Madrid, Spain
40° 24' N 3° 41' W
Jun 06, 2009 10:59
Distance 313km

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Don Quijote etcetera...

Spent one week in the capital city - studying Spanish at Don Quijote language school, visiting the Reina Sofia Museum of Art, and making some new friendships.  I arrived to the city about 7pm on Sunday, found the hostel where I had to pick up the keys to my dorm and then dragged my bags halfway across town (so as not to have to do the stairs of the Metro again) along the Gran Vía, past the Plaza de España, spotted the school building and then walked uphill on Calle Vallehermoso up to the dormitory.  I was sweaty and tired when I arrived, but it was a great way to take in the sights of downtown Madrid.

My roommate, Julia (YOU-lee-a), from Hannover, Germany was an absolute sweetie and we got on super from the get-go.  Her English was perfect, of course, so I didn't have to use my German at all (good thing, cause I'm not that good anymore!)  We went shopping for groceries the first evening and planned our schedule for the next day.  On Monday, we arrived at Don Quijote school at 8am to take the placement test (along with about 40 other people) and afterwards went with some teachers on an hour-long walking tour around the city - through the Plaza de España, past the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) to the Plaza Mayor, past the Puerta del Sol and along the Gran Vía again, back to the school.

Level-wise, I was placed in the B1 class (as I had lost some of my speaking ability over the years and am horrible at Spanish grammar) which turned out to be a good level for me.  After sorting students, I found that my classes were to be in the afternoons - 3pm to 7pm - with an extra one-hour culture class from 7-8pm (attendance optional).  This was a nice schedule for me as I didn't have to get up early each day and still had the entire morning to explore the city before heading to school.  Our class had two great teachers - Espe (short for Esperanza) in the early afternoon - a talkative, playful lady in her late 20's who made us all laugh a lot (making grammar lessons much more enjoyable) - and Clara, who was more serious but also quite sweet.  She helped us take what we had learned earlier and apply it in more written and spoken ways.  I loved the different teaching styles and characters of each teacher and feel that the week of classes at DQ was a real success for me, in that I was able to begin pulling some of that long-forgotten language out of the back recesses of my mind and finally use it!

Culture classes were varied, with Dali on Monday, música española on Wednesday, and ritmos latinos (or Latin Rythms) on Thursday and Friday which had us listening to and dancing salsa, merengue, etc.  Very fun!  The students ranged in age from 18 (Julia) to Hanz, from Holland, who was in his 60's - still vibrant and full of life, a real world traveler.

The first night, we all got together for a welcome dinner - compliments of DQ - with tortilla española (Spanish potato pancake), jamón serrano, croquettes, salad, fresh bread and, of course, vino tinto (Spanish red wine). Later we ended up at a Cuban restaurant/club with a great band playing.... did some dancing, of course.  Succeeding nights I did some late night partying with a large group of German, Dutch and French students and even went to a movie, The Boat That Rocked.

On my last full day in town, I took advantage of my DQ "student card" and got into the Reina Sofia (Queen Sofia) Museum of Art for half price.  I was a lovely building with many interesting installations of contemporary art.  I enjoyed viewing works by Dali, Miro and Picasso, including the famed "Guernica" painting.  Check this link to read more about the Reina Sofia and some of the artists' works: http://www.spanisharts.com/reinasofia/reinasofia.htm

Saturday morning saw me out the door and on my way to Barcelona (after photos and hugs with my great roomies, of course).  Cataluña here I come!

 

 

Photos / videos of "Don Quijote etcetera...":

Lunch in Business Class on the AVE was pretty good. Chicken was super tasty and I loved the paté and dessert And there was a nice snack later, too In my dorm room on Calle Vallehermoso in Madrid Nice bath Great kitchen And free laundry! (you don't know how exciting that was!) Julia, my sweet German roommate Plaza de España The Senate El Palacio Real (Royal Palace) Plaza Mayor El Corte Inglés, the department store where you could drop a serious ton of money... (I only used the ladies, though) Night at the Museum 2 (en español, of course) Bet you can guess what this one is.... Along the theater street, Gran Vía, all the popular shows were on The Museum of Ham... yes HAM A wall of Jamón Serrano - made my mouth drool, just looking at them¡ Fridays.... everywhere Saturday Night Fever¡ If I'd had the time and the extra dough... Don Quijote School Que? Que? Lunch our first day The great guy at Cañas y Tapas We spent a sizzling afternoon hour near the water Welcome Dinner that night Matthieu, our resident Frenchman, approved the wine Viktor is not French (Dutch), but did a nice imitation here... Aaahhh... tortilla española¡ Still warm... ¡Qué rica! Jamón Serrano and Manchego cheese Fun sights to see while walking through Sol At the Cuban Club Our Dutch buddies grooving to Cuban music More Dutch... these girls were so sweet! The Italian guys Moritz from Munich Katrina from ireland Sing-a-long Oh, no! They got me... Me and my girl, Julia Oops¡ Classmates at Don Quijote Our afternoon profesora, Marta Movie night.... The Boat That Rocked... for all you 60's rock n' roll fans Coffee being the more important offering here.... But they bake stuff, too, at the Bakeplace, like say... donuts? Being the only non-smoker of the group, I decided to take pictures instead of imbibe in a Turkish water pipe... After trying Melon and Apple flavor, the consensus was Apple was the better of the two. I took their word for it! =D Our flatmate, Menghan (pronounced "mon-HAN") made me Taiwanese noodles With the Dutch girls, we made pasta, salad, gazpacho and later, pizza for dinner one night Renfe train station The street our school is on Espe (short for Esperanza), our wonderful profesora for the first session each day We didn't just study in class.... we had fun, too! Bye, Espe! Bye, Marta! Friday afternoon salsa dancing Our front entry at the dorm Our window is up there somewhere Looking down the street Bye, Julia! Bye, Menghan!
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