Update from Weds september 8th through Sat september 11th.

Wednesday night was really fun! I went to my immersion classes like usual and then after class i met up with 20 people from the immersion school and we went to a free salsa dancing lesson in Madrid.  The teacher was hilarious! He is a guy from Cuba and he was really able to get all of us into the salsa dancing.
The guy in the white shirt is the teacher:

On Thursday I didn't go to my immersion classes because i had a Welcome meeting at La Universidad Autonoma de Madrid.  I met one of my teacher and the woman who is in charge of the international students.  The meeting was very informative and all the faculty seems very supportive :) 

On Thursday I also learned that My classes start later than I thought.  The university is in the process of changing their system to be part of a standard European system.  Because of this they are running 2 different degree tracks.  They are still using the old system so that the students who are currently in this track can finish their studies, but at the same time they have started the European system as well.  So, the classes I chose to take are from the old system, which starts later.  So, since i have 2 weeks to kill, I'm going to take at least 1 more week of immersion classes at Inhispania. 

Thursday night I meet up with a group of 20 or so students from Inhispania and we all went to a famous tapas bar called SIDRERIA El Tigre.  The inside was really small but very authentic.  If you pay 2 euro you get a beer or cider and a plate full of tapas! its a really good deal and the food is really good! I didn't stay for long though because smoking is not prohibited in the bars and restaurants and it was staring to bother me.  

 

 

Friday I went to my immersion classes and then I went home.  I was so drained of energy from the week that i didnt want to do anything.  When i got back to my dorm I did some laundry for the first time since i have been here and then the WIFI in the dorm building broke. So, I had to go down to the reception to get an internet cable and a piece of paper with instructions on how to set up a cable connection (in Spanish).  It took me about an hour to figure it out but I got it! The internet problem is something that has to be fixed by the building headquarters in Barcelona so it wont be up and running till sometime next week. 

Saturday (yesterday) I had to be up early to meet up with the Inhispaina group for our day trip toToledo.  We took a train from the Sol station to Toledo.  The train there cost 8 euro and it was a half hour ride south of Madrid.  Toledo was the original capital of Madrid built by the Romans so it has a lot of history. 

 

 

I had a really good time sight seeing and we ate at an authentic, non tourist Spanish restaurant where I had paella for the first time in my life.  The restaurant is called Restaurante la Custodia. 

 

After we ate lunch, we did a little more walking around.  Toledo is know for its gold and metal/ sward making.  we stoped by this factory where they hand make all the gold embroidered thinks

 

After that we headed back to the train.  We weren't in Toledo for very long and we couldn't see everything so I'm definitely going to have to go back.  I think I will bring Sean there when he comes to visit! 

We ended up getting lost on our way to the train station.  (Our tour guide for the trip was a teacher from Inhispania, he wasnt a really tour guide.) 

 

We were lost for about 1 hour and once we figured out where we were we had to get a bus to take us close to the train station and from the bus stop we ran to the train station.  I cant imagine how funny a group of 20 people running through the streets of Toledo looked haha! we were all laughing hysterically the whole time. We ended up missing the train by 1 minute.  we tried to change our tickets for a later train but they wouldn't exchange them, they we had to buy new ones.  The return trip home was 10 euro.  we opted to take a bus back instead.  The bus tickets were only 5 euro.  

We had to walk about 1/2 a mile from the train station to the bus station.  our tour guide bought the bus tickets for us because he felt it was his fault that we missed the train because he got lost. Then , when we left the ticket counter at the bus station to find our bus we went to wrong way.  By the time we figured out where we were supposed to be,  we were really late and had to run to the bus again.  As we got to the bus, it was pulling away.  we all waved and shouted for the bus driver but he didn't see us.  we had to wait an hour for the next bus!

We finally made it back to Madrid. However, there was something very interesting going on in Madrid that night.  Every year since 2006 Madrid has something called La Noche en Blanco. http://lanocheenblanco2010.esmadrid.com/lneb/en/index  From 9pm Sat night until 8 am Sunday morning the city completely shuts down. All the roads are blocked off :

 

and all of the museums and art galleries are open to the public for free, there are concerts and performances, movie showings and activities that are all free to the public.  Plus many of the shops are open and all night.  The purpose of this event is for all the citizens to celebrate their culture, have fun and feel connected to the city of Madrid.  It was really cool but there were people EVERYWHERE. 

 

After I got back from Toledo all i wanted to do was go home and sleep because it was a long, hot day with a loot of walking up and down big hills and running through the streets.  however,  everyone from Inhispania kept telling me that I had to go because it is really interesting and its a cultural experience. So,  I decided to stay out for a little bit.  I met up with a friend for dinner and just walked around.  After that I headed to the train station to go home and believe it or not, i missed my train! I asked a guy at the train station what i should do and he basically told me i was screwed because there were no more trains to where i needed to go tonight.  He gave me directions to walk about a 1/2 mile to a bus station and ask them if they could take me to my dorm. on my way to the bus station i ended up calling Sean crying because i didn't know what to do, i was tired, lost and it was midnight bu this point. on top of that, the directions I was following to get to the bus station were literally: Go up that set of stairs, then that set of stairs, then the next tes ot stairs.  when you get to the top walk straight in that street for about 100 meters until you get to the bus station. Somehow I made it but  when i got to the bus station it was closed because all the streets were closed down and there we no taxis anywhere for that same reason.  So, i walked back to the train station and asked this nice older couple for help. They told me to take a different train north to get me a little closer to where I needed to be and then take a taxi from there.  They actually got on the same train as I did and helped my get a taxi when i got off the train.  I finally made it home! thank god!

Here are a few more pics from La Noche en Blanco: