pasos de gigantes

things in madrid are going well. i've finally settled on my classes - after testing out everything, i ended up with exactly what i thought i'd take before leaving the states. my spanish class is lots of busywork, but i suppose it's important. my flamenco class is a lot of fun, but much harder than it looks. bioethics is actually really interesting despite my slight fear of philosophy - i think it's going to be good to think about these things. the women in art class is great. there are only 4 of us in it, and the topics are fascinating. so far we've compared Eve and Mary as opposite figures.

last weekend i went to the parque del retiro with alex and we had fun walking through the beautiful nature and then paddling on the lake. later jessica and i went to a movie, which was a fun experience despite not liking the film much. it was a spanish movie that was pretty depressing, but supposedly it's a work of art here. then we went out for churros con chocolate - one of my favorite treats here! it's the same churros you can find around the US, but without cinnamon or sugar. instead their just plain, but you dip them in hot chocolate, which here is much thicker and richer than in the US, almost like a syrup.

the next day we went to the rastro, this big outdoor market/fair that happens every sunday. there were a lot of handmade crafts there for pretty good prices: scarfs or earrings for 2-3 euros, clothes, handbags, and other little trinkets. there is no bargaining, except with the gypsies over the price of a pair of underwear...

this week i'm having fun with my classes and just hanging out with friends. i really am enjoying my classes here, even the homework despite the fact that none of them have to do with my major. it's a nice break i guess. after classes today, alex, catherine, amy, and i went to find la biblioteca nacional (the national library). after an adventure getting lost on the metro (thanks to alex's directions) we found our way to the big, beautiful building. we could get in to any of the collections, but there was a neat museum showing the evolution of writing (from cuneiform and hieroglyphics to modern latin and asian languages). there were also artifacts of our evolving technology - from papyrus and handmade paper to flop discs, cds, and flash drives.

later we grabbed some tortilla española (spanish omelette - eggs with potato) and headed back for obama's inauguration - definitely the highlight of my day! we made our way from the school to a nearby hotel were "democrats abroad" was holding their viewing. we found ourselves in a room surrounded by people speaking english and eating popcorn and cheetos :P silly americans. it was awesome though! we got to watch the 44th president of the united states, the first african american president, the first president i voted for, and the president who promises to bring much-needed change to our country, take office.

although he stumbled over his oath (i hear thanks to an incorrect dictation by the chief justice) he delivered an inspiring speech. it was well written (sharing some rhetorical devices with MLKjr's "i have a dream" speech - thanks ms. seitz for making me remember that...) and spoke to everyone in the world, not just in america. it was really neat to watch it with some many other americans in madrid, doing the same thing i am.

for now i'm going to get some sleep before my flamenco class at 9 mañana. new pics are up on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2169074&l=41a25&id=220245

hasta luego!