Springtime in Madrid

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Ah, the sights and sounds of Madrid in springtime. Black plastic origami hats on the guardia civil, women in tight pants tucked into high boots, trees blooming, traffic lights chirping, Madrileños either kissing or smoking. Whispers of Don Quijote on the backs of traffic signs. One I saw yesterday: Yo nací libre, y para poder vivir libre escogí la soledad de los campos (I was born free, and in order to be able to live free, I chose the solitude of the countryside).

And it seems like every corner I turn, I see something beautiful. Monuments to everything. Beautiful buildings. Fountains. I had to get over my embarassment at playing the tourist. I finally pulled my camera out and just started snapping. The streets are all named for national heroes, with beautiful but evasive little signs posted on the sides of the old buildings (usually, that is; sometimes there´s no sign at all making it easy for a gringa like me to get lost).

So far I´ve spent my days roaming the streets, orienting myself and giving myself shinsplints and plantar fasciitis. I´m going to have to learn to take the metro, but I just don´t want to miss any of the landscape!

The family I´m living with is very nice to me. They´ve got a large second floor apartment that looks out onto a nice courtyard (un jardín) with a pool. I have a room to myself, but unfortunately (for me) I´m expected to keep it ship-shape, otherwise Regina (housekeeper-slash-nanny-slash-cook) will scold me.

Apparently my job on the weekdays is as follows: wake up whenever I want, eat a small breakfast - some strange sweet milk that comes in a funny box and a galleta (not as fancy as it sounds, it´s just a cracker) - then hit the road and do whatever I want until 3. At 3, I can come home for a large lunch (delicious bread, salad and soup, and fish or chicken or meat) or I can fend for myself en la calle. After this, I´ve got time to rest until 4:30, at which time I´m supposed to fix the kids a snack and then walk 10 minutes to pick them up from school (Regina fears they would starve if they had to walk home before they had their snack!). I´m then supposed to work with the kids until 8. I´m supposed to always speak English with them, but they´re a little stubborn about speaking it back to me (I get to speak with the rest of the family in Spanish for MY edification). So far my time with the kids has been a lot of homework supervision (mostly math, and Pedrito thinks I´m making homework time drag on too long by asking him to read the math problems and answers aloud in English), and some playtime. At 9 the family eats, then the kids go to bed, and I am again free to do whatever I want. So far I´ve spent my evenings studying Spanish and writing in my journal, making lists of new words I encountered during the day. I´m a little nervous about going out sola at night (I´ve been informed it´s dangerous), but maybe in a week or two I´ll feel more comfortable.

On the weekends, I have no responsibilities, so here I am at the internet cafe of my dreams, where for €2 I can type my heart out for almost 3 hours. Breakfast was so long ago, I´m already hypoglycemic, but I won´t be able to find a cafe that will serve me until 2:30 or 3. After that, I´ve got my drawing pencils and paper, and I plan to park myself somewhere and sketch the monument of the moment. Tomorrow the Prado is free, so you can guess where I´ll be....

¡Hasta luego!

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Photos

MadridQuijote
One of many Madrid Quijote signs peppering the city. What´s better than a surprise literary moment while you´re strolling?

Madrid abloom
It is definitely springtime here.

Breakfast
Milk and galletas

Mi cuarto
I hope this meets Regina´s approval...

Comments

[Stella]

Culture Shock
Sounds like you are 'diggin' yourself right in there getting acclimated. Perhaps you can stockpile some snacks to get you through to the late lunch! This travelblog is a great way to share your experiences. I will be checking frequently. Viva la American breakfast. I will be looking foreward to comments on the Prado.

[Brandon]

Sola
You would be wise to travel at night in groups. I do recall that being an issue. Same thing as if you were in NYC or parts of LA or San Fran vesus, say, Denver or Seattle. I do not miss the whole no breakfast hypoglycemic crash that happened to me on a daily basis the whole time I was there. I would scrounge around for anything. I wound up keeping some whole wheat biscuits in my room that I picked up at the local supermarket. Those usually kept me going until 3PM or whenever I could actually get some food in me. I also had a hard time with the 10PM dinner. If I were to go again, I would eat a susbstantial late meal in hopes that I would not feel so bad by mid morning the next day. Draw and sketch away! Don't forget to go to Figeures for the Dali museum! If you want to see some bike racing, The Veulta isn't until August but I'll bet you could take a weekend trip to The Basque country and see greats like Ivan Mayo in local races.