Day four (or five?) catch-up!

So much to tell already! Two days ago we had our orientation of Madrid. We took the train down with all of us (including our professor and her husband) in these awful matching touristy-looking shirts and spent the whole day taking everything in. Honestly, I don't remember too many details because I was overwhelmed, but it was gorgeous! I don't know much about European architecture, but the style of close buildings, iron, and old/antique neutral colors that I found in Alcala I just found on a BIGGER scale in the big city. Needless to say, the trip was almost TOO informative--our professor and Esteban are wonderful, but a bit detail oriented. By the end of the day, we all looked like this:

However, today I'm going into the city with a few friends, so we'll see how that goes!

Yesterday I was invited to go with my madre to meet her extended family. It was a LOT of spanish to take in! I couldn't follow the conversation quickly enough to say much, but it was so exciting to just take in all the customs and traditions of such a close-knit family. It's not like the states--people tend to stick around by their families. It's not uncommon for an unmarried son/daugter at 30 to still live with his/her parents! Here's a picture of my madre and her niece (I think...I was starting to get confused as more people came over.) We ate soup con pepinos (pickles in this case) and big chunks of cebolla (onion). Then we had chickpeas and potatoes, carrots, meat, bread, and melon. I was stuffed! I also learned some new words: caracoles (snails--the three year old had caught about ten and he was throwing them around and smushing their bodies on top of things), tripa (stomach), sudor (sweat), and estoy pegado (in this case, I'm stuck, I can't get up, I'm hit-- Miguel was also complaining he was stuck on the ground so I would have to save him). Overall, it was a great day.

But it's not over! Last night I met up with Kyle and Claire to go shopping (I looked TOO MUCH like a foreigner! I bought a dress and two pairs of 'diaper pants' as I'm now calling them.. they are very European) to wear out. Then we met up with our friend Rebecca who is doing a teach/study program to get her Master's in Alcala as well. We met her roommates and 8 of us went bar-hopping and to a discoteca. (Don't worry mom, I just ordered coca-cola!) It was a lot of fun, but I didn't get in until about 4am! The night life starts a lot later out here. People weren't dancing until about two! I'm glad I got to see so much my first weekend here..it already feels like I've learned so much about Spanish culture. Looking forward to Madrid today--more later!