Last Few Days

First of all, all of this Spanish is messing with my English. Forgive me if my sentences are excessively short.

They don't sell peanut butter in Spain, or at least it isn't common. I've switched to Nutella, and it's pretty legit. Food is a great deal more expensive here, but it's so much better quality; more nutrition for your euro, so I guess it evens out.

I bought a bike a few days ago for 55 Euros. It's a pretty shabby mountain bike, but it gets the job done. Riding on the sidewalks is a nightmare...duck and weave all day long. Madrid isn't very bike friendly to begin with though; I get honked at frequently, and it's quite peeving.

Across a river, and then a highway is a 1700+ acre park called Casa de Campo. I've been running in it (trails), and it's superb. Last night it got dark while I was running, but I remembered how to get back. I can usually hear the highway, so I don't get too disorientated, but it's big enough that I really should avoid getting lost. This week will end at ~20 mpw.

Later today, I'm going to check out the indoor pool. I think I'll end up swimming MWFSa, Fencing TTh, and Running 6 days per week. The gym doesn't have a free back squat bar, but I'll get over it. There are freeweights though...I lied in my last post. You have to make them though.

Yesterday, everyone in IES took a trip to Segovia, which was decent. The best thing was the roman aqueduct, which was built in the first century AD, and looks like it was built in 1900. Saw a few churches, and one of the homes of Isabella and Ferdinand, lots of armor too. I have pictures on my camera, but they're not on the memory card, so I can't use my card reader to upload them.

Arianna has a friend at Sala de Armas, which is a dope fencing club about 1.3 miles away as the crow flies. I'll email them, and hopefully start going next week. Fencing bag + bike = difficult. Maybe bus? Metro? It's honestly huge though. There's a Metro stop a block away from the club, and even though it's close, I'd have to take three trains. It would be sweet if they have lockers there. If the bike is necessary, I could put my stuff in my backpack duffel bag (it's not the weight of the fencing bag, it's the awkwardness). I'm hoping that my epees stay relatively unbroken, if that's possible. Dave taught me how to rewire and fix everything, and gave me some tools to do so with (if you're reading this, thank you again).

Went to the market this morning. Apparently you have to find the prices on all of the fruit before you check out. I'm pissed that they don't compost here. I'm thinking about bringing it into the woods and just burying it.

A few days ago I met a guy named Carlos; he's from the Canary Islands. A few summers ago, he did a summer program at UVM, and lived on the first floor of Austin. Small world? Yep. He's a DJ at a discotheque, and plays basketball, but is majoring in Law/Business/Econ, and he's super busy with exams right now. After he's done, we're going to hit up Madrid's legit discotheques. He plays his mixes in the gym; they're legit. He has a house in Tenerife and windsurfs. Met a 5k10k guy named Pete from DePauw (15:37), and a swimmergirl named Laura from Wisconsin. They're both legit, and were surprised that I brought ~8 pairs of running shoes (FM, Evo, VFF, Newton, ZN NB, Spikes, Flats, Mocs), fins, paddles, and my snorkel. Gotta work hahd train hahd, even if I'm in Spain. Met another girl named Iona from Cornell. She's legit. Last night, Carlos and I went to a soccer game (between houses/colleges), and then out for Pizza. Spanish Pizza is legit.

A few other guys helped me make a Tuenti account (Spanish Facebook). It's pretty much the same thing.

ILTW -> MGLM. The preceding statement is true about the subject of the preceding statement in Spain. Definitely not complaining.

Everyone in Colegio Mayor San Agustin (my house), has a nickname. ex: Tom Sawyer, Millhouse, Mufasa, Billy Wilson. It's pretty entertaining. In the cafeteria, there are three unwrittten rules that I know about so far. One: if you get up to get something, and you don't push your chair in, they throw it down the Isle. If you have a container of yogurt, and you leave it face up, it gets stabbed with a knife. If you have a glass of water, and you put it face down on your tray, they will pour you water anyway. Again, entertaining.

I said "legit" in this post seven times. Five times in one paragraph. Forgive me. I'm literally speaking two languages in my head at all times.

The girls wear so much makeup here...not a huge fan. It's like two-hour-shower (girl at UVM who has a rep) everywhere.