Monday, November 12, 2018

Spain: Last thoughts

Friday was my last day in Madrid. It was a city holiday commemorating the re-discovery of an icon of Mary, so we didn't have classes. I celebrated by sleeping in and watching the procession the icon and celebration of Mass on television. 

I wanted to record, for myself, my last thoughts about this trip.
  1. I really like Madrid. It has a nice mix of art and history, and its population is made of people from all over Spain. They speak a dialect that was relatively easy to understand, and the inner city is very walkable.
  2. I made two decision regarding travel that I want to repeat. This was the first trip following my new minimalist wardrobe, where every piece of clothing matches every other one. This, plus the availability of a washer on my apartment, made it easy to get by with just four outfits. Also, my jetlag-minimization technique of rising at 4am during the week preceding my departure worked brilliantly. I was able to get up at 6:30 a.m. for school every day without trouble.
  3. Whenever I travel, strangers constantly ask me for directions. I speculate that this is a combination of appearing non-threatening and looking like I know where I'm going. Alas, my knowledge of Madrid geography was such that I could not actually give directions.
  4. I would like to attend a language school on a future trip. It strengthened my confidence in the language I know, and gave me the right amount of people interaction each day. When I travel alone, I often end up talking to no one for days.
  5. I adjusted pretty easily to the Spanish schedule of lunches at 2pm and dinner at 10pm. What I couldn't adjust to was parties or meetings that started at 10 p.m. or later. Siestas just aren't enough to cope with that if you have to wake up before dawn.

5 comments:

Gill - UK said...

It sounds like the 'holiday' was a great success.
You will have the opportunity to go again to get achieve the next level.
Do they run these courses in other parts of Spain?

de-I said...

I do think the idea of taking language classes is a great way to break down in a small way the barrier of culture...even if you can only do a few phrases and sentences or increase your understanding when people speak.

Bernice said...


Did you actually take siestas? If so, is that a custom you will bring back to the US?

Renee Michelle Goertzen said...

I don't see how I could take siestas in the US, since we don't get the two-hour break during the afternoon that makes them possible.

I can just imagine my boss's face when I suggest this schedule change...

alexis said...

anything you would not do again that you tried this time?