El Día de la Hispanidad

(The military goat in Madrid, Spain)

Today was wonderfully lazy. I got up early for the parade, because I wanted to get a spot somewhat close to the road. I thought the parade started at 10, so I got there at about 9:15. Turns out the parade started at 11, so I got there really early and I had quite a bit of waiting to do. I tried to walk down towards Santiago Bernabeu, but there were all these blockades up. Julia told me later that that was because the President and Royal Family chill out at Santiago Bernabeu. If I had known this while was there, I would have tried harder to get closer.

The parade was an hour, and really interesting. It was officially a military parade, and all the tanks, planes, and divisions were involved. There were parachuters that landed on the street, tanks moving a lot faster than I though tanks could, and troops swinging their arms enough to give me tendonitis. It was like those parades you see on TV, where the country parades it's bazookas and missiles down the street. It was fun to see all the different uniforms, though. There was one division in wetsuits, one with capes, and one all decked out in skiing gear. There was also a goat. I asked Julia what the goat was about and she said it was the mascot of either the current political party or the military (my Spanish was cutting in and out). The goat was my favorite part.

Then after a quick detour to buy toothpaste, I headed back to Julia's for some leisurely hours of life management, as I call it. This is when I check and actually get to answer e-mails, look at internships, take care of the less important Post-It note items, etc. Then we had lunch and I found out that Julia had a pilot's license when she was younger and was married, too. She's never broached either of these subjects before, so I was intrigued. We talked a lot about the plane she owned (yes, she was rich enough to buy a plane in her 20s) - a Skymaster II, and I also asked her about her husband. His name was Gabriel and they were married for 21 years. She didn't say much more than that, I didn't want to be too nosy, so that's all I know.

Then I prepped myself for an afternoon of movies. I popped one in, but after half an hour, I was asleep. I woke up and couldn't tell whether it was sunset or sunrise, so I panicked and thought I would be late for class. It was 8 pm, so I wasn't late for class yet, but Julia was calling me for dinner. I stumbled out of my room and into the light, muttering something incoherent in Spanish. I had croquettes and rice, which were good, and we chatted about all of the vacations we've ever taken. She's taken more than me.

Now I'm about to attempt another movie, but I think I better set my alarm first.