May was possibly my favorite month in Madrid. All of the tourism guides highlight May as an excellent time to visit Madrid and now I understand why. There are abundant festivals, bull fights, holidays, great weather with the occasional spring shower and the Madrileños really come out of hibernation to play. One event that I attended that has been a high point for me was the Madrid Mutua Open. I like to watch tennis but had yet to see a live match. The open attracts some of the top players in the world and I was fortunate enough to see Djokovic on the ATP side and Miss Serena Williams play a WTA match. Serena, who went on to win the tournament, was amazing to watch live. She dominated the match and has such a ferocity while playing. As the only other African American person at the match, aside from Serena, I felt a few things that I hadn't expected. A sense of pride: American pride, African American pride, womanly pride. I was happy to be there and witness this event. It really changed my perspective and I don't think I will ever forget the match. I continued to follow the tournament and surprisingly many top seeded players were knocked out including Djokovic but also Spain's own Nadal.
Throughout May and continuing into June, I started reconnecting with some acquaintances from earlier in my adventures and really worked on developing those relationships. Perhaps this is why I felt a bit sad as we all gathered for one final Retiro Park picnic. Between the frisbee and homemade sushi and brownies as everyone parted ways I wondered if next year would bring moments as great as this. I really came to know my circle of friends. I can only hope I find a good group of friends again when I return.
Another June highlight was attending a bullfight. Despite the mixed feelings that many Spaniards have about bullfighting, and that I myself shared prior, I decided I had to go. I appreciated it for the cultural aspects and ambiance, not so much for the more gruesome moments. It is literally watching the murder of a bull, 6 actually - 2 per bullfighter. I went to the second half of the match, a good idea if you aren't too keen on watching gory things. So instead I watched the people. Listening to the whistles and cheers as an older Spanish woman, who had conveniently stolen my seat, explained why people would boo (in the form of whistling) if the bull went back toward the door it had been let out - apparently that means the bullfighter is not very enticing. The experience for me was interesting but not sure I'd go to another.
At the end of June I went on to work at a summer camp in Extremadura, Parque Nacional Monfrague for nearly 3 weeks. Isolated at a wonderful resort style hotel with 100 participants (Anglos and Spaniards alike) in the Spanish country side (imagine central valley California but drier) I really was able to...well...let me back track. This was an English immersion summer camp where the aim is to immerse Spaniards in English by direct language exchange. All day. Everyday. That's the aim anyway. Funny as it seems the Spaniards were consistently speaking Spanish with each other despite the fact that their parents paid the equivalent of one month of my "salary" for just one week of this camp. Needless to say I became the 'speak English' police. My team the first week managed to speak English so infrequently that we were in negative points for quite some time. Despite this though I loved the experience and all 3 of my groups over the 3 weeks. I also made some great connections with some Brits and other Americans that were also a part of the 'speak english' police (other counselors). During the first few days of the 3rd week though a family emergency called me back to California 4 weeks prematurely. Though this moment was not a high point for me, it really showed me the kindness of the people I'd come to know this past year. Leaving camp on a low note, I arrived to Madrid to a wonderful smiling familiar face which really made me realize that I had made some important connections here which I hope to cultivate even more deeply when I return in a few days.
Throughout my time at home I had the pleasure of seeing many old faces from college to ex-colleagues. I even house sat for one week thanks to a former colleague and it was such a great experience, I'm so thankful to know amazing people. The last month and a half has been such a whirlwind. I really loved being in SF pretending to be a tourist, visiting the amazing folks at Pixar...repeatedly :), lunches/dinners with good friends, Friday happy hours @ 389, celebrating birthdays - including my grandmother's 86th, baby showers and the birth of my stepsisters daughter. I also managed to squeeze in an excruciatingly eventful Labor Day Weekend trip to Las Vegas wherein which...well...what happens in Vegas...stays there.
Overall, though visiting the SF Bay Area I really appreciated each moment, each sight, sound, smell, taste (I missed California's diverse amazing cuisine!!)...it really is one of the most unique and beautiful places in the world. Sometimes I can't believe I've moved away. At the least this time at home has made me extremely appreciative for all the great people I have in my life. My only hope is I see some of them in Spain in the very near future...
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