Time has no meaning...

GUESS WHAT THIS IS?

A. 4th of July in Madrid

B. Bastille Day in Madrid

C. Saint Louis University's Welcome Party for us

D. The totally unannounced local patron saint's celebration at 12:15 am on a Tuesday which scared the hell out of us as we thought we were under attack.

Yup, it's D.

I was well aware of the concept of manyana (I still can't find the damn enya key!), but it's worse than I thought. There is not 1 clock or calendar in our apt, in my office, on the microwave, etc. We never know what day or time it is. We went to the school cafeteria for pancakes on a Friday, when no one seems to be at work period, and ordered fresh squeezed OJ & pancakes from Ruby the server. Now you must understand that there is no such thing as simply placing an order if the person knows and LIKES you. Ruby is the coolest lady from Colombia, so she and I have bonded since day 1. In addition, this particular morning, Ingrid was with me, so those 2 were like long-lost sisters reminiscing about life in the old country. It took 30 minutes to get the pancakes & oj, and we were the only 2 customers there! But we did get the low-down on the cheapest & best supermarkets, farmers markets (don't buy the meat!), flea markets, and low-cost airlines that fly to Colombia WHEN they are not grounded for safety reasons. GOD HELP US...

On a quick note, it took 3.5 hours to open a bank account with 300 euros, and then neither chase in the states or banco santander here could figure out how to transfer 3000us from our checking accnt in tucson to the one here! MY poor uncle-in-law Jack had to drive around Los Angeles for 3 hours to find a way to wire us money. And this is the 21st century?

On a positive note, the Spaniards have been the nicest, friendliest Europeans we've ever met.

bobby & ingrid