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.