Otra semana dura y larga

It's been way too long again...time just flies by in Spain, especially because I'm always on the move. This past week was especially hectic. Let me recap:

1. No Streptease this week...instead, the Alcalá group went for our first night out in Madrid. We had a great time with the other Madrid kids, hopping from bar to bar, dancing where we weren't supposed to dance, scaring middle-aged Spanish men with our incredible dance moves, and much more. However, getting back to Alcalá is a bit annoying...at night, there are late buses that leave from Madrid on the hour every hour. We were walking through Chueca at 1:50am, and made an impromptu decision to grab a taxi, wave goodbye to our Madrid chaperones, and book it toward the bus stop. Of course, we got there just after it left. So we had an hour to kill. In Madrid, a foreign city. At 2:00am. So, being the resourceful kids we are, we found a bench, and Andrew and Lisa took a relaxing (ha!) nap while Andrés and I kept Rachel awake with slightly inebriated a cappella renditions of Queen songs. And although it was quite cold, it was still...fun... And we made it back to Alcalá in one piece.

2. This weekend was the beginning of Carnaval, the weeklong celebration preceding Mardi Gras and the start of Lent. So, obviously, the culturally Catholic Spain was in a frenzy. It reminds me of a weeklong Halloween, with kids in animal costumes (especially cows and chickens) and adults parading around with their group of friends in themed disfraces, my favorite being the group of sixty-something men dressed as women in bikinis, banging on drums. But six of the nine Alcaláños decided to go to Cadiz, which is to Carnaval as New Orleans is to Mardi Gras (one travel book actually claimed that Carnaval in Cadiz makes Mardi Gras in New Orleans look like Tuesday night bingo at the rec center...so you know they had to go...). But the remaining three, Callie, Andrés, and I decided to spend Saturday, the biggest day of Carnaval, in Madrid, and explore the city a little with Andrés's friend Sam, who was in town to visit from Aix-en-Provence.

I woke up on Saturday morning and as I got ready I got a call from Callie, who generously surprised us by renting a hotel room in Madrid so we wouldn't have to worry about any late bus debacle again. We got to Madrid, checked into our hotel, and looked for a restaurante and a menú del día, the menu with three courses and wine, water, and bread for under 10€. But we had no luck. We were struck with an amazing idea, one that shall go down in the history books as the greatest idea anyone had on Calle Goya in Madrid on Saturday, February 20, 2009. We went into a market, bought lots of jamón, bread, cheese, pears, raspberries, chocolate, olive oil, and cava (champagne), and took it to Parque Retiro, the enormous park in the center of Madrid. We had the most lovely picnic, basking in the warm Spanish sunlight, gorging ourselves on jamón and bread soaked in olive oil, and drinking from a bottle of cava in front of police officers, who didn't mind us at all. After the beautiful picnic, we walked around Retiro, found the large pond, and decided to rent a row boat on the pond. 45 minutes of exciting boat-dodging and duck-chasing and sun-bathing. Later, we saw a clown juggle torches and ride his unicycle and tell jokes in Spanish, which we understood!







We returned to the hotel to change into our costumes. Sam, Andrés, and I were 20th century Venetians.



Callie was a flapper girl. We ran to El Tigre for a few rounds of wine, then met up with Lara, Tara, and Kate in Sol. They escorted us to some Spanish friend's, Julio's, piso, where he and his floormates were hosting a costume party. Soon, other Tufts madrileños showed up and the party got started. There was dancing, there were falling cabinets (some blame me, but I know what really happened...), there were people falling down staircases (I was one of them, but this most certainly was not my fault...). It was great fun.

Andrés, Sam, and I got a cab at 3:30am back to the hotel, but Callie stayed. We returned to the hotel, and we tried to stay awake to wait for Callie, but we dozed off until 6:30am, when she returned. We then began a two hour laughing fit, speaking in Scottish-accented old English ("Thou hast bin gröüghnding ons mees," among other ridiculous phrases), then promptly falling asleep, the four of us on two double beds, pushed together, at 7:45am. When we woke up at 11:45am, we treated ourselves to hot chocolate (which in Spain means hot chocolate pudding...YUM) and croissants, then headed back to Alcalá.

As Andrés said, "Great day? Or greatest day?"



3. I've been in a funky mood recently, mostly after Saturday in Madrid. It might be the sudden realization that nothing will ever top our amazing day. But it's other things too. I haven't talked to Logan in a while...that might make me feel a little better, even though our conversations are a bit one-sided. It's difficult to talk to my parents...time difference+expensive phone calls+busy lives= sucky communication. And Spain isn't home, you know? It hasn't really been that big a deal yet. I like living elsewhere...it's still weird.

We go to Barcelona tomorrow...should be AMAZING. That'll be a post for the ages. Until then...thanks for reading...and I miss you.