So I´m home safely from my weekend of Christianity... man, it´s been a long time since I last had more than one Christian thing in a weekend. It was a bit of a shock to have 6 proper meetings! But it was good. We got to talk a lot and discuss stuff and have some fun, which is always nice.
Mostly we were discussing being salt of the earth, which is really important but then I got home and my friend asked me loads of awkward questions about it so now I think I might have gone backwards!
Let me try to explain...
As Christians, we try to be a little bit different, to act more like Jesus, to love those around us and to try to be kind and helpful to all. We also try to talk about God when and if it is appropriate (trying not to shove it down people´s necks). Sometimes, we say ´no´ to things that others do. It´s a difficult balance, try to be tolerant and accepting i.e. ´love the sinner´ but also ´hate the sin´.
I completely failed to explain any of this to my friend because it all just went a bit mushy in my head, despite having discussed it all weekend! His response was that everyone should be kind and loving and tolerant, that´s the basis of most religions, and he didn´t see why I thought this would make Christians stand out. ´It´s not only Christians who are good people´. Now, looking back, I can see ways I could have taken the conversation, but at the time, my mind stopped working and I just made ´but, but, but´ noises.
It is so frustrating sometimes. But I guess I must think about this, work out what I think and why I think Christians should be different and hope that next time I´ll say something more sensible.
On a different note, it was so unbelievably nice to get out of the city at the weekend. It was a bit chilly but there was sky (there is also a sky in Madrid but it´s just not the same when thereś loads of blocks of flats!), stars, trees, a lake and places to walk... oh and a load of good food!
I also made some new friends and had some good chat with people so that was nice. Hopefully I´ll manage to meet up with them when I get back after Christmas.
And now, I am trying to make the most of my last week in Madrid. I have a reasonable amount to keep me busy... coffee with friends, drinks with friends, the ATLS book to read, and a normal amount of homework. I think my head needs a bit of a break from all my Spanish, I´m starting to feel like it can´t take anything else in. Never mind, break coming soon...
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Perfect
I´ve been here for 6 and a half weeks now and I can´t believe it´s nearly time for me to go home already. My spanish is an awful lot better than it was (can´t really get worse than non-existent...) and I´ve had a lot of fun here. However, some very strange, sometimes not so good things, have happened too and that´s meant that things have been a bit different.
Normally, as my mother and I were discussing the other day, I´m pretty independent. I like doing stuff by myself and I don´t really like accepting help from others. It´s not really worked out like that here though. I guess I expected to turn up, carry on life as usual and see how things went. I didn´t expect to get my bag stolen, have no means of getting money, get a little lost at times, find myself in odd situations and generally feel a little pathetic, weak and foolish. I´ve had to accept help from a wide variety of new friends, or just general randoms, and it´s a strange feeling.
Last night, I was thinking about it and what I thought was that during this time here I haven´t been able to áct ´perfect´ because things have gone wrong or I´ve been stupid. Whereas normally, you can pretend a lot easier that things are all perfect and that that is because you are ´ṕerfect´ rather than because it´s easy when you´re in your own comfort zone. Does that make any sense?! (I needed the 2 ´that´s.)
So instead, I´ve had to accept help from people, admit my mistakes and struggle a bit. Yet I think this actually gives God the opportunity to show His power and His love and His grace because normally we cover up and hide all his chances from those we meet. So maybe good things are coming from this instead...
Also, please don´t think that it´s been one disaster after another, it really hasn´t just a lot has happened in quite a short time!
Tonight I am going for a crepe in a nice little bar we found on saturday and then to a jazz night. And on friday I am going away for the weekend with the church youth group and university students... yes I know, I am neither a youth or a student but I can pretend and act immature! Hopefully it will be fun and I shall make some new friends.
Normally, as my mother and I were discussing the other day, I´m pretty independent. I like doing stuff by myself and I don´t really like accepting help from others. It´s not really worked out like that here though. I guess I expected to turn up, carry on life as usual and see how things went. I didn´t expect to get my bag stolen, have no means of getting money, get a little lost at times, find myself in odd situations and generally feel a little pathetic, weak and foolish. I´ve had to accept help from a wide variety of new friends, or just general randoms, and it´s a strange feeling.
Last night, I was thinking about it and what I thought was that during this time here I haven´t been able to áct ´perfect´ because things have gone wrong or I´ve been stupid. Whereas normally, you can pretend a lot easier that things are all perfect and that that is because you are ´ṕerfect´ rather than because it´s easy when you´re in your own comfort zone. Does that make any sense?! (I needed the 2 ´that´s.)
So instead, I´ve had to accept help from people, admit my mistakes and struggle a bit. Yet I think this actually gives God the opportunity to show His power and His love and His grace because normally we cover up and hide all his chances from those we meet. So maybe good things are coming from this instead...
Also, please don´t think that it´s been one disaster after another, it really hasn´t just a lot has happened in quite a short time!
Tonight I am going for a crepe in a nice little bar we found on saturday and then to a jazz night. And on friday I am going away for the weekend with the church youth group and university students... yes I know, I am neither a youth or a student but I can pretend and act immature! Hopefully it will be fun and I shall make some new friends.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Sniffles
Apparently the heat in Madrid this late in the year is actually rather unusual... and now it´s gone back to normal. Today I´m wearing a cardigan and have a coat with me, it´s rather shocking! I have also discovered a minor flaw with the metro. It means that colds spread like nothing else and everyone is permanently sniffing. I seem to be rotating between blocked nose, runny nose, cough and sore throat, with some feverishness thrown in too. It´s not really that bad but I´m not very used to having a permanent cold because I normally don´t get very many.
Anyway onto more exciting things...
I visited the Museo de Americas on Saturday. We managed to arrive an hour before closing (which gave us a clear leaving time, always important for a museum visit I think) and got in free, yay! It had lots of random things from Latin America in it. It was quite interesting but there´s only so many things you can look at in a short space of time and find interesting. I did find some shrunken heads though, they´re weird! We also found a small display for the day of the dead (which is the 2nd November, it´s kind of the opposite of our halloween) and Hailey took a photo. It seemed appropriate to pretend that I was dead, however in the photo I just look extremely drunk! We also tried out some of the special sweets for the holiday - they´re called bones but are actually just incredibly sweet things that look white and thin.
Today I had to talk about Scotland in Spanish for about an hour.It was quite painful... partly because it started with me having to draw Scotland on the whiteboard, not pretty. And then the teacher asked all sorts of odd questions that I don´t know the answer to in English, let alone Spanish. I´ve never really done any history so my knowledge/understanding as to when, why and how we ended up as the United Kingdom is somewhat minimal. I also don´t know why men wear kilts or why we have lots of names that are similar to Ireland. Let´s just say there was much I didn´t know but I managed just about to talk only in Spanish. Well done me!
Tomorrow I think I might go to another museum... apparently when one visits Madrid, one must visit the Prado! And on monday (which is a bank holiday) I shall go to Toledo which is a pretty town full of a wide variety of architecture including Moorish stuff. I am being cultural for once!
Anyway onto more exciting things...
I visited the Museo de Americas on Saturday. We managed to arrive an hour before closing (which gave us a clear leaving time, always important for a museum visit I think) and got in free, yay! It had lots of random things from Latin America in it. It was quite interesting but there´s only so many things you can look at in a short space of time and find interesting. I did find some shrunken heads though, they´re weird! We also found a small display for the day of the dead (which is the 2nd November, it´s kind of the opposite of our halloween) and Hailey took a photo. It seemed appropriate to pretend that I was dead, however in the photo I just look extremely drunk! We also tried out some of the special sweets for the holiday - they´re called bones but are actually just incredibly sweet things that look white and thin.
Today I had to talk about Scotland in Spanish for about an hour.It was quite painful... partly because it started with me having to draw Scotland on the whiteboard, not pretty. And then the teacher asked all sorts of odd questions that I don´t know the answer to in English, let alone Spanish. I´ve never really done any history so my knowledge/understanding as to when, why and how we ended up as the United Kingdom is somewhat minimal. I also don´t know why men wear kilts or why we have lots of names that are similar to Ireland. Let´s just say there was much I didn´t know but I managed just about to talk only in Spanish. Well done me!
Tomorrow I think I might go to another museum... apparently when one visits Madrid, one must visit the Prado! And on monday (which is a bank holiday) I shall go to Toledo which is a pretty town full of a wide variety of architecture including Moorish stuff. I am being cultural for once!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Love/hate
Things I miss about Scotland:
1. Knowing where things are. I still haven´t found a post office... I have a present waiting patiently but I can´t send it!
2. A proper cup of tea. With water that has been boiled properly in a kettle not in the microwave and fresh milk rather than UHT.
3. Internet access in my home. With facebook that works.
4. Access to iplayer and 4od. Is it sad that I miss certain programmes? Especially Merlin.
5. Some foods. I would like a Boost. And some boiled vegetables.
Things that I like about Spain:
1. The weather. I´m wearing flipflops today and I still don´t need a coat yet.
2. Staying out late with friends.
3. The metro.
4. Learning a new language. And meeting all sorts of interesting people.
5. Some of the food. Last night I ate lots and lots of paella (thank you to Patrick´s family for that), it was delicious.
1. Knowing where things are. I still haven´t found a post office... I have a present waiting patiently but I can´t send it!
2. A proper cup of tea. With water that has been boiled properly in a kettle not in the microwave and fresh milk rather than UHT.
3. Internet access in my home. With facebook that works.
4. Access to iplayer and 4od. Is it sad that I miss certain programmes? Especially Merlin.
5. Some foods. I would like a Boost. And some boiled vegetables.
Things that I like about Spain:
1. The weather. I´m wearing flipflops today and I still don´t need a coat yet.
2. Staying out late with friends.
3. The metro.
4. Learning a new language. And meeting all sorts of interesting people.
5. Some of the food. Last night I ate lots and lots of paella (thank you to Patrick´s family for that), it was delicious.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Busy busy bumble bee
Last week was pretty busy and complicated. I passed my MRCS part A (the first part of my surgical exams) which is very cool and so I went out for a drink to celebrate. However, at some point in the fairly empty bar someone managed to steal my bag which was between me and Patrick at the bar. We´re both a little unsure as to how this happened but anyway, we then had to go to the polive station which was something I thought I might manage to avoid on this trip. But apart from the fact I lost some stuff, I´m fine and all will be well.
At the weekend, I went to a true spanish party-type thing: a botellon, which is where you stand on the street or in a square and drink with friends. Apparently it´s an essential part of your night out in Sevilla. However in Madrid, it´s actually illegal but the policemen kind of ignore it because it´s so common. So went hung out with a load of madrileños (feeling like a 14 year old) and I got to listen to a load of spanish, some of which I even understood! It was a fun night, but I´m so glad Sarah (an american girl I know) was there because she speaks pretty good spanish and then I got to listen to her conversations which went a little slower than the others.
Other stuff included eating ´churros´ which are like doughnutty long strips that you dip in chocolate sauce. They are another example of the very healthy spanish diet. Oh and I tried to go to another museum but again it was shut, what a shame!
I´ve been to a couple of churches too. The first one met on a saturday night (have I written this before?) and was a pretty small but very relaxed and friendly place. It´s all about house groups. The other one was on a sunday afternoon and was a little bit more like a normal church. They have over 40 nations going there and it was also really friendly. So 2 good finds and because they´re at different times I´ll probably be able to go to one or other each week depending on the plans for the weekend.
Hopefully this week, I´ll actually get to go to watch Flamenco too. Last week it was all a bit too last minute.
At the weekend, I went to a true spanish party-type thing: a botellon, which is where you stand on the street or in a square and drink with friends. Apparently it´s an essential part of your night out in Sevilla. However in Madrid, it´s actually illegal but the policemen kind of ignore it because it´s so common. So went hung out with a load of madrileños (feeling like a 14 year old) and I got to listen to a load of spanish, some of which I even understood! It was a fun night, but I´m so glad Sarah (an american girl I know) was there because she speaks pretty good spanish and then I got to listen to her conversations which went a little slower than the others.
Other stuff included eating ´churros´ which are like doughnutty long strips that you dip in chocolate sauce. They are another example of the very healthy spanish diet. Oh and I tried to go to another museum but again it was shut, what a shame!
I´ve been to a couple of churches too. The first one met on a saturday night (have I written this before?) and was a pretty small but very relaxed and friendly place. It´s all about house groups. The other one was on a sunday afternoon and was a little bit more like a normal church. They have over 40 nations going there and it was also really friendly. So 2 good finds and because they´re at different times I´ll probably be able to go to one or other each week depending on the plans for the weekend.
Hopefully this week, I´ll actually get to go to watch Flamenco too. Last week it was all a bit too last minute.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
I am actually doing some work...
Apparently it sounds a little like I´m not doing much learning Spanish so in this episode I thought I should rectify the situation slightly.
Every weekday, I have classes from 0930 to 1530. Mostly we are learning the present tense and lots of vocabulary. I can describe a house, where all the furniture is, my family, my city and tell the time. However I can´t really tell you what I did last week properly, it´s all still in the present. Today we hit irregular verbs. And I mean ´hit´. There are lots of them and various odd rules and most of the time I can´t remember what they mean which makes it even more complicated. But I´m sure it will get better. As homework this week, we have to write about our own country´s and the recite (in a natural, not-stilted way) this to the class. The trouble is, I don´t really know a lot of the information I need in English, let alone Spanish. So challenge of the week... can you please tell me the population of Scotland (and Edinburgh), it´s main economy and the most important problems. Can you also make it nice, easy language for me to translate it. Again, I´m using my blog to kill 2 birds with one stone, this time write to you lot and do my homework!
The weekend started on thursday night when we went to a student night and, in Madrid, nights last well into the early morning. And then I went out with my 2 american friends on friday night. We found a bar that serves German style beer so it actually tastes nice and made friends with a waiter. He was called Cesar and was about 50, however he was very pleased with the attention he received from Hailey and Sarah (they can speak proper Spanish!).
The rest of the weekend involved some unsuccessful trips. On saturday, I met Patrick and we tried to go to the Museo de Americas (please note, I was voluntarily going to a museum) but we arrived at 1505 and it shut at 1500. Not such good planning so instead we walked back into town and then I bought an English book (Dad, don´t worry I got the one I wanted) and a easy version of Don Quijote in Spanish. Before this year, I had no idea how to say Don Quijote and please don´t laugh at my phonetics again but it is said ´Donkey Hoatie´. That is the best way to say it. It´s ridiculous and often I wonder why they are talking about donkeys again.
Then on sunday, Patrick and I went to Casa de Campo (ie the countryside) to go swimming. But again, the swimming pool was shut; this is the second one we have tried. So instead we walked around in the sun, ate ice-cream, considered taking boat onto the lake (obviously Patrick would row) and then decided we should go for a walking tour in Chueca and Malasaña. The walking tour was fairly easy but we did find a cafe (Belen) that serves tea made of fresh herbs and bits, it was very nice. And afterwards we had tapas in a bar that you had to climb under the bar to get into the back room! The tapas was very nice and the olives were even tasty! And there was a old man dancing which was also entertaining.
I don´t think I´ve written much about the lady with whom I live. She´s very nice but initially we were having difficulty communicating. Now though, we can tell each other odd things and it feels a bit more normal. She feeds me a ridiculous amount of food though... tonight I think I am having more fish.
Right, this has been a long post. I hope it makes sense!!
Every weekday, I have classes from 0930 to 1530. Mostly we are learning the present tense and lots of vocabulary. I can describe a house, where all the furniture is, my family, my city and tell the time. However I can´t really tell you what I did last week properly, it´s all still in the present. Today we hit irregular verbs. And I mean ´hit´. There are lots of them and various odd rules and most of the time I can´t remember what they mean which makes it even more complicated. But I´m sure it will get better. As homework this week, we have to write about our own country´s and the recite (in a natural, not-stilted way) this to the class. The trouble is, I don´t really know a lot of the information I need in English, let alone Spanish. So challenge of the week... can you please tell me the population of Scotland (and Edinburgh), it´s main economy and the most important problems. Can you also make it nice, easy language for me to translate it. Again, I´m using my blog to kill 2 birds with one stone, this time write to you lot and do my homework!
The weekend started on thursday night when we went to a student night and, in Madrid, nights last well into the early morning. And then I went out with my 2 american friends on friday night. We found a bar that serves German style beer so it actually tastes nice and made friends with a waiter. He was called Cesar and was about 50, however he was very pleased with the attention he received from Hailey and Sarah (they can speak proper Spanish!).
The rest of the weekend involved some unsuccessful trips. On saturday, I met Patrick and we tried to go to the Museo de Americas (please note, I was voluntarily going to a museum) but we arrived at 1505 and it shut at 1500. Not such good planning so instead we walked back into town and then I bought an English book (Dad, don´t worry I got the one I wanted) and a easy version of Don Quijote in Spanish. Before this year, I had no idea how to say Don Quijote and please don´t laugh at my phonetics again but it is said ´Donkey Hoatie´. That is the best way to say it. It´s ridiculous and often I wonder why they are talking about donkeys again.
Then on sunday, Patrick and I went to Casa de Campo (ie the countryside) to go swimming. But again, the swimming pool was shut; this is the second one we have tried. So instead we walked around in the sun, ate ice-cream, considered taking boat onto the lake (obviously Patrick would row) and then decided we should go for a walking tour in Chueca and Malasaña. The walking tour was fairly easy but we did find a cafe (Belen) that serves tea made of fresh herbs and bits, it was very nice. And afterwards we had tapas in a bar that you had to climb under the bar to get into the back room! The tapas was very nice and the olives were even tasty! And there was a old man dancing which was also entertaining.
I don´t think I´ve written much about the lady with whom I live. She´s very nice but initially we were having difficulty communicating. Now though, we can tell each other odd things and it feels a bit more normal. She feeds me a ridiculous amount of food though... tonight I think I am having more fish.
Right, this has been a long post. I hope it makes sense!!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
sorry this is a bit old...
Last night in town
On Friday night, Becky and I went to a concert to celebrate my leaving (and I even managed to get in free because I forgot to pay her back… sorry!). We went to see 3 bands and they were all very different. It was a great night, good music with some entertaining characters. Oh and a reasonable number of men in kilts, always a bonus!
Young Trad Musicians were the first act. Every year there is a competition for young traditional musicians and those that win spend the rest of the year making a cd, doing concerts and generally working pretty hard I suspect. They were very good, it was proper traditional, mostly Scottish type, music and probably explained the large number of middle-elderly couples in the audience. It was nice, relaxing, chilled time. I particularly enjoyed the ‘fiddle off’ and laughed when one of the guitarists was called ‘the weapon’. He introduced a song which he had written that was about ‘a girl he’d messed around and felt really bad about’.
Next up were Boogalusa. I particularly enjoyed them, how could I resist a group of middle aged men who still rocked?!? They are a Cajun playing ceilidh band (only when I spoke to my Dad did I discover that Cajun is a type of music as well as a type of food). Part of the appeal was that they all had their own slightly offbeat style – which is what I find attractive about middle-aged rock bands… The accordion player/lead singer was wearing a red Hawaiian shirt and had flowing silver hair. The fiddler was wearing a t-shirt with a waistcoat over the top. The bassist had a rather impressive goatie which, because of the way his hair was going grey, looked like a rather large black moustache. The man playing the spoons, yep the spoons – he had a big metal corrugated sheet which hooked over his shoulders that he played them on – had a funky pin-striped hat. The drummer and lead guitarist had no defining characteristics other than playing good music. As an additional extra bit of excitement for me there was a middle-aged man with a balding head wearing a suit who was doing some pretty awesome dance moves. He even managed the shuffle sideways with his feet. I was close to going to tell him how cool he was but I think he was a bit too drunk for that…
The headlining act were Peatbog Faeries. I’ve heard them before and I think even written about it… but anyway, they are great. They get loads of people up dancing (including some of the older couples) and play very loud very cool music. I’m not really sure how to describe them – I think you’ll have to make do with a list of the instruments played. The man who to some extent was in charge wore a kilt played the pipes and the tin whistle and a larger whistle(?). There are now 2 fiddlers, they did a great duet just the 2 of them, I was rather in awe. There was a lead guitarist (I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn he was a teacher), a bass guitarist and a drummer. There was a keyboard player who did some electronica bits and then to top it off, a brass section which included a trumpeter and a trombonist. I particularly enjoyed the brass section.
So it was, all in all, a pretty good concert. There was lots of different stuff, some funky music and dancing and it was a good way to say cheerio to Scotland. Now I’m in Madrid and start my classes tomorrow. Wish me luck!
On Friday night, Becky and I went to a concert to celebrate my leaving (and I even managed to get in free because I forgot to pay her back… sorry!). We went to see 3 bands and they were all very different. It was a great night, good music with some entertaining characters. Oh and a reasonable number of men in kilts, always a bonus!
Young Trad Musicians were the first act. Every year there is a competition for young traditional musicians and those that win spend the rest of the year making a cd, doing concerts and generally working pretty hard I suspect. They were very good, it was proper traditional, mostly Scottish type, music and probably explained the large number of middle-elderly couples in the audience. It was nice, relaxing, chilled time. I particularly enjoyed the ‘fiddle off’ and laughed when one of the guitarists was called ‘the weapon’. He introduced a song which he had written that was about ‘a girl he’d messed around and felt really bad about’.
Next up were Boogalusa. I particularly enjoyed them, how could I resist a group of middle aged men who still rocked?!? They are a Cajun playing ceilidh band (only when I spoke to my Dad did I discover that Cajun is a type of music as well as a type of food). Part of the appeal was that they all had their own slightly offbeat style – which is what I find attractive about middle-aged rock bands… The accordion player/lead singer was wearing a red Hawaiian shirt and had flowing silver hair. The fiddler was wearing a t-shirt with a waistcoat over the top. The bassist had a rather impressive goatie which, because of the way his hair was going grey, looked like a rather large black moustache. The man playing the spoons, yep the spoons – he had a big metal corrugated sheet which hooked over his shoulders that he played them on – had a funky pin-striped hat. The drummer and lead guitarist had no defining characteristics other than playing good music. As an additional extra bit of excitement for me there was a middle-aged man with a balding head wearing a suit who was doing some pretty awesome dance moves. He even managed the shuffle sideways with his feet. I was close to going to tell him how cool he was but I think he was a bit too drunk for that…
The headlining act were Peatbog Faeries. I’ve heard them before and I think even written about it… but anyway, they are great. They get loads of people up dancing (including some of the older couples) and play very loud very cool music. I’m not really sure how to describe them – I think you’ll have to make do with a list of the instruments played. The man who to some extent was in charge wore a kilt played the pipes and the tin whistle and a larger whistle(?). There are now 2 fiddlers, they did a great duet just the 2 of them, I was rather in awe. There was a lead guitarist (I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn he was a teacher), a bass guitarist and a drummer. There was a keyboard player who did some electronica bits and then to top it off, a brass section which included a trumpeter and a trombonist. I particularly enjoyed the brass section.
So it was, all in all, a pretty good concert. There was lots of different stuff, some funky music and dancing and it was a good way to say cheerio to Scotland. Now I’m in Madrid and start my classes tomorrow. Wish me luck!
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