woah where has the time gone!

Time just flies by so quickly here! I didn't even realize it has been so long since my last post. Since then I have had a full week of classes! I had my two nursing labs this week. It was four hours on Tuesday of lab, but it was really easy stuff! In the first lab we learned how to wash our hands and put on and remove gloves. You would never imagine how thorough hand washing can be! The next lab we practiced taking a patient's health history. Doing a full history takes a long time, but I guess it's better to be thorough than leave something out! So far I am really enjoying my classes. THey are all really interesting topics, I just wish some of them were a little shorter. By the second half of class I'm on the verge of sleep and can't pay attention well. If only there was a 5 minute break or shorter class period or something to keep me awake the entire time. Despite being long, the classes are good! It's finally practical nursing skills, not just pre requisite stuff. We found out that we will be starting clinicals in the hospitals in March!! They said we will get to do as much as we possibly can in the hospitals depending on our language level. This means I really need to learn my Spanish so I can do more things at clinicals. They obviously don't want a nursing student helping a patient if they can't understand the patient or the doctor... I really don't want to just observe the whole time, I'm anxious to actually take vital signs and all on a real patient so I'm definitely studying my Spanish medical terms!  I really enjoy my Spanish class though! We just do exercises to practice the vocab in class, and so far it's pretty easy vocab! I'm practicing a lot thought!

I really love our campus. It consists of three buildings all in a row.  I have all, but my spanish class and labs in the same room of one building. Then there's a library/cafeteria building, and then the final building is our spanish and labs. The view from the top of the first building is absolutely incredible!! You can see so much of the city and snow-capped mountains in the background. I promise I'll take pictures soon! I keep forgetting to bring my camera to school!! There's a nice patio area to eat or hang out between classes, and I love it especially when the sun is shining and I can find a nice sun spot to soak in!

I LOVE the metro here in Spain. It's so nice and clean and easy to figure out!! There are so many escalators and I really love escalators! The 30 minute metro ride on the way to and from school is just so nice to sit and relax (or people watch:)).  I've gotten into the habit of reading while I'm on the metro. Usually I read the morning/evening prayers in my Magnificat, but there's always extra time, so I'm going to start bringing my kindle and reading for a little bit every day.  I get kind of sick of the commute sometimes, just because I've never had to travel so much just to get to class, but I really do like it!!

Last night some friends and I decided to go to Lisbon, Portugal the first weekend in February!! It was kind of spur of the moment, but some other friends told us they were going and invited us to go. So we booked flights and a hostel for two nights!! It was all a really good price for a three day trip, so I'm extremely excited about it! We also decided this afternoon to go to Toledo, SPain tomorrow! We're taking a high speed train and staying in Toledo for the entire day! Then on Saturday we're going to Salamanca, Spain with SLU for the day! We also discussed other trips for the entire semester that might include Rome, Barcelona, Majorca Island, and Austria!! I really want to go to London... but my friends might be going over spring break, which I'm already going to Grenada and Sevilla with my parents!! So London might not happen:( but oh well, I've already been there! My friends also might go to Paris for our winter break (we get Thurs and Fri off at the end of February), but I can't go that weekend because of nursing exams the next week, so I might go to Barcelona then for a couple days with some other nurses! That way we can spend 2 days traveling and 2 days studying on our winter break weekend! I'll of course keep you updated on my travel plans and adventures though!

Anyways, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER!!! She's getting so old, graduated, married, a baby on the way, but yet only 23 years old today!! She's accomplished so much and I couldn't be more thankful to have her to look up to! I really miss her and the rest of my family, but I'm there with her in spirit today celebrating!!

first weekend in Madrid

This weekend was full of fun stuff! Friday I slept all day... woops... but then SLU had a Tapas night! We met at the school and then went to a Tapas restaurant with other students. I shared some tapas with a friend. They were so delicious!!! We also met someone who gave us all the in's and out's of life in Madrid and where to travel while we're here. I'm so excited about all the information she gave us!!

Retiro Park... definitely not ugly like my host mom said...

Saturday my friends and I actually woke up at a decent hour. We went out to lunch and then traveled through Retiro Park. The park is absolutely beautiful! Our host mom keeps telling us the park is ugly right now because everything is dead, but I still thought it was fantastic. We walked through the park on our way to the Prado Museum, but when we got there a sign said the museum was closed... then we found out later that night it was actually the wrong building... We'll try again soon to see the Prado. We then wandered around Sol! There were tons of street performers around the plaza. Sol is a great place to just walk around and shop. I bought a pair of boots for really cheap! I kind of have buyer's regret, but they're growing on me a little. After lots of walking we went to Reina Sofia, an art museum with a ton of Picaso artwork. After dinner my friend and I tried to find a jazz club. We walked up and down the street it was supposed to be on for well over an hour and finally gave up finding it. We decided to go to the Hollywood American Restaurant and get dessert instead. I got the most fabulous skillet cookie ever! So our first Saturday night in Madrid we ended up getting ice cream at the American restaurant... good thing that's what I do every weekend in America... We found out when we got home that the jazz club actually closed a while ago and doesn't exist... woops

Sunday was another chill day. We walked around an open air market. It was so crowded, but really cool. A couple of us went to Mass at school in the evening and then out for coffee with the other people at mass afterwards.  We came home for dinner, which was lasagna, and went to bed (after doing some homework). It was a really great, relaxing weekend. I love how interesting the city is.  You can just walk around or take the metro anywhere and not get bored. There's so much to see and enjoy!!

All around Madrid there are these work out areas outside where adults can just work out. They have elliptical type things, stationary bikes, and other things. It's so weird to walk through the park and see people working out outside. It totally makes sense now why everyone here is so healthy and fit though! We walk everywhere!!! My legs have been burning since I arrived here. They also eat a lot healthier. We have toast and some type of cake for breakfast every morning.  A sandwich in the afternoon for lunch. Then soup and another meat or entree for dinner. I really like having soup every night! I never knew there were so many different kinds of soup, but we've had a different one every night. Then there's usually a packaged dessert, like a pudding cup. The food is fabulous, and I'm getting used to the later meal times. Most people actually eat a large lunch and then just a snack in the evening, but since dinner is our provided meal by our host mom and lunch is on ourselves, dinner is our big meal of the day. I have loved every meal I've eaten here so far!! (I do have to say I prefer my mom's lasagna though:)) I think my favorite food so far has been the tortilla de Espana. We had one that was potatoes and onion. It was so good!!

Today is apparently Blue Monday- the most depressing day of the year. It's right after the holidays, no holidays to look forward to soon, half a month until payday for Europeans, and the nights are long and the days are short. It's also really gloomy and rainy here today:( it's the only bad weather we've had since we've been here though, so I can't complain too much! Hope everyone else has a good Monday!

First day of class! First day of class!

Yesterday was our first day of class! I was definitely not ready for classes to begin yesterday.  It felt like Christmas break should have lasted another couple weeks. I made it to my first class on time and without getting lost at all. I've got this metro commute down! I had pathophysiology in teh morning, and then a 4 hour break until my spanish for nursing class in teh evening.  During the break we got to know campus, figured out how to print things at teh library, and sat around for a long time! Our spanish class was extremely intimidating.  The teacher spoke very fast and only in spanish. The entire syllabus was in spanish, and I was one of the "victimos" that had to read the largest paragraph to the class. I can speak and read Spanish really well, I just don't know what words to say usually... I need to learn some more vocab for sure! We had to take a test during class that will determine which section of the class we are in. I'm guessing I passed in to the lower level section... that's fine with me though! I'm very motivated and excited to learn more Spanish while I'm here! I'm hoping I will be somewhat fluent by the end of the 4 months here, and definitely fluent in the medical terms. It was a good first day of classes!

After class we got home in time for dinner, which was a chicken broth with macaroni noodle soup, chicken with a garlic type of sauce, mashed potatoes, and chocolate mousse! Esta muy delicioso!! We then gave some gifts to our host mom since Taylor's luggage finally came! We talked to her and her friend Juan Carlos for a long time. They told us about some of the cities in Spain that we should travel to- Toledo is a must! They told us how grateful they are that we are nice houseguests, but we can't imagine doing anything to disrespect their hospitality. It is so great to feel so at home here in a foreign country. We all really appreciate our home away from home! They have helped us a lot with our Spanish, and are grateful that we can teach each other our languages. Juan Carlos made us all say "Hablo Espanol" and told me I said it the best! Too bad I can speak it but don't know how to say anything... I'm learning a lot though!!

This morning all teh nursing students had an orientation to meet our director and one of the teachers in charge here. They informed us a little how it works here in Madrid.  It was really intimidating hearing how much work it is going to be, and how much more studying we have to do than the other students here, but it was really motivating to. I feel totally ready for this semester and excited about everything we're doing.  It might be a really difficult semester, but it is all interesting and practical content.  I'm very confident that this is going to be my best semester yet- academically and socially!!

My pharmacology teacher is Irish! Her accent is totally awesome, and I think she is a really good teacher! So far I've enjoyed all the teachers in my classes, and they seem very willing to help the students!

After classes we had to go buy school supplies. We went to a Chino store. It's a Chinese store that has everything!! It was a cool store...

Time for dinner! It smells delicious!

Bienvenido a Madrid!

I have been in a Madrid for 2 full days now! Our flights were all very smooth and uneventful, except for a friend and I both losing some luggage. I was forced to check a bag because it would not fit in the compartment, and it was sent on a different flight to Madrid. I received mine yesterday, but my friend's is still MIA:( hopefully it will be found soon. Otherwise our travels were great! We saw so many SLU students, or students on their way to SLUMadrid in the airports and on the flights.  It was great to meet new people and see familiar faces while traveling to a foreign country. 

When we arrived we came to our apartment, met our host mom, and began to unpack right away. We had time to siesta, eat dinner, and then go to bed! Yesterday was a full day of orientation and touring the city. We got a little (or maybe a lot) lost on our way to campus. THe metro was easy to navigate, but we had difficulty getting from teh metro to campus. We asked a few people for directions, and one guy told us it didn't even exist. We made to campus just in time though! We had a couple hours of orientation. We then had a guided tour through the area around campus.  Next the gave us a tour of the major parts of the city. The city is so beautiful and amazing!! After a short siesta we ate dinner, then decided to go out to Sol! My friends and I met some other students and went to a couple bars. I tried my first drink of alcohol ever- Sangria! After meeting a lot of people from SLUM (SLU Madrid), we headed back home. We got really lost... we got on the wrong bus and had to find another bus, then walk forever back to our house. We were able to ask directions to several people, and eventually found our way back home. It was definitely an experience, but it was our first night in the city so we were allowed to get lost.

Unfortunately today I have been throwing up and sleeping all day. Apparently even one drink of alcohol has major effects on me because of some medications. Looks like no more drinks for me! Our host mom and her friend have been absolutely fabulous to me while I've been sick today. They have gotten me some "magic" tea, some food, and medicine to calm the acid in my stomach.  I am feeling much better! I did miss the opportunity for a free excursion to a palace this afternoon, but that's ok. I'll have plenty more opportunities to see fantastic sights and places while I'm here! The adventures have just only begun!

Let the Adventures begin!

I have decided to write a study abroad blog about my adventures in Madrid, Spain. "La vida en el lado buena onda" was the closest phrase I could find to "life on the cool side," so that's the name of my Spanish blog! My main focus of this blog is to update the world on my adventures and excursions overseas and to let everyone know how much fun I'm having!

I am now in the packing phase of the process. There's no way everything I'm planning to pack will fit into my one check luggage and carry-on bag that I get... I have two more American dinners, two more English speaking masses, two nights to spend with my family and friends, and one afternoon left here in Normal. Then the traveling begins!! Saturday afternoon I will leave for O'Hare airport in Chicago, fly to Heathrow airport in London, then fly to the final destination- Madrid, Spain. From the airport I will travel by taxi to my host mother's house and move in for four months! It's rather surreal that I'm finally going to be in Spain. I don't think I'm even close to being ready, but somehow I know it will all work out!

Keep a lookout for further updates!