Our normally boisterous class was an all out circus today. I am not sure if it was the food (or wine) or the waxing crescent moon (ok probably not that) or just that it was Friday, but to say we got lots of speaking and listening practice would be an understatement. We did not do one traditional exercise (even though the teacher had them prepared) or watch one video or anything - just lots of (sometimes heated) discussions. The trip home was much lighter than the trip to school with only empty containers in my bag.
I tried to hurry home so that Albert and I could head out to the march for International Women's Day, but it ended up taking me a while to get across the last street before our bridge, the tens of thousands of marchers filled the street.
Once I made it to the bridge, things went much faster. It was pretty empty - although I did see a couple of photographers. This guy was walking away from the crowd - I guess he already had his shots.
I did a quick drop of my school things and Albert and I headed back out. In what was an amazing stroke of luck, we ran into Palma almost as soon as we crossed the bridge. We ended up walking for the next hour and a half or so with her (and eventually Mario who caught up to us after about a half an hour). They were able to both give us lots of details about the history of the march in Sevilla and about lots of the participating groups. And, of course, for me it was one more chance to practice my Spanish. I think my favorite sign was the one that said (in Spanish) "to people who have lived their lives with privilege, equality feels like oppression". It reminds me of a speaker who I once heard at a workshop - she noted that when riding a bike, you almost never notice a tailwind, you just assume you are strong that day.
Once we got to the final plaza, Palma stayed to find her sister and daughter and participate in the activities there. We headed back to Triana with Mario to try to get in bed at a reasonable time since we have to catch a train to Cordoba in the morning.
