Saturday stroll

Dear friends and family,
Let it be known that this and the previous entry are out of order.
Yours,
Erica

Last Saturday friends of Angelita came for lunch (delicious paella!!). After eating till we were ready to burst, all of use (except Angelita, who stayed with her granddaughter, Raquel), went for a walk. The sun shined brightly and the scarce cotton-candy clouds only added to the idyllic day. I led the way down the pedestrian path toward the river, carrying a long-sleeve shirt in case I got cold in my t-shirt. About half way there, we came upon a playground, and the mother of a former missionary in Madrid (Debbie), suggested we climb up. We were joking about chin-ups, and I said that perhaps I could do one. I tried...got my chin to the bar, but not over. That started the rest climbing as well, which must have been a spectacle for the man we saw peering out the window at us.

All of us (except Debbie taking photo) including our 80 year old instigator.


The river was beautiful, and we stayed out about 2 hours. I hope to go back sometime soon, when I have time.

Halloween Week

This Monday I began giving English classes to two girls from my small group. I struggled with what to charge them, but ended up deciding on 1/4 of the rate I would charge others. Sara and Tamara told me they would feel bad taking so much of my time without compensating me, so I hope that this compromise will keep both them and me from feeling like we're taking advantage of the other. This week I started with a quiz and questions to get a grasp of their grammatical and vocabulary levels. I gave them each a list of vocabulary for the bedroom, we practiced pronunciation, and we'll go from there. I think it's going to be quite a challenge teaching them, but I'm excited to start planning for next Thursday's class. They really want to work on speaking and listening, so I'll be trying to structure conversations to build upon existing vocabulary.

This week at school we have been doing Halloween activities. For the fourth graders, I ask the teacher to make flashcards with some pictures she had of Halloween vocabulary (ghost, Dracula, skeleton, etc.) and to ask the students to dress up. She gave me a story (in Spanish) to read to the kids. Over the weekend, I bought a sweets and a pumpkin, was given another on Sunday, and translated the Halloween history into English. In class, I began by telling the history of Halloween and showing the pumpkin/ Jack-o-Lantern. Then, I had all the kids go out of the room, shut off the lights, and make them say "trick-or-treat" (and thank-you) before coming in and receiving candy. That was a lot of fun. Then, we played hang-man with the vocabulary. The fourth graders got activities on Monday, while the first graders got to celebrate all week. It was quite a project, but with the kids' help, each class first made paper Jack-o-Lanterns, then helped me make a real one. I cut off the top, and cut the face, but the kids took out the seeds in small groups, decided whether to have a nose, and did other activities with the pumpkin. It was a lot of fun, taking the kids out in groups of 4 to scoop out the seeds. I love it when the kids, even the boys, wrinkle their noses and cry, "Qué asco!" How gross! Tomorrow the last class finishes carving the pumpkin, and then we will "rap" a Halloween poem.

The volunteering at the elementary school La Alameda (with my church) has had it's ups and downs. I had the best day with the kindergarteners Tuesday. They participated in the activities without whining, probably because I told them that we would do these activities (English development) and THEN I had coloring sheets for those that played or participated in the aforementioned activities. Today I found out that this class that I teach is ending this week, so that is a disappointing. I was starting to figure out what to do with the kids, and they were just starting to get used to me. The city is taking over and doing some activities with the little ones that had been long promised. I didn't realize that this young class was just to fill in the gap until the city followed through. The good thing is, it frees me up to lend a hand elsewhere, probably in the classroom (1st-2nd graders) where I am on Wednesdays. It's been pretty rough with these kids, so I'm praying for wisdom for what to say to the kids and how to handle disruptions/discipline. There are many who lack respect for others, bother others, hit, and/or have difficult home lives. We're there to help the kids and to be there for them, and it is not easy. I haven't dealt with kids (or so many at once) with so many behavior problems.

This week in Madrid it has gotten a lot colder. It's been about 35-40 in the morning, and 50 during the day. I've gotten out my winter jacket, and bought a lighter jacket (I got my paycheck!!) for when it isn't quite so cold. Today was clear and cold, but yesterday was rainy and wet all day. Tuesdays aren't good days for it to rain, because if my socks get wet, I don't get home until 9:15 pm. Actually, I had extra socks with me, but I figured with wet shoes, it wouldn't matter much. I was thankful that the mother of my young English students drove me to the train stop.

Tomorrow I leave for Pamplona to visit the Veldts. I'm excited! I'll get back about about 6 pm Sunday evening (which means about 6:45 at home).

Siblings, Cells, and Chili #2

Mom...look, pictures of the apartment at the end of this post! (Oh, and even though it says Monday, it really was posted on Wednesday, October 22)

Friday:
Big/Little Sib Day at ECA. I went and helped out at the school during the morning, and then enjoyed their festivities during the afternoon. There was a cookout and then field day type activities shared between big and little "siblings", paired up by the school. Unfortunately, there were too many brownies, so I was forced to eat two. The second was just as delicious as the first. I enjoyed seeing the kids dressed up like their "sibling" and the camaraderie between the older and younger ones. I put some pictures on the link below so that you can enjoy. I also met the piano teacher for the school, a Korean lady living in Spain. She said she'd help me find a song for the piano to play, and I'm going to play on the school's piano each Friday. I'm very happy for this opportunity to not go a year without making music. As a picture I have says: Music tastes like happy.

At 8:30 this evening, the célula (literally, cell, or our small group) for the older young people at the church began. There are about 9 of us, and three Americans within the group. One is Alba (Dawn) who shares the responsibility of leading the group with another girl (Sara), and the other (Kristen) is an conversation assistant like me. It was wonderful to meet the group. In a small group, I can actually participate some. We made collages, which I enjoyed too much, and planned for the year. We will alternate Bible Studies with movie/dinner/game nights. The only bad part was that after a few hours listening very intently to mostly follow the conversation surrounding me, my brain hurt. Literally. Hopefully I'll get used to concentrating so hard and won't get a headache every time!

Saturday:
I finished planning lessons and activities for the week, bought crayons, and made photocopies at the book/paper store. This afternoon, Angelita's daughter, Maria Ester and granddaughters Raquel, Mar, and Stefani came over for lunch. In the evening, we went to a church in San Fernando (next town over) to see a mime. I liked the way he interpreted Psalm 23 and explained the mime to us.

Sunday, Chili Round 2:
After Sunday school (since the Calderwoods forgot to tell me that they were going to first service and I went to class instead of service), I went to their house to eat lunch. Lynn had invited me along with some of the other single people from their school. Since Becky and I arrived earlier than the rest, which happens when you ride with the host, we made ourselves useful chopping vegetables to munch on. Lynn had made chili and taco soup and a delicious apple crisp. I really enjoyed talking with the others. After everyone left, I stayed and watched "Stranger Than Fiction" with Lynn. I didn't go to youth group, but I feel more rested after this Sunday than I would if I had. Perhaps it was the long stretch in English; perhaps it was the long talk Lynn and I had outside over a cup of tea. They took me home when they picked Andrew up from youth group.

Apartment

School, friends, and chili

Monday:
Fairly routine. Still haven't gotten a white board, so to give written examples I write on a piece of white paper and sticky tack it to the wall or a chair. Works okay.

Tuesday:
Today I got the class terror in my small group. I would say that half of the words out of my mouth were, "No, Carlos" or "Go to the thinking corner, Carlos," or "Dejalo!!" (Leave that/him alone!!). Sometimes Spanish works better to get after the little ones. I was quite proud that I got him to do most of his work (albeit not well). He is constantly playing with his things, not paying attention, messing with the other kids things, talking, and being defiant. In the corner, he laid down on the ground and sang. Hmph. I still, when he is not being naughty, try to give him some positive attention, since he acts out, getting so much negative attention all the time. The teacher I work with says he's manipulative...I'm not sure. He is certainly not well behaved.

On my way to the after-school volunteering, I ran into a young man I had met at church the Sunday before. It was nice to recognize someone on the street (and nice he helped me get off at the right bus stop). It was also my first week with the 4-5 year olds at the school my church does an after-school program. I had no idea that their attention spans were so short! I am bringing many many more activities this time, as well as a coloring sheet, crayons, extra paper, and bilingual stories.

After the hour with the kids, I went back into Madrid to have coffee with a Scottish girl I met at orientation, Aillish. She had a huge list of private English lessons that she had no time to do, which we looked at over tea, spicy chicken empanadas (not Spain Spanish), and a brownie. I took down a few names to call later that were in the same area as my elementary school.

Wednesday:
Normal. Called one of the families who wanted English lessons...teaching two hours (11 year old and then 13 year old) next Tuesday after the after-school program. That will make Tuesday a later night getting home. One family is enough, since I realize that the rest of the free time I have is best kept to study, read, clean, sleep, cook, and make friends.

Thursday:
I cooked chili, applesauce, and cornbread all from scratch! Actually, not completely from scratch. I found chili powder amongst Angelita's spices. Not just any chili powder...chili powder from Kroger's. Yep, Kroger's brand in a Spanish kitchen. She didn't know she had it, which means her daughter must have brought it back from one of their stays in the states. Angelita really liked all the food, which made me happy. Cooking was really relaxing too. Except, of course, when I realized that I didn't have eggs halfway through making the cornbread. Turn off the oven, turn off the burners, grab keys, run to the grocery store, and run back to hope that the preheating oven hasn't completely cooled off. Oof.

English and the Feria Medieval

When I walked into the American school in Camarma with Lynn, I felt like I had transported back to the United States. The school is organized like an American school, and everyone there spoke English (except for the Spanish teachers, which I didn't meet till later). Fridays begin with chapel, and one of Lynn's sons, Andrew, had drawn the straw to help lead singing that week. After chapel, classes started, and while Lynn went up to her sixth graders, I grabbed a research project an elementary teacher, Stephanie, wanted me to do. I involved organizing a time line: putting Bible scenes in chronological order, writing approximate dates on the back for teacher reference, and putting titles on the fronts. I had several bids for my time, including recess duty, but hers was the first! Later that morning, I snuck up to Lynn's class, since they were making chocolate chip cookies as part of a math lesson. Mmmm.

After school, I went with Lynn, her husband Bryan, and their oldest son William to the Medieval Festival in Álcala de Henares, about 10 minutes away by car. All the vendors wore period clothing, sold a variety of crafts and delicious food (though not all period), and there were games and period music as well. I liked seeing the falconer, the man pedaling to make the carousel move, the burro rides, and the old part of town. Álcala is one of the oldest cities in Spain, I believe. It was a roman city that became Visigoth city (it's mentioned in the medieval España book that I'm reading, and that's what it says). I tried a little sandwich called a pincho moruno in which the meat had been grilled and had a sauce that was delicious (paprika, garlic, bay leaf, other secret recipe things), rosquillos de Alcalá (treat the city is known for), and Bryan and Lynn treated me to some of the most wonderful ice cream I have ever had. I was excited about the tea stall...probably a hundred of loose teas to choose from, and so I got some to make at home. I also thought it was interesting seeing things from not just the Spanish medieval culture, but also from the Arab culture, which would have been predominant in Spain at the time.

Saturday I cooked, went back to Alcalá on the way to Camarma to see the festival's demonstrations (blacksmith, clay cooking, metal working, Moroccan tea tent). From Alcalá there is a bus that goes to Camarma that comes every few hours. In Camarma, Becky, a teacher at ECA (the American school), met up with me, and we visited and watched a movie at her apartment for a few hours. I must be becoming popular, because while I was gone, I missed a phone call to go to a movie with some of the young people from the church.

Sunday was one of the united services with the churches in Canillejas and San Fernando, two nearby towns/suburbs. In the afternoon, I couldn't find a ride to the young people's group, so I got the wonderful task of figuring out how to get myself there. I was going to take the bus, then train, then another bus, but I got lucky and someone saw me standing out at the last bus stop and picked me up. Phew. I got a ride home too, which is good because I wasn't sure how to get back to the train station.

So ended my week and weekend. Each day I get a little more comfortable, meet more people, and learn new things. I'll catch you up on my week this weekend or maybe tomorrow.

Crazy kids and "Charlot"

And so ends the second week of work here for me. I am becoming much more comfortable at the school, though, to be honest, I only know the names of 3 of the teachers, and one secretary. It's not that I don't talk to them, I just can't seem to remember the names. I am doing better with the kids, though. Having a class list (and not having 4 different groups of kids) would help a lot. Then I could study. This week, Eusebio (first grade) has been sending me with groups of 6 students to the tutoria (study room?) of the first and second grades (first "cycle") to teach. I enjoy being able to hear every student, elicit more participation from the shy ones, and do more active modeling. I talked to the coordinator, and she is going to see about getting me a blackboard, which would be wonderful. When I try to explain something to the kids, I end up writing on a piece of paper and then holding it up, putting it back down to write again when I need to. It doesn't work very well. The kids are losing their fear a bit, and feel free to giggle when I am silly, though I do not put up with shenanigans, and they don't try much (thankfully). My biggest problem is keeping track of the time. I have had to rush the kids putting their things together and lining up far too often.

Now, to the title of my post. Wednesday, I have begun volunteering at another public school during an after school program held by the church I attend. Thirty-some second graders in a classroom with two adults. It's a little crazy. I'm the helper, but I think that we need more structure (desks, etc.) so that we can play games. Without order, we aren't able to do much at all! I enjoy the kids a lot, though, and hope that I can help. The girl that is in charge of this classroom and there everyday is about my age. I will begin there Tuesdays as well, but with the younger kids, leading some games in English. I'm excited to prepare that this weekend. Duck-duck-goose, London Bridges, act like animals (with pictures), ring-around-the-rosie, red light/green light, sound like fun. Have any more suggestions (3-5 years, some English language use, INDOORS)?

After school today, since I work halfdays, I went to Caixa Forum near the Prado to see a free exhibit there about Charlie Chaplin. They call him "Charlot" here. I've never seen his films, but some of them had me laughing out loud (yes, with lots of other people around). I learned some new words in Spanish too. When I left, there was a young man with an accent asking directions to the metro. I told him, if he'd like, I'd take him (walk) as far as the metro since I was walking past it on the way to the train station. When I later told Angelita what I'd done, she scolded me about talking to strangers and to be careful, not give my phone number out, etc. He turned out to be from Scotland, works for Amnesty International, and is speaking at a conference in Madrid. And, of course I didn't think of giving him my phone number. Point number two, I don't even know my phone number to give it to my friends, let alone a stranger. I just wanted to help out, since I could tell he was foreign, and had no idea where he was, since the metro was really close and on a major street. I've always appreciated when people have done the same for me. It was nice to meet someone new.

Today Lynn, who is connected to the missionary school nearby, came to visit Angelita. She is going to take me to visit there tomorrow, introduce me to the teachers, and take me home at the end of day perhaps. I'm excited to meet more people and see what the school is like! Saturday I want to go to Alcala to their medieval festival, cook lentil soup, and prepare a science lesson. Sunday will be church and the young people's group. Oh, and next Wednesday is my parents' anniversary!! Such fun things to look forward to.

Family Time

This weekend has been full of things to do and company. Friday, Angelita's grandson, Juan Marcos, got married and so her son from Sevilla was in town for the weekend. I got four good Spanish meals this weekend, since Angelita always invites me whenever she has company. Friday her son David, wife, and her daughter, Bárbara, came over for lunch (which lasted until about 5:00 I think). All I remember is that because the meal after the wedding was going to be vegetarian, we had to have shellfish and seafood for lunch. You should have seen me struggling to eat the langostinas (crayfish/shrimp type things). First, you take of the head, then peel off the tail and rest of the hard skin. I felt like a child that needed her food cut up, with Angelita helping me peel some so that I could actually keep up with eating with the others. Later, since everyone went to the wedding, I got to spend the evening alone.

Saturday I went into downtown Torrejón to see the town's festival. The festivities honoring their patron Mary were this week. I got to see a lot of Porsches that they had on display, old photos of Madrid and Torrejon, a band and celebrating people, and enjoyed being in the fiesta atmosphere. About 3 pm David and his family came over to eat again, and then I went with them to a town in the mountains (30 minutes in car), Las Rozas, to go shopping. I told myself that I could spend 20 euros at the most if I found something. Little did I know that it was an outlet mall of VERY expensive stores. Burberry, Levi, Pepe Jeans, etc. I could have bought a cheap t-shirt for what I would spend. But, it was nice to be with people, see all of the 300 euro (marked down) coats, and see the mountains. That evening, David, Angelita's son, took us all to eat costillas (ribs, American grilled style) at a nearby restaurant. We didn't get home till about 12:30 pm. Late! (for me)

Sunday I went to the young people's Sunday school class, which began this week. I think that the class is going to be very good, and I hope to get to know the people that come. After church, we had about 9 people around the table for a lunch of paella, salad, snacks, and fruit. It was soooo good. About 4:45 I was picked up for youth group. Youth group here is for middle schoolers until 35 it seems, as long as you're unmarried. I was not the oldest one there. We played a game in the park, sang worship songs, talked in small groups, and listened to a message. I felt very welcome there, so I will go back next week. It was good for me to be with other people my own age (and younger) and just have fun. Angelita suggested that I felt comfortable because there were other Americans there, but I think that it was something else, since the first ones to greet me were Spanish high schoolers, and I didn't talk with Americans for even close to the majority of the time.

My first day(s) of school

Wednesday was my first day of school, though I had visited once before. I got confused and thought that it started at 9:30 instead of 9:00 since the workshops on Monday and Tuesday had started at 9:30. Luckily, I had tried to build in an extra 30 minutes of travel time since I didn't know exactly how long it would take me, so despite all my nervousness, I was no more than 10 minutes late. Despite the bad start to the morning, the rest of the morning went well. I am an assistant, or one of two resident English "experts". I can suggest activities, but am not in charge of planning things. In the first grade class (teacher: Eusebio), I got to introduce myself and go around the room asking everyone's name and participate/lead their morning chant: "Touch my head, touch my shoulders...and sit down ready to learn." Other than that, I spent most of the time talking to the teacher, learning what kids are immature, which are very mature, what the routines are, why he is doing so and so. I'm not used to his style, in which he sits at the desk most of the time and tells me to do the same. Maybe after the first few weeks of school, he'll loosen up a bit. One can only hope. The fourth grade class was more interesting, because the kids and I actually got to interact. I introduced myself, and took about 20 questions from the class about everything from my favorite food (macaroni and cheese) to my favorite form of transport, which is the vocabulary that they are learning right now. That was my favorite question, since it was so odd. I also got asked what my phone number is from one of the girls, but I declined to give that one out. The 4th grade teacher, Montaña, let me lead the book lesson so that they could hear my English pronunciation. I throughly enjoyed myself. I do have to say that the 4th graders are a LOT noisier than the little ones and that the classroom does not have as much discipline. Even so, I prefer it. I can actually talk to the fourth graders because they understand a much higher level of English. In the future, I will be working with the whole group leading conversation and routine things, as well as doing some lessons or conversation in small groups to help prepare the students for the Trinity language exams, from a university in England.

Besides meeting the teachers and students, I am learning a lot about the Spanish educational system. The schedule for elementary students in my school is divided into 45 minute periods. I'll give my Monday schedule for an example:
9:00-9:45 1B
9:45-10:30 collaboration
10:30-11:00 recreo (recess/breakfast)
11:00-11:45 1A
11:45-12:30 1A
12:30-14:30 Lunch (at home or school)
14:30-15:15 4A
15:15-16:00 4B

As you can see, I have two classes of first grade (A and B) and two fourth grade (A and B). Instead of the students changing classes, the teachers do so. Perhaps because of that the walls within the classrooms are so bare. There are about 25 students in each class. There is another American there as well, serving in the same capacity that I am. However, they used to have 4 assistants, and now have to get used to two. I think it is for this reason that I am split between four groups of students. During recreo, the teachers, for the most part, gather in the cafeteria and eat a snack (a tapa, bread and jam, fruit, and coffee with milk) provided by the school. During lunch, those who live nearby go home for lunch, and I suppose that the others either bring a lunch or buy the school lunch, which costs teachers 5 euros for three courses. I only work Monday afternoons, so I will probably just buy the lunch the first week and see about the rest.

Amy took a picture of me on my first day...can you e-mail it to me? Thanks to her, the tradition of a picture on the first day of school continues! Below, I've posted a picture of the woman I am living with, Angelita, standing in my room's door frame.

The English Invasion

Monday and Tuesday this week I had my "jornadas de formación," that for all the words it takes to say in spanish, I call orientation. Imagine, a few dozen more than 100 English speakers converging on a neighborhood of south Madrid for two days. At lunch time (which they provided, all three courses) we filled more than one local restaurant. I would have thought that I wasn't in Spain for all the English I heard, except that the sessions were held in Spanish. The first day they did the formal welcomes (30 minutes at least) by the government, department of education, and one diplomat from the US and Canada both, welcomed us a million times, and gave out insurance packets. The most interesting part happened after all of the official people left. Magdalena, one of the new people in charge, began to explain the handbook to us, about our rights, tasks, residence cards, etc, two people came in and asked us if we minded if we took the flags out. Less than 5 minutes after the officials left, they took the flags out and put them, I don't know where, but apparently without the official government people we weren't important enough to need them! Oh well, it's not like we needed them anyway. It was nice to meet people and talk about what we were going to be doing and living. Everyone is super jealous when they hear that I'm teaching in the center of Madrid, but then I think they think I'm a little tonto when they hear that I'm living outside of the city. I realize though, that for the money I'm paying, I'm living in a place that is way nicer than what most of the assistants will be living in, and that I have a community of people and countryside. And, I can go into the city whenever I want to visit the art museums.
Okay, back to the official program...the second day was more about pedagogy, which was mostly a review (except some of the stuff pertaining specifically to teaching English as a second language via immersion). For me, it was interesting to hear all of the vocabulary that I had learned in school in Spanish. I also learned that it is more than okay to touch students here, on the shoulder, head, back, and to give kisses. The culture is just more touchy here. Spanish teachers need to be careful coming to the states!

As you can see, Amy had a much more interesting Monday and Tuesday than I did.

Amy's Adventures!!

Monday:

I did all right by myself today. I was turned around when I got off the train though. In my defense, the station was on the edge of my map. First, I went inside the Basilica de San Isidro. He is the patron saint of Madrid. They were in the middle of one of several daily Catholic services so I sat on the back row until they finished. Not many worshippers were there. I had no clue what was being said so I just prayed a lot of the time. After the service, I quietly walked around the sides since some worshippers were still sitting in the pews. Second, I went to the Royal Palace, which was magnificent so I bought a book to remember what it looked like on the inside and what I had learned from the audio guide. It is a little like the White House with its color-themed rooms and dishes room, but not really. It is in the Baroque and Rococo styles. One room had porcelain walls and ceiling. The Royal Pharmacy had several hundred jars for drugs to keep the Royal Family and their employees in good health. The Royal Armory had both protective and festive metal suits worn by both people and horses through the ages. It was very interesting to see items over 500 years old. The audio guide was good except in the armory where it went into way too much detail.

Tuesday:

Temple of Debod - This temple was dismantled in the Nile and reassembled here because it would have been flooded by the Aswan dam, which Spain helped Egypt build (remember they are practically neighbors). I enjoyed the scenes carved on the stone walls.

Plaza of Spain – I took pictures of the Don Quixote, Sancho, and Cervantes statues.

Museum – I found something nearby that was free. I learned about May 2, 1808 when Napoleon and the French invaded Spain and put Jose Bonaparte on the Spanish throne. There was a sound-only presentation that was interesting. Also on exhibit were some clothes and household items from the different classes of people in the Madrid area around that time. Another part of the museum complex was for contemporary art, which had everything from the insightful to the bizarre.

Royal Palace park – I enjoyed walking through the park and taking pictures of the fountains and the peacock that was roaming free.

Goya’s tomb – He is buried in a building beneath a dome that he painted with sponges. There are magnifying mirrors placed strategically so that you do not have to look up at the dome to see it if you don’t want to.

Wednesday:

Today I went to the Prado, the biggest, most renowned art museum in Madrid. I am not a fan of Caravaggio or Rubens who do the chubby, naked people style for lack of a better description. Greco is ok because his style is so different. Mengs painted the Royal Family and was mentioned several times during the Royal Palace tour. The two really famous paintings I recognized were Velazquez’s Las Meninas (ladies in waiting – these young women attend to the little princess) and Goya’s The Third of May in Madrid (referring to 1808 – see Tuesday for what happened that year). Bosco’s The Garden of Earthly Delights was another really famous painting there. Goya had several paintings there: regular, from his dark period, and “cartoons” that are bright colored happy themes on which several tapestries are based. A few painters were in the museum to paint the masterpieces on their own. The museum had a few sculptures. My favorite part was the Treasure of the Dauphin (http://www.museodelprado.es/en/ingles/collection/artes-decorativas/tesoro-del-delfin/). I can’t believe it has been 3 weeks! I am ready to go home. Hopefully, my flights will go smoothly this time. A big thanks to Erica for inviting me!!!

Amy's Adventures!!

Sunday

This morning the two of us went down to the most famous flea market in Spain, el Rastro. It is held on Ribera de Curtidos (mostly), where slaughtered animals used to be dragged (hence, “el rastro” or stain, streak). We saw all types of things: antiques, cheap clothes and shoes (Amy bought some very cute brown shoes), scarves (I bought a Indian style scarf), CDs, leather belts and bags, art, tourist souvenirs, lace table clothes, quilted wall hangings, and pretty much anything else you can think of. The narrow streets, made even more so by the venders’ stalls, were fill with more people than should have fit. Because of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, we had to push our way through most of the time. It’s part of the fun! In all, we spent two hours in the market and didn’t walk through the whole thing. Of course, some stalls were more interesting or worthwhile than others. For lunch, we left the crowd and found a clean looking place that had pasta and hamburgers. Our hamburgers were very good.

After lunch we headed via metro to the Las Ventas bull ring, picked up our tickets at the automatic dispenser, and found an ice cream shop in which to relax. It was really good hard serve ice cream…mmmm. I think we pushed the limit on how long one can stay in an ice cream parlor (45 minutes), but at least they weren’t busy except for some American foreign exchange students in Madrid for the weekend.

We had bought the second to cheapest tickets offered to the novillada (younger bulls, apprentice matadors), which put us in the second to bottom tier of seats, which was as close as we would have wanted to be. In the photo album, I organized the Amy’s photos from beginning to end of the event. First, all the participants paraded out accompanied by the pep band of the bull fighting world to salute the presiding dignitary. Then, a man in the center (not pictured) twirls a sign in the center of the ring advertising the bull’s number, and other facts. Each part of the corrida is signaled by trumpet sound. The first part that the bull actually acts in begins when he is let to circle the ring, guided to charge by the matador and banderilleras with their magenta capes. This helps the matador know what the bull is like. Then, the picadores come out on their heavily padded horses and stab the bull in the neck to make it bleed, weakening the bull. After they manage to detangle the bull from the horse, the banderilleras come out and jab ornamented spurs into the bull’s shoulder/neck. The guy behind us liked it best when one of the banderilleras managed to get his to hang from both sides of the bull. Third, the matador comes out and makes the bull charge his red cape, doing special “passes” and getting lots of cheers and ole’s before eventually stabbing a sword into the bull’s neck. Then someone stabs the bull in the spinal cord to kill it instantly, so it stops suffering. Last, the dead bull is dragged around the ring and out by a team of mules. All of these parts should be in the photos. It was pretty gruesome, I must say, though not as gruesome as I thought, and neither of us wants to go again. It is considered an art, not a sport. The worst part was when the 19 year-old matador from Colombia was charged by the bull (he was being too daring, according to the man behind me, yelling at him) and thrown, which put him in the hospital. I think he’s okay, because if he had died, it would be in the news and he wouldn’t have been standing (albeit supported) afterward before they carried him out.

Novillada de Ocho Naciones (aka bullfight)