Back in Madrid....

After a most exhausting journey, I have arrived in Madrid along with my 5 fellow staff members and 32 students (we arrived originally with 35 or so, but we've sent home a couple and another left voluntarily...regardless, this is still a very
large group)...

Our last night in Cadiz was a most emotional one...The entire Abbey Road staff and students gathered at the local beach for a going away type ceremony. We all arrived there with plates of food and bottles of soda and attempted to eat food in the midst of a whirling sandstorm. The food was delicious, if a bit crunchy. Near the end of this gathering we handed out yearbooks and t-shirts to the students--parting memories designed by students and some staff....

And then, back to the residence, where we sang songs and took photographs with the residence staff--all of the friends that we have made and whom we will miss terribly. Around 1 or so, everyone began to make their way to the bedrooms to sleep 4 hours before the bus came to take us to the airport. Raul and I, however, were quickly informed by our close friends at the residence that we were not permitted to sleep at all, and that they would remain awake and at the residence until the bus came....And so, after having slept 10 minutes, I embarked on the journey to Madrid in a rather zombie-like fashion...

And here I am at a hotel called the High Tech Petit Palace. It is certainly Petit, and I guess that if by High Tech they mean see-through bathroom walls and skylights that you can close with a long pole with a hook on the end, this place is pretty damn high tech...

Anyway, I hope that this post has not been terribly boring, but I'd like to keep those that care aware of my location and state of mind (which, by the way, is suprisingly positive considered my sleep deprivation, etc.)....

I hope that you are all well....

Chris