First Day in Madrid

Flamenco Musicians
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I arrived in Madrid on Thursday several hours later than my original arrival time.  The plane needed extra maintenance and then was called back to the gate to do another check because we were leaving the North America.  There were also rumors that someone saw something being sucked into one of the engines.

I arrived at my hotel, checked in quickly and dashed to the restaurant where Pueblo Ingles was hosting a luncheon for the Anglos.

After lunch, the group went upstairs for orientation and a short performance by flamenco musicians. The restaurant is also home to the flamenco institute.  After that session,  several of us including a business associate from home, prowled the town for tapas, cava(sparkling wine) and beer.

Hostal Santa Domingo
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They dropped me off at my hotel around 11 at night.   The Hostal Santo Domingo is a small well appointed hotel located just off of one of Madrid's main streets.  My room was tiny, but very comfortable.  The staff was great and the price was right. When I showed up around 11 in the morning there were prostitutes hanging out on the street.  Such is life in the big city.

Spanish Custard Desert
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The next morning I shared  a cab with Elysabeth from Canada who I'd met the day before to our appointed meeting place.  The bus picked up most of the Spanish participants from two airports and headed to the program site which was about four hours away.

La Alberca is a small village with a decent tourist trade and at least two hotels.   We checked  in and were immediately served lunch.  Breakfast usually happens a 9.  Lunch is at 2 and dinner is at 9.  From what I understand, these are typical Spanish meal times.

Madrid 024.JPG
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Our group of Spaniards are all teachers from the Baelieric islands.  Most are English teachers, other teach classes in English. They were sent to this English immersion program by their government.

Each day we are charged with speaking in our native tongue end explaining things like "a piece of cake".  Anglos hail from the United, States, Canada and the UK. Our portion of the program is not  very formal but the Spaniards do take formal classes.  This week will focus on improving their English and their teaching skills. I'm told that other weeks cater mostly to professional and execs.  The last two weeks have been a bit unusual with just teachers.

Having a Sangria off the Plaza Mayor
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Our accommodations are two story villas that we share with a Spaniard .

I've met some interesting characters include a Hong Kong born London based actor name Lobo who was in King Kong.  This morning I met with a with a Math/English teacher named Angel who is deeply committed to his work.  He also serves as the technology officer for his school and had some professional websites including this one for Victoria Maldi.  He wanted my help in using the correct wording for some math computer games he uses for his students  Angel says he was called to work in difficult schools.  He doesn't like to work in schools where he's not needed.