Last week, we received the great news that our residency had been approved for the next two years! However, we also learned that we needed to get to Malaga before March 3 to finish up a few things for our new residency cards. So, most of us headed down there on Tuesday (the Harmons will go next week as they're still awaiting word on Sam's residency).
We allowed for some extra time because we didn't know what the lines were going to look like. Turns out there wasn't much of a line anywhere we went, so everything moved really quickly and smoothly. As you could guess, we were pretty happy about that because it gave us some time to relax a little before coming back to Madrid on Wednesday. The next and final step is returning to Malaga in forty days to pick up our cards.
Last year's residency card photo on the left. This year's on the right.
I may have possibly been a little less shell shocked this time :).
Downtown
Nikki is deep in thoughtful contemplation...
Erin inspecting the beach. I think it passed...
Dramatic dark clouds that helped us decide to return to our hotel.
When you know that you know a word that you really want to use, you have utilized it many times in previous conversations, and you can see a glimpse of it right there on the shelf of your mind - almost within your grasp - but you
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 :)
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.
I've received a few requests for pictures of the Christmas (Navidad) lights here in Madrid. And I finally got an opportunity to take those yesterday when Erin and Nikki suggested going for a walk to see them. We also figured we would try chestnuts roasted on an open fire since we've spent years singing about them and all :).
The lights in our neighborhood, Malasaña
In Plaza de Chueca
In Chueca
On Calle de Grand Via
The tree in Puerta del Sol
You can also walk inside the tree, neatly enough :).
There are lots of people in Madrid right now...
Chestnuts being roasted on an open fire!
Roasted chestnuts (castañas asadas)
Then you peel the shell of, which is real fun, and eat this part! It has kind of a popcorn-ish flavor, and this picture is kind of blurry, sorry about that :).
A real tree at Callao
We finished our light tour after this plaza, whose name I can't recall.
It was quite lovely to tromp around town with the gals and experience trying roasted chestnuts. It's started to get colder in Madrid now, which is we realize is still nothing compared to the temperatures in Nebraska. But, apparently our bodies have adjusted to the climate here, so I guess there's something to be said for that? :)
You may have noticed an extended absence from my blog recently. That hasn't been intentional, but there's really only so many intriguing things you can say about studying Spanish :). Which, by the way, if anyone has any fun or interesting methods for memorizing vocab, hook me up in the comments. That's one of my most significantly lacking areas at this point.
Anyways, this morning after awakening and preparing for the day I realized that, aside from studying, I didn't really have anything pressing to take care of. My language exchange folks are out of town this weekend and the weather looked lovely, so I figured I would wander about the city a bit since I haven't really had the opportunity to do so for a while.
I went to the Mercado de los Mostenses first, mostly just because I love walking around in there. It is crowded, kind of gritty feeling, but the range of products they sell is incredible. I usually see something new here, and I apologize but I kind of forgot to take any pictures because I was, with great fascination, watching the fishmongers at work. I did find a video link for you though :).
And randomly, since I was talking about fish, here's a picture of some sardines that I enjoyed while Nikki and I were in Santander a couple months ago.
They look a little odd, but they were very tasty!
Then I headed down toward Plaza Mayor where an artist was busy working on a painting.
After watching this guy for a bit, I was making my way to Plaza de Tirso de Molina for some lunch at one of my favorite spots, when I ran into a protest about funding for public schools. I have seen plenty of protests around here, but this was the first one with a brass band. So, I made my way through the crowd to check it out. This video is a little jumpy because I kept getting whacked on the head by people waving flags. Don't worry, I'm fine - it was just distracting :).
Eventually I escaped the crowds and had some lunch. Then I headed north again because I had heard that the 15-M protesters had taken over the abandoned Hotel Madrid near Puerta del Sol. I can confirm that this is indeed true.
I'm breaking in some new shoes (we walk enough here that you go through them pretty fast - kind of like burning through a tank of fuel in the states), so at this point it became clear that heading for home would be a good idea. But it was a nice little outing :).
