The M in SLUM Stands for Madrid

After a late (-ish, by Spanish standards) night out at a bar called "Cien Morditas," we woke up at what seemed like the crack of dawn, but was really 8:30, to go to orientation. Somehow, both Mal's and my alarm clocks failed to go off, but thanks to Renatta's clumsy stumble into the apartment after her morning run and slamming of I think every single door, we woke up in time to get ready. Our day was filled with valuable lessons, as Renatta learned that the M and the end of SLU does indeed stand for Madrid, we learned to always bring a spare pair of batteries with us, and as we tackled the bustling metro station for the first time.

We started off the day at orientation, where we were happy to discover that we would be spared from what we thought would be a day filled with assigned seats and those inevitably awkward icebreaker games (because aren't games supposed to be fun, or at least moderately enjoyable?). After hearing about student life and academics, we embarked on our first tour of Madrid. Our group took the metro to the part of Madrid where we're staying, called Moncloa. Despite the machine almost eating Alex's (a good friend of mine) debit card and me almost receiving 40 euros in change (thanks, ATM, for only giving me large bills), we managed our way through the station. Once in Moncloa, Renatta quickly developed a little (actually quite sizable -- she wasn't very discrete about it) girl-crush on the student ambassador who led our group, Ellen. She shared some of her experiences with us as we walked through the city. We saw El Parque del Oeste, Renatta "salivating" (yes that is a direct quote) at the possibilities of running paths, El Palacio Real, which was absolutely breathtaking, and two of the most famous plazas in Madrid, La Plaza de España, and La Puerta del Sol.

El Palacio Real

With around 30 students in our group, we inevitably stood out as "extranjeros". Mal and I, quickly turning out to be the world's worst tourists, ran out of batteries on our cameras practically right after our tour had begun (naturally Renatta didn't bring hers), but we did manage to capture a few pictures. Plus, on the bright side, we weren't wandering around the streets of Madrid holding up traffic in attempt to take artsy photos.

Blocking the view of Madrid from El Parque del Oeste

What you see when we're not standing in the way

After Ellen had brought us through Sol, the city's center, we decided it was time for a caffeine fix. On our search for a café, we passed by many touristy shops (which we glared at in disgust), as well as a McDonald's, when Mal shamelessly admitted, "I'll go to McDonald's at any time, guys." Although Renatta jokingly (I hope) chimed in that McDonald's does serve coffee, luckily we came upon "Café y Tapas," where we (quite ingeniously, I know) figured that they'd serve coffee. After resting for a while, we decided it was time to head back to 4D, our new home. Soon after we started walking, Mal and Renatta blatantly flew past a metro stop, but thankfully, I was there to save the day and called them back to the entrance. Can't wait to be the hero (and then exaggerate and brag about it) once again on our future adventures!

- Laura