the last month (ok, its been a little more than that) has been one of the best. jam packed with things including visitors (quite the belmont contigent at that), finals (bleh), picnics in the Retiro, fiesta, amigos, la piscina,¨guapisimo, llamame¨(just ask leah sussman...she´ll tell you) , goodbyes (bahhh) etc.
some shining moments:
1. San Isidro: (this was back in may) Madrid really came alive to celebrate the patron saint. dancing in the jardines next to the palace, lots of free music, botellones grandisimos, all around revelry. so glad i was in the city for this one.
2. Rural Andalucia: i went on a field trip with my friend Laura´s geography class to rural Andalucia, near Córdoba. we stayed in a casa rural, which was sweeeet, and met farmers and villagers galore. The prof. was so knowledgeable and would explain the geology, history and agriculture at every look out point. the kids in her class were mainly immature spanish boys which meant catcalls out the back of the bus, a raucous futbol watching dinner in the local pub, and some frogs and bugs thrown during a game of spoons (or Burro, but i taught everyone the spoons part). i highly enjoyed myself.
3. Michael, Allie, Leah, Phong: Hello, B-mont in Madrid! it was wonderful seeing all these friends in the last month. It was surreal when the latter 3 were all here at the same time, and i readily pointed that out. it was nice that we could spend so much time all together, because that hadn´t happened in a longgg time! and i conceeded to go to Kapital with everyone, which turned out to be a typical noche madrileña and did indeed end with churros and chocolate (and a belgian who liked fawlty towers ha).
4. Granada: Ok I lied. that last night ended with a bus ride to Granada! Which turned out to be one of my favorite cities I have visited. There is a lot of Arabic and gypsy influence in Federico Garcia Lorca´s homeland. Lots of teterias (tea shops), guitarists in the streets, strays, and gypsy caves! While the Alhambra artistically blew my mind (impossibly detailed...), the gypsy neighborhood of Sacromonte was mesmerizing for me. Perhaps it was because I have read so much Lorca poetry. The Roma people live in cave-turned homes in the hillsides overlooking a gorgeous valley. Some people have opened their homes as museums, and host zambra (flamenco gitano) music shindigs inside. They are kind of close off from the rest of the society, as I imagine years of persecution have lead to this. We went into the cueva of a renowned flamenco artist, Curro Albaycín, who was there in person. we even saw where he slept. it just all seemed so radically different and mystical to me. i want to know more...
5. Barcelona: My aussie friend Ellie and my Spanish friend Aurora and I took an overnight train to Barcelona on the 20th and stayed until last night. Despite a hostel fiasco (and ridiculous American giris), we had a blast. We went to the beach, explored el Raval and the mercadillos, biked to Sagrada Familia, La pedrera y Parc Guell (only to return again a few hours later), enjoyed free drinks and a funky jazz show in a restaurant in el Raval, and met up with Ellie´s tennis-playing bro and Aurora´s catalan friends. I really enjoyed the city, and am intrigued with the catalan language and identity. Again, want to come back here as well.
the train ride to oviedo was something in and of itself. i watched fireworks pop silently for the fiesta of Sant Joan as we went through Cataluñyan towns in the first part of the trip. i chatted with a Santiago de Compostela pilgrim (beginning to hike part of the trail), an Aragonése family, and a Estrella tren regular. sleeping did not really happen so much, as at 2 am our compartment was cramped as a trio of chatty south americans hopped aboard, and later one more lone traveler came and took the seat previously occupied by my legs. as i awoke this morning, beatiful asturian hillsides and farms greeted me. i had ´slept´through Aragon, Navarra, el Pais vasco, y Cantabria. and landed at almost the other coast of the country, 12 hours later. it was kind of crazy, and i looked kind of crazy with all my random bags and silly sherlock holmes hat, which i have come to love.
last night i said goodbye to aurora and ellie, leaving maya as the only person from this semester who i will see again. ´La despedida´has been hard. i am always searching for closure, and it has been a long, drawn out process ´closing´ my madrileña life bit by bit.
I will definitely visit Madrid again. I have discovered, however, that I need a slightly smaller city to live in if I don´t want to wear myself out (like I was at the end of the semester). My favorite parts of the city that I will miss: my barrio (and parque berlin/prosperidad), la latina, the retiro and malasaña. Things that I will not miss: Sol, going downtown from Colombia, the buho (and falling asleep on it everytime), transporting myself (besides taxis, i never was in a car in madrid! not once! wooo trees).
My friends really made my experience in Madrid. I loved meeting all new people and starting fresh, and in another language at that! it was probably saddest for me saying goodbye to my international friends who I really am not sure when I will see again. while the modern age has made the world a smaller place via the internet, it still is quite sad. Perhaps my savoring the moment lesson from Spain has come in the most handy here. I have met some of the most amazing people from all parts of the world, some even from boston or new york, and I will never forget them.
I got especially emo(tional) when saying goodbye to Marcela, my host mom. She has really become like an aunt to me, or something similar, and has lots of bits of widom and maternal care she is always willing to offer. We had a spirited despedida drink, where we proceeded to split a bottle of the best white wine that she always keeps around the house (its natural! and no hangovers! she proclaims) and share our happiness over our luck with ending up with each other and our unluckiness in romance and our general drunken state led to my showing up 2 hours late for dinner with my friends. (soy una tardona) . i did luck out with my host fam, no doubt. i won´t take that for granted.
i have changed this semester. yes, folks, its true. not sure if its noticeable, but i can tell. i can´t believe how fast it went (it always does). not that it is all over. i still have my farming excursion and then a brief sojourn into Geneva, Switzerland where I am meeting up with my poppa to blog about, but I have a feeling that will come after I am back in the USSA (let me hear your balaikas singing out, come and keep your comrade warm!) .
and since I can´t go on facebook for some reason on this comp: Happy Bday Margot Chalmers, you crazy cat!
un beso grande a los que me han afectado este semestre, y a ellos a que he echado de menos!
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