Real Madrid vs. Al Ittisch

One of the things that you MUST do while in Spain is see a soccer game with their famous team Real Madrid. The game that I went to was not sold out, and we paid 40 euros for great seats in the middle of the stadium. The most famous player is probably #9 (Renaldo), but the new player Kaká is also very popular. I saw many jerseys for David Beckahm as well even though he no longer plays for Real Madrid. The soccer stadium sits in the middle of the city and is gorgeous. The game started at 10:30pm and lasted until 1am. I was very surprised by a couple of things during the game. First, unlike football, baseball, and basketball games in the United States, they didn't sell any kind of clothing, bobbleheads, soccer balls, or anything! I was really looking forward to buying something that I didn't need. Ha!
Also, the big screen at the game had no dot race games and didn't even show the game. The only food that was sold were sandwiches. I was looking forward to hotdogs, cheesy nachos, and cotton candy. It was very strange to look around and see people eating a ham and tortilla española sandwich.
It seems to me that they would make so much money by selling items and food, but I guess in Spain it's more about the actual game than the "frills".

My Trip to the Madrid Zoo

I was very excited to go to the zoo today as my daughter and I frequently go to the zoos in Dallas and Fort Worth. However, after my visit to the Madrid Zoo/Aquarium, I was very disappointed. The zoo seemed very dirty and upkept, and the habitats for the animals were very small with stagnant water and trash in them. There were about 40 people at the zoo, and I understood why when I walked in (on one of the hottest days of the summer) and saw many of the animals laying down, exhausted from the heat of the day. The monkey habitat consisted of about fifty monkey and was filled with a ton of trash, most of which the monkeys were playing with. Also, the tiger habitat was filled with smelly, stagnant water, which was obviously very unhealthy for the animals. One of the pictures that I included was of a small zebra that looked very hot and sickly. From all of my trips to the zoo, I have never seen a zebra laying down like this before. The highlight of the zoo trip was the aquarium, which included many different beautiful fish and sharks. The dolphin tank was also very nice, but I can only hope that the Madrid Zoo used my entry fee of 18 euros to help with the upkeep of the habitats and these animals.

La Corrida de Toros

Ahhhhh....the classic bullfight. Several of my friends from school and I attended a bullfight on Sunday night at 8:30pm. It was a low profile bullfight, and the bullfighters were relatively new and unknown. It cost 5 euros, which was very cheap, and there were 3 bullfighters and 6 bulls. It all seemed a little brutal to me and very bloody, and I felt sorry for the bulls. Since the bullfighters were new, it took them several times to kill the bull at the end, which was quite disheartening to watch. The crowd did not applaud very much, and some of the Spanish people around me were quite upset that the bull was not killed on the first try. There are three parts to the bullfight, each of which I will describe.

En el primer tercio, el toro es soltado a la arena donde tres asistentes, bajo la dirección del torero, utilizan sus capas para probar el comportamiento del toro. El torero entonces llama a los picadores, dos hombres con lanzas sobre caballos en armadura que debilitan al toro al pincharle la espalda entre los hombros. Esto es hecho para hacer más seguro acercarse al toro y permitir una muerte rápida al final del tercio.





En el segundo tercio, el torero llama a los banderilleros. Estos tres hombres se acercan a pie, imitando continuamente el comportamiento de los toros. Cada banderillero decora al toro con dos lanzas con punta de gancho envueltas en lazos de colores brillantes.



Durante el tercio final, el torero utiliza su capa amarilla y roja o rosada y una espada para trabajar al toro en una serie de movimientos como en un baile. La gente va a gritar 'olé' cuando el toro pasa particularmente cerca del torero. Creo que esta es la parte más elegante y refinada de la corrida y está sujeta a arte, canciones y literatura, tal como La Muerte en la Tarde de Hemingway.



Cuando el torero siente que el toro está cansado, cambia su capa y espada por una muleta roja más pequeña y una espada de metal. El torero embiste la espada dentro de los hombros del toro hasta su corazón para una muerte rápida.

Durante una corrida, escuchará a la multitud aplaudir las bien ejecutadas maniobras del hombre o del toro. Puede escuchar también los "buuus" cuando la gente no está a gusto. Al final de la corrida, algunos pueden sacar sus pañuelos blancos pidiendo que el torero sea recompensado con una o dos orejas del toro.

El Oso y El Madroño

This is one of my favorite statues in Madrid - the Bear and the Strawberry Tree. It is located in La Puerta del Sol. The Puerta del Sol is in the Madrid of the Hasburgs (or the Madrid of the Austrias) section of Madrid. This area of Madrid is so named because it was during the reign of this dynasty that this area and Madrid itself really began to develop. The Sol area is the heart of Madrid. All of the best shopping can be done in this area, and believe me, I have bought way more than my share of Spanish shoes and clothing. When I ask people about the story of this statue, I never get the same story twice. Some people would even argue that it's not a strawberry tree, but I can get everybody to agree that it is a bear. :)
The Bear and the Strawberry Tree was constructed in 1965 by the sculptor Antonio Navarro Santafé. This statue is said to weight almost 20 tons! It is also the official symbol of Madrid, and you will see this symbol everywhere, on taxis, buses, pavements, banks, street signs, trash bins, and other things as well.
So, why is it the official symbol of Madrid? Opinions vary. The practical theory is that the bear standing on its hind legs with its front paws on the tree trunk represents possession and ownership of wood necessary for constructing buildings.

La Consulta del Médico

Yesterday I took a trip to the "médico." My stomach sickness had not gotten any better. I was still very cold, had a fever, chills, and many other symptoms that I choose not to discuss at this moment. One of the most important chapters that I teach to my high school students is the medical chapter. I always tell them that they may be sick in a Spanish-speaking country, and all of those phrases will come in handy. Now it seemed as though I was taking my own advice. My appointment was at 7pm, which was the first thing that surprised me. I am used to going to the doctor at 8am and being the first appointment if I was really sick. I took the bus across town with another girl from my residence who was also very sick with a serious head cold. We walked down to the doctor's office, which seemed to be more of an apartment than an office. Forty euros and two hours later of waiting in the waiting room and telling the doctor our symptoms, we received our prescriptions. We were lucky because a "farmacia" was located next door, and it was still open. I had no idea what type of medications that the doctor had prescribed for me, but I trusted him. They only cost me 5 euros, which was relatively cheap in comparison to some of the prescriptions in the United States. The pharmacist gave me two full boxes of medicine, much more than I needed, and I was on my way. I was told not to eat anything for 24 hours but to drink 2 liters of "aquarius" every day. Aquarius is a drink that is similar to Gatorade, and it tastes pretty good. So, here I am today, still alive, and trying my best to get better. :) I guess it wouldn't have been a true trip to Spain if I didn't experience every single aspect of this country.

Un Fin de Semana en Pamplona

I have just returned from spending the weekend in Pamplona for the festival of San Fermin. The bus ride down to Pamplona took about 6 hours, after a stop in Burgos. Burogs is a very important city in the history of Spain. Burgos is the birthplace of El Cid, the legendary general who led the Spaniards against their Moorish conquerers after some 800 years of rule. Some of his bones and the body of his wife are buried in the cathedral. The Burogs Cathedral was a amazing place to see, and it was made using the Gothic style of architecture. From Burgos, we went to Pamplona.
When we arrived in Pamplona, the famous "festival de San Fermín" had already began. One of the most known events during this festival is The Running Of The Bulls. It is the event that has given San Fermin world-wide fame and which is broadcast around the world during this fiesta in July. It is held at 8:00 each morning from the 7th to the 14th of July. It consists largely of young men (although women may also run) who run in front of the bulls to lead them from their pen into the bull-ring. It usually lasts from two to three minutes - although if there are complications due to loose bulls, it can last much longer. I saw this event, and it made me very sad that some people were seriously injured and some people died this year. We were told by the school not to run with the bulls because it is very dangerous. Instead, we bought tickets to sit inside the bull ring to watch the bulls enter. We saw the events on the street through a television monitor, and we saw the rest of the events in the bull ring as the bulls ran through. This is a very dangerous event, but many people from all over the world run with the bulls each year.
Have you ever looked at the book, Where's Waldo? Well, that's how I felt this weekend. Pamplona was the place of the biggest costume party that I have ever seen. Everyone wears white, a red sash, and a red necktie. We were told to stay in groups because if someone gets lost, it will be very difficult to find them. If you describe your friend as wearing white with a red sash and necktie, that describes just about every other person around you. I felt as though I were in a Where's Waldo book, and I would have loved for someone to have taken a picture from an aerial view in which I could try to find myself. I believe it would have been impossible.
Each night during San Fermin, there is a fireworks show. This show was simply amazing. The fireworks were amazing, and just when you thought the show was over, they started shooting out more fireworks. It was definitely the best fireworks show that I had ever seen, and I felt better about not being in the United States to see fireworks on the 4th of July. At one point, my friends and I started to quietly sing "America the Beautiful". Ha!
After all of the events at Pamplona, we took a day trip to San Sebastian and Biarritz, France. These two places had beautiful beaches. We spent about 20 minutes at San Sebastian to take pictures, and we spent about 3 hours at Biarritz to enjoy the beach. I felt somewhat complete in France as my friend and I decided to eat "french fries." They were absolutely delicious, and we decided that they definitely should be called french fries. After the beach, we headed back to Pamplona for another round of the Running of the Bulls.
When I woke up in the morning, I had a terrible stomachache and was not able to attend the 2nd running of the bulls. I heard that it was equally as dangerous as the 1st day, and several people were injured. We had to get on the bus at 9:30am, and I felt horrible all day. I was told that I had food poisoning, and I am still battling a terrible stomachache at this moment. I hope to make a miraculous improvement in the next few days.

¿Dónde está la comida americana?

While I do love Spanish food, one of the things that I love the most is a big, tasty hamburger. The hamburgers in Spain do not compare to the fatty, greasy hamburgers in the United States. So, when I was walking one day and saw this sign, I felt as though angels were singing from the heavens. Really sad, huh? Needless to say, the food here was delicious. However, I promised myself that for the rest of the trip, I was only allowed to eat Spanish food, instead of succumbing to the temptations of a fatty, greasy hamburger.

Paella

Paella is an internationally known rice dish from Spain. It originated in the fields of a region called Valencia in eastern Spain. Today paella is made in every region of Spain, using just about any kind of ingredient that goes well with rice. There are as many versions of paella as there are cooks. It may contain chicken, pork, shellfish, fish, eel, squid, beans, peas, artichokes or peppers. Saffron, the spice that also turns the rice a golden color is an essential part of the dish.

Baile Flamenco

One of the most emotional dances that I have ever seen is the Baile Flamenco. Every Monday from 5:00-6:30pm, there is a class at school in which we can learn Flamenco. The teacher said that in order to be good at this dance, you pretty much should have started dancing as soon as you could walk, so there is probably no hope for me. This is what I learned from the teacher today. I took these pictures at a club called Cardamomo during a live flamenco show.

Flamenco es un arte que se presenta en dos variantes: Música y Baile. En la música, el Cante y la Guitarra ocupan el papel fundamental, aunque existen otros instrumentos (como la percusión) y acompañamientos (como las palmas) que generalmente están presentes y juegan un papel muy importante.

El Baile es muy expresivo y cada parte del cuerpo ha de moverse de forma coordinada: los pies, las piernas, las caderas, el talle, los brazos, las manos, los dedos, los hombros, la cabeza...

Para aprender flamenco son necesarios dos ingredientes: alma y técnica, y esto no resulta fácil cuando consideramos que el flamenco es muy rico y complicado. Se pueden contar más de 50 "palos" del flamenco. Cada "palo" tienen su propio ritmo, su propia armonía y, en caso de que sea un palo bailable, cada cual se interpretará con una danza diferente.

Segovia

Yesterday, we took a trip to Segovia. The bus ride from Madrid took about an hour, and Segovia has a wealth of monuments to visit. First, we visited the Palacio y Jardines de la Granja. It was a gorgeous place. The castle was beautiful, and the gardens and the fountains were very impressive. Next, we visisted the Acqueduct of Segovia, which is what Segovia is most known for. It was built at the end of the 1st century by the Romans during their occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. It is made of approximately 20,000 blocks that are not held together by mortar or clamps. The acqueduct is still in good shape, and it was an amazing site to see. Next, we walked to the Catedral, which is known as one of the last Gothic style churches built in Europe. The last place that we visited was the Alcázar, which is a castle that used to be an Arab fort. I was told that this castle was the inspiration for the castle that Walt Disney animated for the movie Cinderella. I have to admit that it did look like the castle in the movie. I even paid 2 euros extra for the priviledge of walking up 164 stairs to the very top of a tower just so I could feel like a princess. Ha! The view from the top was worth the pain in my legs and feet the next day. All I needed was a blue dress and a glass slipper, and the day would have been complete.

"Turistas, Turistas"

Sometimes I go to the mall in Fort Worth, Texas, and I see a person with a camera taking pictures inside the mall of the fountain or a certain store, and I wonder to myself......Where are these people from, and why in the world would anybody want to take a picture of a fountain in the middle of a mall? In the United States, it's often very easy to pick out a "turista." They are carrying a camera, taking pictures of the oddest things, and often look very lost. Well, I hate to say it, but I have turned into one of those people. I take pictures of metro stations, street signs, trees, and birds.
The other day I was eating an amazing "tortilla de patata" sandwich in the Retiro Park, and I accidentally dropped a piece of the sandwich on the ground. The next thing I know, there are tons of pigeons and birds surrounding me. I quickly got up and decided it was time to move on, but I couldn't help but take a picture of the birds eating my food. When I took the picture and turned around, some local Spaniards were looking at me like I was crazy. They understood when they saw my camera, and I was immediately classified as one of those "turistas."
In Spain, I try to blend in, but there is one major thing that sets me apart from everyone else. What is it, you ask? It's my hair. I am blonde. You might think to youself, so what? But, here in Spain, it is something that catches ALOT of attention. I often hear from across the street or across the restaurant, "la rubia, la rubia." You would think that I was some kind of celebrity with the way that people act around here. I have always said that people always want what they don't have, or the famous saying of "the grass is always greener on the other side." There are many blonde people in the United States that want to be brunette. So, my advice to these obsessed Spaniards with my hair color is....go to the "supermercado" and buy a bottle of hair dye. :)