Rockin' The Urbs

Where to start? Although I haven’t even been here for a week yet, it already seems like a second home. After shopping at the Rastro, becoming an expert on the Madrid metro, and eating everything from gazpacho to churros with chocolate, I feel like I’ve been wrapped up in the Spanish culture.

Since I last posted, our three-week-long intensive Spanish class has started, covering grammar and conversation. Both professors, Alicia and Rosana, are from Madrid (meaning they have that characteristic Castillian lisp that I’m trying hard to pick up) and are very friendly women eager to help us freshen up on our Spanish skills. Rosana is also a poet and some of her work (and some pictures of her) are on her website, which you should definitely check out. Luckily, the homework so far has been light, allowing us to take advantage of the offerings Madrid holds.

One such activity is the Rastro, a huge street market where everything from incense to t-shirts to art is sold, and cheaply! I was on the lookout for some euro sunglasses but couldn’t find any that were just right.

Rastro crowds

To add a little excitement to the trip to the Rastro, on the way back on the metro, which was crowded beyond imagination, a little old Spanish lady got pickpocketed and started screaming like nobody’s business. What makes this scary is that Carlos Jauregui told us that, based on previous years, 40% of us would suffer the same fate!

Crowd on the escalators for the metro

We also took advantage of our free time in the true Madrileño style by being “trasnochadores” – the Spanish equivalent of a night owl – by going to Kapital, a seven-floor club for dancing your heart out until six in the morning. Although it was a great time, I don’t think I could handle all-nighters every weekend, seeing as the next day I took about three hour-long naps and had some sore legs from five hours’ worth of dancing.

Hopefully the week to come will bring as much fun as this past week has.

Until next time, I’m going to do my best (and you should do yours) to NOT follow these instructions posted at a restaurant:

Prohibido Cantar / No Singing