The days of my Life.

Two entries in one day(2nd one below). The Internet has arrived at my house unexpectedly, so I give you the joys and screams that were last week!

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
-Bob Dylan

26 de Enero

A rare Sabado at home. Quite nice. I cooked up some Spanish coffee in the little metal dealie. It's like expresso. Then you add more than half milk. You need to warm the milk or it will cool off the coffee and this is almost the only time i use the microwave (i have to heat it in a pan at La Profesora's - so rustic!).

I hope these little insights, while maybe not gripping, give a glimpse into what it's like to live in Madrid in 2008. It ain't fucking Kansas! That's for sure.

Ooh, i hear my laundry landing. It's about 12 or 13 out (55F -ish) so i can hang them out on the line. Spring is coming – i can feel it in my toes.

The toes knows Susie. The toes knows.
-Mel Proffit

Anniversaries
On January 3rd The Spanish Exile blog turned one year old. Feliz Cumpleanos! January 7th made it one year ago that I came to Madrid. Tempus Fugit!

While the latter is a reminder that my Spanish blows, I finally have learned and processed the past and future tenses to add to my knowledge of the present tense. So now, like Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse Five, I can travel forwards and backwards in time.

I am 3 years old and tasting pork chops for the first time. “Goddamn! This is fine!”

I sit and look up words to expand my vocab. I converse with la Profesora in Spanish and constantly ask her “como say dice...?” Thusly, my vocab grows, albeit quite slowly.

The sun comes through the salon window. Time to check out the terraza. Ooh, and do all those dishes from last night.

There haven't been any intensives, so i need to get out of Madrid for a day. Maybe next weekend.

16:50

Internet all day today. Hooray! Chatted with the Seester for a while. Apparently there was a TSR reunion (Requiem for the Damned) and many people have been in touch. A few asked about me and she gave them the scoop that i live in Madrid.

Melissa said I should write Fairfield Now and let them know that I am teaching in Madrid.

“Oh yes, I can see it now,” I said.

“Class of '90- Jay Greco: Currently teaching business English in Madrid, Spain. PS – Annie Greco is NOT his child.”

That should have the Jesuits spitting out their morning coffee.

I am listening to King Crimson in Central Park, July 3, 1974. Absolutely scalding!!!! Awesome stuff.

Increible!
I just went to washingtonpost .com and saw the Caps are one point out of 1st place! Holy shit. I guess firing Hanlon was a good move!

Boston is a championship city, with another possibly on the way in the Pats. Undefeated no less! The Giants and Eli (not Payton!) Manning are in the Super Bowl, and the Caps are a point out of first. A black man or a woman is going to be a presidential candidate. Has America gone loco???? I can't believe any of these things. I would like to believe them all, excepting the Boston thing (they were such fantastic losers!- it's really their strength), but alack, i cannot.

Okay- on further inspection the caps are not in the top eight. There division just sucks. Why is there a southeast division in hockey? Why not have a South American Division? It's just stupidity.


28 de Enero 17:29

Enero 2008 slips away faster and faster. By the end of the week, this year's first month will be kicked. Incredible? Well, time waits for no one. There are few things that are certain in this life but one is that time keeps moving forward.

Except for me. I can move forwards and backwards!


Stadium arcadium
a mirror to the moon
-Red Hot Chili Peppers

Our buzzer just rang. I hoped it was Correos with my medicine. It sounded like the voice said “have information,” but that was all.

“Correos?” I asked.

“We have some information?”

“Are you Correos?”

“Do you speak English?”

“Yes. Are you Correos”

“No. We have some information for you.”

“What kind of information?”

“Bible information, we have a copy of WatchTower Magazine for you?”

Oh great. I cross the Atlantic and they still found me?

“No thanks, we're cannibals here.”

“Excuse me?”

“Cannibals. No thanks.”

“Maybe I no understand you. Did you say... cannibals? Like you eat persons?”

“Yep. Not just people. We eat babies, with a little olive oil. Seen any?”

The intercom buzzed off and there was silence. That should keep them from coming back.

God, I love when people here can speak English!!!

Stranger things have come and gone
both before and after noon
-Red Hot Chili Peppers

29 de Enero 10:38

Is it getting better
or do you feel the same
does it make it easier on you
know you've got someone to blame?
-U2

Odds and Ends

My espanol is improving!!!! I took a walk last night once i realized the Correos was not bringing the sello (stamp) i needed to go get my medicine at Barajas airport. It was a lovely warm night and after a two hour walk i stopped in a bar that had exotic beer signs. Wound up talking to an old man with a droopy eye who was drinking Sam Adams in a bottle. I started by saying, “Es uno de los mejor cervezas in Los Estados Unidos.”

“Si,” he said. Then he was off to the races. He spoke really fucking fast, but i somehow managed to get the jist of it. I was so psyched. But after 20 minutes i was exhausted and happy to leave. He never seemed to realize that my Spanish was at a low level.

It was nice to explore my neighborhood. I live about 20 minutes (walking) from the Plaza de Toros, one of the most famous bull rings in all the world. Unbelievably, right now it is home to the Circus Americano, a travelling circus. Ay Carumba! Doesn't America get enough bad press without enslaving animals and making them do stupid stunts? Can't we just impeach Shrubby and make him sit, stand and roll over. Better yet, have him play dead.

I finally went to the little book store across the street. It looked like they have kid books and I wanted to see if they had some in English for my kid's class. I've never seen anyone come in or out and it's always dark. When I tried to enter the door was locked and they had to come over and open it. What the hell? They didn't have much of anything and the man and woman inside were ancient. A perfect drug front, i thought.

I'm an animal trapped in your hot car
I'm all the days that you choose to ignore
-Radiohead

I need to get some new furniture. This couch is breaking my spine slowly.

Things are changing. I am somehow transforming from a passer by to a resident.

I start a new class tonight – a teacher friend of Maite's. Yahoo!

Tomorrow is the return leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals and Atleti is down 1-0 on aggregate. The game is here in madrid, but i work so i'll watch it on tv. Atleti has gone 3 games without scoring a single goal. Ughhh!!!

Okay. Time to shower and get ready for afternoon classes.

Great Reading:Wolf of the Plains- by Conn Igulden. Don't know if I ever mentioned this one. It's about a young Ghengis Khan. Spectacular!!!!

I wanted a plant for the house and all i could find was a stalk of bamboo. It's fucking impossible to find plants and flowers around here. I have only given Maria flowers twice, because i've only seen them twice! So many other terraces are overflowing with plant life. Do they import them from Afghanistan? Que estreno (very strange).

The more I see the less i comprehend.

Nothing really matters
anyone can see
nothing really matters
to me
-Queen