Going to Switzerland...BRB.

I realize it has been far too long without a blog entry.  To my one million plus followers, I apologize; life has been very busy.  If you’ve sent me fan mail, please know that I have received it and am in the process of responding to everyone.  When you get such a response as I have from a blog, it is hard to keep up.  Okay, just kidding.  Coming back to the real world, here is what has really been up…

Studying.  Studying, studying, studying.  Specifically studying “Violence in Spain” and “Art, Drama, and Poetry throughout Spain’s history.”  I came into this program thinking it would be a 6-week trip to Madrid that would be relaxing and fun.  It has definitely been fun, but relaxing is definitely not the word I would use.  I guess I forgot that we are supposed to get credits for Duke while we are here.  Whoops.  My bad.

Apart from studying, I’ve been up to the typical Madrid things… Going to the Copa del Rey Final, Going out with my host family til 2 in the morning, watching my roommate get beaten up by our host mom, being miserably sick, and getting stuck in elevators.  You know… the usual.

Where to start?  I guess I will start with the sickness.  I didn’t really sleep the first week I was here, and that turned into me getting a cold, then a fever of 102.5, and a very upset stomach.  I think if you had to make a list of the top 10 worst things in the world, being sick away from home would definitely have an argument to be up there.   But I’ll do you one better… having witchcraft medicinal practices applied to you to make you feel better.  My regiment consisted of drinking cups and cups of hot milk with honey, being forced to sleep under blanket after blanket with no fan or open window after I complained that I couldn’t sleep because I was too hot (seriously?), and then being woken up at 7 am to have my temperature taken.  Somehow I got better.  We can thank the Lord.

Anyways, two of my favorite stories as of late have involved sports.  I went to the Copa del Rey Final (Attention Americans: think Football National Championship).  Never before have I seen such a sports spectacle.  From a 20 minute walk through throngs of people to the stadium from the nearest metro stop, to bon fires, to drunken cheers, and to rivalry and newly formed friendships, soccer and nothing else was king that night.  People wearing jerseys in the metros, in the streets, in the bathrooms, in restaurants, in parks.  You couldn’t get anywhere and not be engulfed in cheers and celebrations.  Sadly, I must say it put the DUKE, unc rivalry to shame.  And this wasn’t even Barca, Real Madrid.  My other sports story happened on the way to a restaurant one night.  We were riding in a cab listening to a basketball game in super-fast Spanish on the Radio, and this is what I heard (keep in mind I can comprehend Spanish decently at this point) “jflasfsjlfsfj ldsfjslf lsf ll jf!!!!!!  KYLE SINGLER ljslfjsd; lsjfls !!!! lsdjkf SINGLER!!!”  Moral of the story: we were listening to Kyle Singler play basketball for Real Madrid.  That was a cool feeling, and it made me just slightly less homesick.  Oh ya, the cab ride back played Cher ;) right up my alley.

Sorry this is so short and has no pictures.  I’m leaving for Switzerland in less than 6 hours!  Check Facebook if you’d like to see pics.  I’ll try and upload some on my next post.  Hope y’all are doing well.  I miss everyone very much.  Seriously.  I’d love to hear from you, skype, or whatever.

Some closing thoughts…

Conversation of the week (English translation)…
Host mom’s daughter: “I looked so pretty in my wedding dress!”

My roommate: “That’s really weird.”

***Awkward silence as I ask him if he meant what he said***

Host mom’s daughter: “Pedro called me ugly!  Pedro called me ugly!”

***Pedro frantically tries to correct his mistake***

***Too late!  Chelo is attacking him with a cooking book.***

Favorite Spanish food…
Gazpacho (cold, spicy-ish tomato soup… typical summer dish)

Paella (even Americans know this one)

Bible Passage that I’ve been thinking about…

Nehemiah 1:5-6 “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel…”

*I just thought this was a cool attitude towards prayer.  If you haven’t read Nehemiah, I’d encourage you to.  It’s pretty short.  And the guy means business.

Nehemiah 13:21 “If you do this again, I will lay hands on you.”  Hahaha.  Great humor God.

Besos y Abrazos,

Chema