Bien hechas, ¿no?

Let me explain. Spain has a set of creepy men that like to hit on girls from afar. They probably would fall into another category from those Greenville townies that we Furmanites tend to make fun of. Here in Madrid, Marissa and I have even received a literal cat call--some guy "meowed" at us on our way back from the Metro one evening. However, my favorite comment was directed to Lara and I--when we were told that we were bien hechas, well made. Well, thanks Mom and Dad. Our waiter thinks you did a good job.

As I have mentioned earlier, the Furman group woke up early on Saturday morning to load up onto a bus and head to Segovia, which was actually Vicky's hometown, "mi pueblo," she says. After a long day of walking and learning, we headed home to Madrid for a bit of dinner and relaxation. It has definitely been a very tiring last days, what with adjusting to this Spanish schedule of eating and sleeping, along with the amount of stuff that we sometimes cram into one day. But I do have to say that in comparison to Furman's schedule, this is much much MUCH more relaxed.

For all of you who are wondering, "Gee, is Jane actually taking classes,or is she just goofing off doing absolutely nothing for 4 months?" I have an answer to your rather pointed question. I have been taking classes now for a whole week--a realistic applications of Spanish class, an Arts and Culture of Spain class, a Drama class, and a language class. All of the professors at Nebrija are very wonderful, and though I don't have as much homework as a normal Biology and Spanish double major should have, I have definitely learned a great deal, especially in my Spanish Arts and Culture class. Marisa, our professor, taught us yesterday the symbolism behind wearing rings on particular fingers. For example, in Spain, the wife wears her ring on her right hand and the husband wears his on the left hand. One is to wear their class ring from the school(s) they graduated from on their thumbs, and if you are from a well-off family, you wear your ring on the middle finger of your right hand. There are a lot of cool factoids that we've learned that help make sense of what we've observed since being here. It's crazy to thing how much of what we thing and what we do is determined by a person that lived centuries ago.

For all who wondr what the weather is like in Madrid, I will know describe in a mere three words. Hot and sunny. Well, at least, that's the only type of weather we've seen since we got here a week and a half ago. I'm glad that I brought shorts and skirts here. Seriously, this place is a few degrees cooler than Dallas and there is no air conditioning. If it really came down to it, I probably could sleep in just my skivvies without a blanket and be fine. Hopefully my shorts, skirts and tanktops will sustain me for the next few hot weeks.

And one more thing, I swear. Marissa and I live near a mall, as some of you may know from an earlier post or something. As such, we will frequent it to grab a notebook for class or a bandage for my ankle, which is sore and swollen (anybody know why?). Yesterday, though, we decided to enter a store that sold clothing for the first time. These places are dangerous, folks. I could have spent all my money in a store called Sfera, but thankfully I didn't have any. Part of me wishes I had brought absolutely nothing here, save for a few small things so that I could load up on clothes. However, I'm safegaurding myself by not bringing any money to the mall, yet. Not until our post-Furman program trip has been planned completely.

Much love from the land of man-pris and murses,
Jane