Day 3 - Metro, Boulot, Dodo.

Me again, gang!
Sorry about the lack of post yesterday; I was busy failing epically at Wii golf. But it doesn't matter, 'cause I'm back now, and I've brought with me the next instalment in the Madrid diary! I know I promised to stop treading water before each one, but for some reason I can't help it. Never mind, I'll let past me speak for himself.

Today was the day Vanessa and I started work! I woke fairly early and slipped on my smart work kit, before accompanying the otehrs to the same restaurant as yesterday, where I chose to have a pain au chocolat for lack of something more Spanish (they had Churros, but I figured they were more of a desert than a breakfast). The orange juice with it was freshly-squeezed, making it all the more enjoyable! Afterwards, we left the others to pay the bills and took the same Metro line as we had taken yesterday to meet the twins, only this time, there was no chance to dawdle in El Corte Ingles, as we had a job to do! After the short walk up the street, we stepped inside the shop again and were introduced to Susana, the shop manager. Mer and another lady whose name I have forgotten showed us around the various products on sale. The idea of the shop is to promote fair trade by selling products from all over the world, from South America to Saudi Arabia, and of all different shapes and sizes, from jewellery to children's books, which I was tempted to buy and read myself!
Anyway, having been shown briefly around the shop itself, our first job was to bring up more stock from the secret underground base (there really was a secret underground base, honest!), and between Vanessa's brilliant organisational skills and my... um... muscles, perhaps?... we had the job done in no time! Having done that, we were tasked with tidying the various bags on display to look more inviting to customers, and putting the kids' books in a better order (I think Vanessa may have got a little annoyed at my fastidiousness!"No, that one's a different size to that one, so it can't be from the same series...")
Throughout the course of the day, we were introduced to many more names and faces which didn't neccessarily go together. We had tea with maria and discussed school, learnt about what happens to donations with Alicia on reception, and found out more about their various campaigns with tthe important lady whose name I also can't remember! With so many people, it was hard to know what to say to each, but as far as the Spanish was concerned, I managed to understand most of what was being said.
So after we'd met all these people, we were shown how to use the till, which was faairly straightforward, although I've got to remember that when someone buys multiples of an item, it is not enough to simply scan each one individually! I also helped to ensure that the jewellery display was as complete as possible, which took quite a while as there were a lot of boxes! Surprisingly quickly, however, the time had gone, and Miss Tingle was here to collect us.
We said our goodbyes and walked back down the street, meeting up with Maddy, Emily and Mrs Kelman outside El Corte Ingles. We all headed on to the park where we had had lunch yesterday. Lunch today was generally the same as yesterday, some sandwiched, some yoghurt, some fruit and some crisps. When everyone was happy that they'd eaten enough, we metroed (there you go, invented a new word! "To metro". Tick!) up to a fairly nearby swimming pool. It was too busy there to get much done, but I managed to rack up a few lengths before I decided to get out of harm's way and people-watch with Vanessa instead. That was quite relaxing.
So, after a lazy afternoon at the pool, we headed back to the Hostal to freshen up for the evening. At about eight-ish we assembled again and headed out to the cinema to watch Ice Age in Spanish! Having already seen the English version (VO, version original... I think LOVG did a song about that once...), I found it quite easy to follow what was being said. Unfortunately, the Spanish dub for Simon Pegg was rubbish, but apart from that, I'd say they got the voices about right. Sid's was a little deep perhaps, but not noticeably so. One interesting thing was that the movie - which was due to start at quarter past - actually began at half past! More evidence for the mysterious phenomenon that is Spanish Time!
We ended the day in a buffet restaurant, where I enjoyed, among other things, the first squid rings of the trip! I must admit, nothing yet has beaten the Australian ones, but these came close. Once everyone was finished and happy, we took a slow walk back to the hostel, and turned in for the night, well and truly exhausted!

Another day, another..... something beginning with d? Never mind, that was quite an interesting day. If you thought that was it, though, don't get your hopes up, because we're only just halfway through! TOMORROW you can look forward to the royal treatment (again), more retail therapy and a gargantuan gastronomical gamut! Hehehe... I love that word, gamut. I don't use it often enough. Yeah, I know, treading water! 'Night, gang!

Jack