A not so compact view of week one

It has now been almost a week since I arrived here in San Lorenzo de El Escorial and I am loving it. The town itself is absolutely beautiful, tucked quaintly into the Monte Abantos, and housing the historical (and enormous) Escorial. I was met at the airport by Esther, the madre of the family I am working for, and taken through Madrid to my new home. Along the way I was given a small taste of the historical importance of the town I will be living in for next few months. The route from Madrid to my house includes the burial site of Spain's most recent dictator, torres used for lookouts and, of course, El Escorial, a Monastery constructed by Felipe II as a mausoleum for his father, Carlos I. I was greeted at the house by David (9), Ana (7) and Blanca (5). They were shy at first, but as I am sure you can imagine, that did not last. I spent my first day unpacking, napping and chatting with Narcisa, the housekeeper from Ecuador. When Jose brought the kids home from school, I helped prep the merienda and then we went to swim lessons. Swim was followed by los deberes (homework), Disney Channel, showers, la cena and then bed. This is a typical after school day. Tuesday I woke to this beautiful view from my bedroom window.

I will have no problem waking to this everyday. I spent Tuesday chatting with Narcisa, she has a lot to tell me about everything I 'need' to know. This information includes, though is in no way limited to, the habits of the family, how attractive her son is, how great Ecuador is and how much she loves the pastor on her favorite radio channel. Monday-Friday there is no escaping the sounds of Ecuadorian Evangelists in every corner of the house, a program she is sure will help me see the light as well. I was also measured for a pair of shorts while enjoying my lunch on Tuesday, Narcisa would like to make me a pair to wear this summer. Jose came home for lunch as well and I had the opportunity to get to know him a little better. Jose heads the juvenile activities for the town of San Lorenzo and seems to get no greater joy out of life than he gets from being a dad. He speaks no English, but wishes for his children to be bilingual.
 Tuesday at swim I was approached by a boy of 3, with the gentle coaxing of his father, who wanted to practice his English. The boy sat right next to me and stared at me. I asked "What is your name?" he replied "Sergio", I told him "My name is Tiffany, it's nice to meet you." At this point Sergio seemed confident in his ability to provide the proper response to this common greeting. He stood up, made eye contact with me, and said (in a heavy Spanish accent) "Elephant." I would also like to note that Sergio's father spoke no English, found it necessary to tell me about the World Cup of 2010 that Spain won, looked like an IT guy, and wore a shirt with a picture of Fred Flinstone that said 'I can make your Bedrock'.
Wednesday I went into town to meet with two girls from the US working at the local school and as Au Pairs. I took the time to explore the downtown area of San Lorenzo, an activity that I repeated on Thursday as well. I located the central plaza, numerous librerias and what has to be the only Mexican Restaurant in town. I love everything about the set up of the town. The sidewalks are cobblestone, and much of the street is made of stone as well. This statue commemorates the guardia civil of San Lorenzo. This is the street my house is on, a welcome sight after hours of aimless walking.

Friday I went out for a short hike behind the house and down into the commercial area of town. The house is tucked into the mountains which are full of trails similar to the foothills in Boise. This helps to make me feel more at home.

My House is the yellow with rock siding. Off to the side, the far right, is El Escorial. This view is absolutely breath taking, and I feel the pictures don't do it justice.

Saturday was an incredibly active day that gave me great insight into what Esther has deemed La segunda joventud. This weekend is a holiday in Spain to celebrate Father's day. Jose invited two other families out for a hike to celebrate. This meant a group of thirteen Spaniards plus me. The group met early in the morning and decided that before we could hike we would need, yes NEED, coffee. It did not matter that coffee had already been drunk by all at breakfast. The kids went to a park and the rest of us went for coffee. Next came the hike. We hiked to the Silla de Felipe II and then continued on to the summit of the mountain. The silla is rumored to be the location of choice by Phillip II to watch over his kingdom. In utter lack of compliance with copyright laws, I have stolen these photos from Wikipedia. Unsure of the route we would be taking and what I would carry for the kids, I did not bring my camera.
This is Phillip II's silla, and the view it provides. Not a bad way to keep an eye on one's kingdom. The hike itself lasted a couple of hours and provided a stunning view of the entire valley, and out past Madrid. I plan on doing the hike again in near future and will bring my camera to share the experience! Upon completion of the hike there was a picnic. The kids went off on their own while the adults, who all insisted I join them, ate at a picnic table. The table was surrounded by trees covered in vines at the base of the hiking trail. Each family brought a cooler of food to share and a cooler of booze. Food was passed and everyone dove in with their own forks to the same containers. Cups were used to pour the wine and beer. At multiple points during lunch the dads sang to the group. Everyone spoke loudly, quickly and at the same time. This is what Esther describes as la segunda joventud, the point at which an adult turns 40, and then reverts to their childhood. Following lunch no one was ready to part ways, adults and children included, so a second coffee break was agreed upon and the group caravanned up to the Horizontal, a restaurant I found in a travel guide book just today that is one of the best in the Madrid area. A couple of hours were passed in which the parents all drank coffee and cocktails and the kids ate chocolate cakes. It was at this point when I was asked if I had ever had a torrija, a rich cake served traditionally during the time surrounding la semana santa. I had not had the cake, so it was decided that the day was not over. The dads played rock, paper, scissors to determine whose house the party would be moved to. Angel won, so the caravan continued on to Angel's house. Along the way one of the party stopped for the cakes, and they were served with more coffee and a game of Trivial Pursuit, for which I was no help. As it turns out, shockingly enough, I do not know a lot about the pop culture of Spain, nor its politics. Nor how many spikes are on the crown of the Statue of Liberty, 7; nor that the most popular cocktail of the United States is a martini, though had I given it some thought I may have been able to guess the final one. The group was incredibly hospitable, and patient with my Spanish. I returned home exhausted and ready for a day of solitude, which I observed today. This next week I plan on being more active and having multiple entries into the blog.