FOUND: missing sub-sections from previous post

These two pieces are sub-sections of my previous post. I was having difficulty reformatting the huge font that it kept returning to. Anyway, to form a more complete picture of that last report, here you go.

-lauren

My Last Days in Madrid

Friday, as I mentioned above, was mainly consumed by the graduation celebration festivities, but it didn’t end there. We had an evaluation meeting for ISA that lasted longer than anticipated, one of the new girls for the month of July (Joquelyn) showed up to the house, Concha (my señora) made an awesome goodbye dinner, then most of the girls in the house (including myself) went out to meet up with some friends from school for a night on the town. At first we spent about a half hour walking in circles and getting a bit lost, but we finally found the group and hung out at a bar playing some 80s music and projecting some weird, old Spanish movie on the wall before going to a bar/club in Chueca. We ended up getting home at like 3 AM and my feet were torn up from a pair of shoes I borrowed from one of the girls in the house, but it was definitely a fun evening and a good way to spend my last night. The next day was primarily consumed with packing and goodbyes. I had hoped to have time and energy to go see the Orgullo Gay (Gay Pride) Celebration and Parade in Chueca, or go to El Diario de Ana Frank: El Canto de La Vida (The Diary of Anne Frank, the Musical), but I ended up passing out on the couch after finishing packing instead. The other new girl for July, Lauren (name stealer), showed up shortly after I awoke. My host sister Conchi finished her last bit of University in Pharmacy, so she, Concha, Cris and Santi (the other family members) got all dressed up to go to her graduation Saturday night. They left before I did, so I took a picture of them all jazzed up and said my goodbyes then. Afterwards, I went for a short walk around the neighborhood to get some (hot) fresh air and exercise before sitting on a train to Barcelona all night. I came home, ate dinner by myself, then took my bags and headed to the train station to leave the city that’s served as my home for a month. (But I’ll be back… at least to fly home, for sure.)

Post-Program Travels

So, as I said, I left Madrid. I took an overnight train to Barcelona and met up with some friends there. I saw Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, and Casa Batlló. (Batlló I only saw from the outside though. Weird hours.) The metro was very different from Madrid’s, but at least every train was air conditioned, which was a plus. The festivities after the Eurocup victory lasted, for me, until 2 or 2.30 AM, but for others, it went on much longer. Consequently, I didn’t wake up very early yesterday. I also missed out on seeing some cool features like Museu Picasso, the Olympic Stadium, and CaixaForum, a bank-foundation-building that features art exhibitions free to the public, partially because I didn’t realize certain places are not open on Mondays, but also because there’s only 24 hours in a day. It just means it’ll be on my itinerary for next time. However, I did go to the Museu de L’Erotica with some friends. It was very, very interesting and weird at the same time. All kinds of multi-cultural and historical forms of pleasure-seeking documented primarily in the form of drawings and sculpture. Afterwards, a group of us went to dinner and said our goodbyes as it would be the last time we’d see each other in our time here, but it wasn’t particularly sad because there’s talk of a reunion sometime in the future. And so I went home to the hotel room of my roommate Rachael and our friend Emily, where I crashed on the floor for the second night in a row.