We woke up around 6:45am, in time to see the sunrise. Liliana (our flat-mate and co-worker at the camp), Meggan, and I left our flat just after 7:30. We took the Metro (underground) and arrived at ARS School of Music and the Arts by 8:45.
The urban camp has eight kids enrolled for two-plus weeks, Monday through Friday, 9am-2pm. The kids have time in music, dance, painting, English, crafts, and theatre. Our primary role this day was to finish the costumes (or, as Meggan prefers to call them, “wearable crafts”) for the camp production of “Wet Side Story,” a bilingual musical about dolphins and jellyfish becoming friends and cleaning up the ocean together after an oil spill. Here’s Meggan working on a fish costume:
It’s good to get the kids outside for a while, so half of the adults went with them to the park for their mid-morning snack. Also in the park, they had their time with Nestor the painter (a very talented Bolivian with a gallery in Toledo) decorating traditional fans with finger-paint.
The late morning (translation: 12:30-2:00pm) was spent in rehearsal for the play. The last of the parents didn’t come for the kids until, say, 3pm, after which we ate lunch together as a team (this is a normal lunch time in Spain – lunch is the big meal, dinner is a little smaller, and both are shifted about 3 hours later than we’re used to in the U.S.). Our team is multicultural/multinational; Meggan and I are two of three white Americans, and two of the adjunct music teachers are Spaniards, but no two other people come from the same cultural background (on a team of 13). Here our flat-mate Liliana (who is Mexican) shows off a salad made by the professional chef on our team, Anthony (a Greek guy raised in England):
After lunch and a brief team meeting, Meggan and I got haircuts. We went to a nearby salon, where a good friend of the camp directors gave us great cuts with European style. For me that meant she didn’t trim my neckline as much as I would normally like (mullets are cool here for some reason), but her general hair advice was great – grow it out & get highlights (coming soon in a few months). As for Meggan, she got the best haircut she’s ever had. Afterwards, we took a leisurely stroll through the largest of Madrid’s many spacious natural areas, where we enjoyed a delicious Spanish melon.
Then we took the Metro to Lavapiés, a picturesque neighborhood with a population more international than our team (and the stores and restaurants to show for it). We walked around a bit, then sat on a park bench reading good books and people-watching.
At 8:30 we met our friend Enric, the director of the Pequeños Gigantes camp from the week before. He took us to his apartment, most of which is the buhardilla (attic) of his building, low-slanted roofs and all. We sincerely enjoyed one another’s company for about three hours over a delicious three-course meal.
We took the Metro home and got to bed a little after 12:30. All in all, a full and fulfilling day. (We slept very well; thanks for asking.)
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