Madrid

Hello,

Here are two thoughts/suggestions I'll leave you with before I leave for Barcelona:

1. If you're in Madrid in the next couple weeks see Casa de Bernarda Alba. I went on Tuesday night to this play by Federico Garcia Lorca, and it was great. I recommend you read the play regardless of if you're going to see it or not, but the cast at Matadero de Naves and the stage set up were very impressive.

2. Public Transportation:

The fact that most people get around this city with public transportation creates this odd sense of privacy in public spaces. This especially apparent when you're travelling around in the Metros. The other day I was sitting next to a man who was playing music on his phone out loud for the entire world to here. And it wasn't like he was just finishing up the song he was listening to. I was on the bus with him for a good twenty five minutes, enough time for him to play go through three or four songs. The best part was the other people's reactions. There were two main reactions. Either people try to avert their gaze, honoring this unwritten rule that everyone is entitled to their privacy in this space that is exactly the opposite, or they look around trying see what other people's reactions are. Heaven forbid they confront this man or ask him to turn his music down. They two want to respect his right to do whatever he pleases, but want to get the satisfaction of knowing that other people are also judging him for his decision of how to conduct himself on the metro.

This music man is not the only person who knows how to take advantage of the metro. Teenagers ride around drinking alcohol, couples make out with out any protection from onlooking eyes, younger boys push and wrestle with each other, and groups of Americans take advantage of this private area to practice their English at amplified volumes. Nonetheless all of the Spaniards revere their vow of silence and refuse to interrupt.

Spanish Lesson:

Grupúsculo = faction, covert group.

I ran across this word in a reading for class. It's basically a mix of two words 1. grupo (you can guess what that means) and 2. crepúsculo = twilight.

So although this word can just mean faction, it has a sort of sinister nature to it. A meeting of a grupúsculo would have to happen a midnight while no one was watching. It implies some sort of inherent sneaky nature to another dissenting faction.

Adios