La vida universitaria

Pues ya se fueron mi esposa y familia y ahora estoy solo en la Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Por el mapa, puedes ver que la universidad está en el parte norte oeste de la ciudad. Afortunadamente, hay muchas paradas del metro y recibí un pase para el mes (todos los diamantes rojos son paradas de metro).

Aquí es mi cuarto. Es muy cómodo y grande! No tengo compañero de cuarto, gracias a Dios! Como puedes ver, ya está un poco sucio. Hay cafetería que nos sirve 3 comidas deliciosas cada día. 

Aquí es mi edificio de clases y una plaza. Mis clases empiezan a las 9 y terminan a la 1. Tengo dos clases cada mañana y duran casi dos horas. Después de solamente una semana, las dos clases terminan y voy a empezar dos otras clases. Para la primera semana, tomo una clase de la enseñanza de ELE (español como una lengua extranjera): la comprehensión y expresión oral y una clase de morfología. También hay clases de literatura pero este tópico no me interesa. Me apunté a todas las clases de enseñanza. 

Después de las clases hoy, fui con unos otros alumnos (y ahora amigos!) al centro de la ciudad para pasar un rato en un restaurante y el Parque de Retiro (en el sur este de el mapa). Aquí es una foto de un restaurante que se llama El Brillante. Sirven los mejores bocadillos de calamares en Madrid!

Para el fin de semana, mañana voy al gimnasio para hacer ejercicios y necesito lavar mi ropa! El domingo, voy a viajar a Segovia, un pueblo al norte de Madrid, con el programa. Chau!

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Ok for the rests of my posts, I'm going to just write in my own words in English because sometimes things are too hard and time consuming to translate word-for-word so here we go! I really do hope some of y'all (MAINLY ANY OF MY STUDENTS WHO MIGHT BE READING THIS!!!!) are at least trying to glean a little bit of Spanish from above!

So now my wife has returned home (yes I got teary eyed but I maintained some Spanish machimismo and didn't full out CRY) and I am all alone on this antiquated continent. However, the transition to the university has been wonderful. As you saw on the map, the university is in the far north west corner of the city, so pretty far removed from all the hustle and bustle of the city center. This has its pros and cons. While it's a solid 15-20 minute metro ride into the city, the neighborhood we are in is not at all touristy and a lot more subdued. And yes, I received a month long metro pass which has already helped tremendously. 

The university is MASSIVE, but my building is a mere 20 minute walk downhill. The walk uphill in the sweltering afternoon heat is a different story! I've resisted taking the bus (also covered by metro pass) so far but who knows how long that will last. There is a lot of graffiti around the university of which I'd like to take some pictures and learn more. Apparently the political climate in Spain at the moment is shifting and the student populace doesn't like it. I've seen #sinmordazos (without gags) spray painted all over and I've heard it's a statement against some of the censorship the government is trying to pass. 

My classes are from 9-1 each morning, two a day at just under 2 hours each. I've signed up for all classes that concern the education and teaching of Spanish as opposed to their literary counterparts. I'm here to improve my profession first and foremost, I'll get the Spanish culture from living it!

So yea, this is only a loose translation from above, but I think the pictures do most of the story telling. I hope everyone out there is doing well.  PLEASE leave me a COMMENT! I'd love to hear from everyone who is supposedly reading this. I will do better with replying to y'all! Adios!