By Joni
Exploring the City: The Thursday before Christmas we had our
first experience with Madrid’s premier circus theater - Teatro Circo Price. Each year this company produces a Christmas
spectacular, which is some mix between a big-top attraction and the nutcracker. Ben and Cat accompanied us as we took in the
amazing feats of artistry and physical achievement. For example, one performer amazingly did a headstand on a trapeze with no hands, while the trapeze was swirling through the air. Another performer had 6 hula hoops going on her body, while simultaneously being suspended in the air. It was simply incredible, and reminded me just how amazing humans can be. The show caters a lot to young children, so that
meant we were surrounded by kids speaking in Spanish, which was fun to listen to. Everyone got a good laugh out of Aaron’s exaggerated
(but earnest!) reactions to the incredible things we were witnessing. Most of the show was based on physical comedy
or stunts, but occasionally some Spanish was spoken, and for the most part it
was intelligible to the four of us!
On the 23rd we went to visit the Navideña Feria market at Matadero. This was in the afternoon of the final day of the week-long festival and it appeared that things were beginning to shut down, so we probably missed out on the complete experience, but there were traditional dancers performing (from Argentina?) and several different countries represented in booths selling food and merchandise from that country. Later that day, we were invited over to our friends Jairo and Brendan’s house for a small holiday gathering. There was a lot of yummy food, and Jairo (who is originally from Mexico) surprised us by making chorizo tacos – the best Mexican food we’ve had since arriving back in July. It was a nice night of food and conversation, and we are thankful for the chance to get to know these wonderful people a little better.
This marked the first year either of us had ever ridden the metro on Christmas day, which was an experience in itself, and when we transferred trains on our way to church we saw this train all decked out with holiday stickers:
A couple days later, this video surfaced on my Facebook page:
We weren't lucky enough to ride on this particular train, but it's a pretty cool idea!
Christmas in Madrid: This year marks the first time that Aaron and I were not with one of our families on Christmas day. It was sad not to be with family, but also nice to experience new things on the holiday. On Christmas Eve we sang with the Sometimes Choir at an inter-congregational service that featured Spanish and English hymns and scripture readings. The service was held at Iglesia de Cristo, in a space that managed to survive the Franco rule while existing as a protestant church. After church, we delivered some cookies we had baked to the two men who run our local fruit stand. They were open all day on Christmas, and are generally there all day every day in an open-air store that certainly gets quite chilly. After dropping off the cookies, we carried out our tradition of watching Mickey’s Nutcracker on YouTube (accompanied by a non-traditional, but delicious, frozen pizza dinner). When the show ended, we proceeded to open presents. Since we are devoting a lot of money to travel this year (and since we have to think about storing and transporting everything we buy), we decided not to spend much on gifts. So in addition to buying a gift with a small allowance, we had written down memories about each other that we then wrapped up and put under the tree. It was both economical and very meaningful.
On Christmas day we went to church, where we gathered with about twenty other people who made the trip. We then spent the rest of the day with Ben and Cat at their apartment. It was a nice relaxing day of cooking a big meal, eating lots of food and desserts, playing games and even singing karaoke! One of the desserts we had is called roscón, essentially a sweet bread topped with nuts and filled with cream. Traditionally this is more popular on Día de los Reyes Magos, January 6th, but since we'll still be out of the country at that time we figured it was something worth trying a bit early. In Spain, each roscón contains a small figurine and it is customary for the person who receives the figurine to pay for next year's roscón. I got the little figurine, so I guess I'm paying next year!
Memorable meal: This past Monday, the 25th, we traveled back to the United States for the first time since arriving in Spain. We flew into Chicago and then drove with Aaron's parents and aunt Susie to central Illinois to visit with the Kauffman side of the family. A visit to Bloomington meant we had the
privilege of eating Aaron's aunt Tran’s famous spring rolls, and this time she also made summer
rolls (even though it’s winter time). These are both traditional Vietnamese
cuisine, and are absolutely delicious. We ate too much, and, somehow, not enough of this incredible cuisine. It was really great to see all the Kauffmans, play games, eat, and take walks in a futile effort to stay ahead of the holiday weight.
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| Bloomington sunset. |
Lost in Translation: On our drive from Illinois to Ohio, we stopped at a gas station to use the restroom. I couldn't find the facilities right away, so decided to ask the man behind the counter where they were. As I approached the counter, I found myself prepping the question, ¿Hay un baño aqui? and then realized, Wait, he speaks English. I don't need to prep a sentence before I ask the question, I can just say it. Nothing was lost in translation, but it was a strange occurrence of my mind unnecessarily automatically translating after months of not having the luxury of speaking with ease.
Final Notes:
- I've continued to have "sewing dates" with Cat, teaching her a little bit as well as working on my own projects. In the week leading up to Christmas I completed two things, a black and red skirt and a dress with Christmas ornament fabric!
- Our return to the U.S. was pleasantly uneventful. The flight was scheduled to be 10.5 hours, but we arrived about half an hour early. There was a wide selection of on-demand movies, and our seats were comfortable. Upon arriving, we were greeted with a standard "hello" that came as a bit of a shock after months of "hola."
- Our U.S. phone numbers have been reactivated for a month-long period, meaning that Aaron had to make the transition back to his "dumb phone." He is taking it well, but still thinks he'll switch over to the smart side when we return to the U.S. for good. It feels weird to call people without worrying about wifi any time of the day and not needing to think about major time changes.
- We took our first car ride in five months in the rental car from Chicago to Bloomington-Normal, and then drove for the first time in as many months to drop off Aaron's parents at the airport. Our lack of a car in Madrid had occurred to us before, but it was a bit strange transitioning back into a culture where driving is almost the only option. Generally it is fine and even nice to be able to go anywhere on demand, but we realized that the sensation of waiting for a cold vehicle to warm up is not something we've missed!
- In addition to seeing Aaron's family in Illinois, we also had the pleasure of staying with our friend Leah and meeting our friend Cody for brunch. We're looking forward to packing in as much quality time with friends and family as we can on this trip.
- There were so many cookies at Aaron's grandparent's house, a dessert not readily available in Spain. We ate our fill, and then some, and I anticipate the trend will continue as we visit with family in Ohio. Eating real bacon and quality cereal (Honey Bunches of Oats in the house!) have also been very welcome food-related highlights of our trip so far.
We're now enjoying time in Ohio, so expect more dispatches from the mainland to follow in Week 23!
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