A Taste of Madrid

After getting my belongings situated in my somewhat spacious room, Gloria (my host mom) showed Gayti (the other student) and me around Madrid. We took the bus which was helpful to get the feel for with someone experienced. We visited places such as Plaza del Sol, Plaza Mayor, the Palace, a Cathedral, Mercado de San Miguel, etc. Exploring all these places was a lot for only being out three hours and amazed me at how close all the historic spots of the city are to one another.  The history of all these places makes my mouth drop especially the dates of which they were constructed along with how intact they still are today. In la Plaza Mayor, there are random illusionists set up in the square that make it look as if they are floating in thin air. That alone was pretty neat to try and figure out. Some even used two people to perform the illusion to raise the excitement level for the public. After that we ate dinner at home with Susanna, a former host student of Gloria’s from four years ago who moved to Spain to complete her studies after studying abroad. Granted, dinner is not served until 9 p.m. which is very strange for us Americans. We had this cold garlic soup with submerged cucumbers, bread and tomatoes - definitely a strange concoction to say the least. After that came the enchiladas with asparagus and soy cheese. My host mom is vegan, which I had no idea until the day before I arrived.That explains the exotic meals. Not only does she not eat dairy, she also does not eat meat... I wish this was not true at all.  That’s okay though because at least I’m trying new foods which is one of the aspects studying abroad is all about!