Madrid - My Second Home

I've just been sitting today, reflecting on the weekend. Although a group of students from my program decided to go to Barcelona, I decided to stay in Madrid and get to know the city a little more. We ended up going out for Halloween Friday night, which was an experience.

I was told they didn't really celebrate Halloween here, but when we walked out onto the street, a lot of people were in costume. I've never really been all that into Halloween (except when it meant a lot of candy) but it was really interesting to see the Spanish interpretation of the holiday. What was interesting to me was how they celebrated Halloween Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, costumes and all.

Friday night we did some bar hopping and then met up with our Spanish friends Alejandro and Carlos. At first we didn't recognize Alejandro because he was wearing a blue dress and a wig. We went to another bar and had a good time making fun of our friend in drag. His wig and skirt were pretty popular at the bar too. Saturday night started as girls' night, but later Alejandro and his friends Juanjo and Sebastian came to meet us.

I'm really starting to enjoy living in Spain. I feel more comfortable here everyday, and I'm already getting sad about the thought of leaving. Time has already been flying by, and I know it's just going to go faster from now on.

I love the way they live here. People seem to be able to separate work and fun much better here. Here, work is just something you do, it is not who you are. To most people, it seems like human contact and the social aspects of life are more important. Even on the metro, I've noticed how much more sociable people are. In Chicago, on my way home from work, most people are on their blackberry or reading or whatnot, just trying to avoid talking to the person next to them (I am guilty of this as well), the train is quiet, with maybe one or two conversations here or there. Here, I have not seen one Blackberry, and the train is always bustling with the noise of conversation.

Like I said, everyday I feel more at home here. Last night, at one point I was talking with some of the guys about Chicago and how it differs from Madrid. I told Juanjo that I love Chicago because it's my home. He looked at me and said, "Yes of course, Chicago is your home, but here, here is your home too." I know December is still a little ways off, but I know when I leave here, I will leave a piece of myself behind...as cheesy as that sounds. I've actually already started looking into grad schools in Madrid. I wish I had more time here. I'm not sure where life will take me after I leave Spain in December, but I'm definitely glad I came.