Outside the theater I stood amongst a crowd that was made up of friends, family, boy friends and girl friends, all waiting in anticipation of the night’s entertainment. I do have to admit that I felt a bit lonely as I watched all these people enjoying one and others company, but I quickly told myself to snap out of it because I was about to watch a fabulous musical in one of Madrid’s dazzling theaters with or with out company, period. The man at the door took my ticket, gave me the once over and then pointed me in the direction of my aisle. Once I reached the correct aisle a very hip, mom-like lady showed me to my seat. She turned around to say something to my date and then quickly swiveled back around and gave me a look that was full of excitement and a mother’s generosity. “Estas sola? Tengo una silla mas adelante si tu quieres, pero no lo dices a nadie, vale?” After asking me if I was alone and telling me that she had a seat further up if I wanted to take it, but making sure that I knew not to tell anybody, she escorted me down the red carpet all the way to the 5th row. WOW. I could not believe my luck. I have never sat that close to the stage for a concert, a comedy, an NBA game or even for a school wide talent show in 5th grade. I am sure that the people around me must have thought that I was a 13 year old disguised in an over sized body as the first scene commenced and I squealed in delight.
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| GREASE LIGHTING! |
The musical was delicious. I greedily lapped up every song, dance and colorful poodle dress that twirled across the floor. Every song and line spoken was in spanish, but having watched the movie dozens of times in my pre-teen years helped me to follow the story line almost perfectly. As I sat there enjoying the show, an interesting thought popped into my mind. The characters of Sandy, Frenchy and Marty all had different hair colors; blonde, red and light brown. Usually a thought like this would not pop into my head, I mean it’s really no big deal, but living in a country where I am constantly surrounded by brunettes causes me to take immediate notice of anything differing from the norm. By the end of the night I had participated in doing the Hand Jive and singing along to “Greased Lightnin’ “ Around 10:30pm the musical came to an end. My heart was so full with overwhelming feelings of happiness, contentment and joy that I am surprised I didn’t float right out the top of the theater. I absolutely cannot wait to attend my next musical.
Two days later it was time to stop thinking about Carlos Solano (the man who played the role of John Travolta/DannyZucko) and to start thinking about Grupo Marsol Conquero. GMC was the team we played way back in October. Remember my story about how we couldn’t shower after the game because we didn’t have time and we ran through the train station, just barley catching the train before it left? Well, that was our first game of the season, so now we are starting the 2nd round of conference play. The nice thing about the 2nd round is that now I have a feeling for each team, however, after the holidays many teams no longer carry the same players. Several of GMC’s players were no longer present due to the fact that they weren’t receiving their paychecks. I am very fortunate to be playing for a team that is not have serious money problems. We actually didn’t even know if we were going to be playing on Saturday because the team’s website said that the players were on strike.
In the end, GMC did show up to play, but it sure didn’t look like they wanted to be there. The final score was Alcobendas 75, GMC 50. I was a bit nervous going into the game because Sarah Crooks was not going to be playing. She broke the tendon of her middle finger on her shooting hand back in November and she is now finally taking a break from playing in hopes that her finger will heal itself. To make matters worse, I was called for two quick fouls in the first quarter, which meant that I sat for a majority of the first half. The team, however, came together and stepped up their game while their two foreigners sat and cheered them on from the bench. With the victory of Saturday’s game, do you all remember what I will see tonight at practice? A 60 year old man by the name of Vicente with dyed red hair. You better believe that our president is keeping his promise.
Following the game, my teammates and I piled into a few different cars and sped off for the enchanting city of Segovia. Segovia is located about an hour north of Madrid and is the home of one of my teammates, Alicia. Alicia’s parents own a restaurant in Segovia and so Ali had invited all of us out for dinner and a sleepover. By the time we arrived in Segovia it was already 11:30pm, so instead of eating at the restaurant all 13 of us gathered for dinner at her house (the first house I have been in since living in Spain). The meal started off with assorted treys of meats, cheeses, bread, duck pate and a garlic soup. The main course of the evening was Cochinillo Asado, which is roast suckling pig, a dish that is commonly served at her parent’s restaurant. Now, there is a tradition to serving cochinillo in Segovia. If you are a vegetarian or have a soft spot in your heart for little baby pigs, I would recommend that you skip the following video. This video is very similar to what I watched Ali do in her house. The baby pig lay sprawled out on the wooden cutting board. Ali took a small, white plate and then proceeded to quickly and forcefully slice the pig into sections using the edge of the plate. After the pig is all divided up, the tradition is then to throw the plate on the ground, but we decided to skip that part. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZmiH5FCz98
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| Sara Castrillo with el Cochinillo! |
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| Sarah and I with Alicia's dad's donkeys;) |
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| Segovia Aquaduct |
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| Segovia Castle or Alcazar with the Cathedral in the background. |
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| Segovia Cathedral |
Our next stop was the city’s cathedral. Built in the Gothic style between the years of 1522 and 1577, it is thought to be one of the last cathedrals built of it’s kind. Once again, the detail and sheer size of this ancient giant left me speechless. After taking a few pictures of the cathedral, we walked back to the car and headed out into the country for a view of the Alcazar. The Alcazar is a magnificent looking castle that was first used as an Arab fortress. Since the first reference to this castle in 1120, it has been used as more than just a fortress, for example it has served as a royal palace, a state prison, a Royal Artillery College and as a military academy. Along with Germany’s Schloss Neuschwanstein castle, that inspired Disney, the Alcazar has a similar resemblance. Not having an abundance of time, we admired from a far and then took off to meet the rest of our team for lunch. Considering the castle is only an hour from Madrid, we will probably venture back on another day to see it up close and personal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segovia
Julie and Julia.
Well, this week we didn’t make a spanish dish, but instead made a typical north american dish for our roommates. On Friday the four of us planned a roommate lunch in celebration of the new year and to officially give the gifts we had bought for each other over Christmas. So, for lunch Sarah and I decided to make the girls, Sloppy Joes. They had never tasted the sweet meat of a Sloppy Joe before and to my delight they devoured every last morsel. Sarah and I both received several Galician cookbooks from Marta Cobian. Cobi is from Galicia and so the gift was quite fitting. This week we will most definitely take on a recipe from one of these books.
Leslie’s Loose Ends
In May of 2010 there will be a smoking ban put into place in Spain. This ban will be very much like the ban in MN, banning smoke from all restaurants and bars. I have asked several people about their feelings towards this ban and have received a series of mixed emotions. Some people are happy about it, and many of these people are smokers themselves, which really surprised me. They said that they wouldn’t mind going home at the end of a night out and not smelling like cigarette smoke. Well, if you don’t like smelling like the stuff, why in the world did you start smoking? On the contrary, one guy stated in a very opinionated tone that he thought the ban was absolutely ridiculous and a harsh blow to spanish culture. He cannot imagine having the right to smoke a cigarette after a meal or with a coffee taken away from him. He was truly upset just thinking about it.
I got my hair cut on Saturday before our game and let’s just say that I am oh so lucky that bobby pins are allowed in Europe. This is the 2nd time that I have been to this particular peluqeria (hair salon) and nicely enough I was given the same stylist. My hair was sitting about 2.5 to 3 inches below my chin when I looked at Isabella and told her that I’d like it a little bit shorter. Well, it was all over from there. My heart started thumping against the interior walls of my rib cage and I could hear my blood pulsing in my eardrums. I was at a loss for words as I watched more and more hair fall from my head. I didn’t want to stop her in the middle of something she had already started, so I sat quietly and kept telling myself over and over again, “Leslie you always said you wanted something different and drastic, well here’s your chance. Besides, it’s just hair and it will grow back. Just go to the store when you’re done and invest in some headbands and bobby pins, no problem.” To be honest, I really like my new hairdo, even if it does drive me a little crazy during the games.
A friend of mine just informed me that Penelope Cruz was on 60 minutes last night and that she grew up in Alcobendas. Cool.
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| Miss. Cruz |
I gave some children’s books about MN to Maria, Juan, Alvaro and Mario. They didn’t quite respond to them like they did to all their toys from Los Reys (three kings) but hopefully when they’re older they’ll appreciate them and briefly remember the tall girl from Minnesota.
Well, I saw that the Vikings beat Dallas. Next up, New Orleans Saints. I can’t say that I have ever been a huge football follower. I enjoy watching it and playing it, but I couldn’t tell you hardly a lick about it. Regardless, it’s still exciting to see the home town team making it this far!
Alright, that’s a wrap.
besitos,
Leslie
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