I don't think we could have gone more completely from one cultural extreme to another. We got into our hotel in Madrid around 10 pm. After bringing our luggage into the room, I went out onto the balcony and saw two guys making out across the street.

Madrid is quite a nice city, but it is not nearly as interesting as Sudan. It is like being in any other Western city. We spent most of our time visiting the typical array of Western chain stores and some boring museum (the Prado).

My high school Spanish is quickly coming back, but I am still mixing Spanish and Arabic. Nevertheless, it is much easier to speak Spanish than it was to speak Arabic.

I have been constantly amazed at the amount of pornography and liquor on sale here. We visited an ice cream shop, which seemed to be the favorite of local Elementary school children. Porn and booze were on sale right next to the ice cream.