Midterm Report!
Hola Todos!!
I can not believe we are halfway through the semester!!! I have had a wonderful couple of weeks since my last blog. Last week was Spring Break #1 of the 2 Spring Breaks we get and USAC took us to Cordoba, Granada, and Seville! We saw the Mezquita in Cordoba, it was unbelievable, definitely one of my favorite buildings in the world! The Mezquita is a mosque that was turned into a Catholic Christian Cathedral. The architecture is out of this world. I have a picture of it below. In Granada we went to the Alhambra, it is a beautiful palace that has Jewish, Muslim and Christian architectural influences. We got to spend 2 whole days in Seville. The city is beyond beautiful, I would love to retire there. All in all the trip was a success! I bought souvenirs for my family and friends back home, and I was able to visit some beautiful buildings.
After the trip my friends and I decided to do some touristy things around Madrid. Last Friday, we went to the Prado Museum, it is the big museum here in Madrid. The museum is free to students all the time! We took our time looking at the art because we won’t have to pay to go back!
This past week has been very hectic, the work load for my Spanish class is starting to pile up and we had a very difficult test yesterday. Some of the people in the program do not get credit for the classes, others just get a pass/fail grade, and for Loyola students the class not only counts, but the score effects our GPA. Motivation is key and the class just moves so fast sometimes, it is hard to focus, but I have been doing well so far! Volunteering is going really really well, I look forward to spending time with the kids every Thursday. The karate class has a tournament today, I was not able to ask where the competition is taking place but I hope to go to a competition in the future.
Last night, my intercambio Laura, she is an adult, invited me and my friend Bianca to dinner with her and her friends. We got to practice our spanish! We went to a Peruvian restaurant and after we went out for drinks at a Cuban bar. I am really glad that I have met some natives and have started hanging out with them, they really know how to have a good time. Laura told Bianca and I where some good Latin clubs are, we are getting tired of Electric Music. She told us about a club that gives salsa lessons before the club opens! We are thinking about going next week!
Side Note: I am going to ITALY in 2 weeks!!!!!!!
Alright for somethings that I have noticed:
Working is not a big deal. In America it seems like our whole lives are centered around working, but here it is not the center of their lives. I am not sure what their lives are centered around, maybe rest or relaxation. I will ask around!
I have seen a TON of old women with bright red, pink, blue, or purple hair. Some ladies dye their whole head and other ladies just have highlights.
We can not find some good ol’ Mexican food ANYWHERE! They do not eat Refried beans, or yellow rice, or burritos. They eat SO healthily. Bianca and I went on a wild goose chase today looking for a Mexican store, but we never found one 🙁
Groceries are relatively cheap! Bread is sold in loaves everywhere and you can find it for 39 cents, milk is 70 cents, for a 36 pack of eggs it is almost 2 euro, if that. If only we did not have to exchange our dollars into euros…
***The Dollar is getting better! It is now $1.30 for 1 Euro and when we got here it was almost $1.40***
Alright that is all I have for now! Stay Tuned! 🙂
Hasta Luego!
Tyler Monroe
