Holy Toledo!

Friday I spent the entire day in La Ciudad Imperial: Toledo, the former capital of Madrid. The entire city is explorable in about one hour (which made "getting lost" an easy fix) but nonetheless full of unique and historical sightings each step of the way. Toledo feels like a walkable museum of castles, paintings, synagogues, and gothic architecture. And every corner I went around I was confronted by another hommage to Don Quijote, an artisan store with an impressive collection of spanish swords for sale, and a bakery specializing in mazapan--an extremely sweet and super caloric dessert made of almond paste, sugar, and egg (a little different from the marzipan in the U.S.). El Catedral de Toledo epitomized the fascinating mix of cultures that the former capital is known for. The inside of the cathedral boasts the stained-glass windows and ceilings-up-to-heaven typical of a Christian place of worship but the foundation itself was constructed with muslim-style archs called "arcos de herradura". Even the synagogues in the city were so heavily influenced by the muslims that I would've thought we had wondered into a mosque had it not been for the Hebrew written on the walls.

I also finished my first entire week at my internship. Hooray! After updating the records of anyone who came into the center in 2007, I spent the majority of the week working individually with more of the refugees. I accompanied a woman from Guinea Equatorial to help her change daycare facilities and afterward we visited her lawyer. Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado (CEAR) is a Spanish non-profit lawfirm, offers incredible pro bono legal counselling for anyone seeking asylum in the country. All of the refugees at El Centro meet with a lawyer about once a month. I also helped my favorite Palestinian guy change doctors (apparently the one he had signed up for is super intimidating and not very friendly with foreigners). I know it's still new and exciting, but I'm absolutely loving the job and I'm convinced that it's the best internship in the entire program. I don't even mind getting up at 7:00 in the morning and commuting an hour to Vallecas. But as great as El Centro is, I'm greatful that Monday's a holiday :)