Madrid is a beautiful city. I went there to visit my best friend, Maggie, who is studying there for the semester at St. Louis University's Madrid Campus. Maggie lives in the Sol district, which was definitely the most happening are that I saw. She lives with a host family in an apartment on the main street in Sol, and she has a balcony from which she can view all the excitement of the street below her. The apartment is in an old building, and to get to her floor we had to take a very antique wooden elevator, with actual doors that swing outwards, and glass windows. Her host parents, Juan and Anna, were so kind to me, and they both just love Maggie. In fact, Juan seemed to get a little upset when I called her "my Maggie"..apparently, she is his now. Six other girls also live in the apartment. Juan and Anna do all their cooking and laundry. I must say, coming from my cramped, dorm living arrangements here at Loyola, with our questionable cafeteria, I was very jealous of Maggie's situation. I brought my friend Allison along with me to Spain, and while we were visiting Maggie's apartment, Anna made us hot chocolate and churros, and she insisted that all the girls in the house were home for chocolate and churros too (not that she even had to insist, they were both so delicious!). Maggie told me that it is very important to Juan and Anna that they all sit down together for at least one meal a day. Anna was one of the most maternal women I have ever met, and Juan was hilarious. He told us all sorts of stories in his somewhat poor English, and smothered everyone in hugs and kisses, but no one as much as Maggie. He even confessed to Allison and me that she was his favorite. It was so much fun to be in their home.
Maggie was a fantastic guide; she took us all over the city, all the main plazas, a few beautiful parks. In one of the parks, wild peacocks wandered around freely. We went to the Riena Sofia Museum, home to many great works of surrealist art. I saw Picasso's "Guernica" there, which was incredible, and lots of Miro and Dali.
We ate Paella at an outdoor restaurant in Plaza Mayor- a traditional spanish rice dish with calamari, shrimp, mussels, clams, shrimp and chicken- it was so delicious. In general, Spanish food was very good, but I could never eat it every day. Most things are fried and very greasy. I really liked the price however, which was significantly cheaper than Italy. You also don't have to pay to sit down as you do in Italy.
The first night we were there, Friday, we went to see one of my favorite bands, Wilco, play in a cool little venue next to the River...but more on that in my next post.
After the concert we went dancing at Joy, the most popular club in Madrid, and basically next door to Maggie's apartment. It was quite an experience; there was a transvestite dance show, large screens projecting images of shadows of women dancing naked. The club didn't even really start to get crowded until we left it, at about 3am. I really like joy. I felt safe very safe there. Italian men tend to be obnoxious at clubs, but the Spanish men were very classy about it all.
I loved walking around Spain. The cobble stone streets and the old buildings with a distinct Spanish flair were so beautiful. I loved the bright, sky blue color which many of the buildings were painted with. In some of the streets there were interesting wire structures hanging across the street from the building tops; things like leaves and snowflakes. The word that keeps coming to mind while I try and depict Spain is ornate.
As far as the language goes, I thought I would be able to understand some Spanish with my Italian, but that was not the case. I was lost. Thankfully Maggie speaks very well so it was not a problem.
We never made it into a Ham Museum, though I can't imagine why...there were only about 2000 of them in Sol...
I liked Spain a lot. I thought the Spanish people were very friendly and accepting. I loved the wide streets and large palatial buildings. The best thing about Sol, rightly named, was that it was very sunny. The last few weeks in Rome have been terribly gloomy, and I've missed the warmth of the sun.
Most of all, I think I loved Spain because Maggie was there. She's my best friend from home, and she and I understand each other ridiculously well. I have often felt somewhat lost as of late; I miss my home, my family, my roots. I feel like while I am here- a different country, traveling all the time, meeting tons of new people- I have had to constantly reintroduce and define myself, and it's exhausting. Being with Maggie was the breath of fresh air I desperately needed. Neither of us need to explain anything to the other; we just get each other. I don't have to try and relate to her what I am feeling, because she's feeling the same thing. It was a nice break from feeling like a foreigner, which I often do here, in more than one way. The last night I was there, she and I ust sat together with some wine, and then some tea, and just talked about our experiences and what we thought about this whole living abroad thing. It's hard to talk like that with people here because we are in the same context; what happens to me here happens to my friends as well most of the time, and we never really recap. But so much has happened to me these last few months. So much has changed, and its hard to put it all together while you're in the midst of it. I'm not saying I see everything clearly now, but talking things out with Maggie really helped me feel like I'd touched ground again.
I am currently reading a book called The Volcano Lover, by Susan Sontag. In it, the main characters spend a lot of time living on a ship. At one point, when the main female character, Emma, gets off, can barely walk because she's not used to solid ground (everyone thinks she is drunk, but thats besides the point). I think my re-entry into home life will probably be a lot like that. I'll probably wobble around America wondering where I've been for the last few months. This is kind of an intimidating thought, but I'm not worried, because unlike Emma, I'm not alone. Maggie's been on this ship too and we will wobble together.
