everyday is an adventure

You might think that reaching a point of some semblance of a daily rhythm would slow things down a bit, make life seem more calm. My experiences this week have proven quite the contrary. Most likely, I think this has to do with the fact that while yes, a routine of daily life in terms of meals and classes and homework has been established, each day continues to bring new experiences and therefore new adventures. If you haven't caught my drift by this point in my trip, I've more or less been developing this idea of a quintessential adventure, I suppose you could call it. My emotions have roller-coastered a bit since arriving here - I keep going back and forth between basking in the fact that I'm privileged enough to be on this trip to Spain and a nagging desire to push the limits of my new found European freedom further and travel more. But then I come back to realize that any weekend of travel is a weekend away from Madrid, a city that I have so come to love for all of its parts and of which I still have so much more to explore. I think I've finally come to the conclusion (at least temporarily) for my definition of an adventure, a new take on life, perhaps (or at least a better articulated one). Every day is an adventure waiting to happen. It doesn't matter what you do or where you go, who you're with or or without, as long as you make the most of it. As long as you go out with the intention of pushing your boundaries a little bit further, in some direction or other, and forge an exploration. I suppose that is to say that the only way not to have an adventure a day would be to hide, either in doors or behind the shelter of a monotonous routine.

And so as I've been out adventuring and whatnot over the past week, the time to dedicate to updating this blog has fallen by the wayside a bit. Although I wish I could do each of these events the justice of their own posts, I suppose a list will in this case have to suffice as tomorrow morning's class will find my group of five presenting about our most recent novel "Agosto, octubre" by Andres Barba and I should probably get some sleep tonight, though I feel as though I could stay and write for hours.

1. "Seis puntos sobre Emma" - While we're here, the Duke in Spain program administration has subscribed us to Madrid Cultura y Arte, a sort of pop-culture and special events advertisement group. We get weekly emails with random events around the city and have a little card (that honestly isn't often all that useful) that can get us discounts at very select places. While most of the events aren't conveniently timed with respect to our program, Monday night they discounted a new movie Seis puntos sobre Emma about a blind woman who wants a baby but doesn't think she knows how to love someone. It was a refreshing breath of optimistic air to contrast nicely with our class that is actually concentrated about the theme of violence in Spanish arts and history. On the other hand, I think I might actually have liked it in English too. If you're ever randomly looking for a somewhat chick-flicky spanish movie, I'd recommend it.
2. Paella, Gazpacho y Rosquillas - so ironically this one also directly relates to that card/discount thing...last Sunday (yes, that was the day that we got back from Barcelona if you're angling for exact chronology, in which case I apologize that this list is out of order) we took a cooking class! While the size of the class (15) prohibited from quite as much hands-on work in the class, I'm coming home with recipes for all three dishes and a mental picture of how things are supposed to look along each step of the way. That being said, I still think my Angeles makes better paella and gazpacho - over the next couple weeks I think I'm going to have to ask for a private cooking lesson of my own. (Then again, there was that one waiter we met at a desserts cafe a couple weeks ago who gave us his number and offered private cooking lessons. Yeah, no, I don't think we're going to hit that one up....).
3. Toledo - our excursion for the week. We went on Friday and spent literally all day in this gorgeous old city. It was one of my favorite sites from my summer 2010 trip and I was even more excited this time around to have the opportunity to learn even more. For such a small and now largely dead (save for tourism and a bit of artisan work) city, it is SO rich in history. In addition to its title as a former capitol of Spain, Toledo is one of the sites that has, at various points in its history, served as a pivotal religious location for each Islam, Judaism and Catholicism. We visited a TINY mosque that was converted into a church and is now largely just used as a tourist attraction, the local cathedral (a staple on each of our excursions), and the synagogue which also features a large amount of Christian indoctrination and is again now a point of tourism. We were also afforded the opportunity to get lost amongst the towering sand-colored walls and cobble-stone streets - a very fairy-tale like experience if I do say so. Picture the kingdom/castle town in "Tangled" to a tee. The day before our excursion (Thursday) had been the festival of Corpus Christi, so the already breath-taking architecture was still decked out with flags, lanterns, flowers and garlands of all colors.
4. Class movies - in the violence class, they're, well, violent. We've watched La Caza, which was about a bunch of war vets who go on a hunting trip and end up murdering each other as they're over taken by memories and frustrations, as well as Las Vacas, which took place from the end of the 3a Guerra Carlista to the beginning of La Guerra Civil. In the other class, more a more artistic way of looking at the past, we've watched not one, not two, but now THREE movies about Goya, each one more confusing than the last. Ah well, at least I can say that if not for these classes, I'd never have seen these, um, moving films.
5. Spanish TV - Emilio likes to watch TV a lot. He says its his window to the world since walking gives him pain. He spends a large chunk of the day, generally after lunch, flipping back and forth between the news channels. I asked him the other day where he stands on political issues (not that I fully comprehend them myself as politics, no matter how hard I try to focus on and understand them, never cease to fly at least a yard over my head) and he responded, most curiously, that in his position in life holding a specific and/or obstinate stance on any issue doesn't do him any good or bad. He prefers to try to understand as much as he can about all sides of each issue rather than form much of an opinion on anything, which for Caitlin and I has proved quite useful and informative. I think he also really likes talking about this stuff and feeling like he's teaching us about the world. He has so much to say and we're all ears. Emilio also appreciates most other forms of television entertainment - around dinner time I like to sit with him and watch anything and everything from game shows to sitcoms (moment of bragging - it's so exciting to have reached the point where I feel like I can genuinely understand the humor!) to soccer games (including a few women's pro games) to old westerns (he really likes Clint Eastwood) to the Simpsons and Scooby Doo. Watching American programs dubbed in Spanish is one of the oddest things I think I've ever seen. I've yet to get over watching Sarah Jessica Parker parade around NYC in bright pink pants at warp speed (they alter the speed of the image so that the events match up better with the translated words) and rambling in a very distinctly and high pitched Spanish voice.
6. Pick-up -  at some point, I promise I will write a full post about this, but suffice it to say that I've resorted back to my old habits, my most easy means of making friends. In El parque de Atenas, which is across the river and about a block away, I've been playing pick-up ball in a futsal court. I've played with all ages and made all sorts of friends. Although I've never spoken to him directly, I've even won over the respect of an apparently homeless man with a thick gray beard (I assume he lives in or somewhere near the park) who calls me Jugadosa, essentially meaning "the girl who plays ball", and yells at the men on the court to let me play, and then to remember to pass to me.
7. Eurocopa 2012 - 'nuff said.
8. La Carrera Solidaria de Santander - so Caitlin and I ran a 10k this morning. I'll elaborate more on that and the following four adventures tomorrow. For now, I'm beat.
9. A trilingual experience
10. El Rastro part 2
11. Cafe Delic
12. Anita