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After a frustrating week at Autonoma trying to get into my econ class (arguing in Spanish, crying in public, etc.), my schedule has been finalized at last. Here's what a standard week looks like:
Monday/Wednesday
9:30-10:30 wakey! (alarms, snoozing, whining, dragging Maya out of bed to walk to Instituto)
10:45-12:00 Arte en Los Museos de Madrid (listening to Selma struggle through lectures, wondering how she manages to wear the same outfit every day, "ehhhhm...")
12:15-3:45 home for lunch (fruit stand boyfriend, cat nap, baguette if we're lucky, p.o.s. if we're not, walk back to Instituto)
[2:15-3:45 Prado visits on some Wednesdays with Selma (listening to Selma trash talk French people and the Syracuse program, smuggling water bottles into the museum)]
4:00-5:15 Historia de Espana (loving Amalia, suppressing my desire to drop kick certain people)
5:30-6:15 commute to Autonoma (sudoku, grazing horses, business men)
6:30-8:30 Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (Environment and Sustainable development, desperately trying to recognize words coming out of my professor's mouth)
8:45-9:30 commute home from Autonoma (sleepy)
Tuesday/Thursday
11:00-11:30 wakey (alarms, a little less snoozing, breakfast if I have my act together)
11:45-12:30 commute to Autonoma
1:00-2:30 Migraciones y Relaciones Interetnicas (Migration and Interethnic Relations, compulsively eating Werther's to stay awake, daydreaming about lunch)
2:45-3:30 commute home for lunch
Mondays and Wednesdays can be pretty killer...especially if there's a Prado visit, basically nonstop from 9:30 am until 9:30 pm. But, as Mommy says, I can do it! I'm Amanda!!
I also discovered a Bikram yoga center about five minutes from my house and I have become obsessed. Most of the classes are taught in Spanish (pies juntos, respiramos) and there's surprisingly lots of men in the classes. And everybody sweats. A LOT. It's kind of yucky, especially when a 65 year old man decides to put his mat next to mine and then proceeds to DRIP everywhere within the first ten minutes of the ninety minute class. And he breathes very audibly. It's awkward. But I love it. My instructor even praised my form during Dandayamana-Dhanurasana so take that.
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Highlights of the weekend! After yoga on Thursday night a bunch of us went to Cerveceria Seven to celebrate Yosh's birthday and then to Palacio afterwards. A little bit of drama, but lots of fun. Night in a nutshell: Mario, hair gel, lost poems, promoter, painful hiccups, fetal position, Palacio bathroom.
I didn't feel so hot Friday morning so I watched the Almodovar film "Todo Sobre Mi Madre" in bed. WITHOUT subtitles. Go me! I did a TINY bit of shopping Friday afternoon (aka ran to H&M to pick up some 3 euro tank tops for yoga) and Vera found a good sushi restaurant for us to try that night. I finally got my tofu fix and boy was it yummy. After an apathetic attempt to maybe go out, Maya and I ended up coming home and watching "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (aka "Desayuno con Diamantes").
On Saturday morning Jess and I trudged to Museo de America to do an assignment for Amalia. The only things that made the trip worth it was (i) the little llama I found in the gift shop and (ii) the natural grocery store I found on my way home (=more tofu and Bretzels). More yoga on Saturday night then out to dinner in Chueca with Jess and Kristin. Between our bottle of pink wine and the exchange of Columbia gossip we somehow sat at the table until 1am before catching the metro home.
I woke up early on Sunday to check out the rastro a little bit. I found some amazing Ray-Ban aviators but unfortunately the man selling them knew what a treasure they were and was charging 50 euro. boo. I met up with Jess outside the Thyssen Museum where we spent the morning. After lunch with the hermanas we went to the fountain/park nearby to sit outside in the sun and enjoy the amazing weather (blue skies, 70 degrees, slight breeze) and get a drink. Maya and I met up with Vera to walk through a very crowded Retiro park and down to the Prado to see the outdoor Igor Mitora sculpture exhibit. After a strawberry popsicle and iced white tea the three of us came back home to have a hermanas+Vera Amelie party complete with wine, sliced apples, abuelita, and a lack of English subtitles.
Back to class this morning was a bit rough but followed by coffee outside with Maya and a package from Dad, Carolann, and Scoob! Speaking of packages, I got three AMAZING packages last week. First one from Jay with lots of granola bars, Reeses eggs, and some hilarious photoshopped pictures of family members with MK&Ash. Then one from Allison with amazing bunny underwear, a cheetahlicious picture, and stickers. Next came a special delivery from deerdana.com: Gram tshirt, Marc Jacobs tote bag, Hello Kitty stickers, and lots of glitter which then proceeded to get all over my bed and stick to my legs when I sleep. Finally today I got goodies from Orlando from the fam and a tupperware filled with CRACK COOKIES. Be jealous.
Unfortunately, my throat really hurts a lot today and I'm crossing my fingers that it's not strep. Maya is sick too with a chronic cough and we better be cured by Friday because we're going to Amsterdam! A week from Friday I'm meeting Stina in Paris for a week and then Mommy and Dana come to visit!
I didn't feel so hot Friday morning so I watched the Almodovar film "Todo Sobre Mi Madre" in bed. WITHOUT subtitles. Go me! I did a TINY bit of shopping Friday afternoon (aka ran to H&M to pick up some 3 euro tank tops for yoga) and Vera found a good sushi restaurant for us to try that night. I finally got my tofu fix and boy was it yummy. After an apathetic attempt to maybe go out, Maya and I ended up coming home and watching "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (aka "Desayuno con Diamantes").
On Saturday morning Jess and I trudged to Museo de America to do an assignment for Amalia. The only things that made the trip worth it was (i) the little llama I found in the gift shop and (ii) the natural grocery store I found on my way home (=more tofu and Bretzels). More yoga on Saturday night then out to dinner in Chueca with Jess and Kristin. Between our bottle of pink wine and the exchange of Columbia gossip we somehow sat at the table until 1am before catching the metro home.
I woke up early on Sunday to check out the rastro a little bit. I found some amazing Ray-Ban aviators but unfortunately the man selling them knew what a treasure they were and was charging 50 euro. boo. I met up with Jess outside the Thyssen Museum where we spent the morning. After lunch with the hermanas we went to the fountain/park nearby to sit outside in the sun and enjoy the amazing weather (blue skies, 70 degrees, slight breeze) and get a drink. Maya and I met up with Vera to walk through a very crowded Retiro park and down to the Prado to see the outdoor Igor Mitora sculpture exhibit. After a strawberry popsicle and iced white tea the three of us came back home to have a hermanas+Vera Amelie party complete with wine, sliced apples, abuelita, and a lack of English subtitles.
Back to class this morning was a bit rough but followed by coffee outside with Maya and a package from Dad, Carolann, and Scoob! Speaking of packages, I got three AMAZING packages last week. First one from Jay with lots of granola bars, Reeses eggs, and some hilarious photoshopped pictures of family members with MK&Ash. Then one from Allison with amazing bunny underwear, a cheetahlicious picture, and stickers. Next came a special delivery from deerdana.com: Gram tshirt, Marc Jacobs tote bag, Hello Kitty stickers, and lots of glitter which then proceeded to get all over my bed and stick to my legs when I sleep. Finally today I got goodies from Orlando from the fam and a tupperware filled with CRACK COOKIES. Be jealous.
Unfortunately, my throat really hurts a lot today and I'm crossing my fingers that it's not strep. Maya is sick too with a chronic cough and we better be cured by Friday because we're going to Amsterdam! A week from Friday I'm meeting Stina in Paris for a week and then Mommy and Dana come to visit!
Vino Rosado y Olivas
every Sunday our street is blocked off and everyone comes out to play
Retiro
giant lips and a little Spaniard
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