I am ashamed to say it, but last weekend was the first time I went to Mass here in Spain. I went to a church that I had seen behind the Prado called Iglesia de San Jerónimo el Real. Here's a picture...

Mass was a lot different than what I expected. First of all, there were not that many people there. The whole time, tourists would come in and walk around, even though there was a sign outside that said not to visit during Mass. There was no singing or music. The priest didn't enter down the main aisle - he just came in through a side door near the altar. The same man read all the readings and the Responsorial Psalm all at once. There was no method to going up for the Eucharist - everyone just kind of walked up at once. And it all lasted about 35 minutes. I guess I was just expecting something a little more grand and exciting, but it was still interesting. I never told my Señora that I went, because she is kind of anti-religion. She has made several negative comments about Catholicism in the past. I have actually gotten this impression from a lot of people in Spain. Probably because of Franco who forced Catholicism on all of Spain from about 1953 - 1978. I don't think she would have been mad if I told her, I just think it would have been a little awkward.

Since I was here by myself last weekend, I did a lot of wandering around the city and hanging out with Señora. We watched a lot of politics because the Spanish elections are coming up on November 20th. Señora is very knowledgable so she explained a lot of things to me. One day, I went to the Temple of Debod, which is an ancient Egyptian temple donated to Spain in 1968. It was really pretty at sunset.

Halloween wasn't really a big deal here. A few kids stopped by our apartment for candy, but nothing like in the U.S. I had to buy candy though, so I went to a little market near my house and bought some Spanish candy! My friend Ryan and I went out to a discoteca (club) at night. Everyone was dressed up in scary costumes like zombies and mummies. I missed America where everyone tries to be funny with their costumes. I still don't understand how the Spaniards do it. We got to the club around 12:30 (because it was free before then), and we left right around when it was getting busy at 3:00! People were still walking in when we left. I think a lot of people just try to stay out until the metro opens at 6:00 (which I may have done once or twice...). Ryan and I went on this long walk looking for the buses because the metro closes at 1:30 and we can ride the buses for free. They call the buses "búhos" which means "owls." I always have a hard time finding them, but it is worth the money saved from not taking a cab!

This past weekend, we had a day trip to Segovia. The main thing to see there is this huge roman aqueduct built in the first or second century. We also visited the Segovia Cathedral and the Alcazar.