All the shopping i have done so far has been at this place called El Corte Ingles. It is basically like a gigantic Macy's and they have everything you could every imagine there. there is even a supermarket attached too. The prices are a little high but there having a huge sale this week so i got some good deals. Also they have so many teapots! I was in heaven when i walked through the teapot section :) so i bought myself one :) ant loose leaf tea is readily available so that works out nicely :)
the prices for food in the grocery are very low, I was really surprised. The food there is really good. you will find some of the same brands of food that we have (Nabisco, Kellogg, Coke, Heinz) but there are definitely a lot of unusual things. All the produce is really fresh and they even have an organic food section. I bought some veggies and chicken broth and made a veggie stew for the first time in my life, it turned out really well :)
Aside from the grocery store i have only eaten a turkey sandwich with french fries and a cafe con leche at the cafeteria at El Corte Ingles. The cafeteria is interesting. you sit down and a waiter brings you a menu. The menu has burgers, sandwiches, paninis, pastas, and some authentic Spanish dishes that i have not been courageous enough to try. on every table there is this small electronic device that is used to communicate with your server. you press it when you are ready to order and the server comes to you. he then puts your order in on a PDA type thing and the food comes out really fast. then when you want your check there is a button for that. you press it and the waiter brings the check. I don't know if you are supposed to tip... i havent figured that out yet..... my mom and i left a tip when we were there but she said she didn't think we needed to . I went to the same restaurant today and didn't leave a tip bc i didn't see anyone else do it. I didn't know if i was going to get in trouble or not so i just put money on the table and booked it out the door.
I am started my 1 week of immersion classes on Monday to help me feel a little more comfortable with speaking spanish. The classes are not part of the University that i am going to, they are at a small institute about 30 minutes away from where I am staying. Its something i am pursuing my self to help me feel better before i start classes at the university. The institute is called Inhispania: http://www.inhispania.com . i study at the puerto del sol school.
The classes are really fun and the teachers are awesome. they are very patient, knowledgeable, and friendly. I really couldn't have asked for a better experience. At the institute there are students from all over the world there studying Spanish for different reasons. The common language amongst everyone is Spanish so I have had the opportunity to talk to people that i would not normally be able to communicate with bc i dont speak there language. However I have spoken with people from China, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Russia, Germany, Hungary, England, Serbia, Bulgaria, Switzerland and France.
Also they have activities after class for all the students. Today We took a walking tour of historic Madrid. we visited El Puerto del Sol, La Plaza Mayor, El Mercado de San Miguel, La plaza de San Andres, Las Cavas, La plaza de la Puerta Cerrada, El Jardin del Principe Anglona y La Plaza de la Armeria.
Tomorrow we are having salsa dancing lessons, thursday we are going to a Tapas bar and Saturday is a day trip to Toledo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo,_Spain
Inhispania's Facebook page that talks about the trips we are taking this week: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=
general Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/
So far the city seems really safe and i am not afraid to walk around by myself. the crime rate is very, very low in madrid.
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