Thursday, July 9: Lion King!

Ok, so the big event was in the evening...during class we continued discussing cultural information and in the other we played a game in groups where each person had a dice with little symbols on it.  Each would roll it and make a sentence using the symbol that appeared and together they were meant to create a story.  This was really great for our level because it meant we used a wide variety of vocab and verb tenses...My groups story was about a little dwarf who set off on a very dangerous adventure with demons, evil magic fish, and dinosaur islands to find his friends that lived in the sea.  In the end he learns from a scarab beetle that both his friends and the sea were in his heart all along.  Very  absurd I know but in Spanish it was a very good exercise. 
Amanda and I successfully printed off our tickets.  Headed home for lunch.  Lounged around and did homework and then... El Rey Leon!!!!!
At 7:30 we made our way to the Teatro Lope de Vega on Calle Gran Villa.  This street is apparently the "Broadway" of Madrid and the theater always receives the big performances.  There were tons of people but we made it in without any problem.  We two got a bucket of popcorn and a Coca-Cola each which came with a complementary souvenir cup.  We went up to find our seats at 8:15...we were seated separately but on the same level.  I was next to a French couple on one side, an middle aged Spanish couple to the other, and in front of us was a family of four with two young kids.  Before the show the little girl kept peeping up at me and then hiding back behind her seat. 
So the performance was all in Spanish, but it was so easy to follow.  I loved every second of it! The music was excellent and the puppetry was absolutely amazing! The lions had masks which if they stooped forward in a particular way would reach out and look like they were roaring ...At times to indicate distance they would use shadow puppets.  It was so much fun!  All the little kids around me were singing along or were utterly invested in what was going on.  At one point from behind me a little boy's mother began to sing and he shushed her. 
Pics:

The posters out in the front of the theater.

 

 

Us following the performance

 

 

 After we had left the theater and were making our way back to the Metro Amanda and I decided to take a detour over to Plaza de España which was all lit up and quiet.

 

 

And from there we walked home.  This took us back by the palace and buildings like the music academy shown below and then down the same streets we take every morning and afternoon.

It was a very warm and very quiet night.