La Lechera y Otras Cosas

I called home the day before Thanksgiving and my sister picked up. We caught up a little on life before she told me to hold on a second 'cause she had to do something. In the background I heard my Mom telling my brother, Alex, a story about a woman going to the market to buy milk. The story sounded eerily familiar. Then I remembered why. It was the same story that one of my colleagues had told me a few weeks earlier! When Tracee came back, I told her that I knew exactly what story Mom was telling Alex. Talk about a coincidence! And what's more, this proved that at one point the story had crossed the pond.

So, I will tell you a modified version: There once was a Milk maid walking to market in a city to sell her pot of milk. While wandering downhill, she daydreams about how she could sell the milk and buy a chicken, which then could lay lots of eggs, produce more chickens and sell more eggs to buy her own cow, pig, goat, etc. As she concentrates on her dream, she slips on a rock along the trail and spills her milk.

What's the moral of the story? Well, I guess, the moral is to be realistic, to pay attention to the here and now first, don't get caught up in dreaming. That has truth to it, but at the same time it discourages dreaming big. I like dreaming big. I wouldn't be in Spain if I hadn't dreamt it first. But I was also focused. Hasta luego.

"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird, that cannot fly"-

-Langston Hughes

Puente y Gente

Again, its been a while since my last entry. I can't help it. Life gets in the way. Anyway, we had a long four day weekend (in Spanish this is called a puente, or bridge) this past weekend because of el Día de la Constitutión, or Constitution Day. That's self-explanatory. Anywho, its tradition to have public readings of the constitution all over Spain and I ran into one on calle Arenal (which connects Ópera and Sol) with my friend Catherine. Of course we were too busy to stop and listen to the dry and didactic verbage (that doesnt mean I dont consider it unimportant) and I was also feeling claustrophic because of the multidudes of people so we kept on moving towards Lavapiés. Sol is always overflowing with people during puentes.

We had just come from a Thai Restaurant where we had spent all afternoon eating and talking. Thats a very Spanish thing to do. And another very Spanish thing to do is to stand outside the entrance to the restaurant for at least 10 minutes in the freezing cold weather, deciding what you want to do next!! Its happened several times already so I have come to the conclusion that its a very Spanish thing to do.

Anywho, I ran into one of my students who was there with her family. After exchanging introductions, I made small talk and asked if they were here shopping as well. ¡Que va! ¿Con este crisis? I should have known better. The attitude all around town has been and is about pinching pennies. People go to Sol or Gran Vía not really to shop but to go window-shopping, or just pasear. I love the word, pasear. There really isn't a word in English that captures the essence of it. Hicimos un paseo. I might translate it as we went for a walk....close enough. Its one of my favorite things to do in Madrid.

The AAA Tour: Ávila, Alcalá, y Aranjuez

Its been a while since my last entry, so I think this time I´m going to talk about the three cities that I have visited in the past two months: Ávila, Alcalá de Henares, & Aranjuez. Oddly enough, they all start with the letter A and they are all less than an hour away from Madrid which is why in my opinion they make for perfect day-trips. They are also jam-packed with history. Two of them lay claim to giants of Spanish history: Alcalá de Henares is where Cervantes was born and Ávila is where the great Spanish mystic, St. Teresa of Ávila was born and where her hugely influential writings on prayer and The Divine came to fruition. Aranjuez's contribution, on the other hand, was musical as it served as the inspiration for Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo's most famous work, Concierto de Aranjuez, a composition for classical guitar and orchestra.

Out of all three cities, Ávila was probably the most monumental. Its no wonder because the old town is surrounded by the best preserved medieval walls in all of Europe, so you feel instantly transported to the Middle Ages. However, apart from visiting the St. Teresa of Ávila museum and eating lemon cakes, there wasn't that much to do. If you are looking for a nice quiet getaway from the busy capital then Ávila is your choice.

Alcalá, on the other hand, was bustling. Okay, I went to Alcalá with a group of other auxiliares during the Cervantes festival, but I feel it would still be a lively place even at other times because of the university and its reputation for superb tapas. Anyway, as we went during the Cervantes festival, Alcalá was a feast for the eyes. Renaissance booths lined the main streets and squares selling anything you could think of from home-made soap to teas for any type of ailment known to mankind to octopus dishes. People dressed up in renaissance clothing paraded around. Figurines of Cervantes and Sancho Panza of course abounded. Outdoor plays were performed. Cañas y tapas were plentiful.

Despite all of the above, it was a play I saw in Alcalá that impressed me the most. It was part of a series of plays called quijotadas which roughly translates as quixotians, obviously referencing Don Quixote de La Mancha. Yet, what made the play I saw particularly impactful was the fresh new perspective that was put on an old story. The theater troupe, Mirage Teatro, was made up of mostly African actors who related their stories of trying to conquer a new land (Spain) and the numerous obstacles along the way, in effect, mirroring Don Quixote's own adventure and reminding us that this work of literature is forever relevant and forever universal. The performance was so passionate and full of truth that I, along with the audience, laughed and cryed. I laughed during the parts that reflected the minutiae of everyday life and I cried during the last act when once of the actors vividly described his imprisionment and near subsequent deportation which was halted by the pilot who refused to transport someone against their will.

Now, Aranjuez is known for being one of the royal estates of the Spanish crown and since the 19th century it has been a popular spring residence for the royal family. Personally, I think the royals need to consider making it their autumn residence instead. The gardens next to the palace was a maze of trees with orange and yellow colored leaves dotted with marble sculptures. It was like a magic forest. Its no wonder Rodrigo found inspiration there. I mean the palace itself was beautiful and all, at least on the outside, but I was so consumed by the natural beauty of the gardens that I didn't care to go inside the palace (you also had to pay). Unfortunately (and I really mean it) I left my camera in Madrid that day, but I´m planning to go back soon to do some sketching with my art buddy, Sonia. I hope all the leaves will not have fallen by then. Hasta luego.

Verses and Voting

"Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason that the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot..."

That's a common rhyme heard today in England where it is Guy Fawkes day, a day to remember the failed plot to blow-up parliament and overthrow King James I of England in hopes of ending the intolerance against Catholics in the country. Interestingly, more people seem to remember the rhyme from the movie V for Vendetta instead. You know, now that I think about it, V´s alliterative introductory monologue upon meeting Evey would be a great way for my students to practice the /v/ sound which does not exist in Spanish.

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage – no mere veneer of vanity – is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition! The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one-day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACUpr5GvVsE

See what I mean? 

Anyhow, I excersized volition and voted absentee last week. Fortunately, North Carolina allows ballots to be scanned and emailed back because otherwise it probably would not have gotten back in time. Well, I guess we'll find out the results tomorrow. I´m sure the media will be voraciously vexing us with a vichyssoise of horse manure like a venue of vicious vultures. I just hope victory goes to the most virtuous one.

Hasta luego.

Protesters and Police Clash

Their is an uneasiness in the air again. On Tuesday protesters were out again protesting Spain´s austerity measures, but it wasn't the brawl bash that happened last time. In fact, its been a month since the notorious and notoriously down-played September 25th protests happened where Spaniards surrounded Parliament in order to make known their frustrations about the current economic situation and the ineptitude of politicians. Their frustrations where met with police brutality late in the night. Now, as I was newly arrived to Madrid, I hadn't really been aware that there had been protests scheduled for Sept. 25th. Someone had mentioned them in passing at choir practice that night. Still, I was unaware of the severity of the clash until I saw footage of it on the news the next day. Yet, even the main news oulet made it seem only like a tense confrontation. It wasn't until I saw more footage on a Dateline/Nightline/20/20-ish Spanish program when my whole body tensed up upon seeing the images. Of course, places like Syria have it tremendously worse off right now, but I guess the fact that I am living in the same city where this brutality occurred changed my reaction. Not to mention, several policemen had entered the Atocha metro station, which I frequent quite a bit, and opened fire in the inside of the station for no apparent reason other than to scare away protesters who were already leaving the area. And once inside, the police confused protesters with passengers. In the below video they blatantly harass civilians and break a journalist's camera. Talk about a disgusting abuse of power authority.

One interesting thing is how the NY Times got the number wrong on how many people had been hurt; 10 people arrested and 6 injured versus 26 arrested and 64 injured: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/world/europe/protests-continue-in-spain.html?ref=opinion&_r=0

Here is an article in Spanish with the accurate numbers and very detailed account of what happened: http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/1597579/0/25-S/directo/rodea-el-congreso/ 

Police in Atocha Metro Station: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QVqOIU7NEI&NR=1&feature=endscreen

More later.

In Spain, Again.

Life is good. It has also been a little bit on edge these days, but it is good. So far, I have been in Spain for three weeks and at work for two. I´m at the same instituto and I love it. Everybody was so happy to see me when I walked in there on October 1st. I felt like I was being inundated with hugs and kiss-the-air-next-to-your-cheeks kisses and words of welcome. One colleague in particular said of my clothes and slightly relapsed accent, "Noooo, after all that time we spent turning you Spanish, you´ve come back American!! Por favor, Charlie!!" The students were equally enthusiastic, especially the 1º ESO Students who I didn't have last year (their around 11 years old), so the over-all dynamic is going to be interesting this year because they have the attention span of a gold fish.
I started the first week of class with a powerpoint presentation of my Summer in North Carolina. There were many ooos and ahhhs, and eager questions concerning my family and American culture. Its amazing how visual supplements can change the vibe of an entire lesson, especially if they show insight into a teacher´s life outside of class. They always want to know that.
Another interesting lesson involved videos of Americans and Brits being interviewed about what they thought of each other. It was pretty hilarious and if your interested you can find the videos here: www.real-english.com The point was to get them to learn adjectives to describe people. In the end, I asked what they thought of themselves and they said among other things, fun-loving, lazy, and crazy at which point I didn´t know how to react. Then I told them what I thought about Spaniards and I said loud, eloquent, passionate, witty, realistic, quick-tempered, and very very blunt. They seemed to agree.

This year I have moved south to a neighborhood called Oporto. It is not as classy as my last neighborhood, but it has a lot more diversity. There are Spaniards, Latin Americans, Romanians, Gypsies, and Asians. There are a lot more convenience stores in this neighborhood called Alimentaciones, but Spaniards call them "Chinos" because all the owners are Asian. The supermarket chain Mercadona is right next door which has a greater variety of products at cheaper prices then their competitors, and literally underneath our apartment is a frutería which is a fruit and vegetable shop which sells them on the cheap. I suspect there it is a family business because I have never seen so many fruterías in the same neighborhood. Time to get healthy! Moreover, across the street from my apartment is an imposing Burger King which is, incredibly or not, the main landmark in my section of the neighborhood. Anywho, my new roomates are muy majos as well. One is from Seville, one is from the Canary Islands, and the other is from Ecuador. It should make for a very lively coexistence this year. Hasta luego.

Summer in NC

Boy, do I have a lot to say about my arrival to Madrid. If you've watched any kind of news lately, you'd know that trouble was a brewin' this past week. Unfortunately, you will just have to wait until my next entry. My first day of class is tomorrow and I am currently working on a powerpoint and Google is already pissing me off! Apparently I can't upload pictures onto the powerpoint presentation I´m working on unless I have already uploaded them to my google profile through blogger, picasa, or whatever. ARGGH. So, in the meantime here is an entry full of pictures from summer vacation in the states.