The PDA (public display of affection) in Madrid is real!

My second day in Madrid as I was waiting for the Metro for the first time, I noticed something very strange. A couple across from me was kissing on the bench, then the moved from the bench and to the floor.

The girl was laying on her back with her significant other in between her legs and they continued making out and rolling all over the floor. Don't believe? Look for yourself...

Currently in my classes I am learning about the Franco regime. During that time, Spaniards were not able to hold hands, or show any form of affection. Say what?!!!!

 That might explain why younger generations of Spaniards want to display their affection whenever possible!  In the park, restaurants, metro. Wherever, whenever...

I saw this cute couple sitting in the park, I couldn't resist! they looked so cute together <3

Today I went on a little walk...

So today my plan was to go to Parque de Attraciones. When I arrived this is what I saw (picture on the left)! It sure was beautiful, but it was deserted and looked hella sketch.

 Though Madrid is relatively safe, this does not look like a place a young foreign woman should wonder off alone. I got scared and hopped right back on el metro! I did not want to get lost. This adventure would be best with others! Maybe another day..

Instead of going home, I made the executive decision to get off at a different stop, Plaza de Espana! What a great decision it was!

Plaza de Espana!

So I got off the metro and I thought I was where I usual end up en el centro pero no fui! I did some walking and I ended up at some of the most beautiful sites, I've seen in Madrid thus far! I arrived at this beautiful park! 

Parque de Oeste!

Templo de Debod- ancient Egyptian temple

beautiful aerial views of the city!

Creepy as Mickey Mouse again! Seems like he's all over Madrid!

As I was walking out of the park, I stumbled upon a garden. 

Rosaleda de Ramon Ortiz. I also saw other things but that caught my attention but because of the my past experience of getting lost, I tried not to get off track. BTW, it is extremely easy to get lost in Madrid. The streets are not connected. Therefore you must be very careful!

Side note: I kept getting a lot of stares and catcalls today! All day I was wondering if I was dressed scandalous but I was not in my opinion and my roommates! I don't know what was up. 

A few days in Madrid and I can't believe...

I can't believe how much I love it here!

Before going to Madrid, I read in several places on online that I didn't need to learn Spanish because a lot of the locals spoke English, however this not the case. Though some people speak English, the majority are primarily Spanish speakers (duhh!) LOL. I should know better than to believe what I read on the internet.

No hablo espanol perfecto pero los espanoles es muy expresiva asi entiendo es muy facil! Cuando ellos hablan espanol que usan sus manos!

I'm having legit conversation in Spanish con locales! Me encanta que hablando en espanol!


We took a tour of el centro con Vanessa, one of the ACCENT personnel who has been living in Espana por siete anos.

After the tour, siesta time! After siesta, we back to el centro a noche por la fiesta. We tried to go to Kapital, a seven story

First Week of Classes...

and I'm still jet-lagged. Woke up at 4am. It's so hard to keep up with everything that's been going on. This week was the first day of class. Luckily, I only have classes Mondays and Wednesdays. Yay! So I get 5 out of the 7 days of the week for myself. Awesome!

My classes:

Gender and Politics in Modern Italy and Spain
Globalization and Crisis in Spain and Italy
The Changing Faces of the Mediterranean: Migration in Southern Europe

I receive 5 UC units per class, so in total I'm taking 15 units. What's awesome about these classes if that our learning is not only limited to the classroom. It's only week one and I've already been on 3 field trips.

For my migritation class, on Tuesday we met at Teatro La Latina and explored the minority neighborhoods of Madrid, both historical and contemporary. There were a lot of North African men, Indians, and Chinese. I'm pretty sure there were Latinos but it's hard to distinguish them from the Spaniards.

The next day, Wednesday, I had two field trips back to back. Talk about exhausation! For my Globalization class we went to the Royal Palace of El Pardo. It was raining :(
We couldn't take pictures inside. Boo hoo! But it was quite grand. Without any break, I had to take the metro to the next field trip at the Museo del Romanticism.  Fortunately, el metro en Madrid is very efficient. The metro comes every 5 minutes from 6am-1:30am. So no excuses for tardiness! Plus, it's easy to connect to other lines!


In my free time, I find myself in el centro mucho! I've been to the Royal Palace de Madrid twice! There's so much to see on the outside, but I really need to make a trip inside. I'm sure it's grand like the exterior.

Tomorrow I plan to take a free tour of Madrid! Let's see how that goes!