But, I digress. After arriving at the airport on the group flight, the WIPPERs (Wisconsin-Indiana-Purdue) that were on said flight were escorted by the student coordinator for the program, Amy Olson, as well as both the director, Juan Egea, and the associate director, Mamen, to the Colegio Mayor Fundación de SEPI (our dorm). Despite the fact that we had landed in a country strange to most of us, or at least, strange to me, we were well taken care of from the start.
Once our rooms were distributed, I walked up to my room to find that the WIPPERs had scored a terrific dormitory. Every room is a single, has air conditioning, and a private bathroom. It´s terrific. Meals are also provided to us from Monday-Saturday, which are delicious. I can only speak to dinner, though, since it is the month of Ramadan and I can´t eat or drink anything from breakfast or lunch since the sun usually beats me to the table. Once the month is over, I cannot wait to try all the local favorites, especially churros y chocolate. I´ve heard only great things about the cuisine.
Despite being in a country that a lot of us might not be used to, the program staff has been really helpful with helping us find our way around the city and especially navigating the apartment search with us. Amy Olson, the student coordinator I mentioned earlier, is truly amazing. She works non-stop to make sure that we are taken care of and not taken advantage of by those who believe us to be silly students without any knowledge of the Spanish language. She can sure show those nasty landlords who is boss (which I only mean in the best way possible)! Amy is just one of the many resources here to assist us during our time in Madrid, and for those students wanting to come in the future, you do not have to be afraid of not knowing how to find an apartment--the program does not leave you to fend for yourself. You do have to visit the apartments, which isn`t unreasonable--it´s just learning how to become a little more independent.
In terms of my apartment search, I have found the perfect place. The roommates are all Spaniards, speak very little English, and live in a busy neighborhood, but on a quiet street. Everything that I could ever need or want is within a 5 minute walking distance: food, shopping, metro, etc. It´s really spectacular. I only had to look at three places before knowing that this was the one for me, and after looking at the picture below, you´ll see a taste of what I mean!
It´s beautiful, right? I hope to learn a lot while I´m here, and this apartment will most definitely help me.
Speaking of learning Spanish, our first day of class was this past Friday. Everyone from the program, as well as those from Georgetown, Boston College, and Marquette that are here, all had to take a placement exam to determine our respective levels of Spanish for grammar section purposes. After getting placed on Thursday, class started Friday, and I am in love with the instructor for the advanced section. She is funny, kind, and really wants us to learn Spanish. For those students with accents already, she has already said that she doesn´t want to make them speak Spanish in the castellano way, but just to be able to recognize it. She´s really welcoming and accepting of all levels and types of Spanish. There seems to be a great deal of work, but I think it will be worth it in the end, as it will really introduce us to Castillian Spanish in a lower-pressue situation.
Speaking of learning Spanish, our first day of class was this past Friday. Everyone from the program, as well as those from Georgetown, Boston College, and Marquette that are here, all had to take a placement exam to determine our respective levels of Spanish for grammar section purposes. After getting placed on Thursday, class started Friday, and I am in love with the instructor for the advanced section. She is funny, kind, and really wants us to learn Spanish. For those students with accents already, she has already said that she doesn´t want to make them speak Spanish in the castellano way, but just to be able to recognize it. She´s really welcoming and accepting of all levels and types of Spanish. There seems to be a great deal of work, but I think it will be worth it in the end, as it will really introduce us to Castillian Spanish in a lower-pressue situation.
Well, as this post gets longer and longer, I feel the need to wrap up. Tomorrow, there is a group excursion to Segovia, about 1.5 hours north of Madrid, and I´m very excited. It should be an interesting mixture of Spanish-Moorish culture, an impressive intersection of worlds for me as a Palestinian. More later!
Everything sounds great so far! Your future apartment looks nice from the little picture. Will you have your own room? Do you still get free meals when you move into your apartment?
ReplyDeleteI hope your trip to Segovia was fun! Thank goodness you don't have to learn how to speak Castillian Spanish, I don't know if I would be able to understand you when you get back :)
We should set up a time to talk or Skype so we can talk about how things are going on both ends.