Boots of Spanish Leather

It's been awhile since I have written a blog post, so this one might be lengthy. I applaude the reader that gets to the end of this one. By all means, please do! To the left is a picture of the ancient aquaduct in Segovia, along with my ginger friend, Elise.

Two sundays ago, my suite-mate Bianca and I were invited to go to a play with our host mom Rosa. Impromptu as it was, the play was really good. Although I couldn't give you a full synopsis of the play, being that it was in colloquial Spanish (the stuff we don't learn in class), I could tell you that I understood some of the Spanish humor and I could laugh along with the antics of the actors. It's amazing how much you can express with your hands and a rapid adjustment in your facial expression. As a non-native speaker, I found it very VERY helpful. I've always loved plays, but this experience reiterated my appreciation for the art.

After the play, we met Rosa's neice and nephews and as we were trying to keep up with the conversation, I realized how much I really want to be fluent in Spanish. A girl can only hope. For the past five years, I have been taking Spanish classes but not really delving into the language. After arriving in Madrid, it turns out that I don't know that much and that instead of talking from my throat like an English-speaker, I must talk higher up in my tongue and lips. I thought of Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady who had to stick marbles in her mouth and repeat a sentence over and over again. I found that movie on youtube here, craving a good Audrey Hepburn film and the familiarity of the play. While watching it, I was reminding that languages and changing your habits take time and persistence. I just hope I have a god-like moment where I suddenly can resonate my rolling rrrr's from the top of the Cristobal Colon statue and can be mistaken for a Spaniard even after I open my mouth...Granted I don't really have the dark hair and dark eyes to pass as a Spaniard to begin with.

Beyond the language-barrier-in-the-works, I have managed to get around to some weekend trips; Toledo one Saturday and then a 2-day, 3-city excursion to Segovia, Ávila, and Salamanca. Toledo had the freshest air I had smelled in weeks, coming out of Madrid. Not that Madrid's air isn't clean- other than walking through people on their smoke break, there seems to be less foreign smells than in Berkeley. But the air in Toledo was mountain air; at dusk I felt like I could have been hiking Mt. Whitney again but at dawn. Toledo is famous for their mazapan (delicions) and apparently medieval sword shops? (I must have seen over twenty that day.) The cathedral was gorgeous, and oddly freezing, the views were amazing, and the bus ride home is up in the Top 10 for Maggie's Best Naps, behind naps on Memorial Glade of course.



This past weekend we did a whirlwind of a trip to three cities that I had only briefly heard of since I came to Spain, but these three cities were quite impressive. Segovia has an ancient aquaduct and a cool castle; Ávila was closed by the time we got there but had a cool wall, and Salamanca was a surprise. It was a college town with old sandstone buildings, a young crowd, and an amazing view from the top of the cathedral with a spiraling case up to the tower. Our night spent in Salamanca was complete with cheap tapas and sangria, a gay bar, and a group of trashed men in huge afros with one of them dressed in a full-body baby suit and pacifier. We discovered that they were, obviously, celebrating the birth of one of the man's first child. (Yet another Spanish tradition showing how well they can celebrate life.)


The first souvenir that I bought was in Salamanca. It is a multi-shades of brown, leather braided bracelet that I found on the street. After my trip, I realize that I have been doing a great job at exploring spaces and observing Spaniards and enjoying myself here in Madrid. But that isn't enough for me; I am becoming comfortable here and I am looking for more. So, being the sentimental person I am, I deemed my leather souvenir the 'bravery bracelet'. It is a reminder to be bold and bodacious with my time here, to own my experience as my own, and to make this adventure something impossible to forget. For this, I channel my inner Jenny Uphoff, which has worked already. It pushed me to face a crazy techno-house dancing Salamancan in a dance-off at a club. Of course I don't know how to dance like him with all that crazy footwork, so I just brought out my ghetto-fab moves. Thanks Jenny!

And FINALLY, my brother Kenny recommended I listen to Bob Dylan's song 'Boots of Spanish Leather' before I left for Madrid. In the bustle of packing I never listened to it until now, but it really is a beautiful song. Not going to lie, I got emotional listening to it and ironically I had just purchased some new Spanish leather boots pictured below, as my black ones are dying from old age. Anyways, here's a link to the lyrics and I suggest listening to it via grooveshark.com, and I promise to come home. For some time at least ;)



http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/boots-of-spanish-leather