Final weekend en Madrid

The weather here is fabulous! Sunny, mild, a breeze... you couldn´t ask for better and extremely atypical for summer in Madrid!

On Friday after classes I took the boys to Aquopolis - a water park about 25 km outside Madrid. We took the Metro to Moncloa and from there caught a bus to the town of Villanueva de la Cañada. A short walk (well, I thought it was short!) and we were there. They had about four and half hours of slides, rides, swings, a rolling log type thing... water, water everywhere! They brought along various roommates, friends, acquaintances, etc... we formed a grop of nearly 22! It was nearly 22:00h before we got back to Madrid and we had an early and very long Saturday planned. I expressly told the boys no going out since they were going to have many and varied activities for the weekend.




On Saturday morning we met at 08:30h at International House. There is a group of 12 high school students from Puerto Rico and we joined with them to take a coach bus out to El Valle de los Caídos (Valley of the Fallen) y El Escorial. The Valley is a monument built by Francisco Franco to commemorate those who died during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and in particular as a tomb for himself. It was completed and dedicated in 1959 and he was buried there upon his death in 1975. The monument is a monolithic structure comprised of a 150 metre granite cross that soars out of the rock of the mountain. At its base are larger than life-size sculptures of the 4 evangelists and below that, 4 angels. The main facade is hugh arched opening to a basilica that has been blasted out of the rock face of the mountain. It opens onto an esplanade that overlooks a pine forest and valley that stretches across the Spanish meseta for as far as the eye can see.


The rear of the structure, which is seen in pictures, although we did not visit it, is a Benedictine monastery which houses the monks who care for the basicila. It is accessible though a door behind the main altar. I am in awe of the structure, and althiough it is a place I love to see (the cross is one of the most strikingly beautiful structures I´ve ever seen) it is not a place I like to visit. There is a great deal of horror and tragedy surrounding the Spanish Civil War and Franco´s subsequent dictatorship. The basilica has always presented me with a stark reminder of this dark period of Spanish history.

We followed this with a visit to one of my very favourite places in Spain. El Monasterio de San Lorenzo del Escorial. Built by Felipe II in the 16th century, it is at once a monastery, a school, a library, a royal residence, a pantheon of all the kings of Spain since Carlos I and a church. It houses one of the most extensive libraries other than the Vatican and an amazing collection of art. Not to mention that nearly all the Spanish royalty is interred there. We were fortunate to have an amazing guide, Pablo, who accoompanied us and gave us an incredible tour of the structure.

We had lunch in the village of El Escorial at the base of the Guardarama mountains and returned to Madrid around 16:30h.

Every summer Spain hosts the European Gay Pride parade which brings gay rights activists from all over Europe to the city. No matter what your personal feelings on the subject, it is quite a celebration and a spectacle. Since it is on the news and the parade takes place at 18:00h through the main streets of the city, there is no way to keep the boys away, so I just gave them a short explanation of what was going on, a strict warning to stay together and be careful and sent them on their way. From what I hear, most went to view the parade...it is something you would never have in this magnitude in the US...ah, well, it is all part of the culture!

For Sunday, we all agreed to meet for the Rastro at 09:30h in the Plaza Mayor. Since it is our last Sunday in Madrid, many of the boys wanted to buy the last of their recuerdos for friends and family. I guess they think there are no souvenirs to be had in the south of Spain! Won´t they be surprised!

Afterwards I gave them free time to do their writing for me - which many of them are not doing, I regretfully add. And we planned to meet at the Plaza de Toros at Ventas at 19:30h. I found out during the week that there was in fact a ¨novillados¨ bullfight this weekend, and so we attended. Novillados are toreros who are young and/or learning their craft. They are novices, if you will. All the components of the corrida are the same, just the bulls are a little smaller and younger. So the boys got to see 6 bulls, with picadores. I gave them all an explanation of exactly what they were going to see, how the drama unfolds and the meanings of the parts of the corrida that I understand, at least. Every piece of the corrida has significance and I do not know it all but they got a pretty good idea.

Because of the summer heat, the corrida began at 20:30h. Each bull takes approximately 30 minutes so we were close to 13:30 heading home. Needless to say, there were quite a few tired students in school on Monday morning.

It is difficult to keep up with all that we do! There are so many activities for the boys and they have seen and done so much. And there is so much more yet to come! I only wish that they would spend more time sleeping so they are awake enough to enjoy the activities of the day! I guess I can´t have everything!

We are the Champions.....

The boys arrived at school yesterday singing, ¨Yo soy español, español, español...¨ the theme song of every expatriot Spaniard these days! It is truly phenomenal! By 15:00h on Monday, the streets surrounding Plaza Colón were blocked off by police for about a km. No vehicular traffic was allowed as crowds began to pour into the area to welcome home the victorious Spanish national team. On the news there were great photos of the plane landing at Barrajas. ¨Campeonatos¨ (Champions) was written in massive red letters across the front of the plane lest there be any question as to exactly who the passengers were! As they taxied from the runway, the pilot´s window opened and a hand appeared holding the Spanish flag blowing in the wind! It was great!

The team ¨processed¨in an open bus - think London Tour bus - into the city through streets lined with adoring fans! When they finally arrived at Colón, there was singing, dancing, celebration; they were waving the trophy around as if it were a drinking glass! And that doesn´t even begin to cover what they did to their coach!


Our school is located just one block from the Plaza Colón. One of the (many) things on which the students have commented is how there can be thousands of people in the street late into the night and yet when they arrive at the school in the morning, the entire place is cleaned up as if nothing had happened! Obviously, celebration is not the only thing that continues late into the night!

Today we will be doing a little more ¨flamenco dancing¨. The boys seemed to get into it and I will take them to see flamenco when we go to Sevilla...so they can have a better appreciation of the complexity of the music and steps by having learned a little bit beforehand!

I think I would like to have a little ¨reunion¨ in September when we return to school. I need to get some feedback regarding what works and what doesn´t. Although I think they pretty much enjoy everything! Old habits die hard. I can ¨recargar¨ my cell phone, and it lasts me pretty much about 10 days. That includes the occasional call to the States, contacting the boys, making whatever necessary calls I need to make within Spain. However, they seem to use up their 20€ in a matter of days (like, 2). They don´t seem to be able to grasp the concept of not using the phone to call from one floor of the school to another instead of walking up the stairs. Nor do they seem to be able to organize a meeting place and be there without calling 3 or 4 times to find out, ¨What time?¨, ¨Where?¨, and if someone does not arrive at the exact minute, they are calling to find out where he is! It´s all about economy and waste.

The other huge expense is food and drinks. Even though they are provided with three meals per day, many times (especially the first week) the boys are opting to skip a meal (particularly breakfast) and then come to school and order a cafe con leche. Although I must say this is much better than the first week when instead of getting a cafe con leche for 1.20€ they were going to Starbuck´s and paying +4€ for a latte! Then at the 11:30 break they eat again. Lunch is at 1:30 and some of them are skipping this to go and get ¨cheap¨ bocadillos. Now the bocadillos really are cheap at 1€, but why skip the included meal when they are going to want more food at 16:00h anyway and could get the cheap bocadillos then???? I have great difficulty understanding this rationale.

Water is purchased and then the bottle thrown away. Tap water here is very good and there is no reason not to refill the bottle in the evening and have nice cold water in the morning. We do it in our house all the time. Saves 1€ on every bottle
purchased.

It is not unusual that they spend more the first week. I drag them all over the city on the metro, teaching them how to use it, where things are, how to get around most efficiently. After that, I begin to walk. I walk everywhere...the archetecture here is beautiful and there is always something interesting to look at. It is the best way to actually learn the city, and power ä pie¨is actually quite economical as well.

Weeks 2, 3, and 4 should show a significant decrease in the amount of money spent. It will pick up again at the end when we go to Andalucia and they need to purchase food during the day (breakfasts are included in the hotels). However, once again, there are great bargains to be had in Spanish food - buying American anything is going to cost a bomb! That includes, Coke, Haagen Daas, MickeyD´s, BK, Starbucks, Dunkin Coffee, etc.

In case you do not know, I have given the students a list of places to visit and see on their own during their free time. Each Monday, I expect them to write something (short) for me in Spanish about their experiences, what they´ve seen, where they´ve been and what their impressions are. Most are doing it, some are not. there has to be some sort of accountability that they are spending their free time usefully... not just sitting on park benches...dreaming the day away... although in the heat of the day, that is not such a bad plan. A great invention, siesta!