Life in Madrid

So many of you have been asking for pictures, so I thought I would take the time this evening to add what I have. There aren't very many here, mainly because Ihaven't had a lot of time to

take pictures, but take a look through them and let me know you thoughts!

Arrival Day - Saturday, June 28th

The view from my bedroom window:
We were lucky enough to be placed in a flat that was newly renovated!

Everything was clean and white. These are a few pictures of the inside of our flat.

The Kitchen

The Other Side of the Kitchen

When I arrived in the apartment I immediately got on Skype to let my

family know I made it home - and look who I found!
Our hallway from the front door to the living room. My Bedroom

1st Bathroom - nice new sinks and toilets!
2nd Bathroom - Nice new tub. By the way, the toilet seat was missing -

they actually got those put on today!
Our living room. The couch isn't normally right next to the window.

My roommate did that for safety until I arrived.
Full view of 1st Bathroom
Sunday, June 29th

My roommate and I decided to head downtown to meet some of the other students. The big soccer game was that evening and we were all going to meet at O'Neil's Irish Pub. Melissa and I went, but we found way too many people and smoke! We decided to take a detour and had a meal right in the middle of Plaza Santa Anna. These are the pictures I took while we had dinner.

I had to laugh at this! While we were having a nice dinner outside, during the game, the waiters couldn't resist from watching the game! Spain had just scored, so they had to see all the action.

Some winning pictures I stole from yahoo!




Tuesday, July 1st - CANADA DAY!


After class some of us went for drinks. I hadn't taken many pictures,
so I decided to pull out my camera and take a couple!

From left to right:
Melissa - my roommate from Hawaii, lives and teaches 3rd Grade
Kirsty - originally from Canada but currently lives in Berlin

(she teaches music)
Tony - originally from Chicago but currently lives in Colombia

(I forgot what he teaches)
Kristal - originally from France but currently in Geneva, Switzerland

(she teaches French, and doesn't she look a lot like Celine Dion?)

From left to right:
Philip - originally from Canada but currently in Zug, Switzerland

(he teaches Humanities)
Heather - originally from Canada but currently in The Netherlands

(she teaches Art)

As you can see, we have a lot of Canadians around! I think our director told us that there are around 80 of us, so this is only a small portion!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. The weather was perfect. It was nice and cool, yet the sun was shining. Our commute was a bit chilly, but I welcomed it! These next few pictures I took on my walk home from my Metro.

This building is actually at a slant. It was originally designed to be part of the 'gated entrance' into the city. There is another building just opposite to this that looks exactly the same.
Everything seems to be so clean here. I walk but this section of trees everyday, so I had to take a picture! You know how much I love my trees!
Again, this is the 'gate' to the city.
Once I get out of my Metro Station, this is the path I walk home At the end of the line of trees is our apartment building. My roommate had gotten home early today and this is how I found her when I arrived. Thankfully I haven't had a lot of homework this week, but she's taking my next class now and I can already tell that next week is going to be a bit more intense!

This is the view I have when I stand in front of our apartment building.
This is our apartment building - currently being remodeled!
One more look at the area around where we live.
Madrid has been a great experience for me so far. I'm thankful that the weather is so nice right now and that I have had no problems. Unfortunately I think Jet Lag is creeping up on me finally and I am finding that my eyes want to shut very early in the evening!

You will be happy to know that I found someone to go to church with on Sundays. She is in my group and we just realized today that we have the church thing in common! :) Tomorrow is my last day for this class, and as of right now I have an A!

Thank you for those who have prayed for Angela. She is feeling much better and is acting like herself now! We haven't had a lot of time to catch up, so tomorrow after class we're going to spend time catching up. On another note, I want you to keep someone else in your prayers. Today during our lunch break, one of the professors was rushed to the emergency room. He is actually the prof. for my class next week - the class my roommate is in currently, and for some reason he started to feel bad. When he went they said he was having a stroke or heartattack, and it has ended up being a blood clot they think in near his brain. His wife had actually flown in today so it was a blessing she was here to be with him. He will be having surgery tomorrow morning, and the Director of this program will actually be our teacher next week. As I asked, please keep him in your prayers.

I guess I will close this evening by saying thank you for reading thus far and I hope you and your families are enjoying this first week in July. Pop some firecrackers for me and enjoy this Fourth of July!

Until next time...