Para confundir a la gente

I think I am exhausted with my life. I am so tired of missing the life I left back home. It is just emotionally draining to want to be with the people you love and still know I have a few weeks ahead of me before our sweet reunion. My heart is just worn-out from all of this missing people.

One of the best things that being abroad has done for me is make me think a lot about the life I lead, the habits I have, the people that matter in my life and how I behave. I guess being here has really made me think about the person I am and what value I have and what I value in my life, from people to hobbies to places. Sometimes I feel useless. This isn’t a cry for help by any means for those who read my blog (thank you for that by the way, it makes me feel loved) more just an outward reflection. I know I have tons of people in my life who care deeply but sometimes that feeling of being cared about feels so distant and almost unreal or transient. Sometimes it is hard to grasp that people really care about me. I often wonder if I never existed or worse off I died (God forbid) how life would be without me? Do I have a significant impact on people? Am I really needed? Or even wanted? It is a bit disheartening to think that the people you love could live without you, perhaps they could maybe just not well or perhaps they could do it just fine. I guess thinking about this just makes me call to question my value and what I mean to others. Being here without my band of close friends from Riverdale or my Midd kids, my boyfriend or my family and all the people in my life that make life so good the feeling of being needed has been harder to feel. It goes in and out. I suppose what helps me remember is how without the people that I have in my life, life would most certainly not be the same and I guess I just hope to be or that I am that for the people that are that for me. Who make the world brighter.

Another thought I have been having is about the person I’ve become, the person that I am and wondering whether or not this was the person I was meant to be and if I am living the life I want to. I guess sometimes I wonder is this the way life was suppose to turn out for me. Since I was little I’ve playing out my possible lives choosing this career, having this social circle, marrying this guy, living in that city and with all those possible lives is the one I’ve come to the life I want, have all the little and big decisions brought me to where I want to be or did I miss the boat on something? I just always wonder what if, or what else could be. I love my life, but is this the one I am suppose to lead or did I fall short of the right choice? I hate to be lame and use movie clichés, but like that movie “Sliding Doors” with Gwyneth Paltrow you just wonder if you’ve landed where you are supposed to be. When I land back in NYC, I’ll be landing where I was supposed to be.

I don’t know if I feel like I’ve accurately expressed some of the thoughts I have been having but I feel a little better putting it out there.

As usual I am at my internship and my boss is in China and my co-workers are busy working on a briefing and I have no tasks at hand. I wish they kept me busier. With the Hillary campaign I had to do 8 million tasks to do at once and now I wish I had one task to do at once, haha. Poor Hillary is having a rough couple of weeks, I want my girl to pull through, I really believe in her and her vision for America. It was crazy watching CNN live from Madrid when that “bomber” held hostages in the office I lived right near in Rochester NH. The “bomber” turned out to be a mentally ill man with flares duct taped to him but still it was pretty surreal at the potential threat. But yes, I miss the fast paced life of campaign work and am itching to return.

Thursday I leave to London to go see David Boyle. I emailed him a hefty list of sightseeing goals, I can’t wait. I am so excited to see Big Ben live and in action, the clock tower from Peter Pan, also palaces, museums and the like. I also of course can’t wait to see David, we just have such a good time together. I miss the mayoral campaign for Gifford Miller, we just had a ball. Well, I am going to read some more news and try to get them to give me work.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the commencement of the holiday season. Madrid is absolutely beautiful with the lights, that is on my to do list, take pictures of the lovely holiday frosted Madrid.

¡Tengo hambre!

It has been a while since I've written and I am sorry about that but I've finally got rather busy with my life here in Madrid. As you all know my wonderful boyfriend came to visit me in Spain for 10 days so I basically was MIA for that entire time. Now that I've resurfaced I thought I'd write a bit about what I was up to and what is ahead for me in the next couple of days/weeks.

Jason's visit was lovely, it was his first time to Europe so getting to see him experience how part of the other side of the Atlantic lives was fun. He told me that on his flight back to the US he realized he'd miss Spain so I take that as an indicator that he enjoyed the country. It was nice to get to show him around my pseudo home, be his own personal tour guide. I think he was museumed out by the time he left Spain, he has probably seen every major influential artist there is to see with all the famous museums here.

We also took a lovely trip to Barcelona for this 23rd birthday. Barcelona is awesome, the layout of the ocean, then the city and then the mountains is ideal, you have everything you could want. We did a lot of sightseeing there saw the famous works of Antonio Gaudi and saw some typical Spanish flamenco among other touristy activities. It was a great trip. Lots of sangria, gelato and American food. Jason wasn't always so keen on Spanish food which is understandable, one can only eat so much jamon (ham). But yes, his visit was exactly what I needed, one of my best friends in Spain to just have the best time with. It just feels splendid to be in such good company.

Anyway, I am at my internship and I should get back to work but this is really the only time I have to write this entry. But better than my brief overview of his trip here are some photos from it. Please let me know if these links work.

http://middlebury.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025590&l=41477&id=4403155

http://middlebury.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025594&l=17934&id=4403155

And here are some pictures from my trip to Portugal the other weekend...

http://middlebury.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025587&l=8b644&id=4403155

Tonight I have a huge Thanksgiving dinner to go to. Two of my best friends Shriti and Juana are coming for a long weekend from France and Italy to spend Thanksgiving with me and visit Madrid. I am so excited for their visit. Horchata is making a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the trimmings, can't wait, yum!

My one job was to make a homemade pumpkin pie and all would have been wonderful but Spain hasn't reached the kitchen technological level of the US and they don't use blenders so I had to bake the pumpkin and liquefy it by beating it with a whisk, talk about a workout. I am a little nervous about the texture but hopefully the taste will make up for some unavoidable lumps. Also I had to make my own crust because the idea of ready made crust is lost on the Spaniards.

In the next couple of weeks I have a lot of work piling on from my classes, essays to write so next weekend I will probably spend a fair amount of time trying to get work done before Christmas. Then the following weekend I am off to London to visit a former co-worker from my NYC mayoral campaign and his fiance. I can't wait for that, I love David Boyle. And then the following weekend I am meeting up with Shirti and Juana in Athens for a rendezvous, what a life. And by then it will be time to go home for Christmas. I come home December 21st so get ready. And I'll be home until January 5th, sadly just missing the New Hampshire primaries on January 8th. ARGH!

Anyway, they finally found work for me so I am off.

Happy Thanksgiving!

¿Tienes grapadora?

A quick entry before I write a briefing on the elections in Guatemala for my internship. Yesterday I got back from my trip to Portugal 3 hours later than expected. I guess my Spanish bus driver needed to take plenty of breaks on our way back, it was fine. I had my iPod for most of the trip to entertain me until it sadly ran out of batteries and then some good naps. The weekend trip to Lisbon was lovely, lots of churches, cathedrals and castles. I will post pictures and more about the trip later. I have a busy week ahead of me.

In the next two days I have to create a powerpoint on the city where my college is, read about 50 pages to answer 13 questions, write a 2-3 page essay telling the story of a cartoon we were given and do some grammar worksheets. Very doable but I don’t have very much time. Today between my internship and watching Mila I am going to work like a busy bee, then after I come home from watching Mila more work. Pretty much the same deal for tomorrow except it will be work between internship and class and then after class. I have this intense seminar, or what I am making out to be intense seminar, it is 3 days long and it counts towards 50% of one of my mind grades. I suppose I make it sound intense because I have the powerpoint and questions to hand in before the class, and then on the third day of class I take the final and then there is my grade, so much riding on such a short time. It will all get done. I just feel like I have a lot these next couple of days.

Then after I have to meet with a professor from Middlebury about my parallel project, this 20 research paper I am suppose to do in reference to my internship, like the written part of my work to get credit for this internship in the next day or two. I also need to book my family’s trip to Italy, that will be a lot of fun but later in the week. Then a couple of other errands but nothing to colossal. Anyway, I must get to doing work work but I just thought I’d drop in and say hello. So I owe you a most substantial post about Portugal.

Also Jason comes Friday! Can’t wait!

Lastly, if you are bored and like old Spanish ladies, this is a great article in the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/lifestyle-spain-cybergranny.html

It is an article about a 95 Spaniard who writes a blog and it is really lovely, it is in Spanish but enjoy it.

Her blog address is: http://amis95.blogspot.com/

She is pretty funny, worth checking out, obviously if you speak Spanish.

He peaces out

So much to write and I am leaving to Portugal in about 2 hours. I just wanted to do a recap of my life in the past couple of days. I am finally starting to really love Spain and feel relaxed about my life here. Finally. It feels nice that when people ask me how I am now I can now say really good as opposed to fine or homesick or having a tough time. I mean I still get homesick but not in an extremely painful way like at first, I get homesick because I look forward to going back to the life I love but I am content here.

A lot of it has to do with my boyfriend's visit, it just puts me at ease, like the person I love so much is going to be with me in Spain, I will be able to relax and really enjoy life. 8 days until he comes! I also got the entire time he is here off from my internship and my babysitting job which means I just have to go to a few classes and the rest of time I can soak up his company and watch Grey's Anatomy! YES! I have the best boyfriend, he has Tivoed every episode for me since I've been gone.

But yes, all continues to go well. My internship is wonderful, my co-workers are so awesome. We went out to lunch again, I love to just hear them gossip about work and other co-workers and just spending time with them is always a good time, they are all so funny. I am so glad I got to do this internship, they make me love Spaniards and their humor.

Classes are good, still easy but the shit is about to hit the fan. We don't have a lot of work during the semester but like big papers and final exams at the end of the semester but with all these visits and trips I am taking it is going to pile on. But it will all get done, or at least that is what I tell myself. No, it will.

I met the Zapatero Monday, he was walking around our building viewing an exposition of the 25th anniversary of the PSOE and he was within arms length of me. My co-worker offered for me to take a picture with him but I was too afraid because I was star struck, it was the prime minister of Spain, it was too much for me. Next time, but it was still very cool.

Anyway, I need to wrap up a couple loose ends before I go to Portugal, leaving on a bus tonight at 11PM. Oh yes, I am going to Portugal for a long weekend with Horchata. It is yet another holiday in Spain (because they don't like to do work in Spain, haha) so we decided to seize the day and go to Lisbon. I can't wait, I've never been and it is supposed to be beautiful. I will return Sunday with tons of stories and pictures. But until then have a good next couple of days!

Dreaming

Perhaps I will find some solace in writing about how homesick I am. Only as I type out that sentence my eyes begin to swell up with tears so it is probably not working. Being abroad is hard, I left behind a life that I really love and each day that I am away from it it gets harder and harder.

I wanted my year abroad to be so spectacular and glamorous but as the days go by I miss home more and more. I am lucky that it isn't the place that I hate being in but rather what I hate is being away from the people I love. Whoever came up with the saying "There's no place like home" perhaps popularly known from the Wizard of Oz hit the nail on the head. I say this all the time but I can travel to the most amazing places in the world but it will pale in comparison to being with the people that I love.

I am just having a really hard time being away from those people and I find myself constantly counting down the days until my boyfriend visits, until I go home for Christmas and until my mom and sister come here and a big part of me feels sad that what I look forward to has nothing to do with Spain. I do suppose though that in terms of people visiting me here the reason I look forward to it is because I will finally be able to really enjoy Spain because I won't have to feel lonely or unwanted.

I mean I know I'll be more than fine, I am only here until the first week in February and I go home for Christmas in between it is just sometimes I feel so suffocated by how homesick I am, like my heart is broken from leaving my life back home and starting a new one here.

And it is strange because I am usually so good at adjusting and being away from home. I went to the Dominican Republic for months, Florida, New Hampshire and I was fine. But here, being across the Atlantic sans friends and family is painfully hard.

I try to seize the day, make the most of it and I do but there is still that voice in my head saying "What are you doing Antoinette? Why aren't you home? You know you are miserable". I just feel like my life consists of finding distractions that granted I so enjoy but are in the end are just distractions.

Sigh, maybe writing wasn't such a good idea, I feel a little worse but at least I got to say it to someone other than in my own head.

Like a river bends

Since I've been here which has been a little over a month. I've noticed that Spain is so infused with American culture. I can't walk more than a block without seeing some American fast food from finger lickin' good KFC to trendy Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts or the classic mark of globalization McDonalds. As I am walking down those same streets, every few hundred feet I hear the latest American pop music blasting from various stores, Beyonce, Eminem, Akon you name it and they are desperately listening to it.

I pass by high schools in the afternoon with young Spanish teens pouring out of them and the hoards of kids wear everything from Hilfiger to Ralph Lauren clutching folders of High School Musical plastered with pictures of the American teenage heartthrob Zac Efron. A friend a mine lives with a host family and the kids know every single lyric and dance from that movie, an American movie. I continue on my stroll throughout Madrid and I look at all the new films playing or coming soon, and all the large and highly advertised movies are Americans ones conveniently dubbed for your Spanish viewing pleasure.

Wandering through the streets, I see newsstand after newsstand with a vast majority of the magazine from the states, don’t worry if you can’t live without your Vogue you can get every girly magazine from Cosmopolitan to Marie Claire. After I've had my fill of walking, I hop on the Metro, while waiting for the train I read the advertisements that overwhelm the underground tunnel. I see an ad for Sketchers with Ashlee Simpson, and I laugh. What is Ashlee Simpson doing in the metro of Madrid, and in Spanish no less, I’d be surprise if she knew how to say sneaker in Spanish. The train arrives, I get on and immediately in front of me I see their version of "poetry in motion" and there is an ode to New York with a nice drawing of the Empire State building.

My stop is up I get off the train and walk the couple of blocks to my apartment. On my street to the left of me is Plaza Mayor, the most famous plaza in Spain. I peer over my shoulder and see tents set up in the plaza for some sort of exhibition so out of curiosity I check it out. It seems like a big ordeal. I near closer and I read the logo on the tents "Viva America" it reads, a celebration for my lovely homeland.

It is as if America is everywhere is Spain, they even have a highly populated chain called "VIPS" which we all know stands for "very important person/people" those very important people being Americans. VIPS specializes in making all our delicacies, the all American hamburger, cheeseburger or Texas burger, you can't forget Texas. Not only to they make all the typical America food you miss to eat right there on the spot but they also sell for your enjoyment American products, miss marshmallows or peanut? Well lucky for you, VIPS has whatever typical Spanish stores don't. Not to mention that VIPS isn't the only chain that serves as a beacon for Americanizing your stay in Spain. Spain even has its very own Dean and Deluca, however it is differently named, Hespen and Suarez they call it, so as to mask their American imitation but not too much so that you can distinguish it from sight. The metal shelving, the pristine organization, the ambience, the logo font and the reasonable prices for “gourmet” food, 9 euros (about $12.50) for a bottle of ranch dressing, of course that's reasonable.

American culture is everywhere from the stationary shops fully equipped with Disney princess notebooks, folders, school supplies galore to the availability of coca-cola and sprite at every restaurant, bodega, and grocery store. I know that I live in the largest city in Spain so perhaps that is why America has such a huge influence on the city but it quite baffling. I thought Europe was to have this unique flair, this separation from the West, except I encounter it where ever I go. For all that Europe hates us, they seem to be loving or at the very least doing fine with having a lot of our culture infused into their daily lives like it or not.

I was thinking, I bet if you ask a Spaniard who the president of America is, they more often then not would be able to tell you Bush. If you asked an American who the prime minister of Spain was, I'd highly doubt, unless they were really into politics (but even then) that they'd be hard pressed to say Zapatero. And I don't think that is the stereotypical American stupidity, I think it is the disinterest because in world politics Spain isn't so essential, so important. Perhaps it might be ignorant of an Americans, but of course you’d know who Bush is, America runs the world. Ouch. You might say that is me being too elitist, too harsh but we dominate the global political scene that is pretty hard to deny.

Please don't take this as me not liking Spain because I love it or me thinking Spain is just like America, because I know it isn’t, it has many tons of aspects that are very different. America is such a young country, it is couple hundred years old but Spain has centuries of culture and lifestyle that is so rich is hard to beat. Spain is absolutely beautiful and unique it its own right. But I am just constantly surrounded by American culture all the way across the Atlantic and I had to share my observations of what’s around me.

I will end with my trip to Avila, the walled city about an hour and a half outside of the city of Madrid. It is a relatively small city but it is home to one of the oldest European defense walls dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries. It was a lovely day trip that Horchata and I took to escape for the bustling city for a day. Here are a couple of pictures.


A mural made entirely out of carnations of Saint Teresa


Saint Teresa Church, built upon the spot where she was born


The walls the surrond the city of Avila


A view of the city from on top of the walls, it was super cool you can walk on the walls and see everything as this picture shows you


Another pretty view from atop the walls

And all the roads we have to walk are winding

The pier at Marbella, on a clear day you can see Africa


Horchata and I at our very own bar!


The beautiful streets of Marbella

Apparently I have a hair salon in Marbella, who knew?

The beautiful sunset at the beach

More pictures of the breathtaking view

One more

So here are the photos from my lovely vacation to Marbella. I would write more but I am not in the best mood to write a long blog post. I've been feeling really homesick recently and so it has made it quite difficult to enjoy myself here. I just am having trouble being away from the life that I love so much. Sigh. But all continues to go well, Madrid is still a great city, classes and my internship are going well. Actually, my internship is great, the people I work with are so fun. But, that's all for now.

Madarina & Kiwi

I don't really have time to write a long entry and I most definitely will write more later but I just wanted to mention a couple of items. This weekend I went to the province of Andalucia, to a city called Marbella (meaning beautiful ocean) on a mini vacation. Spain pretty much every month has these national holidays called "puentes" (bridges) which elongate the weekend for various causes. This past puente was Spain Day and also Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. Basically puentes serve as an excuse for all of Spain to go on vacation which is what Horchata and I did. We went down south for our puente in hopes of grasping on to the finals days of good weather on the coast. We were in such luck because the weather was absolutely gorgeous when we went there. The sun was shinning, it was about 70 degrees the whole time and just a perfect getaway from bustling Madrid. We took a bus to Marbella which was reasonably price and very convenient. My only qualm with the bus is that the seats are able to recline so much that the head of the person if front of you is pretty much in your lap which makes it not so comfortable. I think there should be a mandate of the angle of allowance for seat tilting because it made the bus ride not so fun at times. If you are smart, you book in advance so you sit in the first row so no one gets the chance to lay their head in your lap, which is what I plan to do for the future. But other then that the bus was hassle free, fairly quick and enjoyable because it got us right to paradise.

When we arrived though we notified our hostel that we'd be arriving at 8AM they failed to open until much later in the day so we rallied and took our luggage and passed out on the beach for 6 hours. I got a great sun tan and plenty of splendid dreams and then to awake, check into our hostel and get ready to meet Horchata's friend Cueva. Who is hysterical and next entry I will talk about him and some of my other observations of the trip. I am going to cut this entry right here so I am not late for babysitting but more later and pictures when this blog site fixes its uploading problem.

A su casa

I am at my internship right now, close to the time I need to leave to get to class at Carlos III. But they always give me work and then I finish it too quickly and I have nothing to do for a bit. I do work and tell them I am done and they tell me to do my work more slowly next time, which is why I am writing a blog post now.

I still really like my internship, just being around the Spaniards is worth it for their witty banter. It is just sort of funny because I don’t think they really have an idea of what to do with an intern so sometimes I just sit and read the news until they find something for me. I think it will get more interesting as time goes on and I have actual projects and perhaps events/organization to participate in for their electoral campaign.

Yesterday I had a lovely day of class. I really just adore my International Law and Human Development class, the professor is a gem. He gave us a detailed syllabus which is such a rarity for Spanish professors (planning in advance isn’t so Spanish) so I was so thankful, but all that he has outlined for the class looks super interesting. I have class with him again today and then also my other class, but that professor is far more traditional, lectures the entire class but he is still interesting at least.

Then after class I went back to my apartment and invited some people over to hang out. I attempted to invite a friend to come over and make dinner with me but she had just finished eating, and she was like I have tons of leftovers I am not going to eat, can I bring them to you? I was so excited, she made fried chicken and mashed potatoes, a very American dinner? Is that even American? I suppose... from the dirty South. It was delicious. Then another friend came over and Horchata finally came home from work, she is staying with me at my piso (apartment) for the time being while hunting for one of her own. We all just hung out, talked and planned trips.

Horchata and I are going to the South of Spain tonight on a bus at I think around midnight to arrive early in the morning Friday. We are going to Marbella, which is a town right on the coast, so it is beach time! I don’t really know what to except of the trip, no idea what the town is like, I just wanted to travel, Horchata said it was nice so we decided to go. I am very excited, where there is beach I am feliz (happy). It will be fun to see a different part of Spain because thus far I only know what city life is like. I wonder how different the Spanish accent will be. I am hoping for warm water so I can tan and swim.

I normally just have my internship Fridays but tomorrow is a holiday, it is Spain day, they are doing a huge parade will a lot of important figures in Spain in Madrid, I will miss it but I feel like the beach is a valid excuse. I think Friday is also the day they celebrate Columbus Day, odd to me since that was Monday in the states, but to each his own.

Time for me to head out to lunch and then class. Until Monday.

Oh also, I got a job! I am going to be watching this German/Spanish girl who is 5 years old, three days a week in the evening speaking English to her. I just met her parents for the interview yesterday and I meet her Monday, I am excited to get to watch her and also to make some sweet dinero (money).

Fotos para ti

My metro station, Sol, which connects me to all of Madrid


My train station to my university Carlos III in Getafe, it is called Atocha Renfe


Plaza Mayor, a peace protest of the Mujeres de Negro "Women in Black", in English their sign reads "Between killing and dying there is a third way: life"


This is the view from outside my terrace, at night and kind of hard to see, better pictures to come but just wanted to give you a preview of what I look out onto at night


This is Puerta del Sol, the geographic center of Madrid, a tourist hot spot and about 4 blocks from my apartment

Home to my father, first cousin, and son

Good heavens! Every time I write in this blog I have so much to say and then I publish it and I realize my entry is ridiculously long and people are probably less inclined to read it, so for that I am sorry. I just always have a lot to say.

Today was my first day at my internship and I really love it. The man that I work for, Orestes is just such a down to earth person, really friendly and seems very on top of his game. I walked into the intimidating building of the PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) and the security guard knew my name right off because I suppose my boss told him he was expecting me and since I don't really look Spanish at all it was no mystery as to who I was. Last time I was at the PSOE I was with a woman, who works in Human Relations like I said to figure out a schedule but today, since it was my first day, I was in the office where I will be working.

I am working for the Secretary of International Relations. I got my own huge desk (like all the other full time workers) my nice desktop, PSOE email, all they had promised. I did a lot of reading today about the party, what is has done in the past 4 years, what it plans to do if they win the elections in March and just basic beliefs of the party. I met a few of my coworkers, me and 3 other full time workers sit in cubicles that form a square, but the walls dividing the cubicles are short so we all can see each other and chat, which we did a bit since I am the new girl. They were all so friendly, all appear to be at the oldest in their early 30s, if that but all very energetic, witty and fun to be around.

They were swearing like it was no tomorrow in the office, I was shocked because last week my impression of the office was pretty serious, my interview was relaxed because we were only figuring out my schedule but the appearance of the building as well as everyone in business attire lead me to believe it was far more formal. But once I stepped into my floor, people were swearing (joder which means "fuck" or "to mess with", Spaniards often stay "no me jodas" meaning "stop fucking/messing with me" but definitely a derogatory term) and the men wearing jeans loosened the tone of the office. But everyone was great, they said we should eat lunch together sometime this week. I also knew that the internship would be far more relaxed when I told my boss I was scheduled to come in at 9:30AM and he was like that is really early, people probably won't be here, you don't have to come that early. I probably will anyway just because I am so excited to be in the midst of an office of Spaniards who are interested in politics. Also the PSOE gets this neat little packet of all the newspapers in Spain complied for them to read when they get to the office, very convenient and free.

I am not 100% sure of what I am going to be doing for the duration of the internship. A lot of it will be translating things from Spanish to English for my department which will be cool because I will have to read everything my department creates, which is a lot, international relations spans so much. I also am going to be in charge of this event with different American political organizations like MoveOn.org and inviting and organizing them to come to Spain for like a conference of organizations of that type, that should be a big and cool project, we didn't get to details but I am already excited.

My boss also talked about me teaching more English to the department and helping them with pronunciation so they don't sound funny when they are trying to speak English. It was extremely amusing when my boss was talking about the grunge culture in Seattle, but his pronunciation of "grunge" brought us both to laughter. Anyway, I am very excited and it feels like this internship will be an incredible experience because they are treating me like one of their own.

Also, crazy but Jose Luis Zapatero, the Prime Minister of Spain's office is on my floor so whenever he comes to the party's building, it is very likely he will just be around the office. So different from the USA, when would a foreign student get an internship that puts them within a couple hundred feet of our president? Probably never. I am super excited to potentially have a Zapatero sighting but also to learn more about Spanish politics.

Ok, in the interest of not writing too much to read, I will save more commentary for perhaps later tonight or tomorrow.

Mmm, hot

I really need to start getting my act together and start doing more cultural activities. I’ve been still getting settled, getting stuff for my room, organizing my life and I haven’t delved into the museums or monuments, all the cultural things that Madrid has to offer. I think I will start that quest tomorrow.

Monday, I had my “interview” for my internship. Interview is in quotes because it wasn’t really an interview so much as it was a time for me to sit with the woman who works in human resources and figure out a schedule. My resume had somehow got passed on to the Socialist Party. Originally I was told by the Middlebury coordinators that working directly for a political party is impossible, they don’t do internship, and it is not customary, especially for foreigners. Also the concept of an internship is lost on the Spaniards, why anyone would work without getting paid is beyond comprehension.

Anyway, I then decided that I would work for the cultural foundation of the Socialist Party, so basically an extension of the party but no so directly related to politics. I was kind of bummed because the politics nerd that I am wanted to be right in the action but I was still content that I could get anything close to politics. Then for some reason the foundation I was supposed to do the internship for couldn’t coordinate a schedule for me, but I simutaneously received even better news that in the process of trying to get my that internship my resume had been passed along to the actual Socialist Party (PSOE) and that they wanted me to do an internship working with the Secretary of International Relations. I was ecstatic because I would get to work directly for the party and in an area of interest. How perfect? I guess that corny saying when one door closes another door opens actually proved to be true.

I went for the “interview” and arrived at a large intimidating building, it was decked out in PSOE logos, and it was modern and pristine. I walked up to the security desk and asked for the person I was to see for the interview. The security guard asked me if I was sure that I had to see the person I was looking for. I nodded, he said, oh is this something personal (insinuating that I’d have no other business at the PSOE unless it was personal) and I said no it was for an interview. He asked me looking quite puzzled if I had spoken to Ms. Molina? I replied yes, I am here to see her, I have an appointment. I guess after a few more puzzled stares I finally convinced him and he let me proceed. I passed through a turnstile, and then walked through a melt detector and my bag traveled on a conveyor belt to inspect what was inside. Then I was directed to go to the fifth floor where Ms. Molina was waiting for me.

The “interview” was a joy, she basically just wanted to solidify that I was indeed who she had down on paper. She went down my resume, asking about my different experiences, interested in the type of work I had done etc. Then she asked when I was free to work and when could I start. We calculated that I’d work 17 hours a week (a big change from my 70-80 hours a week with Hillary), but is still a heck of a lot more than the amount of hours I’d be attending for a third class, because I get credit for this internship as a class so I am doing that instead of taking 3 classes at Getafe.

But I think this experience is priceless, I am so looking forward to understanding how politics functions in another country, the ins and outs. It is perfect timing with elections coming up in March. I am sure even if I am stuck photocopying being around these important people in the party will give me a lot of insight. I start this coming Monday, and I am working everyday in the morning except for Wednesday (obviously no weekend work because that is unheard of in Spain). I tried to get Fridays off to travel, but she says if I plan to go away, I can just work extra another day so I was glad to see that this would be flexible so I can spread my wings in Europe. Another perk of the internship is that she explained I’d be treated just as if I worked for the party (only I am working less hours she explained was the difference), I will have my own desk, my own desktop computer, my own official PSOE email and be just like everyone else. That felt exciting. I look forward to Monday, I think having this internship will finally force me to carpe diem and do more with my spare time. Because working 17 hours a week for the internship on top of 2 classes at Getafe and a grammar class at the Sede will be a ton. I am also working to get a part time job to teach English to earn some extra money on the side to travel. I am trying my hardest to be more appreciative about how hard my parents work by spending my own money.

I also had my first classes this week and more to come. I go to school in a suburb of Madrid, I take the metro to a hub for a plethora of trains. I then take that train to Getafe, which is just South of Madrid about 20 minutes on the train. The whole commute takes about 40 minutes to an hour. I actually enjoy having a commute to school, I guess I got so used to it from East Side Middle School traveling 1.5 hours to school and then to high school commuting 1 hour to Laguardia. I need to start bringing my iPod, I do like hearing Madrid life going on around me but I miss the solace in listening too a good playlist like I did everyday of middle school and high school.

My school is called Carlos III University, in Getafe where I am taking the Spanish Political System and then International Law & Human Development. The Spanish Political System seems like a good introductory course to Spanish politics which I think is important for me to know, the professor seemed kind, big class about 40 students, mixed with Spaniards and Erasmus students (Erasmus is the study abroad program for European students, giving them the chance to study in other European countries which is a fairly recent development).

Then International Law & Human Development was awesome, a fairly young professor who just was awesome. He said that he was not like a classical professor that lectures all the time but a lot of his class will be participation in the course. He said about 40-50% of a final grade will be the final exam and the rest is our participation in class, I was so glad to hear that. Because during orientation we were warned that our finals (one exam at the end of the semester, lasting about 2 hours with often only one question to which you must answer with all you’ve learned from the entire course, lots of pressure to say the least) and that the final normally would count for 85-100% of our final grade and that most of our professors would just lecture the entire 2 hours of class, we’d take notes and go, no discussion. Thus, Professor Oliva, my International Law & Human Develop is a saving grace.

Side note, so I forget if I posted about the details of my living situation but I will do it briefly. I live with this amazing couple in their 30s, they are what I hope JD and I are when we are married, they are just so fun and easy going and they love life. They are also like my pseudo parents because they give me advice on pretty much all that I do here. But the wife is from Italy, and is fluent in English, Italian, French and Spanish which is super cool and I am very jealous of her multilingualism. Her husband who I thought was from England is actually from New Zealand but I couldn’t tell the accent apart which I thought was so funny because it is a very different country, he speaks workable Spanish. I adore them though, they are so helpful and warm, and I seriously feel like I hit the jackpot with them. I just thought the New Zealand confusion was silly of me and I felt like sharing.

I’ll close with this, I was flipping through a study abroad magazine and I saw this factoid so I thought I’d share. 3,587 miles is the distance between Madrid and New York City, it is as if that factoid was placed there to remind me just how far I am from home and how hard it is. Like I’ve said before, it isn’t that I don’t love Madrid, it is just that I had it so good back home. I miss you all. Until next time.

Haiku for Jamie

Dedicated to JMac Daddy who if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have my beautiful apartment here in Madrid nor would I be the person I am today without his love and support, in all seriousness. This poem is for him.

My best friend Jamie
He is too good to be true
Life without him sucks

When the World Ends

I just got done eating some Smurf macaroni, yes you read correctly, Smurf as in those tiny blue creatures that wear white pants, white hats and peculiarly no shirts. I went grocery shopping the other day and I came across this Smurf macaroni and couldn't resist, after all is only cost 53E cents which is extremely cheap as opposed to going out to restaurants all the time which is what I had to do my first week or so.

Which reminds me I need to go food shopping tomorrow, I love going food shopping here because it is a different experience from America. It is like a scavenger hunt, you go to many different stores to find the best apples to mushrooms, the freshest milk to chicken, rather than it all being in a Stop & Shop or Hannaford's you must search the city for vendors that sell the best of each respective item. I go to this open air market with many many many different vendors all side by side, it looks like the equivalent of a flea market in the US except this time with food. That is why when you find a vendor with the best figs you feel like you've found a treasure, or when you find the one bakery in Madrid that makes loaves of bread that aren't white, it is like you've found the needle in the haystack and it is very rewarding.

Although in the past couple of days I've realized how limited my food repertoire is. I barely know how to cook much else beside pasta and put together good salads. Thankfully my Dad introduced me to Sam the Cooking Guy who is this awesome chef/cook who makes really awesome food but with simple ingredients and methods so I am going to experiment. I am actually really excited to learn how to cook for myself, it is an important life skill. This Friday I have a Spanish cooking class which I am also looking forward to.

Today was a great day. Last night I didn't go out but bummed around, because I got less than 5 hours of sleep the previous night and Saturday I took a trip to Escorial, a suburb of Madrid a little over an hour away. The Middlebury students in my program and our “ayudantes” ( helpers who are Spanish college students who are basically paid to be our friends and to show us around Madrid) took us to visit a monastery where the Kings and Queens of Spain are buried along with a lot of the royal family. The monastery was beautiful, lots of gold, murals on the ceilings, grand paintings, elaborate furniture and intricate door cravings, it was nice. But after a long day I just hung out at my apartment, chatted up the people I live with who I love so much, if I stay the year I hope I can live here my entire time, seriously this living situation is perfection.

Well, I slept until around 11:30AM today because I was up late talking to my boyfriend, JD, we bought a ticket for him to come visit me. He is coming November 9th-19th and I already have begun a countdown. It is just so hard being so far away from the person you love. I think it is especially hard because we lived together this summer so I got so used to coming home to and waking up next to the same person. But he will get to visit and see my life in Madrid and I can't wait. I must get on getting a job here to pay back the plane ticket so my poor Mom doesn't have to work like a dog as she says.

After rolling around in bed, I texted/called a couple of friends to go to El Rastro basically this huge flea market in Madrid, it is probably a couple miles long. They sell everything from clothes to jewelry, to handicrafts to electrical appliances to bowls and dishes, really a wide variety. It was just a great day to take a walk and browse the goods, the weather was ideal, super sunny with a gentle breeze. I am on my best shopping behavior because I want to travel all around Europe so I constantly think to myself that I'd rather take a flight to Rome then spend money on a new dress or a nice pair of earrings, which I already have plenty of. I would say in terms of shopping I am taking a fasting mentality so I can save up to see the world. I am proud because since I've been here I haven't bought anything but food, I bought a few postcards and a webcam to Skype with the family and boyfriend but really nothing else which knowing what a shopaholic I am is hard to believe.

El Rastro was an experience, it was jam packed with people, it was sometimes hard to maneuver through the crowd, but it was interesting to see people speaking everything from Chinese to French and of course plenty of Spaniards out to find the best deals through all the tents cluttered with items for sale, 6 pairs of socks for 3E to an entire tent with earrings for 2E a pair. After that I walked around for a bit with my friends and then Horchata texted me to go out for ice cream. I wanted to go see some Salvador Dali work at the Reina Sofia (one of Madrid's most famous museums) so I said I'd meet her after, sadly it was closed so I returned to my house.

I then made myself a wonderful salad, I get excited at any and all food that is naturally green because you hardly ever find it in restaurants. I sat in my living room which gets ridiculous amounts of light because of the 3 terraces that line the room. It was such a friendly room to eat in despite that I was alone, as corny as it sounds the sunshine was like my company.

Then after that I met Horchata for ice cream. I got Hazelnut (which had granules of actual hazelnut) and then dulce de leche. She and I walked for a bit and we ended up at El Retiro, the biggest park in Madrid, it is like their verison of Central Park. It waspacked full of people but lovely still, flowers all over, and lots of fountains. Madrid has fountains galore, it is like you walk maybe 5 blocks in any direction on the major streets and there are gorgeous fountains everywhere, I love them. There was also a man-made lake full of row boats which was lovely and when JD comes if the weather permits we can rent one, it looked so picturesque.

Side note, one aspect of food that I love here is that I hardly eat anything that is processed. I really only drink water and all the food I buy is fresh, which is refreshing because in the US when I look at labels of the food I eat I can barely recognize the name of 2-3 ingredients and the rest are chemicals and junk.

Wow, I tire myself writing this much, I need to cut down.

Anyway, after our splendid time in the park Horchata's Spanish friend called her to come meet him. He and his other Spanish friend wanted to have a hamburger, and guess where? McDonald's! I swore I wouldn't step foot inside any American establishment because I am in Spain to do as the Spaniards do but I made an exception because the Spaniards wanted the Big Mac haha, of course I did not partake in the consumption of any of the food but was rather there for company.

They enjoyed the food and explained to me they only go 2-5 times a year as a guilty pleasure. It was really awesome being with Spaniards though, they were both so kind and it was nice to finally hear about how Spain is, what Spanish culture/customs are from the actual people who live it rather than observing it myself.

After the McDonalds rendezvous we went to “tomar copas” (get drinks). I explained to the Spaniard that I didn't like red wine and that I was hoping that after my time in Spain that I would acquire a taste for it. He suddenly became very excited in helping me reach that goal and proceed to teach me all about wine, different types, marks, origins, flavors... all different aspects of wine. It was like a crash course for beginners but it is great, just what I needed because I was going about this wine thing all wrong. The best part was that all this was in Spanish, I know I've said this over and over again but I love speaking Spanish, just the idea of communicating and thinking in another language is so enjoyable. Hopefully, this knowledge will be the start of a beautiful friendship with me and "vino tinto" (red wine).

I think that is a hefty entry for now but today just makes me look forward to meeting more Spaniards to get to use my Spanish as much as possible and learn more about this culture. I am also really excited to become closer with Horchata, I love her and so thankful she is taking me under her wing. I just really enjoy her company, we have such a good time together.

And really the last thing is so far my schedule is that I don't have class either Monday or Friday which is sweet. I want to keep it that way, hopefully my intership can be in the mornings Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday because then I can travel and enjoy Spain with a schedule like that.

I have my interview for the internship with the Socialist Party, more details about all of that tomorrow.

What to do tomorrow during the day? I wonder.

Oh Madrid!

This coming Saturday will mark my second week in Madrid. Thus far I am learning to love the city more and more each day. I think the best part of studying here is getting to speak Spanish, I love the language and it feels wonderful to get to use it. I am torn whether to write my blog in English or Spanish. If I write in Spanish I can practice more but then it prohibits my friends and family that don't speak the language to read about my life, perhaps I will alternate or depending on the topic I am writing about I will shift languages. We'll see.

Today was a pretty good day. I had orientation classes in the morning at Sede Prim (Middlebury's school in Madrid). I love my grammar professor, she is a character. She basically acts out everything she teaches us with so many hand movements and facial gestures, it makes class a joy because you feel as though you are watching a play. She also looks like a rubber figurine which make it even more entertaining, kind of like the horse from Gumby, what's his name... I had to Google it, it is Pokey. My professor looks like a Spanish version of Pokey, haha. Next time I see her it is going to be hard to retain the laughter.

After classes I had lunch with Horchata (I can't decide if I want to use real names or code names, in my livejournal that I kept in middle school and high school I alway used code names for the sake of some level of privacy but I am still unsure as to how I feel about that in this instance but for now I will.) None the less, Horchata is a friend I know from Middlebury, she is one of my boyfriend's best friends from home and I met her through KDR (the social house I pledged last Fall). She arrived yesterday and will be teaching English in Madrid for the year at least. She studied in Getafe (the school I am going to study at) and she also has visited Spain quite a bit.

I've been feeling pretty lonely/homesick the past couple of days and like I said to her nothing cures loneliness quite like the sight of a farmiliar face. We had a nice time walking around for a bit and then grabbing a bite to eat. I had amazing paella, I need to learn how to make it. It is this classic Spanish dish, bright yellow rice (perhaps it is flavored with saffron and hence why it is yellow) with seafood, clams, shrimp, fish, scallops (lots of different seafood, it depends where you get the paella what kind of seafood will be in it) but it was amazing. I am going to take cooking classes here and upon my return make paella and sangria for everyone. It was nice to have a lovely meal outside in a quasi park with great company.

The food here has taken getting used to but I am liking it more. It is just at restauarants don't really serve vegetables and salads are expensive and not very green or plentiful. They also only serve white bread, there is no other type of bread option, it is white bread or nothing. Potatoes are a very popular side dish, it seems to me no matter what I order next to it are extremely greasy french fries. I am quite shocked that with a menu like this Spaniards aren't heavier, but perhaps that is because many do not go to restauarants but rather cook for themselves most likely healthier food and they also walk everywhere because Madrid is so concentrated.

I can hear sounds of the street from the terrace in my room. Did I mention I have a terrace? Yep, it is beautiful, I am so lucky to have it, it looks out onto some very pretty streets in Spain, the famous Calle Mayor which I live on. The panoramic picture that you see on top of this blog is the Plaza Mayor, Madrid's largest and most famous plaza. They used to bullfight there hundreds of years ago, but now it has many shops and restaurants with lovely outside seating (note to self, I need to learn more about the history of Plaza Mayor). As you can see from the picture it is so beautiful and it is just a block from my house (One of the many reasons to come visit me!). I really lucked out with this apartment, it couldn't be more perfect in terms of the people I live with and the location. More details later, I am getting a little tired of writing. But yes, where I live is lovely.

But as I was saying I can hear the sounds of the streets below me and I hear a street worker with a hose, each night they clean the city, it is actually pretty incredible, coming from NYC this concept of a very clean city is very foreign to me. Like there is hardly any garbage around the city and if you hose down the streets and sidewalks each night just imagine how much cleaner and nicer it looks than NYC? I wonder why we don't do this in NYC, I mean it would cost a lot of money but it would make the apperance of the city a lot better and create jobs. Perhaps this will be an innovative platform on city beautification in the US that will help me win the election when I run for Senate or something like that.

Well, I think that is enough for my first entry and I will be writing loads and loads in the weeks and months to come and hope you keep up with my life in Spain. I love you all and miss you tons.

If you want to write me here in Spain which I would love, my address is

Calle Mayor 49, Piso 2, #9
Madrid, Spain 28013.

Hasta luego! (Until later)