inauguration in madrid

There were two and a half million people, at least, in Washington D.C. for the inauguration of President Obama. The crowds were enormous. I mean, I saw them in pictures. What maybe you didn't see in pictures were the 600 people crammed into a small room at the Hotel Intercontinental on Paseo de la Castellano in Madrid. Not nearly as historic nor as cold, but we were just as excited. We also had jumbo screens and were uncomfortably close to strangers. There was jamón and fried corn kernels...I'm still in Spain, after all. Being in Spain, I haven't really had the chance to be surrounded by large groups of Americans. Watching the inauguration was similar to an out-of-body experience. Really, it was an out-of-country experience. In this crowded smelly room, English was the dominate language and everyone looked...well, American. The emotion and excitement contained in this small space was astounding, unlike anything I had experienced in politics. Leaving this space, for some reason, I had a truly strange feeling, like the world had somehow changed. I mean, I know that I know better, that one election will not change the world. However, I was slightly disappointed that the streets weren't bursting into song, or that red, white, and blue confetti wasn't raining down from the sky. Everything seemed...normal. I did my part by smiling profusely at every passerby. That's a change.