Hug Kiss Kiss

Head still heavy this morning, I went with Erika to the Entreculturas (EC) office. We took a short bus ride down Paseo de la Castellana (the major thoroughfare that runs north-south in Madrid) and then walked to the office building. It's enclosed in a high stone wall and covered by trees and is quite beautiful. EC only occupies two floors, and the rest are residences for Jesuits and other offices. From the moment I walked in through the front door, I must have been introduced to some 20-30 people. They all greeted me with a warm hug and a kiss on each cheek.

At first, I was so disoriented by the hugging and kissing that I never caught anyone's name, because it goes: hug, then kiss on right cheek (say name here), and then kiss on left cheek. Then, I forgot all lessons about greetings in Spanish and just said "hi" and "gracias". Around the 15th hug-kiss-kiss, I was mumbling utter nonsense, such as "hoy", which means today. To the staff's credit, I did not get laughed at for being ridiculously slow and understanding about half of what they said. I almost feel like I have hearing loss when I am trying to follow the conversation, as my brain struggles to process what my ear sends to it. I might watch some TV and train my ear a bit. Mom had me watch TV with no captions when we first came to the US, so that I would get used to the accent.

The Africa department (5 people including myself) took me out for coffee at their regular joint, Veracruz.  They told me that this is like their version of Central Perk from Friends; how cute is that! I ate a barrita con tomate, which is a crispy toasted bread with tomato paste. Pour some olive oil, and sprinkle some salt on it. They all ordered café con leche (coffee with milk), which looked delicious, and I had sumo de naranja (orange juice), possibly the freshest I have ever had. The team members are all very close to each other and joke around a lot, which is something I absolutely need!

After a short meeting with Pablo, I walked back to Erika's. It's a few kilometers, but I enjoyed it, even though I got a little lost. I blend in pretty well, because of my dark hair, which might be an advantage as I get to know the city. After finding the right building, I got lost inside the building, as well, but Cristino, the kindly portero (doorman), showed me the way. I need to work on either my visual memory or my sense of direction.

Tomorrow, I will visit the home of Isabel, a coworker, who has a room available to rent. If we think it is a suitable arrangement, I might be settled in as soon as Sunday!