I was in middle school at the time... I was "Cristof" because we all had French names in class. We´d sit in class learning phrases like "Le stylo est sur la table" ("the pen is on the table") and "Je ne parle Français"... I knew nothing about Latin languages or conjugation--it was only 8 weeks of language class. I sat in class listening to the words of our professeur, Mademoiselle Bonnie Edlund when she told us: She had dreams in French. It didn´t happen all the time--just when she was speaking a lot of French.
I have always loved the idea and envied that others had this experience. The idea of dreaming in a foreign language has always sounded cool... But seemed unattainable. During My Former Life, I never invested myself to learn another language. I always admired others who spoke multiple languages, but my Spanish was limited to ´Si´, ´No´, ´Perro´ and ´gato´.
When I started my trip, I headed straight into Spanish-speaking territory: Central and South America. I took an intensive week-long course in intensive Spanish in Guatemala. My vocabulary was teeny-tiny and my ability to recognize what the other person asked was... Mostly limited to body language and common sense (1st question is always "Where are you from?"... ¿De donde eres?). But in October 2007, I had my first conversation in Spanish. It was a complete revelation that I was capable of doing such a thing.
That was almost a year ago. Since then, I spent about 3 more months in Spanish-speaking lands. I have been living in Madrid about 4 weeks, taking "intensive" Spanish classes and studying every day. I usually book-end my days studying--On waking and on going to bed.
I woke up that morning with the word "puesto" in my head. I realized that someone in my dream immediately before I woke up had said "puesto", which is the past participle of "poner", which means "to put" in English. And the odd thing was that on waking, I didn´t remember what the word meant! My brain had used a word during a dream that I didn´t consciously remember!
I have heard that having a dream in a foreign language is one of the indicators of improving fluency. My level is still very low, but it is improving!
The coolest umbrellas on earth. I was absolutely taken with these... 1) They provide plenty of shade 2) There is no part of it that I need to duck under (they´re tall) 3) When it rains, the edges of the umbrella do NOT drip on people: rain gathers in the center and drips down the column to the ground. This kind of sidewalk cafe is very typical in Madrid. When you eat on the "Terraza", you will also pay extra. Generally, when you enter a restaurant, you have 3 choices: You can eat at the bar (for no additional charge), you can eat at a table (and pay extra), or you can eat on the terrace (and pay even more) (Plaza Melle, Chueca, Madrid, Spain)
This building is beautiful lit up at night. There is a very expensive bar on the top floor that I´ve never been to. Located on the Plaza Santa Ana close to Metro Sol. (Plaza de Santa Ana, Madrid, Spain)
This beautiful building caught my eye one day while walking down the street "Serrano". The windows are all arched and there are recesses where plants grow. I thought it was very cool. Two weeks later, I went to an open-air cinema to see the movie "Once". TURNS OUT the open-air cinema was ON THE PATIO OF THIS BUILDING! What are the chances? (Calle Serrano, Madrid, Spain)My flat in Madrid
I got really lucky. Before I came to Madrid, I sent an email to a Spanish/English conversation group leader, telling him my whole story. His friend (Santiago) just happened to be working outside of Madrid during August & wanted to rent out his flat. I met Santi at his work, came to see the place, and moved in 2 days after I landed in Spain. I saved a lot of money doing it too... The hostel was 20€ each night (140€/Week), and the flat is about half that.
The place is QUITE small... Only 4 rooms: kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room. But it is bright, secure, and well-located in the barrio "Chueca". It has been SO NICE to have a "home" again... A place where all my stuff stays, and I only have to carry.... Keys. I had forgotten how NICE that is!
View from my balcony. This is looking S down Calle Hortaleza, toward the center of Madrid. Very small in the lower-left corner of the picture is a sign from a pharmacy. For some reason, the signs I have seen all over for pharmacies are SO BRIGHT! This one is LED and has all sorts of graphics that scroll across it, and it tells the time and temperature too. For the first time in my life, I think of the temperature more in terms of centigrade degrees than Fahrenheit degrees. (Chueca, Madrid, Spain)
Kitchen. The laundry washing machine is under the counter, and the cooktop is broken, SO we have to put an electric plug-in unit on the counter to cook anything. As you may be able to see in the photo, I am still an egg fanatic :) The refrigerator keeps things at room temperature minus 5 degrees (milk never tastes refreshing!), the microwave is mounted on the wall, there´s no space for a garbage bin under the sink, and the corner is used for storage because there are no closets for household stuff. BUT one person living here has sufficient space. In case you´re interested in knowing EXACTLY where my flat is, it´s right HERE. (Metro Alonso Martinez, Madrid, Spain)
Bathroom. No, that´s not the normal spot my shoes live. I put them there for scale.... And just in case you´re wondering how a normally-sized human being can possibly sit on the toilet with the wall in the way... One can´t. The distance between the toilet and the tub is about 5", barely enough to fit a leg down there. So when you drop something, get ready to do yoga to reach down and get it. The door to the bathroom is an accordion door that collapses into the right-hand side. And when I enter, my shoulder rubs it unless I put one shoulder in first.
Bedroom. Big enough for a dresser, table, and queen sized bed and not much else. The Spanish are apparently really serious about NOT having to get out of bed once you´re in it. There´s this funny 4-way (?) switch to turn off/on the lights in the room. There´s a switch on the hallway wall, and then there´s TWO on the bedroom wall, right at bed height, so one can turn off the lights WHILE you´re in bed. Genius! Also visible in this photo is the windows on the inside of the window frame, PLUS the shutters on the outside. The shutters allow ventilation but shut out the light, for afternoon siestas. (Chueca, Madrid, Spain)
Indian Food. I met Anne in Puerto Madryn, Argentina in December 2007. I was delighted when she decided to visit me in Madrid! We had a GREAT meal at an Indian restaurant named "Anarko". SO YUMMY! This barrio (neighborhood) is called "Lavapies", and is known as being the least expensive barrio in Madrid (Metro Lavapiés, Madrid, Spain)
Cañas y tapas. A glass of beer at night in a glass is about 1.80€. Frequently it comes with a tapa, and in this case: shrimp. (Metro Lavapiés, Madrid, Spain)
One of the cool buildings along Gran Via lit up at night. The beauty of classic architecture above, the encroachment of capitalism below. (Gran Via, Madrid, Spain)
Vomitorio. Loved the name. And yes, it DOES mean "that which causes vomit" AND it also means "Entrance/exit to/from stairs" (Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain)
Copa. Inside the Santiago Bernabéu stadium trophy room are all the trophies of Real Madrid plays.This is one of HUNDREDS of awards/trophies they have collected over the years (Metro Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain)
Candy Shop. This place has a crazy amount of candy piled up in its windows. (El Rastro flea market, Metro La Latina, Madrid, Spain)
Dogs of Madrid. On my way to class each day, I passed in front of a church. The church usually had some collapsed cardboard boxes out front on the ground, on which someone placed water and food, and these two dogs were asleep there, every day. In case you can read the tape on the boxes, "Bershka" is a Spanish brand that makes snazzy and not horribly expensive clothes! (Metro Sol, Madrid, Spain)
Palacio de Comunicacions. One of the emblematic buildings of Madrid. It is located on the Plaza de Cibeles, with a big fountain in the middle of a big traffic circle (Madrid, Spain)
El Retiro. The Retiro is to Madrid what Central Park is to New York. It is a huge and beautiful public space right next to the botanical gardens, El Prado, El Thyssen, y El Reina Sofia museos. During warm afternoons one can find people napping on the grassy hillsides, rollerbladers playing street hockey, and fake Mickey Mouse and Minny Mouse making balloon animals for children. (Parque El Retiro, Madrid, Spain)
Parque El Retiro. This sculpture is amazing (Parque El Retiro, Madrid, Spain)
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