Being Blinge: a very big update

Hola amigos y lectores!
its been quite a while since my last updates, so here's a very big, abridged update on my time abroad so far:

On August 20th, I peaced out and said adios to los estados unidos until the christmas season. For the first two weeks, the group stayed in dorms in Burgo Das Naciones, in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, where they not only speak castellano (Spanish you learn in school) but Gallego, a local dialect to the area. First, let me say that the Spanish know how to do the college dorms. Each dorm was a single, with its own bathroom, and maids came every day to bring new towels and make the beds. Santiago was beautiful. The city is one of two cities I'm aware of that have completely been built around religion, the other being Jerusalem. Legend has it that Santiago is the final resting place of Saint James (Sant Iago). The centerpiece of the city is the cathedral where he is buried, with a huge baroque facade with so much detail its hard to know where to look. Another fun fact is that it is a huge pilgrimage site for Christians all over the world because of the church. It was a perfect way to start out in Spain, the group was together and, instead of diving head first into the culture, we gradually got used to the language, the food, and all of the little differences together. One thing I wasn't expecting was all of the bagpipers all over; Galicia is known as the Celtic Spain, which was random but a really cool fusion of cultures.

The cathedral with James' tomb

We also spent a day traveling around the border of Portugal, spending time on both sides of the river, we dipped into Portugal for a few hours, which was really cool. The most shocking thing to me was that the professor told us we didn't need our passports, and no one checked as we crossed the border.

Valenca do Minho, Portugal

After two weeks in Santiago de Compostela, we flew to Madrid and the group parted ways to go to our homestays. Each student is staying with a Senora, whether or not they have a family is almost irrelevant. I've been living with my senora, who lives by herself when she is not hosting students. She has a Romanian assistant, who comes every day during the week to cook and clean. Since we've been here, we started class at CEU San Pablo, gone out on the town a few times, and traveled a little bit too. So far I've only been to Torremolinos, a beach town next to Malaga, where Pablo Picasso was born. It was a really nice weekend with an amazing landscape: mountains on one side and the Mediterranean beach on the other. Definitely recommended. I also spent a day at El Escorial and Arajuez, two short train rides out of Madrid with amazing royal palaces.

Things worth mentioning:

The contrast between Spain of the past and present Spain. Both are amazing, but its clear that Spain is still transitioning out of Franco's rule in many ways. Immigration is fairly new here, and the struggles that Spain is having to welcome immigrants is apparent if you watch the news or speak to an immigrant. There isn't a ton of ethnic diversity because of it. Also, the contrast between the decadent palaces and the current city shows some of Spain's economic struggles. Immigration and economics are both very broad and interesting subjects, both of which I'm definitely not educated enough to comment on. Also, Spain is truly one of the oldest countries in the world. From the Iberians, the Romans, the moors, and the Spanish, the fusion of culture and history here is amazing.
Coffee. Cafe con leche? si, por favor. I really can't say anything else about that. But I don't normally drink coffee in America unless I had a big test or three hours of sleep the night before, but here its really something else, and I like it.
really, where to begin? There are so many things about being here that make me think. I love Spain and it would be amazing to live here for a year or two, but a lot of the times there are things about the culture here that make me feel so lucky to have the life that I have in the United States. There are plenty of things to criticize, but overall, life is good.
By far the weirdest thing that's happened to me here: Rosh Hashannah. Let me explain. I'm jewish, as is my homestay mom. However, we come from very different traditions. In her tradition, on Rosh Hashannah its common to eat meat from a head on Rosh Hashannah, the Jewish new year, as a symbol of good things to come. Its a religious tradition, I couldn't say no. Let my explain further: I'm basically a vegetarian. I eat chicken, but that's it. I've never had a cheeseburger nor bacon, and I don't feel like I've missed out. I just don't really like meat. My senora told me, because of this, I wasn't really american, just a sympathizer. So when she told me the ominous brown thing on my plate was carne de cabeza, I'm fairly sure all of the blood drained from my head. I cut a small piece, and swallowed it like a pill. Hopefully, whatever that little piece of brain meat will bring me whatever good luck it symbolizes.

Top 5, Spain so far:

El Rastro. Its a huge market place set up every Sunday morning in the city.
El Palacio Real in Arajuez. Its a short train ride outside of Atocha, and only 4 euro for students. There are amazing gardens, and its a nice break from the city. Spending the day there was probably one of my favorite days in Spain so far.
The coffee in El Palacio Real in madrid. There's a cafe above the gift shop that overlooks the courtyard, and the cafe con leche is perhaps the best coffee I've ever had. it was sizable, and the perfect color brown. I dare you to tell me this doesn't look good.

warning: this is cheesy. Wondering around, seeing whatever comes your way. I don't go out of my apartment planning on getting lost somewhere, but seeing everything on the way to the destination, not just the destination. There's a difference between being a tourist and being a traveler.
The weather! holy crap. I wouldn't be surprised if it was snowing in upstate NY by this time, but its sunny and 80 degrees in Madrid, and its mid October. Sometimes I wish it wasn't so hot, but this is the weather I'll miss when its cloudy and grey in February.