Robyn.Bowles.es

We never did get to the museum yesterday, or the street-fair for that matter. I think we slept until 1:30 or 2 pm. I don’t know if it’s still jet-lag or the heat, or if it’s just the Madrileño lifestyle. Probably the lack of having anything we HAVE to do plays into it also.
Samuel did get out a couple times yesterday; I basically stayed on the couch and watched NASCAR racing because it was on the only English-speaking station: “Euro Sport”. My brain just didn’t have the energy to concentrate on a Spanish program.
Spanish TV, however, may be a good homework assignment for me after today’s first day of class! I am in elementary level (one step above beginner where Samuel is). There are 8 others in my class from all over the world: Poland, Germany, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Italy. The ages vary from 18 to 40-something (yeah! I’m not the oldest!). I have a lot of catching up to do. I would guess that I could understand about 30% of what was going on. The accent takes a little getting used to because the Spaniards lisp all of their “Z’s” and “Ce’s”, so it takes my brain a little extra to figure out what they are saying.

I’m sure you’re all dying to know how my cold is progressing: I’m happy to say I’m feeling better; throat just a little tender, able to breath – yet frequent nose blowing, frequent cough, and plugged ears. The plugged ears make understaning Spanish a bit more difficult. (I know, these are probably mundane issues, but after 8 years of hearing people complain about their ailments FIVE DAYS A WEEK, I thought I’d take a turn

I discovered today that I am missing some money. I don’t know what would be worse: if it was so cleverly stolen that I couldn’t tell despite it being in a zipped pouch in my bag that I always carry close to my body – or – if I was so careless as to leave to pouch unzipped and somehow it fell out. I guess the former would be worse because I have been so careful and can’t imagine how it could have been stolen, and if it was, I don’t know how I could be more careful. At least now I will be hyper-aware of where the money is and always make sure to close the bag.

After our afternoon siesta, I think we’ll try to venture out to navigate el supermercado on our own. Discovering Spain at this pace is much more enjoyable than trying to cram it all in in just one week!

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