Piso hunting? Done and Done!

Oh that's right! We found an apartment!! YAY!

It's in a barrio (neighborhood) called Chamberi which is pretty centrally located and our place is near several Metro stops which is great because we can get around to everywhere we need to go. Our place has a pretty big bathroom with a washing machine and a nice sized kitchen too. There's also a living room with some couches, tv, and stereo. Kate and I are sharing a room which isn't huge but it does have a large window with a little balcony which will be so nice once it gets a little warmer! We also have two roomates: Cristian from Spain, and Freddy from Columbia- both very nice (and both gay- how fabulous!) We're like a cute, little, disfunctional, Spanish family but I think it will work out really well! The guys are really laid back and when we went to see the place and take care of rent payments, Cristian took us out for drinks at a local bar and then back to the apartment for more drinks! We ended up spending 5 hours with the guys- just chatting and getting to know each other- they're very patient with us when we try to talk with them so it's relaxing and fun- pretty much makes the whole apartment hunt worth it. (and we'll have internet!!! yay!!)

To celebrate Kate and I decided to treat ourselves to a little vacation. We booked a trip to Segovia, a small town about 45 minutes away from Madrid. It is SO beautiful and quiet there- very easy to get around and the people are very friendly. We did sight seeing during the day on Friday and then went out to explore the Segovian night life. Very, very fun place! The only downside was trying to find something to eat- the Segovian specialty is "roast suckling pig": perfect if you're my brother, not so good for two vegetarian chicas. We ended up finding a small cafe that served veggie lasagna. There's a huge, beautiful, gothic cathedral that we had gone into during the day, and the cafe we ate at had a gorgeous view of the church. All in all a great success for our first trip! (Well, Toledo was technically our first trip but this was the first one we planned on our own. The only frustrating part was trying to find the damn bus station, haha)

Last night (well technically this morning) we got together with other kids from our program to watch the Super Bowl. The Bears scored in the first 14 seconds people! Come on! Anyways...that's all I'm going to say about that. (One girl from Chicago was pretty funny though. She turns to me after the game and goes: "I'm just not used to Chicago not winnning when they're in the finals. I mean, Bulls, White Sox, Bears...it's just a given that if a Chicago team makes it to the finals they will win!" Oh well. Next year.)

Today was the first day of our Reunidas classes (the ones with other Americans). I have three of them Monday and Tuesday and then I'll have two Compluense classes, also on Monday and Tuesday. Those start next week. For now I'm taking an art history class that includes trips to the Prado museum, a Latin American history class, and a Spanish film class (we're watching our first movie tomorrow!) While I'm not the biggest fan of getting up early to go to school, it's nice to get a routine started. (Plus, only having classes two days a week means soooo much time to travel! Working on a trip to Ireland as we speak)

Overall I'm finally feeling adjusted to life in Madrid. It's a pretty crazy place, but once you know your way around you find it's really not that big and actually very easy to figure out. I think having two Spanish roomates will help too- showing us the local bars, fresh fruit and vegetable markets as well as the grocery stores, and helping us get acquainted with our new home. Now that the other kids have found apartments we'll all be able to get together more and hang out more outside of class. Study Abroad 2007 is finally underway and I'm so glad to finally get out there and relax and live it up!!

Much love to everyone at home!! I miss you all so much! ( I actually had a dream about my dog last night...weird) Mom, Dad, and Joey- don't worry- I miss you guys more than Abby!

Keep in touch! Only one more week until permanent internet!!
Hasta Luego!
-Nicole