There are few things I love better than spending a sunny afternoon in bed reading or sleeping. I know that most people wouldn't agree; they would rather be outside enjoying the sun and using their bodies well, perhaps by taking a walk or bike ride. Sometimes, I agree, it is nice to spend an afternoon this way. But there's something so uniquely delicious, so sinful and self-indulgent, about wasting an entire perfectly good afternoon by being lazy. About 15 minutes ago I woke up from a 2.5 hour nap taken in the middle of a sunny Friday afternoon. While everyone else was finishing up their work week, I was cradled in the depths of unconsciousness. Lovely.

This week in review:

Monday--was incredibly happy for no good reason.

Tuesday--a little less ecstatic, but jolly nonetheless. Felt confident about my improving Spanish skills. Had my Elementary class, a small room full of 25-45 year old manly men, doing the Hokey Pokey. Fabulous.

Wednesday--went to dinner at my ex-roommates' after work. Two Spanish girls, Laura and Sara, their new roommate from Pamplona, Iñaki, and their friend Juanmi (Juan Miguel). I was starving at 8pm but we didn't sit down to eat until 10:15pm. I nibbled on croquetas and downed three glasses of wine before dinner, understanding almost every word Laura said, about 3/4 of what Iñaki said, and almost nothing Juanmi or Sara said. Hm. Perhaps my listening comprehension is still not so good.

Thursday--no morning class, so got to sleep in until 10am. Felt refreshed, relaxed, in control. Had good classes. Ended the day at McDonald's, gorging myself on 6 chicken nuggets, a small fry and a cheeseburger. Watched the special features on my roommate's Bridget Jones's Diary DVD before going to bed.

Today--had to get up early to get paid. Took the metro with another teacher, whom I'd met but hadn't hung out with before. Think we will be friends. Went grocery shopping on way home (food is good). Took nap after eating.

In about an hour I have an hour-long private class in my neighborhood, then will hurry hurry to get ready and go meet New Friend Andrew at Tribunal for a drink. From there will head to the TtMadrid graduation party; Martín is graduating today.

Happy Birthday, Joe!

milagros

Today a miraculous thing happened. One of my Pre-Intermediate students came down to the lobby a little before 6pm to let me know that the class was cancelled because none of the students could come, and I was so busy being amused that I was several inches taller than him (have recently discovered that I am taller than at least 70% of my male students) that I completely failed to notice for at least 45 seconds that he was speaking in Spanish and I didn't have any trouble at all understanding him. There were no listening comprehension problems, no need to translate, no pauses between his speaking and my response. I actually feel like my Spanish is improving!

Yesterday I was so frickin' happy for no apparent reason that I could barely stand it. I wanted to sing, laugh, dance, run and gasp for breath and run some more.

the neighbors

I only recognize a few of the neighbors in my building. There's the old man who's back is so bent that he's forced to always look at the ground. There are the next door neighbors: a husband with a deeply lined face like a basset hound and a short, plump wife and their balding, 30-something year old son. (There is also a 20- or 30-something year old woman who either lives there or is just over there a lot, but I wouldn't be able to pick her out in a crowd.) And finally a round, bald man who must be in his 40's and lives on the 3rd floor.

The old man I recognize for his profound stoop and his tendency to chatter at you even as you excuse yourself and walk away, but the other neighbors I started to recognize because of their dogs. The next door neighbors have an 8 year old English bulldog named Jo-Jo. He is one of those flat-faced dogs with a severe underbite and who snorts a lot, always looks grumpy and is incapable of changing his facial expression. But Jo-Jo and I are good friends. I can hear him snoring at night when all else is quiet. The round, bald neighbor has a Yorkshire terrier named Pipo. Pipo's dad also has a wife and two kids who live with him, but I don't have a clue what they look like 'cause I'm always looking at Pipo and not them.

Notice please that the only neighbors whose names I know are the dogs.

The person or people who live directly below us like to put on heavy metal music (usually the Metallica Black album) at full volume in the middle of the day so that we can hear it as perfectly as if we had put in on ourselves. One day this week, however, they switched to Enya.

The next door neighbors are very kind to us; the husband always tries to have a chat with me when we pass each other outside or in the elevator, but he speaks so quickly that I end up catching very little of it. They always advise us when we've neglected to shut the door all the way or when one of us has left our keys in the lock or lost a bracelet in the hallway. Once they let me come into their apartment to look at Jo-Jo sleeping in the living room, his head on a pillow and his body covered with a little pink blanket. As I tip-toed out of their apartment the husband said, "We are here to help you," and I said, "Likewise."

Pipo's dad is also very nice to me. I always wave and say, "Hello, neighbor!" (in Spanish of course) when I see him, and he chats to me when we pass in the hall, asking me how I am and where I'm from and whether I'm studying here.

One of the old women who lives in the building wears garrish orangey-red lipstick and is always surprised to see guiris in her building. She stares at us open-mouthed and wide-eyed with a look of slight fear or horror. At first I was afraid she'd start screaming or hitting me with her handbag, but she hasn't snapped yet so I just say hello and walk on.

"maybe i'm crazy"

This evening I woke up from a nap with Gnarles Barkley's song "Crazy" playing in my head (see link on the right) and I suddenly missed dancing west coast swing. (Connection being, if it's not obvious, that "Crazy" would be a good song to west coast swing to.) Think I will have to find a place to go in/around Portland fairly soon after returning home.

Posted my first post on the TtMadrid blog tonight. Hooray! Will give you the address when I have a couple more up there, just so you can see what it looks like.