More pics of our day!!!

I hope that these prove the distance covered today, and also the very camera shy mother.

A Day of Walking

Well, we left this morning on a mission to find the lamp that mom broke and replace my futon cover for the living room. Instead, we ended up walking all over Madrid for about six hours and enjoying the city life. We walked from Delicias up to Embajadores, then on to La Latina, Tirso de Molina, across to Retiro where I managed to get us lost for about fifteen minutes, then back up Gran Via to Sol, Plaza Mayor, and the Palacio Real. So, she basically got to see most of the important Madrid sites in one day. We were going to also try to hit the Reina Sofia for a bit (a museum) but we got too tired and had to come home to walk Zoe. I think we walked about ten miles in all. It was a long trip.

Mom refused to perform for the camera, but I managed to get some shots of her when she wasn't looking. I'll post those also. She seemed to really enjoy herself, except for telling me I was going too fast and that she needed to sit down more often. Who would have known? She swears to me she walks all the time, but I think she's lying. You guys in Waynesville have to tell me the truth! But in all seriousness, she really did have a great time seeing all the sights. She kept asking me to take pictures of the most random things, so she's coming home with pics of painted buildings and police officers. Moms! Right now she's napping. =)

We're up to Thursday!

Ok, only today and tomorrow and I'm officially on break. Thank God. It's time!!!

As I type right now, mom is lying in bed with Zoe talking to her and telling her that "grandma is better than mom." And, "your mom doesn't love you as much as I do." Fantastic. I can just imagine what it's going to be like if I ever have kids. Last night we took a long walk in Madrid and I showed her the three main museums and Retiro, the huge park. Tonight we're going to IKEA after work because I received an email at work from her yesterday telling me that my lamp next to my bed was broken. Hmm, it wasn't before I left for work! Then I got another email telling me she had locked herself out of the house for an hour and that it was quite cold outside. Age??? She's scared to really go anywhere on her own, so my drawers are reorganized and things are very clean all the time. I must admit that this has been very nice.

She's starting to notice the aspects of Madrid I told her about before. Trash all over the street, dog poop on your shoes if you don't pay close attention, and the fact that no one smiles at you when you smile at them. However, she seems to have made friends with a dog and its owner in the park next to my house, so at least that's nice. Every day I'm caught up to speed on the tricks this dog does in the park. I've never met him (or her) but it sounds like a pretty cool dog. Apparently, Zoe doesn't care much for it though.

Tomorrow she's coming to school with me, so she'll get to check out the psychotic kids here on their last day before vacation. Fun! Saturday is our museum day, so I'll repost about all the pretty artwork we see then!

Until the next time, Happy Holidays from me and my mother!

Tumultuous Tuesday

So it was an interesting day already, and it's not even 10:30 yet. Mom and I got up this morning to the sound of a text message from Iberia saying that her bags were coming to the house. However, it's now four hours later and they haven't arrived. We rushed around the house making sure that one of us was always next to the phone just in case they called to say they were there. I quickly jumped in the shower while she waited to walk Zoe, just to be met with a psychotic shower that had apparently gone crazy after mom used it. (She swears she did nothing to it, yet it worked yesterday before she took a shower =) I had to hold it in my hand to take the shower, which was not a pleasant experience. However, I finally finished and got ready for school and was out the door in about fifteen minutes. Record time since I was running late. However, I managed to get to the train station right as the train was coming, so I was thinking that my morning was turning around and it was going to be a really nice day. The train was almost empty, which is a rarity in Spain in the mornings, and I got my own seat and was able to read the entire ride without being interrupted. Things were definitely looking up. Then I got off the train and it was pouring in the town where I work. I put my scarf over my head and took off running, hoping I wouldn't be soaked for my first class. On the way to school I ran into one of my students and she and I ended up running together. During this period she somehow caught her sweater on a pole and ripped the arm of it open. I laughed at her, thinking it was quite funny. However, karma is a powerful thing and five seconds later we were trying to get up the muddy hill to get to school and I slipped and fell and took her out with me. My whole outfit is now covered in mud and I have to teach today in muddy jeans. I won't even go into what my coat looks like, but I will say that I'm going to the dry cleaner immediately after school. Fun times. Then I tried to make copies of a test for my next period class and the copy machine went crazy and started eating my originals. I had to convince a secretary to take me to the other machine and make the copies, since I'm giving the quiz next period! Oh, and I almost forgot. This morning the school had a Christmas breakfast for teachers and I ran quickly down there to grab a cup of coffee, and on my way back to class managed to spill it all over myself also. So my coat smells like a mixture of mud and coffee. It's really quite pleasant.

Long story short, my Tuesday seems to hate me.

Mom Comes to Spain

So after the most hectic morning on the planet for me, I finally got to the airport and hour late to pick my mother up. She called last night to tell me that her flight was delayed a half an hour, so I reset my alarm for fifteen minutes later. When it went off this morning, I immediately checked her flight status online and realized that even though she had flown out late, she was coming in 40 minutes early. Fantastic. I could just see her sitting at the airport swearing at me that I wasn't there. So I quickly ran around and got ready and was out the door in fifteen minutes. THEN, I went to the cercanias to take the train because I thought it would be quicker, but once I got inside the train station I realized the train wasn't working. So I ran out to the metro and jumped on the first one that came. Then the train broke down, and I ended up having to maneuver all over Madrid on four different metros to finally make it to the airport. Then I realized I was at the wrong terminal, so I had to re-hop on the metro two more stops to get to her terminal to find her. I need to add here also that I was on the metro right after it started running again; it closes at 1 and doesn't reopen until 6. So, I was surrounded by every drunk person in Madrid who had been out partying all night. The train reeked of alcohol and people were making out all over the place. To make matters worse, all of a sudden there were security guards all over the metro. One of them had a dog who I thought was there to sniff out drugs, but I don't think he was very well trained since he came up to me and started sniffing all around me. By the way, this dog was an enormous german shepherd who had a metal muzzle on him and didn't look friendly. Because he had come up to me, the security guards checked me for drugs (twice I might add), and I kept trying to explain in Spanish that I thought the dog had come up to me because I had a dog and he must have smelled her. It was not a pleasant experience. But I made it to the airport none the less.

SO, I finally found her sitting on a bench in the airport. Surprisingly, she had no baggage with her. I was ready to tell her about my horrendous experience when she started talking about her flight. Because of the snow storm in Missouri, she had to leave for the airport at midnight instead of five in the morning. She made it to Springfield and was the only one in the airport for hours. That was, until an entire slew of dog breeders came in with nice little puppies and she got to play with them for a little bit. Then they sent her off on an earlier flight to Dallas, then an earlier flight from Dallas to D.C. because they were worried about the storm coming into D.C. and wanted to make sure she got there. Then she went up to the counter for Iberia airlines and they told her they couldn't find her reservation. Somehow she managed to get that sorted out and then was in the air to come here to visit me. Then she got to Madrid and realized all her bags were gone.

However, with all this said, we've managed to go buy a couple of new things for her to wear for the day, have a fantastic lunch, and go to the store for coffee, which I was harshly critiqued for not having in my house. So we're here, about to watch some movies (I'm finally able to rent movies because I'm legal here!!!), and fall asleep for hours and hours. Aww, Spain . . .

Four day weekend in Madrid

A friend randomly showed up from high school in Madrid this weekend, so even though I was bogged down with grading, we managed to keep ourselves busy doing different things around Madrid. At first we tried to go to the Madrid "space needle," but it's closed for construction and no one has any idea when it's opening again. We then went on the Gandala, although I can't remember it's name in Spanish, and ended in Casa de Campo. After a long jaunt across Casa de Campo, we managed to make it to the zoo, but it was closing so we didn't get to go. This might sound negative, but we had a great time walking and talking and catching up on old times. The next day we walked around some other different parks in Madrid, making sure to spend quite some time in Retiro. Saturday I took the day off and graded papers for nine hours, and then today we went to the amazingly crowded rastro before I came home to finish grading.

It's amazing how a four day weekend can fly by so quickly. But I wanted to share some nice pics and thoughts on the weekend! Miss you all!!!

Kathryn and Taryn

Kathryn's amazing sister has come to Madrid, and it has been such a pleasant experience. Kathryn has been wonderful here for me, walking Zoe every day while I'm at school and making sure that the little things are always taken care of. On top of that, she's been there whenever I needed to shout about the stupid kids at school or the people on the metro who shove you every which way when you're trying to both enter and exit. I didn't think that Taryn would be as kind as she is, but apparently it runs in the family. After amazing conversations about the Torah and conflicts with the historical accuracies, I've decided she's a keeper. And I wanted to dedicate at least one blog to both of them. Thanks you two! You kept me up late, but I was fascinated =)

Dryer and Scaffolding

Ok, so I finally got my dryer and I feel like my life's journey is complete. The first night I did three loads and stayed up all night listening to the tumbling of the dryer. It was music to my ears. It's amazing how much hair comes out in the lint trap! And my jeans finally fit after they're washed because they shrink! Woo hoo! So I thought I'd show you all pictures of why exactly I couldn't hang clothes outside, and then a picture of my amazing new dryer! Tumble, tumble, tumble!

Mornings with Zoe

This isn't going to be a long post, but this morning I got up to go to the bathroom really quickly and this is what I came back to. I thought it was so cute that I needed to post it.

Happy Puente to all!

Random pictures

So I just bought this new camera as previously mentioned, and I've been trying out photos. Here are a few I kind of like. Let me know what you guys think!!

Christmas in my apartment!

It's tradition in my family to put up a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. However, I quickly realized that this is not Portland, or the United States, where you can go buy a live tree at almost any street corner. After the initial disappointment set in, I decided to go buy a fake one. I searched all over, only to be discouraged by how much they cost. But I finally found one for semi-cheap, and I decided to wait until the next day to go buy it so I could put it up after Thanksgiving. To my great surprise, when I got home there were my two neighbors waiting for me with two big boxes. One held a Christmas tree that Javi's family never uses, and the other was all their ornaments. So we spent the evening putting up the tree and now I have a tree in my apartment, which reminds me at least a little bit of home. Spanish people still look at me like I'm insane, but hey, it's worth it. I bought a new camera for myself after dropping my other one, and I'm including some photos of the new tree. Yeah Christmas!!!

Ok ok, I'm finally posting!!

I keep getting nasty emails from my friends telling me I'm not blogging enough, so I'm going to make up for it today. So, blog number one is just going to kind of outline what it's been like in the last couple of weeks.

Number one, it's freezing here. I'm cold all of the time, and I'm waiting for mom to come to bring my what might be the ugliest hat on the planet, but one that will surely keep me warm in the mornings when I walk Zoe. My fingers freeze even in gloves, and where I work is in the North of Madrid, so it's even colder on my walk to school. Therefore, I can officially say I'm experiencing Winter in Madrid.

Number two, they've been doing construction on my roof, which begins at about five in the morning (surprising for Spain) and are completely redoing the entire roof of my building. This means that outside my door is a seven story high scaffolding unit. There are five or six workers consistently pounding away, which is quite distracting in the mornings. In addition, they've attached the scaffolding unit to my railing, which means they took down my clothesline. This does not help when you don't own a dryer.

Which brings me to three: clothing. My neighbors have looked at me like I was crazy every time I have complained that I don't have a dryer, since they are extremely rare in Spain. However, they don't have a dog. When I have to wash clothes and then hang them on this little doodad that is six feet long and three feet wide (and 20 euros) and takes up my entire apartment, they don't realize that the hair from Zoe does not come out of my clothing. So I wash, but I'm still stuck with hair all over and an overwhelming gadget that does little to help my clothes dry. And to drag your clothes to a not so common laundromat costs about 15 dollars per load, so that's not really an option. So, as of today, I am the proud owner of a dryer. It doesn't come until tomorrow, and I have no clue where in the hell I'm going to put it, but it is needed. This emergency purchase comes after my second doodad to hang clothes on collapsed last night, sending both Zoe and me into a state of terror as we both thought someone was breaking in. But no, just clothes all over the floor. So tomorrow I get to rewash two loads of wet laundry and actually dry them in an hour rather than two days, which I'm thinking will come in handy. And they deliver. Whew.

Warning to all: Spain doesn't have dryers. Very bad if you have a dog or actually need your clothes dry in less than two days.

Donald?

I'm so sorry but I can't figure out who you are based on your comments! Let me know!!!

Foot Problems!

So most of you know that right before I came out here I injured my toe and basically had to have the end of it sewn back on. It took months before it felt normal, and I was in an incredible amount of pain. Then yesterday morning I was picking up a glass and dropped it and it shattered all over the floor. I swept it up, swearing as I was doing it thinking it was going to make me late to work, but understanding that Zoe could walk on it or something so it had to be done. I thought I had finished, but my next step told me otherwise. I managed to get a huge piece right in the middle of my bare foot (same one as the toe) and sliced the whole bottom of my foot. So I had to stay home, not move, and elevate my foot all day. And I should stay home today, but my students are giving a huge presentation so I must go. Ah, the life of foot injuries. Fun! Hope this makes everyone's day a little better in thinking how nice it is that they can walk normally!

Hugs to all!

Grading Done!

Grade time has always been stressful, but for some reason this particular year it was worse. Each report card took about 15 minutes, and with over 100 students, this added up to quite some time. It's these times I wonder why I became a teacher and get paid so little.

However, with that said, other aspects of my life are going well. I managed to get my first haircut in Spain with limited Spanish and a notecard that said "I want highlights. More in the front than in the back. Also, I want you to layer it in an A-line shape." This was courtesy of one of my students who looked at me like I was crazy when I asked her to write it out for me. But it worked!

And I'm starting to tutor after school this week, which I fought against for a while because I didn't want to stay after school later, but when I realized four hours a week would bring in 800 euros a month (that's almost a thousand dollars), I decided it was worth it. Maybe now I can have some money saved up for when I come back! And at this exchange rate, it'll be worth it!

I also figured out how to order groceries online to be delivered from one of the huge supermarkets so I no longer have to worry about the five pound bags of dog food I get at my local market and can save money on the Zoe monster.

All in all, life is good. I'm learning bits about Spain, and very little Spanish, but I think that deep down in my brain somewhere I can form a sentence.

Hugs from Spain on a very cold November morning!

Pumpkin Carving!!!

I forgot that in Europe they don't do Halloween, so I was a little sad when it came around and no one knew what I was talking about when I said "pumpkin carving." However, Kathryn (my beautiful dog walker) and I set out to find pumpkins and teach Susana how to carve her first one. We finally found some and went home to get things set up. Kathryn and I diligently did the first steps to carving and got all the wonderful goop out of the middle and the started drawing. About that time Susana just picked up a knife and started cutting without drawing anything first. We started laughing and explaining that it was better to draw and shape it first, but she just looked at us like we were crazy and continued on. Turns out, her pumpkin looked way better than both of ours. I hate art teachers =)

It was an entertaining night, and one that I never had the pleasure to experience when I lived in France. So I may not have had any trick or treaters and pumpkins lining the streets of Portland, but I had three pumpkins in my living room, glowing with the same intensity as those of years past.

El Escorial and Spanish Countryside

Last weekend I took off with Susana and Javier for a day into the countryside of Madrid. These are some of the photos. It was beautiful--very different from what I expected, but beautiful. I wanted to at least share the photos!

Food for Thought

This morning on the train I was reading a Paul Auster book that I picked up at Powells last time I was home. It's called The New York Trilogy and is separated into three different mystery-type novellas. I finished the first two last night, and was not that impressed. But then this morning I started the third and final one, and on the first page came across a passage that really struck me. He's talking about a close childhood friend who he hasn't seen in over a decade, and says the following, "We grew up, went off to different places, drifted apart. None of that is very strange, I think. Our lives carry us along in ways we cannot control, and almost nothing stays with us. It dies when we we do, and death is something that happens to us every day."

Recently a friend got in touch with me whom I hadn't spoken to in over a decade. It was like a rebirth of memories, of thoughts, of smiles. Death had occurred, but so had resurrection. Though I'm in Spain, and drifted and drifting from the people whom I've known and loved, I realize that maybe death is happening everyday, but so is rebirth. And thus I leave you with another quote from the book. "The fact was I had let go of Fanshawe. His life had stopped the moment we went our separate ways, and he belonged to the past for me now, not to the present. He was a ghost I carried around inside of me, a prehistoric figment, a thing that was no longer real." I miss my ghosts, but they are there, inside of me, with every stroke of the keyboard, homework I assign, and breath that I take. Hello, and goodbye, to all of my ghosts.

SAT Proctoring

Ok, while I can admit that I really enjoy teaching, and I do like my students, I did not want to wake up this morning at 5:30 to take Zoe out in the freezing cold, hop into my shower, and somehow make it to school by 7:30 to proctor the SAT on a Saturday. I do not want to be sitting in a room full of stressed out students, one of whom puked during the first twenty minutes. I, unlike the kids of course, am counting down the minutes until I am allowed to go home, watch the new episode of Greys Anatomy that itunes has just kindly sent me, and take a nap. Instead, I have to go home, take Zoe out again since she´s been cooped up for hours while I was here, and then figure out how in the hell to make fried chicken. Let me remind everyone here that I am a vegetarian. I have not eaten meat in over a decade. I have no clue how to cook fried chicken. But for dinner tonight we all pulled out a card with what we were cooking, and my luck, of course, is that I got fried chicken. So I bought the chicken, put it in the freezer, and have been searching on the internet for the last hour trying to find a recipe that tells me how to make it. Looks like I´m supposed to defrost it first. Great. Guess I forgot to do that this morning. And shake it in a bag with flour and seasonings? What are these people thinking?? I´m going to placate myself with the fact that I am also making mashed potatoes, if I can find potatoes, and then tonight, when no one is around, I am going to eat an entire sackful of them. After all, if no one sees you eat something, then you´re not really injesting calories. And it´s cold. And I want them. And a nap. And not the timer that is about to go off to tell me that once again I have to instruct the students to put their pencils down, that they are not allowed calculators if they are not taking the mathematics section, etc . . . Ok, enough of a rant. Happy Saturday to all.

Changing Weather

In one of Scott's last emails to me, he told me that in the toughest times he wished we were curled up in bed watching a movie, but in the beautiful moments, that he wished I was there, seeing and experiencing what he was. This morning, I finally realized what he meant. This morning, I felt Spain. I felt its icy breath on my cheeks as I struggled with Zoe to not eat the garbage that was left on the street. I felt its power with the wind pushing me up the huge hill that I have to climb every morning. I felt Spain. I ran with the people down the escalator to catch the train so that I wouldn't be late to work. I wormed my way through people to finally find a seat so that I could read and grade papers during my trip. I smiled at the sunrise over Madrid. I laughed with my students about carving pumpkins. I talked with teachers about getting together and making a halloween meal. We compared notes on where to find cream cheese for cheesecake. Today, it all felt real.

I understand. Because I too have those days where all I want is to be back in Portland, curled up on the couch under a down comforter, watching every re-run of law and order that exists and listening to the rain fall softly on the roof. But today, I wanted to be here. And I wanted to share. I wanted others to feel the weather, the people, the language, the train. I wanted to share the life of Spain.

Jesse and Ashley's Wedding

Ok, so I know it's taken me quite long to actually post any of these pictures, but I've been a little busy going between jet lag and a ridiculous amount of papers to grade. However, as promised, Jesse and Ash get their own blog entry to celebrate the momentous occasion. Ashley looked absolutely beautiful--glowing to be exact, and Jesse shocked me with the utter happiness that he exuded throughout the day. If there is one couple in the world I had to pick for perfectness, I think we've found them. Even with the problems of Ashley's broken ankle and having to walk on crutches, they both still showed nothing but love and togetherness. You two are both inspiration and hope, and I wish you both the best. All my love to you both.

Empadronas de Volante

So I've decided that Spain hates me anytime I really need to get anything done. Last night I went to the Junta Municipal (I could have spelled that wrong) which is like city hall to get my empandronas. Let me insert here that I have absolutely no idea what it is or really what it is for, except that I need it to go apply for my card here that enters me into the social security system and makes me legal. When I arrived at the city hall the alarms were going off and there was a terrible screeching sound, but considering that it was absolutely necessary that I get this done yesterday, I had to enter anyway. So I sat there for an hour while the alarms continued until they figured out how to turn them off. My ears were ringing so much that by the time my number got called I could barely understand the woman when she asked me questions. That could also be my lack of Spanish, but for now I'm blaming it on the psychotic alarms.

Why is it that I get stuck in tiny shops when trying to get my metro pass and alarms go off when I try to get my empadronas? Am I a walking electrical disaster? Tonight will tell when I'm off to get fingerprinted. Pray that no electrical disasters are brewing as I type.

Oregon

Even though I'm only home for a couple of days, it's amazing how much I had forgotten about the beauty that this state emanates. Even driving up to the mountain for the wedding was gorgeous, and then once we arrived and the sun began setting at the top of Mt. Hood, I realized why I call this place home.

For my visitors!

I've noticed on my map that I've received a lot of visitors from places I've never even been to. Would you please please please leave me a quick comment telling me where you're from and how you found my blog? I'd be very interested to know!

Thanks!

The Supreme Speed of Spain

What an alliteration! The speed gods were taking a siesta the night I decided to get my abono transportes. I figured it would take a good twenty minutes or so, especially since I had to go take photos on my way to the tobacco shop where you get them (that's also where you get stamps--don't ask me why!) So, I stopped, took my four pictures, and was off to the shop to get my monthly pass for the train, metro, and bus. The first shop explained (I think) that they were out of them and told me where to go. I had no clue what the woman had said to me, so I just smiled and took off in the direction she pointed, hoping to find a shop. As luck turned out, there was one right around the corner. I thought my night was made! And then I entered, and about five minutes after I had begun filling my information out I realized I needed my passport number, which of course I didn't have. So I had to leave, go home, and get my passport. This was another fifteen minutes. Then I go back, restart my information sheet, and finally get to the bottom where I realize that I need my zip code of my neighborhood. I of course do not have that either, so I have to leave again, go knock on a neighbor's door, write down the zip code, and then go back to finish my sheet. By this time it's been well over an hour that I've been trying to get this damn pass. And then, as only my luck would have it, the store's electricity goes out and we're locked in the smallest tobacco shop on the planet. It's me, another young woman, and this old cranky shopkeeper who is incredibly pissed that his electricity has gone out and he can't charge us for our abonnos. I thought that was fine until I realized I also couldn't get out the door until he managed to get it turned back on. So he gets on the phone, makes a phone call, and within forty-five minutes the electricity is back up and running, I have my pass (that I paid for), and I'm allowed to leave the cramped store. And my twenty minute errand has now turned into three hours. The pleasures of Spain =)

My Students!!!

Last year I was convinced I didn't want to be a teacher. I didn't like most of my students, and except for a select few, the majority of them could barely write their names much less read a book. The administration was terrible and bowed under pressure to any parent who so much as raised a voice, and the community was so conservative that most of the parents refused to let their children read The Kite Runner because of the male rape scene and instead suggested Walden.

For the first time, I finally understand why I got my teaching degree. I smile when I wake up knowing that I get to come to a school with these students. Every day is a pleasure, and teaching finally has meaning for me.

Fire re-visited!

I know I told everyone all about the fire across from my OLD apartment (that's right, I said old. I'm all moved in to my new apartment, but that's for another blog entry), but apparently I didn't tell the whole story. According to the front page of the local news here, and also a neighbor girl whom I talked to, the two inhabitants of the apartment were actually IN the apartment when it caught fire. Some crackhead (no! in my neighborhood???) broke into their building, held them at knifepoint, tied them up, and then used an aerosol can and a lighter to try to blow up the apartment and kill them. They were two college students with almost nothing to begin with, visitors to this country, and now they are left with nothing. I tried finding them to offer them anything I could, but they were long gone by the time I figured out the whole story. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose everything, and I can only hope that wherever they are, things are looking up for them. And I also can't explain how happy I am to finally be out of the crackhead spot of Madrid where now I have grass that grows on my sidewalks and old men and women sitting reading books on benches. It's safer. I found a neighborhood. I'm beginning to like Madrid.

Computers--Arg!

Ok, so I know it's been forever since I posted, but I swear the devil has invaded my computer and I'm crying witchcraft. I suppose you can all assume, correctly, that I am currrently teaching The Crucible. And if I could really cry witchcraft and have someone hung on the simplest whim, I would definitely go for the manufacturers of all PCs. I miss my Mac! I've NEVER had an issue with any Apple product I've purchased. I've NEVER had to have a motherboard replaced (except once when my friend spilled a bottle of wine on my laptop, but that was years ago and it certainly wasn't the computer's fault), and I've NEVER had to recharge my battery every fifteen minutes or it "hibernates." So, I'm now on my second loaner computer here (the school loaned me one when my mac was stolen), and for the second time I'm once again having problems. Now I can't use my wireless system because I'm blocked by a non-existant firewall, but I can't change my LAN settings until I have administrator access, and I can't do that until this person does this, and that person does that, and etc . . . I want to turn on my damn computer and have it work without having ridiculous issues every five minutes. So Apple, if you're out there and listening, I'm your number one fan. A week and a half and your newest laptop will be in my hands, and my PC will be happily returned to the school with all its demons.

Retiro Park

So there are two huge parks in Madrid, one named Retiro and one named Casa de Campo. Casa de Campo is bigger--kind of like Forest Park in Portland. Retiro is kind of like Central Park, but quieter and cleaner =) Sorry to my NYC buddies!

Anyway, Zoe and I walk there every weekend, and sometimes during the week (it's a good thirty minute walk to the park itself). I wanted to post some pictures of it so you all get a feel of the beauty that Madrid has, instead of just its problems. Enjoy! And just a quick note, the huge building that looks sort of angelic is the post office!!!! It's right outside of the park entrance.