Amiee's Spanish Adventure

Let me start by saying that it takes a special balance to combine a temple pilgrimage with a shopping/tourism adventure. Justine Klena (friend and neighbor from Pullman, who is now a friend and neighbor in Maadi and the only person who I could convince to take this trip with me) and I managed to pull it off rather nicely I think:)
Let me also say that I spoke Arabic instead of Spanish for the first day in Spain. And I spoke Spanish instead of Arabic for the first day back in Egypt!

The trip started at 9 pm on July 21st. We flew all night and arrived to a deserted Madrid airport. The taxi ride into downtown was expensive, but quick since the roads were deserted as well (VERY unlike Cairo--where you can have a complete traffic jam at midnight!). We were a little nervous when the driver pulled into an alleyway covered in graffiti and told us we had arrived. We both were afraid to get out of the cab! Actually, the hotel turned out to be in a fine part of town and close to all the things we wanted to visit in downtown Madrid, but I guess at 5:30 am the place is kinda dead. We learned quickly that graffiti is kind of like an art form, and is everywhere. Other than that, the temple was absolutely wonderful, the streets were so clean, the water drinkable, the air fresh from the constant gentle breeze as Madrid is on a plateau and the sights amazing. I really like Madrid.
The temple is on a fenced block with the MTC building. I got up early one morning and left Justine sleeping while I road in a taxi to the temple. I couldn't remember how to give directions in Spanish, but my prayer was answered when I saw the angel Moroni through the trees and was able to help the driver find the temple. I saw a bunch of missionaries going into the temple. They greeted me in Spanish and I replied that I didn't speak Spanish well and one quipped, "that's ok, neither do we....yet" in English. I ended up being in a session with them, so it was in English. The celestial room had an amazing ceiling that fit the Spanish style. I also did other work, and it was mostly all in Spanish. It was a very wonderful experience and worth the entire trip all by itself!
I took the city bus back to the hotel, saved me about 20 euro (about 40 dollars) and got to see more of the city on my way.
After walking for hours and seeing all we could in Madrid, Justine and I took an all night train ride to Barcelona, on the northwestern coast. Barcelona was very different in "vibe" from Madrid. I wasn't sure what I thought of it at first (a little more run down and dirty) but after Justine pointed out that it was just a "hippy" town, while Madrid had been very cosmopolitan, I started to understand it and relax. Barcelona was crazy with young people (teen to twenty-ish). There was lots of street music, dread locks everywhere, lots people watching to do, and a great beach---clean and beautiful. The food was more focused on seafood, but similar to Madrid in most ways. The streets smelled of sewer more and we realized that there were air vents all over the ground and that was why. While in Barcelona we saw a loud protest from the Catalayan Indians, fighting for more representation in the government and society in general. We saw a street fair with people dressed up as giants from old times and we saw some wild fashions----80's meets hippy meets Goth. One of the most amazing things was this enormous cathedral designed by Gaudi. It was absolutely incredible and breath-taking.

To summarize Spain: We saw amazing architecture (Roman era and Gaudi in Barcelona) and art (Rembrandt, Picasso, Renoir, Goya, Bosche, etc), ate a lot of great food and did lots of window shopping. We also experienced really cool market places, with colors and smells and sounds that set you in happy awe. The main staples for food in Spain seem to be potatoes and pork, specifically Iberian jamon (ham). We ate crusty bread with ham, pastries (oh how I love Europe!), churros-n-xocolate, delicious olives, seafood paella, wonderful croquettes (the potato/Gorgonzola combo was my favorite) and pastries...oh yeah, I already mentioned those:) We swam in the Mediterranean Sea, laid on the beach all day (and yes, I did get a sunburn), read books, slept in.....and really missed Brent and the kids:) It was wonderful. Thanks to Brent and Rere for making it possible, and thanks for going with me Justine. Oh, and thanks for my high school Spanish teachers because I really used the Spanish and I was surprised at how much I remembered and how fun it was to speak the Spanish language.

Getting on the plane to go back to Cairo was so funny because it wasn't until then that I realized that while in Spain no one was staring at us as we walked down the street, you could wear short-sleeves and shorts and not feel immodest, you could get onto a city bus safely, you could navigate using a map and signs (and not just landmarks, ie...the 2nd mosque with the half moon steeple), and you could assume that things would be done in a certain, taken-for-granted order (like sitting down in a plane, according to seat number) and not even think about it. These are the things that I miss about the USofA. On the other hand, I realized that I think of Egypt as "home" now. I realized that my mind has been opened and I have seen many different ways of thinking and tried to understand them. I also realized that I was glad to be heading back to Cairo and I love the people, especially 6 close to my heart folks:) (and Rere of course). For all the things I miss about the US, there are many things that I love about Egypt and the culture.
Now all I have to do is re-train my brain to say shokran again, instead of gracias.

Love to you all,
Amiee