Bienvenidos a Madrid

by dmottier

Dearest friends and family… After a total of 8 hours waiting in 4 airports, 14 hours sitting on 3 different planes and 30 minutes chatting with a lost taxi driver, I finally managed to make it to my apartment. I looked like a typical tourist crossing the cobblestone with my two suitcases, overly packed backpack and wide eyed expression plastered on my face. And boy did I  make myself known in the lobby as I stumbled up the stairs, dropped my suitcase down a few steps and managed to have my backpack fly over my head and across the hall. Luckily, Soleil, who arrived the day before as planned, was waiting for me on the other side of the elevator. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to see a familiar face. And from her similar reaction when opening the door, I don’t think she has been either.

Somewhere in France

Zurich, Switzerland

The building I live in is extremely charming. It’s located on La Río Manzanares, in a really peaceful neighborhood, centrally located in the heart of Madrid (well, kind of). My host mom, Carmina, is a wonderful lady in her 70s who was almost more excited than Soleil was to see me (thank goodness, right?). As soon as I walked through the door she insisted on feeding me. This woman already knows the way to my heart. She warmed up a bowl of lentil and chorizo stew with a slice of toasted bread and an orange. We chatted about life in Colorado and life in Madrid. She told me about her daughter, who has children and a delightful husband. She explained her love for dance and gymnastics. I spoke of my love for singing, hiking and yoga. (She promised to take me to karaoke if I took a dance class with her). She’s been hosting students for 15 years now, all from either Stetson or Marist College in New York. It’s amazing how much she remembers about each student, comforting really, from their family history to their hobbies and even what classes they took while they were here. I mentioned that Carmina doesn’t speak a word of English, right? So, that’s been interesting. She says my Spanish is amazing, but she also could never hurt a fly so I think she’s just being nice. Carmina lives right across the hall from Soleil’s host mom, Pilar. They’ve been friends for 42 years and they’re both Real Madrid soccer fans (phew, huh Papa?). It’ll be nice for Soleil and I to be close to one another. 

La Cocina de Carmina

Mi Habitación

La Sala

After unpacking yesterday, Soleil and I took a nice stroll by the river. We passed lots of people on roller skates and saw dozens of kids at the skate park near by. We swung on some swings, slid down a slide and explored passed the bridge. I can see this becoming a daily routine. We decided though, after that walk, that we should probably avoid speaking English all the time. Almost everyone stared at us, which is probably a result of our naturally loud speaking voices. And it didn’t help that we hadn’t seen each other in a month (we had lots to catch up on, so I’m sure we spoke even louder than usual). But I think speaking English was the only reason our screaming conversation turned heads. So much for not sticking out… sorry parents.

Stroll on Río Manzanares

Dinner was light, thank goodness cause I wasn’t very hungry. Carmina made it clear that no food goes to waste here, so I’ll have to make sure I work up an appetite every time I hear her working away in the kitchen. We watched a game show during diner called Pasapalabra. It was quite entertaining, especially to hear Carmina yell out the answers, or what she thought the answers would be. I already feel at home here.

I slept through the whole night and might even be some what acclimated to the time change. Soleil and I spent the day exploring with her friend Isa from Miami. Isa introduced us to her friend Alvarito from Madrid. We got a nice, local perspective of the city, which is exactly what Soleil and I wanted.

Besos,

D