It's 12:30 in the morning right now, but that's early for a typical Spanish night!

The past couple of days have been a mixture of really fun times mixed with a couple of frustrating times.  Luckily, the frustrating times only consist of me getting lost (multiple times) looking for people, but hopefully all should be good now that I officially have a spanish cell phone! Also, from getting lost, I've managed to (accidently) explore maaaany new places around Madrid.

On Saturday, we finally moved in with our host families! While some people live with parents/kids, I live with a señora with another student in my program in an apartment.  She's really easy to talk to, and super helpful in the Spanish-speaking department.  Not to mention her authentic Spanish food has been really good.  I've explored the neighborhood, which has tons of cute bakeries and a lot of sushi places (which works out just fine for me... I've been craving some for awhile as always).

What I really like about this city is that every neighborhood has its own vibe.  For example, my neighborhood is very family-centered (the park next door was packed with tons of families and kids at 10:00 at night!), whereas other neighborhoods have different age groups, different styles, different music, ext.

The past two nights I've spent at La Latina, a cute area with lots of tapas bars.  I like tapas because they're just small portions of a variety of food.  In some places, you can just order different foods individually, and in other places, you order a drink, and with each drink they give you a free plate of food to share at the table.  Muy delicioso =)  Also in La Latina is my new favorite place based on its name alone: Latina Turner!


I could write more, but it's getting a little late (maybe not for a Spaniard, but for me!) and my internship interview is (finally) in the morning!  I'm a little nervous, but I also can't wait! Wish me luck!

I lied! I actually have one more thing to say.

The title of my blog is a quote from one of my personal faves, Pablo Picasso.  It means, "Everything that you can imagine is real," which seems fitting for my trip here.

On the topic of Picasso, I discovered that my favorite painting of all time by him is here in Madrid! 

Guernica. 

Picasso painted this after the bombing of this city during the Spanish Civil War.  Apparently it's huge, and I absolutely cannot wait to see it!  It's at the Reina Sofia Museum.

(...haunting, isn't it?)

Icanhardlycontainmyexcitement!

...because I am finally here! I've always, always wanted to travel to Spain, and the moment has finally arrived! From now until July 23rd, I'll be spending time living in Madrid (which I have to say, after only being here a day and a half, is the COOLEST city to live in)!  For now, I'm staying in a hotel with the other members of my group as we go through orientation, but starting Saturday, I'll be living with a host mom, and on Monday, the real fun begins... my Spanish internship.

Now, I've never had an internship before, let alone one in a foreign location using a strange language.  I was really nervous about it before I got here.  Trust me, if you talk the handful of people that I was around the week before I left, they can tell you just how much I was freaking out getting excited for living in a Spanish-speaking place.  The morning I went to the airport, I sat silently in the car because I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that I was about to be here.  (Ok, let's be honest... I was also silent because I barely slept the night before due to some last-minute packing... sorry for being such a boring car companion, Mom!)

Now that I'm here, though... I think I'll be fine.  Tonight, my group met up with other students (both from the U.S. and Spain) in an Irish pub (of all things!) to have a conversation night.  They're set up through my organization, EUSA, and will happen every Thursday night at a different location.  Consisting of 45 minutes of just Spanish followed by 45 minutes of just English, these nights are designed to help everyone get better at each language.  This night was good because it was the first time I truly got to talk for a good chunk of time, and anyone who knows me knows that I looove to talk.  Meaning I will have to get better and better each day at Spanish, because there's NO way I can just sit out and listen while other people talk!

As for the culture, I really think I already have and will continue to adjust very well!  The overall feel of the city is super laid-back.  And I have no problem with that at all, trust me. =)

A couple of things before I go:

1. EUSA is the organization that I'm traveling through.  They have a couple of different programs, including regular study abroad (with classes) and my program, the abroad internship.  Here's their website: http://www.eusa-edu.com/sites/europe/madrid/internships.html

2. My internship is with Club Metropolitan, a chain of swanky gyms (with spas) throughout Spain.  My location specifically is called Abascal (as it's located on Calle de Jose Abascal). What I'll be doing exactly? TBA. The description was a little vague, and according to them, I'm the first student who has ever wanted an internship with them.  I have my final confirmation interview with them on Monday, though, so I'll keep you posted about that! Their website is: http://www.clubmetropolitan.net/gimnasio/madrid/abascal

Tomorrow marks the second official day of my orientation... should be interesting! For now I'm going to say good night (even though it's only 7:00 in Kansas right now)!