While I have been here, I have gotten a chance to know the woman who cares for Francisco (the baby) and helps with the housework. Her name is Maria as well. Another woman who I have only met once, Marta, also comes in and cleans sometimes. Yesterday, we found out that Marta has received word that she has to return to Ecuador because she is here without her papers. It is interesting to see that immigration is a big subject in countries other than the United States. Lately, Spain has had a huge influx of immigrants from South America.

Mom and Molly, you will enjoy this - I was stopped in a "mall" today by a man selling lotion at a kiosk and it reminded me exactly of the guy who works at Oak Park. He used exactly the same techniques, and I even tried to pretend like I didn´t understand Spanish. Turns out he knew English too :)

Today, I explored the area around the bullfighting stadium. I still have yet to see a fight but I hope to soon. It has been SO hot here lately that it was getting pretty miserable to walk around. I also went by Santiago Bernabeu, the futbol stadium. Although it is the off season for Madrid, they still offer tours of the facility which I think would be cool to do one of these days. For dinner, we had ham and honeydew melon - apparently a hugely popular dish to enjoy in Spain. I would never pair the two flavors together, but it was actually pretty good!