Friday, May 31
Today, I woke up, had breakfast, and just worked on my blog. Then, I had some lunch and finished my fourth blog post. Later, I went to Estación Museo Chamberí. The earliest reservation I could get was today, but the museum was worth it. There were two lines, one line was for people with tickets and the other for people without tickets. Luckily I had a ticket, so I didn't have to wait in line for a few hours. The guide talked in Spanish but was aware there were Americans in the group, so she spoke very clearly and I was able to understand most of her words. According to the guide, the old metro was poorly constructed and instead of being built in a flat plane, the metro would go up and down with sharp turns. The toll booths were made out of metal which would get very cold in winter, and the prices for rides were not fixed but rather longer trips were more expensive.
There are several advertisements in the metro. El Trust Joyero Internacional was a company based in Buenos Aires, Argentina that sold jewelry, watches, and optics (“El Trust Joyero Relojero,” 2024). This is an international company, so, according to the guide, the eagle is Germany, the RIF is France, the shield with the crown is Spain, the lion is Belgium, and the cross is Switzerland. There was an advertisement for mineral water which the guide said was very salty.
There were other advertisements for lamps, coffee, watches, and Portland cement.
In going to Estación Museo Chamberí, I completed the scavenger hunt and I am waiting to see what the prize will be. After the museum, I came back to Yugo, worked more on my blog, had some dinner, and went to bed.
Saturday, June 1st
After midnight, some loud chanting from downstairs in the residence hall woke me up. People were chanting “¡Campeones! ¡Campeones!” and other things for no less than an hour. My guess is that they were Real Madrid fans and were celebrating Real Madrid winning the Champions League despite the fact that Real Madrid hadn’t even played the final yet. This morning, I decided I was going to check out Madrid’s Chinatown in Usera just out of curiosity. The metro stop at Usera has a mural that reflects the Chinese community.
First, I went to the panda statue. This statue is smaller than it seems and I actually walked past it when I was trying to look for it. This statue is relatively recent from 2022 and was made possible by the Sha'anxi Fraternity.
Then, I went to Supermercado Lucheng to see what kinds of food they had. They had signs in both Chinese and Spanish, but some of them were only in Chinese. Their products were almost exclusively Chinese, and everything was packaged, including the fruit and vegetables.
Then, I went to Plaza Río 2 Shopping Center. This mall was very cool. The way the building was built brings in a lot of light. Furthermore, I noticed the mall has artistic chandeliers and models of atoms hanging from the ceiling.
They also have a shiny, pink-tinted art piece right next to the end of an escalator.
There is a terrace on the top floor of the mall. And people can take a walk through a nice walkway outside.
Then, I got myself a yogurt with dulce de leche at llao llao in the mall. It was very good, but I would say the dulce de leche I have at home is better.
As I was leaving the mall, I noticed it has a place for people to do work on their computers and, outside, there is a little playground for kids with a slide.
The mall lies right next to the Manzanares River. This reminded me to go to Parque Lineal de Manzanares.
Parque Lineal de Manzanares is not as artistic as Parque del Retiro, but it has a lot more shade, is a lot less crowded, and is much quieter. The park also has a variety of trees.
There is also an amphitheater at the end of the park. I stood at the top and just admired the view.
I noticed there were two families playing with soccer balls and both of the Dads would run after their balls because their kids would miskick the soccer balls. After I relaxed in the park I went to a well-regarded Chinese restaurant called Lao Tou. I got some Zumo de Maíz (corn juice) which was warm and creamy. I also ordered Carne de Conejo Picante (spicy rabbit meat). Interestingly, the rabbit meat was cut into chunks and fried, but the bones were still left inside. So, I spent a lot of time carefully chewing my food and trying not to eat any bones. The rabbit meat was very spicy but not spicy enough to make me cry or sweat. So, I would say the meal was underwhelming.
After I had lunch, I went back to Yugo and worked more on my blog. Later, I watched the Champions League Final and Real Madrid eventually won. After it ended at around 11 pm, I just went to bed.
Sunday, June 2nd
Today, I woke up, got some breakfast, and then went to San Bruno church. In church, I was able to understand the priest better so my listening skills are improving. Then, I met at 11:30 with some classmates to go to the Rastro market. First, we stopped at a cafe because everyone else missed breakfast at the residence hall. The cafe’s food was subpar, so it’s a good thing I only had water there. I also noticed the cafe had a fake brick wall.
There were some street performers dancing and playing very exciting music like “Hit the Road Jack” and “Matador”.
We split into two groups and my group went around El Rastro just looking at things. Most of the products being sold were clothes, jewelry, or trinkets. El Rastro was super packed. We had to stick close together because it was easy to get lost and separated from each other.
Then, we made a stop at a plant shop where I spied a creepy-looking garden gnome.
We hit the jackpot when we found a place that sold books in English. I got a copy of Machiavelli's The Prince for just 5 Euros and a classmate got Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Later, we regrouped and went back to Yugo for lunch. After lunch, I worked more on the blog, read some of The Prince, and got myself a Napolitana. Then, I had some dinner and went to bed.
Academic Analysis: Diversity
Before I went to Usera, I had little insight into what it was going to be like. But, now I understand Usera's social dynamics and how the Chinese community has been incorporated into the larger Usera community.
To start, not everyone in Usera was Chinese. At most, I would say half of the people were Chinese. In fact, I saw some Latino stores. So, I wouldn't call Usera exclusively a Chinatown because Chinese isn't the only ethnicity there.
I noticed both Spanish and Chinese people going into both Lao Tou and a neighborhood church. So, both the Chinese and Spanish interact on a daily basis with each other and share the same spaces. This is reflected in the store names on the streets where most store names are in both Chinese and Spanish, and some Chinese stores are nearby stores of other origins. So, the Chinese aren't socially isolated but rather have incorporated themselves into the Usera community.
When I went into Supermercado Río 2, I didn't notice any stores with Chinese names or Chinese cultural products. Rather, I saw the highest concentration of Chinese culture around small businesses run by the Chinese. For example, in Lao Tou, all of the staff were Chinese and people were speaking Chinese to each other at the tables. Furthermore, these small businesses are in more residential areas. So, Chinatown mainly exists in the residential areas of Usera and doesn't really extend to commercial areas like Supermercado Río 2.
Lastly, I noticed that the Chinese speak Spanish if they are talking to Spanish people but will speak Chinese if they are talking to other Chinese people. This makes sense since Chinese immigration to Usera started mainly in the 2000s, so many of the Chinese people are either first-generation or second-generation immigrants (“Usera,” 2024). This means that the Chinese language has been largely retained by the Chinese community.
Citations
El Trust Joyero Relojero. (2024). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. https://es.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=El_Trust_Joyero_Relojero&oldid=157371251
Usera. (2024). In Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. https://es.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Usera&oldid=159609145
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