Classes, Retiro, Prado, and other things Spanish

So I came down with something this past weekend...some cold-like. At first I thought it was an allergy to all the cigarette smoke cuz that's when I was really feeling my lack of ability to breathe, but now I'm pretty sure it was just a cold. Therefore, didn't get out much this week as I just wanted to sleep it off.

Love my classes, love my classmates. My teachers are really fun and helpful, and my classmates are all really nice. I feel like I'm getting a good review of some of the things I'm not so good at in my Spanish grammar, which is great. Definitely stuff I need to work on.

As for Madrid, here are some things I did get out and do this week:

Went to El Rastro, a HUUUUUUGE market that happens Sunday mornings in madrid. Like, literally took us an hour to walk all the way through half of it. Jam packed.


We also did a little shopping. We needed notebooks. Weirdly, everyone writes on graph paper here apparently...we couldn't find lined notebooks. (It's actually something I really like though...makes my handwriting less crazy)
But this is the big store of Spain El Corte Ingles. It's like what Macy's is in NYC.


And Emily and I explored Parque de Retiro, and the next day I went on a run. When I went on the run I found the lake, so I didn't take pictures of that area yet, but here are some we took while we were there:





And today we went to the Museo del Prado, where we saw a lot of art by Valesquez, Guyo, and el Greco.




And after the Museo, Emily, Aly, Arianna, and I all finally went to one of the big lunches at a restaurant nearby. Essentially, it's two courses and a dessert, so I got the paella, veal, and flan.

Why yes, that is a mini crab staring at the camera:




Things that have surprised me in Spain:
Fanta is everywhere.
Everyone has a dog and a car. It's weird seeing so many people walking dogs in such a big city.
The clothes are a lot more casual than what I'd been told to expect.
Customer service is completely different too. Waiters here actually make a decent living apparently, so tipping isn't required, so they don't come by and check on the table constantly. Which is kind of nice except when you want the bill and no one is to be found.
I have been drinking water from the tap the whole time I've been here and have yet to get sick.
The milk comes in a box and it's not refrigerated.
We have a microwave and internet in the house, both of which we were also told not to expect. So nice surprises.
The way to flush a toilet I swear to god changes every time. I always get so confused; do I pull the knob up, push it down, pull on the thing dangling from the ceiling that doesn't appear to be attached to it?

It's been hard for me to make friends here; you get so used to the way of theatre kids, just loving on everyone and being totally open and friendly. I'm not saying people here aren't friendly, it's just different. And I'm such an introverted person at first because I like to observe people and group dynamics. So hopefully I'll find my place to fit in soon.