Clear Skies

So, it pretty much rained the whole month of April.  Then we had kind of a transition type of week as far as weather goes, but the clouds have mostly receded and the temperatures are climbing.  Tough to believe that over the course of about a week ago I went from wearing layers and shivering pitifully to sweating and trying to stay in the shade :).

You never know what will happen when buying groceries

About a week and a half ago I was out purchasing some groceries when I noticed that there were a lot of police around diverting traffic and such.  That, of course, caused me to wonder what was going on.  It was kind of a strange time of day for a strike, so I didn't think that was it.  Regardless, I decided to continue my grocery shopping while keeping an eye out.  So, I continued on to the pollería (the store where you buy all kinds of poultry meat).  After I left, I heard music nearby, so I had to investigate.

There was a drumline marching through the neighborhood.  Honestly.  This city is crazy sometimes, which is one of the reasons I love it :).

So close!

We are in the midst of holidays here in Madrid.  Yesterday was Labor Day and today is May 2 (Dos de Mayo).  Today is significant in Madrid because on May 2, 1808 the people rose up against the French forces that were occupying the city.  I'll let you read the history of that here on Wikipedia, if you would like :).

Also kind of amazing is that in one month, I'll be on a plane headed to the U.S. for home assignment!  That came quick, didn't it?  I'm really, really excited to see everyone and I have been working on a list of places I want to eat at (no one is surprised by that right?), but I actually think it will be tough to be away from Madrid for eight weeks.  On one hand, that's an encouraging place to be at, on the other hand - it's real strange to think that living here is basically my new normal, and I kind of like it.

So, I'll be doing my best to make the most of the next month :).  Here's what's coming up!

• We have a new strategic plan for the next six months, so it will be neat to see how God works through that!
• On Thursday, I get to have a root canal.  That's not fun obviously, and I'm a bit irritated that it couldn't have waited until I got home and could go to my own dentist.  But, these things are best taken care of right away.  So, would appreciate your prayers as I'm kind of nervous.  And since my dentist usually reads this blog :) and might be wondering, it's the upper left incisor - number 10, I think...  I'll come in for a cleaning when I'm in Lincoln so you can check out the Spanish dental work :).
• If the weather is good this weekend (it's been chilly and raining recently), one of my language partners and I are going to check out the climbing wall on campus.  I got to climb a little when I was in Málaga (pics below), and really enjoyed it.  So, there's a few of us on the team that might try and plug into the climbing community here.
• And my birthday is next Friday!  Hmm, I should think about how to celebrate that...
• On May 12, I'll head to my first bullfight.  It's actually a rejón, which is when the bullfighter is on horseback.  I'm not sure what I'll think about this, but my tutor was telling me about it and allegedly the best bullfighters are in Madrid during the festival of San Isidro, so it's as a good a time as any to check it out.  Vamos a ver (we'll see).
• On May 20, I'm going to a sushi making class!  One of my language exchange partners likes to cook, so we exchange recipes from time to time.  But, I'm always looking for more 'foodies' to hang out with.
• June 2 - fly to Denver and give my folks a huge hug :).

Huelga General (General Strike)

After living in the center of the capital city of Spain for over a year now, we're pretty used to seeing protests and hearing about strikes.  Today is a quite a bit different though because it's a country wide general strike.  There's an interesting article on it online at El Pais.

For the record, our team is not on strike :).  But there are a few noticeable differences between today and "normal life."  

• The garbage hasn't been collected, so there's trash all over the streets and plazas.
• The majority of businesses are closed, even some that are independently owned.
• There's been some obnoxiousness:  smashed glass, spray painted ATMs, stickers plastered on the windows of stores that did decide to open, etc.
• Transportation services (bus, metro) are running at reduced levels.

After us gals met for bible study this morning, Jenee and I headed out to find a cafe that was open and had WIFI.  The first place we tried was closed, so we started down the street only to see a line of police vans drive by.  Then we noticed that one of the helicopters was holding a pretty steady position over the area, which we found a little disconcerting. (I've checked the news since then and there was a demonstration on Grand Via, which is really close to here.  So, that's what that was about.)

"We're on strike, sorry for the inconvenience."

We headed down another street toward a second place, and discovered a crowd waving flags, wearing stickers, and chanting "Hu-el-gaa, Hu-el-gaa."  So, we watched that for a bit before turning around toward a cafe a little more off the beaten path.

UGT = Unión General de Trabajadores
General Workers Union

News trucks parked near UGT Headquarters.

The third try was a success and we were pretty thankful to find an open cafe that was nice and quiet.  What a crazy morning :).

If you're interested in seeing more pictures of the strike, 20Minutos has a good sized collection going.

La Luna!

I was walking back from meeting with a language exchange partner tonight when I noticed the moon (la luna) hanging out up there!  Kind of adds a sweet element to this picture doesn't it?

Camarera + Cantante

It turns out that the camarera (waitress) at the cafe I frequent (and use as my office) is actually a cantante (singer) as well!  How neat is that?  She invited me to her show last week, so Erin and I went to check it out.   It was fun - she can really sing!

I congratulated her on her show the next day and was able to hang out for a bit and chat, which was really encouraging.  I'm not quite quick enough with the Spanish yet to get a ton of thoughtful opinions into a fast flowing conversation, but I can interject a few :).  Gotta celebrate those small victories!  Getting there :).

I noticed this homemade bird house hanging on one of the trees in the plaza near our apartment when I was going to meet up with one of my language exchange partners on Friday.  Looks like it's made out of a juice carton - in case you were curious as to what juice cartons look like in Spain.  I didn't see it when I walked through there today, but to be fair - I was pretty focused on going to the park with Jenee and Sam :).