October 28, 2001
Santiago (cloudy/rain)

When I wake up this morning I can hear the amplified voice of an announcer and music from down the street bleeding through my window. I also hear the sound of crowds of people walking by on the street in front of the hotel. We are going to attend Mass this morning and when I get to the Plaza, on the way to the church, I find a foot race in progress with the Plaza being used as the start and finish line. Many people, some of them runners holding bottles of water, are milling around.

Going to Mass in the Cathedral is like going to Mass at Disney World. The place is packed. People are walking up and down the aisles taking picture and videos of the church, while other people sitting in the pews and participating in the Mass do the same. Behind the priest I can see a line of people making their way up the steps to hug the statute of St. James; it's one ritual done after completing the walk. Add to that the noise of the race in progress outside and you have a real circus atmosphere.

When we leave the Cathedral after Mass the race is over and it is quieter outside. As we make our way down the front steps we seem to be going against the flow of most of the traffic. At the bottom of the stairs I see why. There is a wedding party making its way up the stairs to the church. As I reach the bottom of the steps, but before I can step through the iron gate that leads to the Plaza, I come face to face with the bride and groom. I cannot believe how young they are. They are both dressed in traditional costume. The bride is wearing a white peasant type blouse under a sleeveless jumper. The jumper has an embroidered bodice and a wide black skirt that poofs out because of the petticoats underneath it. She is also wearing white stockings and black Mary Jane type shoes. The groom is dressed like a Hasidic Jew from the diamond district in New York City. He wears a black suit, a white shirt buttoned to the collar, and black shoes and socks. He also wears a black hat that sets squarely on his head. The bride has her left arm through the groom's right arm and the hand on her other arm is placed on her hip in such a way that her elbow juts out. They walk through the gate standing very erect and move with a dignified air about them. As they get closer I see it is the groom who has the dignified attitude. The bride is trying to be dignified but she is so happy and excited that her feelings telegraph through her eyes and her body vibrates. The groom has grown a skimpy beard to look older. He also has a very solemn look on his face but this only makes him look like a ten year old child dressed up in his Daddy's suit. As I watch them climb the stairs I wish them a silent, " Mazel Tov".

Tonight a group of us, J, B, AE, AG, M from Canada (MC), a woman and man that MC knows, a man AG knows, and me, meet in a cafe for drinks and then we plan to go out to dinner. While we are sitting there Z walks in, she noticed us as she was walking by, and I get up and walk over to her and give her a hug. I was not sure she would make it to Santiago since she was having problems with her feet the last time we saw her. I have been glad to see everyone but seeing Z is a real treat just because she is another American. How chauvinistic of me. She decides to join us for dinner.

The restaurant we find is family run and very welcoming. The woman who greet us does not bat an eye when ten people show up early for dinner, she just starts putting tables together to form one long table for us. Dinner is enjoyable until we notice how drunk J is. He is sitting next to Z and has started to get a little too friendly and is hanging on her. I can tell Z is uncomfortable with this. Every other word out of his mouth is a swear word and when he does string a group of non-swear words together he does not make any sense. We are baffled by his behavior. I for one cannot understand how he got so drunk so fast. Then he leaves the table and goes to the bar and I watch him down a drink. Now I see, he has been leaving the table through out the meal and I guess each time he did he went to the bar and had a drink. One person at the table who does not know J makes a comment about how obnoxious he is and we who know him say this is not normal behavior and that we don't understand why he is acting this way.

When J comes back something happens that has never happened before at any dinner I have had in Spain. Usually after we are through eating we sit and talk for a bit. This time, almost as one, people stand up and start putting money on the table and leaving. When we get outside everyone heads off in different directions. J follows B, MC, and me, as we head back to our rooms. As we walk down the street I walk a little behind B and MC and J walks a little way behind me. At some point J turns off and heads to another bar. When I catch up to B and MC we talk about J, wondering what has happened. J and I have been playing with the idea of driving back to Paris over the route we walked but after tonight I don't want to do this. I don't trust him anymore and I know if he gets drunk like this on our drive I will feel responsible for him and I don't want that responsibility. MC says she is going to the train station tomorrow to buy train tickets; she plans to leave in a couple of days. I decide to go with her to buy tickets for the train to Paris. All of a sudden all I want to do is get back to my sister's house as soon as possible. I'm tired and I want to go home.