Saturday, May 24, 2014

Hannah - Madrid - Week 2

Hola!
Bernabéu Stadium
It's been another busy, but exciting, week in Madrid! On my last day in the hostel, I made a spontaneous decision to go to the Real Madrid/Espanyol soccer game with some people at my hostel. The tickets were 30 euros and seeing that I wasn't able to buy Real Madrid tickets for the game in Ann Arbor, I took this second opportunity. Santiago Bernabéu Stadium doesn't compare to the Big House, but as a very enthusiastic sports spectator, attending this game made me even more excited for the upcoming World Cup games. 
I finally moved into my apartment this week, and even though the hostels were great places to have fun and meet new people, I'm glad to finally get settled in. There are 10 people living here, and some are from France, Germany, Ireland, and the U.S. I would say the main language is Spangish! It's too easy to just speak English while I'm here but I'm hoping that I can make a conscious effort to improve my Spanish.
Fried milk!
It was delicious!
At work, I've been working on random tasks that needed to be done. I've had to create a comprehensive list of store locations, package cards for delivery, and design posters for different courses that my organization offers. Little by little, I've been able to better communicate with everyone and gotten to know them a little better. Lucia has even been teaching me some of the slang used by teenagers in Spain!
"Culture Shock"
Coming to Madrid, I expected that people would have higher standards for fashion so I tried to pack some of my fancier clothes. Nevertheless, I miss being able to go to the supermarket in my sweatpants. Carrefour, a big supermarket chain, is located just across the street from my apartment. I just want to run over to grab some guacamole but I have to put on some decent clothes before! I miss Meijer with their very relaxed dress code!
A lot of the words in Spanish are similar to their counterparts in English (cognates) but they're pronounced a little differently. For example, hummus is "oo-mus" and WiFi is "wee-fee." Every time I say these words, I feel like I have to betray my instincts and go against everything I've been used to hearing.
Last week, the weather was absolutely amazing. Mid 70s to 80s, it was the perfect weather for going for a walk in Retiro Park or around the city. This week, though, it got a little colder around 60 degrees. For me, this is still fairly warm weather but I saw people wearing winter coats that we would wear when it's snowing in Madrid! Everyone at my office was shocked when I would show up without a jacket but I just told them that this cold weather was "nada."

That's all for this week!
Hasta luego,
Hannah





2 comments:

  1. Hannah,

    Thanks for a great post! I've always wanted to go to a futbol game, but when i studied abroad in Chile, I was warned to stay away- as the fans tended to get a little out of hand. What an experience!

    Living with people from so many different countries sounds so wonderful. It's great that the primary language around the apartment is Spanish. I'm glad that you are trying to stick with speaking Spanish. No matter what it seems like, you are learning a lot. You will really notice it when you get back into class in the fall. I'm happy work seems to be going well, too. Post some pictures! What are some of the "slang" words you have learned? The wee-fee and oomas made me laugh- just stick with it.

    Enjoy the weather. I can't wait to hear about next week's experiences!

    Best,
    Tammy

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  2. Oh- and about having to get dressed up to go to the store- I'm sorry! What a difference.

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