It’s been a regular day in Spain today, apart from the fact that we are all a bit more nervous getting on and off the metro because some person got their hand sliced in half because of sticking it in the metro. It’s the big talk of the town here in Madrid. That and something about futbol. They are obsessed with it over here!

Today was a good day. After school, we decided to do a little exploring. We ended up finding this long string of independent shops that were right on the street. They had various things like jewelry, leather good, and knick-knacks. Then we found lots of little independent stands selling used books. Ok, I have a growing list of things I want to buy while I am here in Spain, and they are:

1. balloon pants. They are all the rage here in Spain. I know that is not the technical term to call them but that’s the best way I can describe them. They are made mostly of very comfortable material and kind of balloon out on the leg, then come in really close to the ankle. I should take a picture to give a visual image. They seem really weird at first, but they start growing on you eventually.
2. A recipe book of foods native to Spain. I’m obsessed with my senora’s cooking and want to find some sort of cookbook that can imitate what she makes.
3. An original piece of art. This one might come out of Barcelona because I hear they have great shops for that. I just want something that has been painted over here that I can hang in my room
4. Leather purse, or something kind of leather good. Its awesome here
5. Olive oil. I think Spaniards use olive oil in just about everything they cook. It’s a Spanish specialty.
6. An old book in Spanish. I love finding old books with beautiful covers and I think it would be really cool to have one from Spain in Spanish.

I am happy to report that I was able to check off number 6 today! Success! And it only cost me 4 euros to buy these two books! I am still working on the other five.

Well, Paquita has now been deemed the name “Queetie.” Somehow I accidentally called her that (I don’t know why, I’m just not good with names) and it has just stuck. So today I found out from Queetie that she paints! She is currently working on restoring some of her furniture. But I also found out that she painted two of the paintings that hang in our bedroom. Soo cool! I get more and more obsessed with my host family every day!  

an original piece of artwork from the one and only Queetie!

I think its about time I tell you about Luis, Queetie's husband. First of all, he looks like he is about 100 years old. He can barely make it around and just sits and watches TV all day. He and Queetie sleep in separate rooms, who knows why. And he wears the same shirt day after day. (We have only seen him in 3 shirts the whole time we have been here!) But he is precious! Luis loves to talk to us in english and his favorite topic seems to be discussing old western movies from Texas. He likes to burst out in songs he learned from watching those movies. Sadly, we don't know them or we would sing along with him. And he tells us to make sure we tell our parents about those songs. That night we had to sit in the police station for 2 hours after Robyn got her wallet stolen, he tried to teach us the songs. We had to promise him we would sing them when we got back to Texas. So, mom and dad, get ready for a performance!!

This blog needs to be spiced up by now so I will start ending my posts with some different slash weird observations about Spain, spaniards, etc. 

Observation #1: Spanish children have the ability to get way less sleep than children in the U.S. I have seen numerous children with their parents out in town after midnight on several occasions. And they are wide awake! What are those parents thinking? Madrid truly is...the city that never sleeps. 

It's that time again to say adios for tonight!

Maria