This week has been so great! School went well; I go to class Monday through Thursday at nine and am done by two. I am really enjoying my classes, but what I really need to do is sit down and really study Spanish! It is hard for me to read so much in English because I feel like with each page my Spanish is getting worse. Que lastima! Wednesday a group of us went to the temple in Madrid and it was amazing! The temple is so beautiful and it was a great experience to do baptisms in Spanish. We met the most amazing woman there, she is currently serving her fourth mission here in Madrid and I had the best time talking with her. She and her husband have served in Argentina, Southern California, Chile, and now Spain- all Spanish speaking and she knew nothing was she was first called to Argentina! I hope to be able to serve as a missionary some day. Monday before History 202 started I found out that President Hinckley had passed away Sunday evening. I could not believe what I heard, my heart hurt all day. I felt so selfish because I should be happy that he is now with his wife whom he missed so much, but I was just so sad that I would not be hearing from him anymore. Even though I do not know him personally, I feel that he knows me and loves me. I know that he was a prophet of God and I am so grateful for all that he has done for the church in his lifetime, especially his zeal for temple work, never ending optimism, and love of learning. The other day as I was walking home from class a couple stopped me and asked me for directions to somewhere I had not heard of. I was so excited that they were asking me for directions because that must mean that I look like I could belong here. Well I did not know what they were looking for, but for some reason a list of directions came out of my mouth, I didn’t want to simply say no sé! Unfortunately this week the wireless network that we had been using here in the apartment became locked. I tried to guess the password, but failed and so now the luxury of having the internet whenever I want no longer exists- que triste. Friday we went to Madrid and visited the Palacio Real. The king still works there and it is only open to the public on certain days. The rooms were so extravagant and massive. I couldn’t help but picture myself in a gorgeous gown entering the royal ball when I was walking down the staircase. The other day Amy and I discovered this park close to our house that has outside exercise machines. They aren’t fancy or anything, the resistance is your body weight, but nonetheless we were quite happy with our find. I went the other day and a man came over and gave me pointers on how to make this one machine a more effective workout. I love the old men here, they are honestly my favorite! Last night we went into Madrid in the evening, we walked through the gardens behind the Royal Palace and also Parque Oeste which was fantastic. The parks here are so beautiful. Then we caught the metro, along with the rest of Spain, to the plaza to watch the parade. This weekend is El Carnaval in Spain and so there are lots of things going on, everyone is in costume and having a good time. The parade was great, from gothic looking people on stilts to older men dressed as cheerleaders; there was so much to see! It seems like the Spanish are always celebrating something and I love it. I got back pretty late, but Ana had just gotten home and Amy as well so we all had dinner together and then watched a movie in Spanish afterwards. Church was especially great today because I understood so much! There were great lessons in Relief Society and Sunday school and then fast and testimony meeting. I bore my testimony, which was very nerve racking because it was my first time ever doing that in Spanish, but I felt the spirit so strong and that gave me comfort. We leave on a week long trip Tuesday morning and I can’t wait!