So, yesterday was the tour of Alcalá and today was the tour of Madrid. So much to say, only so long before everyone gets bored of reading blog posts... So I'll do y'all a favor and stick to highlights. Also, I feel like unless you're totally interested in the history of these cities, hearing the odd bits about the dumb things I do will be more interesting. So if you actually want to hear about the history, let me know and I'll fill you in! I actually know a lot about Alcalá thanks to my Protestant Reformation class this past fall, and I learned a lot today about Madrid in our tour.
In Alcalá, the most exciting part of the day was, hands down, when we met our first gypsy. She was waiting for us outside of the postcard shop, and tried to give us evergreen branches for good luck. She was really old, so I felt a little bad for giving her the cold shoulder, but I was not about to be scammed on my first morning in Alcalá. In the words of my good friend L1nDZee Ba1Lee: wham bam no thank you ma'am.
After Jaclyn and I got lost and then reoriented on the bus system, we realized that we live within one block of not one, but two kebab restaurants.
At night, there are some vendors on the streets around Plaza de Cervantes that sell roasted pecans, which was a flashback for me to Jacob's favorite part of New York: Nuts 4 Nuts.
In Madrid, our second stop was the Plaza Mayor, which is said to be one of the prettiest (plazas) in Europe. We were surprised when a group of people under one arch started to throw rice in the air; of course, A WEDDING! As all two dozen of us strained to see the bride's dress (what is it with the bride's dress? that's always such an essential bit of visual information. that's the first thing we ask about, and usually one of the most expensive parts of a wedding... hhm. western culture.) and were given quite a surprise when the groom walked out with another groom on his arm. Welcome to Madrid, y'all!
Actually another funny thing that happen before that was that in the train station at Atoncha, there's a huge garden in the old part, and our tour guide told us to remember where the garden was in case we need to abandon a turtle there. There was a little pond in the front of the impressively huge (for indoors) trees, and it was swarming with little turtles. I asked the guide if they were really all abandoned pets, and he said they were! Pobrecitas tortugas! He told me that a lot of kids get pets and when they get tired to taking care of them, the parents abandon them. It's a big problem in the city, especially so soon after their Christmas-gift celebration, el día de los tres magos. Kids get tired of pets quick, and within the week they are promptly disposed of. Apparently there's a field not to far from the city "designated" for the abandoning of dogs.
We got to go into a convent! Not like the convent-convent, of course, but there was a prayer chapel open. This is a big deal for me because I am a big time fan of nuns. Huge fan. Not kidding. Life changing. Well, maybe not a critical moment, but I was still amazed.
Also, although we (I) made three wrong turns, Jaclyn and I made it back to Alcalá from Madrid without taking any of the wrong trains. That was something to be proud of!
The hardest part of these first few days is to get used to feeling so inconspicuously tourist. I hate that feeling. I've studied how to not stand out, to be quiet, to not be picture crazy, but sometimes it can't be helped--especially when you're in such a big group of tall blondes. AND I LOVE THEM! I'm honestly with so many cool girls. But we're all 20 shades paler and .5-2 feet taller than everyone... Ok, Miranda fits in great. Not so the rest of the lot! Also, there's that unavoidable fact that we speak English shamelessly amongst ourselves. Sería más dificil mejorar mis habilidades que pensé. But I'm getting a lot of practice in with Pilar and the tour guides. My conversation class has given me a ton of confidence, even if I sound a fool. Qué pena, jajajaja.
My goal for the evening is to finish my homework and figure out how to tell Pilar I can't keep eating this much food. At this rate, I am either going to come back to the States obese twice over, or bulimic. And when I say bulimic, I'm not talking about reading minds.
And I know everyone has been waiting for pictures, but like I said, I honestly haven't taken any besides the four I put on facebook, and then a few of Jaclyn and Jackie on our jaunt through Alcalá. I might put those on facebook tonight, I'll maybe put some up when I have others to share.
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