Toledo, Jan 8-10, 2008

Today we returned from our little excursion to Toledo. It is a quaint little city/village about an hour south of Madrid in La Mancha (like Don Quixote de la Mancha and Manchego cheese) . La Fundacion Jose Ortega y Gasset has a campus there and we had our orientation. They taught us the lingo, like how to order from bars (you can't just say "una cerveza por favor") and all this stuff.

It was also important because we all got to meet each other. Because we're living with families in Madrid, so socialize outside school requires effort and it's hard to do if you don't even KNOW the other people, so with this orientation we stayed in the school's dorms for a couple of nights and really got to know the other people we'll be in school with for the next four months. A lot of them are cool, some don't seem too friendly, but I think that once I get to know them it will be different. It's so weird to have to make friends again! It's working out though.

Toledo is one of the most boring places in the entire world. Sure, it's cute because it's very medieval. Like, I felt like I was in a castle/disney world the whole time. It's a beautiful walled in city that was built in like, the 800s so everything looks awesome. Plus, Ferdinand and Isabella were really involved in its development so there is a lot of history. But as for activity...well you can't do a whole lot when only four or five people can fit abreast on the STREETS. And yes, cars do drive through, but only little cars, all one way, and...not a whole lot of cars. We went to some bars and a disco though and that was fun. But it was ALL americans. I think very few people actually like in Toledo, it's like a city for tourists. I'm glad I got to experience it, but I'm SO happy that I'm living in Madrid instead.

I made a few cultural notes:
-In cities like Toledo that are so old, they don't BUILD in the cities. You don't see cranes in the skylines. They work with what they have. I respect that. You don't see abandoned buildings, because they use them and renovate them, etc. It's something to think about.
-The europeans are SO energy conscious! I really respect that too. Because water and electricity are expensive in the houses you ALWAYS turn the lights off when you leave a room, (though that's not uncommon in the US) but also, all the restaurants and public buildings use skylights a lot and censored lighting. Like, if there is no motion in the bathrooms in restaurants for THIRTY SECONDS the lights will turn out on you. Not to mention that a ten minute shower is really pushing it. They conserve water like it's gold. I like that.

CONS:
-Shoes in the house at all times are a must. Even if it's just slippers. I HATE wearing shoes.
-There's a lot of time between meals. Breakfast at 8:30, lunch at 2, dinner at 9:30 or later. By each meal I'm STARVING.

My Senora (house mother) is nice. She speaks slowly enough for me to understand and doesn't care when we come and go. I don't know her too well yet so I'll figure that out in a few days I'm sure.

School starts monday and my schedule is AWESOME. I have three classes Tuesday/Thursday and one class on Wednesday afternoon! HELL YEAH FOUR DAY WEEKENDS! Voy a viajar MUCHO!!

Until next time....