Madrid always slows down in August. Most residents beat it out of the city and head to either the coast or the mountains. Many of the shops shut down, and it's not too strange to find yourself all alone on even the busiest streets in the middle of the afternoon. I like Madrid like this - slow and quiet - with bursts of energy after about 10 p.m.
My own schedule is also slow. I've just been going into the office a couple days a week and meeting with my Spanish teacher twice a week as well. However as some of my fellow students are on vacation, my professor Ana and I decided this week to hone my Spanish by watching a movie.
The movie is El Verdugo and I think it's typical of Spanish comedies in that it's definitely on the dark side. I think Spaniards in general are pretty funny and not afraid to laugh at things that might be considered a bit politically incorrect and they do black comedy really well!
This particular movie is about a young man who works as an undertaker but dreams of saving enough money to go to Germany to train to be a mechanic. He falls in love however with the daughter of "el verdugo": "The Executioner". The girls father has earned his living his entire life by executing criminals. One thing leads to another and the young man and the daughter decide to get married and the father - the executioner - thinks it would be a good idea for the young man to follow along in the "family business" and become an executioner as well. It may not sound like a funny premise - but I've found it pretty hysterical. The movie was made in 1963 and it pokes fun at the average persons repulsion for the career of an executioner, the general fear of anything related to death and the practical aspects of work and life during that period in Spain. I highly recommend it.
Aside from expanding my mind with Spanish classes and a little work here and there - I don't have too much to report. I've got a couple of craft projects working which I hope to unveil soon and some trips in the next month or so. Until then - I expect to just be reporting and the length of my naps and how much Sangria I've had to drink each day! Enjoy.
