Hola a todos,
It’s Sunday, February 5th today, my third week in Spain. Sadly, the blog has been delayed due to some technical difficulties with the website, but it is still in the works. Hopefully it’ll be ready for next week. This week I attended several firsts: my first classes, my first partido de fútbol (soccer game), and my first Ultimate Frisbee practice.
Academics
Academically, the university seems similar to what I am used to. However, UC3M is known for high academic rigor, so perhaps that opinion will change once midterms roll around. The major difference for now is just a more strict attendance policy, with more than three absences being an automatic fail of the subject. In line with Spanish culture, it also seems typical for classes to start up to 15 minutes late, which worked in favor one day when I accidentally got on the wrong train. Nevertheless, I hopefully won’t be making that mistake again. The commute to school is long but not unbearable; I spend 30 minutes actually sitting on the cercanias (suburban train), and about 45 minutes including the walks on either end of the train station. I think that once I feel comfortable about which train and stops to get on and off, I could use that time for some reading or work. The one thing I probably shouldn’t do is nap, or I might end up like my roommate Dan who dozed off on the train and woke up at the end of the line over an hour from home.
At the moment I am most excited about my humanities courses. My Spanish language teacher Sonia, as she prefers to be called, says that the main goal of her class is to have us speaking with greater confidence for everyday conversations. At least, I think that’s what she said. Sometimes it’s hard to be sure given that the entire class is in Spanish. It is helpful to have a structured and safe place to practice because many people will switch to English once I start speaking broken Spanish to them. My art history class also seems like it will be very interesting, exploring Spanish Art History in 5 major periods since the renaissance, ideally with museum/gallery visits corresponding to each period.
Athletics
Before I arrived in Madrid, I found an Ultimate Frisbee club here who I was able to get in contact with. They have an open practice weekly that new players can attend to try out the sport and/or club. I went to their practice on Thursday, but unfortunately due to some technical issue, the lights at the field would not turn on. So we ended up just throwing for about 30 minutes in the near-darkness and then calling it a night. It was a little disappointing, but I was at least able to meet a few players, and they said they will have the lights fixed next week so I will be sure to try again. Regardless of the minor setback, I’m excited to find somewhere that I may be able to play while I’m in Madrid!
Adventures
This week’s highlight was almost certainly attending my first ever European soccer game. Me and 4 roommates went to see Atletico Madrid play Getafe at the Civitas Metropolitano (Atletico’s home stadium) on Friday. Getafe is very close (my university campus is actually in Getafe), so the stadium was packed. We had nosebleed seats (in the literal last row of our section), but truly there isn’t a bad seat anywhere in the 68,000 available. Though the match ended in a tie 1-1, it was an exciting game and certainly worth every dollar. I appreciated that because the clock runs continuously the entire match took under 2 hours from kickoff to exiting the stadium, as opposed to the 4+ I usually spend at Crimson Tide American football games. My roommates and I bought commemorative game scarves from a vendor outside the stadium with the date, teams, and stadium on it (pictured below). Overall, it was a fun first foray into the world of fútbol, and I’m certain it won’t be my last.
Before I wrap up in the usual fashion, I’ll mention one more exploration from this week. Today, I went to check out Retiro park, which is like the Central Park of Madrid. It seems like a great place to find a bit of green amidst the concrete jungle, and I’m sure it’ll be very beautiful come springtime. I spent a couple hours wandering around it with a couple of my roommates enjoying the beautiful afternoon weather. It’s been extra warm this week, with sunny afternoons in the mid to high 50’s and not a cloud in the sky. In fact, I don’t think it’s rained since my very first day in Madrid (although that’s forecasted to change next week).
Prayers
- Praise God for a good first week of classes, with professors who seem personable and a workload that seems familiar and manageable
- Pray for God to give me a servant’s heart and patience with my roommates. With 9 guys, some of whom are clearly not used to cooking and cleaning, the place, particularly the kitchen, gets messy fast. I have found myself irritated with the state things are sometimes left in, and want to handle it well.
- Pray for quick healing for the cold I have come down with. On Thursday, I finally succumbed to the new-city sickness and I have come down with a cold. It is not severe, but being sick is never fun, especially in a foreign place.