Adventures in December

Templo de Debod.
A piece of Egypt in Spain!

The temple was built in Egypt, close to Aswan.  Egypt donated said temple to Spain in the seventies.  It's a hope skip and jump from anywhere in central Madrid and the only temple of its type that you can find in Spain.

People in packed in Plaza de la Puerta del Sol following thanksgiving.  Packed is actually an understatement.

Normal decorations for the holiday season.

 Rosy, Brian and myself outside el Palacio del Congreso.  During the Jornada.  The Congrss is open to the public 2 days a week during the year.  We seriously stood in line for 3 hours...

 Inside el Palacio.

 Apparently during an attempted coup someone popped off a couple of shots in the congress.  I counted twelve, a few of which are visible here.

 Dinner at "Las Bravas" after a long day in the congreso. Apparently this place has the best brava sauce in Madrid.  We had tortilla espanola, pimientos de padron, calamares y sangria.

 This place has the greatest wine ever...si te gusta vino dulce.  After dinner we got a table here and sat for hours. 

 Cutests metro advertisement ever.  La Navidad....llega al tiempo.

 The ninos christmas cards.

 Another auxiliar from my school.  This tree was about as good as it was going to get if our flight was canceled.  Fortunately...it wasnt.

 Leaving Madrid.

Sunset in VA, on the way home from D.C.

On being a leading lady...and changes

Many changes have taken place in the last couple of months.  I changed my social group.  I surprised my family with a holiday visit.  I got reacquainted with my oldest (high school )friends, got closer to them, left them with a bit of a bang--sorry trav.  I visited a friend in Virginia and left with extended commitment.  I spoke my piece with the girls in the flat...and yes, it sucked.  Yes, it was hard.  No, I don’t regret it.  I am nice but I am no fool.  If you didn't know it before, you do now....at least they do, anyway.

At the end of the day its really very simple.

I’ve always claimed to be the star of my own life.

I’ve been lying to myself and to everyone around me.

What I wore was a facade of confidence, a thin veneer that ultimately could be scratched away to reveal a people-pleaser.

I was miserable and instead of standing up for my own happiness, instead of being my own champion, I did what made everyone else happy.  I went with the flow.  I didn’t air my grievances  I just accepted them, because in my own words --spoken to multiple people-- ‘I am not a confrontational person’.

While talking to a girlfriend about her on and off again lover, I lost my patience.  I looked at her and said ‘why don’t you change it; stop complaining and change it’...and then I realized I was being a hypocrite.  Here I was wallowing in my problems, sitting in silence to keep the peace and playing the good girl when ultimately it was not for me.

I know my problem.  I accepted it and I addressed it.

Ultimately, I’m sure I hurt people but I cant afford to care.  This may sound selfish and ego-centric but I honestly couldn’t care less.  I made a choice and I’ve chosen my happiness.

I choose my happiness over your feelings and I don’t make apologies for it.   Ultimately, if I don’t stand for my own happiness, no one else can or will.

Now that the drama is over, I will resume posting about the awesomeness that is Spain.  Get excited!  I'm going to have detailed travel journals and pictures. 

That being said, I leave you with these lovely words of advice.  If people are having a negative influence on you, making you feel less than what you are, disrespecting you or just generally exhausting.... kick them out of your life! 

Be the leading lady of your life and stop acting like the best friend. 


Arthur Abbot : ...in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason you are behaving like the best friend.

Iris: You're so right. You're supposed to be the leading lady of your own life, for god's sake! Arthur, I've been going to a therapist for three years, and she's never explained anything to me that well. That was brilliant. Brutal, but brilliant.
“The Holiday”

Halloween in Spain and randomness

Spaniards should be banned from watching stereotypical American movies.  Why, you ask?  Because American women are not all loose, all Americans don’t own guns, all Americans aren't white and Halloween costumes don't have to be scary.  I tried to convince my students of this...and I’m pretty sure they thought I was lying. 

Consequently, the next day they all came dressed as little hellions i.e. Witches, zombies and vampires.

I, on the other hand, was a fairy princess.  Ironically enough I was the only white thing in a sea of black...see what I did there?


In other news,  I applied for my spanish bank account after being here for two weeks.  Jesus (yes the guy who opened my account was called Jesus [pronounced hey-sus]) told me I would receive my check card in the mail.  When two weeks went by, I went back into my local branch and spoke to Jesus who informed me that my card was on its way to the states.  He apologized and fixed the problem.  I received my card three days later.

The funny thing about the card is, you have to call in and activate it and they send you you PIN in four business days.  So I call in, activate my card and the lady promises to
send my card in a few business days...no I couldn’t get anything more specific.

Two and a half weeks later I go into the local branch and explain to the woman that I’ve been waiting for my pin and have had zero access to my money.  She looks me up in the system and discovers that my PIN had been sent...TO THE STATES!

Santander is not a baby bank, in fact its one of the biggest in Spain.  Thus far all I’ve seen is incompetence.  If I walk into a LOCAL branch and open an account why in the halibut would they send my card/PIN to the U.S. I’m OBVIOUSLY not there to pick it up.

Anyway.

I’ve met a few random people in the last few weeks.  The most notable being a guy from Cameroon, who apparently knew jack squat (nothing) about the slave trade.  When I first met the dude, he asked where I was from.

Me:  los Estados Unidos.

Dude: yes...but origin.

Me: I was born in the states.  My parents were born in the states.  Their parents were born in the states.  Their parents were born in the states.  I’m from the states.

Dude:  but where were they from?

Me: seriously?  My ancestors were slaves.  I have no idea.

Dude (slowly getting it): Oh. 

Yeah.

P.S.A. Most African-Americans do not know their origin.  We aren’t lying and just saying ‘the states’ because we think its cool.  It’s cool that you know where your from; mad props to you. 

I’m American.  End of story.

.......................................................................................................................................................................

Aranjuez y Cristobal Colon

The trick is to keep moving forward, to let go of the fear and the regret that slow us down and keep us from enjoying a journey that will be over too soon. Yes, there will be unexpected bends in the road, shocking surprises we didn't see coming... but that's really the point, don't you think? 

---Mary Alice

Yes, I was on my balcony in a towel.  Yes, my neighbors saw it.