Classes, Madrid, and a Barbecue

Well, the first week of classes is over, and I think they are going well. After a brief freak-out because one of the classes I needed was cancelled, I found out that I can retake a class I took last semester for a different credit (weird, I know, but they seem to be fairly different so far). So my final schedule is now:
Spanish Civilization and Culture
Latin American Civ. and Culture
Latin American Literature
Grand Masters of Spanish Painting
The literature class looks to be very interesting because there's a strong focus on women writers, of whom I have seen nothing in previous literature classes. I know I'm going to love the art class. However, there is one weird glitch in my schedule - I now have the same professor for three out of four classes. As he said, "You're going to hate me!" Oh well, que sera, sera.

Yesterday, three of my friends (Morgan, Sky, and Christina) and I went to Madrid to explore a different part of the city. After a ride on the train, we walked up America Avenue to Main Street, taking in the sights.
We stumbled upon the Reina Sofia art museum when we saw some big glass elevators and decided to investigate to see if we could take a ride in one. Turns out, we could, and the museum was great! We saw original works by Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, and Francisco de la Goya (my personal favorite). We didn't have nearly enough time to see everything, but admission is free for students, so I expect we'll be back.

After the museum, we browsed through various shops and sampled Spanish foods. I tried a small chocolate mousse pastry at a Pasteleria, and we shared a Tortilla Española, the famous Spanish omelet full of potatoes. Both were beyond delicious. All in all, it was a great trip, but we had to head back at sunset because we had been invited to a barbacoa, a Spanish barbecue.

A few guys who live in our apartment complex were having a barbecue on their patio. They dragged all their sofas and chairs outside and grilled up some Spanish bacon (which is nothing like American bacon, to my dismay) and some Pincho Moruno, which was possibly the best thing I've tried in Spain so far. It's basically small chunks of pork rolled in spices and grilled on skewers. Mmmmmm....

...This country is going to make me fat. Oh well.

After dinner, the guys turned on some music and the barbecue turned into a dance party. The whole fiesta was great fun, and I made some new friends, including Maryana, a Russian girl studying Spanish to become a translator. She and I got to talking, and I hope we can meet up more in the future, because she seems really sweet.

Well, Adios!