Letter 8

Ambassador Solomont and Susan at Rosh Hashanah reception (photo: US Embassy)

Welcome to Hola #8

In the words of my favorite rock and roll band: “Summer time has come and gone, my oh my.”

And that sure is the case even in Madrid. It’s September, and the air and light have different feels to them than they did in July and August. Already I’m beginning to see leaves changing colors and fashion changing from beautiful sandals and tan bodies to shawls and sweaters. It is September, and the air is a bit cooler, and the sunlight is a little less bright but beautiful nonetheless.

During the summer months, Madrid gets very hot and a little dusty. People leave town for their “holidays,” and life does seem to slow down a bit. Or so they say!

I wish I could say we slowed down in Madrid, but that was not the case. So let me continue this Hola where my last Hola left off.

Spain had just won the world cup and there was jubilation everywhere. That spirit prevailed for a while and there were signs of victory wherever we went-- World Cup shirts on men, women, and children, and Spanish flags hanging from windows. We were in Pamplona for the final match and we watched it on a big screen TV at a raucous party overlooking the central plaza where the real party took place. It was a magical moment throughout the country when Spain prevailed. We went to Pamplona for the running of the bulls as guests of the Mayor. The Alcadesa (mayor) invited us to join her on the balcony on her city hall office overlooking the course of the encierro. First, she took us to watch the bulls and the oxen that lead, and then we watched the actual running. The key? Don’t blink! The actual running took 2 minutes and 17 seconds. The streets of this small city, the capital of Navarre, get cleaned up very quickly, and before you know it, the streets are filled with people celebrating the festival of San Fermin. This celebration was more fun than the bulls! Everyone in the town wears white, with a red sash around their waist and a red scarf around their neck. It is glorious to see everyone dressed like this. If you wore jeans or anything else, you’d be really out of place. There is music and dancing everywhere, and we got swept up in the frivolity, line dancing with the Mayor and hundreds of other Pamploneses. It is a real tribute to the Spanish people that they maintain Spanish traditions, observing their festival and passing their heritage down from generation to generation. For a people who suffered through a brutal civil war and dictatorship so recently, their capacity for joy and celebration is quite remarkable.

We returned to Madrid and enjoyed a few weeks in July, when daylight lasts from early morning to late in the evening (10, 11 pm). It’s a wonderful feeling to have this extra daytime. It does mean eating dinner at 10 pm, but nonetheless, I have grown to love the length of the day. We’re fortunate that our residence, smack in the heart of the central Salamanca area of Madrid, has a swimming pool. During the long, hot summer days, we used the pool a lot. Stephanie had friends over, we had a barbecue or two, and we began to feel some normalcy in our lives, at least on weekends. We savored these moments, but soon August arrived, and that meant time at home and a real dose of reality.

August is the month when all of Spain vacations and all madrilenos leave the city. Therefore, Alan and I followed suit. We spent some wonderful time in Weston, where, in Alan’s words, we enjoyed the “warm embrace of home”. Our time there was a blessing, being with family and a very few friends, mostly seeing doctors and dentists for check-ups, getting hair and nails done, running errands, and remembering what “normal” feels like. The only thing missing was more time. We missed seeing more people, but our time at home was short and before we knew it…..

While we were at home, we led what felt like a normal life again. We walked the dog together without any bodyguards surrounding Alan (yes, Stella came home, too, but no bodyguards), and we went to the supermarket and the dry cleaners. Alan even drove a car again. All of those experiences were just plain wonderful. Hola # 9 is going to be about “a day in the life”, so I’ll leave those details for next time.

Alan and I returned to Spain separately. Returning for me is always a bit sad as I know I will miss my friends from home. I guess I’m lucky that it only take a few days to adjust to being back in the world Alan calls “Oz”. This time was no different. Once Monday rolled around, and life got back to “normal” at the Embassy, I transitioned fairly easily. I’m finding myself busy this fall with a number of projects. Over the summer, the Embassy garden grew like mad. We have amazing cherry tomatoes, lettuces, herbs, pepper, and watermelons (okay, small watermelons). Working with our Embassy’s superb CLO (Community Liaison Officer), we organized a garden event for Embassy families and their children. We picked what we could, and our chef, Gustavo, taught us to make gazpacho with our own tomatoes. It’s very sweet to see Embassy kids in action, and they seemed to love cooking healthy food picked from the garden. Starting soon in the fall, we will invite youngsters from Madrid’s bilingual schools to join us for healthy eating and cooking classes. I also want to stress that our garden is very ecologically sound. We just installed a water catching system, for example, to ensure a planet- friendly approach.

Other projects I’m involved with include chairing the Volunteers in Action Program -- the Embassy volunteer and community service initiative. We’re kicking it off with a food and clothing drives to benefit a food bank in Madrid and to help those in Pakistan who have been displaced by the devastating floods.

Alan returned to Madrid from a trip he’s wanted to make for some time -- to Afghanistan to visit the Spanish troops there. Knowing how important this mission is to the security of both America and Spain, he thought he should see firsthand what’s going on.

Alan spent a day in Kabul meeting with U.S. and Spanish military and diplomatic leaders, including General Petraeus, and then traveled to Badghis province in the west. He came back impressed by the difficulty of our mission but also encouraged by the progress that is being made. He was deeply moved by the young men and women in uniform, both Spanish and American, who are serving their countries, and also impressed by their partnership with the Afghan people. Since returning, Alan’s been hard at work communicating the importance of Spain’s involvement in Afghanistan and the difference Spanish troops, trainers, and development workers are making.

Back to life here in Madrid

We are fortunate enough to participate in something called the Art in Embassies Program. Started in the Kennedy Administration and run by the State Department, this program allows us to display works of art by great American artists. Through the generosity of artists, museums, private foundations, and collectors who loan the artwork for exhibition in our residence, we are now privileged to show paintings by Milton Avery, March Avery, Fairfield Porter, Robert Rauschenberg, Helen Frankenthaler, Jim Dine, and photographs by Richard Avedon, Annie Leibowitz, Frank Stefanko, and Lalla Essaydi. We also have a wonderful fabric collage by Alicia Creus, which is based on the Velasquez masterpiece Las Meninas. If you’re not familiar with any of these artists, I encourage you to Google them and see their works. During the month of September, we will host several events to showcase this collection, along with our own photography, paintings, and glass sculpture. What is especially meaningful is the story behind each of these pieces, why they were selected, and what they mean to us. Much of the art we are showing represents New England and some of our favorite places, including Truro, Vermont, Maine, and New York.

September has already been a very busy month here. Fortunately, we started off with a holiday. Alan planned a long Labor Day weekend in Marbella, but first we stopped for an official visit to a town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains called Jerez del Marquesado. Our visit to this town was extraordinary. Fifty years ago it was the scene of a crash of a Navy airplane. The plane crashed into the mountains, 15 kilometers outside the small town of Jerez del Marquesado. In the middle of a cold, snowy night, the townspeople hiked to the scene and rescued all 24 on board. There were no roads, no ambulances, and no modern day equipment. There was just the bravery of these ordinary men of Jerez who did something extraordinary, carrying all 24 on board to safety under very difficult conditions. Now, 50 years later, the town commemorated this event with a full week of tributes. The mayor invited Alan and me to attend the opening ceremony, along with two of the Navy survivors, (now in their 70s) along with their families. The entire town of 1,200 came out to greet us. It was an utterly unforgettable moment, in part because of the reception we received but mainly because of the opportunity it provided to honor the bravery and selflessness of these townspeople. Many of the rescuers are still alive, and each of them was recognized during the ceremony. I’m also proud to say that there is a monument in the center of this small pueblo, which honors the rescuers, the rescued, and the visit of Ambassador Alan D. Solomont. Alan is pleased to have his name inscribed in stone that is somewhere other than his final resting place.

From Jerez del Marquesado, we drove to Marbella for a lovely few days of rest and relaxation. The Marbella Beach Club is beautiful. It has low buildings, beautiful trees and gardens, is situated right beside the blue Mediterranean Sea, and is reminiscent of a time gone by. Marbella has long been one of the jewels of the Costa del Sol, and the Marbella Beach Club was one of its original jewels. Its history is one of celebrities and jet setters, but today it is simply a lovely Mediterranean resort where we enjoyed peace, quiet, sunshine, and great food. We ventured out to the beautiful pueblo blanco (white village) of Ronda in the mountains above Marbella. We toured the town, which sits 100 meters above a gorge, and attended a bull fight in one of the oldest and most famous arenas in Spain. It was a favorite of Ernest Hemingway, and the bullfights we watched were waged on horseback. The horsemanship was amazing, and the riders and horses showed phenomenal talent. Sadly for the bulls, the outcome was the same. One of my favorite childhood books was Ferdinand the Bull (children’s book by Munro Leaf), about a bull who preferred smelling the flowers to fighting -- I can relate!

We arrived back in Madrid on Labor Day, and these next few weeks are already becoming very busy.

We began the week with an iftar dinner to celebrate the meal that ends the daily fast of Ramadan. We opened our home to 70 Muslim and non- Muslim religious leaders, hoping to promote interfaith dialogue and multicultural understanding. Alan spoke candidly about the controversy over the Islamic Center in NYC and about the resilience of American democracy to weather storms like these. A local imam offered prayers and explanations, and we served a meal that was truly a Middle Eastern feast. We loved having hummus, falafel, and tabouli, and we ended the meal with sweet mint tea served in beautiful glasses. A perfect touch to a warm and wonderful evening.

Later in the week, we celebrated Rosh Hashanah. This was our first major observance of Jewish holiday since arriving in Spain. Because of my dad’s passing, we were home for Passover. We went to two different services, one at the main Sephardic Synagogue, where the service was very traditional and orthodox. On Thursday morning, we attended a more liberal service at the synagogue Bet El. Rabbi Mario from Argentina led the service in a very haimische way, and a Cantor with a beautiful voice accompanied him. Both congregations warmly welcomed us, and, amazingly, Alan and I were able to follow the services both in Hebrew (Alan) and in Spanish (both of us). We were very honored by the unexpected Aliyot we received.

Later that evening, we opened up our home again, this time to 140 Jewish and non-Jewish friends and interfaith leaders. We had a brief ceremony to explain the prayers and our traditions. Alan spoke about the same themes of tolerance and diversity as at the iftar dinner, and we showed President Obama delivering his Rosh Hashanah greeting on big screen TVs. It was a great moment when the Jewish Ambassador to Spain introduced the African American President of the United States to wish everyone a Shana Tova! All of this was quickly followed by another excellent meal. Our chef learned to make noodle pudding, and he added other fine dishes to accompany it.

I’m going to end this Hola, knowing I could keep writing and writing and writing. We have so much to report, and we are getting to do so many wonderful things. I’m constantly in awe of the great responsibility we have to represent our country and the power of diplomacy. I think I say this in every Hola, but watching Alan reminds me of the difference an individual can make and how this experience has taught me how crucial it is for our global community to find more ways to share our similarities and to understand our differences. Iftar and Rosh Hashanah were two striking examples of similarity and difference -- which is captured beautifully by the simple greetings of “shalom” and “saleem”- both hello and peace.

We wish you a Shana Tova, Shalom, Saleem, peace and joy to all.

Susan