Week 17

By Aaron

Lost in Translation: Last Saturday we welcomed another set of visitors to Madrid, our good friends Bracton and Briana Eicher. The confusion started almost immediately, when we arrived at the airport to meet the weary travelers.  I had suggested we all meet at baggage claim, but didn't remember that only arriving passengers can access the area. We've only been to the airport one time, the day we arrived, and we were equally forlorn. There are signs directing people towards doors that appeared to correspond with arriving flights, but when we attempted to pass through we were stopped by a guard and told we could not be in this area unless we had an airline ticket.  After waiting for ten minutes or so and seeing several other people successfully enter through a different door, we made a dash for the alternate entry point.  This time we made it about 50 feet before being stopped by another guard.  We explained our dilemma, that we had arranged to meet our friends (who do not have smart phones and thus, no way to contact us), and the very nice man assured us that it would be fine and that there was only one exit to baggage claim - the place we had been waiting.  After our second retreat to waiting area, and what seemed like a very prolonged moment, we finally united with our beleagured friends!  Nothing like some good ole airport confusion to cap off a 10 hour transatlantic flight.

Exploring the City: After a morning nap at the apartment, we ventured out to the northwest of Spain to take in historic El Escorial.  Dating back to the mid-1500s, this labyrynthine structure served as the tactical seat of the Spanish Inquisition. It houses a monastery, basilica, university, royal palace, pantheon, library, museum and hospital and is quite the site to behold.  We arrived in the mid afternoon, and the sun beautifully lit the stone building as well as the surrounding picturesque town.

El Escorial

Beautiful fall day

Part of the mausoleum.

On Sunday we explored the Museo del Traje, a museum detailing the history of Spanish clothing and design.  The subject matter appealed most to Joni at the outset, but I think everyone enjoyed the impressive mix of history and clothing items on display. 

Clothing Museum

Design students come here to practice sketching.

Christmas is coming!

Later that day Bracton and I explored the Reina Sofia while Joni showed Bri around El Corte Ingles, Primark, Lefties and Tiger.  The rest of the week was sprinkled with outings with either Aaron or me leading the way, depending on work schedules.  We hit Retiro, the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum, TtMadrid, Almudena Cathedral, the Royal Palace, Mercado San Miguel, San Gines (for churros), El Jardin Secreto, our favorite fruit stand, tapas at El Tigre, and a collection of our nearby grocery stores.  Bri is a registered dietician, and she really enjoyed seeing the nutritional differences in Spain contrasted to the US - most notably the more reasonable portion sizes, the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetable stands, and the almost comically small serving sizes of coffee.

Bri y El Oso y El Modroño

Crystal Palace in Retiro Park

Templo de Debod

Underwhelming overcast sunrise.

Our favorite local fruit stand.

This is the largest size they sell!

Neptune Fountain

Tapas at El Tigre

Memorable Meal: This year marked the first time any of us had been out of the country on Thanksgiving, in addition to being the first time we didn't spend the day with one or the other of our families.  Turns out that most Spaniards are only tangentially aware of the holiday, mostly through watching the TV show Friends, so it was a rather unconventional day as both of us had to teach a class in the mid-to-late afternoon. This meant that the preparation of our attempt at a traditional American feast had to wait until late afternoon. Thankfully we had an ace in the hole - Bri is an excellent cook and was very willing to help us out.
Our menu consisted of pan-seared turkey fillets with apple compote, garlic mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, green beans and onion with garlic, rolls, pumpkin no-bake cookies, and pumpkin cheesecake dip.  All the food was prepared without using an oven, another Thanksgiving first since casseroles are a mainstay at each of our respective family gatherings.  It was a strange day, but a wonderful meal shared with friends delivered the spirit of thankfulness to our Madrid home.

En la clase: Both Joni and I taught Thanksgiving-themed lessons in a few of our classes this week.  As previously mentioned, knowledge of Thanksgiving is pretty basic here, and I took the opportunity to give a broad scope of traditions that shape this massive holiday in the US.  I covered the basic traditions of large meals, football, spending time with family, travel, the Macy's parade, and Black Friday (which just started spreading to Spain in the past couple years), all of which carried unique intrigue for the students. I was also sure to note the strained relationship with Native American people that tends to be glossed over in the peaceful-pilgrim-pageants common in elementary schools across the country.  Students were in turns both appalled and not at all surprised that the origins of this celebration lie partially in the massacring of native people. As much as I wanted to explore the parallel bloody conquests of Spanish imperialism I figured it was best to steer clear.  Joni took a more traditional approach and had her students bring a dish to share with the class.  She brought the same pumpkin cheesecake dip we would go on to make for our Thanksgiving meal, and it was a huge hit.
Final Notes: Our visit with the Eichers was going very well, until Tuesday when Bracton came down with some sort of illness.  This unfortunately laid him up for the remaining three days of the visit, which culminated with an unexpected finish.  On Thursday night, Bracton was feeling a bit better and decided that he was well enough to travel.  He never ended up falling asleep that night, and around 2 AM he felt things had taken a drastic downturn.  Bri knocked on our bedroom door at 2:30, and asked if we knew of any local hospitals with English speaking doctors.  After a few calls using some groggy Spanish (I believe I accidentally identified myself as having a friend already inside the hospital, asking if I could visit!) and some frenzied Googling, we found a doctor that both spoke English and was willing to make a house call.

Alena, a very kind doctor who we believe to be either from Australia or the UK, showed up at our door close to 5:30 AM and examined Bracton.  His blood pressure was found to be quite low, and Dr. Alena told him that he was severely dehydrated and should drink some Aquarius (a Gatorade-esque sports drink).  Of course at this point it was just after 6AM, and our neighborhood grocers don't open until 8:30 or 9.  Thankfully there is a 24-hour Carrefour grocery about a 15 minute walk away.  But with time closing in on us (the Eichers had to leave for the airport at 8:30) Bracton needed to imbibe fluids ASAP.  I pulled on my running shoes, strapped Joni's backpack on, and sprinted.  I don't remember the last time I ran so fast or with so much purposed, but it was a pretty exhilarating way to spend the early morning hours (though at this point I had been more or less awake for 4 hours).  I think I recall returning home and promptly picking up a Spanish fashion magazine...the natural go-to move to come down from an adrenaline rush.  After downing some of the life-giving orange and clear liquids and some further contemplation, Bracton rallied and the couple hopped in a cab. Despite all the excitement and unfortunate sickness, it was still a fun visit and really great to have friends from one life jump into our world in Spain.