Loooooooong time no talk

Hey all- Sorry I haven't written in awhile- life has been kind of chaotic as we are now into the 3rd week of classes(first full week of classes). Anyway, Madrid was fun- we went to the Museo Prado, a comedy play(in Spanish), the Palacio Real(Royal Palace), El Escorial, and Museo Reina Sofia. It is cool to finally see art works that I have learned about in the US and seen in pictures and now I finally got to see the real art works in their actual sizes. The Placio Real was really cool too-there are sooooooooo many rooms-I think I would get lost in a house that big. =) El Escorial is a monastery that was built for one of the kings a looooooong time ago where he went to live in the later part of his life.
Then 3 people from my program and I headed up to Barcelona because we had a 5 day break before classes started. There's this awesome Castle in Barcelona and you can look out over the Sea. It was really pretty and super cool. I also went to the Barcelona Aquarium which was amazing-a lot of different kinds of sea life that I never knew existed and I went to the zoo cause I love animals!
Classes started on Oct. 5 and for the most part I am enjoying them. I am taking 20th Century Spanish Literature, History of Spain Franco to the Present, Images of Women in Spanish lit., Advanced Convo. and Comp., and Spanish Art History Barroque to the Present. In addition my program requires us to take Granada Seminar where I learn about the culture in Granada and a Fonetics class to better pronounce sounds in Spanish. I keep very busy and am exhausted at the end of the night. I am starting to feel settled in and am fitting into the routine of things better now. I still miss home but I love Spain and being abroad is teaching me SOOOOOOOOO much about myself.
Who's planning on sending me mail soon? I want MAIL!!! I know you guys all think about me though! Well that's all for now. I will try to update sooner than later. Chao!