13 Jan. 2011
It's thursday but no class until 5:30pm! I could get used to this haha... Went for a long "get-myself-oriented" run but that became a "get-myself-lost" run because I was completely turned around and didn't realize that the maps posted in the streets do not correspond to the orientation of the viewer. Nevertheless, it was a good run, and I saw all kinds of things and people in the streets (did not make it to the famous Parque de Buen Retiro which was my destination, but I found a bunch of other parks and green spaces and schools -- and also a few garbage dumps and giant cemetery). Returned to mi casa by noon, and then went out to get a mobile telephone! I have a plan with "Movistar" -- in Spanish, of course, this sounds like "Movie Star" -- how glamorous! Unfortunately, the first time I tried to buy the phone, I didn't have my passport with me and thus was not allowed to make the purchase. So I had to go back, get all my proper documentation and return. Luckily the lady was nice. I didn't know exactly what I should get and I couldn't fully understand her, but I knew the price it should be and I wanted a flip phone that could text -- so far it's been working well. La comida at home, then off to the metro for class. I like my Spanish class -- it seems like it will be fun and very much integrated with the cultural life of Madrid. We went down to the library to get library cards and talked a bit about future projects, conversations with Spanish students, etc. After, went on a walk through the neighborhood surrounding the Institute with Alycia, bought my Spanish text from the fotocopia store (copyright laws here are really flexible apparently, so my books were so cheap) and then returned home for la cena with Consuelo and her grandson Sebastian, a first-year univerrsity student studying law. Consuelo talks about everything from global warming to Spanish shoppers, Chinese immigrants in Madrid, abortions, Franco, how lots of Spaniards actually don't like flamenco -- I often don't understand how one conversation topic devolves into another!
14 Jan. 2011
Went on a run through El Parque de Buen Retiro this time-- I actually found it! I love watching all the people in the park. And right behind it are all the big Madrid museums -- El Prado, La Sofia Reina and the Thyssen My group went to the Prado Museo -- it is spectacular!! My group talked specifically about Ribera (composition of diagonals, use of light, depictions of the backs of people, using fishermen as models, etc.) El Greco (long, stretched out figures, his color palette, paintings divided pretty distinctly between ground and sky), Velasquez (Las Meninas -- painted in such a way that the viewer appears to be standing in the place of the king and queen! -- prominently features the artist himself) and Goya (his painting of the Royal Family got him expelled from the court because he included one of the king's illegitimate children in the painting and he depicted the queen without a face!). I also went downstairs to view the Pinturas Negras of Goya -- very dark, lots of deformed faces and disturbing subjects. I really liked one painting of a dog staring up into space. Very enigmatic and oddly calming, especially in comparison to the other paintings of that period in Goya's life... I also went to see the paintings of Durer. Adam and Eve (they appear to be dancing, their bodies complement each other so perfectly yet the composition still seems intriguing and lively). I also like the self-portraits by Durer -- he depicts himself as a gentlemen of high status, wearing gloves to cover his "workman" hands. He was passionate about elevating the status of painters such as himself -- he insisted that painters were artists, not mere craftsmen. So much to learn from the Prado! I am looking forward to visiting it frecuentemente con mi clase de "Las mujeres en las artes."
Español clase in the afternoon and afterwards, a little bit of shopping with Annie on Gran Vía, recharging our phones, etc. Dinner with Consuelo, and un poco rest before la noche. Didn't go out until almost 1am, but met the girls in Sol. Went to the bar El Tigre for vino y tapas gratis y afterwards, la discoteca "Moondance" for Adam's birthday. It's a little difficult to go out with such a big group of us (close to 20 people, I think) but we all made it in and danced until 6:00am! Exhausting but the place was packed with people the whole night/morning. I was all ready to go and get on the first metro (which starts running again at 6am) but decided to join the group for Chocolate con churros at the famous San Gines -- which is open all night long. The churros were very crunchy and fresh -- definitely a different breed than the the sugar-coated ones you normally find in the US. Finally arrived home at 7:30am (I believe I was awake for a total of 23 hours and 45 minutes! A personal record, for sure.) My bed was wonderful.
15 Jan. 2011
Woke up at noon. Haha! Consuelo has a cleaning lady come in on Saturdays, so I woke up to them talking (and gossiping about someone's boyfriend, I think.) After my (very late) breakfast, I went to Arguelles to buy a book for my Spanish class. It's by a major shopping street, so there were lots of people out. Saturday seems to be a day for shopping -- ir de compras-- because Consuelo also did her grocery shopping this afternoon. When I returned home, had my lunch at 3pm (lentil soup, omelette and flan) and felt exhausted, unsurprisingly, and so did some reading and napped and then went out for a walk through Salamanca -- a ritzy neighborhood just north of mi casa. There were even more shoppers out on the main street (which featured stores like Prada...) , this time though, all were clad in designer labels, even the little babies and toddlers were well-dressed. I enjoy just watching the Madrileños as they stroll and sip café. Returned home to watch some noticias on the tv and do some Spanish homework. Then we had la cena -- ensalada y pescado y una manzana -- around 10pm and I rested again for a bit. At 11, went out to meet Eliana and Alex in Sol. We meandered through La Latina district -- which had exploded with people in the bars -- and found a relatively less-crowded one near Tirsa de Molina. Split a bottle of wine with olives and practiced our Spanish for a couple of hours, psychoanalyzing Stanford students and sharing news about our host family life. We all agreed we felt like "almas viejas" because none of us could really handle the "going-out-until-6am" routine that most estudiantes extranjeros follow when they come to Madrid. But all three of us admitted we preferred the more relaxed, conversation-filled evening, and I really enjoyed getting to know Eliana and Alex better. Alex shared stories about how the 90-yr-old mother of his host mother was recounting to him how her husband proposed to her by singing to her balcony; Eliana could recommend a bunch of places throughout the north and eastern parts of Spain to visit (she was here in Madrid last quarter too) -- sounds like the Bilbao Guggenheim museum is amazing, there's a cool wine culture museum in Briones, and I'm really excited to go to Barcelona! Of course, we lost track of time for a bit, but still managed to catch the last metro home! I was proud of myself for getting to bed so early (2am!) so I could get a full night's rest. This horario español has dramatically altered my sense of time :)
16 Jan. 2011
Went to El Rastro -- giant flea market, market of all types -- with Britanny and her housemate John. Legend goes, El Rastro got it's name because, back in the day, vendors selling meat or leather would drag recently-slaughtered animals up the hill to the market. The blood from the dead animals left a trail down the hill and into the river. "Rastro" means "trail" in Spanish -- so the market literally is named after this trail of animal blood. Today, this market is held every Sunday and holidays -- it's open air and since it was such a nice day, every street of the market (and yes, there are multiple streets and there must be hundreds of vendors!) was absolutely packed with people. I bought a scarf with leopard print on it (now I can officially say I'm living in Madrid, haha) in the Rastro and some little boots at one of the many shops with "Rebajas" (sales -- they are only legally allowed twice a year: after the New Year and in the summer time). Walked through El Retiro to marvel at all the cute couples out in the sunshine in rowboats. Also got a t-shirt from the rebajas in the store Custo-Barcelona on Gran Vía--everything in that store is extremely colorful! It was fun to just browse. Decided to walk to the Mercado de San Miguel and sample some frozen yogurt, then walked home (discovered there is a very direct route between my house and Puerta del Sol -- very convenient, and it passes by the famous Banco de Espana, which was gloriously lit at night!). Also passed by Eliana on the way -- amazing how this city is so huge but I invariably see people I know in the streets. In Spanish, we recounted our days and made tentative plans for traveling to Sevilla and Morocco. Home for la cena, and then un poco tarea and bedtime by midnight.
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