Hello everyone – we have arrived in Madrid! Our 5:30 PM flight landed at 6:30 in the morning, and we immediately took a taxi to our hostel in “el barrio de letras” (in English, “the neighborhood of letters”). There was practically no one on the streets and Madrid seemed… empty. We were all pretty exhausted when we got to the hostel, but we decided to get some breakfast. For many of us, that meal our first experience trying Spanish food. We ordered cafe con leche, which is a coffee with hot milk. This is a typical coffee in Spain, but to us it was so small. After we ordered, we noticed that the portions are a lot smaller than they are in the United States.
After breakfast, while we waited for our rooms to be ready, we visited the Reina Sofía museum. We found the museum to be very visually interactive. The whole museum was beautiful, and allowed us to begin cultivating an impression of Spanish culture and art. After this, we went back to the hostel and took a siesta. As we found our way back, we noticed the streets filled with people – Madrileños seem to love their sleep!
Later that night, we had our welcome dinner with both of our professors: Professor Lokos, who came with us from Holy Cross, and Professor Juan Iso, who is a professor in Spain. Surprisingly, when arrived at dinner at 8 PM, no one was in the restaurant. We later found out that this is considered an early dinner in Spain; most Spaniards dine around 9-11 PM. Because dinner is eaten so late here, many people end up staying up and on the streets until 3 or so in the morning on the weekends. The night-time is very lively. It was difficult to fall asleep because of all the commotion going on outside of the hostel.
The next day we had our first class! Our classroom is located in the basement of our hostel, which makes it very easy to get up and out every morning. After our first lesson, we got to roam around Madrid and we go to one of the largest flea markets: El Rostro. It was a really great experience to see what the locals were making and selling, and how many people were out on the streets buying stuff.
That night we had our first theatre production: “El concierto de San Ovidio”. Written in 1962 by famous Spanish playwright Antonio Buero Vallejo, the play details the lives, loves, and trials of six blind men in Paris in 1771 who sing and play music at the request of a cruel philanthropist. No spoilers here, but we all loved it so much, and it was a really great introduction to Madrid and Spanish theater. We are so excited for what is to come! With several more shows and trips and our imminent future, be sure to stay tuned!