Dia 3

Unfortunately, our hotel does not have free wireless internet, so my roommate, Kelsey, and I walked a couple of blocks down the street to a Starbuck's. Yes, Starbuck's, McDonald's, and Burger King are still all over the place here.

This morning I woke up at 7:45AM (12:45AM in Minnesota) and met Mitch at the train station. He brought his suitcase for Amanda because she has somehow accumulated an extra suitcase worth of stuff. Mitch and I went for a run in el Parque de Retiro, Madrid's version of Central Park, then ate breakfast at a corner cafeteria. I got a piece of toast, coffee, and fresh squeezed orange juice for about 3 euro. At 11AM, Amanda and I checked out of our hostel and took the Metro to el Hotel Husa Moncloa, where our program is staying for the next two nights. I also, met my roommate Kelsey, who I will be living with in Sevilla. We spent the afternoon exploring local shops and I bought a cell phone which was only 24 euro! At 7PM, we met with our study abroad group and received information and calendars regarding our next four months in Spain. There are about seventy of us studying at three universities in Sevilla-about sixty girls and ten boys. We take a placement exam on Monday morning which will determine what classes we can take in Sevilla. I hope to pass into at least the advanced level classes so I can take a larger variety of classes. At 8PM, our group went on a short guided bus tour of Madrid which was interesting, and I hope to get back to all of those places sometime during my stay in Spain. Our tour guide spoke entirely in Spanish and I was able to understand everything that she said. Now I just need to focus on my Spanish speaking skills . . .

Tomorrow we are visiting el Museo de Prado (El Greco, Velasquez, Goya) and el Palacio Real in the morning, and we have the afternoon and evening free. Oh, I've been trying to avoid looking like an American tourist but have taken a few pictures which I hope to post sometime this week.