Katya Discusses Dogs and Goes to Church

...I saw a dog with socks today. Not on all four paws--just the back two--but this brings me to a fascinating trend among the Spanish--or at least the Madrid, city-types. People bring their dogs EVERYWHERE. Moreover, I have seen dogs with collars that were actually scarves or wearing fur-hooded* jackets and sweaters. Granted, it has been rather chilly** in Madrid lately, but I can almost imagine that in the summer they just dress them in sundresses and shelter them under umbrellas. My conclusions are that Spaniards love their pets like children, and those rich enough to, clothe them as such.

Also, sooo many women wear fur coats here. I'm quite alarmed. They seem to love animals very much, but they wear a LOT of fur***. Whilst we are on the subject of animal skins/hair/fur, our apartment has a cow rug. I have decided to call him Brown Cow. I'm told people like blogs with pictures, so I figure I better get you a pic of the rug if I want your continued patronage. (Annea, close your eyes!)

How Now, Brown Cow?

Anyhow, tomorrow is my first day of classes. I’m excited to get a schedule in place so that the world can start making sense again. I just found out that for the first time in university, I got straight As last quarter! Yay! It is a bit of a miracle, because last quarter was very stressful for me, with getting ready for this trip financially and organizing a sublease and trying to make plans for upon my return. Yeah. I’m pretty happy about this. But, this is a travel blog, so now I will transition into something more on topic….

I visited a church here today, for my first Sunday in Madrid. It is called Immanuel Baptist Church, and was the only English speaking congregation I could find within a reasonable distance via metro and walking. Even then, it is about a 30 minute commute. I really liked it, despite feeling very out of place at first. One of my flat mates came with me and we both want to go back there in for future Sunday services. There were people from so many nationalities there! It was like a UN convention. I look forward to checking-out their university group, which meets every other week. I think that this will be a wonderful new community to be involved in.

Hopefully, I will give you all a run-down of my first day of class soon. I have classes back to back from 4pm to 8pm Monday/Wednesday and from 3-5pm on Tuesday/Thursday. NO CLASS ON FRIDAYS! WOOT! Good times.



Footnotes for the criminally insane:

*Don't get me started on how gross it seems to clothe an animal in animal hair...weird. Like, what if humans wore human skin? Ughh.
**And to think, I almost didn't pack more than one long-sleeve shirt. I think it has managed to get below freezing while we've been here. Also, fun fact: "Madrid is situated in the middle of the Meseta, and at an elevation of 646 meters (2,119 feet) above sea level is the highest capital city in Europe" (nasa.gov)
***In one walk, I think I counted 5 fur coats. Annea forewarned me.