Chinese New Year in Madrid

The weather was beautiful yesterday, so I decided to go for a nice little Sunday afternoon walk.  I was headed toward Templo de Debod because you can see the horizon and I like to sit and read up there sometimes.  I typically pass through Plaza de España on the way because it's the fastest route and there's a good Chinese restaurant there in case I need a snack or decide to have a picnic.

So, I arrived at Plaza de España and discover that there is a Chinese New Year festival taking place.  Of course I have to check this kind of stuff out and ended up inviting my roommates to hike down there since there was a selection of great looking food available for pretty cheap :).  So I hung out and watched the dragon dancers while I waited for them.  We acquired snacks and had a little picnic on the grass.  Pretty nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon in January if you ask me.

Cute little kiddos playing a big drum.

"Happy Chinese New Year"

You don't see a dragon running around Plaza de España too often.

They weren't apparently concerned about possible litigation, because they
would just charge through the crowd and everyone would scatter!
I stayed close to the fence :).

A sample pack of various delicious Chinese dumplings!

Erin and I taking pictures of our snacks, picture courtesy of Nikki :)

Nikki and Erin taking pictures of the dragon.

One Year

One year ago today, six of us walked off the plane at Terminal 4 of Madrid-Barajas International Airport.  We got the visas in our passports stamped at Immigration/Customs, then collected our mountains of luggage.  Ryan and Jenee were kind enough to meet us at the airport, help us get our bags stuffed into taxis, and we rode into the city.  I remember getting somewhat settled into temporary housing, then meeting Jenee for lunch.  The rest of the day is kind of a blur.  I think there was some exploring, grocery shopping, and purchases of hair dryers in there, but jetlag has a way of scrambling your brain, you know?

And so began the process of trying to figure out how to live and do ministry in Madrid.

It's certainly been a strange year.