Madrid

Here I thought Seville was a city. It turns out it was really kind of an overgrown village compared to Madrid. I could sense the difference the other day when I passed through Madrid station on the way to Toledo, but arriving today and taking a taxi into my neighborhood and then walking around, I really feel the difference.

Today was Saturday, so maybe this is weekend traffic, but when I went out, there were people everywhere. It felt exciting, being in a new place with so much apparently to see and do. The energy felt like New York, as I guess it should, since this is the center of Spain, and the capital.

My apartment is in an old building on the top floor. I'm on a pedestrian street - Plaza del Angel, and in the next block is Plaza Santa Ana. I'm within walking distance to the Prado Museum, Retiro Park and Plaza del Sol. There seems to be a lot to do, and definitely a lot to eat. I think I will enjoy my brief two week visit here.

After checking in, rearranging the furniture so it worked for me, unpacking what I could and setting up my computer, I went to Corte Ingles to pick up some staples. On the way there was a large crowd gathered to watch the police arresting a black man. I stood for a while to watch to make sure everything was being done correctly. I will never forget in Philly once going to my volunteer ESL teaching gig, seeing the police with a black guy lying face down with his face over a sewer grate. One police officer had his foot on the guy's back and they were saying things to him like "you see that, that's where we're going to put you". I didn't think it was necessary to treat the guy like that no matter what it was that he did and I stood and watched them and later called the ACLU to report what I saw. If the Madrid police were acting in a similar manner, I don't know what I would have done. Once I saw they had things pretty much under control, I felt like a voyeur and left.

Corte Ingles supermarket seems bigger than Seville. Everything seems bigger than Seville, including the crowds. I had to cross Plaza del Sol and there were hundreds of people walking around. Coming back I stopped at a little market that was set up and bought some cheese and bread. I also got chorizo and pate thrown in with my cheese (for an extra 5 euros). My refrigerator is now stocked.

My apartment had a slightly smokey scent, probably from the last people to rent it. I wanted to get something to mask the smell if I could. I was looking for lavender oil, and instead found incense. I needed a lighter to light the incense and also wanted a bottle of wine.

I walked around my immediate neighborhood to see if I could find both. I went into one market that seemed to be run by Ecuadorians (some products I saw last night in the Locotorio seemed similar). They had some wine but it didn't look like a good selection, so I went on. I found a few Chinese run markets. I went into one and walked to the back where the beverages were. A guy was watching Chinese soaps in the front and a woman was in the back. I asked her for "vino" and she pointed to some bottles of sangria. It wasn't what I had in mind, so I told her no and walked back up front. She said something to the guy watching the soaps behind the counter and he told me in Spanish that they didn't have wine. I asked if he had a lighter. He repeated - 'we don't have wine', and I repeated, "a lighter?". He reached down, seeming kind of disgusted and put a lighter on the counter that has a cartoon figure giving a big red finger, and written as plain as day it says "fuck you". I looked at it and said, "oooh, esto is malo" (this is bad) - he just kind of looked at me and said "un euro", I paid him, but he continued to look pissed at me, maybe because I interrupted his soap opera? I don't know.

So here I am, once again in a new place, trying to figure out what to do, where to go, how to get there. It's exciting, but it is also getting kind of tiring. I'm so glad I have my own apartment so I can eat most meals at home and only use restaurants for special treats or times when I am far from home and hungry (because looking for places to eat is even more tiring).

Right now I am very sleepy and am not sure if this blog is making any sense, so I will end here.

Good night!