"EL RETIRO"

Today was a long day again, and I'm feeling rather tired, plus I have homework to complete for my class, so this entry may not be as detailed as my other ones. We woke up today in our new home and had breakfast. I actually ate cereal, yum! We had our second day of class. However, prior to arriving there, I got Monica and I lost on the Metro. I was confused by the map and read the wrong line for the exit street. You see the map was sort of small and the name of the street was written in between two lines and I simply chose one without thinking twice. What a big mistake :(    4 lines later we arrived at school about 5 minutes late, but with everyone else, so we were right on time. Oh yeah, lines are like the pathway of that specific metro, it goes along that path (line) only. It only has certain exits and can only take you to certain places. I almost don't think it is useful because if you have to switch lines, which in most cases if you are going somewhere far you switch lines, then you have to walk underground to the next line. It can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes of climbing up and down stairs and walking to your next line. All very confusing and frustrating for me, when I'm use to driving a car everywhere.

Today's class was great. Both of our teachers hold class discussions with us and let us conversate in Spanish freely while helping us learn from our mistakes and questions during the discussions. The first instructor is "Iara" She is awesome! I like her a lot and she seems very knowledgeable. We like how she corrects us politely, then shows us the correct way of writing or saying the Spanish word. Today our topic was stereotypes of Spanish people.

After Iara, our next professor is "Fernando" He is a little bit different. He seems more reserved and allows us to do most of the talking. However, this was his first day with us, so maybe he was getting a feel for our proficiency levels. We introduced ourselves, then he handed out a great article on Education. The article discussed various factors that help determine a student's success level. Of course, it discussed the typical parent involvement, socialeconomic status, and personal determination. However, it also included the impact genetics has on a student's level of achievement and women being teachers as a contributing factor. We had an amazing debate with various cultures, backgrounds, and different opinions.

Once class ended at 1pm, we went to lunch. Then back to Claudia, Ana, and Cristina's apt. Afterwards we went to El Parque del "EL RETIRO" (hence the title).

The park was beautiful. It had many statues, un bosque (wooded area), fountains (not on), flowers, and Estanque (pond) with row boats for rent. We took pics and rented a row boat. The row boat was phenominal. Claudia doesn't know how to swim, so she was rather scared to be in the boat. When Cristina rocked the boat or we would move to much, Claudia would yell out. I would get scared and yell, too. Then Monica and Cristina would laugh so hard, which made me laugh uncontrollably. It was hilarious. We spent most of our time in the row boat laughing, posing for pics, and attempting to row. It was rather difficult.

At the park I also saw the Palacio de Cristal, Velazquez something, puerta de something too. Sorry I'm really horrible with names and I can't recall all of the history I've learned about Spain. Either way, it was a beautiful park, that made me feel completely relaxed.

We left the park separately, oh ya, on the way to the park, I managed to get the 4 of us lost on the metro. So twice in one day I didn't read the map well and caused us to transition onto the wrong line. The tranisitions between lines is difficult for me.

Monica and I came back home, She lead the way on the Metro. We made it home promptly and safely. We even stopped at a store to buy her shampoo and me nail polish remover. Once we got home, we decided to go out for a spritzer at the local cafe. It was very cheap and they gave us tapas (small free appetizer given with purchase of alcoholic beverages only). They were good. As we sat outside of the cafe, with the fresh breeze and discussed our day at the park and how we met our husbands, I finally felt relaxed and happy to be Madrid. It was a good day!

Later we came home, talked with our housemates. There are 3 guys from the US, staying at the same house as us. They are younger and working on their bachelors degree. They are very nice and we talked about our Madrid experiences over dinner. Afterwards everyone was online and now off to bed. I'm exhausted, I thought I said this would be a short blog.   I talk to much.

Here r pics:::