la primera cena

So at some point I promise I will figure out how to add accents as I type, but for now please bear with me. I'm wiped-out and well-fed, again lying on my bed as I listen to the soft sounds of the traffic below and the fountain across the street. I'm mostly writing at this point to try to keep myself awake until closer to the normal weeknight madrilena bed time of about 2a. Believe it or not, that's actually probably about the time I normally hit the sack at school (Roomz, care to attest?) and thus it generally wouldn't be a big problem, but I'm doubting I'll make it there tonight.

Anyways, I learned a few things at dinner:

1. Emilio LOVES to talk. He's a natural storyteller and kind of reminds me of the quintessential grandfather. He's all into explaining his culture and the way things have changed since he was but un joven. Ask him about anything that has to do with Spain or Madrid or travelling or his family and it turns into a history lesson. I'm still so fascinated by the fact that it doesn't take much effort to understand him that I've spent a lot of time this evening just sitting and listening to him talk.
2. Emilio and Angeles have been married for 50 years. It's adorable and admirable. Haha, as Caitlin and I were finishing up our dinner and just kind of chatting with Emilio, Angeles came in and gave him a little scolding lecture about lazing around and being social while she was working, to which he replied with something along the lines of "and yet she loves me still"
3. They have una nieta, a granddaughter who is about seven years old and her photos are everywhere. If I thought that Emilio spoke with pride about his culture and his country, it is nothing compared with how he speaks of his granddaughter. He informed me that he's a firm believer that grandchildren bring greater happiness than children.

Beyond this, our chitchat remained idle - talking of simple rules of the house and Spanish customs that the students Angeles and Emilio have previously hosted found difficult. 

Earlier, when I was walking with Caitlin and Max, I had the chance to take a few pictures. I'm on a mission to absorb everything I can out of Spain and hopefully not seem to touristy as I go, but as we walked in the gardens and the parks, around the Palacio Real and up to the Plaza Mayor, before heading back towards La Puente de Segovia. I couldn't help but snap a few photos on my phone, Which I'll post in a few moments. On our return from La Plaza, we intentionally overshot our building to wander arriba, as Angeles calls it. It's a much less touristy part of the city. It's still busy but not quite as overwhelming as the big name places we started out with. Along our wanderings, we found the nearest ATMs, pharmacies and convenience stores. Overall, I think we were walking for about 3.5 hours - I guess I shouldn't be surprised at my current exhaustion.

Max is an interesting character. He definitely has the character of an antagonizing younger brother, but I find him amusing. He likes to whip out random fun facts (especially about European cars and pocket watches) and to turn even the simplest of comments into a joking argument. And Caitlin does talk a lot, she's just quiet and sweet. You can tell the two of them have been good friends for a long time. We stopped for a bit to sit on a bench to people watch. It by a sort of playground/plaza set up for younger kids, and Caitlin and I have both decided that we've yet to see a Spanish child we don't find adorable. It's also kind of funny that as we wandered around and whatnot, of all things, I felt very tall. This feeling was more foreign than the country itself, or so it would seem. Both at home and at school the occurrence of my standing with my head higher than anyone else's is a rare one indeed. Maybe its just because we're staying in a slightly older (older as in the average age of the residents) part of town, but I think I'm going to hang onto this little confidence booster. It also seems a very bold and welcoming country, but I'll get more to that as I continue to explore it, I suppose. For now, I'll just give you some of the pictures of the day and call it quits for the night. I'm definitely not going to make it up until 2a.