Classic

Today I learned that "universitario" does not, in fact, mean "university," nor is it even a noun (unless you are using it to mean "university student," which I was not). It is, apparently, an adjective used to describe something that is like a university. The correct noun is "la universidad," a word I was familiar with but believed to be interchangeable with "el universitario."

Not so. I have apparently been using these words incorrectly my entire Spanish-speaking life. In particular, I have spent the last two weeks telling people I attend "el Universitario de Nueva York."

This is so typical of my life.

Fruit and parks

So this afternoon as I was attempting a siesta (in reality, messing around on the internet), I heard a knock on the door and then someone yelling, "FRUTA!"

"Odd," I thought, assuming I had misheard, but went to answer the door anyway since nobody else was around. However, when I opened the door I saw nothing but two giant boxes stacked right on the doormat. They were indeed full of assorted fruits and vegetables.



Apparently produce in Spain is delivered right to your doorstep by the fruit fairy.



In other news, I have successfully completed my first week of classes! They are all mostly interesting and I like my professors. When I'm not in class I just wander everywhere. On a particularly nice day a friend and I went to the Parque de Berlin, which is just a few blocks away from campus, and took some pictures of some trees.



I can't wait for it to get warmer and more sunny - apparently in the spring and summer, everyone flocks to the parks and lies in the sun for hours on the weekends. (I know what you're thinking, of course I will lie in the shade.)



And, in a completely unrelated public service announcement, if you gave up on Project Runway after last season's epic disaster, do not despair! This new season is back in New York (wonderful), the judges we know and love have resurfaced, the show obviously hired someone new to come up with interesting challenges, and Lifetime actually found some designers with talent. I am very optimistic - if you aren't watching, you should be.

An open letter

Dear Spain,

Diluting your espresso with hot water is not the same as brewing coffee, and a "café solo," while wonderful, is not nearly as satisfying as a regular coffee when you're sitting in a dull class or when it's freezing outside.

On the other hand, though, I would give up butter for the rest of my life in a heartbeat (except as an ingredient in baked goods, of course) if all olive oil in the States tasted like the stuff you have here.

(Work on that coffee thing, though.)

Love,
Linden

Segovia

So on Friday we were herded onto buses and driven to Segovia, an old town about an hour outside of Madrid. It thankfully was not raining, though it was a little chilly. All around us we could see giant, snow-covered mountains - I forget how mountainous this country is.





There are many old things in Segovia, apparently, including a castle that looks like a Disney creation and a really, really old aqueduct that the Romans built that still supplies Segovia with water, because nothing created by Rome ever falls down (except for, you know, Rome).



I took a few pictures but most of the credit goes to my friend Katie, who actually took all the decent ones because she is much better at taking pictures than I am.



We also walked though a giant, beautiful cathedral:



There was also coffee, which is wonderfully cheap here (my habit is going strong, quelle surprise).



On the bus on the way I crocheted a hat, to the great entertainment of everyone around me (it was probably amplified by the fact that Katie, whom I was sitting next to, was knitting a scarf). I have basically decided that crochet stitches are glorified knots that people do on purpose instead of by accident. Doesn't stop me from almost compulsively trying new stitches and patterns. Mia, you have created a monster.

Sundries

In lieu of writing a real entry, I have made A List.

1. Violeta, the middle daughter I'm living with, is learning to play the recorder. She currently knows, as far as I can tell, two songs - the chorus of Beethoven's Ninth and that song from the Lion King, the title of which I am unclear on but the chorus goes, "In the jungle the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight." She only knows the first part of both of these songs so that's all she plays, in various styles - slow, fast, piano, forte, legato, staccato, syncopated (just try and hear Beethoven's Ninth syncopated in your head - I'm a little impressed she can do it, honestly), with dotted rhythms, etc.

2. Today I went to the Reina Sofía, an art museum in Madrid that has more modern works than the Prado (lots of Dalí and Picasso, including Guernica which was absolutely entrancing). I also saw Robert Downey Jr. there - stood about a foot away from him, could have touched him at one point. (I refrained, but only barely.) Apparently he and Jude Law are in Madrid for the premier of Sherlock Holmes.



(This is the worst picture ever because I was trying to be unobtrusive and sneaky. He's in the blue hoodie, and the other large hulking man was his bodyguard or whatever.)

3. This afternoon was the first time I successfully opened both doors to get into my building with minimal pain and suffering (read: pulling/pushing the door, jiggling the useless doorknob, throwing my shoulder into it, shoving it with my foot, and taking off my shoe to use as a lever, all of which I have done, usually in various combinations, to the great enjoyment of whoever might be nearby). I am very proud.

4. All of the advertisements that pop up on websites are now in Spanish. It is pretty entertaining but still rather annoying in any language.

5. The weather here continues to be crap (at least it was marginally less cold today) which is why I haven't taken any pictures yet (well besides stalkerific ones of RDJ). It's supposed to rain all this weekend, too, and I am woeful. But tomorrow they are herding us all onto a bus (well probably several buses) and driving us to Segovia, which will be fun and hopefully not rainy. (Unlikely.)

Doors

In my ongoing failure at door-opening, today I had to be let into the building by an 85-year-old grandmother who lives on the first floor. (Her granddaughter, who was also trying to get into the building, couldn't make my key work either, so I feel less inept but slightly more embarrassed anyway.)

It has ceased to snow and begun to rain like all hell. I'm still not sure if this development is better or worse.

Safe arrival

Hello, family! I am in Spain! I arrived safely and the flights were relatively painless besides the initial delay. Heathrow was a disaster and covered in snow, but my flight apparently landed in between blizzards so that worked out. And my bags were not lost, which was also a pleasant surprise.

My apartment here is very tiny but very nice and new-looking. Olga, my señora, is probably in her early forties and she has three daughters, Eva (15), Violeta (12) and Alegra (4). They are all darling and very talkative and energetic, which is really good because I can practice my Spanish! They don't even laugh at me too much when I speak. They were, however, disappointed to learn that I am not into Twilight, High School Musical or Hannah Montana. Of all parts of American pop culture, of course they've chosen those three quality programs. (Oh well, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. Or judgmental.) This morning I elected to take the Metro to campus instead of walking because of the snow, and Eva and Violeta walked me to the station and everything.

My one embarrassing moment so far has been my inability to open doors. I have four keys that all go to different locks to get me into the building (including one for the elevator?), but apparently in Spain you have to turn the key with a lot more force than you do in America. I have failed on several occasions at unlocking the door because I'm afraid of breaking the key. Luckily for me each time there has been someone home to let me in (the girls' school was canceled today because of the snow), but we'll see what happens tomorrow.

I have orientation all this week (real classes start next week). Today for three hours we reviewed such novel ideas as how to not get robbed (zip up your purse and don't leave it sitting on the ground in a sidewalk cafe), how to not offend the Spaniards (say hello), and how to not lose your passport (don't carry it around). It's not like we all haven't spent 2+ years of our lives living in New York City or anything. Sigh.

So! Here is my blog, and I will do my best to update it regularly with scenes from my daily life and recounts of my travel exploits. In reality, I will probably post a lot of mediocre photographs of really old churches and whine about the lack of peanut butter in my life, the Euro-dollar exchange rate, having to watch television streaming on megavideo in 72-minute intervals, or the fact that Madrid's subway closes at 1am (or, very likely, a winning combination of all four). If I've successfully convinced you that this atrocity is something you'll want to read on a regular basis, check back! (And feel free to send me annoyed emails if I don't update. Guilt tripping me works!)

First post!

I am testing my blog. Hello, family!

Attempting to insert a photo.