Rome

Hey!
This weekend I went to Rome for the first time. It was really unexpected because we only planned to go to Pisa and Florence, but our hostel mates in Florence convinced us that we MUST go to Rome, and so we did. Eileen and I bought some cheap train tickets friday morning and took off for Rome. Our last minute Hostel was better than we expected and passed the "bed bug" check. We were able to walk to the big monuments and landmarks such as the Trevi fountain and Colosseum. We shared our room in Rome with a girl who went to Tufts (Boston area representing), a guy from London, and their friend from Scotland. It is always a little strange staying with people you don't know and trusting they won't do anything weird in your sleep, but when you travel you kind of have to push that out of your mind. One of my favorite teachers in high school said something to the gist of, "Travel while you are young. When you're young you'll sleep on a park bench to see Paris." I've embraced that mantra and it's helped me whenever I book a hostel. In the case of Rome, the weirdness paid off because our bunk mates were awesome. We played a few card games and had a "picnic" on one of the blankets in the center of the room. Rome was fantastic and absolutely worth visiting more than once. While in Pisa we also saw the leaning tower. We were good tourists and didn't take any tacky photos with the leaning tower and just admired it. Saturday night in Pisa Eileen made some ravioli in our hostel so we could save some money. It turned out really delicious. Italian super-markets are more like American super-markets, which was a pleasant surprise. By Sunday morning Eileen and I were ready to return to Madrid. I forgot what it felt like to hear another language all around me and have no idea what anyone was saying. It really reassured me in my Spanish speaking skills.
Hasta luego, I'll leave you with some photos of my travels.
-Jenny

Me and my ticket to Rome

Inside the Colosseum

Trevi Fountain

Would you look at that full moon!

Finals are here! Christmas around the corner!

Hey!
So yes, finals are here with all the stress accompanying them, so I decided
to go see a late movie with a few friends to take my mind off my last few assignments.
We headed over to Cines Princessa, near Plaza de España to see a movie in English. We decided to see
 ARGO, directed by Ben Affleck. The movie was about the Iran hostage crisis from 1979-1980. The story line seemed to be embellished but at the end of the film we discovered that a lot of the content was based on things that had actually happened. The film was very suspenseful I was nervous from the beginning to end. I highly recommend seeing the film. Ben Affleck turned out to be a good director (who knew).
~Jenny

U.S. Ambassador Visit

Hey!
Today the United States Ambassador for Spain came to SUMC: Mr. Alan Solomont.
He talked about the relationship that the United States has with Spain and how he goes about
trying to improve and strenghten it. Mostly this involves promoting American values such as diversity and tolerance. The relationship has an economic aspect with encouraging Spanish companies to invest in American buisnesses, basically integrating the two economies. Another aspect of his job is to protect American citizens domestically and abroad. Considering I am one of thousands of American college students studying abroad, it was nice to see the face of the embassy that protects me and my peers. He reassured us that the relationship between Spain and the United States is very good and that our governments cooperate. Public opinion in Spain of Americans is high at the moment; which is always comforting in a world where several places are anti-American. I was surprised to hear that the United States Ambassador, Alan Solomont, is not fluent in Spanish. I would have thought that this was a requirement of the position. Who knows what the future holds for international relations undergrads with basic Spanish.
Have a splendid weekend!
-Jenny

My Sister Is Here!!!

Yep! My sister is finally here!
This weekend we visted Málaga (the birthplace of Picasso and Antonio Banderas). We took a six hour bus there and luckily caught the two hour train back. I really loved Málaga, the Marina was gorgeous at night. I also visited a hammam (bath house) which was really refreshing. So far I have shown my sister Malasaña, Gran Vía, Moncloa, and of course Sol. Tomorrow I am taking her to the Reina Sofía and Retiro Park.
Take Care
~Jenny

Un Fin de Semana Extraño

What a weekend!!

Wednesday night I saw Steve Aoki at the Madrid Arena for Halloween. The venue was gigantic and packed to the brim with costumed teenagers. The popular costume was "Alex" from A Clockwork Orange, who happens to be my favorite anarchist anti-hero. For the most part people wore the most ridiculous clothing they owned or masks. All the DJ's were fantastic as well as the light show to accompany the tunes. Friday when I boarded my plane to Paris I grabbed a complimentary copy of El País and the front page was about the Steve Aoki concert! Apparently, in all the commotion of the show a hallway pile-up resulted in the deaths of three concert goers. I was shocked the show continued well after five people were attended to for asphyxiation and trampling related aliments. Two of the victims were taken to the hospital on my street and are in critical condition. I couldn't get the article out of my mind. I didn't think of concerts as dangerous until this weekend. As I scanned the article I remembered how crowded the hallways were and how packed the dance floor was. It would have been easy to get caught in a stampede.

Slytherin has all the fun

I didn't actually do any sight seeing in Paris, I guess I wasn't in the tourist mood. Traveling can be exhausting. I did get some neat stuff at a Kilo store, where the price of the sweet vintage clothes is based on its weight. I got a jean vest, Harry Potter tie and sweater for about 10 euro. The tie came in handy for my friend's building's Halloween party, conveniently planned to take place after Halloween. I dressed as a Slytherin student, it was awesome.  




I stayed in Paris with my friend Maddie (aka Margaret) and she showed me around her neighborhood. Friday night we went to Pitchfork Music Festival, where we heard Animal Collective, The Walkmen, and The Tallest Man on Earth. I wish I had more time in Paris but, I feel even if I was there for two weeks, or two months, I wouldn't be satisfied with my time there; I'd always want more.

Margaret putting in an earring

And now I am back in Madrid! 

-Jenny

Mid-Terms Over yay!!

Hello!

This weekend my friend Maddie came to visit from Paris, she is also studying abroad. I took her to Cien Montaditos for bocadillos and she was shocked at how loud everyone was. I guess living here for so long I am desensitized to the comotion around me; Madrid after all is a busy city. We went to Gran Via, Chueca, and Malasaña exploring all the art graffitti and good cheap food. She was only in town for the weekend because she is spending the rest of her mid-term break in Dublin but she adored Madrid. In two weeks time I will be visiting her in Paris and I can not wait! We are going to try and go to the PITCHFORK music festival in Paris for a day to hear Animal Collective and The Tallest Man On Earth. My Mom is going to be in Rome for her birthday and I am infinitely jealous. I've never been to Rome but I guess my Mom's never been to Paris..so it evens out.

In other news I am extremely excited for Halloween! Spaniards aren't 100% sold on the dress-up aspect of Halloween but in select buisnesses you can buy decorations and party goods. Normally on Halloween I grab a big blanket and curl up to watch horror movies and pig-out on candy because no one ever comes trick-or-treating at my mom's house or I take the train to Salem to see some seriously scary costumes. But this year, I will be seeing Steve Aoki remix some bangin' tracks in Madrid.

Mid-terms are finally over and my sister will be in Madrid in less than a month! I can't wait to show her around SUMC and all the little places I go to eat, shop, and study.

Take Care

~Jenny

Mid-Terms Are Upon Us!

Wow This semester is flying by! I feel like I just got back here and tomorrow I have my first mid-term.
This weekend I went to Portugal to celebrate Eileen's birthday! We saw The Castelo de Saint Jorge, an 11th century castle in Lisbon. Our hostel was really nice and we made friends with a girl studying abroad in Sevilla. We also went to the huge flea market in Lisbon right near the castle. I got a pair of funky 1970's purple sunglasses for 10 euros. It was fun to compare Lisbon to Madrid. For example, we experienced first hand the difference between Madrid's efficient Metro and Lisbon's Metro, which you had to chase down because it missed the platform by 10 yards. I was so happy to return to Madrid last night. I'll show you some photos from our trip once I get my film developed, but for now you will just have to trust me when I say Lisbon was gorgeous. Here I am back to reality and obligations, but I'll have the memories of the eastern most point of continental europe to comfort me in my studying.
Hasta luego!
~Jenny