¡Bienvenidos!

Well, I made it to Spain! The flight to Germany wasn't really that bad at all. I sat next to a North African man who spent the entire time reading about the physics of mass spectrometers, so that was interesting. Our flight arrived a bit late though, and I had to go straight from the plane, through customs, and then onto my other flight. A few hours later, I had landed in Madrid...

My family was waiting at the baggage claim. We then drove through the city to their [our?] flat. This picture is the view from my room. We're on floor 3, which is actually the fourth floor in English [the first floor is floor 0]. After I unpacked my bags, I took a quick shower, and then my cousin Teresa and I took the metro to la Puerta del Sol, the Madrid equivalent to Times Square. We walked around for a bit, and ate at a popular chain restaurant called VIPS. We had French fries and croquetas, a sort of fried ham and cheese, and then we went to my family's restaurant, la Madruga. There, we ate with my cousin José, and mi madre Loli. I had some paella and then 2 chicken breasts. Oh and French fries. And flan. Did I mention they eat a lot here?
Afterwards, we went back home and took a nice nap. At around 8, we woke up and Teresa and I went out with her friend. We walked to a tapas [a kind-of appetizer] bar, and had more croquetas. We also drank some beer and had a plate of ham and melted cheese on toast. Also, the bar gave complimentary ham and crackers, much like we get chips and salsa in the E.E.U.U. We then walked back through la Puerta del Sol, when a guy approached us advertising his bar's special apple vodka. We took his offer and wandered into his tiny bar, had a shot, and then left, as the bar was mostly filled with the older working class. We then went a few doors down, to some ultra modern lounge where we bought mojitos and relaxed for awhile. After we had had enough of Lady Gaga blasted into our ears, we left and walked awhile, until we got to this bar where Teresa's friend worked. He gave us some Jack and Cokes, and we hung out there for a long time. We then crossed the street to a mini discoteca [club] and had more Jack and Cokes. At this point, it was about 12 midnight, and the whole place was empty. Spanish culture says that midnight is too early to have a packed club. Most discotecas don't even open their doors until 2 or 3! Well, we left and went back to my cousin's friend's bar, which was starting to fill up. 3 hours and a few too many drinks later, we left and stumbled home.

Yesterday, I woke up feeling pretty good, considering the festivities of the night before. I ate a nice breakfast, and then went with José to the study abroad office to talk with my advisors. We had to tell them that I have to miss our first meeting, because my family and I will be in Salamanca for la Semana Santa. Afterwards, we took the Metro to José s college, a kind of trade school, and hung out. We had sodas in their cafeteria [which also serves beer and liquor to college kids]; I had a Coca-Cola Light, as Diet Coke doesn't exist here. We then got lunch at la Madruga, I had a delicious garbanzo bean soup and beef, with custard for dessert. After, we went home and played Mario Kart, and I connected my computer to their WiFi [its pronounced wee-fee in Spanish]. We spent the night inside, because Teresa had to work on a project, plus it was rainy and cold, but my cousin Fran came over. In a few minutes, we had realized that we were incredibly obsessed with my favorite show, L O S T ! I think they may be more obsessed than me, Fran's bachelor party is going to be DHARMA-themed! Crazy. Anyway, today we slept in a bit, and woke up and played Wii for an hour or so. I'm pretty sure that I convinced Loli that we will play the favorite pastime of American youth: Beer Pong. We shall see how this unfolds. We just had a light lunch, consisting of battered and fried potatoes, a big lettuce and tomato salad, bread, Spanish Cordon-Bleu [which uses beef instead of chicken], two big slices of steak, and fruit. I still have some U.S. dollars that need exchanging, but the banks are closed today. We switch the clocks forward an hour tonight, and Loli is trying to use this to get Teresa and I to come home early tonight. It appears that mothers are the same everywhere. I'll try and take more pictures, and hopefully post them here soon.
¡Hasta Luego!

Brian