Post written by Katie Mele ’18 to recount Wednesday, March 9, 2016:

Yum yum!

Today (after having yet another sugar filled breakfast), we went to school for a second time. School at Colegio Europeo de Madrid starts at 9, but they are never on time, so we always have a chance to meet and talk with new friends from CEM! The first class I attended was an English grammar class where we discussed the similarities and differences between America and España. Maria José, the CEM Exchange Coordinator, was the teacher and spoke to us in all English, so it was a nice break from trying to understand all the other teachers in classes like chemistry, math, economics, art, and history. Santi, one of the CEM students on the exchange, brought up the fact that our modes of transportation are very different because they take buses (or walk) everywhere in Spain, and he found it strange that we not only had the  ability to drive at 16, but that we drove everywhere! Not surprisingly, we brought up the differences in eating schedules, as well as schedules in general– They eat SO late, not to mention about 20 meals a day!!! However, Señora Gorsline said she noticed that the student-teacher relationships were relatively similar which we all agreed on. After this and a technical drawing class, I joined the rest of the group for a Spanish History class. Although I understood absolutely nothing, I managed to get 17th place out of 19 in our Kahoot game after!

Lunch at CEM

Lily playing soccer.

We were given another break so we could siesta or do our homework before lunch, which was actually a very American meal of chicken, fries, berries, and a salad. On our way back from lunch, Lily and I met some of the kids from the younger part of the school, and after speaking with them in Spanglish, we played a soccer game with them for 20 minutes. We had to leave so we could meet up with the rest of the group in our cooking class where we made tortilla de patatas that were very yummy!! We were then dismissed from school, and I am in a movie theater right now with Chloe, Chessie, May, Aina, Paula, Sarah, and Maria watching How to be Single (in Spanish), so I-not so surprisingly-understand nothing… It’s been a great trip so far and I’m so excited to see what the next week brings!

Making tortilla de patatas.