and white chocolate? Yum.

Some friends in Toledo!

A view of the Cathedral in Segovia from
La Plaza Mayor

Sunday, we went on a day trip with our school to Segovia. The drive was about an hour from the city, and as we kept climbing higher in altitude, I realized that we were driving past the clouds and it was getting much, much colder. However, we still had a great day and saw the roman aqueducts, the fortress in segovia, the famous bridge, lots of churches, a contemporary art museum, and a great pastelería for some desert! (my favorite). I've also started a new tradition in every town that I visit. I'm picking up a postcard from every city so that when I come home, I can make a collage/picture of sorts that has them all for my apartment next year. Besides the postcard, I've also decided to start collecting wine bottle stoppers. Though I previously had a growing collection of shot glasses, I think it's time to get real and remember that soon will come the day when it is no longer socially acceptable for me to display a shot glass collection as a real adult. Oh well, the wine stoppers will have to do! They're much classier anyway. Because we were so high up, the fog in Segovia was terrible. Though it did make the fortress/castle look very fairy tale like at the top of the hill surrounded by fog, I wish it would have been nicer out to be able to see everything more clearly. I plan on taking my family back to Segovia & also taking a trip to Avila when they come in just two weeks, so my fingers are crossed for better weather! After the day trip to Segovia I went to mass at the SLU campus in English. Sunday evening we returned home to our apartment tired, cold, and hungry (as always). I finished up some homework for school on Monday and had yet another yummy meal from Mar (she really is the best) before bed!

The fortress/castle called Alcazar in Segovia.
So pretty...but so cold!

 The past few days I have spent primarily on campus going to classes and keeping up with my homework before I leave for Switzerland this weekend! (Stay tuned, I'm going skydiving...) We leave tomorrow evening at 8 pm and come back late on Sunday. I have a feeling that this trip will force me to get over my fear of planes, a: because I'm going to be flying a lot of places over the next few months, and b: because I'm jumping out of one in just two days..AH!

The bear climbing the tree is the
official symbol of Madrid

Though I've been keeping busy at school, my friends and I have still made it a priority to make sure that we are making the most of the time that we have in Madrid during the week so that we can actually get to know the city! Yesterday's pre-dinner activities consisted of some shopping...I was very proud of myself and restrained myself from most of my wants besides a really cute pair of boots, a shirt, and two dresses (all on sale, I promise!). About the sales though, the "rebajas" are out of control in the city right now. Mar was telling us that all the after Christmas sales go until about mid February, and everything is at least half off of what it is normally. What a steal!

La vida nocturnal!

Living in Madrid has been wonderful so far, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the semester of traveling, exploring, and seeing all of these beautiful sights will bring! I miss everyone at home, but am also very anxious for my family to get here the first weekend in February to visit me!


Until next time!
Un saludo,
Rachel

The famous Acueductos Romanos in Segovia!

scurrying around madrid, just stumblin' upon some culture

One of my favorite shots from Saturday's walk: the Palacio Real through the Jardínes de Sabatini

My triple queso crepe. Nom nom nom nom nom.

Back by popular demand! (Well really just my Dad...but still) No need to worry, faithful followers, I've returned to tell ramble on about the past six days or so in Madrid, so I hope you're ready to listen! I believe I last left you on a Friday evening before setting out on the town with my roommates. Last Friday was quite the evening: from free drinks, salsa dancing clubs, pizza, some British vacationers, and a couple red roses, one could say that we definitely painted the town red. Saturday brought some more roommate bonding time for a long stroll around our neighborhood for possibly the greatest meal I've ever had in my life. I had a three cheese crepe, recommended to me by our waiter at a little Crepiere within walking distance of our apartment. (This could get dangerous!)

I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking
at the streets of Madrid

A big fan of flowers..outside..in January

Sunday we went to one of the most well known art museums in Europe and Spain, El Museo Prado. I happen to be a closet art museum lover, so this was right up my alley. We spent a few hours wandering around the museum looking at all the paintings, sculptures, and my favorite, the intricate tile tables and murals. I wish I could have taken pictures, but I wasn't to keen on the idea of going to spend my Sunday afternoon in Spanish jail. So Maggie and I did the next best thing: we bought two prints of some of our favorite paintings for our apartment next year! 6 euro for endless beauty and class? I'm not opposed. Then we grabbed some lunch at vip's (a chain restaurant all over Madrid. My friends are most comfortable there because of the consistent menu--with pictures too). Then we went back to our apartment for another much needed nap.

This place is called the Museo de Jamón.
Any takers? Ain't nobody don't like no bacon.

The past few days have been spent in classes at SLU Madrid. My classes have been going fine, and I'm keeping up with my work...for now. I guess my study habits hit a bit of a hiccup when a few of my friends and I went to a new favorite restaurant of mine right next to campus: The Golden Cock. Now, before you all judge a little too hastily, this fine dining establishment has some of the most affordable and delicious food I have tasted in this city yet. Need I add the extremely friendly waitress who reminds me of a Spanish grandma that keeps shoving free "samples" and "regalos" of food in your face as you look over the menu, so that by the time you're ready to order, you're already full. I must admit, that the samples of tortillas españolas, patatas, jamón serrano, sangria, and a yummy pasta dish I can't remember didn't quite stop me from ordering a spicy potato dish called patatas bravas for my lunch--and quickly finishing all of it. After my lunch today, I forsee many visits in the future to this fine establishment. Our goal this semester: first name basis with the cute little waitress and owner.

Thought you'd enjoy this picture.
Not quite sure what building this is,
but I get to see it everyday on my daily runs!

Now that we're on the topic of food, I'd like to say a few words about my host family and our living situations. I really lucked out in all areas with my housing in Spain! We are in a great location, have a very big, comfortable apartment, great smelling laundry detergent (which is done for us on a weekly basis by Mar, our mujer favorita), a functioning heating system (not everyone here can say that), and good dinner every day.  She's made good dinners everyday! Nom nom nom.

Now that it's the weekend, tonight we're going out to a discoteca called Kapital. Apparently this place is 7 stories tall with themed floors and is completely outrageous. I don't know if I'm quite ready for this...but we will see! Wish me luck.

la siesta antes de la fiesta

My friends and I at the discoteca "Palace"

Hello friends and fam! As I type this post just after dinner on Friday night, all snuggled up in my bed, all I can think about is how it's already 9pm, and I'm really tired; I guess that's what happens when you go out like the madrileños do. I learned that last night for my first "weekend" night in Spain (I could really get used to this no class on Fridays thing).

One of the churches right next to my apartment, beautiful!

Classes on Wednesday and Thursday were pretty boring, and after dropping my religion class in exchange for another Spanish class in my schedule, all of the Americans at SLU were buzzing with excitement about the night ahead. My friends and I got ready and took the walk to Sol where all the bars/clubs are and were barraged with club promoters and offers for free drinks and discounts to certain pubs and bars. We, of course, only accepted the offers with completely free drinks and entry, and let all the other promoters know that their offer was less than appealing when we could walk a couple more yards (err..meters in Europe) and wait for something better to come along. A couple free drinks at some local bars and then we made our way to a discoteca called Joy Eslava. Muy divertido amigos, muy divertido. There's nothing quite like a discoteca in Spain...they really know how to party! For those of you who know me, I'm always up for an early bedtime--so needless to say when 3:30/4:00 rolled around, I was thrilled to stumble home with my roommates (safely of course, Dad). Let me just tell you, the party was still bumpin'...I guess I need to pick up my euro party swag for tonight and tomorrow...these three day weekends are gonna get the best of me!

Ready for a nice walk through the
biggest park in Madrid!

A friendly peacock just roaming around el Retiro

A fantastic long Thursday night out can only be followed by a wonderful class-free Friday! I took myself for a nice long run around el parque oeste this morning and then went with some friends to el retiro (one of the biggest and most famous parks in Madrid) where we saw some fun statues, beautiful landscaping and a lake, and even some peacocks that just rome around the park. Keep your eye out for some pictures: one of the peacocks was posing for me, how nice of him.  We got some lunch, stopped at the grocery store for a 60 euro cent box of wine (saving money > taste) and headed back to the apartment for a much needed nap.

The man-made lake and pretty monument in the middle of El Retiro, I can't wait until it's a lot warmer out here so we can see the rose garden, all the blooming nature, and go row some boats around the lake on a sunny day!

Can't wait to do it all again tonight!

Love and miss you all,
Rachel

Day one

El Palacio Real. This is what we see out of our window and is pretty much in our back yard. I'm a lucky girl!

 

Maggie and I with the headless street performer who made me wear his hat

Yesterday was my first full day in Madrid. We woke up, got ready, and made our blind trek to school using the metro system. Comes to find out, the metro is really easy to use, once you learn what all the signs mean, and where your stop is. Another important tip: escalators. In the metro station, escalators have two lanes. If you're on the right side, just stand there and ride. If you're on the left, you sure as hell better be moving. We made it to the right stop and then after asking a nun on the street if she knew where SLU was, we wandered around until we found the right building and made it to orientation fashionably late, of course.

Orientation was really boring, and doesn't deserve more than a sentence in this blog.

Plaza de Isabel II
Our closest metro stop: about a 1 minute walk!

After orientation, we got a tour of campus and the surrounding area. Though I have a 30 minute commute to school, I am so happy that I live in the area I do. Our apartment, as I mentioned, is right by the Palacio and Sol, the shopping/entertainment/restaurant/going out area, while SLU is a bit further from the center of the city.

My first legal drink!

When we got back from school, Maggie and I put on our sneakers and took a walk around to go exploring our neighborhood. I took some pictures which I'll be sure to put up soon. It was an awesome afternoon and everything is so pretty. We went for a very long walk (I guess now would be a time for the saying "not all who wander are lost", even though I'm pretty sure we were) and I've come to a few conclusions about spain. 1: All the cars are tiny. 2: There aren't really that many cars, and therefore everyone is skinny. I kid you not, there are no fat people. 3: Even if we did know the streets or route home, it wouldn't have mattered because most of the streets don't have street signs...at all. 4: When in doubt, stop at a hole-in-the-wall tapas bar for sangria. So tasty.

I really liked this picture,
such a contrast from the majestic old buildings

After our "water break" we continued wandering around and eventually found our way back through the Plaza Mayor, through Sol, and back to Opera (Where we live).

Before dinner, my roommates and I just sat around planning trips and places we want to see while we're here. We counted, and have exactly 15 weekends this semester...our list of "places to see" was at 20. I don't think time or my bank account will allow all that to happen. I think today we're going to try and cut the list down a bit to something more manageable.

The walk-up burger king, of course!

For dinner, we had fish (don't remember the name), potatoes, peas, and something that looked like cranberry sauce which I later found out was beets or something else that was not very good. Now, people who know me know that I despise seafood and have never eaten a full meal of fish. Though I'm not moving to Maine to live by the sea and open up a gumbo restaurant, it didn't suck! Also, for the record, it doesn't taste like chicken..at all.

El Mercado de San Miguel
Lots of yummy tapas and wine!

After dinner we decided to spend our first night out on the town. I looked at the night as sort of a trial run, not really knowing what to expect. We went to Dubliner's a very typical "slum" (slu madrid for short) location. Why everyone wanted to go to an Americanized Irish pub our first night in Spain is beyond me, but I guess you could look at the Dubliner as Laclede's: European edition. We stayed there for a while and then decided to move on to bigger and better things..translating for my friends, we got passes for free entry and a drink at a discoteca called the palace. In silly American fashion, we entered the disctoeca at 1 am, far too early on a Monday night for anything to be happening, apparently, took advantage of our free drink, and went home. Though this night in particular wasn't anything mindblowing, it did show promise for the rest of the semester! I'm just going to have to ditch my old lady ways of going to bed at 10 in order to keep up.

My roommates and I at the local Spanish (Irish) pub

This morning, I woke up much earlier than everyone else...I think I've been up for about 3 hours while my roommates are dead to the world; they're still breathing, I checked. I was about to go for a run but without a functioning cell phone at the moment, I should probably wait to run around a city alone (That's for you Mom) just to be extra safe. I suppose I had better wake these girls up so we can go to school and get books, school supplies, and our monthly metro passes--it's noon for goodness sake! I guess it's a good thing the second day of orientation is considered optional...


¡Hasta Luego!

El arribo

¡Bienvenidos a España! It's currently Tuesday morning around 11 am, my second official full day in Madrid. (I did arrive this pass Sunday, but that day consisted mostly of unpacking and sleeping off the long days of traveling and jet lag.)

The inside of the door to the apartment.
This door is huge, heavy, difficult to unlock,
and covered in padding and a carpeted tapestry?

Now that I have this blog, I feel like I have nothing noteworthy or interesting to say..so, while this may be boring, I know it will make my parents happy knowing that I am alive and well; here's to you Mom and Dad. Spain is beautiful. As soon as the plane touched down in Madrid, (after two long flights, overcoming my fears of flying..sort of..and an extremely hectic layover in London) I noticed how amazing the city looked. I cannot be more excited to spend the next 4 months here exploring and finding out everything there is to know about Madrid, Spain, and the rest of Europe.

Upon our arrival, we got our luggage and hopped into 2 cabs to take my three roommates and I, Maggie, Kate, and Hillary to our host family's apartment near the center of Madrid. Though I was pleased to discover that cars drive on the same side of the car and the road as the United States, I was a little less excited about the "no rules" style of driving. It seemed to me that the laws for obtaining a license are similar to that of the drinking age here, pretty much non existent. Many hills, narrow cobblestone streets, roundabouts, and turns later, we arrived at our apartment. getting out of the cab and standing on the side of the street with nothing but an address was definitely my first "now what" moment of this trip. We found the right building and rang the doorbell, after which our host mom met us in the lobby and helped us up the teeny tiny elevator to her apartment on the 2nd floor.

The toilet in the master bath...and the bidet.

Our host family is wonderful! Mar Luque is our "mother". She is petite, really friendly, and very nice. She's married to Fernando (Nando for short) who is a professor at a different university. They have 2 sons Luis and Miguel; I'd say they're about 8 and 11, and very cute. They're always smiling and say hello to us when we see them. Their abuela also lives with us, and never ceases to give us advice about the mass schedule, public transportation, and how not to get robbed when we go out. She's about 4 ft tall I'd say, and just loves chatting.

Maggie and I share a room with Kate and Hillary next door. We also have another roommate Emma who has a single across the hallway. She's from New York and seems...interesting.

The first day, we had dinner prepared for us by Mar of chicken, rice, and lettuce covered in corn. There is bread at every meal, and lots of it. (I'm definitely not opposed).

Lots of deep, bold colors in Madrid.
This is our room, I love it!

After dinner, we set out on an adventure to find a hair straightener and blow dryer, as well as shampoo soap, and some toiletries. We finally found a store and much confusion and translating later got everything we needed. Side note...of my 5 roommates, I'm really the only one who speaks Spanish, so I've found myself translating between the host family, store clerks, people on the street, etc. My Spanish is getting a lot better and I'm trying to be more confident in speaking to people on the streets!

As soon as we returned, I took a shower, popped 2 Advil PMs, and went straight to sleep. The showers are weird, there's only a handheld showerhead with no hook. The whole rinsing/shampooing process was quite the challenge.

Though I am extremely excited to be here, the unknown and the huge changes have me a little overwhelmed at the moment. Tomorrow we make our way on the metro subway system to the school's campus for orientation. Wish us luck!

Rachel

Un nuevo comienzo

Hello everyone! This will be my last post from America, considering that I will be leaving Mundeslime and the United States in approximately 24 hours...wow. Winter break has flown by, and I've spent much of today and yesterday starting, and attempting to finish, packing for the 4 months ahead of me in Europe. I'll spare you the details of my less than exciting winter break at the bank and hanging around town, but let me just say that I am very ready to get out of here and get to Spain! 

I'm going to miss all my friends and family so much, and Rocky of course, but hopefully you all will be able to keep tabs on my European adventures here and on facebook and twitter if it's not too boring....or if I remember to update.

Now that my time is running short, I really need to get back to packing..who knew that fitting 4 months of clothes in one suitcase would be so difficult? Don't even get me started on the shoes...

¡Hasta pronto, Madrid!