Always a Spectacle

Last night I returned to Madrid after one week away in San Diego celebrating my incredible grandmother's 90th birthday and my dear friend Lilly's beautiful wedding. Returning to my central neighborhood obviously beat after a 20-hour flight, I felt awake and excited passing by la Plaza de Cibeles and La Oficina de Correos (which are seen in the photo above). Madrid never disappoints and ALWAYS surprises! The lights around the fountain felt like a magnficent re-welcome to the city, and then when I noticed the rainbow flag hanging from the Post Office (not seen in the photo), I realized that the striking display was in honor of Madrid's Gay Pride Week! Madrid doesn't do anything small. Every display, every act here is carried out with grandeur and pride. Everything is celebrated, and I hope to always carry this celebration of all things in life with me... wherever I go.

Spain is an incredible anomaly in a multitude of ways, one being it's overt support of gay rights. After overcoming a very long Fascist dictatorship, Spain underwent many changes very quickly. I have always found this an anomaly because in general, I have noticed Spaniards as slow to adaptation. For example, meals must be at certain times, coffee must be consumed after the meal (never before or during), flip-flop sandals are only to be worn at the beach and never in the street, and sleeveless attire is surely not acceptable until late May or early June (although temperatures are blatantly soaring by then). But perhaps when it comes to the bigger issues and social rights, they are much quicker to adapt and embrace. Spain was the 2nd country in the world to legalize gay marriage (after the Netherlands), and its vibrant gay community is alive and proud in the historic Chueca district and throughout the city. For this reason, the Plaza de Cibeles is at full illumination during this much-awaited Gay Pride Week.

This month in Madrid is special and significant to me because it represents the final month in a city and culture that have welcomed me with open arms. As the city never ceases to surprise, my years here also came as a surprise. I certainly didn't expect to spend four years here, but I suspect that my first day here led to me to realize that I was going to need much more than four months. I recall my first morning waking up in Madrid in April 2010 when I came to carry out my Student Teaching, knowing nothing about this country. I woke up in my tiny apartment in Barrio Chamberi, went outside and was swept away by the dramatic light of the sky and the hustle and bustle of the city. I walked to Starbucks (on my first day, I needed something familiar), and sat at a table outside for hours marveling at the comfort I felt on day one in a place previously completely foreign to me. Everything felt easy and natural. My Spanish was minimal but somehow the people were kind enough to try to understand and help with whatever I needed. I was at the time reading a book by John Hopper called "The New Spaniards," and upon being so impressed by the incredible light of the sky, I came across a passage explaining just this. Spain is at an especially high altitude, meaning that light is brighter, the days are longer, and the people are more jubilant. After four years here, I can attest to this truth!

Throughout this month of July(minus 10 days in Portugal), I will be re-visiting the love affair that I first had with this city. I will attempt to re-see it through my initial incredulous and virgin eyes: marvel at the architecture, history, and style of the buildings, ponder through the endless museums pertaining to every theme imaginable, eat and drink slowly and with great pleasure, spend every possible moment on the street as the locals do, and delight in the pleasures of pure everyday life. I will document this here on this blog as a bitter-sweet memory.

I may be physically leaving Madrid, but it's charm, energy, vibrance, and those of all of the people I have met, will always be within me....And Madrid is a city to return to time and time again.