Switching to Tea, A Long Walk Home

Today is Wednesday. "Hump day" we so aptly call it in the States. Maybe its the honeymoon  stages of my internship, but I don't necessarily have that "I can't wait till Friday" feeling. Today was a pretty important day I would say. A few memorable things happened.

Let's start off with the Metro Strike. Now, Madrid has probably one of the most efficient and affordable public transportation systems I've ever experienced. The metro takes you literally anywhere in the city probably within 30 minutes and a Euro coin from your pocket. I take 2 trains to get to work every morning, and I barely have to wait more than 3 or 4 minutes for them to arrive. But as of yesterday, there has been a "huelga". That means- the metro workers are on strike for a potential 5% pay decrease. While I haven't personally had the opportunity to meet with a member of the metro union, I am interested to see how they spent yesterday and today as over 2 million Madrileños crammed into hot buses (it hit over 90 degrees today) and took to the streets as the underground, air conditioned, brightly lit, and oh so clean metro was completely empty. Considering the alarming unemployment rate in this country, I'd also like to know why they're complaining. I thought people would be more than excited to have a job in this economy..Anyways, I digress. My rant about the metro boils down to two points in my day. The trip to work, and of course the inevitable trip back. Since traffic was so congested on Calle Alcalá, I ended up getting off the bus and walking at a faster pace in the early morning summer sun. I arrived at the beautiful Plaza de Toros where the bull fights are held every Sunday, and eventually took a second transfer bus. That is, not to forget, the 2 buses that passed me while I waited at the Plaza because they were both full. At this point my iPod shuffle was right on target and playing DJ for my morning commute turned sun bathing at the bus stop experience. Arriving  late to work in Spain doesn't really seem to be included in the vocabulary. People trickle in around 9, 9:30, 10, 10:30 in my office. So my entrance doesn't really startle anyone. During my internship today,I had an exciting opportunity to write my first brief for the creative department. I should maybe preface that with what exactly I/the agency I work for do/does. I, still have little idea what exactly my duties will entail. I do know that I'm working under a hip young Mexican named Penelope who is a Global Account Executive managing the brand Rexona. My uncertainty about my job is purely due to timing. I arrived when Lola, the agency, was waiting for a new brief from their Client, Unilever (who owns Rexona). That being said, my boss Penelope was doing invoicing, emails, other miscellaneous activities. But, today the day has arrived! The brief came in. And now we work with the creative department to relaunch a new campaign of deodorants all over the world by February 2011. Today "Pe" had me read the client's briefs (basically what they what in the campaign) and create an internal brief to send downstairs to the creative people to work with. After going over the document with her after lunch, another memorable moment happened. She sat back and said, wow you write so well in Spanish. (!!!!¡¡¡¡¡) I've noticed that in the office I'm still a little more shy than I think I am around other people. Partly because I'm younger, partly because Spanish isn't my first language, and partly because I'm new. All that being said, everyone has been more than welcoming and I'm slowly beginning to have that  "oh yeah, I work there!" feeling. Anyways, I'm finding it much more difficult speaking Spanish in the office than, say, in a plaza with Spainards. In fact, last night at a restaurant/bar where I went to watch Spain play in the world cup, most people I was with thought I WAS Spanish (or Argentine) and didn't believe I was American because apparently my Spanish accent is that convincing. So I've learned that I need to get over any intimidations or hesitations and speak up more in the office.

And now let me conclude with the explanation of my title. First, switching to tea. I think I've calculated that I average about 4 cups of coffee a day at the office. Times 5 is 20. Times 3 is 60. Plus the occasional coffee I make at home. I'm pushing over 60 cups of coffee through my body and I'm sure that can't be healthy. Goal for tomorrow: switch to green tea. (To be totally frank, thats been my goal since Monday.) While the Nespresso machine provides a tasty, warm, caffeinated beverage at the press of the button just mere steps away from my desk, I think I'll move on to a healthier, metabolism boosting alternative. Second, a long walk home.  Since I briefly detailed my ordeal in the morning, could you guess what was to come later in the afternoon? Yes that's right. 2 busses again passed me that were full. And as tired (and at this point, caffeine depraved) as I was, I decided to take the hour + walk home. After the halfway mark, window shoe shopping, sweat dripping, and incense purchase from a meditation- health food store, I saw a bus stop with the right number (146) on it, and made my way to my humble abode. 

One more memorable moment: in my road less traveled journey home, I discovered a new grocery store that is closer than the one I've been going to. And I bought all the ingredients for a macaroni salad that I made tonight to bring to an after work party one of my coworkers is having tomorrow. She sent out the email today inviting people to bring drinks and appetizers to her new house and my acceptance of the invite went a little something like this: yes, I'll be there! and in honor of this weekend's festivities, I'll bring a traditional and delicious 4th of July dish! The office is really excited.  I hope they like lots of mayonnaise, pickles, olives, macaroni pasta, and a lack of paprika, creole seasoning, and garlic (I had to make do!) 

Hasta la proxima!