Catching up

It's been a while since my last post. It seems like every weekend could fill many pages. I'm not taking enough photographs to keep up... so it seems that I'll do what I can and fill ya'll in as I can. The beautiful blonde in my pictures is Laura, who stayed with me for a week. A true kindred spirit, Laura and I giggled our way through the Prado, muscled our way through La Noche en Blanco, and had some tasty eats. It was lovely to have someone to show around. Great Spanish practice and a great way to test my knowledge of the city.

La Noche en Blanco (White Night) is a kind of festival that happens on full moons throughout Europe. Art, music, theater, and performance overtake the city for an entire weekend. We saw some pretty unusual things, but the night itself was lame. The metro was packed to the gills and the streets were increasingly difficult to navigate as the night went on. However, the duckies in the fountains, the flamenco dancer with the appendage on his hat, and the musician playing his crazy brass violin and musical saw were very entertaining.

The planning time is now upon me in full force. It seems all anyone is talking about right now is which flights are cheapest, who is going where with whom, and which three day weekends are most convienient for getting out of Spain. As for me, I'm working on a trip to Italy over New Years, England over Thanksgiving, and possibly some trips within Spain in the meantime. Hopefully I'll be able to book some flights soon.

Last night I was able to talk to a large part of my family over Skype: Mom, Dad, Terry, Amy, Gannon, Mark, and Sarah. Oh, and Jack poked his cute head in too. It was lovely. We beamed at one another without too much to say. I babbled a bit about how different it is in Madrid and then it was over. Sometimes I remember how much I'm really missing by being here. In the scheme of things, I suppose it isn't that much. But seeing their friendly faces made me just a little bit homesick.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures. Oh, and that thing on top of the flamenco man's head is exactly what you think it might be.

Love!

Weekend Sights

Granizo

So I thought the roar of the thunder was loud.... The hail woke Madrid at around 2am this morning. It was as if a dump truck was pouring gravel on the tile roofs. I temporarily forgot that my apartment isn't on the top floor--it sounded as though the hail was falling on my ceiling. The hailstones were the size of small marbles and I was concerned that my window would break. In other parts of the city the hail dented cars. My little fern on my window sill lost fronds and the trees in La Latina all had about two inches worth of chewed up leaves at their feet. Parts of the metro were closed this morning and the trains ran late. Half the school needed emergency coverage. My bus was a full 50 minutes late due to traffic caused by flooding from the rainstorm. You should have heard Paula, our bus monitor, shout into her cellphone explaining the situation in her customary howl. Madrid has hardly any soil to absorb the rainfall and so everything trickles, runs, and gushes along the slick granite sidewalks and paved roads.

Tonight I have a visitor. Laura is a cousin of a former coworker of mine and truly a kindred spirit. Already I've very much enjoyed sharing stories and insights with her. Her adventurous spirit will be a breath of fresh air after my long days at school.

Speaking of which, I had an awesome day today. I finally feel like I might be good at this job someday. Yesterday I seriously doubted that I'd ever enjoy or excel at teaching second grade. Today I had energy, wisdom, and authority. The kids love structure and I finally took the initiative to give them some more guidelines. What a relief! They are so cute, so earnest. They respond so well to positive feedback, it's a joy to help them learn.

Goodnight, my friends. It's time for me to sleep--may no sirens, hail, or thunder wake me.

Relámpago

A never-ending rumble. Like a jet continuously circling La Latina. Flashes of light and the sputter of rain.

It's been going on now for about thirty minutes. Almost constant lightening and thunder above with long forks of lightening illuminating the entire sky. The rumble has quieted but the lightening is no less frequent. The rain pours down, hopefully washing some of the dog residue from the sidewalks.

I don't think I've ever been so close to a thunderstorm for so long. It seems so unnatural to have a thunderstorm in the city and it makes me feel exposed. Nowhere to hide. (Wow! That one was a whopper!) These old buildings are lower than the church spires, and I suppose that's some comfort. Usually I'm not afraid of lightening and thunder, but I suppose it's normal to be more shaken in a new place.

The bolts are getting longer and more intricate. Arching across the sky in dancing patterns. Sirens are wailing across town. Some of the bolts are like shredded steel wool--detatched and erratic. The more intricate the bolts become, the softer the rumble following. Now both are fairly infrequent and I feel that I might be able to get to sleep. The familiar sloshing of cars on wet streets is like a lullaby to my Pacific Northwestern ears. Someone is singing off key down the street and the gutters are still splashing rain. The lightning now a faint spark in the northern sky.

Whew!

Fuego

Well, it happened again. Sirens on my narrow street. Two fire trucks sped up Calle de Toledo and turned onto Calle Aguila where they slowed dramatically to protect the cars parked along my street. One fireman actually hopped out of the truck to flip the rear view mirror sideways so they could pass. Then they got to the building in question, walked briskly to the door and were there for quite a while, long enough to slip out of their jackets and put their oxygen tanks away. I think they had the wrong address because they moved on later with the sirens blowing. Sigh....

Llueve!

I awoke Saturday morning to a strange noise. Confused, I held my breath and listened closely. A chill breeze blew in from the street and brought in a sharp, metallic scent. The white roar increased and spatter joined in, making my room sound like the bathroom. RAIN! I took a moment to watch the thick raindrops spatter and revel in this new phenomenon. My neighbor watered her plants and swept her balcony clean (pictured in previous posting with images of my neighborhood at night). Trash from Friday night's revelry floated in the streams on either side of the street. Rain in Madrid.

Later, walking to the metro, I didn't have to wrinkle my nose once! Usually the smell of the street turns my stomach but the rain temporarily washed the yuck away. Sigh... if only every morning began in such a beautiful fashion.

Thursday was our first day of school. The children are very cute, fortunately. I have a lot to learn. Second grade is very much like babysitting--just keep their attention! Don't give them too much freedom or they'll walk all over you; don't stifle them either! Grrrrrrr! Recess duty and lunch duty are officially humbling. Most of the children have charming accents and names like Vittoria or Guiangualberto. Hey, what's up Guiangualberto? Que pasa? I dunno, it's just always going to be a mouthful. You'd think he'd prefer Guian or Alberto, but no.

I can't say I look forward to tomorrow, the weekend was terribly satisfying. However, for seventy cents I can get a delicious cafe con leche to brighten my morning. Wish me luck!

Love-love.

Saturday on Calle Aguila and Calle de San Francisco