El Retiro

El Retiro, Madrid's Central Park, is gorgeous and yesterday, we decided to explore it for the first time. There were a ton of people there doing a wide variety of things. Couples and families rented row boats on a small lake and locals slept and/or tried to make money by selling small gifts or dancing etc... We didn't take too many pictures because all we had were our phones so I'll have to update the blog with some later on. But below are a few pictures that I took with El Gato Negro (my phone)...

The most memorable part of this outing was when El Jefe found some Mariachis. I had told him that I loved the song "Cielito Lindo" and had been singing the first few lines all day... Anyways, he immediately requested the song and began to dance and sing with them. It was one of the coolest and funniest things ever! (Oh and in case you didn't realize... Mariachis in Spain! How crazy is that... It's a Mexican thing)

"Ay, ay, ay, ay, Canta y no llores,

Porque cantando se alegran,

Cielito lindo, los corazones."

¡Vamos a La Cancha!

As many of you may know, this year's Real Madrid fútbol team is world famous. It has recruited a few new players with contracts over $100 million... Most noteably Kaká and Ronaldo. We just so happend to be in Madrid for the season opener. No words can describe the significane of this event to the citizens of Madrid. Everyone in the world is talking about Real Madrid. Of course the game is completely sold out, but Jefe (Manelay's dad's new nickname) wants to go... so naturally he finds tickets. And where to we end up sitting? Center field, second row!!!

The experience was incredible. It was my first soccer game ever and let's just say, it made a fan out of me. The game was exciting and the fans were going crazy the entire game. They are completely connected with the team. The relationship is unlike that of any sport in the US. If a goal is made by Real Madrid, the stadium goes nuts... If a goal is about to be made by the other team, it becomes so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. They truly love the sport... They breathe Real Madrid.

To top it all off, Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man who blew the world away in the 2009 Bejing olympics was at the opening ceremony of the game. He ran out to the feild and kicked the ball to start the game. Incredible Day.... ¡Increíble!

Una Mañana Loca

The city was quiet this morning. There was not a soul in sight, when suddenly; three “shady” characters appeared pacing up and down the streets. One José Gutierrez carrying a black satchel was accompanied by his two accomplices, Manelay and Cliff. What was in the bag? Cold hard cash! We walked up and down the city pulling money out of various ATMs and Lugares de Cambio. After our hour and a half long journey, we returned to the hotel only to lock the door behind us. We then began to count. To the unsuspecting bystander, we probably appeared to be drug dealers or criminals... What was the crazy treo up to???

Ok ok not that creative, but I'm tired... Anyways, this morning we went on a hunt for cash because we had to make the down payment on our place! We were so excited, but realized that it would be hard to secure the cash on a Saturday when all of the banks were closed! We ended up securing the cash, meeting the landlord, and obtaining the keys to our new place :) I am very happy with how everything has worked out thus far!

¡Viva España!

Apartment Secured!

We found an apartment! It is a cute 3 bedroom place 2 blocks from school and near plenty of restaurants, stores and bars!

I look stupid in this pic, but it's the front entrance. Below is the building:

I'll update photos of the inside when I get moved in!

I love Spain! Oh and tomorrow we are going to a futbol game :)

I always order rare by accident!

Just like the first night in Argentina, I ordered a steak that was like sushi last night... only this time, I sent it back to be cooked a little more :) It was a really cool restaurant. It was filled with people and had a really good scene. It was exciting to be out to see the nightlife. I think that Madrid is going to be so much fun. Today we are looking for houses again. I think we might call an agent to speed the process. I'll update you guys later tonight!

Day two in Madrid

Today we went searching for a place to stay. As a result, we walked around for hours. Although it was tiring, it helped us figure out the city a little better. The apartment search is proving to be a little difficult. We found places, but they only rent for a year at a time. Unfortunately we only need a semester. So tonight we are going to continue to look around online and also contact all the new exchange students.
!! We also saw our school today!! It is so gorgeous. A of the secretaries were sooo nice! We were given little IE school side bags with a binder and paper along with our student I'd cards. Manelay and I were glad to be able to visualize were it was that we were going to spend a majority of the next four months...

Spain seems like an amazing place so far, I can't wait to explore it more!