I thought I'd give a Madrid update since uh, well, it's where I've been living! I chose to study abroad in Madrid so that I could explore Europe as well as improve my Spanish. Plus, it's an amazing city!

Honestly, in the last couple of weeks, I've been a little frustrated with my Spanish progress. All of my classes are in Spanish, and I live with a host family, so I thought that I would be way more comfortable with speaking the language at this point. I know part of it is that I'm tired a lot of the time. With all the traveling, studying, commuting, and exploring, it's hard to be 100% invested in the language 100% of the time. It's definitely a tradeoff, but I am trying to stay as balanced as I can. Also, I'm in a program with American schools, so my friends are American, and we usually speak in English outside of class. This isn't very helpful, but I've met some awesome people!

But, anyway, I knew nothing was going to change if I didn't do anything about it. So, I talked to my program director, and she gave me a lot of great recommendations. The most valuable thing was that she got me set up with a language exchange partner (Intercambio). I had signed up for this at the beginning of the semester, but a lot of people beat me to the signup list, so I was waiting for a partner for a while. I guess talking to the director helped because I got an Intercambio the day after I spoke with her.

So the way that it works is that you meet up with your partner and speak in Spanish for an hour and English for the next hour. This way, both people can get some practice! I met with my partner, Almudena, for the first time last week and then again today. Going into it the first time, I was pretty nervous. As a naturally shy person, I was going out of my comfort zone for sure. But, I was lucky with my placement -- Almudena is so sweet and friendly. She talks a little fast, but does a good job explaining anything I don't understand. Her English is unbelievable. She spent a month in Ireland and went to English camps to practice her English. After speaking with her today, I am much more confident than I was a few weeks ago. I can already notice a change. I was more comfortable this time and was able to open up a little more. We even talked about how she feels about the problem in Catalonia and how I feel about Trump (ha!)

I have to remember that I'm not going to become fluent in Spanish overnight. It's a long-term goal, and I have to celebrate the small victories. So *yay* for making a local friend!

Something else that is helping me a lot is my theatre class. This is by far my favorite class this semester. Our professor Eduardo loves what he does, and he shows it. He makes me excited about theatre, something I've never even studied before. We are putting on a show, which is actually next week (oh my gosh that is scary). The show is considered our final exam, and I know a lot of people want to watch us. Our professor selected a handful of random scenes, and each of us has two roles. There is a lot of variety in the number of lines everyone has. For me, I have a little more than 50 lines total, but most are pretty short. Still, this is not a walk in the park! The plays are in Spanish! We also had to write a scene for homework, and he chose three to be in the show. And guess what?? He picked mine! The story is kind of silly..four girls go to a bar because it's Milagros's 18th birthday. A guy challenges her to take 18 shots, she drunkenly takes a shot on fire and has an allergic reaction to hot sauce...Well, I won't spoil the ending. I guess you'll have to come to our show next Thursday to see what happens to Milagros! (Hint: the answer is in her name, which means "miracles")

I also get to slap someone and kick someone in the nuts. It's great! Memorizing lines in Spanish is tough stuff, but as Eduardo says: REPETICIÓN, REPETICIÓN, REPETICIÓN! I hope I don't forget my lines..improv in a different language is quite hard.

This weekend, I stayed in Madrid. The weather was beautiful!!! It's been so chilly lately -- I've been wearing my bright pink winter coat that I haven't worn since high school. This weekend was extraordinary though. I took advantage of the great weather and spent some time outside. I went to Palacio del Cristal for the first time, located in Retiro Park. It was so pretty and serene. Palacio del Cristal translates to "Crystal Palace". In front of this transparent structure, built to show off the flowers of the Philippines (which was then still a Spanish colony), there is a lake with a fountain. Trees grow out of the middle of the lake -- it's magnificent. It could be from a Dr. Suess book. Oh, the places you'll go! Hahaha! I crack myself up. I saw some turtles too, which made it even better. On Sunday, I wandered through El Rastro but didn't buy anything (ok I got a pastry, but that doesn't count). I enjoyed watching the street musicians and dancers. I love that I can roll out of bed and get to this booming flea market within 10 minutes.

I have three trips planned over the next three weeks. I won't tell you where I'm going yet to keep you on the edge of your seat *wink* ;) While I'm sad that my free weekends in Madrid are limited, I am also pumped to discover some new places that have been on my radar for a long time. It's all about the balance!