Finally a new one!

Okay so I'm going to try and get back on the horse with this blogging. I think after this blog I'll start writing lots of little ones as opposed to big long ones.

Everything's been going really well lately and I've been staying really busy. I moved at the beginning of February to a new apartment downtown. The apartment is big, but my room is pretty small. I live with 6 other people: 3 Spaniards, 2 Germans, and 1 other American. I'm right off of Plaza de Espana which is one of the main plazas in Madrid. I'm really close to everything and I love that I can walk out my door and get where I want to quickly. All of my roommates are nice, but I probably get along with the American girl the best. My kitchen is big, but so far I haven't used it that much. I think I know how to cook a total of 5 things and one of those things is cereal...haha.

I'm taking Spanish classes 5 days a week as well from 7:15-8:15 p.m. I think going to class everyday helps me to force myself to learn and speak more Spanish. I've also been speaking more Spanish with Quique. Now I feel like I can communicate a lot easier than I could before, but the journey to fluency is a long one...

I went to Quique's graduation last month and it was great. I got to hang out with his family all weekend. I was really proud of him (can't write much about his job because this is on the Internet!). After his graduation we all came back to Madrid and I hung out with his family the rest of the weekend.

Lately I've been enjoying the nice weather in Madrid. The past two Sundays I went to the Retiro park which is the most popular park here. I had a picnic with some friends and last week 15 people showed up! We mostly just talk and eat our food and then some of the guys kick around a soccer ball. I hope we make it a kind of tradition for every Sunday.

The past two Sundays I've also been going to a new church. The church is called Our Lady of Mercy and they have Mass in English!! The Mass is really interesting because there are so many different people of different nationalities there: Irish, English, people from different countries in Africa, and a few Filipinos too. I like hearing the readings because you never know what accent you're going to hear! The priest, Fr. Ron, is American. These Masses and the church remind me a lot of the U.S. I recognize the songs we sing, I can say the prayers along with everyone else, and there are lots of clubs and activities you can do within the Church. Next week I am going to register as a parishioner.

I'm headed back to the States for a little bit in August. One of my best friends, Kate, is getting married in Denver and I'm one of her bridesmaids. I'm really excited to see all of my friends and to be Kate's bridesmaid. I'm also excited to go home and see the fam.

Alright well I'll try and keep this updated a lot more often. The picture in this blog is of my family and my brother's girlfriend at my grandma's on Christmas.