Warning: This will be a very long post because I have a lot to catch up on in my time here in Madrid.

So I'll just be blunt about it. I absolutely love Spain. The country is fabulous, the people are really nice, and the city is world-class. As of right now, I have been living in Madrid for about two weeks. I am living in a homestay with a Madrilenian family and it is wonderful. I have two Spanish "brothers" as well. It feels great to be a part of authentic Spanish culture and family life. Madrid is similar to most world-class cities in the United States, seeing how there is a great diversity of people and it is always busy. The culture isn't that much different from the rest of Western Civilization. I feel very comfortable here and it didn't take very long to adjust to my new lifestyle. There is, however, a difference in their daily schedules. We eat our lunch between 2:30 and 3:00 in the afternoon, and we eat dinner between 9:30 and 11:00 at night. I'm not really hungry for breakfast in the morning at all because I eat so late at night. On the weekends, or on nights when people go out and enjoy the town, they don't usually start going out until 11:00. The busiest time of the night is around 2:00 a.m. I'll be honest with you, I didn't get back to my house until 7:00 a.m. a few times.

European style is somewhat different from the States. Capris on men are very popular (we call them Manpris), as well as the mullet and rat tail hair styles. Generally people "dress up" a bit more here than normal in the U.S. Also, I have not seen very many American cars here. All the cars here are small, economic vehicles. Everytime I do see an American car (generally they are Fords) I get excited. My classes have gone well so far. The month of September for me, at Complutense University, is an intensive Spanish immersion program for students from Boston College, Marquette, and WIP (Wisconsin, Indiana, and Purdue). It's good to see some midwesterners. Right now I am taking classes in Spanish History, Spanish Art, and Advanced Grammar. In October, the full-time University students begin, as well as my normal University courses. I'm still not sure what classes I will take, but I meet with Ana, the BC Abroad program director Wednesday to figure things out.

This past weekend, a group of us Boston College students decided to take a day trip to Segovia, which is about an hour and a half (by bus) northwest of Madrid. Segovia is like that European fantasy land you see in guidebooks and magazines showcasing the great history Europe has. The first thing we saw was the Ancient Roman Aqueduct built in the 1st century. It was remarkable seeing something so monumental and yet 2000 years old. Apparently it had still been in use up until the 19th century. It was almost like I was living my high school history book. Then we explored the city and saw the Cathedral (built in 1571). The Segovian Cathedral was a phenomenal structure with gothic architecture. I didn't go inside because I didn't want to pay 4 euro, but the outside was a spectacle enough. We also climbed up to the top of the Alcázar of Segovia (Segovia Castle) for a fabulous view of the Guadarrama mountains and the rest of the city of Segovia. After the castle, we caught a quick 1 euro bus trip to the Palace of La Granja, which was a summer house for the Kings of Spain, in the small town of San Ildefonso, about 15 minutes from Segovia. King Philip V built this summer palace after his previous one burned down, and wanted to model it after the palace and garden of Versailles. We saw some amazing fountains in the gardens; however, due to the drought (apparently it hardly ever rains in Spain) the fountains weren't running. We were going to be late for our bus back to Segovia so we had to sprint in flip-flops about 15 minutes to make it back in time. Luckily we made it. After we returned to Segovia, we explored the city, and stumbled upon a wedding in the Plaza Mayor. We stayed and watched the celebration as people danced in the streets. It was great day trip, and as money allows it, I hope the first of many more.

I hope you enjoyed that review. A lot was accomplished in these past two weeks. I'll try to update more frequently so you don't get bombarded with a wall of text. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments section or shoot me an e-mail.

If you would like to view pictures I have taken, I post them all on my online photo album located at http://picasaweb.google.com/djruemenapp.

Hasta luego.