May 3--El Templo de Madrid

Yet another beautiful day in Spain! I went running for a couple of miles today down in what is, according to Brother Carlson, the longest covered walkway in Spain.  I have to say, running from the Universidad, and then running end to end of the walkway, I did a mile, so it IS pretty dang long!

After showering and hustling to class (we started at 9:00 today which was PRETTY early), we learned about Gothic architecture and then studied different types of tools that poets and writers use to add emphasis to their writings.  It was super interesting, but we did use a lot of examples from literature that were written by European authors during different graphic wars.  It was heavy, but also very powerful.  After class, we had a bit of lunch and a quick nappy-nap before it was time to head to the temple!

It didn't even feel that long, but between walking, taking public transportation and getting into and out of the temple, we were gone from 3:30-10:00.  It was so worth it though, as it always is.  The temple was beautiful, and it was a great time, talking to everyone as we took public transportation.  

 

 

Some of the more musically inclined members of the group (including me) got together to talk about the possibility of doing some singing together on top of what hymns we already have planned as an entire group.  Plus, one of the guys mentioned today that we are some of the least toxic people ever, using the example that when someone says something wrong or uses it in the wrong context, we don't make fun of them in a hurtful way (though we may tease them a little bit).  But seriously, the group is so great which makes sense since nobody weak or lame is going to hike for 500 miles! Plus, being on this study abroad speaks to the fact that we all obviously look for opportunities to learn.

Anyway, on the subject of not making fun of someone even when they misspeak, I have a couple of sayings that have already arisen in our group, in part because of people misspeaking or using a pop culture reference in kind of a funny way :-) The other day in class, we were learning about Isabel la Catolica and her husband, Ferdinand of Aragon, and they are like the POWER COUPLE of the millennium.  I mean, they committed atrocities, but Isabel especially was this unparalleled master of political power and maneuvering.  So my professor mentions her and something unimaginable that she got done, and I said, "Girl Boss" referencing her ability to just kill it in life.  Apparently my professor heard me wrong and responded with "Yes, exactly.  This is a 'Go Boss' moment." 

Literally, NOBODY said a THING 'cause we don't care enough to correct him.  I mean, we just appreciate that he is trying to connect with us, right?  I'm glad he's trying to be "hip with the kids", so we weren't going to make fun of him.  However, we have started using "Go Boss" in our regular interactions now which I actually love and is super cute.

Also, one of the professor's wives was talking about buying swords in Toledo, and she told us that we could ship our swords back to the US.  Well, whenever I hear the word "ship", I think of the classic Kmart "Ship my pants" commercial.  Seriously, say it out loud, or at least find the commercial on YouTube.  So when she mentions that we can ship our swords, I say in surprise, "Ship my pants?!" Of course, all my peers hear it RIGHT away, but this cute lady simply says, "I don't know about that, but you can ship your swords" :-)

Finally, there is this guy that while on his mission had a pretty disobedient companion, and whenever this guy would try to call out his companion, he would be met with the response, "No es nada malo, Che," which means "Don't worry about it, Bro.  It's not that bad." Since then, this kid has come to laugh about that struggle during his mission and has taken that phrase as his own.  For example, I tried to take two desserts at the cafeteria ('cause I wanted pineapple AND rice pudding) but the lady told me I could only have one.  So once I had sat down with my tray, I asked the table if they thought I could get a second dessert without anyone noticing, and this kid responds with, "No es nada malo, Che," to which we all laughed...and I went and got a second dessert :-)

Anyway, those were some funny things that have popped up--some have stuck and become part of our everyday lingo.  Maybe they are a "you have to have been there" kind of thing, but I'm hoping you get it.

Back to the temple.  The trip to the temple didn't seem long, but we didn't get to dinner at the cafeteria before it closed.  Well, that was fine with me as there is a kebab place RIGHT in the main square in front of our dorms! No one else had really had kebabs before (Greek gyros, or Russian schwarma, but I know them as Turkish kebabs from living in Germany), and since it was one of the only places still open, we ALL ordered dinner there.  A few of us went outside, sat in the main square and ate our kebabs.  What a great group.  Everyone was super chill, eating delicious new food, having even more great conversation.  I'm so happy that I decided to come on this study abroad.