Tengo muchisimas ganas para viajar a Madrid!

        Tomorrow we're going to Madrid! The bus leaves at like 9:30 in the morning so we'll get there around 2, and guess what our first activity is? A SCAVANGER HUNT! I'm so excited, if you couldn't tell :).

We’re going to be there for two nights, Friday and Saturday, and we get back pretty late Sunday night. I’m ridiculously excited, especially because it will be really nice to get away from here for a couple of days. I love it here, and I know when I leave for longer I’m going to miss it a ton, but I’m definitely ready for a break in the routine. Plus, we’re staying in a really, really nice hotel and we have plenty of free time to get to know the less museum-y party of the city.

            Which is not to say I’m not looking forward to the museums; our teachers have been getting us pumped this whole week to visit the Prado Museum. It’s supposed to be on the best museums in the world as far as paintings go, although that is the word of a Spaniard and they are extremely, sometimes blindingly, afraid of the culture (most of the time though, I can see where they’re coming from). So that’s the most exciting thing going on right now, we have a 5 hour bus ride so I’m looking forward to playing some games on the bus too (might have to teach everyone the animal game??) Also, Dad, if you read this in time, do you remember any of those riddles you used to tell us on car rides to games? Because my friend Nick and I were talking about them the other day—I was surprised to learn that other people had heard them—but neither one of us could remember the details and we wanted to tell them to everyone else.

            Going back to what I just said about Spanish culture being awesome—it is. However, I’m having a pretty difficult time with one aspect of it, something that surprises me a lot because it’s not something I would’ve foreseen being a problem. Spain has a very old-fashioned view of gender equality. When I say old-fashioned I mean compared to the United States because I know that there are so many places which are a million times worse than here, I’m just saying, it really surprises me. There are women with high-paying jobs and jobs that are rather high up in authority, but they are the anomaly, and that traditionalism carries down through the entire social hierarchy. For example, women here are always, always very feminine. Any girl who doesn’t have her hair perfectly set or have a pound of make-up on and a perfectly arranged outfit stands out here. Beyond that, when my friend Rachel and I go running, we are among the only women doing any sort of exercise. Not that I’m surprised because the amount of cat-calling and staring that we attract is almost beyond withstanding. I asked my madre about this and she said that most of the women exercise inside, in gyms or especially in classes like Pilates or yoga or spinning, which are mostly made up solely of women. I understand that it’s their culture, and I am trying to assimilate into the culture, but that is one aspect that I will not be accepting of. Women here are objectified, and I’ve never been prouder of the United States than I am when I think of how Americans would respond to that sort of behavior. I know we still have a million problems and were nowhere near perfect when it comes to gender equality, but we’re working toward it at least, and I’m proud of us J. Sorry, just had to vent for a bit about that.

            I’m looking Spain though. When Rachel and I are far enough away from the busier streets and are in the campo—where there aren’t as many people (read: sexist men) we can appreciate how awesome it is that we are running in Spain. In Spain! We’re in Spain! It’s truly beautiful, and we always end up talking about how lucky we are to be in such a wonderful place with all of the many opportunities it has to offer.

            Rachel thinks she’s hitting the bottom of her W curve right now, so I’m a little nervous that my time is going to be coming up soon too. Before our run yesterday she said she had been close to tears the whole day and just wanted to go to sleep or watch a movie in bed by herself. During our nighttime run though, we talked about everrrryything that we we’re both experiencing and did a little (okay, kind of a lot) of complaining, but afterward we both felt a million times better and she said she was really glad we went, even though she was dreading. So maybe we’ve found the cure for the W curve: endorphins! I love psychology!

            I’ll take lots of pictures in Madrid and I’ll tell you all about it when I get back! Mom- you we’re in my dream last night, you came to visit and you were mad at me because you thought I didn’t remember you. Don’t worry though, we worked it out haha.

            Miss you guys!

p.s. Mark, I know YOU weren’t a dork. My parents on the other hand…J