Internet in the House!

We have high-speed Internet in the house! It was always here, but for various reasons I do not always have easy access to it. It is not wireless, so only one person at a time can use it and usually one of the roommates is on. Evidently the Spanish are almost as addicted to the Internet as I am.

Today things seem inconvenient and unnecessarily difficult. I couldn't open a bank account because I'd left my passport at the apartment, and then I had to spend the majority of the last of my cash on my mobile phone because their credit card machine was broken but it was about closing time so I didn't have time to go to a different store. So now I don't have enough cash to open a bank account anyway. But Mom has sent my checks and replacement credit & debit cards to me...they should be arriving tomorrow...so hopefully I'll be able to open an account with one of those options.

Second day of class went fine. Was feeling a bit tired because have not been sleeping well due to the heat, but tonight is a bit cooler. Thank goodness. So far I'm feeling a bit lost on the coursework...I'm doing it but it's not coming together for me yet...but of course is only the second day. Am a little worried because so far teaching EFL here does not sound so great, but then again we haven't started practice teaching yet. Maybe will be more appealing when I actually get to do it a little. The practice teaching starts next week, so I won't have to wait long to find out.

Still getting along well with the other course participants. We all went out for a beer after school today. The last course participant has arrived. He is British, but unfortunately is not cute. Oh well. We have still to meet the students from the other section of the course, so there is still hope for a hottie. ;*) We meet them on Friday.

Got more free drinks from the camarero at the local bar last night. He asked me to marry him, but I had to turn him down because he's too old (in his late 40's or early 50's is my guess). We have a similar sense of humor, and it feels neat to be able to connect with a native outside of the apartment.

I noticed when I went out with the coursemates to lunch and after school today it was assumed none of us spoke Spanish well. I am treated differently when I am on my own. I am not seen as one of a herd of noisy and slightly scary Americans. Instead, I am an American who speaks Spanish and is living in Madrid. I am treated with more...respect maybe. It's interesting. Slightly annoying to speak Spanish to the waiters when I am in the group and have them misunderstand me NOT because I am saying it incorrectly but because of their assumption that I do not really speak Spanish. But amusing too, I guess. For example: asked the waiter at lunch if they had a menu del dia (set menu from which you can choose a first plate, second plate, drink and dessert) but he stopped listening after menu and started pointing to all the menus on the table (which are called cartas). In other words, he thought I didn't know the proper word for menu in Spanish, that I was tricked by the false cognate, and he was assuming that I was making the same mistake all the other English-speakers make. But the second time I asked him he listened.

Well, it's getting late (10:30pm) and I have homework to do. No stopping in to the local bar tonight. Hasta manana.