Madrid, Spain

I arrived at my hotel by 10:30 last night and went out for a light dinner. Most of the restaurants don´t open until 9:00 p.m. for dinner, and many stay open until 2:00 a.m., so I had no problem finding a decent place to eat.

When I got back to my room (a small, clean room in an old apartment building in the center of the city), I took some melatonin and went to sleep. I slept soundly until about 9:00 this morning. The city really doesn´t wake up until 10:00 a.m., so my timing was perfect. Surprisingly, the melatonin really worked, and I feel perfectly normal today with no signs of jetlag.

I had breakfast in a small cafe on La Puerta del Sol. I ordered the ¨Madrileño desayuno¨ which consisted of churros (a donut-like pastry) and a cup of chocolate (more like a cup of thick melted chocolate than our creamy hot-chocolate drink). Afterwords I went walking around the old city. It´s an incredibly beautiful place -- clean and quaint. The town has a carnival atmosphere as people prepare for the New Year´s Eve festivities on La Puerta del Sol. Street vendors are selling masks and wigs for the big party, and there is much discussion about who´s going to be where and when. The town is full of Spanish tourists who have arrived in recent days to party in the capital. I was in good company strolling around town with my map in hand.

I visited three churches today. The statuary is remarkable. I imagine Mel Gibson visited Madrid to inspire his blood-drenched ¨Passion of Christ.¨ The many manifestations of the Virgin look ever so sad as her son is whipped into a bloody mess. I attended a noon mass at the Basilica de San Isidro. There was great pageantry for a noon mass on a Friday.

On the night before I left Honolulu, Elena and I visited my friend Mark. His daughter, Susannah, had several toy horses out on the living room floor when we arrived. (I think she had received these horses as Christmas gifts.) The horses all had names, personalities, and distinct relationships with each other. Elena asked if the horses had a stable, and Susannah said no, but they clearly needed one. The stable would complete the fantasy. A child´s toys take on a life of their own. The plastic horses become imaginary friends with fully developed life stories. The stable becomes the imaginary universe in which these friends live. The child can delve into that universe.

The church is like a giant doll house. The priest recounts the stories of the imaginary friends that surround the congregation. The congregation lives the fantasy.

I´m not sure if it´s quaint, horrifying, or just human.

It´s siesta time.

Lodon Heathrow

British Airways ROCKS! A 9 1/2 hour flight from LA to London, but it was relatively painless. The seats were comfortable, the cabin was neither too hot nor too cold, and the food was, hands down, the best airline food I've ever had! They even had a surprisingly good movie selection on the individual monitors. I'm thinking about writing a letter to their business office and offering to do a television commercial for them (kicking off my long-awaited acting career).

It's 4:45 in the afternoon in London, but 3:45 in the morning in my body. Soon the two time zones will have to meet. My flight to Madrid has been slightly delayed, but I should arrive at my hotel before midnight tonight. I'm staying just down the street from La Puerta del Sol, the plaza where Spaniards come to celebrate New Year's Eve. A happy coincidence.

It's 28 degrees Farenheit in London right now. One hopes that temperatures rise as one moves further south.

Word.

LAX

And the journey has finally begun! Unbelievably, I got everything together by the time I left -- grades submitted, apartment sublet, truck sold, and a million other details in order. I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends. Elena and Mark were particularly helpful during the last few days, and I am deeply grateful to them for that.

I am at LAX right now, waiting for my connection to London, and then on to Madrid. I'm not sure how often I'll be posting to this blog, but I will try to write at least once a week, if not more. In rural areas, internet connections may be harder to come by, and if I'm having fun, internet cafes may be the last thing on my mind.

Right now I have only one thing on my mind: sleep.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Last week Friday I met with Karim K. to learn how to perform the correct physical gestures that accompany Muslim prayers. Karim is the Vice President of the Muslim Association, and next Spring he will be teaching the new course that I developed, "Islam in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East."

Today I went to the local mosque for the Friday midday prayers. Afterwards I met briefly with Hakim O. (a Moroccan and the President of the Muslim Association) and I had a very nice, long visit with Ismail, the imam of the mosque. He explained that things are tense in Egypt right now, and not because of the elections or the violence that has accompanied them, but because of the US occupation of Iraq. He recommended that I tell people I'm Canadian and suggested that I only visit mosques between prayers. He also strongly suggested that I get a guide for anything I do in Egypt and that I not wander out into the country alone.

Brother Ismail may actually be in Cairo while I am there, and he has generously offered to show me around. His generosity comes in addition to the help being offered me by Frank Abou-Sayf, whose family friends own a hotel in Cairo, and Lee Siegel, who has taught UH Study Abroad courses in Seville, Spain and has already hooked me up with some good people there. I really appreciate everyone's time and help!

Honolulu, Hawaii

It has been brought to my attention that the clever title of this blog might be better appreciated if people understood its references.

Jinn (sing. jinni), according to Islam, are supernatural beings that live in a world parallel to, and interwoven with, our own. Jinn are commonly referred to as "genies" in English.

Gin, on the other hand, is a completely different kind of spirit, made with juniper berries.

Tonic is a fizzy soft drink flavored with quinine and originally intended to be consumed in India and Africa as a prophylactic against malaria. Tonic is commonly mixed with gin to create the aptly named beverage, Gin and Tonic.

My blog, on the other hand, is called "Jinn and Tonic." Clever, isn't it?