Despite living in Madrid for nearly two months, I still haven’t established a routine. The city is a constant hustle-and-bustle, and I am constantly tired. But for those of you wondering about my international lifestyle, about a “typical” day, I have decided to end the secrecy and reach into the vaults of my personal calendar and release the itinerary for one day and one day only, to let you glimpse my glamorous, albeit inconsistent, life.
This was Marie Antoinette’s downfall. “Let them eat cake.”
My better judgment notwithstanding, here it is, today’s schedule:
This was Marie Antoinette’s downfall. “Let them eat cake.”
My better judgment notwithstanding, here it is, today’s schedule:
6:15 Wake to my first alarm. Hit snooze.
6:30 Wake to my second alarm. Snooze again.
6:45 Wake to my third alarm. You guessed it.
7:00 Realize I’m late. Lurch into the shower.
7:25 Eat a modest breakfast of pan de leche, ham lunchmeat, and cheese. Coffee optional.
7:30 Cram passengers deeper into Metro cars so there’s room for me.
8:15 Arrive at the IES Center (read: a Complutense dorm that rents us space).
8:20 Perch inside the lounge, get ousted by cleaning staff, sit on floor instead.
8:30 Finish the day’s homework, on the floor.
9:00 Rise, like a phoenix, and reclaim my glorious sofa seat.
9:45 Chat with friends, in English, like loud Americans, surrounded by side-eying Spaniards.
10:00 My first class: Internship seminar.
11:30 Eat lunch. Always a ham-and-cheese sandwich. Yes, I am adventurous.
12:05 Check my watch, realize I should’ve arrived at my internship five minutes ago.
12:15 Roll into the Complutense's Dental School by opening absurdly heavy doors. Damn.
12:20 Internship! Serenade some bacteria.
2:00 Crawl back to the IES Center. It’s a fifteen minute crawl.
2:15 Purchase vending machine chocolate, regret it within two bites.
2:30 My second class: Spanish language.
4:00 Herd more people inside subway cars.
4:30 Arrive at the Prado Museum, my final class. Gawk at art for ninety glorious minutes.
6:00 So many god**** subway riders.
6:15 Walk home and, en route, buy gel candies. Regret it. (This is every day.)
6:30 Arrive home, eat pastry with host family. I have a problem.
7:00 Take a nap. Eating is tiring. And it’s midterm week. I deserve a break today.*
7:05 *Speaking of, I should get McDonald’s —no, Nolan, resist the urge! Resist it!
8:00 Wake up, disoriented, wonder where I am.
8:05 Capitulate to readers: Write blog posts, manufacture creativity. You're welcome.
9:00 Eat! Today, fried pork and small baked potatoes. Not the most Spanish plate…
9:45 Finish writing this post.
10:00 I lied, I’m still working on it.
10:05 I lied again, I was procrastinating.
10:15 How is this not done? It’s just an itinerary!
11:00 Hasn’t happened yet, as of writing. But hopefully finishing my homework.
(More likely: Procrastinate, pretend I’m doing homework. That’ll fool myself!, I’ll tell myself.)
11:30 I like a little mystery in my life.
12:00 Remove the (unfinished) homework from my bed. Will I have started it? Who knows?!
12:05 Brush my teeth for the duration of the ABC song. (You know you do it, too.)
12:10 Dream of bacon. And chocolate. And gel candies. My favorite things.
6:30 Wake to my second alarm. Snooze again.
6:45 Wake to my third alarm. You guessed it.
7:00 Realize I’m late. Lurch into the shower.
7:25 Eat a modest breakfast of pan de leche, ham lunchmeat, and cheese. Coffee optional.
7:30 Cram passengers deeper into Metro cars so there’s room for me.
8:15 Arrive at the IES Center (read: a Complutense dorm that rents us space).
8:20 Perch inside the lounge, get ousted by cleaning staff, sit on floor instead.
8:30 Finish the day’s homework, on the floor.
9:00 Rise, like a phoenix, and reclaim my glorious sofa seat.
9:45 Chat with friends, in English, like loud Americans, surrounded by side-eying Spaniards.
10:00 My first class: Internship seminar.
11:30 Eat lunch. Always a ham-and-cheese sandwich. Yes, I am adventurous.
12:05 Check my watch, realize I should’ve arrived at my internship five minutes ago.
12:15 Roll into the Complutense's Dental School by opening absurdly heavy doors. Damn.
12:20 Internship! Serenade some bacteria.
2:00 Crawl back to the IES Center. It’s a fifteen minute crawl.
2:15 Purchase vending machine chocolate, regret it within two bites.
2:30 My second class: Spanish language.
4:00 Herd more people inside subway cars.
4:30 Arrive at the Prado Museum, my final class. Gawk at art for ninety glorious minutes.
6:00 So many god**** subway riders.
6:15 Walk home and, en route, buy gel candies. Regret it. (This is every day.)
6:30 Arrive home, eat pastry with host family. I have a problem.
7:00 Take a nap. Eating is tiring. And it’s midterm week. I deserve a break today.*
7:05 *Speaking of, I should get McDonald’s —no, Nolan, resist the urge! Resist it!
8:00 Wake up, disoriented, wonder where I am.
8:05 Capitulate to readers: Write blog posts, manufacture creativity. You're welcome.
9:00 Eat! Today, fried pork and small baked potatoes. Not the most Spanish plate…
9:45 Finish writing this post.
10:00 I lied, I’m still working on it.
10:05 I lied again, I was procrastinating.
10:15 How is this not done? It’s just an itinerary!
11:00 Hasn’t happened yet, as of writing. But hopefully finishing my homework.
(More likely: Procrastinate, pretend I’m doing homework. That’ll fool myself!, I’ll tell myself.)
11:30 I like a little mystery in my life.
12:00 Remove the (unfinished) homework from my bed. Will I have started it? Who knows?!
12:05 Brush my teeth for the duration of the ABC song. (You know you do it, too.)
12:10 Dream of bacon. And chocolate. And gel candies. My favorite things.
There, now you’ve seen it. I’ve said too much. I hope you’re happy.