It is that time of the year.

That time of the year has come and as much as I would like to say I mean Christmas, It is exam time. Despite the fact that Christmas is beautiful in Madrid with lights everywhere and people being jolly, exams have to be done with so I can enjoy it. I went down to Sol (downtown Madrid) this past weekend and they had turned all the Christmas lights on, including the giant tree. It was a sight that just makes you feel cozy right away, all that was missing was a fire place, my family and some hot chocolate. I have to say it is something to look forward to after these two weeks.

Business Club

This semester my business professor started a new club, the SUMC Business Club. He appointed me as the "marketing guy", which means I am in charge of letting every one know what events we are planning to host. It is nice being in a club that is similar to a small company. We have a chairwomen and then other positions such as finance, trips organizers, business games staff...etc. This weekend we have put together a trip to Mahou (a Spanish brewery). I have to say I am proud of the job we did because that bus is full, with more people wanting to go. We will be going to see the second largest brewery in Europe. It is fully automated and one of the most ecologically friendly breweries. I am excited. Last week we invited a couple of guest speakers from the Instituto de Empresas (the best business school in Spain and the 5th in the world for Masters Programs). The lecture was a success and almost all business students attended it. Over the last couple of weeks we have been hosting a business product game, where students come up with a product and whoever has the best product wins a cash prize. To no one`s surprise that was a huge success and someone did indeed win. I really enjoy being part of the Business Club because we are doing things that really attract the students. It is not routine by any means and every new idea someone comes up with turns into a different experience for us to explore. So far the only thing that has been happening over and over again is Success and I hope it stays that way. I look forward to seeing what the SUMC Business Club will offer next. Let`s get down to business.

Family Reunion 2009

Yesterday, my mum called with great news. She bought me a plane ticket to Lisbon this coming Friday as a surprise. My sister who lives in Canada along with my other sister who lives in Geneva are both going to be in Lisbon for that weekend and my lovely sweet mother decided to ship me over there for a mini reunion. I am very excited that I get to see my sisters and mum. We are going to just relax, do little bit of bonding and have delicious heart warming mum made food. I am looking forward to seeing my friends whom I haven't seen since June because they were away for the summer. Every time I go to Lisbon I have the hardest time switching from Spanish to Portuguese and just as I get used to it again, I find myself back in Madrid speaking Portoñol (Portuguese-Spanish). It is confusing but i am not complaining, I get to practice my Portuguese and test my Spanish. I love having something to look forward to. A trip to Lisbon is good fun anytime. A trip to see my Family tops any of my lists. The two combined is just PERFECT.

Routine is in?

Today was the first day after the last day of mid-term exams, WHAT A RELIEF!
Generally speaking the mid-terms are fine but it is just the atmosphere that comes along with it that is stressful. Thinking of it now, I believe I did pretty well. I have gotten a few grade back and I am proud to say that nothing has been below an A so far (Fingers Crossed). It is a good feeling to see that hard work pays off. The weather in Madrid is not getting any colder, which is quite nice. We still get that warm fuzzy sun for at least a couple of hours a day. I just started getting the hang of my weekly routine. Be it work , activities, studying or simply having fun, everything has somehow found its spot in my week and is working out great. I get most of my things accomplished before hand or just in the nick of time, either way it works. The second half of the semester has begun and so far it seems to be going absolutely great. Soon a Halloween party will be hosted by the SUMC student council and that is something to look forward to, along with every adventurous weekend here in Madrid. Even though the routine is during the week, every weekend is a novel of its own. The coming weekend is always different than the one before and I love it. I make it a point now to always do something for the first time on the weekend, that is a tradition I hope I can carry on for a long time.

Galicia for a weekend!

I have never been more upset to be in Madrid! We just came back from Santiago de Compostela. This is a major city in the north of Spain and man, was it fun. The seafood was just heavenly. The first day there we had lunch at this amazing restaurant, we liked it so much that we went there again on the last day. The second day we took a ferry to an island a few hours away and visited Europe`s best beach in 2007. This island was just paradise on earth. My friends and I just laid around the beach all day, until the hot weather convinced us that swimming in our shorts is not that big of a deal. That water was cold! But it got better and better. We just swam from the shore we were on, to another one that you could not get to by foot and we climbed the cliffs and just enjoyed the stunning view (photo) I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the place. Later that night as we left our hotel to go get a feel of the night life we sat down an had us a little snack, only to discover that EVERYTHING is delicious in Galicia. The people we met were extremely friendly and we all put our Spanish to the test trying to understand the different accent, I think we all succeeded. The next day we visited the main sites in the city. All in all ,it was a once in a life time trip. I have a lot of sleeping to catch up on but I would give up that for a trip like that any day. I can finally and proudly say that I have been to the north of Spain. I can tell you right now it wont be my last visit because I got a taste and I am going to want seconds very soon. What´s next? Santander? A Coruña ? San Sebastián?
Time can only tell and I can't wait to find out!!

My favorite day of the week is here, Thursday. At SUMC almost no student has classes on Friday and that is amazing. It makes the weekend one day longer and believe me, when you are planning a trip to European cities, that extra day is exactly what you need. I am slowly getting used to my schedule. I am taking 4 classes and they are, Information Technology, Professional Communication, Accounting and Business Ethics. I have to admit they are not all easy but for the most part they are highly interesting. I think my I.T class will benefit me the most as it deals with programs and issues that at some point in my professional life will become essential. I am currently doing work study and working with the staff at SUMC is a joy by itself. This semester I wanted to be very involved with student activities so I am also part of the student government and the business club. Each activity provides a unique experience by itself. I am learning how to market guest speakers with the business club. I am learning how to work in a professional environment due to my work study. I even got the privilege to be a Teacher Assistant to one of my previous professor and I am learning how much work is put into our classes. Over all I think this semester I am learning a lot not just from my courses, but also from my activities. I cant wait and see what else I get my hands on.

Back in Action!

Summer of 2009.....Great memories. I came back tanned, refreshed and very well fed. Arriving to Madrid I immediatly got a feeling of familiarity and homeiness. Having spent the last year here, I am thrilled to be back. Orientation is over and classes have made their way to our daily schedules. Orientation was so much fun. We went to Salamanca (The Boston of Spain) and had the best time. weather it was the horseback riding or the laser tag, we all made new friends and bonded with old ones. At the moment I have just gotten started with classes, work/study and student clubs. I cant wait to start playing football again (Soccer). I feel optamistic and ready to be Back in Action.

A year passed is a year gained.

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially to people that have become such a big part of your life. Well, near the end of the academic year, I had to say goodbye to people that have grown to become great friends and people who I genuinely care about. I have met people that were interesting, people that were diverse and most importantly people that I had never met before. I feel that, apart from classes of course, I have learned a great deal from interacting with people who come from a wide variety of backgrounds. I have made friend that will never part my memories and I have made friends who will never part my heart. This last semester was indeed a challenging semester for me, as I faced a few personal problems. It was difficult for me to focus on everything at once, and as a result, my academic performance was affected. The good news is that I pulled through and I couldn't be happier. I feel as if I have come out the other side with a little more experience and wisdom. I realised that this is what growing up is all about. Although everyone has to deal with responsibilities, the bumps along the way are a true measure of our ability to handle ourselves. My hope for the future is that I make it through or learn from the fall. I feel blessed for the events that have made me who I am, and I feel even more blessed for the people who experienced those events with me. I have successfully concluded one wonderful year as SMUC, and the way things went, I cannot wait to start the next. Madrid feels more like home than ever before and that is what is going to make the year to come even more enjoyable. I look forward to adding more names to my list of friends. No matter what next year can cook up, I am ready for it and will face it head on. Bring it on baby!!

Lisbon in Madrid

So this weekend two of my sisters and two of my best friends drove up to Madrid from Lisbon. We had so much fun!

I have made the drive between Lisbon and Madrid a couple times, but never with the group that came. I can only imagine how much fun that road trip was.

The first thing we did was head over to a restaurant called “Cañas y Tapas” and we ordered a ridiculous amount of food. We ate too much , but it was worth every bite. I really liked the “huevos rotos” which are fried potatoes with sausage and green peppers and eggs on top (hence the “broken eggs” name) that they serve in a traditional-style frying pan at your table.

Then I took them to Sol (downtown area), we walked around enjoying the sights and naturally my sisters did “some” shopping. On Saturday we wanted to watch the football (soccer) game between Spain and Turkey that was being played at Real Madrid’s stadium here in Madrid. We headed off to a bar to watch the game, and the atmophere was overwhelming. I love how excited Spaniards get! We cheered and shouted and had a great time.

I really enjoyed their visit. Of course, I can’t forget to mention the delicious homemade, heart felt treats my wonderful mother sent me. Thanks, Mom! The whole experience was just as if Lisbon was in Madrid. I guess it is true when they say it is the people you care about that make a place feel like home. This weekend was almost as good as going home, just without the road trip

Summer Lovin

As much as I hate the cliché topic of the weather, I must say that the weather we’ve had lately is definitely worth mentioning.
In fact, the weather has been so good for the past week that it has distracted me from writing my blog, but I think now I have had enough vitamin D and can resume my regular activities.
I love Madrid.....absolutely love it, but after only getting a glimpse of what it is like during the summer I think I am IN-Love with it. Madrid’s parks are absolutely gorgeous with people everywhere doing everything imaginable.
The other day we spent the day in Parque Oeste throwing around Mr. Frisbs (a Frisbee) and that alone was exceptionally fun. The football (soccer) game that we have every week was amazing, we couldn't get enough, to the point were when our time was over we went to another field and started kicking the ball around there too. Oh, and people seem so eager to reduce the amount of clothing they wear (including me of course). We get 2 days of sun and by the third say I see shorts, tank tops, skirts, flip-flops ---and even less. What is truly unbelievable is the drastic improvement in everyone’s mood. This seems like the beginning of a wonderful season in Madrid. I guess I am off to the park to “study”. I truly love the summer.

Hats off to the housing department.

This semester hasn’t been great just because of the wonderful orientation, there is a significant factor that is contributing every day to the complete comfort I am feeling this semester…………we got an apartment!!! I must say the housing department has out done itself. Last semester Ryan, Greg and I all decided we wanted to live together next semester (present) and so we filled out our forms accordingly and added Ashley (a friend of Ryan and Greg´s from Boston), and guess what? Now we are living in an outstanding apartment 5 minutes from school.... Huge...Almost perfect...single bedrooms...and a kitchen the size of 3 dorm rooms together. So far my roommates have been extremely fun to live with and the way things are going it seems it will remain that way. We cook, which is a hobby of mine, (although not very good at it), but hey we live and learn. I am truly enjoying my living situation now and every once in a while I still go to my last host mums house and have a wonderful dinner, practice my Spanish and feel like I have a family here. I have friend from school living with her now, and we always talk about the great times we had there last semester and how Eddy (my last roommate) and I built our
Flintstones car for the Halloween party. All in all both semesters my housing has been outstanding --Hats off to the housing department!.

A semester gone, a semester begins.

The year 2009 is here, and with it comes a new semester. So far orientation for the new students is over, and we have started our day-to-day routine. The orientation trip to Sevilla was exceptionally enjoyable for me because Andalusia (southern part of Spain) is my favorite area in Spain. It was well worth visiting the beautiful sites, spending the first day in Cordoba, where we saw the impressive mosque, then we continued to Sevilla where we had an interesting night out. The next day we learned about bulls and how they are raised for bullfights and then got to see a Flamenco show. There wasn’t anything that we really didn't get to do. Meeting the new students is always fun getting to know who is from where and why they are in Spain. I think it’s especially interesting to see how different people react to the cultural differences. I got to know some new students really well and hopefully they’ll become friends, and anything that ends up with having more friends is good in my book. This Friday we went back to our usual routine of playing soccer and everyone was out of shape - and by everyone I do mean just me, but “we” have the whole semester to build up that stamina again. So far the return to this “city of cities” has been exciting, and the new semester seems more promising than the one that has passed. All I have to do now is take it as it comes - and make the best of it.

A Semester Coming to an End. (December 2008)

My first semester here at Suffolk has come and is about to go. It is that time of year when school is really quiet: study rooms are full and computer labs are quiet except for the tapping noise of keyboards. I like to refer to it as “study season” but once we are finished with exams, it will be party-mania so I like to think of this as the calm before the storm. Since many study abroad students are here for only a semester, after the exams we have a few things planned. First, we have a soccer match planned. Normally we play soccer every weekend between friends, but since this is the last one, we have organized a competitive game between Upperclassmen and lowerclassmen. I personally being a lowerclassmen prefer to call it “Big Boys” vs. “Bad Boys”. However, everyone is extremely excited about this match, and I believe it will be quite the match to watch. Exams are almost over, for some this week, for others the beginning of next week. So we have many final get-togethers at all the regular places we usually “hangout”. We even made a deal with one of the places to throw a farewell party and make drinks cheaper for Suffolk Students…Amazing!!!. Christmas is around the corner and we have two Christmas trees on campus. The staff never ceases to create the any atmosphere on campus, from the presidential elections to Thanksgiving and finally Christmas. I am sure they always make the American students feel at home, because once steeping on campus you don’t feel that you are in Madrid any more. As I said, all is calm now, but soon the end of semester madness is going to start, and my my what a frenzy it will be! The hardest part is the fact that some student are leaving and not coming back, example by roommate Eddy Bui, who is a great, fun and decent guy. Roommates like that are hard to find, but as I always say it always better to think of the glass as half full, this was a great semester and the next one will be even better. This weekend, on the other hand, will be the best weekend ever. I Hope Madrid is ready for some Suffolk Party Stampede!!!!!