Blogger extraordinaire?

So, I'm still not so sure how I feel about blogs, but as I wanted to stop spamming people with my ridiculously long mass e-mails, I thought it might be the way to go for this year. Only time will tell if I am good at keeping up with this (and if anyone reads it!) I am already feeling the blogging pressure.....

Also, to make this chronologically accurate, I'm going to add a few more pictures and the first few e-mails I sent when I got here....

September 6

I've reached Madrid safely and that it is as lovely as I remember it. Having not slept a wink on the plane, yesterday seemed like the longest day ever (as it was- by the time I went to bed I had been awake for over 40 hours) - overwhelming, exciting, and tiring all at the same time. But just one day later, I feel settled into my new apartment where I am now sitting with my new roommate Simona (who is Romanian but speaks Spanish like a native, having lived here for 7 years). The street below is just starting to fill up with people eating at the terrazzas (mind you, it's 8 pm), my neighbor is blasting my favorite opera song (Turandot), and our new visitor, the adorable kitten from next door who snuck in via the balcony is keeping us fairly entertained. How's that for ambience?

I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of time in the common room, actually, considering my room is about the same size, if not smaller than, my freshmen year Kissam single. (It's nice that I've grown and accomplished so much in these past five years, isn't it?) The perk is that I get my own bathroom, but there's a catch: it's about the size of my parents' walk in closet (actually probably smaller; I can't even stand in there with my arms spread out in any direction). You have to bend your knees a bit at the sink to accomodate the portruding toilet and the shower "stall" is little more than an elevated square of tiles and a handheld shower.

However, before you all start thinking how crazy I am, let me reassure you that my apartment is nice and clean, with a great view, in a superb location. I live, literally, across the street from the Reina Sofia (the Madrid modern art equivalent of MOMA in NYC), a hop skip and jump away from the Prado, and a ten-minute walk from the city center. I couldn't be happier. Plus, my roommates are nice - I have only met 2/3, because the other is on vacation, but get this: they are all vegetarian (or semi-vegetarian). No one cooks meat in the house, which is good for me, as my room is right off the kitchen. One is a social worker, one is a translator (she is Spanish, but born and raised in Germany) and teaches German classes, and the Romanian is a hippie liberal fly-with-the-wind artist who is also a social worker. How do I find these people? They are all really friendly and I think we'll get along swell.

I have also met the other Fulbrighters, some of whom I had been e-mailing and communicating with through the internet all summer. They're a great, quirky bunch so far and I'm having a fun time getting to know them. It's nice to have a support network built into place here and helps with transition- it doesn't seem nearly as lonely because everyone is in the same boat. Orientation begins on Monday, so I'm looking forward to learning more about our jobs, meeting the coordinators, etc.

So, with a rather belated and poor attempt at brevity, I will leave you all to do the vastly more important things you have to do than read about my madrilena musings. I hope this e-mail finds you all well - please do write! I will do the same and send pictures as soon as I have some. Also, please, please send me your snail-mail address so you can open your box one fine day to find something personal among the bills and crappy sales magazines!

September 18

In other updates, yesterday was my first day of school and I'm still reeling from the experience. The Spanish schools are very different here in their organization and the beginning of the school year (yesterday was the first day for the kids also) is always chaotic apparently. The school itself is physically lacking any sort of posters on the walls, though apparently we're going to try to change that. The style of teaching is also different. In the class I sat in on, the teacher actually had the students do dictation! In the world of pedagogy, that is so, so old school.

The teachers are very relaxed, but somehow it works, because the kids seem to speak English very, very well. I'm really excited about working at the school (though the commute is one hour door to door each way by train) and about getting to know the kids. They are adolescents through and through: self-segregated and awkward, but still wholly interested and lovable. Tomorrow is my first lesson ("All about Monica" and "All about the USA") so wish me luck….

Other than that, I have been enjoying the Spanish lifestyle. For example, this past weekend, we went walking around the city until 7 AM, then I woke up to go to have lunch with a friend (cheap Doner Kebabs, delicious!), went to the Reina Sofia again, sat in the court yard talking about art and books, went to my neighborhood's indie bookshop, walked around the neighborhood, came back to meet my fourth roommate, and went out that night for chocolate and churros. Sunday brought on shopping with all of my roommates for plants and house-things with my roommate at the Rastro (huge outdoor market), then lunch back at the house with them, then the Prado museum and walking around Retiro Park (Madrid's equivalent to Central Park -- here's a picture of my Fulbright amiga Rachel and her novio Alf in the park). Yesterday, my roommate Simona got the job of her dreams, so we celebrated with a bottle of wine and ended up inviting over our neighbor (who we started talking to because of his visiting kitten Lola) and Simona's friend Raul and just passed away the night with bread, goat cheese and brie, and wine and champagne. It was genial.

Today, I am going to Alcala de Henares, about 40 minutes outside of Madrid so that I can see the birthplace of Cervantes. Then some errands and lesson planning and grocery shopping (I am going to become quite the cook being here!) An example of my cooking-- a romantic dinner for one on my terrace...