Words of Wisdom for the Morning

So if you want to dry your hair with an american hairdryer after you shower, and it has a switch on it to switch the voltage but you can't get the switch to work, don't assume that means it's okay to use it in another country! Almost burnt down my room this morning. The hairdryer came on with way more force than any hairdryer should, started smoking profusely, and now doesn't work...I think I fried it literally!
Anywho, good morning from Spain. Here's a bit of what I've been up to.
My first day I just wandered around the neighborhood and took photos and the like. I'll post some here soon but they are pretty much all on facebook although I haven't had time to tag or put captions on yet.
Then Tuesday Ariel (the other girl staying in the house with me :D) braved figuring out how to go on the Metro without asking anyone first (we were proud of ourselves) and went to Parque de Retiro. It's this absolutely gigantic park near the center of Madrid and is gorgeous. I can't wait to go back a little later in the Spring when everything is in bloom. We went when it was upper 40s and my host mom was like oh but it's so cold out you should go when it's warmer lol. She's 73 and really sweet but also a your stereotypical Grandmother. She just knocked on my door, noticed I was barefoot, and told it was cold and I need to put something on my feet.
The first day of school, or rather the orientation, was a bit of a mess. I overslept because I set the time on my alarm clock off by twelve hours and got hardly any sleep because after two days the jetlag decided to set in when I had a placement exam at 9am. That led to really screwing up the language exam to the point that I ended up in the Spanish class for students some of which only started learning Spanish last semester. But after spending about four hours going from one person to the next I think I am getting switched into a higher class and then everything in theory will be fine with my schedule.
Tonight we're planning on going to the opening parade for Carnaval and I'm super excited :D. Expect pictures to follow...then again it's me we're talking about always expect photos or something is wrong hehe.
Oh and for those who are curious a cultural difference or two I've noticed so far. For one they don't seem to refrigerate meat much unless it's going to not be eaten for over a day. For example, I didn't finish all of a chicken breast with lunch yesterday and asked to save it for dinner. My host Mom left it on the plate and just put it in the microwave for later. And she makes me a little sandwich with ham or turkey to take with in the mornings but she makes it the day before and leaves it out over night. This is different for me to get used to. Also, doors seem to open the opposite here than in the U.S. You have to pull them to open instead of push a lot of times and that led to some funny moments the first couple of days. Anyways, have to get to that meeting to fix my schedule and the like so hasta luego!