Una Mirada Más Profunda

       At this point, I've been to Madrid so many times, I don't find it intimidating anymore. However, for being my least favorite city in the entire country, I am there far too often. This time, I had good reason- to pick up Jen who came to visit all the way from Buffalo. She wanted to do and see everything, which actually got me looking at parts of Madrid I hadn't seen before. I've been to the Crystal Palace a handfull of times, but only every from the outside. I could see this big all-white sculpture made of plastic. I never understood what made white laundry baskets and lawn furniture so exciting. Jen wanted to go in, and this is what we discovered.

        Such a small detail and I was so surprised by it. How could I have walked past that many times, never going in, and never knowing that the very bottom of the sculpture got exciting? That's what I get I suppose.

 
   My favorite spot in Madrid is looking over at those steps and thinking how pretty it looks to see all those people sitting on the other side. "You've never been over there? But it's your favorite place in Madrid?" Jen said. I suppose that it  is fairly ridiculous that I never took the five minutes to join the exciting people on the steps across the water.
 

      And we made it! I can officially say I've been to the other side of the water now. Suppose I needed a little push. I'm a creature of habit. When I go to the same places, I go see the same things, I take the same routes. It's crazy, really.

      The very center of Madrid...therefore the very center of Spain. Kilometer zero. My first time standing on it.

     The far side of the Royal Palace near the gardens. All I'll say is, my daddy and his crew could have done a more exciting garden for the king.

       Madrid treated us fairly well. We had a very interesting roomate who we quite enjoyed spending the evenings with. I made her bed and she in turn gave me an icecream bar. Match made in heaven. I attempted to listen in on her Portuguese conversation and caught about 3 phrases of her entire 20 minute conversation...perhaps I should take up another foreign language. She also insisted that I looked like Kate Hudson and any part of me that wasn't exactly like Kate was filled in by Kirsten Dunst. The interesting thing is my sister Megan gets the Kirsten Dunst card a lot and my sister Jesse gets the Kate Hudson one. Well well. I disagree with it all but it was just so strange to get the same reaction from some Brazilian girl in a hostel in Madrid. Feels like a small world.

La Vida Cotidiana

Some days, Leon is just like any other city in any other country. I go to work, eat, go tutor, cook, and go to bed. I think "I could do this anywhere". Then there are other days and other moments I realize this place and this little life are unique and irreplaceable.  This view of the back of the Cathedral, which I only get on occasional Wendesdays when I have to walk this way, is one of those views I couldn't get anywhere else. It's always right around 7pm and the sun is starting to set, and its the face of the Cathedral that doesn't make it into tour books or onto postcards. It feels like I'm the only one that's seen it before. The only one who has appreciated it this way.

Whenever I go this way around the back of the city, I'm always headed to my favorite tutoring. My two young ones who I see three times a week and who learn faster than any adults I've ever met. My time spent with them is so much more rewarding than anything else I do in Spain.
 

They now beg me to play "Go Fish" with these animal cards. Though, up until recently the usual was "Le pido a Diego, do you Have (strong H)...camel?" Response: "Gold fish". So many things wrong about the little Spanglish conversation they had between the two of them, but so many things right. You should see them now!

Sometimes, my little loved ones get tired and cranky. On this particular day, I was accused of "cheating" (a word that I had to teach them because they are such good cheaters). He made me sit on the other side of the door so I couldn't look at his cards. Meanwhile, he sat on his knees to look through the glass panes to see mine.

They have taken to yelling to their parents every day at 8:30 "Mom! Leigh's leaving!" It's one of my favorite things they do. Along with when I ask them "How old are you?" and they respond "I'm fine, thank you." No no no. And once I said "Are you always fine? Some days aren't you feeling better or worse?" The response was perfect. "I don't know what fine means but I always say it because it's the only answer I know!" Of course he said that in Spanish. Now that I've taught him other options he enjoys saying he is "mad" or "in love" or "sick". The two of them never fail to put a smile on my face.

This past weekend we had weather up near 60. It was unbelievable and I headed to the river to do my work and to read. It's five minutes from my house but spots I had never been. I think that innately we take advantage of what is nearest to us. That includes both places and people. We put off our family, significant others, and close friends to make good impressions on new people or to get work done. We travel across the world and try to take it all the sights as fast as we can, but then never go to the parks, restaurants, and monuments in our own towns and cities.

This is along the river and looks awesome with the sun. I can't wait til the leaves come back, it'll be even better.

Didn't mean to get philosophical today, it must be the nice weather.