time keeps on ticking (ticking ticking) into the future

It's about 4:30 pm here in Spain on a Sunday afternoon and I'm full of food, contentment, and stories to share. Las Fiestas de Majadahonda were this past week, with something going on every night; the culminating events being the parties this past weekend in the streets. I was completely blown away by what I saw, I wasn't prepared for the sheer magnitude of young people. I'm getting comfortable enough with my town to be able to make my way around (no small feat for a country gal in a big city); there is a giant open space called "El Recinto" in which the fiestas were held and there were thousands, THOUSANDS of people there. Let's paint a picture, shall we?

As you walk down Gran Via (the center street of Majadahonda) there is a Mercadillo going on, a market with kiosk-type stands where merchants are selling their local crafts. It's about 11 pm, the streets are just starting to wake up, there are people moving in and out of kiosks, through cigarette smoke and maneuvering around extension cords, little children sprinting about your feet, and scores of older folks lining the spaces between the kiosks and local restaurants with outdoor seating, drinking sangria and probably murmuring to themselves about lost youth while the "Felices Fiestas" christmas-like lights stream overhead. Teenagers intermingle with the rest of the crowd, sporting "fashionable" fall gear, boots and leggings, worn leather jackets, and faded jeans in layers and layers to protect from the cold and lingering rain. Moving farther down Gran Via a general crowd merges into one of only youth, all heading towards the same place. After about a 10 minute walk, the music growing louder with each step, the lights fading from those of Gran Via into the vibrant, psuedo-club lights of El Recinto, the masses thronging and pulsing, pushing past "churro" stands and evidently unsafe carnival rides into a giant, open floor called El Recinto, in the center of which is an enormous tower, sending out music, lights, and a general atmosphere of a fiesta. There is dancing and drinking (a no-no for me) and exchanging glad tidings and fighting and crying and kissing and hysterical, falling all over yourself laughter. It is the Spanish way, treasure each night because it won't happen again, think about right now, not school on Monday, not what just happened at your house an hour ago, dance like there's a thousand people dancing with you, no one judging, no one taunting, it's a fiesta for everyone. This was my Friday and Saturday night, leaving the house at about 11, returning at around 5 am, breathless and thrilled. I went with Bea Friday night and a different group of friends Saturday night, even temporarily bumping into the other exchange student here in Majadahonda, Jesse. I have to think that this weekend will be remembered as one of my first, and one of my best, I don't know how much better it can get.

Aside from the Fiestas there was also a Baptism in the family this Saturday. It was on the side of my host mother, we all gathered in a church for the baptism (Catholic, just in case you were wondering) and then moved to the house of my host-grandfather. Ana (my mother) has 7 siblings, all of whom are married and with children and every Saturday, they all gather at my grandfather's house to catch up on the week and just be with each other. The house itself is magnificent; the grandfather is an architect and designed this enormous establishment that really encompasses two houses, one for himself and one for his eldest daughter and her family. There is a back patio with many tables where everyone sits, at the bottom of a giant sloping yard with a garden and paths where the younger cousins run and play. My family is welcoming and similar to my own; teasing one another and interrupting stories for more stories, passing around pictures and memories. The elder cousins sit at their own table with the ever-present pre-teen who is just old enough to sit with the teenagers without feeling silly. The atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable, I felt like a member of the family, even though it was only my first of many visits.

Life around the house has been simple and easy-going. When I start to get homesick (which is infrequent, but no fun when it hits), I remedy myself with several things, either shooting my family an email or immediately busying myself with something else so I don't have too much time to think. I've found one of the most effective ways is just to immerse myself with my host family; sitting on the couch watching The Simpsons with Jacobo rolling in laughter next to me usually does the trick :) I'm reading "In The Shadow of the Wind" by Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafon and when Ana saw she leapt up and fetched her copy of it in Spanish along with the sequel, insisting that I make my way through them, it would help with my language and they were just plain fantastic books. I just had a feast of chicken, gazpacho, fried potatoes skins, scalloped potatoes, fruit, cheese, and more which my host parents and Jacobo cooked and Bea and I cleaned up, now that they're finally allowing me to help more around the house. Back to school tomorrow; I can't say I'm eagerly awaiting it, but it does make the days blend into one another, and a little familiarity would be much appreciated at this point in my adventure. I'm two weeks in, not a whole lot of weeks to go, at times feeling surreal and disorienting and at other times feeling like this is exactly where I'm supposed to be. I guess it's all part of the ride.

Hasta Luego! Sam