ramblings from the airport....

As far as last days go, I’m not sure I cold have asked for a better one in Toledo.

I woke up around 9:30, in no rush, got ready and had breakfast in my room (some fruit that I bought the day before, and my Maria cookies, (which I still have from Pamplona/San Sebastian, and have been eating ever since)). By 11:00 or so, I decided to head into town. My hostel was outside of the city, right next to the train station. It was convenient this morning, when I needed to be at the station before 6:30, but less so for gallivanting around the city. I am just so glad that I bought the unlimited monthly bus pass. I definitely took advantage of it!

Anyway, after I went into town, I went to a ceramics museum, by accident mostly, as I was looking for another museum (Actually it’s the same museum, but you have to use another entrance) that had an exposition of El Greco’s paintings. I might be the only person in our program that hadn’t seen it yet. I really enjoyed it. I don’t know if it’s just because I lived in Toledo, but I have definitely become a fan of El Greco.

After those museums, I went to another one, a quite different one. It was the museum of ancient torture devices. Haha. This was… interesting. I couldn’t help but judge everybody in there for wanting to see this stuff... and then I realized that I myself paid to see these things as well. Haha. Whoops. Each item had a description of how the device worked and what punishments it was used for. It was kind of frightening, but mostly intriguing. Haha. 3E well spent.

Because this museum is so close to my favorite café, the Café de las Monjas, I stopped in to buy some marmalade for a gift. Our waitress friend, Carla, was there, and we were chatting. I told her it was my last day in the city, and was saying goodbye. Haha. She told me to come back to have a coffee (tea) if I had time. So I did, later. We’re totally going to keep in touch through facebook. This is awesome.

After the café, I went to buy a bocadillo, and I had a picnic by myself in the Plaza de Ayuntamiento. This is a big plaza by the Cathedral. Throughout my time in Toledo, when I was bored or didn’t know what to do, I would always just take a book to read in the plaza and people-watch. It was my favorite. Yesterday was no different. I think it was a great idea to spend my last lunch time there.

And of course, how could I live with myself if I knew that my last day in Spain was without a siesta? After lunch, I came back to my hostel and slept for a little bit (only 20 minutes), and got ready to go meet my friends.

We met at the place where I worked, and went out for another coffee (coke). I always say coffee because it’s so general, but I always get something else. It’s just easier to ask somebody if they want to go get coffee than it is to say, “let’s go get a daytime beverage of your choosing”. Anyway, we went to Enebro, in polígono, which is the neighborhood where I worked, and where my friends live. It’s kind of like a pub/university bar. It’s cool. There was one just like it in the plaza outside of our residence.

Anyway, after our coffee we went to their “band space”, haha, for a lack of a better term. It was awesome. They are like, a legit band. They rent this place, where they keep all of their music stuff, and they go there every Wednesday to play together. There were only 2 of them there, but it was still awesome. They were just playing around for a while, and they taught me how to play a song (by the Sunday Drivers!) on guitar. Haha. It was kind of hilarious really. They taught me the three chords that I need to know to play any song (C, E, and G, I believe)..I don’t know, they label notes by “do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti”.. So, all you need is “do, re, and so”. Haha. It’s always strange learning new things in another language. It’s like mastering two things at once.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun. I’m so glad I got to spend my last day with them. It was sure better than being alone! Good company, good conversations… Good times. Anyway, they gave me one of their band’s cds. I haven’t had a chance to listen much yet, but it’s pretty good. And they sing in Spanish, so that will keep my skills sharp at least for a while. :)

After the whole music thing, they drove me up to Zocodover, the center of the city, so that I could go back to the café to see Carla again. Haha. A private car ride in Toledo! For some reason, I think that private car rides are a symbol of having made it, in some sense, in a city. To have a friend who doesn’t mind driving you somewhere… I think this is significant in some way.
At the café, I had tea and a cookie, and it was awesome. Unfortunately I didn’t really didn’t get to talk to Carla much, since they were cleaning up to close. But that’s alright; I don’t regret enjoying the café one last time.

Upon leaving the café, I ran into Carlos. Oh, Carlos. I am not sure if I have ever written about Carlos, but he was one of the receptionists at the school. I am pretty sure that no person in my life has ever yelled at me as much as Carlos has. Haha. Here are some examples:

• Example 1: We once had to watch a movie for a class (a group of 5 of us), but the TV room was occupied. We asked him if we could go into a classroom. Instead of telling us no, he explained to us for 15 minutes that we need to get our professor to give permission, etc. Thanks, Carlos. Next time we will.

• Example 2: I was doing laundry once, and forgot to take it out before 8:00, the time when the laundry room closes. My clothes were trapped! I asked Carlos to open it for me so I could get them. Instead of just doing it, or just telling me no, he walked there with me, and yelled at me the whole time, telling me that I have to change my schedule to fit the laundry schedule. I told him a hundred times that I simply forgot. But thanks anyway, Carlos.

• Example 3: One night, it was particularly windy in Toledo. It was also particularly hot, and we were all dying in our room. We had the windows open to try to create some kind of a breeze. However, because of the violent wind, the bathroom window shut itself rather fiercely, shattering the window pane. Whoops. We had to go tell reception, and unfortunately for us, Carlos was working. Oh man, we got an earful. “Was your window open? You need to keep your windows closed when it’s windy.” Thanks for the heads up, Carlos. Maybe someone could have told us BEFORE the window broke.

And the examples continue. I am not sure I ever had a particularly pleasant exchange with Carlos. The rest of the guys in reception were great. But Carlos….. haha.
When I saw him on the street, we didn’t stop to chat. I think he was surprised to see that somebody from the school was around still. We just waved, said hola, and kept going our separate ways. …Maybe that was better. :)

I also ran into my newest Moroccan friend, Yassif, in the city. By friend, I don’t really mean a friend. I mean a Moroccan man who I have seen “5 veces” (according to his count) in the last 3 days. He works at the Locutorio, the internet café, near my hostel. I would stop in every night for a few minutes to check my email, etc. He was always really excited when I showed up, and tried to talk to me. He even gave me free bubblegum. Haha. Anyway, I was walking past this Moroccan lamp shop, which I had seen a million times but never went into. He was standing outside, and when he saw me he got this huge smile and yelled “HELLO! HOLA!”, then motioned me into his lamp shop. haha. Oh man. I couldn’t help but laugh. Haha. In retrospect, I can’t believe I went in there. I am pretty sure that was the only time I ever felt less-than-safe in Spain. As soon as I walked in I immediately regretted my decision. Not that anything happened, but he just kept saying “go ahead, keep going, look, it’s really beautiful…” and things like that, trying to get me to go further in. haha. I just glanced, and then said I had to leave to meet someone. It was weird. Haha. I saw him again later that night when I went to use the internet. Luckily that was also the last time I saw him. ….Really, I’m sure he’s nice, just a little overzealous. Haha.

To continue my streak of seeing people I know, I was riding the bus back to my hostel, when I saw Katherine, a girl from my program. She is staying in Toledo until next semester. I had no idea she was still there, or we totally could have hung out. Either way, I have to say that my last days in Toledo were pretty awesome. I kind of had a chance to see what it would be like if I were to live there alone. And I am pretty sure that I could hold my own. I’d be able to make friends, and talk to people in stores, and avoid Moroccan men in lamp shops. All of these things give me confidence.

I think confidence is really one my buzzwords for this trip. I think I’ve gained a ton of it. Not just regarding my Spanish, but regarding everything. Being more independent on this trip has allowed me to see how capable I am to do things myself. I still haven’t resolved the whole independence issue yet, but I think I’m starting to see that, even if I do do things by myself, I am always able to meet new people and form new relationships. I started out not knowing anybody in Toledo, and now I feel like I have people there. This is a good thing.

Also, speaking of confidence, I have to say that during the last conversation that I had in Spanish, with the taxi-driver in Madrid, I heard for one last time that I "habla muy bien". This just proves it. Haha. I must be getting better. Jose Luis told me yesterday that he thinks 6-8 months is all I need to be really fluent… I still want to stay for another year. :)