Wednesday, March 29, 1989

No Rest for the Weary ...

I didn't wake up until 12.30 today when the cleaning lady came in. I took a shower, and when everyone returned from class, we went downstairs to eat a weak and unsatisfying lunch.

Then everyone went back to class again with me alone in the room. A bit later, The Old Man came in and turned off the light, complaining about the music. Stupid man. I'm looking forward to getting out of here.

I tidied up a bit, played some patience, and rested listening to "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" and some Neil Young. Up until now, a relatively uneventful day.

Then evening approached.

It was Leona's birthday (one of the students staying here at the Residencia), and permission was granted to have a party. All went well. It was held down in the basement and featured music, dancing, "special" drinks, and they even had the back door open so that you could stand out by the so-called "pool."

It was after the party that the fireworks began.

First, Angie got rip-roarin' drunk, and after we went back up to the rooms, and while Viv and I were playing a few games of Gin Rummy, she and Kurt started fooling around a bit, and then Angie asked us if we would leave the room. This upset and angered Viv, but we left and went for a short walk (which was preceded by a hassle from The Old Man, naturally).

When we returned to the Residencia, we stayed downstairs until we had an opportunity to make it look to the Old Man and Old Woman like I had left for the evening. However, with money tight, I needed to stay here, and did not want to have to pay the extra money. So when we finally made it up to the room, it was about 1.30 a.m. We were tired, so we decided to get some sleep. I had to share a tiny bed with Viv, because no other empty bed existed (a problem that will be remedied in a few short days). So there we were, Angie drunk and out like a light now, while Viv and I tried to get some sleep.

It was not to be.

In the room next door, the French students and others were still awake and talking (including Kurt and Raquel). No problem there.

The problem arose when The Old Man came up and told them all to go to bed, accused them of being drunk (a point on which he was correct), threatened to call the police on them, and said he was going to stay there until they all went to bed. That didn't work out well.

To give you an idea of further atrocities these people infringe upon these students' privacy, The Old Woman then came up into Viv's room without knocking, and flicked on the light to look for bottles. Of course, I'm not supposed to be here. Fortunately, I was able to hide between the two beds and The Old Woman did not see me. Later, whenever they came back upstairs, I hid under Angie's bed, Angie sound asleep right above, until they went back down and it was safe.

Also during the evening, Angie got rather ill, so we had Kurt come and take her into the bathroom. This, of course, also brought The Old Man back upstairs. When Angie was safely in bed asleep, it was around 4 a.m., and we finally managed to get some sleep... until 6.30 a.m., when Raquel and Jerome rather noisily entered the room. With Angie snoring loudly on one side of the room, and Raquel and Jerome making their own special noises on the other, it became rather difficult to get back to sleep. But somehow, I managed.

Pictured above is my collection of Metro tickets from Madrid. They feature paintings from El Prado on the back. I thought they were pretty cool, so I started keeping my tickets when I got one that I needed. No idea if it's a full or partial collection. The ticket in the middle shows the reverse side with the train information.

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The second picture is of some of the students who were at the party (photo is not from that party): from left to right - Kurt, Angie, Raquel, I don't remember her name, Viv and Liz.) Photo provided for this blog courtesy of Vivienne King.