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2-4-00 Update |
| THEY WERE ALL
RIGHT: No matter how light you THINK you've packed - PACK LIGHTER. I'll be ditching even more belongings in the next few days. HERE: Madrid is wet today...it's been raining since I left my room at 0700. Jet-Lag is not your friend, but it does help you wake up early! Now if I can just stay awake till 10pm local time tonight, I will have accomplished today's goal in the fight against Jet Lag. Lost track of time earlier this afternoon at a great little Spanish lunch with Makoto and missed the Prado Museum. It will be closed all day tomorrow too (foo). Language Wow, how I wish i'd learned more in those 4.5 months devoted to Spanish in the 7th grade. my strategy thus far: smile alot say gracias about once every 10 words. First 3 people I met (not counting personality challenged customs officials) were three cute spanish ladies waiting for one of their SO's to get off a plane. The first spoke aproximately 20 words of english (thereby doubling my spanish abilities) and used them to confirm that I had indeed just arrived from the US and spoke not a bit of spanish. She and her (sisters?) then proceeded to laugh at their expectations of my stay, but not without expressing (through hand gestures) that they thought I was cute. Perhaps being mostly mute has advantages after all. Subway SO...The NYC subway system does an excellent job of making the Madrid subway system look simple. I have helped 3 tourists and (HONEST) 1 local to their correct destination in the last 2 days. If you can find your way around the NYC subway (not that _I_CAN_)...I doubt you'll ever be lost in a metro again. Side note: This is quite possibly the single most uncomfortable chair ever and typing on a spanish keyboard is slowing me down a bit because I keep bothering to correct these weird characters that show up. Kudos MUCHOS Thanks to Lisa Goldberg for hosting me in NYC. In addition to tracking down the speediest and cheapest transport to & from the airport (and making sure I understood how to use it - harder) she was kind enough to send me off with a bag of cookies as well as PB&J sandwiches! NEXT: Before sitting down at the cafe to write this, I made plans with a new friend Makoto (returns to Japan in 7 days) to meet at the NW corner of the Eiffel tower 4-4-00 1200. If anyone else wants to join us =) - feel free. I love my palm pilot. Language, currency, notes, games, love it love it love it love it. I'm actually starting to like my HAT quite a bit too. It has kept my head dry all day today w/o carrying an umbrella like every other person on the street. I'm not certain, but I think that it also gets me attention...not inherently a good OR bad thing. IN addition, it gives me a handy place to store a couple balloons, which I've had a WONDERFUL time blowing up and giving to unsuspecting children on the trains. Okay, their chain smokin on both sides of me now and I've gotta get outa here...More later, Kids. -Jason in Madrid, Spain. (with 35 points!) |