Día de Acción de Gracias at Morgan's

I celebrated Thanksgiving with Morgan at her apartment, where she hosted an impressive feast for American, Irish, and Spanish friends.  Contributing my homemade garlic mozzarella mashed potatoes and a salad entitled me to a schmorgasboard of home cooking.  In Spanish style, we finished several bottles of wine and substituted American football with tennis.

Toledo, 22 de noviembre

Despite feeling tired and congested, I ventured to Toledo for the day with Andrew, a research Fulbright fellow, and his Venezuelan roommate, Litz.  We began our day with toasted bread and coffee at a cafe in front of the Museo de Santa Cruz.  We explored the city by foot, visiting several of the major sites.  Fotos include a view of Alcázar from Puente de Alcántara, la Catedral, y la Iglesia de los Jesuitas.  We did not, however, see Museo del Greco, currently closed for renovations.  Interestingly enough, we chose to tour Antiguos Instruments de Tortura (Ancient Instruments of Torture) before lunch.  The exhibit, less than appetizing, included instruments of imaginatively inhumane nature: the interrogation chair, head crusher, thumbscrews, Heretic's fork, scold's bridle (a defamation mask), and the infamous chastity belt.  After running into colleagues of Andrew, we ate the menú del día at a restaurant they recommended to us.  More exploring and a final cup of coffee ensued before catching the train back to Madrid in the evening.

Sunrises in Chueca

sunrise seen from my patio before work one morning

Trabajo

top to bottom:

1. In the computer lab, we spend much of our free time; 2. Morgan holds the "Obama hace historia" article where we previously displayed it before some teachers deemed it "too political;" 3. My students in 3A work to create life size drawings of their muscular and skeletal systems; 4. We enjoy a fancy Teacher's Day luncheon, which happily coincided with Thanksgiving (sadly, no turkey or stuffing served).

Soy un residente!

Cuenca

8 de noviembre: Nick, Morgan, and I ventured two hours outside of Madrid by means of a very bumpy train.  Details to come.  Photos for now.

4 de noviembre: Día de Elección

Election day started interestingly.  I arrived school where I immediately went to the photocopy room to work with the other auxiliaries to prepare the day's voting activity for students.  Shortly thereafter I received a call from Juani, mi compañera de trabajo; she said, "Sally, where are you?  We need to leave at 9:30."  FIELD TRIP!  Talk about last minute notice.  We took the kids to a comical concert.  Though local, I had to bail on the voting activity (an idea which I initiated) until I returned in the afternoon.  In the afternoon, I helped year three students to participate in the democratic process by voting for their favorite food.  Each grade level voted for a different "favorite," and we will post the popular vote on a display outside the English lab tomorrow.  Around 11pm, I went to Casa America with Kristina for an election night event hosted by the United States Embassy.  Though several Fulbrighters declared boredom and split for the Democrats Abroad party, I preferred the non-partisan (and free) celebration and also going to bed early.  Despite the 20 euro entry fee and unavoidable Disney-length line, the D.A. event drew hundreds of participants, Spanish and American alike.  I personally relished the opportunity to take part in a historic event in such a unique situation.  I retired at a reasonable hour to learn the election results in the morning.

Mom's Visit: lunes, 3 de noviembre

I felt a little sad today knowing that mom and Joan will head home tomorrow.  Still, I trucked to work in the morning, returning to my piso at noon to adventure with the ladies.  I showed them the Seuss-like building that houses el Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (Author's and Editor's Society) also called Palacio Longaria.  I expect to find the Once-ler stepping onto the balcony one day to argue with the Lorax.  We had lunch nearby at a charming place, where I expect to return.  We also had dinner at a great restaurant in Chueca called Monte Nevado.  I had a slice of homemade cheesecake with wild berries for dessert - wow!  Yet another place: I will return.  

I'll have to correspond with mom and Joan to think of what else we did this day!  Maybe I will update/edit later.