While I believe I know the metro station rather well, I did make an epic American mistake in my recent travels. A friend and I were making sure one of our other friends got home safely while the rest of our group went on ahead. We heard the metro train come up and began sprinting through the station towards our friends who were trying to push on the doors and keep them open. Sprinting in high heels, which I'll admit, is a talent of mine, still made me trip and almost lose my ankle between the train and the cement.... regardless still landing successfully on the floor of the train and on the same metro as my group. Will not be doing that again. Stood up in my dress to awkard condescending stares and thought it would be wise to say "no estoy barracha" aka I am not drunk. I have ambitions to represent our country much better in the future.
I had my first discoteca experience this past Thursday night. IT.WAS.UNLIKE.ANYTHING. the United States could offer. The club we went to was called Kapital and it has seven floors each with its own bar, a different decoration scene, and its own music. I was taking pictures. SO American. The gals and I got in for free and were instantly given free drinks. The main dance floor was packed! There were sexy dancers onstage and the gals and I were infatuated with a man in leather pants. We kept taking pictures. How objectifying? oops. Every ten to fifteen minutes smoke would billow out of the cieling and the whole dance floor would be covered in a cloud for fifteen seconds... you couldn't see! It was terrifying at first, but very awesome. The decorations were extravagant. There were nude posters in the staircases, GORGEOUS chandeliers, lights, great designs. Very stylish and modern. At one point in the night, one of the owners told me he wanted me to work there! I told him my Spanish is sub-par, apparently that's not too important. I gave him my e-mail address, but probably won't do that. If I run out of Euros, I know where to go! The top floor of Kapital did not have a roof. There was silk ceilings on the sides with couches and tables under them, a fountain and plants and tables all around. There wasn't too much dancing, but of course there was a bar. I sat and chatted with a man from Scotland who spoke English, a man from Italy who only spoke Italian but it is close to Spanish so that's ok, and a man from Brazil who was trying to teach me Spanish. We were speaking Spanglish. They were all together and I'm not sure how they were friends becuase how would they communicate?? Practiced my Spanish, learned a few more words...
We met quite a few people. Including men who were seven feet tall or more and trying to tell us their height in meters. Getting used to different measuring systems and military style time is a little difficult. I believe they played for a semi-pro international league and I wanted to mail one to LISA!
We danced until the club closed at 6am! I had had my last redbull at like 430...We then took a taxi to our friends house and I took the metro from there and got to my house around 7am. That's normal apparently. I think that's insanity. I was literally riding the metro with people who were just starting their day and going to work.
Friday a few girlfriends and I met up at the school to sign up for a few clubs, eat their Americanized barbecue (the hamburgers tasted like meatloaf?) and went shopping at sol after. There are quite a few inexpensive clothing and shoe stores with awesome, new style that I've never seen before, yet I was so tired I couldn't make any decisions so I didn't buy very many items... The streets were packed and each shop we went into was a new claustrophobic experience.
Dinner was potatos and chicken--SO DELICIOUS minus the bones. Spanish don't believe in "boneless." Our senora ended the meal with a small glass of dessert wine. It was entirely too sweet and too strong. I plugged my nose and took it down when she wasn't looking to be polite. I don't want to offend...
Today we went to Segovia! Most enjoyable experience. We were given a two hour tour through the streets and it was so beneficial to have someone there to tell you what you were actually looking at. The aquaducts we saw were unbelieveable. Centuries old. 60 km long. And only built with rock, no cement or anything. Makes one wonder how it is still standing all this time later? We saw the last gothic cathedral ever to be built in the world and it is GORGEOUS. It is located in the main plaza of Segovia and Queen Isabella was crowned there. We then toured a castle that she lived in with King Ferdinand. 22 Kings had lived in this castle as well and I even got to stand inside the same room that Christopher Columbus had asked the king and queen for money to discover America. That was the greatest experience. We also saw King Ferdinands bed, a ceiling that had over fifty pounds of gold on it, and stood on the balcony where a servant accidently dropped an infant prince to his death only to jump off after him to hers. There's so much history in Segovia and it is absolutely beautiful.
I ate with some friends in the main plaza and was lucky enough to see a Spanish wedding ceremony go on right in front of our restaurant. The dress was unbelievable, salsa style, tight down to the middle thigh and then layers and layers of ruffles and fabric. So pretty. The guests threw rice when the newly weds came out and a band played music. It was a beautiful scene. All whilst drinking sangria and eating delicious tapas and having good conversation.
BLISS.
On our way back to the bus we stopped in a few shops. Some girlfriends and I decided we want to leave something in every city that we travel to so we wrote a few things down and folded up a piece of paper and shoved it inside a small crack in the aquaduct. I will be deleting this post immediately if the structure falls.
It has been the most enjoyable day...
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