MADRID!!!

I got to Madrid on Friday evening and it is just absolutely awsome here! Yesterday I walked all day through its narrow winding streets, peeking into bars and pastelarias and basically enjoying the architecture, which is my favorite. I always thought that for a place good for me to live in it´s got to be walkable i.e. it must have sidewalks on which one can walk and encounter other people. I feel that people, being social creatures, must be able to walk and see others, that it gives them a sense of security, even if the people they pass on the street are strangers. When I lived with my father in the American mid-west long time ago, when I was a teenager, I never felt comfortable there because I thought the cities there were built not for people but for cars: there were no sidewalks there and people were just basically driving everywhere (the only place where they would meet would be the local mall but then they would not look at other people but at the shop´s windows...). I felt that American mid-west was a culture of alienated people. So, coming back to Madrid, I walked and walked thought this highly walkable city. The amount of architectural details is incredible here. It´s Sunday today so the entire city is out, enjoying the restaurants and the wonderful weather of sunny 20 degrees Celsius. I am staying at one of the hostels in the center. It´s Sunday and tomorrow is May Day, another holiday, so I can´t do much in terms of settling but I have already sent via e-mail my resume to various English schools and other places so hopefully I can find some job soon and an apartment. I would definitely like to settle here. I don´t know if for ever but for now I would like it to be my base for exploring Europe - it´s possible that during the exploration I will find a place which I like better than Madrid and will like it to make my home por siempre. But this feels very comfortable for now. I always felt that Europe was my true home and it does feel like it, that I have come home after 9 years of travelling. Maybe it feels like it since I have this strong connection to Spanish-speaking people: I feel I understand them without words or maybe the fact that they are so relaxed and easygoing makes me feel this way. I find that I didn´t forget the Spanish I learned in South America and I can communicate with people and they are so thrilled that I am trying!

Internet cafes are rather expensive so I will write more about my stay in Qatar, about Hong Kong and extensively about India, when I get an apartment and my own internet. I miss you all my dear friends and I think of you often. I hope you will all visit me. I will let you know asap when I get a permanent address.