VagAMBERond

Well, my friends. I made it through orientation. Which means I learned all about:

Oh wait, sorry that was my doodle. We learned about...

Ayyyyyyy, my notes are in here somewhere...

Maybe I should just look at the booklet they gave us. Here's the shortened version:

If you really want to know the details, feel free to ask me. But the doodles infer that it consisted of very long sessions on very hard chairs.

 Don't be fooled by the cloth. These chairs are wood and there was not sufficient space between rows. Also, I'd like you to take note of the awesome name tags everyone is wearing. People wore these walking around the neighborhood in large packs. AKA it wasn't hard to find each other.

But anyway, it was really neat to meet people from all over the United States, with completely different backgrounds, all joining together because of a common interest in Spain. The range of majors in the ETAs is huge; however, when you throw in the researchers, you realize how much flexibility the Fulbright program allows scholars. There are researchers studying everything from skin cancer and marine chemistry (Never heard of that before... but the girl who is studying it comes from a school that is not to be named... cough cough CALVIN! cough) to the siesta and gender roles in flamenco dance. How cool!

 Rock paper scissor snake ice breaker. When you lost you had to join the line behind the person and then join the line of the person they lost to. The only downfall of said ice breaker is that once you lose (which, for me, was after the first game) you don't interact with anyone. Oops...

Chatting it up in the lobby before dinner

But now that orientation has (thankfully) come to an end, I am left to actually settle myself down in this wonderful city. And while I have received many requests for a snail mail address (how nice of all of you!), I have instead dubbed myself VagAMBERond. Cheesy, I know. But I have decided to go apartmentless until October 1st so that I can move in with one of Adrian's (Clara's boyfriend) friends. There is an opening in an apartment with an awesome location, a living room AND an oven. And buena gente, por supuesto.

Now you may ask, where will you be living until then? Well, since Clara and her mom found a renter for their apartment this past weekend (yay!), I moved out so that they can pack up their stuff. So when I came home from the hotel yeseterday, I packed up all of my stuff and moved to Carol's apartment! I think my switching of my living location at least once a month from May to August was preparing me to handle this.

 My bags packed for the third time... I added a bag of laundry this time. I had acquired some toiletries that pushed me over the edge of the three bags.

Clara's dog and I playing before I left. Her toy is as big as she is.

With all of the apartment hunting and switching and googling I've been doing, I must say my head is a mess of streets and metro stops and building numbers. So after I got back last night from going over the deposit details with my future flatmate, I walked into Carol's apartment building ready to settle in and unpack. But as I walked up the steps to the second floor, I was locked out of the floor. I tried the keys I had but since they didn't work, I decided I would get in the elevator at the floor below and get onto the floor that way. Well after the elevator (lethargically) descended and I was able to get the handle-less door all of the way shut so the elevator doors would close, I realized the elevator required a key to get to the second floor. After a moment of confusion, it dawned on me. I had gone into the apartment building of the number of my future apartment building. Oops. When I made it into Carol's apartment building (next door), I found out that a government official lives there and the place had been surrounded by body guards during the election. I hope they don't have video cameras...

Alright, friends, I think that's pretty much it. Here are a few quick highlights before I leave:

• I went salsa dancing on our last night of orientation! Folk social swing really came in handy. Most of the time I had no idea what I was doing but I surprised a couple of the male Fulbrighters who knew who to salsa by following pretty well... apparently my bun didn't scream salsa. WHAT?!?
• I got a bank account! Jorge is the bomb. After I said I needed to open an account he goes, "¿Eres un Fulbrighter?", to which I responsed "Sí...". Then he answered every question I would've asked and opened the account without even asking me what I needed. Apparently being the 12th person to go to that bank has an advantage.
• And alas, some food photos... 

Tapas, half devoured at our party the last night of orientation. Delicioso...

The only good food the hotel had to offer: breakfast. Yogurt bar (dried fruit and pumpkin seeds galore!), endless pastry options, tea, and fresh juices. I think this one was broccoli and grape or something? Mmmmmmmm....

Last, but not least, a wonderful vegetable stew. This was the first plate of the menú del día that I had for lunch today!

Okay, now that's really it. ¡Hasta pronto!
Much love, as always,

Amber

Disclaimer: This blog will record my personal thoughts and reflections; it is not reflective of the positions held by the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.