¡Hala Madrid!

HELLLLLOOOOOO! How are you? Hope you are doing great.

Since my last post, some things have happened and I will share them with you right NOW! My flat is full now, 5/5 bedrooms occupied by two Americans (including myself) and three Brits. We are having a good time exchanging stories and discussing the differences between our styles of English and the words we use. Here are some fun examples:

• America: wash cloth / England: linen
• America: right away / England: straight away
• America: router / England: router, pronounced "rooter"
• America: chips / England: crisps
• America: fries / England: chips
• America: trash can / England: bin

Needless to say, I am expanding my vocabulary in Spanish AND English. Speaking of the guys, we had a fun day at Retiro Park kicking around the soccer ball. It was all fun and good times until the ball exploded and we realized we had purchased a very cheap ball. Here are some photos of the tragedy:

Before ^

D'oh! ^

Despite being sad about the ball and it's short life, I quickly found another use for the outer shell's protective qualities. I think I am going to be a soccer ball for Halloween:

Scary?

Speaking of soccer, I went to my first professional soccer game last night. Madrid's best team, Real Madrid, played against a Dutch team called Ajax in a UEFA Champion's League game. Real Madrid has some great players and I couldn't believe I got to see them in person because I am used to seeing them on TV from far, far away. I got to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka score goals too! I had a really great time. It was exhilarating when Ronaldo scored the first goal of the game.. I had never felt anything so exciting! We were sitting near the supporters of Ajax and they were some pretty rowdy soccer hooligans. At one point, all of the men took their shirts off and began chanting something and whipping their tees around in the air. I went with my roommates Themis, Matt, and my friend Mitch. Here is a little video from the match:

In other news, I had some friends over the other night and we cooked up a feast. We combined Spanish and American food and created a meal that didn't make much sense but ended up being delicious. We started by making gambas al ajillo (a Spanish shrimp with garlic) and fried up some potatoes after that, which we seasoned in the same skillet we had made the shrimp in so we got all of those flavors in the potatoes. We made chicken, porkchops, and tortilla española (like an omelet with potatoes, red peppers, and onions inside). I was so full afterwards!

tortilla española

Tonight I am going to bed early because I am getting up in the morning to visit my school for the first time. The kids are already there but I don't start work until Monday, which happens to be my birthday. I think it will be cool to celebrate my birthday with a first day of work with little kids! I'm excited for the job and will keep you posted as much as I can.

Time to go make dinner! I am going to attempt making mussels tonight in a tomato garlic sauce. I really hope it works out because I have no idea what I'm doing.

Nick