Wherefore art thou red umbrella?

la Univerdisad Pontificia Comillas

Here in Madrid I am studying at la Universidad Pontificia Comillas.  Comillas has two schools:  “la Facultad de Ley” and “la Facultad de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales”.  I am enrolled in the latter since I am studying International Relations in order to further improve my Spanish.  I am considering making Spanish a second major, hence it is essential I gain more confidence while speaking the language.  The main university is currently under construction; hence “la Facultad de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales” has been moved to a different campus, Cantoblano Universidad, another college in Madrid.  The commute to the Cantoblanco campus is about an hour since we have to take two commuter rail trains to get there.  I actually enjoy the commute since it reminds me of commuting into Boston, MA where I work full-time during the summer as a legal secretary at a law firm.  The countryside of Madrid is beautiful, it's quite similar to Palm Springs, CA, dry desert lands meet snow capped mountains, the ultimate oxymoron.  

Comillas logo

I cannot tell you much about the history of Comillas since I missed orientation (For those of you who know me very well, naturally, you will understand my stress-o-meter went off the charts).  During the commute from the main campus of la Universidad Pontificia Comillas to the Cantoblanco campus, our orientation leader, Patricia, lost me and another girl from Merrimack, Kaila, on the metro.  Needless to say Patricia’s idea of holding a red umbrella up, so we could spot her from afar, was a none other than a complete fail.  We were left stranded on the metro, which felt similar to being lost in a corn maze, the same philosophy applied, “your guess is as good as mine”.  I felt a strong yearning for my Garmin, packed neatly away in my glove compartment back home in the United States, miles away.  Kaila and I vaguely remembered Patricia mentioning something about going to Sol, a metro stop, and catching a train to Cantoblanco.  Therefore, since our options were limited, we put our best foot forward to try and rejoin our orientation group.  No map.  No cell phone.  No clue.  No problem. 

Classroom at Comillas, notice the pretty blue tile. 

Kaila and I reading children's books in the library.

We never did locate Patricia.  Kaila and I ended up going the wrong way on the commuter rail, which is quite similar to the Boston commuter rail except it is much cleaner; however the same amount of sympathy should be still applied.  Then, after we were an hour out of our way now traveling the correct way, Kaila and I got off at the wrong stop, thinking the actual Cantoblano campus was our campus, but no. No, no, no, no.  As a result, naturally, we are no longer novices of “the ways” of the Madrid metro.   

Spanish keyboard

“It’s okay, I’m a foreign exchange student.”

Today being Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season, I woke up extra “early” at 9:00 a.m. in order to attend an 11:00 a.m. mass at Our Lady of Mercy.  I use to attend Iglesia de las Religiosas de Maria Inmaculada (Casa Madre) for mass every Sunday; since it is about a twenty minute walk from my residencia, however I did not feel welcome there.  In Madrid, the local churches are rather small, and likewise there are not many parishioners.  Typically, parishes only celebrate mass once or twice on Sunday.  At Maria Inmaculada the parishioners are mostly elderly couples, hence my roommate and myself were the youngest in attendance for mass. 

We found an English speaking parish, Our Lady of Mercy, and therefore last Sunday we ventured off on a 45 minute metro ride to check it out.  I felt right at home!  The parish consists of many families and everyone was very warm and inviting.  It was nice to hear mass spoken in my native language, since at Maria Inmaculada there are no missals to follow along with so I had a difficult time understanding the readings and responses.  At Our Lady of Mercy there are missals, hymnals and even the new English translation cheat cards.  Although, apparently the Spaniards are more adapt to change than us Americans since they do not feel the need to exercise screaming "And with your Spirit!" like "know-it-all" little schoolgirls in order to drown out those who forget. 

Anyway, I felt really comfortable there and hence that is where I went for mass this morning.  Online it states masses on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation are at 11:00 a.m. Well apparently ourladyofmercy.info/ lied because when an elderly gentleman and I walked in at 10:50 a.m. the Liturgy of the Word had just concluded and the celebrant had just begun to hand out the ashes.  I crashed an elementary school mass!  However, that is okay because at freshman year orientation at Merrimack College we had Dave Binder, a comedian/musician, come prepare us for these moments of awkwardness.  I am sure everyone is familiar with "that freshman".  You know it is the beginning of fall semester when a freshman:  face plants in the cafeteria, gets locked out of their dorm, falls up the stairs in the campus center, has to be walked to his/her dorm by the campus cop, is in the shower when the fire alarm goes off (yup, that kid was me freshman year...), etc.  Mr. Binder advises us to repeat the phrase "it's okay, I'm a freshman" if one, or all of the above ever happens to you.  Well I am going to take the advice of Mr. Binder, with slight twist, "it's okay I'm a foreign exchange student".  

The children looked absolutely adorable in their Catholic school uniforms, it reminds me of the days when I use to sport the blue polyester skirt and blazer myself.  Also, bonus, I actually understood everything the priest said in Spanish because he was speaking slowly to the children (and without a missalette too might I add).  Sitting in the pews reminded me of the children I tutor back home at the Boys and Girls Club in Lawrence every Monday.  I always felt comfortable speaking Spanish at the Boys and Girls Club, for the children did not judge me.  They were appreciative of the fact that I was trying to learn their language.  All the children who speak predominantly Spanish at home usually isolate themselves in a specific corner of the Club’s homework room.  I will never forget their surprised reaction one Monday afternoon when I walked over to their table as they were joking around with each other.  I asked a second grade boy, “¿Me prestas tu lápiz?”  Since the students I tutored were in grades one through six, they were so excited and enthralled that they immediately started talking to me all at once. 

Now that I have been volunteering at the Club for two years, there are certain boys and girls who always sit at my table for homework help.  They know me by name now, and enjoy helping me decipher what they are saying in Spanish.  In their words, they find it “cool” to be able to help their tutor learn something, and together with practice and their patience, I have improved.  The roles have been reversed; the children are my tutors and I their student.  I will have to keep that in mind as I continue to study abroad here in Spain, but at the end of the day, "it's okay I'm a foreign exchange student". 

Aventuras de Típicos Turísticos

El Parque del Retiro

Unfortunately, we have not done much site seeing just yet since we only recently received our student id cards which get us into most museums for free.  However, we have visited some of the major parks and plazas.  It is about a ten minute walk to El Parque del Retiro, the largest park in the city, where I run.  Located in the center of Madrid, the park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy up until the late 19th century when it then became a public park.  Close to the center of the park, next to the pond, is a monument of Alfonso XII, which was designed by José Grases Riera at the beginning of the 20th century.  El Parque del Retiro is also home to several other beautiful fountains, memorable monuments and handsome statues.  


In addition, we have visited numerous other tourist attractions including:  Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Plaza de España and El Palacio Real.  Coming into Spain, I already had a vast knowledge of the major historical landmarks.  At Merrimack I took the study travel course “Crossing Borders” (SPA3750) in addition to “Coexistence in Medieval Spain” (SPA3510). Therefore, it was really exhilarating to visit all the sites I had previously studied and seen displayed in various texts both in print and online. 

Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor, during the middle ages, was a market place just outside the city walls.  King Phillip II, during the 1560s, ordered the construction of the square as part of his plan to make Madrid the capital of Spain.  Plaza Mayor use to be a popular location for tournaments, weddings, executions, bullfights and Inquisition trials.  Onlookers would observe festivities in the square below from the balconies of the surrounding buildings.  When one visits the square today, one will not witness any executions but one might see a coin or stamp show, residents taking an evening stroll or a free concert.  The plaza is often used as a central meeting location.  On the ground floor of Plaza Mayor there are several bars, cafes, shops and restaurants. 

Puerta Del Sol

Puerta Del Sol is the point where the most famous streets in the city converge, making it one of the busiest centres in Madrid.  The square is named after the gate which once stood there controlling access to the city.  The rising sun would decorate the entry, since the gate was leaning to the east.  When the city became a permanent home to the imperial court, it expanded vastly, and the gate was demolished.  Today, Puerta Del Sol is a thriving shopping center surrounded by attractive shop windows of every genre; pastry shops, boutiques selling Spanish crafts, modern cafeterias, shoe shops, etc.  It is also a popular meeting spot for both locals and tourists.  I actually was able to connect with two girls I went to middle school with.  I have not seen them since I graduated, but we were able to meet up at Puerta Del Sol, go shopping and grab coffee while we caught up. 

Statue of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza in Plaza de Espana

Furthermore, we were asked to visit Plaza de España as part of our Spanish Art History in the Museums of Madrid class.  This plaza is situated quite close to the Royal Palace, at the western end of Gran Vía.  It features a massive marble statue of Miguel de Cervantes and bronze statues of his most famous literary characters, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

El Palacio Real

View of El Palacio Real from afar

Finally, we briefly visited El Palacio Real, the Royal Palace of Madrid.  Since it was rather frigid outside we did not stay long, yet made a mental note to come back and visit when it is warmer.  El Palacio Real is the official residence of the King and Queen of Spain; however it is typically only used for state ceremonies.  King Juan Carlos I, Queen Sofía and the rest of the Royal Family do not reside in the palace.  In 1734, King Philip V ordered that a new palace be built in Madrid.  Construction began in 1738, and was finally completed in 1755. Charles III was the first king to live in the palace in 1764.  Today, the palace is open to the public, except when it is utilized for official business. 

Bienvenidos a Madrid

Hola a todos!  My name is Jenn Brooks and I am 21 years old.  I am currently a junior at Merrimack College majoring in Marketing with a minor in Jewish Christian Muslim Relations and Spanish.  This spring semester I have made the decision to study abroad in Madrid, Spain.  I am attending la Universidad Pontificia Comillas, and I will be studying International Relations here in order to improve my Spanish.  

JJ and I with chocolate caliente from Dunkin Coffee. 

It is official; I have been in Spain a month as of today, although I’m going to be cliché and admit it feels like just yesterday we all arrived.  There are nine students from Merrimack in total studying abroad in Madrid this semester, and luckily most of us were able to book the same flight to Spain.  We decided it would be best to take taxis from el aeropuerto since all of us over packed, surprise.  Extremely jetlagged I heaved my two suitcases and backpack into a taxi, destination:  Augusto Figueroa.  My good friend JJ, who I dragged along with me to Spain since I did not want to travel alone, and I were the first to arrive at our residencia.  Since we were the last to leave the airport, my heart skipped a beat.  It was 7 a.m. on a Saturday, and the street appeared deserted, immediately thoughts started racing through my mind.  “Did we have the right address?”  “I do not have a cell phone!”  “It is 7 o’clock in the morning.”  “The entire city is sleeping.”  “What are we going to do!?”  When Juan, the man who operates and runs our residencia, finally poked his head out the second story window and cried “Merrimack College?”, I felt like the 100^th sheep in The Parable of the Lost Sheep.  Lost and now found, we were welcomed into our new home soon to be joined by the others and begin our experience of a life time. 

My Sunday breakfast at Dunkin Coffee. 

I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts, hence residing in a city as vibrant and alive as Madrid has been exciting!  Our residencia is located right in the heart of the city, therefore the best tapas bars, café y té stops, tourist attractions, restaurantes, plazas, etc. are at max a block or two away.  Also, we are very fortunate to have our little piece of Boston close by too!  Dunkin Donuts, or should I say “Dunkin Coffee”, is located at the end of our street.  America now “runs on Dunkin” in Spain!  There are also plenty of other American restaurants in the area such as:  TGI Fridays, KFC, Starbucks, Burger King and McDonalds to name a few.  And do not make the same mistake I made and let your American perception of McDonalds form your bias.  The McDonalds in Madrid does not compare to the fast food in America, the burgers and fries are much healthier here and drive-thrus are nowhere to be seen. 

Capitan Mani peanut butter

Unfortunately, other fundamental American foods are a rarity.  Back home peanut butter is my usual staple, every morning I have peanut butter and whole wheat toast for breakfast with a glass of non-pulp Tropicana orange juice.  Sadly, peanut butter here is treated like gold.  It can only be found in Corte Inglés and is rather expensive.  The typical brand of peanut butter I encounter in Spain is Capitán Mani.  It comes in both suave and crujiente.  I believe the label on the jar is an attempt to characterize Americans, a hefty, foolish baseball player with a white-on-blue stars uniform.  Yay America!