Sick Starhill update

We've still got 2 sick boys, both with fevers this PM. This morning, though, Nathan was well enough to go on a test run out to the Japanese grocery store (needed miso for salad dressing) and Seth and I spent about 90 minutes outside looking at various backhoes do their business. Hoping to be well enough to at least take a bus tour in the next few days.

How I (Heather) came to appreciate French Social Theorists in Spain

A long time ago in a faraway land called graduate school, I encountered French social theorists. I can’t say I remember much: I know I read Foucault, and I know one of the main messages was something to the effect of “cultural tastes signify social class and membership in social class” and “the U.S. is increasingly determining cultural tastes.” Later, a colleague of mine (David K. Cohen) characterized Foucault as “a cabal of Frenchmen out to vex Americans” (try reading even a page of Foucault!) and I pretty much agreed with his casting.

Now that I’m living abroad, however, you can really see the influence of the U.S. (or Great Britain, perhaps) on store names (Nine, City 100, N.Y. Factory, Look & Find, Curves for Women), school names (we live near “Brains” high school) and t-shirts (mainly focused around NYC sports teams, but some also featuring semi-sensical English expressions). Without asking about the reasons for these names/t-shirts/NYC paraphernalia, I can’t know why there’s this emphasis. But perhaps Foucault had a point.

Heather and Nora at the internet cafe

Today’s updates:

1) Sick children

2) The state of lettuce in Madrid.

3) Madrid is gorgeous.

On the sick children: Original Festering Mess is back to normal, mostly. There’s some burst blood vessels in one eye from throwing up so severely, but otherwise the child is back to sunniness and light. Hot Mess is still very hot (104), but we’re hoping this is the beginning of the end. And Junior Festering Mess is now in Stage 2 of that illness, running a 101 fever in addition to the pinkeye. This is all to say, Jon and I have not left the apartment at the same time in over 10 days, and it looks like it’s going to be another 5 before everyone’s on the mend. Thus you’re going to be hearing a lot about the rather mundane aspects of life in Madrid (i.e., the lettuce situation), as all we pretty much do is shop at the store, drink Fanta at the internet café, and swim with whomever is not sick. And play cards. Jon taught the big kids hearts, and they’ve been known to play as many as four hours straight.

On to lettuce. For those of you who know me (Heather), you know that I’m very attached to my salad at the end of the day. Sometimes it’s my only ruffage and certainly at least half of the “fruits and veggies” that the U.S. Surgeon General frequently urges upon me.

Lettuce is not so important for the Madrileños. I started off searching for lettuce in the giant K-Mart-like grocery store we’re near, and there amongst various shrines to peaches and tomatoes was…one very wilted, brown head of lettuce. I thought this might be just the K-Mart-ness of the store, but upon voyaging to shop at little green grocers, the story is much the same: mountains of tomatoes, peaches, melons, buckets of olives….and in the corner on the floor, a few browned heads of lettuce.

Confirmation of this was received when I searched in the store for salad dressing. Was it near the vinegar? No. Near the oil? No. Near the fresh veggies? No. Near the condiments? No. (Mind you that all these items are all in different parts of the store). Thinking that asking the local clerks for “ropa de ensalada” (clothing for salad) would result in only laughter, I returned home, consulted the dictionary (it's aderezo) and marched back to ask. The result? One tiny little packet of seasoning to add to oil and vinegar. In the whole store.

Finally, despite all the illnesses and the endless search for ruffage, Madrid is gorgeous! We love it here and are having a great time. Favorite activities = wandering through neighborhoods with non—sick children, who seem to have taken a holiday from whining for the special occasion.

Nora checks in (Daddy is scribe)

Hello. This is Nora. We are what we call the Internet Cafe because it is one of two places that has Internet and it has really good food. I just had an orange Fanta and some potato chips. My British friends are on vacation. We finished reading the Golden Acorn, which is a book we started reading in Massachusetts. And now I'll read the next book in this series, which is called Glassruhen Gate.

Spanish people go to bed late - I'm going to say at 1 am! Even kids sometimes!!! I go to bed at 9 but usually fall asleep a lot later. I usually wake up at 7:30 or 8:30 and then read on the Kindle. And then after I read on the Kindle I have breakfast after Mommie and Daddy wake up. And then I either go to El Campo or play a little bit and then go to El Campo. El Campo is the grocery store. And after I go to El Campo, I usually either play a little bit, have lunch, then we play a bit, and then Seth takes a nap and we read or draw and play. After Seth wakes up, we usually go swimming for about 2 1/2 hours. And then we dry off, Daddy is cooking dinner, and then we have dinner. Then we read a book. And then me and Nathan play a little bit since Seth goes to bed a little earlier. And then we go to bed.

I learned to play hearts today. We are keeping a tally of our scores. I'm losing because I have the highest points. In hearts the goal is to get the lowest points. We've played 6 hands already today. Daddy is winning because he has negative points! A hand is not like your hand that you write with - it is a part of a game.

We have to go now because Daddy has to cook dinner at home. Bye!

Well, we are up to 2.5 sick children. In addition to Festering Mess, who is actually almost better, we have a child we shall call Hot Mess (high fever, cold) and Junior Festering Mess (headed down same road as Festering Mess). Who knew we’d come to Madrid to sample not the tapas but instead from the germ pool?


In other news, we have located some backhoes for Seth. He and I took a long ride out to the edge of the city yesterday, where they are building new high-rise apartments and digging out some new parks. He was in heaven – cranes, excavators, backhoes of all kind and type. Then this morning, we took a walk and located an additional set of backhoes closer to our house. Unfortunately, there was a long pause as the foreman and backhoe driver paused to discuss (well, argue about) where to dig the hole. Later on down the avenue, another backhoe driver invited Seth to “take a ride.” I believe he meant “get in, I’ll let him help operate the backhoe.”


Our bus ride around Madrid yesterday revealed that there really are a million banks (or so) here. In our area, they are on every street corner, sometimes lining whole blocks. That seems to be the case in other neighborhoods as well – more banks than food stores, and possibly also more banks than restaurants.


The kids would like to report all the new drinks they like: Pineapple juice and mango + apple juice. Mommie has sorted out the coffee situation after several times inadvertently ordering instant (oops). And coffee and beer? Same price, pretty much.

Contagion

Update: The Spanish virus is taking a liking to our comfortable and cute little apartment. Child #1 is recovering a bit - no throwing up last night, fever a little lower today, eating is a bit better. But child #2 now is feverish but as yet still playful, energetic, and eating. Child #3 (Seth!) woke up this morning with pink eye. Suffice it to say that Seth is not as cooperative with the thrice-daily eye washes and eye drops as child #1 is!

Today is the hottest day yet, so we went ahead and turned on the a/c. It works really well - so we are quite comfortable.

I successfully registered us at the town hall today - this is a required step for living in Spain (becoming empadranado). So now we are official. Next step - getting our 90 day visas turned into one year residence visas - this is a bit more tricky and complex, so I am seeking help from a specialist (and paying him).

Martes 8/16/11

I’m assuming that Jon uploaded the sociological analysis of the Spanish Emergency Room / Health care system. My bottom line: We owed $0 for about 4 hours in the ER, drugs, plus a thorough set of tests for previously described Festering Mess (see “Domingo, 8/14/11”). Said child is holding her own, but the doctors said it could be a week until she’s better (see Facebook post titled “Mother of All Spanish Viruses.”) Unfortunately, the virus does not explain the lice, which would have been very convenient.

The Starhill family is in a holding pattern because of a) Festering Mess and b) the Pope and his minions. Yes, I said the Pope. He arrives Thursday, and in anticipation, Madrid is jammed with almost a million young people. They march up and down our avenue from time to time carrying flags and looking pious. I can only assume the Catholic hierarchy is sending them on these strolls to give them something to do while waiting – lest they begin to riot.

In any case, we filled the day with a European breakfast, free wireless, strolling around, watching lawnmowers (poor substitutes for backhoes, but they will have to do), downloaded PBS TV shows, and the pool. Tomorrow looks to be more of the same.

Still love Madrid. Things that amaze me:

1) If you’re in the sun it is extremely hot, but 90+ degrees inside does not seem to require A/C. If in Boston, we would have decamped for Nana and Grampy’s A/C house by now.

2) Nobody (NOBODY) here speaks any English. It’s excellent! I find myself remembering words I learned 25 years ago in high school Spanish. Trying to avail myself of new words, but finding that the ones most easily learned are the stuff frequently spoken to toddlers (LATER. COME HERE. DON’T DRINK THAT. YOU NEED A BATH)

3) I can’t speak for real houses, but the well-equipped apartment doesn’t have some of the conveniences of the US: garbage disposal, dryer, etc. It’s kind of nice – definitely more eco-friendly. Although the eco-friendliness only barely cancels out the fact that we shop at the Spanish version of K-Mart.