I Have Internet Access! (And have officially given up on lyrics as titles)

There is so much to tell you all about Madrid and my past four days, so be warned, this post is going to be really long. Maybe take a minute to stretch or pop some pills before you try and read this all.

First, my host family. I love them so so much. I'm living with a woman named Pepita, who's 60 years old, and her husband Luis, who's 67 years old. Pepita talks very, very fast, which usually results in a lot of smiling and nodding on my part. Her son José came over to visit the first day I was here and told me (in English) that sometimes she talks too fast for even him to understand and not to worry. Also, Pepita is clearly the one who wears the pants. Whenever she tells Luis something or leaves the room, Luis salutes her or says ¨¡Sí, jefa!¨ (yes, boss!). Also Luis doesn't have his front teeth, I assume as a result of his smoking. Lots of people have really bad teeth in Spain since they smoke all the time. The concept of not smoking genuinely confuses some Spaniards. Oh, and I also met their nephew when he came over to install the internet (my hero!). He came over wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers sweatshirt courtesy of his American girlfriend and told me how he was in Philly once and ran up the Rocky steps. It's a small world after all.

Also, Pepita is a fantastic cook and serves me obscene amounts of food. Her food has also been much healthier and tastier than what I was eating at the hotel- I haven't had anything fried or stuffedwith ham in her house. She also has an orange juicer and makes me fresh squeezed orange juice in the morning. It's like living with a Spanish speaking grandmother. Last night we watched TV and the news together for a couple hours before dinner while she made some kind of repairs to a dress. We talked about transsexuals at one point, by which I mean she talked about them and I sad nothing, because I didn't really understand what she was saying and didn't want to say something offensive.

As for the city itself, it's awesome and big, but the metro system is a huge help- it's so clean and safe and easy to navigate. I haven't gotten to do a whole ton of sight seeing yet since I'm dealing with orientation now, but we went to the Retiro, a huge beautiful park, on sunday and I´ve explored my neighborhood, Moncloa, a little. The city is still a little overwhelming, but I'm learning fast how to get around and enjoying exploring the city.

And then there's the university I'll be attending, the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, which is actually not in Madrid proper, but Getafe, one of its suburbs. It's about a 20 minute metro ride followed by a 25 minute train ride followed by a 10 minute walk. Commuting seems pretty cool now, though I doubt it will seem so new and exciting once classes actually start on Monday. The campus itself is small but pretty and modern, and we're working on placement exams and picking classes now. Again, it's a little overwhelming, but I'm sure that once orientation week is over and I can just dive into classes etc. it'll seem a little more manageable.

Finally, as I mentioned before, I do have internet now in my apartment, so anytime you want to chat, skype, etc. just let me know!