Christmas in Spain

Ah... the lights are up, the marzapan in baking, the chestnuts are roasting and the nativity scenes are full of people taking a shit. Yes, it is true. Almost every nativity scene has a character taking a dump. Why, I don't know. I've included a link to a wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caganer. Also, one of the the greatest Christmas traditions of the Catalan (the area around Barcelona) people is to have their children beat an over-sized of St. Nick-like log with sticks until-- you guessed it-- it craps. Turns out that Spanish is rife with potty vocabulary. There is a specific and socially acceptable verb to describe the process of getting ready to take a dump. It's sort of like us alluding to our morning coffee but much more blunt. Why? Well one has to live here to understand....

SEASONS GREETINGS!!!
POOP WELL IN THE NEW YEAR!!!

A General Update

I know I have been a bit lazy and have not written in Don Quixote for a while. For this I am sorry. Well, I am still alive here in Spain and everything is going swimmingly. I've made a lot of new Spanish friends and can, usually, converse with them well in Español. Jorge and Robin are doing good as well. I've been keeping busy with my school and private classes.

As of late, I've really been missing American food. Spanish supermarkets just don't have a variety of foods, regardless of size. You can forget about finding anything international. All that changed as I have discovered an American food store right here in Madrid. It was refreshing to buy pickle relish and Bisquick. I took Rafa with me and he was appalled with the concept of Pam. Regardless of Spanish ideas of food, I'm happy that I can have a little piece of home.

Well, that's all for now folks!! Keep posted..

Holy Toledo!

Rafa and I spent the weekend in Toledo, a jewel of city a little south of Madrid. Situated on a hill with steep cliffs, the city has retained it's medieval charm. We had a tough time walking because the city itself is very hilly, but the views were worth it. But enough words- I've included a slide show with pictures.

As for other news, all is well. My Spanish is still slowly improving. In fact, I spent 95% of this weekend "in Spanish" and I didn't have a monstrous headache. My classes are going good and I'm enjoying the students.

The weekend so far...

Weekends are always a good time and this one is no exception. Dinner with Rafa was great on Thursday night. We went to a Gallician place and ate fried pork ears (yeah, I don't recommend). After that, Rafa took me to a really neat Tiki bar where we drank a "Mona Loa."

Last night, I went to an Irish pub with all my academy friends. Jorge came along as well. No, my life here isn't an endless party. The weekdays are pretty quiet-- that whole work thing.

Temple of Debod

My friend Lyndsey and I visited the Temple of Debod in downtown Madrid. It was a gift from Egypt as Spain helped save artifacts when the Aswan High Damn was built. For more info see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Debod

As for other news, all my classes are going well. I'm really enjoying teaching over. No Child Left Behind can kiss my ass! I also have a date tonight with a really great guy. We've been seeing each other for a few weeks now. I'm taking him to a Gallician restaurant.

House Party!

We had our house warming party last night and it was a huge success. We had lots of food and drink and lots of people to go along with it. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures. At one point, there were 50 people in our house. I wish all my American friends were there as well.

What a weekend...

Well folks, fall has arrived in Madrid and the antics continue. I went out (of course) this weekend . On Friday I went with Jorge to a dance club and was there until about 5 a.m. Upon leaving the club, I decided to join some of my friends in Puerta del Sol. Of course, my inebriated ass fell in spectacular style in front of them and the whole of Spain(it involved a corkscrew maneuver). However, I was fine if a little-or a lot- wet.

On Saturday, I hung out with some friends in Plaza de Chueca where these images were taken. We slummed it and drank forties and box wine on the street. I then joined Jorge for some more club action. All in all it was a great weekend and this city is made to have a good time. People are always on the streets and there is always something to see.

Now, I wonder why my kidneys hurt...

Time equals wine x Plaza Mayor

This video was made while a friend and I enjoyed a glass of wine in Plaza Mayor.

A Day in the City

Robin (my room mate) and I spent the day walking around the city. I took a short movie in front of the Royal Palace and put it on here to share... and no, I did not add in the music. A guy was playing the accordion.

An Autumn Update

Well folks, I've been in the Kingdom of Spain for a month now and so far far so good. I finished my TEFL course this week and will begin working next Tuesday. I'm looking forward to getting into the swing of things. I'll also start Spanish lessons soon. This week though, I'm taking it easy. All that means is I simply don't think twice about going out with my friends. This country knows how to party!

Space of Sound

My room mates and I went to Space of Sound, one of the big clubs in Madrid, last week. They were having their official "Welcome Back to Madrid" party on Sunday afternoon. The reason it was a welcome back party was because everyone leaves for vacation on August. DJ Sasha (of Athens fame for those in the know) was the lead DJ. Tons-o-fun and a ton of hot guys ensued...

La Salida de la Luna

I captured the moon rising over the rooftops from my terrace. It was beautiful! Click on the picture for a larger version.

My School

I trekked to my school yesterday in order to introducer myself to the staff. They were all very nice and seemed excited that I was there. The school is a bout an hour and a half by bus from my house, but there is a teacher that lives in Madrid and commutes. I might be able to ride with her, which would be awesome. I also will only have t go three days a week. As far as the village goes, it is really nice. It's in the foot hills of the Sierra Madrid. The mountains and the vegetation are very similar to Marfa's. I have included a picture. So, that's all for now!

An Update :)

It's been almost a wee since my last update and things are still going great. We decided to get a room mate after all as the traveller business is full of flakes. One of the people from my academy moved in. We are all living harmoniously at this point As far as Madrid goes, I've slowly been exploring some of the city, but am in no rush. I've noticed some of the other Americans are going hog-wild as tourists. I suppose this is because they have never been to the city before. The apartment is almost up to snuff and I promise to have pictures soon!

On a side note, Jorge and I went out last night and had a good time. We went to a club called "Spank." Apparently, for linguistic reasons, Spaniards are incapable of saying the letter S when it is followed by a consonant. The MUST add an E in front of the S. Therefore, "Spank" is pronounced "Espank." That's all well and good EXCEPT that if I say it the correct way, they cannot understand me. This is true for all English words. Unless I Spanishsize them, they have NO CLUE. As a native speaker, this is a very difficult task, so I often just give up and spell an English word using the Spanish alphabet. It sickens me to do this, but I must. I believe the problem lies in the media. Subtitles do not exist in Spain, unlike other countries. Everything is dubbed into Spanish so the Spaniards have no contact with English.

My Linguistic Epiphany

I finally figured out how to use the the imperfect subjunctive in Spanish. This allows me to say things like "If I were not hungover, I would have cleaned the house." It's also a conceptual springboard to using some of the more bizarre tenses. I am really excited (or crazy)!

w00t it's the weekend

This is the end of my first full week in Spain and I can say it has been great. I have been extremely busy with class and getting the apartment ready, but it is all coming together. Jorge is going to a festival in his old village tonight and I plan to meet my new fiends for some city-style partying.

Jorge and I have decided to put the 3rd bedroom up for rent to travelers. We figure we can make a lot of money and not have a permanent room mate. So-- all my friends have a bedroom!

Yeah! I had fun!

I went out with a friend, Lyndsey, of mine from class last-night. This was after I had a HOT shower :). I finally talked Jorge into asking a neighbor how to use the heater. He was reluctant to do this... but they were really nice and got it to work. Asides aside, we went out to some bars and got really blasted. Of course, we had to ask a tranny prostitute for directions. It was a bit intimidating because he-she-it had her pants unzipped the whole time we spoke. When in doubt, ask a whore-- they always know. After getting to the bars, I do what I do and made a new Brazilian friend.

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY

Lyndsey met me today again at the office where I get my permanent documents as she speaks much better Spanish than I do. In typical Spanish fashion, I was told that I would have to call and make an appointment. No problem, except that the phones are ALWAYS busy. We, however, had our lucky break and noticed the policeman guarding the door was out of cigarettes. We offered to buy him some cigarettes and made some small talk with him. He was very appreciative for the smokes and took down my passport number, etc... and said he would make an appointment for me. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. I suppose I need to keep a pack of cigarettes handy from now on. Or a tranny whore...

1st Day of Class

I spent my first night in the city last night (I was staying in Jorge's village) which as exciting. However, the hot water heater seems to be on the fritz :(. My first day of class was today and it went well. There are mostly women in the class, which surprised me for some reason. I am excited to be functioning in a non-tourist way in a foreign country. However, the language is a bit challenging but I am holding my own. I hung out with some of Jorge's friends and was able to joke around a bit. Of course, my Spanish skills will improve (and already are).

Duck and Cover

Though Jorge denies it was one, we saw a small tornado form outside of IKEA today. It had rotation and a funnel extended to the thunderstorm above us. It only lasted for a few minutes and then dissipated. I felt like I was back in Texas...

Llegue´!!!

I arrived in Madrid this morning after a great flight. I had a whole row to myself and Paul´s sleeping pills did the trick. Jorge was at the airport waiting patiently. We went to see the new apartment and it is massive. I knew that Jorge´s pickiness would pay off. We will be moving in this weekend and I will post pictures soon.

Airport Feva

I hate airports...

Here I go...

Well, after months of preparation I am finally able to say that I am leaving for Spain tomorrow. It has been a long time coming with a lot of balls and luck. However, all is as ready as it will ever be (whether this is a function of time or my preparational skills is debatable). Whatever the situation, time is time and this blog will be a way for myself and my friends to keep track of my adventures in Spain. Hopefully it won't be as foolhardy as the title...