The Commute and the Communication at La Universidad Autónoma

Caroline and I began our experience at the Instituo de Ciencias Materiales de Madrid during the 2nd week of our amazing adventure in Spain. The Institute is located 45 minutes outside of the city in University town known as Cantoblanco. In order to commute to work each day Caroline and I boarded the 9 (purple line) train at the metro station, Nuñez del Balboa, which was a 6 or 7 minute walk from our house (depending on how tired we were from our long convos with Maria) and then arrived at Plaza de Castilla, the major bus station in the city. After reaching the bus station, we'd board the 714 bus in the direction of Universidad Autónoma, and we'd wait for 5 or 10 minutes for it to arrive. Caroline and I had to be strategic about our commute planning and timing but after the first week we had down packed. Unfortunately after the first week when July began, the bus schedule switched around again! Luckily with Caro's super intense speed walking and my very occasional sprint we never missed a bus or showed up late to work. 

Once arriving at the University we discovered that we would be working with the most enthusiastic and hilarious group of people in the program. We spent the most time with two women, Irene and Rebecca, who were graduate students working on different theses in order to earn their doctorate. These women were phenomenally intelligent and also extremely dedicated to helping us understand the way they were conducting, testing, and concluding each experiment within their project.

Besides being amazing scientists Irene and Becca also had great sense of humor and kept us on our toes through the two weeks we were there with pop quizzes on the periodic table and mini basketball challenges with the a ball of aluminum and the hoop (trashcan) . Lunch times were the best when Caroline and I would join a group of about 8 different grads who were also working at the Institute. Our lunch time conversations included ongoing debates about American TV shows, varying cuisine and deciding what color dress Jose would wear to the party that the program held to welcome the beginning of summer. The party was held on the Thursday of our first week and included a performance by full scale choir and food to last for years. Caroline and I typically left work every day around 2:30, catching the bus back to the city and then the train home or to meet up with the rest of the group. 

The Host Moms: María

Though we were all divided into three different homes, the GCIP Madrid girls all, coincidentally, had host mothers named Maria. "Our" Maria explained to us that the name was insanely common during her generation and bears the identity of practically half of the women over 50 in Madrid. Caroline and I who stayed with the one and only Maria Alonso resided on Calle de Don Ramón de la Cruz in an apartment building that was perfectly located next to a multitude of shopping stores, restaurants and train stations. Throwing it back to freshman year, Caro and I roomed together in one of the two rooms available in Maria’s home. Staying in the other room was a pair of boys from Ohio who were also participating in an immersion program. The two were part of a six week trip and would be returning to the US after our first week in Madrid. Our host brothers made the transition to Spain significantly easier as they educated us on the lingo, slang and even the profanity of the Madrideños. Immediately after the two boys left, we were introduced to two new host siblings from Troy University in Alabama. Not too long after they left, we finished the trip with two different host sisters from Florida who stayed for a few days before we departed.    The only constant in the household was the loving and affection Maria Alonso, our host mom. Maria has provided a place to stay for different students in programs all over the world. She was extremely intuitive about diversity and culture through her experience with so many different people with so many different backgrounds.Caroline and I sat with Maria for hours discussing just about anything. Meal times called for serious debates, funny stories and enlightening life lessons. Maria shared not only her home with us, but also her love, knowledge and compassion throughout the entirety of our trip. The majority of the fun things we did, cool places we went, and crazy things we ate were per her recommendation and I can honestly say that the trip wouldn't have been the same without her.

                                                                              

Trabajo en La Universidad Autónoma

Apart from taking in the sights, smells, food, and culture, we also had the incredible opportunity to partake in various internships all over Madrid. Of the three offered (Hotel San Mauro, wibiGoo, and Universidad Autónoma) Dee and I worked at the Instituto de Ciencias Materiales de Madrid (ICMM) where we learned anything ranging from Quantum Physics to Nanoparticles. 

Dee walking to up the front stairs to the. ICMM at La Universidad

Specifically, the lab that we worked in was oriented around machines called STMs (Scanning Tunneling Microscopes) which take advantage of the quantum properties between a point which carries a current and a semiconductor. Thus utilizing the conducive properties of the metal, the STM was able to take a topographic image of this "muestra", a.k.a the metal being observed. Long story short: physics in Spanish=like nothing I've learned before. Ever. 

STM machine with Irene, one of our metors who is from Las Islas Canarias

Here is a topographic image of gold, taken using the STM

A poster of some of the work done at the ICMM

During our two EXTREMELY fast weeks at the Autónoma, I can say confidently that I learned. Having never taken a course in physics, let alone material physics, I think you can get a pretty clear idea of my initial reaction... But as time went on, and our mentors (Irene and Rebecc) at the university, currently working on their doctoral theses, helped us to understand what they were doing (keep in mind almost entirely in Spanish), Dee and I were able to follow along and even build upon what we were observing! Not only did we learn an abundance of physics, but it was also a great immersion experience. We ate lunch every day with our post-grad mentors and their friends. This not only was a source of immersion, but also entertainment! Everyone that we met was so friendly and obviously well versed in their area of research; not only that, they were excellent teachers of colloquial sayings and gave us a snippiet of culture! 

As a gift to say thank you to our mentors, in memory of a game trash can paper toss we played one day, Dee and I decided to get them a Little Tykes basketball hoop and ball to keep in the lab for down time. And for our last lunch at work? Paella! 

Looking back now, just two hours off of our last day, I can say that I am immensely grateful, and can't wait to apply what I have learned here to both my Spanish class and as well my Physics class this coming school year! 

(For anyone interested this video, constructed from images of atoms manipulated by STMs, is related to the research conducted at the ICMM--thought the video was created at IBM https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oSCX78-8-q0) 

The Study of Jamon by Bessie

The When talking about Spain, you think of Jamon. During the 3 weeks of the program, we learned about different types of Jamon and ate a lot of them.

Among them, Jamon iberico de Bellota is definitely the best. It tastes s little sweet, and is really good with goat cheese and bread.

Now some pics

Lomo 

Salchichon

Picnic

WibiGoo Internship Experience (Jeeseob Jung)

When I first volunteered for this internship, I was in fact kind of afraid in addition to being super excited. From what I vaguely knew about the company in advance, it was an independent software company that was in partnership with Google, but other than that I knew zip, nada. I wasn't positive about the tasks we would be assigned to do, and I wasn't really into "tech stuff," which was how I classified anything to do with computers or codes.

However, work at WibiGoo was drastically different from what I expected- Annabelle and I were very involved in the company's activities and not at all required to know anything about codes, software, wires, or other technical magic at all. In fact, we were mostly in charge of translations of the company's website, manuals and surveys. Maykel, the founder of WibiGoo and our internship director, taught us about the functions of Google, the cracks and crevices of the Internet and its behind-the-scene dangers, and the purpose of WibiGoo and its software called 'arewedoing. Although I never learned how to code an app or properly work the software, I learned so much about the cyber world and was able to enhance my Spanish through the sufficient amount of translation from Spanish to English (and the other way around) that I did with Annabelle.

(Although this may sound cheesy) I am so grateful to Mrs. DT, Maykel, José Luis (his partner) and the entire GCIP program for allowing me this amazing opportunity. I truly mean it because working at WibiGoo has helped me to open my horizons and grow interest in new things. Perhaps I will never be a software developer or the CEO of Google but i have grown as a person and learned much about the work and cyber world.

Annabelle hard at work :)

Annabelle and I with our WibiGoo internship certificates

'Arewedoing WibiGoo Internship by Annabelle

When someone has a computer malfunction and needs help, I would not have said I am the person to come running, matter of fact, I think I would have been the person running in the opposite direction. Now, I know more about Google than I thought was possible. Some look at Google and get acquainted with their gmail, drive, or maps. There are  infinitely more Applications, tricks, and functions that Google workers, and partners of Google such as WibiGoo, are spending so much time to cleverly plan, craft, and make 100% user friendly. Jeeseob and I were lucky enough to learn about most of these shortcuts, terms, and ultilities by helping to develop a new site called 'Arewedoing. Maykel Cano, who previously worked with Google earlier in his technology career, has created a website that will monitor how a company is doing (hence 'Arewedoing) by being able to transform a company into a virtual version of itself. This means that every database, every contact, every sales action and conclusion is recorded within the site, which is visible and managed by its administrators and partners. The support page, along with the website, of 'Arewedoing exists in both English and Spanish. Jeeseob and I worked to verify the English on this page, translate PowerPoint presentations into English, create surveys in both English and Spanish, and translate documents about the support team into English. 

(thanks for modeling Jeeseob)

Not only did my Spanish vocabulary expand tenfold, but my English vocabulary did as well. We were often given talks, in Spanish of course, about how the site works and how Google functions, but mostly it was being able to test these functions with fake accounts we created and and reading about the different abilities on the support page that familiarized us with this part of the Internet. 

To say the least, we also had the most hard working, enthusiastic, and all around great boss to work for. I wish 'Arewedoing the best of successes as a company in the future. Thanks for the great experience.

AC Hotel Santo Mauro by Bessie

Working on a hotel has always been my dream and I would like to major in tourism in college. So I really appreciate the opportunity provided in GCIP MADRID this summer in AC Hotel Santo Mauro.

When I first visited the hotel, I was amazed by how different it is with all Marriot Hotels I have been to. It is a smaller, but really delicate, and personalized hotel. There are only 49 rooms in the hotel! Lee and I worked in different departments in the hotel in the two weeks.

Firstly, I  got a uniform and a "trainee" tag! I feel like a real worker of the hotel!

Lee and I spent the first two days in the housekeeping department, inspecting. We went to room by room with Sonia (the housekeeping manager) checking the drawers, TVs, and wardrobes so see if clients forgot something or if they are clean. 

Then I spent 3 days in reception, which is my favorite part of the internship. I was so excited when people ask me where the bathroom is and I would show them how to get there. Also, I got to help Miguel (front desk) with typing in the clients' information and pass the clients their tickets and keys.

Later in commercial, I observed the process of preparing an event in the hotel.

The last two days, I worked in the restaurant and administration. I helped with making coffee and room service in the restaurant. And I helped checking the numbers of the invoice.

Garden (in summer clients eat in the garden)

All in all, this is a special experience and I really appreciate the chance working in Santo Mauro.

VOGUE like a painting by Annabelle

I was particularly excited because today we were going to see a new temporary exhibition at the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum right here in Madrid. VOGUE like a painting featured fasion photgraphy, photo photography, and a few outfits from decades both past and present which replicated the scenes made famous by artists such as Zurburan, Hogarth, Dali, and Sargent. For example, a photograph of Girl With a Pearl Earring recreated the painted by Vermeer almost perfectly. We had a blast making the comapirson. 

I felt as though I was floating deep within the pages of a Vogue magazine. Each photograph had its own style that evoke powerful emotions, leaving you feeling awed in multiple different ways. As a photographer I have learned how to appreciate the talent in which the eye looks through the camera's aperture and creates incredible collaborations. I cannot describe the inspiration that I felt with each photo. Each seems to grab you and pull you into its setting and allow you to lose yourself in the present moment. The props and the scenes that the models were placed in glorified the outfits that they were wearing, giving them expressions and movements that I had never seen in real life. There was a photo of a model in a long blue dress that I fell in love with. There was something about the soft colors, the casual position of the model, and the simplistic fall of the dress that was calm and really appealing. There were many other paintings tha awed me, but this was my favorite.

The exibition was populated with works that left the gcip Madrid group with their mouths gaping open, just as mine was. It was definitely one of the many highlights of the trip.

Eat, Live, Laugh, then Eat Some More (Jeeseob Jung)

Looking back on this trip, I'm not going to lie- the best part of this trip was probably our ability to eat all the time (I am not kidding when I say we ate pre-lunches, pre-dinners, pre-snacks even) and not feel guilty about it.

Okay, maybe a little guilty. I had seen the rose-shaped artisan gelato come everywhere all over Instagram and I finally had a chance to try it for myself. Needless to say, it was as good as ice cream always is.

Paella was also possibly one of my favorite dishes. Ms. DT took us to a paella restaurant with beautiful hand-painted murals all over the walls and finally tried paella with calamari, chicken, and other ingredients of goodness.

I know. Beauty. Caroline also took us to a restaurant she had eaten at in the past, and they had paella to die for as well:

Our ultimate go-to restaurant was called The Rollerie. Honestly we weren't 100% sure if it was a Spanish chain or not, but whether it was or wasn't, the food was delicious and did not taste like anything I'd had before. Being typical tourists, we just HAD to have brunch, and after our first we just had to go back for more- not once, but twice more (and we may be back this last Saturday for more).

And yes, I did have cake for breakfast. Don't judge.

And sadly, we demolished everything every time. Can you see regret in my face?

Another miracle we discovered in Spain: MAZAPAN!!! A pastry made from almond butter, mazapan tastes sweet but not too sweet with a nice grainy but soft texture. We all tried the traditional kind with some honeylike paste in it, but there were others shaped like fruits and even one the size of a child in the shape of a house!

More food pics:

(Fried cheese with caramelized onions: it's way better than it sounds)

Can't forget polos!! Otherwise known as Popsicles. I had the plum&yoghurt while the one on the right (Annabelle's) is grapefruit&lime

Jamón, one of the greatest parts of Madrid in general. A must when you come to Europe!!

We are not yet done with our mission to engorge ourselves and find every single kind of Spanish food possible. However, I think you can see that we are pretty much close to being done.

Hotel Santo Mauro by Lee

After a learning-filled two weeks working at the Hotel Santo Mauro I have a new appreciation for hotels. Throughout the internship my time was divided so I could see each part of how the hotel works, and it has been an eye opening experience. With 2 days in housekeeping, 3 days in commercial (booking and reservations), 3 days in reception, and 1 day in accounting (I'll be going to the restaurant tomorrow), I have truly been able to see the detail that every employee of a hotel must pay attention to in order to ensure the happiness of the customer. In our first two days we shadowed the manager of housekeeping and I was amazed at what must happen just to make sure a room is ready for a client. We had to check every surface and drawer for dust, ever cup for the smallest smudge, the pillows to see that they were properly fluffed and aligned, and so many more minute details you wouldn't believe it. In commercial I helped in creating invoices for clients, scheduling events, making memos for each department of the hotel in order to prepare for these events

, checking before an event to ensure  the venue is in order, and finally greeting people and leading them to their meetings or dinners. My next three days were spent in reception where I greeted and directed people, made customer profiles, printed out the much needed wifi (pronounced "weefee"), and even got the pleasure of assisting some of the VIP guests. Today, my day of accounting, was filled with going over receipts and bills from the hotel and seeing how the finances of such a big hotel work. I have loved learning about all the different departments of the hotel and look forward to the restaurant tomorrow. I have not only improved my Spanish and gained work experience, but have also gained a new appreciation for hotels. 

Madrid for the student/tourist/guiri/art enthusiast/carnivore/traveler/me by Caroline Macaulay

Upon arriving in Madrid, the only thing I knew to expect was a diet with a majority of meat, minority of vegetables, and a steady flow of Fanta Naranja. 

(Fanta Naranja with a view of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum) 

As it would turn out, this presumption was entirely accurate! Not only was there meat but there was solomillo, jamón, cochinillo, chorizo, and if it counts as meat paella mixto (complete with pollo, mariscos, langostinas, and beef - see below) 

Paella mixto, Annabella, and an excited Jeeseobs

Famous cochinillo from the famous cochinillo restaurant in Segovia, one of our weekend day trips

A delectable twist on apple crisp (so basically there was also fruit in our diet too... Somewhere) 

As we ate our way through Madrid, we figured that we should at least see a few things apart from a menu :) So in the interim between meals we went to a lot of the AWESOME sights around Madrid... And of these incredible places my favorite was the Parque de Buen Retiro (and rest assured, we were still able to eat here too, or at least sip on a refreshing lemon granizado). In the park, complete with the Crystal Palace, the rose gardens, rollerbladers, and pond, we spent a lot of fun hours taking advantage of the nice, albeit hot, weather lounging on the grass and rowing about the pond. 

However nice relaxing is, the best part of it all is that we were immersed in a foreign culture embracing what the Madrileños here count as a daily venture. This for me in reality is the definition of this trip-exploring, experiencing, and living and breathing the Madrileños lifestyle... 

As the trip ticks down to the final days, I can't help but look back fondly on all of the meat!! 

.... And also the incredible experiences that this trip has given me! As well, I can't wait to see what the last few days will bring-- with a Flamenco show in store!

Crystal Palace

On a hot Sunday the group ventured to one of our favorite Madrid hangouts- el Parque del Buen Retiro. This massive park includes a lake, peacocks, a rose garden, and the famous Crystal Palace. One of the most well-known parts of the park, the Crystal Palace, is a beautiful glass building sitting on a pond in the middle of the park. Inside the palace there's a tent of tapestries that have been sewn together to block the strong Madrid sun from reaching us and seats for us to rest our tired feet. After taking a sufficient amount of photos we all sat and admired the beauty of palace, soaking up the culture of Madrid. After seeing the palace we took a little nap under the shade of the trees then got granizadas (frozen lemonades) and continued on in our adventures of Madrid.

Bienvenidos!

Welcome to GCIP MADRID 2015!!

GCIP MADRID got off to such a great start that I've been rather lax in posting over the past few weeks! We have a fantastic group of students this year. I have been so impressed by how eager they are to try new things (blood sausage! pig's ear!) and by how independent they have become over the past few weeks. As someone who lived in Madrid for two years, it is an honor to show this city to my students...What's even better is that this has now become their city as well. 

Below, you can see some photos of our adventures thus far.

Carolina and Dee arrive at Barajas Airport. They were not excited at all to be here.

Jamón serrano

Yes and also, yes

Touring the Royal Palace

Who is this out of control child running around the palace? Shame on his parents! 

Estación de Atocha (on our way to Toledo!)

Toledo! A beautiful city of winding cobblestoned streets and 5,000 steps. (Perfect for a baby carriage!)

Thank you, Lee, for getting a photo of me  and Luca where:

a) he is looking at the camera

b) he does not have chocolate all over his face

Caroline serves Jeeseob some paella

El Museo Thyssen 

Fresh juice is a thing here now. As Caroline would say, "so hipster".

Luca is hoping to go to Winter Formal with Lee this year 

Movie night at the DT's includes exactly one kilo of pastries. Please do zoom in on that.

It has been consistently 105 degrees here! 

Stay tuned for some posts from our students!

Mrs DT