Team Bobo Reunion

Last week was the Team Bobo reunion. Well not the entire team but most of it. Lisa and Amanda from A2H came to visit and it was a blast. It was a packed, exhausting week but it was great. it was awesome to see them. Here are some highlights of the week:

• Goodies from America: I got girl scout cookies and lots of trashy magazines. Who knew Kirsten Dunst went to rehab??!! And thanks to Natania, I also finally got to see Juno (awesome movie...I heart George Michael) and I'm super excited to watch the Justin Timberlake DVD. Best of all, the girls made a video and I got to see everyone's beautiful faces. Check out it out at the end of this post.

• Salamanca trip: I only had one class on Thursday and it wasn't until 7:30 PM, so we decided to take a quick trip to Salamanca. It was wonderful and beautiful. The oldest university in Spain is located there. It had the feel of a college town (lots of young people and pubs), but not quite like the college towns in the US. The town was very quiet and peaceful and most of all, the architecture was amazing. The food, however, was a bit of a disappointment. But then again I think we just chose the wrong place for lunch. It was definitely bobo. My favorite part of the trip was when a cute old man stopped us as we were walking. He asked me if I was korean and I said no Filipino. He then busted out an index card from his wallet, reads it and says, "maganda". He turns to Lisa and we told him she's American, and he says, "pretty". To Amanda, he says, "gwapa". He totally had every word for beautiful in every language. That card was full. It was great!!!
  

Total travel time (there and back by train): app. 5 hours
Total hours in Salamanca: app. 4 hours
Total hours of sleep the night before: app. 3 hours

• Booty Dancing: Of course I was going to take this opportunity with the girls in town to go dancing. It's just not the same going dancing with the boys. I also wanted them to experience the real way Madrileños go out on the weekends. So Friday night, we pre drank at my house, watched some videos (more like me and Lisa getting really drunk and decided to watch dance clips from Stomp the Yard and America's Best Dance Crew), and left for the bar at 1:30 AM. We first went to a cool jazzy bar (so we could go to the bathroom and to appease Juan) on Calle Huertas. We met a really cool bartender who had awesome hair and talked to a Cuban trumpet player (hot!). After the bar, we moved on to a discoteca and danced the night away. It was ridiculously awesome! I had such a great time. And apparently, I speak Spanish way better when I'm drunk. Go figure! I was especially proud of Lisa because despite her concerns, she made it out until 5 AM. Unfortunately, Amanda was not feeling well and went home early. But I'm sure she would've rocked out in normal circumstances. She was already a trooper for putting up with me and Lisa's booty shaking drunkenness.
  

• Cordoba trip: We may have been a bit ambitious when we planned this trip but it was totally worth it. After a long night of booty dancing and an hour of sleep, we somehow made it to Cordoba. Cordoba is in the region of Andalucia, in the southern part of Spain. As many of you know, the south of Spain has a huge Muslim influence. The Moors left a huge mark in Andalucia and this is very obvious when you see the Mesquita. The Mesquita was once the mosque in Cordoba and later converted to a cathedral. I loved the Mesquita. It's so beautiful and also very interesting. It's strange being in a building in which the architecture is clearly Muslim-influenced, and yet it's full of Christian art and Jesus things and altars. It just wasn't quite right. I think it would've been better if they just left it as a mosque. Nonetheless, it was gorgeous.

The rest of Cordoba was just as beautiful. It was a bit hot and I was so sleep deprived, that I was physically but not mentally there during the trip. Thankgod, the city is so beautiful that the cool stuff definitely perked and kept me up.

Total travel time (there and back by bus): app. 10 hours (We left Madrid at 9 AM on Saturday and left Cordoba at 1 AM Sunday)
Total hours spent in Cordoba: app. 12 hours
Total hours of sleep the night before: app. 1 hour

• Flamenco Show: I saw my first Flamenco show ever in Cordoba. Flamenco originated from Andalucia, so it's only fitting to see my first show there. It was amazing!!! It was worth my last 20 Euros and the best way to end our Cordoba trip. The dancers were so good and the music was incredible. I now plan on taking Flamenco dance lessons. And if I can't do it, then I'm gonna take Flamenco guitar lessons. I have lots of video footage from the show. I will make sure to post it as soon as I get it all organized.
  

• Last but not the least, seeing the girls: Lisa and Amanda are awesome. I worked with them for almost two years and working and seeing them on a daily basis really made me get to know them. The three of us were also members of the "after hours club" at A2H - we stayed after office hours 95% of the time. As much as I didn't like staying at work late, these girls always made it much better. They brought much joy to me while working in such a miserable place. So it was great to have been able to re-live that with them, even just for a week. I loved hearing all the gossip and all the crappy things happening...makes me feel better about my decision to remove myself from an office environment for a while.

It was also nice to finally speak normal English. By normal I mean the way Lisa and Amanda speak. I miss hearing that everyday at work and talking just like them so I could also sound cool and hilarious. I just don't get that much opportunity here to say "gurl", or "y'all", "ain't" and purposely not making the subject and verb agree.

Well, that's about it from the past week. This Thursday and Friday are holidays here in Madrid. I plan to take advantage of it and use it to recover from last week. I now have a bit of a head cold, so I apologize if nothing on this post makes sense. I'm not really actually sure what I'm writing at the moment, but I wanted to make sure I get it out before I get too behind.

Pictures and videos from the past week will be posted as soon as possible.

Laundry update

A bird totally shat on my laundry!!! Within 24 hours of posting my previous blog, a bird decided to drop doo doo on my nice clean sheets! What a jerk!!!

Effing Laundry!!!!

I love Madrid. I like many things about it. Sometimes "too much things", as one of my students would say. However, if I had to bitch about one thing, it would have to be about doing laundry. I already hate doing laundry in general, but I hate it even more here. I don't want to sound like a spoiled American who is lucky enough to have a dryer, but I AM a spoiled American who was lucky enough to have a dryer!!!

Every laundry day means having to hang-dry my clothes. When my clothes are hanging seven stories up, I can't help but freak out a bit. I live in constant fear of losing my clothes every time the wind blows. I imagine coming home one day and finding it scattered all over the hill behind my apartment building. Even worse would be finding my underwear scattered on the grass, on the trees, on the bushes. Speaking of underwear, I also hate how my "intimates" are out there for everyone to see. They are called intimates for a reason. No one should see them except me and a few other special (or non special...ha!) people. Lastly, I think about all the birds that can potentially shit on them. Que asco!!! (How disgusting!!!)

So these are the things that go through my mind every time I hang my clothes. Yes, I get a bit annoyed because I have to iron all my clothes after they dry, they are not as soft, and they lose their fresh scent and smell like the sun + pollution. But more than anything, I fear all the things I mentioned earlier. I just know one day they will all come true.

Mas futbol

Last Wednesday was the Copa del Rey championship. Futbol teams in La Liga play to reach various championships: twenty teams in the First Division play for the top spot of La Liga (they don't actually have a championship since it is based on points); some lucky teams get to play in the Champions League where they get to compete with other European teams; and then they play for the Copa del Rey, the King's cup.

This year, the finals was between Getafe and Valencia. The match was held in Vicente Calderon, the stadium for Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid's cross town rival. Luckily for me, I live about ten minutes away from Estadio Calderon. It's close enough that during home matches, we can hear the loud crowd in the apartment. Of course, I wasn't going to pass this up. So my roommates and I decided to check out the scene outside the stadium on Wednesday. I mean, if we couldn't afford to go inside the stadium, we might as well watch the craziness outside the stadium.

And was it insane!!! People were everywhere! You hear random firecrackers going off in random places. At one point, I was actually afraid for my life. Actually I was more afraid for my feet. I was the dumbass that decided to wear flip-flops. I thought that at any minute my feet would be blown off, step on broken beer glass, or get spit on. I'm such a retard. Nevertheless, it was still quite an experience. I know I've said this a million times, but people here are seriously crazy for futbol!!! People were loudly singing, playing music, cheering, and none of them were drunk. Yes, they were drinking but they weren't drunk. I even saw a group of people carrying the longest bocadillo I've ever seen into the stadium. It was so chaotic but good fun chaos.

I also had a few run ins with some well known people. As expected, there were a lot of TV personalities present. One being this news guy who rode his motorcycle to the match and had to go through the crowd. I actually only know who he is because he is the boyfriend of the most recent Supervivientes (the Spanish version of Survivor) winner, who used to be a porn star. It was a Celebrity Survivor. Also, Raul was apparently walking about ten feet away from me. But I actually didn't see him because I'm too short and just couldn't find him in the crowd. I was very sad.

My roommates and I went home before the match started to watch it at home. It was really good. Getafe, the underdog, lost to Valencia 3-1, and they only got the one point as a result of a penalty kick. As always, I felt bad for the losers. I wanted to give them a hug.

Xalba recently asked me which team is my favorite in La Liga. And honestly, I don't have one yet. I think it's still too early for me to have an opinion on it. As of now, it's Real Madrid just because I live here...and my future husband plays for them. But we all know Real Madrid is like the Yankees of La Liga. The club has a shitload of money and they win most of the time. And I'm not really sure how I feel about that. So we'll see if it changes.

Here are some pictures taken before Copa del Rey.

Copa del Rey

Hala Madrid! Hala Madrid! Hala Madrid!

Last Sunday, I went to my first Real Madrid match and I loved every minute of it. I seriously have become a futbol fan. No more watching futbol solely for seeing hot sexy men. I actually enjoy watching it now. I understand the rules (even offside!) and I appreciate the sports so much more. One can't help but like futbol when you live here. La Liga is huge! And I guess it doesn't help that I live with two boys who are obsessed with the sport.

The Real Madrid match wasn't as insane as the Barcelona v Español match I saw in November. This was mainly because they played against Murcia, a team that is close to getting booted out of the First Division and moved to the Second Division (yikes!). Unfortunately, there were no flaming projectiles (damn!). But it didn't matter to me because it meant I could get cheap tickets for good seats and I could finally realize my dream of seeing my future husband up close and personal. By future husband I mean, Iker Casillas. (I will try and refrain from talking about him because I think he deserves a blog entry dedicated to him.)

This time around, I went to the game the Spanish way. In November, the boys and I didn't know much about Spanish futbol so we just went inside the stadium thinking we could get booze and food inside. But because alcohol is prohibited in the stadiums and food is expensive, we ended not having anything. This time, I went to the match with Iñaki, who of course have had his share of Real Madrid matches, so he definitely showed me how to do it right. Before the match, we went to a couple of bars and drank some beer. Before entering the stadium, we loaded up on kikos (fried corn), pipas (sunflower seeds), and their own version of trailer mix. Fortunately, the stadium allows you to bring food in.

It was also my first time in Santiago Bernabeu, the Real Madrid stadium. It was enormous and wonderful. It was so big that I felt a bit overwhelmed. Even if they were playing a bad team, the entire stadium was still full. You could hear everyone chanting and cheering and the never ending horn blowing (I hate whoever invented that damn thing). The game was super exciting. Not only did I get to see Casillas, but I also got to see Raul, one of the best players in La Liga, maybe even the world. The players were so close, I seriously could've touched them. Well, maybe not, but you know what I mean. In the end, Real Madrid won 1-0...woohoo!

Check out the photos and a video montage from the match. Also, if you're really interested, watch/listen to the youtube video of Real Madrid's Hymn.

Hala Madrid!!!

Real Madrid v Murcia

Mingling with the rich

Every other Friday, I teach MBA students at Universidad Europa Madrid. The University is located in Moraleja, a neighborhood in the suburbs of Alcobendas. Moraleja is where you live if you have lots of money (i.e. David Beckham).

On Friday, I met a couple of students from my previous job for lunch. Because one lives in Moraleja and the other one has her new English class in Alcobendas, they decided to pick me up at the school and take me to lunch (they knew I am currently partially employed and poor so they paid for me...god I love them!). But before lunch, we had to stop at Maria's house. She's the one that lives in Moraleja.

So I've always had a feeling that Maria has some money because she has been to so many places around the world, multiple times! Her husband, I think, is a big shot in a large company. She's the one that mistakenly told the pharmacist her husband is bad in bed because he is constipated. Of course, I was very curious to see her house, and to see the residential part of Moraleja. I really wanted to see famous people's houses (i.e. David Beckham's old house).

Well her house was amazing! She had a tennis court, and her swimming pool was under construction because she wanted it to be bigger! I have never been to a house with a tennis court! The inside of the house was also very big, although I wasn't such a fan of the interior decoration. Nonetheless, I wanted her house! And she totally had a maid! On the way to the restaurant, she pointed out different houses where mainly politicians lived. Arnaz, the former President, used to be her neighbor. Ronaldo, the futbol player, also didn't live too far...and neither did his ex-wife. A few houses down was Real Madrid's temporary housing for their players...I'm assuming for new ones that are still looking for permanent housing. Unfortunately, David Beckham apparently lived on the "other side", wherever that is, so I didn't see his house.

Moraleja was ridiculously pretty...and ridiculously rich. Someday...someday...

...I will find my Spanish sugardaddy...ha!

Las Ventas: Que bonita!!!

A good thing about my new job is that it allows me to see different parts of Madrid. Some I have never seen before and some I probably would have never even thought of seeing. Today for the first time - and I'm ashamed to admit this - I saw Madrid's la Plaza de Toros Monumental de las Ventas, its bullring. I cannot even explain to you how grand it is (in size and everything else about it), but the first thought that came to mind was: I'm in f**king Spain!!! I was just so overwhelmed. Yes, I've seen/done many Spanish things: eat croquetas, stay out till the crack of dawn, watched a futbol match, speak Spanish, etc. But this is just so Spain. This is where they mercilessly kill all those scary angry bulls! This is the thing to see/do in Madrid. Now I am not all about animal killing even though I HATE animals. But there is no way I am missing out on this experience. Bullfighting season begins on May 15th and I have got to get tickets to one of the bullfights. I think it would be a great dishonor to Madrid if I don't see it at least once.

Below is a youtube video of one of the best toreros in Spain on one of his bullfights in Madrid. My roommates showed me this and I was so fascinated. It's so morbid and yet you can't help but watch.