Madrid Again. Do Do Do Do Do. Madrid Again. Do Do Do Do.

Well, I’m at the airport again and I am on my way to Israel. I planned my trip so that I could visit Madrid again to visit friends and hang out for a couple of days on the way to Jerusalem (the price was almost exactly the same with the extra stop).  So I am going to Madrid->Amsterdam->Tel Aviv.  This winter break has be soooooo good. Now for real classes to start on Thursday.

One thing I really miss about Spain is cheek kisses. When you say hello/are introduced to someone/say goodbye you kiss once on each cheek. It’s pretty universal. It doesn’t matter if the person it super old, the opposite gender, or really smelly- you kiss them anyways. When I came back to the U.S. last time I think I came back a really affectionate person. I kept trying to kiss people on the cheek to say hello, until it was finally engraved in my head that it is not really acceptable in American culture (depending on who you are with). There is something about being able to give a complete stranger a kiss on the cheek to say hello. It’s warm and welcoming. I had a really good conversation with my friend Laila about how interesting it is that a lot of countries in warm climates are really affectionate and their music is really upbeat and happy, while in cold countries people are kind of isolated and not very close to each other. Or maybe it based on if a romance language is spoken.This is definitely a generalization, but from the countries that I have been to and the countries Laila has been too, it seems kind of true.

I think it is also hilarious when you are with a group of people who do kiss on the cheeks but you are being introduced to someone who is from a culture that doesn’t. Meeting Americans in Spain is kind of uncomfortably funny. What do you do? Kiss them anyways? If you were both meeting each other in the states, you most likely wouldn’t kiss them on the cheek. It’s a funny dilemma.

Anyways, I got in on Saturday night and I stayed with Laila. We really just hung out and talked on Saturday night. It was good to catch up. I have started to love being around Spanish speakers who don’t speak English, it makes me practice my Spanish so much more. I am starting to feel a lot better about my Spanish; I need to figure out a way to keep practicing because I am not taking any more Spanish in college. I am perplexed by new phrases all of the time.

On Sunday, Laila and I went to church in the morning. One thing I love about church is that it is done in the exactly the same no matter where you go-except what language it is in. I loved how the sacrament is given in the exact same way and the lesson in Relief Society is the exact same lesson I would have been getting in Philadelphia. Being so exact and uniform makes it hard for things to change because of the opinions of local leaders. Making doctrine stay doctrine. People are also super nice. Laila’s ward is really cool/fun.

            After church I went to play games with some people from my old ward in Madrid like Angel and Cami. It is funny how the exact same games exist in other cultures and I for some reason think only my friends know how to play them, or that I invented them. I remember being a little kid and thinking I invented wall-ball, when somehow it seems like everyone knows how to play wall-ball, it’s like it is inherently learned or something. Anyways, we played an animal noise game, which was almost exactly same as a game I play with my friends in the states. Someone is blindfolded and when they touch someone who is hidden they call out an animal name that the hidden person needs to impersonate. People make weird noises and it is hilarious in any language. We all had a lot of fun.

snacking with Angel!

A picture that actually wasn't an exaggeration at all. The wind was really blowing that hard.

It turns out I talk a lot in my sleep, which isn’t a big surprise to me. It is just funny cause Laila can’t understand English and I was talking up a storm. To bad she couldn’t understand it.

Monday I got to go for a nice run and then I went into the City with Laila and Yamil. We watched Les Mis and then got hot chocolate and churros. It was a good way to finish my time in Madrid.

Bigotes con Laila.

I am really excited to get to Jerusalem!!!!!