Casual Day at the Club

September 5, 2013

It's Thursday and I leave for Barcelona tomorrow morning!!!

Believe it or not I didn't go out Tuesday night, so one would think I was refreshed for school on Wednesday. But apparently when you've gotten 4 hours of sleep every single night for the past 2 weeks, one night of eight hours doesn't exactly cut it.

Anyways, while in class Nicole texts me "we're picking you up after school to go to the country club."

Ok, I think, I'll work on my tan and nap! So when I hop in the car and they tell me they've brought tennis racquets the only word in my head is...fuck.

We drive the thirty minute ride to the country club, where Andres and his friend have their first day of fútbol practice at 6pm (18:00 here). You seriously cannot call this place a country club...it's a friggin state. Golf course, tennis courts, 2 swimming pool areas, a go-cart track, horse barn, soccer field, basketball court, and a giant gym/fitness center!

So me and Nicole play tennis for about an hour in the sweltering heat (get yelled at by Spaniards to keep our voices down) and then go inside for a workout in the gym. Best thing about living with Nicole? How healthy she is with exercise and food.

Jose Antonio gives us a tour of the place after we shower, while the boys are playing tennis. Our host father is great, I'm pretty sure he's shadily very wealthy, and since he studied abroad in America when he was 20, he's like determined to teach us everything we need to culturally know about Madrid. Plus, I think he likes walking around with two pretty American girls everywhere!

Oh, and Jose Antonio casually dropped that the king of Spain is a member of the club....

Anyways, on the drive back we stop at the Spanish equivalent of Sports Authority because they need a surf board for their summer home in Galicia (what...), and at this point it's 9:45, Nicole and I haven't eaten since lunch and played tennis and are literally about to scarf down whatever egg dish Marta puts in front of us.

Night #6: some kind of bolognase sauce with mashed potatoes.

Afterwards, Nicole and I get ready and go to a bar nearby and sit to talk and have a drink before meeting up with everyone else. Older Spanish men must really like us because the drinks they poured us were about 80% alcohol, 20% mixer. Side note: for a city so notorious for pick-pocketing, I'm surprised by how casual paying is at restaurants. They kinda just forget about you...

We go to Dubliners (surprise! Seriously I'm over this American bar) but I have to admit it's very fun going out with the American students here...

Anyways after a couple of free drinks from the bartender who has a crush on me (last time I went he gave me 5 free shots...for myself...they just kept coming), I was convinced into trying Absinth. As the bartender poured the shot and said "be careful" I had that feeling like "fuck this is going to be a good semester."

Honestly, nothing really happened. I only had one shot of it so I was pretty fine and even made it a relatively early night (aka got home by 4)

Well this morning Nicole and I slept through my alarm and we had to SPRINT to class. Thank God we're in running distance because I actually hauled ass, still drunk, to 9am Spanish.

So here's a mental image for you: first day of my advanced 9am Spanish class, I come in 2 minutes late, sweating, no makeup, holding an agua grande, and a little twitchy because my BAC is probably still too high to operate a vehicle.

My professor is really cool and even said in class like "you aren't in Madrid for the classroom, you're here to go to a bar and talk with Spaniards." Alright.

Tonight was my first night going to a Spanish restaurant (I went with Ali!) We had gazpacho and tuna tartar. I'm seriously eating gazpacho like it's my job here.

Going to sleep now to wake up early for BARCELONA!!! Nos vemos