I had the most delicious meal in Spain so far tonight. My host mom made me a pizza topped with cheese, tomato, corn, and, por supuesto, ham. It was amazing. I should have only eaten half of it but it was so good that I ate all of it.
I am getting somewhat concerned that I am not getting any healthier. I have not been getting worse, but normally colds don't last this long with such persistent symptoms for me. Probably I would rather take my chances and slowly die of a cold than see a doctor and have them tell me across a wide language barrier that I'm fine.
Today in our mandatory "cultural adaptation workshop" we learned that in Spain it is normal to greet strangers when you enter a waiting room at a doctor's office, among other somewhat useful tidbits of random information. The session could have been much worse, as the presenter had a decent sense of humor, but a lot of the information was not new. Also, we had thought that our tutorials in the Prado started today, which would give us a very legitimate excuse not to attend the workshop, but the professor dashed our hearts yesterday when she informed us that they will not begin until next week. I've been in Madrid almost five weeks and haven't visited the Prado yet! Crime against humanities.
Allison and I booked tickets to go to Lisboa in November today. I am looking forward to going to Lisboa, but that means that I now will be travelling four weekends in a row in November: Sevilla with the Georgetown group, Prague to visit Kayleigh, Lisboa, and then meeting Kayleigh in Vienna. Additionally, the first week of December we have Monday off for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, so I feel like I should at least make a day trip to somewhere in Spain. I am looking forward to each trip, but I'm also a little sad that I will be away from Madrid so much. Hopefully I should be able to maintain my schoolwork with little problem. Maintaining normal relations with my host family will be a bit of a different story. We have this great routine of sitting down to dinner while watching the news, which is very helpful since they can explain news items that I don't understand. However, since I return so late from classes on Mondays and Tuesdays, I basically don't see them at all those days of the week. Also, the other day my host mom asked me why I spend so much time alone in my room. I have been feeling somewhat sick, but to a certain degree I think I have kind of been shutting myself up in here, hiding, I guess you could say. It's awkward trying to establish the right balance between being a guest/someone who pays to live here/kind of family member and generally being a person who is naturally introverted and shy. My host family is of course very nice, and I enjoy talking to them, but I also value having my own time and my own space.
We also had a writing workshop today, and afterwards I taught my first English class. About two weeks ago, Miky gave me the name and phone number of someone who lives near me and was looking for an English tutor. I called the woman a couple of days later, but our wires were crossed. I thought our connection was bad, so I hung up and called again, and she said something I didn't quite understand and hung up on me. I felt embarrassed and didn't call back. I avoided going into the office on Tuesdays because I knew Miky would be there. Yesterday Miky called me, and at first I was really embarrassed, but it turned out to be ok since she volunteered to call the woman and set up the classes for me. The students are three girls, about 8 years old, who are in the same year in school named Ana, Bea, and Paula. I was a bit nervous about what I would go over since I am not the most creative nor the most child-friendly person, but it turned out that it was good that they are all in the same year in school, because they all are studying the same vocabulary, making it much easier to come up with exercises and games. The hour went by faster than I expected and I walked away with 21 euros. My host family has been trying to arrange for me to give English classes to the children of a friend of theirs, but the only day that works is Friday, and since I will be gone at least three of the upcoming Fridays, I'm obviously not going to push the issue.
I saw Ani today when I was in the office today on the computer waiting after the cultural workshop for the writing workshop, and she didn't say anything to me about the Reunidas lottery, so maybe I have matriculated without problems???? I would be oh so relieved, but I'm not getting my hopes up too much yet.
So it seems that Obama has 277 electoral votes in the bag? I can't believe the states that are in play such as North Carolina! I will also be very excited if the Democrats can carry Southwestern states such as New Mexico and potentially Colorado. The Democrats should also keep their majorities in the House and the Senate, special thanks to the shenanigans from the congresswoman in Minnesota who termed Obama and other liberals "un-American." One aspect of America that makes it great is freedom of speech, which means she had the right to publicly say that, but another important aspect of America is diversity of thought, meaning you should at least respect other people's points of view. Different does not mean "un-American." One thing I wish Senator Obama had been able to do in his campaign is assert his Christian faith in a way that didn't somehow seem to assert that there is something wrong with being a Muslim. Radical Islam does not represent all of Islam; Islam is a religion of peace that a tiny minority has contorted to fit their hateful purposes. In today's American political climate, however, he must attempt to appeal to a portion of the electorate who believes that there is indeed something inherently wrong with being a Muslim. I really wish McCain had taken the opportunity in the final debate to address the question about the tone of the crowds at his campaign's rallies. Is he directly responsible for what the people in the audience say? Of course not. But he certainly should distance himself from remarks about killing Senator Obama, about Senator Obama palling around with terrorists (he is directly responsible for Sarah Palin's remarks...), and those making racist threats towards the African American cameraman from Fox News.
The election is a great conversation starter with Spaniards/people from other countries when they find out I am American. The whole world is watching. November 4 should be a blast. Once again, I don't want to get my hopes up too much but I think I can safely say I will not be returning the United States if he doesn't win? My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as they visit his sick grandmother (also my uncle Jim who needs re-attachment surgery on his retina...as you may know, I am creeped out by eyes, so this particular affliction is particularly horrifying to me). I really hope that if elected president he can make an honest change and at least tackle one of the major issues such as healthcare while improving the image of the U.S. in the world. I have to admit that I have based my support of his candidacy on youthful idealism, but I would definitely judge his presidency with a critical eye, perhaps excessively critical because I would hold him to a very high standard. In any case, I am very excited to have finally voted in a presidential election (I was ready in 2004) and will continue to rep the campaign with the three Obama shirts I brought to Spain.
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