Tapas americanas

I'm back!

My host family got me a modem (it plugs into a USB port) that taps into the Vodafone 3G network. It doesn't always get a terrific signal, but it's the internet, and I can take it just about anywhere, which is very cool.

Fortunately, not much went down this weekend. I was so tired! I slept until 12:30 yesterday (Saturday), which is late, even for me.

We did take a field trip to Madrid on Friday. The city is so big! I don't know how it is compared to like New York or Chicago, but it's so wide open that it looks much bigger. The streets are wider and the buildings aren't as tall, so it seems very broad.

We didn't spend much time in any one place. Fausto (one of the CIEE program leaders) led us around the city pointing out places of interest so we might know where to go when we return. The trouble, of course, is that it was all in Spanish, so I still don't really know what we saw... but there was what I'm pretty sure was an art museum that I'd like to return to. We also learned the metro system, and they left us in Madrid to figure out how to get back on our own (which we did, successfully). I was going to try to go back this weekend, but I was just out of energy. Next weekend.

Apparently, it's very common to have cookies for breakfast. That's what Adrián has all the time, and that's what Ana always offers me. "¿Quieres algo de comer? ¿Una galletita?"

Tonight, I met a few American students who have been here since last semester. We went out for tapas (basically small plates, like appetizers) and drinks. It's common here for them to bring you a sampling of tapas when you order a drink, so we ordered a round of drinks (there were about ten of us), and they brought us some tapas. One plate was Spanish jamón, salchicha, and tortilla on hamburger buns, and the other plate was piled high with hot-dogs and ketchup. It was kind of hilarious.

Since Friday, I've decided to learn a new word (or phrase) every day. Friday's word of the day was quedar. Not to be confused with quedarse, which means to stay or remain, quedar means to meet up (with someone). If I want to tell my family I'm going out, I can say, "Voy a salir," which means, "I'm going out," or I can say, "Voy a quedar con mis amigas en el centro," "I'm meeting my friends downtown," which is more specific, and therefore preferable.

On Saturday, I learned arreglarse, which is like to get ready for the day (literally, to fix oneself). Now, after breakfast, I have something informative to say when I leave the table: "Voy a arreglarme."

Today's word is subir. It's not very exciting; it just means to go up (i.e. upstairs), but it's something I've been wondering how to say for a little while.

More classes tomorrow! Art History and Cervantes' Work. I haven't had them yet. I hope they're interesting (and that I can understand what's going on...).

Hasta luego.