I didn’t blog last night, mostly because I thought we were done with the blog. And then Will pointed out that we’d named our blog “DeBoards in Spain” and we were still in Spain. So literal. 🙃

Another reason I didn’t blog last night was because we went out with Janet #1, to her favorite paella place in Madrid. We were served our food at about 10:15, and reader… between a full belly, a bottle of sangria and the digestif that accompanies every meal with Janet… I was asleep the second I hit the bed.

Which brings us to today. First: a shoutout. Will made all the arrangements for this trip, from flights to a gazillion albergues and hotels, train tickets, and one office space booking. Yes… that’s right. We spent the better part of today in a rented office space. Let me explain.

A few weeks ago, I interviewed for a faculty position from the balcony at our albergue in León. It was the only quiet space I could find, and I used a stool, Will’s selfie stick, and headphones to make it happen. I had to close the door to the balcony because my roommate was sleeping, and while I answered questions the sky darkened and thunder shuddered around me.

Word on the Camino travels fast—for the next week, I was met by walkers who wanted to know if I got the job.

Today, the second interview happened. We were initially supposed to go to Finisterre, the end of the earth (literally the Atlantic Ocean), but rerouted to Madrid a day early. Will rented an office space, because guess who didn’t bring a computer on this trip and had to do a teaching presentation. Also guess who made a Google slideshow on her iPhone. 😬 As this is academia, it was a four hour process of meeting with different committees and individuals, and there were the usual tech issues compounded by the fact that the keyboard commands were different, and warning messages kept popping up on my screen in Spanish.

But it happened. I survived. Back in bed at midnight, I’m exhausted but happy. I did a thing I didn’t think I could do. From another country, nine hours ahead. After four days down with Covid. No matter what happens, I’m proud of myself. And damned grateful to Will.

A few outtakes from our office space adventure:

When we arrived, via taxi thank God—because did I mention it was 102 in Madrid today?—we found the number on the address, but no Office Space Madrid. We wormed our way into what was probably a private office suite, only to discover we needed to go around the back and side of the building. Haha, panic (nearly) averted.

And then, when we were trying to leave at 10pm—we were literally the last folks in Office Space Madrid, with all the workers leaving at 6pm—we found we were locked in the courtyard. We pushed and pulled at the gates, Will circled the complex to see if there was a way out that didn’t involve scaling the gate, I waited to see if a passing person could help from the other side—and then lo, we found a discreet button that opened the whole thing. 🙂

No more interviews this trip, I promise. Tomorrow: Guernica. Cafe con leche and churros.