A weekend in Madrid!

Since we've been here in Madrid I haven't really spent much free time in Madrid. I'm not bummed about it or anything because we've been traveling all over the country and Europe! But it has been nice to have time to slow down and walk to different borrows of Madrid to take pictures or walk around, shop, or just sit outside at a cafe drinking sangria and reading. I've been able to explore more parks and neighborhoods, different cultures within Madrid. La Latina seemed pretty ghetto, and also had a big Muslim community. I happen to be exploring on Friday which is an Islamic holy day, so I saw everyone leaving their mosques. Chueca, everyone knows, is the gay neighborhood. Walking up and down the streets I saw gay pride flags hanging everywhere and couples of all kinds holding hands and being affection. Public affection is pretty much the norm in Spain, and it's not just holding hands. Often when I walk through parks there is at least one couple with the boy sitting down and the girl sitting on top of him with her legs strattling him and his hands all over her ass. I'm sure it sets a lot of pressure and standards for young Spaniards. I've come to think of it as, Spanish people just love a lot more passionately and don't care about who sees. That's nice.

I've explored GOYA a little bit, it's not that far from where I live. When Isabela was in Spain a week early she stayed with a woman who lives in that area, and I've visited her a couple of times with Isabela. The neighborhood is so much more tranquil and full of older people too; at least more than our neighborhood. Chamberi is a mixture of people, and I'm pretty sure we live next to the loudest ones in Madrid. They have no sense of time either so in the middle of the night we're banging on the walls for them to be quiet. Mostly Isabela though because her bedroom is right next to the noise source; but it can be heard throughout the apartment.

Last night I went to Fuerza Bruta with my friend Lindsay and it was so much fun! I had no idea what to expect but as soon as we got there the beats were bumpin and different color lights set a great atmosphere. We went into a mosh pit of people who were ready to enjoy the dance/water/performance art spectacular. Going with Lindsay was great because she worked on the set in NY so she told me where to stand to get the best view and we both just had a great energy for the show. The end was probably my favorite part, because it rained on us (inside the show) and we were just dancing and having fun. I love dancing in the rain. It reminds me of home.

I've also gotten back into drawing, which I don't think I'm as good at it as I used to be but it's just relaxing. It would be great if I could find some interesting ceramics to paint because even though that's something I'm definitely not good at, it's sooooo relaxing to me and I can enjoy it for hours upon hours.

I also went to a bullfight. NEVER AGAIN! It was interesting, but the fact that someone created a sport out of killing animals slowly and painfully, kinda makes me want to puke. The bull takes at least 20 minutes to charge a man with a colorful cape while people are stabbing him with special swords for points until finally the matador comes out and with one swift stab of a sword is supposed to kill the bull. Well, matadors can suck sometimes and they need to stab the already bleeding to death bull, at least a couple of times. Then once the bull is dead they cut off his horns and tail tie him to horses and the horses drag him out of the arena. The bulls I saw were younger than 2 years old, so they were a lot smaller than the normal sized bulls, but still very big. If a matador sucks at stabbing the bull and the knives fall out the entire arena boos. It was appalling, but interesting nontheless to see that part of Spanish culture. In the picture, those things the man without the cape is holding are what the knives-for-points look like. I don't know what the correct name for any of these things are. I don't care enough to find out, but there you go.

Anyway, we have another weekend here in Madrid before we travel again, to Paris! When we're in Paris we're staying with our friend Lais and Magda is going to come from Germany too! It's going to be a great little reunion. Next weekend is the weekend before my midterms but I am hoping to still go out and meet people and enjoy myself. I'll just bring my notecards with me. Dancing in the club with Spanish flashcards wouldn't be awkward would it? Or drinking at a bar while reading about Caravaggio's greatest works? That's not strange...

With all of this exploring and hanging out with different people, I am really FINALLY starting to love my time here more than I had before. I don't think that Madrid is any big deal compared to other places I've lived, but there's so many great things I could do with it. Thank God for all of these blessings and great friends I have to support me and love me through thick and thin. I hope my parents know how much I appreciate all of the hard work they've contributed so that I could have all of these blessings.