Carnaval!

While the Spaniards leave a lot to be desired when it comes to Halloween, they definitely compensate for it with Carnaval. On Feb 17-19 we headed south to Cadiz, Spain, for a good time in celebration of all things Carnaval. Renting a 9-passenger van was actually the cheapest option and I, being the only one eligible to drive given my age and knowledge of manual shifts, piloted the party bus through floods, road closures and giant sand banks in the middle of the freeway. Apparently, Seville had seen quite a bit of rain before we got there and it had no intention of stopping for the duration of our 6 hour drive.


We made it into Cadiz around 2 am and moved our party of 8 into an apartment for 5. Actually we were quite comfortable. The following 2 days were a mix of partying, costumes and tourism. We wandered our Cadiz, which is a tiny little city, checking out the cathedrals, the ocean and the old city during the day. Then at night we all got into costume and wandered around the city with thousands of other folks in interesting costumes.


Oddly, everyone wore the exact same costume when they were in a group together. I saw 8 Elvis(es?) running around in the same costume (I still have a pair of their glasses to prove it haha), football teams, avatars, ghostbusters, matadors, and there was even a Baywatch troupe except they were complied completely of hairy men all dressed like Pam Andersen... they were still my favorites though. Anyway, our costumes were well received, we were Alice and Wonderland.


This was my goal for the night and consquently, my favorite picture- they even had people with them dressed as cows... quintessential Spain :P

Just keep swimming

I've joined a Master's swim team here in Madrid. We practice weeknights at 9:30 pm. It's a bit late for me considering I'm used to practicing at midday so I can get the best tan (not to mention I could easily be asleep in bed by that time), but the group is a lot of fun and I've really been enjoying the workouts. They've even got me going to their competitions, monthly events that resemble the meets from my rec-swimming days, complete with poor organization and human timers carrying stopwatches and event cards. In two weeks I'll swim the 800m freestyle because I decided that if the late 50-something woman can do it with the largest breasts I've seen on a 5'o tall woman, then I can too.

There are quite a few younger people on the team that like to go out dancing after meets and on birthdays. Here, it is a tradition that if it's your birthday YOU are the one who provides all the snacks to celebrate. The last birthday after swim practice we had Spanish tortilla, empanada, beer, fanta, cured meats, cheese and trail mix. It was awesome.

Our team is small but the dynamic is exceptionally entertaining...

We have the uber-competitive, uber-machista, late 40-something man who is by far the biggest trash talker on the team but livens things up dramatically. Every time he beats the Basque guy he yells some sort of nationalistic victory cry that usually causes me to put my head underwater so he can't see me laughing.

The nerdy but beautiful coach who plans all the sets and eats, sleeps and breathes swimming. He's even purchased a neoprene suit for races that costs over 300 euros and sends us floods of emails about the newest technology in swimming. Everyone went nuts when he broke a Master's breast stroke record in one of the recent meets (timed with a STOPWATCH for heaven's sake).

The ex-Olympic swimmer from Mexico who does all kinds of dry land exercises like push-ups and sit-ups but then only gets in the pool for about 15 minutes every night. He also has the neoprene suit.

Of course there is always a legion of very sweet and friendly older men who take practice very seriously over in Lane 2, but chat with me about all things Spanish, American and in between, during meets and before and after practices. My favorite of those is a charmer, who I just found out the other night speaks English really well and lived in Britain for a year or two. (I think he was keeping that one at bay so he could use it one day, not unlike me at the elementary school where the little ones still haven't figured out that I understand them...) These guys are clutch for finding out about the best jazz concerts in the city.

Likewise, no Master's team would be complete without the dirty old men- those who always find a moment to make borderline inappropriate comments and innuendos to girls 30+ years their junior...

Today I learned from the free Metro newspaper...

One of the highlights of my mornings here in Madrid is the free newspaper that is disbursed at the Metro entrances in the city. At first I never took one, simply because I usually have a book to read or papers to grade, but after my roommate told me that the papergirl has to stay outside until all of her papers have been distributed, I began grabbing one out of pity on my way down the stairs. Turns out the paper is not only educational, but quite entertaining. While a beacon of journalistic excellence it is not, the local news, information and amusing oddities are enough to start my day with a little glee. I've been saving some of the treasures:


Friday, February 12, 2009-

Good lord what has gotten into the Greeks? Not only are they strike-crazy and broke but they have been reporting false data to the EU about their economy and other *minor* issues. Apparently being the father of modern western civilization is all the money in the bank you need? The following quote will continue to be the joy of my weekend- says biochemist Vasiliki Revithi, "But we gave the world democracy, and we expect the European Union to support us." (This actually came from the NYT Global Edition)

Thursday February 11, 2009-

New streets in a neighborhood in Zaragosa, Spain, are expected to receive names from video games, including Calle Super Mario Brothers. Officials feel that since street names have always been a reflection on the culture it seems normal to jump from Calle Lorca and Calle Cervantes to Calle de The Legend of Zelda. I also read the breakdown by region on Spanish sex lives. Apparently the Basques are the most sincere, the Cantabrians and Extremadurans the most satisfied, the Catalans and Madrid-ers the least satisfied, and the Murcianos are the biggest liars. Good to know?

Monday, February 8, 2010-

Unionized Greek prostitutes went on strike last month to protest unlicensed competition from Russian and Eastern European prostitutes. Also, the Bulgarian Prime Minister has said that he is adding more women to his administration because, " Women are more diligent than men, and they don't take long lunches or go to the bar...Women have stronger characters than men because when they say no they mean no, and they are less corruptible." Sexism in reverse?

Thursday, February 4, 2010-

A giant sand replica of Ghandi was created in India by 50 artists using 19 different shades of sand and it only took about 4 1/2 hours. Also, the Madrid Metro is considering letting dogs ride the train.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010-

Senior citizens may take a free computer class here in Madrid as long as they bring a note proving that they are 'free of infectious disease'. Today is also National Tortilla Day! (Día de la Tortilla)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010-

(Sidenote- Today in my 5th grade class the kids laughed at me when I said the Spanish word 'entonces' without the lisp. In Spain it's pronounced 'en-tohn-thes' whereas in the rest of the Spanish-speaking world it's 'en-tohn-ses'. Awesome.)

75% of Catalan cinemas are striking to protest the new law mandating that 50% of the movies shown in the movie theaters must be dubbed into Catalan (of the cinemas in Catalonia). This would be extremely expensive and according to my roommate from Barcelona, "Nobody wants to watch movies in Catalan!" Equally as fascinating, I learned that Michael Jackson's glove had its gallery debut today in Macao, China, at its new home, a shrine dedicated to all things Michael. The glove was purchased from the US for $1 million.

Monday, February 1, 2010-

Punky Brewster (AKA Sun Moon Somethingorother) lives in L.A., has opened a shop of eco-products for children, had a breast reduction as a teenager due to gigantomastia (which I thought was a made-up Spanish word until I Wikipediaed it), and occasionally still dresses up in Punky wear to take pictures. She also Twitters.

Thursday, January 28, 2010-

81% of young people (15-24) in Madrid consider going out and partying (while not necessarily drinking) one of their most sought-after pastimes. 20% enjoy reading and the theatre. I realize the percentages don't add up.