Mountains

Yesterday, my intercambio partner, Ana, and her husband, Yuogo (I'm not sure about the spelling, as he is Brazilian and his name is Portuguese) took me to the Sierra de Madrid to see the mountains.

Wow.

I love mountains. I love how many mountains Spain has, and I love that they're close enough to go for an afternoon to study and hike.

The river Manzanares that is so pitiful in Madrid is much prettier in the mountains, and the trees were gorgeous. I didn't ever want to leave, but eventually we got too cold to study and headed home. It was a lovely day.

One other interesting thing: in the car ride on the way home, I got to try yerba mate, a South American drink. It's kind of like a tea, but they crush the herbs into a paste and then pour hot water into it. You then drink the resulting liquid through a special filter so that you won't get a mouthful of plants. It was bitter, but good, and it was fun to try something I had to read and write about on one of my practice AP exams. Also, I learned from the AP exam that sharing yerba mate is a sign of goodwill and frienship, so I guess Ana, Yuogo and I are all friends now. :-)