Don't run for the trains

Today was a rough day. I had a lot of errands to run in every corner of the city. Nothing went the way I had planned either. I needed to go make photocopies at work for my classes on Tuesday, but the office was closed when I got there. I had a job interview, and even though they liked me, they weren't hiring non-E.U. citizens. I forgot my water bottle, and was really dehydrated. In total I had spent four hours of my day commuting, and accomplished nothing.
I was in Nuevos Minesterios at the end of my last task of the day, which is just one train stop away from Sol (one of the stations near my apartment). It's only a 3 minute train ride, but the train comes every 10 minutes, so when I saw that the train was in the station while I was still on the escalator, I ran for it. My cheapo shoes had no grip, it was difficult to gain any momentum, I was less than a meter from the door, when BAM the doors slammed shut. The traction of my shoes didn't work any better when trying to stop, and I slid smack into the train, and my leg fell down into the crack between the train and the platform. I tried to get my leg out, knowing that the train would pull away at any moment, but I was stuck. A man grabbed me around my torso, and yanked me, freeing my leg from its trap. A buzzer sounded, and the train doors flew open again. Security officers were running towards me, and the people on the car I had just slammed into were screaming. All I could register were the hands of the man who had helped me around my waist, they were now steadying me so I could stand on my own.
The man who had just helped me, gently put his hand on my back, and guided me onto the train, the man sitting in the seat closest to the door, stood up letting me take a seat. The train felt deafeningly silent. I didn't know which man had helped me, I had forgotten to look at his face, all I had seen were his hands. I said thank you, to everyone around me, I hope the person who helped me knew I meant him as well. When I got to Sol, I exited the train, and headed back to my apartment, I was very dazed, and the walk home felt surreal.
My roommate saw me as I walked in the door, and asked what had happened. I hadn't looked at my leg yet, so I hadn't noticed that two yellow bruises had formed, and a trail of blood was forming down my shin. She's a nurse, so before I could reply, she ran to her room and got the necessary things to clean the scrapes. I was still staring at my leg when she came back, and as I tried to explain what had just happened, I started to cry. My Spanish was useless in my emotional state, and she doesn't speak any English, but she hugged me and patted me on the back. She cleaned my cuts, and gave me a bag of frozen peas to put on my swollen ankle, and I waited for Ben to come home. I sat there not sure what to do all alone in my kitchen staring at my feet, wondering how on earth I still had both shoes...

WhatsApp vs. Line

With smartphones, minutes are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Texting has become a more popular method of communication, and in countries with unlimited data plans (almost everywhere except the U.S.), paying for a texting option has given way to Apps like WhatsApp, and Line.
Both WhatsApp and Line are brilliant ways to text, using only data. So... Which is better?

	WhatsApp	Line
Allows you to text other users using only data	Yes	Yes
Allows you to text international numbers registered by users	Yes	Yes
Free Calls or video Chat (like skype) to other service members	No	Yes
Where is is predominantly used?	Europe	Asia
Price	First year free $0.99 per year after the first	Free… Always! (there are stickers and games you can buy in app, but they are completely optional, and there is no pushy advertising)
Allows you to send videos, and Photos	Yes	Yes
Available on iOS and Droid?	Yes	Yes
Stickers	No	Yes

WhatsApp

With the point of either app being to allow you to text any other user... both are perfect, they do exactly that, and work better than my regular system because they work using my phones internet, rather than my phones service ability (if I have service, I have internet, but sometimes I have internet but no service).
With WhatsApp, the first year is free, but every year after that is $0.99, and there is no calling service. It is the prefered method of communication here in Spain, so you will need to download it if you have a smart phone. It is a fair price for the quailty of the app, and I not had any issues yet with it.

Line

With Line, it is always free, you can call other users. This App was widely used in Japan, and is the more popular texting system in Asia. The icing on the cake is the sticker feature, which I love. Most of Ben and my texts are exclusively stickers, they are a  cute/creepy/amusing... way to communicate with other users.
Bottom line, in Spain you will have to use WhatsApp, in Japan you will have to use Line. I prefer Line because it is always free, and way cuter, but when it comes to functionality, they are both perfect. 

Teatro Kapital

Last night (Saturday) Ben and I went to Teatro Kapital, an 8 story club here in Madrid. This was the most awesome club I have ever been too, including all the ones I went to in Vegas. It's an old theater that has been converted into a club, the old classic feel, combined with thumping music, and amazing

lights is so cool. We happened to go on their birthday, and were treated to an amazing light show, glitter cannons, go-go dancers wearing rhinestone bras and g-strings, and a shower of balloons.
The different floors have different themes, separated by sound proof glass. The main floor is house music, the third is hip hop, one of the floors had Latin music, and the roof top had an open view of the night sky had no music (which was nice if you needed a break).


It was great dancing the night away. One of the girls I went with is an amazing hip hop dancer. She looked so cool in the club, I'm sure it emphasized my absolute lack of dance skills. I really enjoyed the glazed over look other people would get, when they saw her awesome moves, and couldn't take their eyes off her.  I desperately wish I could dance, and have been working really hard at it lately, but I'm fairly certain I am missing whatever gene she has that allows here to move more than two body parts at a time to music.
If you're looking for an awesome club in Madrid, Teatro Kapital is great. There are lots of tourists there, which means you'll here and see lots of English, but it's a great environment, good DJ's, and packed floor.

 

 Ben is now a die hard fan of the club, because they had a giant Star Wars reference....