Hello Everyone!

I am LOVING Madrid!

Last Saturday, my dad and I took a hop-on hop-off bus around the Madrid. It was so cool to see so much of the city.  We explored a cool park with lots of statues and a beautiful pond. We also stopped at the palace, got an amazing lunch, and went to the Madrid cathedral. It was beautiful and a lot more colorful than some of the other churches we have seen.

On Sunday, I moved into my host mother’s apartment. My host mom, Tania, is so nice! She greeted me with a big hug and kisses on my cheeks… which as you can probably guess, I am not a fan of but I suppose I’ll get used to it 🙂  She only speaks Spanish, but she talks slowly so that we can understand her. Tania is an amazing cook! We have had many traditional Spanish dishes that have been very good. My favorite so far is tortilla – which is a potato and egg omelet.

There are eight of us girls living in the apartment. There are five bedrooms, a living room, a big kitchen, and three bathrooms.  We are about a 20-minute campus from the SLU Madrid campus, which is very convenient. There is also a metro stop right next to our building. I think we chose a good location!  Below are two pictures of my bedroom:

We had orientation on Monday and Tuesday. Monday consisted of the normal meetings about the school and classes. On Tuesday, though, all of the first year and study abroad SLU students went to a traditional Spanish horse show and flamenco dance. It was so cool! We also had traditional Spanish food – paella (rice and vegetables dish), tortilla, and crackers and cheese.  Plus, they even served us free booze!

Wednesday and Thursday were my first day of classes. I am taking Spanish for Nursing, Physics, Cell Biology, and Ethics. All of my professors seem great, and I am so excited for the semester!

Today, I went with my roommate Celine to the Moncloa Observation Tower, which is only about a 5 minute walk from our apartment. The tower is 92 meters tall and gives a beautiful view of the entire city – including the royal palace, La Almudena Cathedral, and the mountain range. The sun was setting, and it was absolutely beautiful. We could see almost the entire city!  If you look at the picture to the far right, the long building in the middle of the picture, to the left of the street (brownish brick color) is where I live!

This weekend, a few of my roommates and I are going on school trips to Monasterio de Piedra (a monastery founded in 1194 known for its beautiful gardens and waterfalls) and Toledo (a World Heritage Site for it’s historical co-existence of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures)!

Perhaps my favorite part of Madrid so far is the beautiful weather!  It is consistently 50 degrees and sunny.

Hope all is well in the States!

Katie