The snow in Spain falls mostly on the plain.

My last day of vacation I spent working, planning lessons at a friend's house. I surprised myself at how focused I was, knowing that the next day, three weeks of little responsibility were ending. It was great to get a head start on lessons, since it sometimes seems to pile up. Before I headed home, we took the telescope out to a soccer field to see the stars. The frozen ground crunched under our feet as we trudged up the hill to the flat field. We did manage to see what we set out for, but at the cost of numb and stinging fingers and feet, and several frostbitten toes that crept away to search for a warmer place while we weren't looking. Perhaps we'll try again when it's a bit warmer.

Friday it snowed! As I walked down the stairs to catch the bus, I stopped on the second floor landing, as usual, to look out the window. As of 9:30 AM, the ground was already covered with snow, and huge white puffy flakes were floating down steadily from the clouds. Jumping with joy, I ran upstairs to change my shoes, grab a scarf for my head, and then ran down the stairs again. It was the talk of the city the entire weekend. Snow. In Madrid. And inches (or centimeters, I suppose, even though they're teensy tiny). Paqui, the mother of two of my private students, told me that it hasn't snowed this much in Madrid in 100 years. I could scarcely get Sergio to concentrate during his class, his eyes diverting to the window, looking longingly at the snow every 30 seconds. Upon arriving in Torrejón, I learned about the complications that arise in Madrid when it snows. Because it NEVER snows, or at least never lasts more than a half day, the city is not prepared to deal with the wet stuff. The trains were super full, since the buses from Madrid to all the surrounding towns weren't running. The buses in town weren't running either. I was lucky to get a ride home from the train station, but otherwise, I would have had a 30-minute walk (on a good day) in the snow. Some highways were blocked off because the cars already on could neither go forward nor exit due to the traffic and slick roads.

In the evening, I called my friend Tamy, and we took advantage of the weather to have a snowball fight, make snow angels, make a snowbunny (see photo), and then drink hot apple cider. I sledded down the hill in the park on a piece of cardboard we found, feeling exactly like a little kid. Besides sledding on purpose, we also both fell down the hill during our many vane efforts to climb the slick slope. The next day we could finally use the highways, so Tamy and I went up to Guadalajara to meet some friends and play in the snow there. Snowballs in the face. Ouch. But so much fun! I think Spain loves me. Snow in Madrid, not just in the mountains, just for me.

Snow Days!