I’m alive.

Okay, I’m back! The past week has been quite grueling, with the amount of course work to complete and the amount of partying to get done simultaneously. I am finally certified to teach English and looking for a job! Waiting for some interview calls….

Some highlights from the past two weeks:

I taught a beginners class on kitchen utensils and brought in some things from my kitchen. There were nine students, the most I’ve had, and it has been my best class so far.

We went to a Michael Jackson dance party at some club on a Thursday night and we all arrived late to class and in the same clothes the next morning. That was also the night when I had to spoon with Emily in her twin-sized bed and listen to her unconsciously moan and toss and turn all night, unbeknownst to herself. Her roommate of 2 days must have thought some interesting things.

We had a class party at a local bar on the last day of class and pretty much filled up the entire bar. It was pretty fun, good tapas and sangria. We were going to do some karaoking but ended up at another bar for the rest of the night.

Me and my roommate Christina made the long journey to IKEA on Saturday to buy warmer blankets. Now I have a fluffy purple blanket as well as a fluffy yellow bathrobe.

We had dinner with some other classmates in La Latina. The restaurant I had chosen had apparently closed down, so it took us awhile to find a restaurant that would seat 6 people without a reservation. Let me just say: food is expensive and people here are used to such small portions…Our waitress warned us that we might be able to share some of the dishes. Boy, was she wrong.

On Sunday, I went to Toledo with Julietta. Ridiculously gorgeous city, with buildings from medieval times and Islamic-influenced art and architecture. I uploaded pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ablefires658/Madrid#
We also went to a “antique instruments of torture” exhibit there….not such a great idea. People are definitely inventive when it comes to methods of torture! As we were practically hurling, there was a Spanish couple actually making out among displays of spike-filled iron coffins and such. Which leads me to some other conclusions:

Spaniards definitely aren’t shy when it comes to PDA. On the metro, on train platforms, on escalators, in torture exhibits, you name it.

This doesn’t necessarily follow from the above, but customer service here sucks. I’m always standing in a line. There’s such a scanty amount of people who are paid to help you. On the other hand, people on the streets compete to give you directions when you look lost. Slightly exaggerating.

Anyway, still waiting for employment! Wish me luck.