Update Number 2 by Jordan Nelson
Well, it is now 4:25pm Madrid time, and I am getting frustrated trying to use a Spanish keyboard. Half the keys are not where they should be...aaaaanywayz,

the days are going well, and I am enjoying Madrid. I took my placement exam today to put me in the right Spanish classes. The past few days we´ve just had some review type classes to get us back into Spanish mode. The test went well, except it asked for synonyms and antonyms of several very obscure vocabulary word that almost no Spanish student from the US would ever know so I hope that doesn´t bump me down or anything. I wish there had been a speaking portion, because it´s a LOT easier for me to talk one on one with someone to demonstrate that I´m not a total oaf when it comes to Spanish. Oh well, así es la vida.

Luckily our classes only last until around 1pm so I then spend the rest of the day just hanging out. I like to spend time in the busy areas, because I like the hustle and bustle of big cities so typically you can find me in Sol, Gran Vía or Moncloa. Gran Vía is dangerous for me though...H&M is simply too close and too cheap (relatively speaking)!!! I spend too much there.

I also enjoy the Plaza Mayor and all of "Madrid de los Austrias," really. I had my first paella since last time yesterday on a terraza in Plaza Mayor and it was, as always, very good.

Today we didn´t have any classes other than the quick placement exam so I´ve just been walking the streets, went to Corte Inglés, and then went to eat. I´m a sucker for the sandwich mixto and had the best one of all my life today at "Dulcinea Cafetería," on Caballero de Gracia, Nº 12 near the Sol/Gran Vía area, so if you´re looking for a good one go there. AND they were really nice, which is always a plus.

I may have a small job, translating a short film script from Spanish into English. I was supposed to meet with the director and assistant today, but it´s been pushed to tomorrow. Whether this is exactly kosher legally or not I´m not entirely sure, but if you won´t say anything I won´t either, vale? I had seen the announcement they were looking for someone posted on the wall at the University. (let that be a note to anyone who studies abroad: don´t rely on your program or the Uni itself to provide you with cool stuff to participate in. I´ve already found about a million things to do and people to meet through the posters on the wall. How cool is that? Don´t get suckered into letting your study abroad "program" dictate all your activities or you´ll miss a lot. A LOT!)
This weekend I´ll be going to Toledo to chill, and then to Segovia and Valle de los Caídos. Segova/Valle... was one of my favorite places last time so I´m looking forward to that.

I´ve met up with several friends from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid that I met via facebook, so that´s cool...and I set up an intercambio with another 19 year old student of journalism. We´ll be meeting tonight to speak in Spanish/English so that´s good.

That´s all I can think about to write about right now, but I´ll try to update a little more, and upload pictures (I´ve been kind of lazy so far). The only really "bad" thing that has happened so far is that I went all over the place trying to secure my "abono para jóvenes" (monthly metro pass for under-21s) only to find out that it takes 15 days...read that, FIFTEEN DAYS to get it!!!! Well, I don´t have that kind of time so I had to pay a whole bunch more euros to get a regular one. Oh well.

OH! and I forgot to mention in the last post that someone tried to pickpocket me. That didn´t happen the last time I was here (except for that one gypsy with the twig in Sevilla, but I knew her tricks ), but I was on the metro during rush hour so it was very crowded and a guy got on with his jacket over his arm (covering his hands) and I thought my phone was vibrating so I reached down. Ends up it was him trying to fish my wallet out of my pocket I bumped him hard on the arm nonchalantly and gave him a dirty look

Edit: forgot to mention I went to Temple of Debod today, an entire Egyptian temple that was given to Madrid by the Egyptians in the 1960s because Madrid (or Spain or somebody) helped the Egyptians save some historically important sites back in the day. It was a place I wanted to see, but another that I did not get to when I was here last. It was neat. You should go.