Thursday we had an all day Jornada dia de Formacion, which is basically a teachers' workshop. It was supposed to last from 9am to 6:30pm; why, I don't know. We had seen most of this information already in our orientation; but this time all 340 of the auxiliares de conversacion in Madrid were present. It was interesting to see people from around the world who had come to see teach English in Madrid. My friend and I had gotten there 30 minutes late, and had to sit on the floor in the back of the hot crowded room. I knew this would be a long day. I sat and read my book through the most boring parts. We talked about adjusting to Madrid, and classroom procedures, and our roles as teachers; things we had heard before. I was bored and hungry. They served us lunch. of course the classis spanish bocadillo; a whole lot of bread, with little meat/cheese inside. After lunch, I caught a serious case of the itis/boredom, and I couldn't keep my eyes open at all. As I sat and fought to keep my eyes open in front of the speaker, my friend and I devised a plan to escape. We decided we would leave after this session, as we had already signed in twice. As the speaker finished, we inconspicuously slipped out of sight. Off to Lavapies!
Lavapies is a very diverse immigrant neighborhood. Some would call it "sketchy," but I think it's very cool. In Lavapies you can find a very diverse array of foods including Latino, Arabic, African, and Indian delicacies. Also, this is the area where I can buy all my black hair care products! With food on our minds we went into one of the unique grocery stores. There was a large selection of exotic spices, rice and beans and juices, and many other great meal enhancements. I picked up some hot mango sauce, a bag of fresh mint leaves for tea, a bag of cous cous (like middle eastern rice), some pita bread, some Goya beans, some Arabic tea mixture, and some delicious natural Mango juice that I drank on my way out of the store. I'm going to be cooking some fabulous meals!
We walked around the neighborhood some more to explore the rest of its diverse elements. My friend, (the one who fixed me the Arabic treats) told me there was another small store which we had to visit, owned my an Iraqi man. We walked into the store and she spoke to the man in perfect Arabic, asking him about the fresh fetta cheese and sweets we were looking for. He talked to us in Arabic/Spanish about many items in his store and why we should try them. The fetta cheese we were looking for was a huge tube of fresh Arabic fetta cheese that cost 9 euros! I had to leave that one behind. He was eager to show us some more interesting eat, so he closed his store and walked with us to another down the street. There we met his son, and he went straight to the back and pulled out what I suppose was their "secret stash." He gave us each a small, fresh Arabic desert filled with dates (like the one my friend had shared with me at her house). It was perfect. Then he pulled some more of his stash and asked us if we liked falafel. Of course! He brought us this sheet of frozen green/brown stuff, which was supposed to be frozen falafel which we could make easily ourselves. My bold friend bought both the sweets and falafel, confident she could create a meal; I would wait and try hers.
After walking around with bags for a while, I was ready to head home. Later, I cooked a meal with some things I'd already had, and created a mix of spices for a sauce that proved to be waaayyy too spicy. I love experimenting with food! That night, I went to the same Intercambio spot as last Thursday, met some new folks, and had some great convos with a diverse crowd. I met a girl from Egypt, who was beautiful; same skin and hair as me! Amazing the people you meet. On the way home, around 1am, I decided to figure out how to walk home from the centro, in order to avoid taking the metro so much. Eureka! I do live close to everything!
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