I can't believe I have already been in Spain for almost 2 weeks! We have done so much already, but there is still so much to see! When I arrived in Madrid on August 31, I was immediatly whisked off onto a school trip to El Escorial. We visited El Monasterio del Escorial, which is a giant monastery and is also where many Spanish kings and queens are buried. We also visited El Valle de Los Caidos, a giant cross on a mountain, which is a memorial to all those who died during the Spanish Inquisition. It was a good day trip, but I was soooo tired and jet lagged that I just wanted to go home and sleep!

One of the coolest things we've done so far in Madrid was go to El Rastro, an enormous flea market in the center of the city that takes place every Sunday. Afterwards, we wandered around the city and found ourselves at the Royal Palace (Palacio Royal) and El Gran Catedral.

Yesterday we went to Toledo for the day. We took a bus and it was only about an hour away. It was such a cool city because it is one of the cities that has huge Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim influences, so there are churches, synagogues, and mosques on every corner. The city itself is a mess of tiny sidestreets and alleys, and it is very well preserved. It felt like I was in a time-capsule! Everything in Spain is so much slower than at home. It takes ten minutes for a waiter to come up to your table. The only good thing is that you don't have to tip anyone because the service is so slow! We don't even tip our cab drivers, it's great!

My senora is really nice, and the food she cooks us for dinner is usually pretty good! Sometimes its a little weird though, last night she served each of us a plate of rice mixed with mayo and ketchup and an egg. And then she put 7 hot dogs in the middle of the table. All for just my roommate and I! I don't think she understands how Americans eat, but the good thing is that she sits with us while we eat dinner so that we can practice our Spanish with her.