Rhythm

My weeks here have now blended into a discernible rhythm. Not everything is so new, and there now is a norm that I can refer back to among the adventures I have here. The Monday through Thursday period is about as mundane as it gets here. My four days of classes are seldom broken up with adventures. Classes still continue to be interesting, but the subject matter is getting more usual for me; I'm not so easily excited about ever Spanish fact I acquire. I sometimes wander around the area around the school after or between my classes, but this usually only amounts to me buying some "fruto secos" which is a phrase that, to the best of my current knowledge, refers to dried fruits, nuts and candy. I'm still clarifying that though. Fruto secos literally means dried fruit, but the people I talk to seem to refer to nuts and candy also as fruto secos. Hrmm. Anyways, as far as I'm concerned it's a food group I can get used to.

Fridays tend to be filled with excursions. If I‚’m not going on a school trip or having a class visit to a museum, I‚’m adventuring with my friends. Mostly the first two, which is great because I get guided visits to all these fascinating places, and the guide, is usually my charismatic funny Spanish teacher, ƒÂ�ngel, who makes everything seem interesting and fun. He tells the most hysterical anecdotes and has a whole series of Spanish(*) mannerisms that are most amusing. (*He tells us they are Spanish hand gestures and the like, but I have yet to see any other Spaniards use them, and I also have him for Spanish class where instead of translating a word using English he acts it out very exaggeratedly so I tend to think they are mostly ƒÂ�nglelisms)

Saturdays are usually spent in similar fashion as Friday, either the return trip from an excursion or a minor excursion in Madrid or Majadahonda something. Majadahonda has a little market on Saturday mornings that is nice. Lovely fruit. Sometimes I go out on a Thursday Friday or Saturday night, usuallyally only one of the three and usually I come back early by Spanish standards, which is to say 1 or 2. I do like to go out at night because it is very much part of the culture, and usually, for me at least, it involves going out and just talking. I‚’m as likely to drink coffee in a bar at 11 at night as I am to have a glass of wine and then just sit back and converse, if I‚’m with Ana, as I am often am, we converse in Spanish and end up making friends with the waiters.

Despite the fun of an adventure and the fabulous picture taking that happens in the earlier part of my weekend, Sundays here are near and dear to my heart. If I go to Madrid it is to go the outdoor market and to walk around. I keep promising to visit museums on Sundays since many of them are free, but I have yet to make it to one. I love the el rastro, the outdoor market. It seems most everything is sold there. There is a plethora of new things such as books, bags, clothes, souvenirs, shoes, DVDs, tools, and everything. Then there is also a section (my favorite) that is old things. There are antique stores who set up outdoor tables and sell their things, and there are piles of old clothes being sold for very cheap. These stalls are set up next to each other and when I was there two ovendorsenders were competing with their prices for used purses. Further on in the used section there are what appear to be only individual household type sales (tag sales), they sell fewer things and of a more unusual assortment.

Last Sunday I explored several of Madrid's many parks. One of the one's I was in was so large and full of plush trees that I nearly forgot
I was in the middle of a bustling city. I felt both deep refreshing solitude and intrinsically connected to the people simply by sharing the same simple pleasure of a walk outside. The sun was shining, everything was green, it was quiet and yet full of life and I had no particular place to be. I just wandered around drinking in nature and relaxing. So nice.

I also love Sundays, el Rastro and the parks for the people, "la gente". Sundays are a day when all the stores are closed and everyone just goes outside. People go for walks with their family, lover, children, dog, alone, whatever. So many people are outside on Sundays, with no apparent place to go, simply being a fuerra (outside) is both the goal and the means of a pleasant afternoon.

PS. Sorry for the gaposis (Harrington-Woodardism) in the posts. What with the past two weeks being midterms, the malfunctioning of picture uploading on blogger and disappearance of my wireless internet in my room, it hasn't happened. but the good news is I'm stored up on stories so I should be posting again soon, knock on wood.