Hadouken!

Or, as it's also known, Makankosappo, literally translated from Japanese, "Magic Penetrating Killing Ray!"  (Only in Japan...) Anyway, this is something I've rarely done before, but is one of my favorite foreign experiences (some of you may remember this from my last post on that in Japan) and we've also had the opportunity to introduce it to Spain!  While most of the people jump back on the count of 三, a person in the center poses punching the ground or, I dunno, blasting a Magic Penetrating Killing Ray from his or her hands. 

Then (I'm in the brown shirt):

Dianne-san utilizing the Magic Penetrating Killing Ray!

3 dudes using the Magic Penetrating Killing Ray at one time!

Now: Anna-san, Oji, and myself unleashing the destructive power of the Magic Penetrating Killing Ray!

 Note the cracked tile--AS A RESULT OF THE POWER OF THE MAGIC PENETRATING KILLING--Ahem.  Yes.  Thanks, Mxyl...

Park of the Retiro of Madrid, Another Cathedral, Music and More!

Hard to believe we could fit so much into one day!  Let me see where to start...


1. A Museum!  We went to the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid!  It has some absolutely fantastic paintings!  We weren't allowed to take any pictures (after all, stealing's wrong), but it had a few pictures I'd heard of and several new ones--including a remarkable Adoration of the Shepherds (cutest  baby Jesus ever!!!), Diego Velazquez's Aesop and, from the same artist, my favorite depiction of the Holy Trinity! 


2. Two more churches! One is Tia and Tio's family's church. we went to Mass there this Sunday. 
No, the lights did not go out.  But there werer lots of stained glass windows (no pics, sorry).
 The second one was very big. it had lots of mini-chapels on both sides; there were to many to visit them all, but the ones that we did see were very beautiful.  I would have loved to go to Mass there, but we didn't have enough time.  Besides, we had other places to go!

3. The Park of the Retiro of Madrid!  We went there after visiting the second church!  It had a wonderful garden--as well as a glass hotel!  I mean, I don't think it was an actual hotel because that may raise privacy concerns, but you get the idea. 

 4. Some music!  At the park, several people were playing instruments on the side of the road.  There were people who played independently, and there was the occasional band.  But one that grabbed our attention was [a man playing some extreme rhythm on] a harpsichord! At least, I think it was a harpsichord...

A Rather Big Saturday Part 2: A Birthday Party!

In the afternoon, we got to go to a birthday party for a cousin of the family we're staying with!  We got to eat cake, play soccer and slice a minion throw water balloons to each other without popping them!  Well, the idea was not to pop them, anyway...

Happy 8th Birthday!

A Rather Big Saturday Part 1: A Trip to a Basilica!

Hi!  Yesterday, we went to Mass at the Real Sitio de Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caidos!  The Mass, which may have been Latin, was positively breathtaking!  Pictures weren't allowed from the inside, which was incredibly Romanesque, though it was just as amazing as the outside, which we have several pictures of:

The second-tallest cross on Earth!

A Classical Music Concert

Sorry we got so chuffed about the park that we forgot this!

 We went to a showing that was rather different from your average classical music concert: the people played pop songs on loudspeakers and used percussion instruments to after the rhythm. 

After that, we listened to some of our cousins playing pieces on the piano that they had been practicing for the last few months, like "Maple Leaf Rag" and some jazzy thing; they played amazingly!  
 Other people played too, but the only other song I recognized was the "Pink Panther" theme.  Kind of embarrassing...  
We also heard a clarinet together with a piano and, seperatly, a second clarinet (a clarinet duet!). 

Word-light Hueves (???): A Day at the Park

Or rather, an hour or two at a park. 

 I'm never going to be satisfied with playgrounds in America again. 

We've Arrived!

Hello, this is Mxyl.  I'm very happy to announce that yesterday, we've arrived in Madrid with Oji and Oba Tio and Tia!  So far, I've been really impressed by the architecture--I knew aesthetics were one of Spain's strong points, but I had no idea they even meant the airports!  Here's a view of the roof:

It really is amazing to go to a different country and admire it's difference from America. (MYXL!!!) (Alright, fine...) It really is amazing to go to a different country and admire all the different points, finding the similarities and differences from American culture.  (will that do?) (...fine.) (alright.  Moving on...) As a person who's been to another country before, it was interesting to compare this to Japan as well as America.  All three countries have their especially strong points. 

Hi, this is Klenda, and I would like to add that I liked the architecture too (but had trouble appreciating it because I got really bad motion sickness), and I was happy to come to Tia and Tio's house.

Pretty sure this is Spain

Anyway, after I had finished being sick we had gotten settled in, we gave some gifts to the family; matching shirts with American flags and matching jeans for the five kids, three music discs in English, and a Bible with a short message from Mom and Dad.  The food here is different from America, but is very good.  So far we have had a Spanish omelet (basically eggs and potatoes), toast with a tomato spread (an acquired taste, but quite good), and meatballs (without the spaghetti) with tomatoes, bread and cheese.

As just a random note, it seems that bread has a similar importance in a meal in Spain as rice does in Japan.  Anyway, at the airport we went on a subway which had a curious picture on it's window:

 We couldn't quite figure out whether it meant "no hitchhiking" or "do not like this train on Facebook."

You can leave what the heck you think it means in the comments (no matter how random).  We're looking forward to hearing from you and the rest of our trip! 

Leaving for Spain Tomorrow!

Oh, wait... we left yesterday.  Never mind.