Dinner, pero/perro and grooving

1. I am invited for dinner at a friend's house. As we are eating and talking around the table I think of how different last semester's group was; of how much fun it was. Then Caro makes a French joke, everyone laughs and I feel myself grinning about this new, friendly possé.

2. Much to the detriment of getting the Metro home on time, I spend about an hour trying to get Philibert to hone is German 'r' into a flapped Spanish one, as in pero ('but'). The rolled 'r' in perro ('dog') is something we're going to have to work on, but at 1:25am, he is pronouncing pero and espero and ahora perfectly, and I can fly out the door feeling like we've achieved something.

3. A woman on the opposite platform is dancing to whatever is playing on her iPod. She throws some bold shapes and looks like she's all caught up in the rhythm.

Shakey arms, birthday card and looking on the bright side

1. Mis brazos se temblan. My arms shake and I seem to lose a bit of control over them when I am feeling anxious about something. Then we sit in the cafeteria grande and, as always, there´s a lot to laugh about.

2. I make a crude version of a birthday card out of a neatly folded piece of paper from my notebook for Haruka, who has a 21st birthday today. I plaster it with Domo kun and patterns and pay a lot of attention to the detail - exactly 21 candles on the birthday cake! (I hope she counts them.)

3. Try to make lighthearted something of a serious situation.

A double act, one for the team and family visits

1. Hommy and Hammy (a joint nickname inspired by their last names, this refers to Ollie and Andrew) play agony aunt.

2. The boys that I know seem to be very full of wisdom and valuable advice today. One tells me tragic stories of his past, another tells me the way it is. No offence to them, but it´s nice to have a break from squealing girls.

3. My mum and dad have finally gotten around to booking some flights to Madrid! Atlasi Easter, here we come.

New updates, catching up to speed, dedications, the lot!

There are a plethora of things I've taken mental notes of to write down here over the past month (a hiatus, it's been hectic). I'll be combing through them and adding them as I go along. Also, welcome to Oliver and Andrew, my new, exceedingly English flatmates. God save the Queen.

1. The bus is crammed full of people going home for their extensive Spanish luncheon (roughly 2pm, the Spanish way). Ollie and I have to stand in the gangway and use our sea-legs to stay upright; a girl sitting near to us cracks up laughing every time I make a face or a weird noise in trying not to fall over. I conclude that my face is hilarious and am happy to have contributed to her day. 

2. I wonder if it's a mistake to have shared the link to this blog with Ollie and Andrew as they sit in their rooms and holler quotes from my own entries through the flat. Well, it got me writing again! 

3. Teaching basic salsa steps to Vanessa, Ollie and Dave outside the faculty in an attempt to get them to come to the class tonight. So lame, so guay.

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4. A mention of the moustachio'd man in the small cafeteria has been a long time coming. Today, as I ask what kinds of muffins he has, he mishears and thinks I say "buffets"; then when I say I'll have a chocolate muffin, he helpfully says that I should say "el de chocolate," not "lo de chocolate," then when he pours milk into my coffee he has a bit of a Spanishy-accented sing-song - "Wan kahp off coffee pleeease."

5. During the weekend there is an unexpected heatwave and the air is balmy and it smells like summer. All the Spanish, young and old, congregate in one of the plazas on my way to the Metro, and I spy a fantastic old man lounging on a bench wearing a flat cap, tweed jacket and a pair of those black framed, inch-thick lens glasses, making him look pretty pie-eyed and content in the sun.

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We have sadly had to say goodbye to a handful of some of the people who made up the glue of our Erasmus family; Marcus (a.k.a. Jamón Arnie, Señor Jamón) was the first to leave, back to Berlin, and the last couple of weeks we had with him were truly fantastic, dancing salsa and drinking peppermint tea after nights out; Jaeyoon flew back to Korea early this month and we miss her smiley face and her catchphrase, a genuinely awed "...Woooow...". I miss her a lot, she was one of the loveliest people I've met here and she was a top-notch baking buddy. Seohyun has also gone back to Korea. Just a couple of days ago we had a farewell party for her and it was a bit of a bittersweet occasion. That said, there are still a lot of fun times to be had, and although it will be a while until we see each other again, I'm certain that, eventually, we will. ¡Madrid, Madrid!

Winky Marcus

Jaeyoon, Captain of Retiro

Seohyun (wa-wa-wee-wah!)

Mondo-Skype, tall people and story time

1. I talk with mum and dad for nearly 3 hours on Skype. It's nice just to talk about inane things and throw ideas around for where I might be able to travel with them during the Easter break.

2. Rory pops up on Facebook chat and we have a long conversation about why rugby-players don't have feelings and the like. It always amuses me how he plays the devil's advocate.

3. Watching Beltrán read to his mum from a Spanish story book.

A big relief, out of the woodwork, visiting Buddha

1. Filling my lungs with cool air from outside the flat on the way to the Metro.

2. The centre of Madrid is teeming with activity, and I wonder where all these people come from to have a stroll in the evening.

3. I accompany Dave to a party he has been invited to by Jacob (fondly known as 'Buddha' by me, because he's permanently happy, extremely zen and has a very calming voice). I feel a bit like I'm intruding, but when everyone is laughing and joking in a mixture of German and English, I don't think about it again. Maybe it was the deadly-but-extremely-refreshing Finnish drink Karo had prepared, made from vodka and 3 and a half packets of Fisherman's Friends.

3a. Dave and I can hear a difference in the way one man speaks German and we guess that he is from a different part of Germany to the others. We have good ears, says one of the German girls.

Smiling faces, peppermint joy and a salsa class

1. Rushing helter-skelter up the escalators to make it to a group dinner in Lavapiés in time. However, I forget that when the Metro runs late, it affects everyone, and we all arrive in a perfectly coordinated moment.

2. A mug of peppermint tea - my second in two days, and something like the third in my life. I remember not liking it at all the first time, but when I tried it yesterday and today, it was just what I needed. Plus, it was Marcus' last teabag, so it needed to be savoured.

3. Marcus is a certified dance nut and often gives us little demonstrations of his waltz and salsa skills - mostly in his flat, swirling to avoid the furniture. Maybe it was due to being over-tired, or maybe I was just feeling particularly rakish, but I put the few salsa steps I know to good use and it really is so fun to dance properly with someone!

Adapting to your audience, También la Lluvia, quiet

1. During the English class with Candela and Beltrán today, for once it seems like we're getting somewhere. Instead of getting him to talk about things that makes him yawn, I tell Beltrán we can play on the Super Mario Wii game if he promises to shout commands and vocabulary at me in English - it works!

2. We go and see También la Lluvia, a Spanish film set in Bolivia. It follows the making of a film about Christopher Columbus' discovery of the new world, but it really mirrors the maltreatment of the people that live there today, and it seems like nothing has changed. Afterward, Marcus the Salsa-enthusiast teaches Philibert a few steps in the street... And I catch it on camera.

3. The blanket of quiet as I emerge from Begoña station into wet, chilly surroundings.

Tousle-y hair, the grass is always greener and living on the edge

1. Shaking my squeaky-clean hair out of its bun into the bright, cool, breezy day, the cars tousle it as they whizz past.

2. I whimper to Elena in Spanish, say that I'm bored and have nothing to do because everyone else has exams. As the words come tumbling out I realise that leaves me free and easy in comparison, and Elena laughs at me.

3. This is a day for bravery; perhaps I will go and see an un-subtitled Spanish film?

'Entrepanes,' literally translated as 'between bread,' also known as 'Montaditos' - a fantastic Spanish idea!

Rubik's, changing perspective and toast (almost)

1. Amongst all the sour-faced Line 10 commuters there's a guy playing with a retro-coloured Rubik's cube. To me, he is the epitome of cool.

2. When I come out of the metro station at Duque de Pastrana to go and give an English class to the children, I can see the cuatro torres, but what seems to be an exact mirror image of them; the most modern of the four is on the wrong side, whereas usually it's the one closest to me. When I emerge out of Begoña station later on I turn and I am magically on the right side of the towers again. It makes the city seem a lot smaller.

3. I attempt toast in the toastie-maker. The result is slightly crispy white bread with toasted edges. The slight crispiness is toast enough for me after not having it for months on end.

For my Milliecat

My cat Millie's been really ill for a number of months and it can't have been much of a life for her lately. She's been with me since I was about 8 and she was a lovely, inexorably friendly little cat, not shy of anyone and always around to say hello. The things I will remember about her most are the tinkle of her bell, the weird noises she made and her general cuddliness. She slipped away last night, my parents were with her, and although I am a very sad bean indeed, I feel relieved that she's not having to struggle anymore.

Bye for now, my much-loved Milliecat.

Fog rolling out, mini bubbles and tumbleweeds

1. I roll into university, dragging my feet all the way to doom. The last two exams of the week over, I step out of the building beneath vaulted blue skies and for the first time in a while I can actually feel the heat of the sun on my skin. The fog cleared after all!

2. The plume of diddy bubbles as I plonk the washing-up liquid bottle down on the counter with a dull thud.

3. Time to do whatever I like. It was like an unintentional lonely night in, but it's peace, in the flat and in my mind.

Mischief, coffee and 2 croissants

1. The final B2-level Spanish class passes happily, even though we're doing a quiz. In typical Spanish fashion, Paula does not seem bothered to look up from her newspaper the entire hour and a half while we complete our quizzes, so we have fun taking cheeky glances at each other's essays and giggling because we know we're being silly. Thankfully, it wasn't that serious a test...!

2. I follow the initiative of a fellow Madrileñan wannabe (from Austria) and dip the singed corner of my croissant into my (very, very strong) milky coffee. At first, I don't like it, then the pastry gives way and sweet and savoury work in harmony.

3. Philibert teaches me some German words and turns of phrase - my particular favourites, zauber and löl ('spell' and the Germanised 'lol') So, like the linguist I aspire to be, I give him a rough translation of something French to say to someone else. In the end I think he ended up saying something along the lines of, "I am a magician and I like to grow croissants." I tried!

Time for a wander, camaraderie and a lazy day

1. I arrive earlier than expected to the Cantoblanco campus- 7 minutes earlier, actually. So I can wander up the diagonal path through the chilled, dewy trees while everyone rushes around me.

2. Before my phonetics exam starts I talk to the one girl I know speaks English in the class. We both speak Spanish normally, but it's nice to joke about things, including how the tutor can come across as a being a bit intimidating, even though she's alright, really!

3. After the exam seems to go fairly well I head straight back home through the mild weather to a day of doing nothing but watching How I Met Your Mother (which I've now definitely 'gotten into') and resting my over-stuffed head.

Examen 1, Tea Partaaay and sunnier climes

1. First exam does not go so well. I realise with a fluttering heart that I don't know how to do one of the questions, so I do all of the others and hope that they're okay. On the upside, I finally introduce myself to a couple of other Erasmus students in the class, one of whom I see in the cafeteria, and he waves and says ciao as I leave.

2. I am very much looking forward to officially proposing the Tea Party this weekend! I lugged a mountain of the UK's finest biscuits, chocolate and tea with me to Madrid, and it's been waiting to put a show on.

3. Madrid is shrouded in fog. It seems to reflect my state of mind, and by the end of the week I hope to see sunny skies.