Yesterday was a day for me to sort of relax and catch up with myself. I have had a difficult time adjusting to the time difference. My “normal” sleep/rest schedule is so erratic that I didn’t think adjusting to the time change here would be that big of a deal. I don’t know how long jet-lag is supposed to last, but I’m still not quite adjusted. I’m pretty used to limited sleep time in the States on the long weekends and trips that I take with this ministry. I figured after flying through the night to get here I could stay up the rest of the day and then I would be ready for bed. I thought that would put me on the Spain schedule, but my body knows it is American. I can’t seem to get to sleep until around 4 or 5. I do get to sleep later as things here get started later than they do in the States. Though I haven’t adjusted to time change, I haven’t felt tired, worn out, or sleepy either.
It was quite easy not sleeping on the flight over her – there was so much to do on the plane. They have individual TV screens right in front of you. You can pick out a movie or TV show to watch, you can play games, and you can even watch your flight – complete with maps and a little airplane to show where you are, where you are going, altitude, temperature… lots of buttons – I lost a lot of time with that.
The day gets going here a little later than the in the States. Lunch and Siesta is around 2 or 3 – most all the stores close for this (except McDonalds), and then they open back up around 4 or 5 and they stay open until around 11:00 pm. Supper is anywhere between 9:00 and 11:00 pm. If you interpret the later times to mean things are slower here you are sadly mistaken.
So far I typically get in my room around midnight. It is the only thing on the third floor – I call it “the loft” soon to be renamed “The Cliff Hackler Memorial Suite When He is in Spain.” David was teaching his Seminary class yesterday and Susie was cooking and baking – per usual. She also teaches several Bible studies as well as a class at the Seminary, so she was working on some of those things. Michael was in school and Dixie had already taken me for a walk, so I decided to explore for a while.
Alcala is a city of about 100,000 people. Cities here are very compact, meaning, every inch of land has something on it and it is usually at least 3 stories tall – shops on the bottom and living quarters above. Trains, buses, and very small cars are modes of getting around, but the most popular is method is walking. Susie gave me a map and pointed me in the direction of the city and I took off. Enjoying the sound of my feet hitting the ground, a cool breeze on my face, sporting a borrowed scarf around my neck (feeling all European again), I passed a University, the trains, and enter the edge of downtown. I didn’t want to have to pull the map out (that would make me look like a tourist or maybe a target) so I kept walking.
The more deeply I descended into the heart of the city, the more people were walking around me. I decided to just go along and see where they were all going. Before long I was walking at a pretty fast clip with a lot of other people (with my scarf and fast walk, I was blending right in). I am sure that I was the only one in the crowd that had no place to be, but I sure acted like I did. I learned some rules about walking when I was with Tim the other night in Madrid. For example, if a crosswalk has a “walk/don’t walk” light then the light rules. If there no such light the pedestrians rule. Yesterday I learned it really doesn’t matter. If you just step out – most of the time cars generally stop. My crowd and I walked through some plaza areas with huge Cathedrals and lots of shops, and somewhere along the way – I lost my crowd. I figured that I had led them to wherever they needed to go. I kept walking. By this time, I was on a mission – my mission now was to gather another crowd and I did. I kept walking and again people joined me and apparently I led them to their destinations as well or maybe I was walking too fast for them. I had taken notice of statues, intersections, and particular buildings so I was never lost – really, I wasn’t. The more I walked, the more comfortable I got with being out there on my own. Oh sure, I had the occasional panhandler approach me, but I would just kept walking (slightly faster) and tell them, in Spanish, that I didn’t understand or speak Spanish. I still feel weird about speaking their language to tell them I don’t speak their language. It was a very nice afternoon of exploring and experiencing life in Spain at least a little and yes, I did make it home just fine.
We had an early supper with two of Michael’s friend from his high school. Corbin’s Dad has been a missionary her about 15 years. They came from Sherman, Texas. Joshua is from Korea. His parents were here for a little while and went back to Korea. Joshua is trying to finish school here. The Dixon’s have had guests every day that I have been with them so far. They are truly international folks. We had a lot fun with Joshua. He is trying to learn the names of the States from Madden football. Think about it – it would be hard because some the of the States have more than one football team and others don’t have any. And then there’s the Redskin’s, from D.C. – not a State. Plus, he was getting baseball and basketball teams in the mix. He has most of the animal ones down pretty good – dolphins, lions, eagles, and of course THE DALLAS COWBOYS!
I witnessed what would have been THE perfect “you tube” moment. The guys were hanging out in Michaels room. Michael had something in there they looked sort of like a plunger. Joshua was fiddling with it as they chatted. Eventually, Joshua, did the inevitable. He had positioned the plunger around his chin and mouth and then he suck the air out of the empty space and it created enough suction for him to let go of the handle. After feeling like he had invented the light bulb he looked at Michael and Corbin as if to say, “Hey, look!” At this point he sort of looked like a Korean anteater. I saw it coming… Corbin and Michael looked at him as if to say, “Good for you.” Then they looked at each other again and you could see what was about to happen register with Joshua because his eyes stated getting big when finally in one quick swipe, Corbin reach up grabbed the hand and YANKED on it. Sure enough the release of suction created the desired “POP!” Joshua bent over holding his mouth with a hearty, “ahhhhhhhhh!” And we all had a great laugh. I can’t even begin to do justice in describing it, but I assure you that I will NEVER look at a plunger without thinking about that and laughing.
We had a great supper and then Susie asked me to play something for the boys before they went home. It was the only playing gig I had yesterday, but for the entertainment that they brought me – I felt I owed them that much. They all go to the school that I will be playing at on Friday.
