update

Life! I can't keep up with you.

It's now July and school has long been up and over. Thank God, we all really, and I mean really, needed that. In any case, it was an exciting and sweaty month, that June, in the classrooms of Benito Perez Galdos. As always, it was wonderful to be so immersed in the end-of-the-school year atmosphere, yet again. The excitement is incredibly contagious...there's nothing like the very last day for a kid, with the summer nicely laid out before your seven year old eyes.

Anyway, in celebration of this much anticipated freedom, I sang school's out for summer! all the way to Azkena Rock Festival in Vitoria. We had an awesomely grimy time camping right next to lots of great head-banging opportunity. I think the pictures below do a pretty good job summing that experience up...

Then I got back and was thrown into living the life, which actually took some organization between my eight hours a week of teaching and 35346 hours of fun activities such as ballet, intensive french, and a considerate amount of eating and drinking and being merry.

So what if I put a little too much on my plate? These three weeks are going to fly by, and then off to really live the life.... more to come soon, catch up and enjoy the pictures for now, I have to run!

The gang, Irene feeling especially hardcore. I think this was during Gregg Allman, when I realized that I actually, unintentionally, know a great deal of his repertoire.

I never came to know what exactly was the story with these people, but they were AWESOME. It's a shame we didn't get a photo of all five characters...all platformed in different cabaret get-ups. They were roaming around the concert grounds all weekend, please note that the man in black has the lady in red on a chain leash.

Rob Zombie's stage set. You can only imagine what kind of spectacle that show was. Oh and p.s., Ozzy Osbourne went on after and it was PAINFUL.

The shows didn't start til around five so we were able to explore around Vitoria a bit. One day we went to this lovely little lake and pretended we were on the beach.

Mixed feelings about leaving our campgrounds after packing everything up....we got to the festival really late and it was slim pickings. You can't quite tell here, but yes that's a hill we slept on. Anyway, a nice view :)

The one thing that really sucks about living the ex-pat life: people come and go waaaay too often. Melissa took advantage of free dental care and got her wisdom teeth pulled just one week before heading back to NY for good. The last supper: antibiotics and painkillers.

Since we met the previously mentioned neighbors, life at Calle Juanelo 21 has been more or less a giant hangover. Nobody's complaining.

Should be noted that Gay Pride is Madrid's biggest annual party. It was quite fun until I stepped in a deep pond of pee late Saturday night. I don't think I've ever seen the city so filthy.