Viva España

Sunshine

2010-03-12T14:04:00.002-06:00

There's one man, he's like the wishful thinking in my life, I see so, and he's like the wine on the weekend...

A smile and wave, a slight chuckle at my backwards side comments, and dreams that go in every direction.

A giddy, drunken, happy feeling, the world whirling around me, full of life, full of light.

And it's the excitement that comes before a huge summer storm, the whole atmosphere full of anticipation, full of electricity.

And though he is like the sea and it's right he be so, if I hold tight he'll wash over me...

Don't wait, don't stop, don't think about it – we are disasters, and full of mistakes like we ought to be, and I will be one for you, too.

Another drink, another dance, another time around, whirling, twirling, dizzy up the girl.

I can feel everything, I hold my hands open to the sky in order to catch the rain, I close my eyes to feel the wind and the sunlight, and pluck apart my fingers sticky from the tree sap, I am alive.

There's one girl I like she's a smile on a Monday, and she'll fight to stay so...and she's like the sun on the weekend.

Confusion, oh how it leads to irony, and discovery, and experiments that are going nowhere, going everywhere, going, going, gone.

It was a split second of sunlight, a frisbee that just flew right between my open hands, and yet still joy, still freedom.

And you are joy, you are freedom, and we will all become anchored through confusion, we will sort out what is right as we move past what was wrong, and we will help each other in this, our battle.

And though she is like the sea and she's right to be so, still I like that she sails with me...

It's a beautiful kite designed like a dragon, and it soars, flies, escapes on the air currents, tied down to the earth in your hands, by one tiny string – insignificant, and yet everything.

It's a sailboat with a sunfish on its sail, catching the salty breeze, the soul of the ocean, the pirate inside all of us, and the sea our church, our refuge.

And how they interact, they dance, the sea and the wind, and we – caught in the inbetween – revel in both, understanding nothing, and hoping for everything.

Didn't we all break down, didn't we all fake, isn't it alright now, didn't we all break out...

And it was our jail, nuestra jaula, the bars were wintry clouds, the cold floor slick with ice, with fallen leaves packed beneath it, treacherous and lonely.

With a brave face and a quieted soul, we trudged about, learned our perimeters, etched out our time on the walls.

But now, oh freedom! how we have fled and realized that there are no bars to hold us, no ice to plague our skipping laughter across the sound waves, the colors catching sunshine and the flowers' victorious return.

There's one man so bright he blocks the light, and he'll always be so...he's like no sleep on the weekend.

You will overpower me, overpower my senses, I will go crazy in the attempt to understand, my veins poisoned with beauty and passion and vitality.

The negative space will be the positive life, the composition will be the clarity, and the rule of thirds will be the rule of excellence – nothing less, nothing diminished, our life will demand greatness.

This is an existence of art, of dance, of music, sound, souls and singing, of everything important – of art for art's sake – la vie boheme.

And though he is like the sea and he's right to be so, when I hold tight I sink down deep...

It's a deep breath, count to three two one, and a plunge into the dark cold of the ocean far beneath this exhilaration, waiting quietly with patience and joy and a readiness for motion.

It's holding on and letting go of everything, an explosion, a scream from the bottom of a canyon, and satisfaction at the peak of everything, the epicenter of where we go from here, of right now.

It's a calm, but an excitement, a patience, and the inability to sit still, it's a shift in the world, a change in your blood, the beginning the end the middle the start of it all.

Didn't we all break down, didn't we all fake, isn't it alright now, didn't we all break out...

Drop it – the fear, the spook reaction that keeps you looking out the blinds, over your shoulder, listening at every turn – this is easier than you think, just go, just go.

There are no games to play, there is no need for double-speak, be you, drop it, drop this façade that we all think society looks for in us – YOU ARE SOCIETY – what do you want?!

A backless dress to display full back tattoos, elegance redefined, a shift in how we see beauty, how we see each other, how we see ourselves, this world is ours, it's ours.

And though we are like the sea and it's right we be so, we could chase tails all the years I've been given...

Do not waste this, because this, and you, and us, and them, everything – this is beauty.

Song: Sea Song, by Lisa Hannigan

I'm sorry if I gave you heavy boots...

2010-02-07T02:00:00.002-06:00

All this feels strange and untrue…

I've never cried over you.

Somehow you possess the odd and mysterious ability to only make me completely numb.

I feel sick to my stomach, heavy, and so on, but in all these months, not a tear.

And I won't waste a minute without you.

Not for lack of thought or memory of you, of this, or what was.

There were such good things – the beautiful morning light, for once feeling comfortable in somebody's arms as I lay waking up, and the sweetest kisses as you went out my door.

And such horrible things – the sinking feeling as I was lumped in with 'karma', the verbal destruction of my (only) photo, and the feeling of being forgotten, again and again, cast to the wayside.

My bones ache, my skin feels cold…

"And it was so great, it just seemed like it worked, even though it was doomed from it's origins…"

I hear this, as these words fly across chapped winter lips, again, maybe for the last time.

Who else cares? What makes me worth remembering?

And I'm getting so tired and so old.

I remember the scene from Anastasia [the Disney version, surely] where she waltzes herself through the royal ballroom, dancing with regal ghosts, and she is the only one ever-present.

Except, in this ballroom, the ever-present character is you.

All of the dancers are the many beautiful, intelligent women, who are so good at keeping secrets and protecting you for no reason, that they will never know the extent of how many dancers there are.

The anger swells in my guts…

There are so many 'worst parts'.

The worst worst part is knowing that there are junctures where the used-to-be best part has now become the worst.

Even worse is the pervasive silence – the never mentioning it, the awkward twitch when that week's acronym comes up in conversation, the completely tangible shared knowledge, shared secret.

And I won't feel these slices and cuts.

"How long have you been with her?" "Three years." Stab.

"And she's wonderful and beautiful, and you love her and won't leave her." "Nope." Stab.

"And you won't tell her." "No." Stab-twist.

I want so much to open your eyes…

And all I can see now is an oh-so-broken person, meandering.

What once was the epitome of 'put-together', 'self-confident' and 'secure' is now a front of sarcasm, grasping at the whirlwind for due dates, and priorities and a sense of things.

Whose only dance partners are equally broken people, but I have learned that two broken people will never be able to achieve a proper whole – you have to be whole individually to start.

'Cause I need you to look into mine.

I don't know the answer, and I don't claim or aspire to be 'it'.

My own answer was to leave the country, get away from everything and even myself, and figure out that I could manage alone.

Incomplete and clearly still unresolved, it may not be the whole answer, and at its end might not be everybody's, but I identified the ground rule of needing one in the first place.

Tell me that you'll open your eyes.

Please.

This risks everything – the entire façade we've built of beautiful sarcasm and criticism of others, of class, of life.

I don't know – I don't want to lose even that, I hope it doesn't happen, but some things must be said.

Get up, get out, get away from these liars…

I don't think you took the road-trip to resolution you had planned over winter break.

Odds are she showed up with food, a bottle of wine, and all of sudden things were better again, same as before, but I may never know.

But even when you weren't speaking to me weeks at a time, I secretly hoped you were driving cross-country, for somewhere perfect like the Redwood Forest, seeking peace and resolution and a start to rebuild.

'Cause they don't get your soul or your fire.

"I'm a bad person."

"No you're not – everybody around you thinks you're phenomenal, no matter what you think that has to count for something."

"Nobody knows me."

Take my hand, knot your fingers through mine…

"How are you?"

"I'm…good. Really good. It's weird. I think I'm really okay."

At the least, I'm no longer broken, we can see I can keep a hell of a secret, and I'd make a pretty good friend – wouldn't it be nice if somebody knew you?

And we'll walk from this dark room for the last time.

You have given me two sideways hugs.

I remember both times, and they both felt like a slap to the face.

I'd like to make a better exit, for once – maybe a high-five would be better, who knows – but sideways hugs make a statement.

Every minute from this minute now…

Baby steps, deep breaths, and I'll walk a bit away each moment.

Perhaps finally I'll be able to turn my head, let it go, and make a friendship work.

Or perhaps we will end in ruin. We are a disaster, but tell me your heart doesn't race for a hurricane…

We can do what we like anywhere.

And I will fly away from this place, from this moment, from this time, exactly a year from now and nobody knows if I'll ever be back, not even me.

And maybe I'll learn Danish, and Telegu, and be published in books, and contribute to the lives of wonderful children.

And I don't expect a single person to be able to follow up with me through that, I almost hope to be completely lost so that I can be completely found.

I want so much to open your eyes…

I can't – won't take you with me.

Not in person, or in mind, or in heart.

And for some reason, I only imagine when you see this hearing a sigh of relief – if you allow it, you can be rid of me, only a year of patience and I am gone.

'Cause I need you to look into mine

You, more than anyone, can hold a conversation of double meaning with me.

You have always understood my other intention, and at our best you were the most honest of anybody I'd ever known [stab, stab, stab]

Please see that this is honest, and with sincere hope for you.

Tell me that you'll open your eyes.

Please drive, walk, run, swim, fly and find something.

Solace. Air. Peace.

Because you have been hurt more than I can fathom, and I cannot think of a way to help.

All this feels strange and untrue…

It's an empty feeling, writing this.

What now? How to proceed? What else to say?

And will we just keep on, will I have a chance to help, will you choose to tell me your story?

And I won't waste a minute without you.

Baby steps, deep breaths, and I'll walk a bit away each moment.

Sometimes, I just wanna dance.

2010-01-15T15:28:00.001-06:00

if you want to find yourself by traveling out west, or if you want to find somebody else that's better, go ahead, go ahead.

Last night, I caught myself thinking about all sorts of characteristics that I possess.

I listed them off in my head, and kept thinking to myself after each one, "that's fine."

And then I wondered when "that's fine" would finally translate into "good enough."

if you want to buy a brand new fancy automobile, or if you want to build a place up in coldwater canyon, go ahead, go ahead.

Now, I'm not really one to walk about meditating on whatever degree of self-loathing comes about with my choice of profession, or my habits, or what have you.

More often than not I find happiness in the simple things that I do.

It's just that sometimes it catches up with you – the discrepancy between how well you view yourself and the way that others treat you.

go ahead, i wish you would, go ahead.

I'm not treated poorly; as of late I can say that the people most important to me treat me better than many other people and eras in my life already past.

I suppose it's more in the details.

Somebody will tell me, with a smile, that they missed me, while somebody else has never said that to me at all. Little things.

if you want to hold your own hand going up that cliff, or if you want to just hold back cause you ain't up to it, go ahead, go ahead.

Really, they're the sort of things that don't matter much individually, and you tick them off a list one by one saying 'Oh, what nonsense, that I ever cared about that at all!'

But when you get to the end of the list, it's not about the individual things anymore, it's about how long the list is.

Perhaps the list should be thrown into a bonfire.

go ahead, be my guest, go ahead.

So, what do you do then, to make that step from "that's fine", to "good enough"?

What if you thought you were already at "good enough" and suddenly find yourself back at "that's fine"?

When do you get to frickin' pass go and collect $200?

if you want to hold on to the first girl that you meet, or if you want to settle down and plant roses at my feet, go ahead, go ahead.

Maybe it's this.

Over time, people in your life clearly change, and uncontrollably your opinion of them reflects upon your opinion of yourself.

So the trick is, if you've regressed to "that's fine", to figure out in whose opinion that's true.

go ahead, i wish you would, go ahead.

Then, I suppose, you can throw them into a bonfire as well.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

I was never really a fan of witch-hunts outside of literary fiction.

if you want to have your cake and eat it too, and if you want to have other people watch you while you eat it, go ahead, go ahead.

With any luck at all, post-figurative bonfire session (and don't we all love a good bonfire?) you'll be left with your gems.

The people who, no matter what confusions or arguments or misunderstandings, will triumph in the end by continually making you smile.

The people for whom you will be, and have always been, good enough.

go ahead, be my guest, go ahead.

And the people that end up in the bonfire, alongside that list of details, here's to them.

Here's to hoping that they find somebody that will live up to their standards.

Somebody who will wait without a doubt for them to come around, forever.

if you want better things, i want you to have them. if you want better things, then i want you to have them. go ahead, go ahead.

Because I will choose best for myself, and I will work hard at the relationships that bring joy to my life.

I will love, without a doubt, the people who do the same for me.

And I will cherish them, instead of all the buttheads.

go ahead, i wish you would, go ahead.
go ahead, i wish you would, go ahead.

Song: Go Ahead, by Rilo Kiley

Hasta luego!
Alex

Come In, You've Been Here Before

2010-01-15T15:21:00.001-06:00

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I can hear the rainfall from my bed; though it's just beginning we may never see the end.

Sometimes, you have a thought.

And it could be a simple thought, or an extravagant one.

Or a simple thought that somehow turned out to be far more extravagant than you realized.

But it starts with a thought.

It's landing on the leaves and on cement. Just as quickly as it came, it went.

So, I just had a thought about what I'd like to do if money were no issue at all.

I'd like to hop on a plane, and make stops all over the country.

And then all over the world.

By the end of it, I'd have been in over fifteen countries, and surely over fifty cities.

Island rain it passes by and by. It's equally as fleeting as my ever-changing mind.

In each place, I'd wander the streets that somebody calls home.

I would listen to the sounds, hear the language, and smell the food.

I would skip up the front steps, and knock on the door, or ring the bell, or buzz into the apartment.

And I would find somebody I know and love and miss and want to be with for always, and I would bring them to my plane and we would fly away to the next place.

But steady are the mountains overhead. I've been wishing I was more like them.

And over fifteen countries later, and with more than fifty cities behind us, I would have collected all of the people I know and love and miss and want to be with for always.

They would all be together – in one place.

Meeting, talking, learning about one another and seeing what they all have in common – all of the reasons that I love them so.

The air would fill with languages, and finally, laughter and love. Community.

'Cause ohh it's a beautiful world, and yes I know I have a beautiful girl.

At that point, the thought was to begin again, together, whole.

To start our own country, somewhere new and untouched.

To spend our days learning languages, songs, customs, and recipes.

To spend our days together. Just together.

So let the rain forever battle with the sun. We are here, we've already won.

But sometimes, a simple thought becomes extravagant.

And I realized, perhaps all of the people that I love would be happy to be together for just a bit, but surely they love other people, too.

And how could I take them away from all of the people that they each love, forever?

So, of course, the thought grew to include them, to bring everybody we all love to one place.

Be my friend, O, Calamity. Tell me what it is you aim to do unto me.

And from this point it grew further – all of the people that I love must love more people, and those people must love others, and the others must love even more!

So where could we possibly all fit into one place?

And perhaps, with that, I realized that this country I want to create, new and untouched and saved just for my ideal world, well – it's already here.

Perhaps not ideal, but there's no place we'd all fit except in this whole big world.

Give me peace of mind and give me hope, that you will spare the ones I love the most.

So here we are.

And I still miss you.

Song: Island Rain by Joey Ryan

Hasta luego!
Alex

Read. Imagine. Explore.

2010-01-09T18:49:00.004-06:00

Life is funny. Today, I read a book (The Principles of Uncertainty, by Maira Kalman). If you have any inclination and look up said book, you will understand why after reading it I began a frantic search for my newest sketchbook, bought (conveniently) right before final exams in Pamplona, and since untouched.

If you were worried, I found it, and have since been drawing and writing the afternoon away to my little heart's content. Oddly enough, in my search that included boxes that have gone unopened for ages, purses buried beneath my bed, drawers, shelves, and everywhere else (the sketchbook was conveniently in my desk drawer, where it ought to have been) I came across a speech I wrote my senior year of high school for Academic Decathlon (Yes, Academic Decathlon.).

I read over it, and thought why not type it out and share with the world my thoughts three years gone? It ends abruptly (for my taste, though I do tend to write on and on at length) I think due to the time limit for the competition, and you may come away thinking it was lucky I didn't graduate high enough to make a speech at the ceremony, but I found it funny to come across after a week of renewing my love for books. Enjoy!

Imagination is more important than knowledge.
- Albert Einstein

If somebody asked you what a three-year-old's imaginary friend has to do with finding a cure for AIDS, what would you say? How about Curious George and the discovery of a new energy source? And what about building a fort out of blankets in your living room and successfully trading on the stock market? Seemingly unrelated activities like these serve to show how the imagination is necessary to propel society [forward].

There are many misconceptions concerning what the imagination is, and what it can do. Many people believe imagination is something that only children should have and that with age, people should forego dreams and imagination and simply live by the rules. However, imagination encompasses a lot more than being silly, or simply being creative. Using your imagination after you hit age thirteen should not condemn you to being percieved as a 'dreamer' without a sense of reality. As a matter of fact, in many ways we can see how 'dreamers' who used their imagination have changed the world.

When civil rights activists, participating in one of their largest events, heard Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech, the ideas and the types of equality he mentioned probably seemed like an almost naïve ideal, but Martin Luther King Jr. had to have the open-mindedness, the ability to imagine something that big, [in order] to give them the notion that true equality was possible. In another sense, Pablo Picasso put his imagination to work in creating his massive 'Guernica', a painting that debuted and changed all of Spain's view on war and even today is a universal anti-war icon. Furthermore, many people argue that while the imagination is a lovely thing to have for the arts, it does not play a key role in more structured things like math and science. How could that possibly be true when a hypothesis in itself has merely been imagined? The Space Race that occurred between the United States and the Soviet Union was full of potential for science, but it would never have come about it somebody hadn't imagined that rocketing to the moon was possible. Without the imagination, there would be no new thoughts and no progress.

There are many ways to harness the imagination in order to use it towards accomplishing something, and one of the most fundamental things a person can do for that is simply to read. However old-fashioned or out-dated reading a book may seem these days, reading is an important tool for putting the imagination to work. When you read a book, you're given details and vivid imagery, but ultimately it is your imagination that allows you to build up the story in your head. It's your imagination that allows a book to carry you off to somewhere distant and exotic. This kind of reading goes beyond entertainment, though. It can help to develop critical thinking skills, and the ability to problem solve. Reading even develops writing skills, because the more a person reads of an author, the more they will write like that author. Furthermore, reading encourages people to think outside the box, and to really go after dreams like rocketing up to the moon.

So what exactly does Curious George have to do with finding a new energy source? By reading Curious George books, a person develops the ability to foresee the outcomes of George's mischief, and develops their imagination by doing so. The skills involved in foresight and imagining possible outcomes to a book like Curious George can be applied when a person looks at our current energy source. They can identify flaws, foresee outcomes if we continue use of this source, and can use their developed imagination to think of new possible energy sources.

Hasta luego!
Alex

Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai

2010-01-06T18:32:00.002-06:00

About a month ago, a friend of mine lent me The Book of the Samurai, a text outlining Yamamoto Tsunetomo's thoughts on the Way of the Samurai over a seven year period, recorded and later published by Tashiro Tsuramoto.

It's clear to me that this book has had an impact on many people since it's publication, my friend included, and now potentially myself. Though I wouldn't liken my experience of having only read through this book once to that of others who have cherished this book for years, I decided upon receiving it that I would read this book actively, and make a genuine effort to understand what I could and to come away with some new ideas.

There are many parts of this book that, due to my lacking knowledge of Japanese history, I'm sure could potentially have greater impact on me at another time, if I have the chance to read this book again. In my effort to really embrace what I could understand of the book and the philosophy outlined, I kept track of the segments that caught my attention. They are quoted below, more for myself to refer back to, but feel free to read at your leisure.

"There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything."

"Lord Naoshige said, 'The Way of the Samurai is in desperateness. Ten men or more cannot kill such a man. Common sense will not accomplish great things. Simply become insane and desperate..."

"It is spiritless to think that you cannot attain to that which you have seen and heard the masters attain. The masters are men. You are also a man. If you think that you will be inferior in doing something, you will be on that road very soon..."

"If one is but secure at the foundation, he will not be pained by departure from minor details or affairs that are contrary to expectation. But in the end, the details of a matter are important. The right and wrong of one's way of doing things are found in trivial matters."

"A faultless person is one who withdraws from affairs. This must be done with strength."

"There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue. Live being true to the single purpose of the moment.
Everyone lets the present moment slip by, then looks for it as though he thought it were somewhere else. No one seems to have noticed this fact. But grasping this firmly, one must pile experience upon experience. And once one has come to this understanding he will be a different person from that point on, though he may not always bear it in mind.
When one understands this settling into single-mindedness well, his affairs will thin out. Loyalty is also contained within this single-mindedness."

"...This is proof that 'right now' is no different from 'when the time comes'..."

"It is a good viewpoint to see the world as a dream. When you have something like a nightmare, you will wake up and tell yourself that it was only a dream. It said the world we live in is not a bit different from this."

"Okubo Doko is said to have remarked:
Everyone says that no masters of the arts will appear as the world comes to an end. This is something that I cannot claim to understand. Plants such as peonies, azaleas and camellias will be able to produce beautiful flowers, end of the world or not. If men would give some thought to this fact, they would understand. And if people took notice of the masters of even these times, they would be able to say that there are masters in the various arts. But people become imbued with the idea that the world has come to an end and no longer put forth any effort. This is a shame. There is no fault in the times."

"Once a group of ten blind masseuses were traveling together in the mountains, and when they began to pass along the top of a precipice, they all became very cautious, their legs shook, and they were in general struck with terror. Just then the leading man stumbled and fell off the cliff. Those that were left all wailed, 'Ahh, ahh! How piteous!'
But the masseuse who had fallen yelled up from below, 'Don't be afraid. Although I fell, it was nothing. I am now rather at ease. Before falling I kept thinking 'What will I do if I fall?' and there was no end to my anxiety. But now I've settled down. If the rest of you want to be at ease, fall quickly!'"

"There is nothing so painful as regret. We would al like to be without it. However, when we are very happy and become elated, or when we habitually jump into something thoughtlessly, later we are distraught, and it is for the most part because we did not think ahead and are now regretful. Certainly we should try not to become dejected, and when very happy should calm our minds."

Leroy Jones, I don't think all music comes from New Orleans.

2009-12-24T02:38:00.000-06:00

When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go downtown. When you've got worries, all the noise and the hurry seems to help, I know, downtown.

Today, I wandered through the streets of downtown Fort Worth with an old friend.

We have an odd relationship, in a way, where we don't talk for months and months and somehow one of us will call the other coincidentally when they need to talk the very most.

It's quite convenient – and it happened the other day, when I was making friends with my Kleenex box, sitting pathetically on my bedroom floor at midnight trying to calm down about who knows what.

Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city, linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty. How can you lose? The lights are much brighter there, you can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go…

I suppose it's something I think is obvious to the people around me, but perhaps not – the fact that I do not ask for help.

Routinely, my bank account will dwindle to four dollars, and then I will simply not purchase anything and scrounge off the leftovers in my fridge until payday comes along, rather than call my mother for money.

This sort of behavior translates into other facets of my life, sometimes to my benefit, and for the most part to my detriment.

Downtown, things'll be great when you're downtown, no finer place for sure, downtown; everything's waiting for you.

But occasionally people come along that may not get it, but they do understand how to maneuver by it, and for those people I will be eternally grateful, and no matter how hard they try to disappear I will not let them go.

And I suppose that's how I ended up in downtown Fort Worth, climbing ladders into bell towers and discussing religion and the death penalty in the philosophy section of Barnes and Noble.

It was a lovely day; a breath of fresh air, full of conversation, motion. Full of life.

Don't hang around and let your problems surround you; there are movie shows downtown. Maybe you know some little places to go to where they never close downtown.

And it's one thing, to say 'what a coincidence, that you called me a few days ago when I was a puddle on the floor and I decided to answer the phone and silently accept your unknowing help, and funny how this tends to happen with us.'

It's another thing to realize that perhaps we call each other when we ourselves need help just as badly as the person receiving the call; a symbiotic relationship of unspoken suffocation.

But it's good, I think, to know that once a year I'll come back to Dallas, and somehow we'll drive to one place or another and wander the streets for a few hours, talking about everything that nobody seems to ask questions about anymore. Religion. Politics. Chaos. Humanity. Death. Life. The future.

Just listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossanova, you'll be dancing with 'em too before the night is over, happy again. The lights are much brighter there, you can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go…

It was a clear and sunny 75º day in North Texas, today on December 23rd, your mom's birthday, and you liked that I knew which way was North, and that I asked the name of the man with the pets and shook his hand.

But there was a tornado three hours away from here this afternoon, and tonight it's dark and thunderstorming.

Tomorrow it's supposed to hail, drop below freezing and then snow, with around an inch of accumulation by the end of the day.

Downtown where all the lights are bright, downtown, waiting for you tonight, downtown, you're gonna be alright now.

So what does it all mean, the constant call for help in our triple entendre 'life on the rocks'?

Life straight, on ice, pure and strong? Or scaling walls? Or falling to pieces?

Maybe nothing. Maybe just that no matter how things are going, we'll all need help and we should learn to ask for it.

And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you, someone who is just like you and needs a gentle hand to guide them along. So, maybe I'll see you there, we can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares and go…

So, here's to a new year.

Time to get it together, evaluate each situation, and make smart decisions about who to ask for help.

And then, to ask for it.

Downtown, things'll be great when you're downtown, don't wait a minute more, downtown; everything's waiting for you.

Hasta luego!
Alex

The Generation Lost in Space

2009-12-10T18:16:00.001-06:00

This honey month I'm telling you don't go turning your radio on; a one and a two, should I talk to you, like the others do?

My dear old friend, it seems some days that you have let yourself go.

Allowed yourself to be overrun, overwhelmed, overtaken.

It is time to overcome.

Get yr knees up beneath the bar, I'm leaving now but I won't go far...

We all have our solutions, our advice to give that we ourselves can't follow.

And oftentimes those words aren't enough; our efforts to demonstrate the love that we silently beg to show you.

But we know that, too.

This honey month I'm telling you don't go turning your radio on, and this honey month, with the wine on your breath, and singing the same stolen song,

For a change, let's dwell on what is enough.

It is enough to dance, sing, laugh, drink, eat, touch, smile, share, talk, sigh, comfort and love.

It is enough to love.

I want you to know, I want you to know, what you don't want to know.

And did we ever tell you that we love you?

Did I ever tell you all that I love you?

And I don't want you to ever have to wonder, as I move in and out of your life, as our paths weave and cross, whether or not that has or will change because it won't.

Beneath the revving of a car, the evensong of the abattoir...

And I will race race race away from here and south to a place with a Christmas tree plagued by cats.

But don't worry, my dears, don't worry.

I will race race race back home.

Moo, you bloody choir, moo and lo, lo and moan.

The dark hum of the wind, the crescendo of this wintry storm, the ice the snow the cold are a part of this. A part of me.

I make no promises that we will stay here – rather I know for a fact that we won't.

But this is our moment. The present has not yet passed, we have not overstayed our welcome, we have not missed our opportunity.

We have only just begun.

Moo, you huddled choir, moo and lo, how the night arrives with a blow.

And it hurts, aches, tears my heart to know that we face change constantly; to know that we move in and out of this one by one.

But right now, here, today, it does not matter.

Because here we are. Here we are and we have this time, now, to make life happen.

This honey month I'm telling you don't go turning your radio on, and this honey month, already married enough, and wondering where it went wrong,

My love for this place, these people, our community and my home is something that transcends the petty swaying of the heart with the weather, with my mood, or lust, or anger, or grief.

And all of these places feel like home, I'm beginning to notice.

I know you have to leave someday, some of you soon, and some of you later, but today we can look to the joy that we share right now.

I'll make you come,
I'll make you go,
I'll make you come apart again.

Worse things have always happened.

Today is our day to make things brilliant.

Song: The Honey Month, by Augie March

Hasta luego!
Alex

Reconnect.

2009-11-12T23:46:00.000-06:00

Oh my, it's been awhile since I've updated here. I suppose it was something I thought I would just let go of when I got back to the states - who keeps updating their study abroad blog once they're back from study abroad? Especially if they were awful about updating in a timely matter when it counted?

So I have this other blog. Yes. Another blog. I left you, blogger, and found a niche in the wordpress community. But this affair is strictly business (and not the business trip sort of business, the real, professional sort). The other blog I'm writing is for professional purposes as it only functions as a photo blog, with photos and the occasional photography-related musing.

To be honest, it's probably for the best. I think for the first time I can confidently say that people are regularly looking at the information I choose to share with them (thank you, wordpress blog statistics), but I can further con myself into believing that they're not just looking at the pictures, but also reading the brief and to-the-point text that goes along with them.

The only thing missing is that there is no room for day-to-day real life musings in that atmosphere. I don't want to punctuate my photo blog with 'This just in: my schedule for next semester is a real bust, and my roommates finally agreed to turn on the heat at my house!' because that would waste any future employers' time if I directed them to that site.

Thus, the reincarnation of Viva España. I've elected to keep the name. I think my time spent in Pamplona changed me in a very real and concrete way, and that the impact that has had on my life didn't end when I left Spain, so I think the blog title can continue to cheer on that wonderful country (until the day when I come up with something marvelously witty and elect to change it myself).

So. I guess stay tuned for more on the less professional musings of your one and only, Alex Browning.

Hasta luego!
Alex

Don´t Stop Me Now, I´m Havin´ Such A Good Time!

2009-05-26T05:47:00.000-05:00

School :

So this week is the last week of official classes here at Unav, and exams are to follow. I have my first exam, Lenguaje Publicitario, on Friday, and then my literature exam the 15th and my Historia de Publicidad on the 29th, I think. Lots of time to study for the other two, and lots of quick catching up to do for this Friday. But ! We´re getting our last essay assignment in Relaciones Internacionales today, and if I pass this one I don´t have to take the exam for that class (which I´m banking on – I don´t even know when that exam is). So far, I´ve written both of the two previous assignments the day before they were due, and gotten a 9 out of 10 both times. Which is super exciting, and which means I just have to get a five on this next one if it really comes down to it. I´ll make an effort though, getting a 9 as my overall grade would be pretty epic. Not to mention I´ll need something to make me feel better about my grade in my lit class. Impending doom, that one.

But yeah, I´ve really enjoyed school here. My Relaciones Internacionales class has been awesome, and I´m finally learning in detail history of the past 100 years, that we had to skim over for the AP test in high school, because we ran out of time. We´ve been going over the Vietnam War, Israeli-Pakistani conflict, the Space Race, the Berlin wall, etc. and now we´re moving on to the unification of Europe up through 9/11, and the implications that has had on modern international affairs. Very, very interesting.

As for my other classes, I´ve done two projects – one for each of my advertising classes. The first was for Historia de Publicidad, with Kate, Stacy, Lindsay, and Garland where we analyzed and compared the history of Doritos brand and Coca-Cola brand in Spain and America. The second for Lenguaje Publicitario was with Kate and Stacy, where we analyzed in depth the ad campaigns for the new Kia Soul in America and Spain. The American ads are super fun – go look ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFHCfwF87_o

Now then, let´s go on with my last catch-up post before Semana Santa. Excited ? I am !

By By Disco : Ride On Me Party

This was the weekend that Jaime (Lindsay´s friend from home) and Dave (Kate´s high school friend) both came to visit. Jaime is studying in Madrid right now, and Dave in San Sebastian. For the sake of showing our guests a good time, we went out for pinxos (tapas) and then found ourselves at a surprise birthday party for Victoria, where lots and lots of cheap sangria was provided, and somehow Stacy got her hands on a bottle of wine – literally. Tape had been going around taping people´s cups to their hands, and so that wine bottle somehow got secured to Stacy, and she powered through it valiantly. And got wine spilled on her. And then I got to go into ´mom´ mode and rinse it out of her white shirt for a good 15 minutes. Whee !

After the birthday party, a celebratory Sangria chug on Victoria´s part, and gifts, we all wandered to By By disco for the ´Ride on Me´ party, with a cowboy theme. En route, Gabriel and Jonathan made their first efforts at lecturing me that, when in Europe, soccer is not soccer, but football, and if you are in Europe, you will say football. It was really funny, and probably my favorite part of the evening. When we got to By By, everybody disappeared – Stacy walked herself home and nobody knew where she was until I called her, Leslie wandered off into the VIP section, Linsday and Jaime where wandering about together, and Kate was occupied with her ´mantourage´ (Santos AND Dave). So after searching for everybody for a bit, we collected ourselves and decided to go. It was a good night, all in all.

Me with the visitors, Dave and Jaime.

Next day, we had a touristy moment and went to Cafe Iruña, the famous restaurant here in Pamplona, where Hemingway ate and wrote. The food was okay – normal, but apparently I showed up too late to see the real attraction – a man getting carried out of the restaurant after wandering up and down the aisles and snatching tips of the tables. After that, Lindsay, Stacie Henry, Jaime and I strolled about old town, went into an awesome sword shop, and went home after a bit. It was a good weekend, and I think our visitors had a nice time.

St. Patrick´s Day :

Oh, man. So, just so you know, in Spain there are almost as many Irish pubs as there are Pinxos bars. And yet ! Spaniards do not celebrate St. Patricks Day. Shame, shame, shame. Lucky for us, the Irish pubs do.

So, St. Patrick´s day we make plans to go to the Jumping Jester, the Irish pub on Iturrama, in a big group of Americans : Me, Kate, Stacy, Leslie, Lindsay, Jane, Garland, Rachel, Gabe, and then our europeans : Swetlana, Pedro, Andrew, Santiago, and Borja. It ended up being QUITE a success – green beer, free hats and t-shirts if you could drink two Guiness´, free shots of Jameson and Hypnotique, and lots of pictures. And who doesn´t love an occasion to wear green eye make-up ? Of course, the next day we would leave for Valencia and Madrid (of which I have already told you stories), so we made it a relatively early night…some of us. Anywho, fun was had, and the next day we were off on an adventure !

Lindsay, Swetlana, Me, Kate, Rachel, Jane and Garland at the Jumping Jester.

I´m pretty sure, now that I think about it, half of these updates have been ridiculously out of order, for which I apologize. I may go back at some point and give you guys a nice little timeline to clear things up, but I´m of the opinion that the stories are worth enough without knowing exactly in what order they happened.

Next up, Semana Santa ! I´ll put up pictures for this post when I get home today, and then we begin the epic Euro travels. Keep reading !

Hasta luego!
Alex

Oh, the places you'll go.

2009-05-20T18:46:00.001-05:00

Continuing with my elaboration on the list I posted April 6, ¡nos vamos!

Family Dinners:

So this all started with the first time Team Missouri got together to plan our Semana Santa trip and I decided to turn it into a dinner date, with the planning afterwards. All of the girls came over, and I made fairly epic lasagna, to which they contributed baguettes and bottles of wine. To be honest, we may have had a bit much wine, because very little planning got done. But it was a good night, and I can accurately say that I was the cause of the first time Stacy was ever actually full in Spain.

Anyways, this has turned into our once-a-week American dinner night. After my lasagna, Lindsay made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, and I brought deviled eggs. (Just assume after this point that at every meal whoever is not cooking will bring wine, baguettes, and Lindsay will bring delicious chocolate covered flaky sticky pastries.) Next, Stacy made this awesome casserole that her mom usually makes that was similar to Shepherd's pie, but with tomato instead of gravy, and also salad. Then I ended up going again on a week when Kate didn't have time to cook, and I made meatloaf, baked potatoes, and salad. Kate went next, and we had fajitas! With sangria, bread and tortilla chips, of course. After that, Leslie cooked us an awesome pasta from a recipe she got from her brother that had a cream sauce and your choice of close to ten or so toppings. Delicious. Lindsay went again and made a spring-y meal with chicken salad vinaigrette sandwiches, goat cheese balls covered in spices and bacon pieces, and bread and more cheese. Then Kate's turn again, and she made a brie pasta with basil, cherry tomatoes and ham, and salad. So we're caught up! It's so great though – it's really nice to have a night set aside to sit down and eat all as a group, and hang out no matter how busy we are, and not to mention to eat complete meals reminiscent of home, even if they are our culinary experiments. We've decided that when we get back to Columbia, we'll have Spain nights, and try to cook Spanish dishes. I've figured out tortilla (http://photos.wingerz.com/d/1255-2/tortilla.jpg) -- I made one yesterday! It wasn't perfect by any means, but it turned out and actually looked like a tortilla, and tasted awesome! The next one will be better, I'm sure. And then we'll progress into more interesting things, surely. Yay, family dinners!

Warm weather in the P-Lo:

This has, obviously, lead to lots of fun adventures! I'll try to keep things in order, so I won't skip too far ahead (do you feel the anticipation building? Of when I'm finally caught up? Can you bear the excitement to hear about all of my (mis)adventures?) but I'll leave you with the results of my solitary photo-ventures:

The Communications building on the University of Navarra, Pamplona campus.

And then here with Kate, Leslie, and Lindsay (Stacy was in Alicante visiting Nicole):

Churchy things:

First off, upon Santiago's suggestion, Lindsay and I decided to go see a performance of the Mozart Requiem that was being put on for Palm Sunday at la Iglesia de Carmelitas Descalzos (the church of the barefoot caramels…haha, kidding, kidding). So, with very obscure directions and an update that Santi couldn't make it, we wandered through the city and then found the church, two hours too early. Which we didn’t' realize. So we attempted to get into a locked church (angrily) for half an hour, because we could HEAR the music, and didn't realize until the choir director's husband showed up and explained that they were rehearsing why we couldn't get in. Before he showed up, and I had angrily settled with sitting down, back to the locked front doors of the church, listening to muffled Mozart. So, we went back to our part of town until it was the proper time to go to the concert, and came back, arriving right at 8, when it was supposed to start.

The church was COMPLETELY packed – I ended up sitting in the aisle on the floor alongside one of the pews in the back, but it was well worth it. The choir performing was the Sinfoneitta Academica, and it was really incredible. It was so cool, because I've sung parts of that requiem at church, and we've played some of it in band, so every now and then a movement would come along that I knew note for note. Always fun. So yeah, that was our second cultural concert experience, and I'll be on the lookout for another.

As for church in general, for awhile there I was doing a good job of going every week. It kind of felt obligatory in such a religious country – or atleast town/university. Not to mention there's a service in English. And church here is so fancy! It's cool to go see, even if you're not there for the service. I'd like to go to a service at a neighborhood church with a choir sometime, though. I'll be looking into that, too, I suppose.

Illnesses:

So I guess at some point before April 6, I had been sick. Well. Let me just tell you that the illness that befell me right before we left for semana santa we have since named the 'plague'. I was DYING. I have never had such a horrible cough, snotty nose, headaches, inability to sleep, just awful in my entire life. And then on top of that, I was traveling Europe, so I forced myself to ignore it and have a lovely time and see everything, but every night I would wake up atleast two or three times and have a coughing fit, to the point w\here I started sleeping with a water bottle (a tactic that ended not so well, seeing as by our last night of traveling I was so used to it, that I subconsciously opened the bottle, and awoke to my water bottle pouring all over me, at which point I was only holding the cap and had to push all my blankets off my bed to find it and close it, and then take off my soaking wet shirt and sleep in a sports bra pressed up against the wall on the dry half of my mattress, using the dry half of my blankets. Excellent.)

And let me just tell you, medicine here makes NO EFFORT to be fun, delicious, or even bearable. In Spain, because it 'works faster' (hah) they have soluble powders that you pour into a water bottle and drink (chug), which they attempt to flavor but it really just ends up tasting like you tried to swallow a pill and it dissolved in your mouth. Horrible. And then in Italy (where I had to restock on meds) they have honey-flavored cough syrup, which was nice, and decent cough drops, which were also nice. So maybe it's really just Spain with the nasty meds.

PSP elections:

Phi Sigma Pi Honors Fraternity, to which I belong and love dearly, had spring elections just before and during Semana Santa, and my brothers nominated me for about seven upper level positions, and then (after I send in videos for four and wasn't elected for any) maybe four or so lower level positions (for which, lacking my own computer, I emailed paragraph 'speeches' for all of them and again wasn't elected for any). It's understandable – I'm in a foreign country, and there's an entire pledge class of 20 some odd people who have no idea who I am. To be honest, I'm really okay with it – something will come along for me to do, and in the meantime the people who were elected are going to make an awesome e-board and e-council. Everything is going to be done superbly well, and I really look forward to seeing all of it happen.

Free entrance to Marengo:

This. Night. Was. Epic.

For starters, let me explain that Marengo is a dance club (discoteque) here in Pamplona. It's nice, and Wednesday nights, you get in for 8, Thursday 9, Friday 10, and Saturday 12 euro (I'm pretty sure). Now, on a Saturday night, Team Missouri and I decided we were going out, but had really no place to go because there weren't any school parties that night, so we elected to go to a bar (Singular) that plays music and is generally pretty fun. We had a good time, rand into James and Jane, met some creepy guys from Vittoria, and then made friends with some older (late twenties into the 31 range) guys who introduced themselves by buying us free shots that tasted like candy. Alright, we'll humor you and chat, fine.

Well, the 31-year-old energy engineer who has worked all over the United States and Spain named Alex (ironically) took a liking to me, I suppose, and when Singular started to close, asked if we were going to go to Marengo, at which point we laughed and told him we were poor students and didn’t' have the budget for expensive club entries. At which point he and his friends offered to pay for all of us to get in. Repeat: pay for all of us to get in.

So! We strolled down the street to Marengo, and after an awkward fifteen minutes of them sorting the money and us awkwardly debating if we should just go home because we weren't sure that they actually wanted to pay that much money for us to come out, they walked over with tickets to get in, and we went in.

Now, Marengo is pretty ridiculously crowded most all the time. So we went to check our coats, and then after that to the bar to get the free drink that comes with entry. We get our drinks, and walk with one of the guys who's friends with Alex, and turn around and none of the rest of them followed us, so Alex's friend says he'll go find them and come back, and leaves us. There is no way that guy was ever going to be able to find us. And we were in Marengo, for free, holding free drinks. So we danced and had a nice time, until I started to feel guilty, and we made a bathroom trip, where we ran into Alex himself, and went and hung out with them for the remainder of our time there (during which Alex offered to pay for us to go skiing? What? Yeah.) and then we excused ourselves when it got to be really late, and happily walked home. There are benefits to being blonde, American, and pleasant. Who knew.

More tomorrow, as for now it's bedtime.

love love love,
Hasta luego!
Alex

Valencia and Madrid!

2009-05-20T09:03:00.000-05:00

So, March 18- 23, Kate, Stacy, Leslie, Lindsay and I took a trip to Valencia and Madrid. We left Wednesday and spent time in Valencia through Friday afternoon, then spent the weekend in Madrid.

Valencia:

We went to Valencia for the Las Fallas festival, one of the biggest parties in the world (and of course a ridiculously cultural and educational event). The general idea is this: all year, each neighborhood in the city puts together a team of designers/artists/whathaveyou to build a 'falla', which translates at 'flaw'. Example below:

Pepita Martinez Abietas and three friends pose in front of a falla constructed by their neighborhood team for the Las Fallas festival in Valencia.

So basically, they're huge works of art made with wooden frames, paper mache, Styrofoam, and then painted. Each neighborhood builds little ones – 'children's fallas' – and one huge one. The fallas, when displayed together, ideally tell a story, or make a social commentary, with the hopes of appealing to the judges. After judging, various awards are given out based on various qualities, and then there is an overall winner. On Thursday night of the week of Las Fallas, at 10 o'clock the entire city will simultaneously set the 'children's fallas' on fire. At midnight, the huge ones burn. At one a.m. in the main plaza of the old part of town, alongside the river, the winner overall will burn.

Summary: a week-long party with parades, paella, a ton of tourists, a lot of alcohol sales, and a night of hundreds of fires.

When we arrived, we found our hostel on the main street where the parade was about to start and would basically continue from Wednesday night through Thursday night. The participants were either in marching bands, or dressed in traditional costumes. After dropping off our things, we made friends with a marching band and took their picture, and went off to do some sightseeing. That night, we found something similar to a food court at a state fair, and had lots of fried delicious Spanish foods.

A family pauses during the parade on Wednesday night of the week long Las Fallas festival in Valencia.

On Thursday, Kate and Stacy woke up earlier than Leslie, Lindsay and I, and went off to meet up with Stacy's friend Nicole, who was also in Valencia for the day. So, when were ready, the L's and I went to what turned out to be a gay restaurant and had paella and sangria, as every tourist in Valencia should. Despite waiting for a table for an hour, the food was good and we got dessert, which makes everything better. Then we left and wandered around the city for a bit, before deciding it would be our mission to go to the beach and see the Mediterranean sea. Which we did. We successfully navigated the Valencia metro system, and thus found a beach with the softest sand I have ever felt, and met some crazy guys (Borja, Gilmar, and Levi) who decided to go swimming when I was happily wearing long sleeves and a sweater. It was a good time, and then we went back to the city for the evening.

Lindsay, Borja, Leslie, Levi, and Gilmar pose on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea in Valencia.

Here is where I confess that I could just as easily narrate my entire stay in Valencia simply by telling you what I ate. Wherever we went, whatever we did, there was inevitably food on the way, there, or nearby that we stopped and happily ate. We had churros, banuelos, iced coffee, paella, sangria, pizza, Doner Kebab, pizza, Mediterranean food, and more churros. Oh, and churros rellenos (full of chocolate). And churros dipped in hot chocolate sauce.

'Churros rellenos de chocolate', or churros filled and dipped in chocolate, at a churo stand in Valencia.

So, after consuming half the city, we finally made our way towards the Falla we decided to watch burn (see below):

Falla before.

Falla after.

IT WAS EPIC! After standing around for an hour, and being pushed as far back from the Falla as the firemen could manage and also deem safe (POR ATRAS, POR ATRAS!) we watched as fireworks went off, and a huge fuse burnt before little explosions finally set the falla aflame (come on baby, light my falla).

After that, we did some more wandering, but really that was about it. The next day we went to Madrid.

Madrid:

First stop, airport, where we met up with Leslie's bffl (best friend for life), Carolyn. This would turn out to be a more fantastic development than any of us imagined. Carolyn is awesome. So, upon the two bffls being reunited and all of us getting our luggage, we went to find out next hostel, Mad Hostel. Also conveniently centrally located, we only had to take maybe three or four different subway trains to get there. Hah. The hostel was nice, they had internet, and we got to squeeze into a teeny tiny room with two bunk beds, and four stacked lockers, with no walking space. That night, we wandered, got ice cream and THEN dinner (where we, exhausted, sat across from a table of 10 or so really loud, excited girls, prompting our waiter to suggest we get some sangria because we probably looked really pathetic and unhappy next to them). We stumbled upon a market, and eventually walked back to the hostel.

Next day: Leslie and Carolyn met up with a high school Spanish teacher and went to see an art museum with her, while Stacy, Kate, Lindsay and I went to Plaza Mayor, and then Palacio Real, the Royal palace of Spain. This is where I realized my new life goal is to marry well. And by well, I mean a Spanish monarch. Preferably a hot one, but I won't be too picky. So, after that life-altering realization, we headed back to Plaza Mayor to buy art and have lunch.

Palacio Real in Madrid, Spain.

En route, a man came RUNNING up to us screaming 'Te ha robado! Te ha robado!' (He robbed you! He robbed you!). So, I stop. Translate what is being yelled at me in another language. Watch this man rush off after an apparent thief. Open my purse. Realize my wallet is gone. Start running after the man, who is at the corner, pointing down a sunlit alley. I start running aimlessly down this alley (good life decision, no?) at which point a girl my age walks around the corner, holding my open wallet (which was actually a clutch that snaps shut) in her hands, and asks me 'Es tuyo?' (is it yours?) I reply yes, and take it, expecting everything to be gone, and giving in to my pessimism. Upon inspection, everything is there. Here is what I think happened: I was robbed. The thief, upon being seen and yelled/chased after, freaks out and runs, all the while attempting to open my clutch. My clutch is tricky to open, and if you're not used to using clutches, it's likely impossible to open. We'll now assume the thief is a man. Finally, he gives up and throws the clutch to the ground, and runs off. The clutch pops open (which it unfortunately has the tendency to do, when dropped) and a lovely young lady picks it up and returns it to me. All is well.

We arrive at Plaza Mayor and sit down for lunch, where we agree to split two plates of paella between us, and have a lovely lunch. When we go to pay, Linday rummages through her purse, pulls out her wallet, and discovers that all of her money (for the Madrid trip, and her trip alone to London for the next week) is gone. From a purse that zips, and a wallet that zips shut. They steal so well I almost commend them, except they robbed my friend. This is where Madrid becomes stressful.

Plaza Mayor in Madrid, Spain.

So, we browse some art, make some purchases, and decide to stroll over to El Parque de Buen Retiro (think Central Park of Spain). We meet up with Carolyn and Leslie, and proceed to have a lovely afternoon in the park, taking senior pictures, EF tour pictures, and lolling about. After the park, we crossed the street and took our free Sunday entrance to the Reina Sofia museum where we saw exhibits of Dali, Miro, Picasso, and Paul Thek. I. Saw. The. Guernica. In. Person.

Yeah.

Me, Leslie, Stacy, Kate and Lindsay pose in El Parque de Buen Retiro in Madrid, Spain.
(photo: Carolyn Emerson)

After a life altering evening of art, we made our way back to the hostel, had some dinner en route, and got ready for an evening out on the town in Madrid. With full knowledge that Lindsay had a bus to catch to the airport at 5 a.m. we left to go to Kapital, the seven story dance club, around 1 (This is early in Spain, mind you). We get to the club, and entrance is 20 euro. That is enough to feed me for a week. Debate, leave. We go home, and have a nice early night in bed. Next day, we go home.

All in all, an awesome trip to see some of Spain! A pyro's dream of a festival, and an art/history nerd's dream of tourism, all in 5 days. Win.

Hasta luego!
Alex

Hi. Yes, I'm alive. Shocking, no?

2009-05-20T08:49:00.000-05:00

Hahah.

Hey everybody.

No, I didn't fall of the face of the Earth.
Yes. I am this bad at keeping up with diaries/blogs/updates/people.
No. I did not forget and actually am constantly plagued by the fact that I'm so behind on this and none of you know what's been going on. Also by the probable truth that you won't read this, because there's been nothing to read. We'll see.

Let's start with the list from the post before Semana Santa.

Weekly soccer games:

To be quite honest, when I'm not traveling, this is my favorite part of my week. I look forward to playing football so much every Monday that if it's ever canceled I'm pretty sure I'll be miserable and unpleasant for the next five days. I play with a bunch of European guys, and two other American girls: Jane (from NC) and Amber (from PA). The guys are German, English, Italian, Spanish, and South American, mostly. We play on the pitch at the uni polideportivo every week – except once when there was a mix-up and we played on something similar to a concrete basketball court, but for football. I've become a standard defensive player, and actually earned the respect of the guys who started the semester thinking all girls were useless (I exaggerate). Which I suppose implies that I've improved! Yay! Gabriel, from Germany (who played on a semi-pro league team), has actually commended me a bunch on my improvement, so I'm really proud of that, actually. I love love love playing.
Also, one of the guys is French-Canadian and a hockey fanatic, which makes him an expert on being a 'trooper' (basically, and athlete that can take a beating and keep on playing really well). The week we played on the concrete field, I took a direct shot to the goal by Gabriel straight to my pelvis, two or so more shots to my legs, and slammed heads with Amber, all the while still playing. So, now I'm a trooper, too. :)

Mike Burton kicks a penalty shot at Jonathan Kleinpass during a pick-up international student football game.

European/American Competition:

Well. This one didn't go so well for me, to say the least. Basically, this was a drinking game contest that started on a trip to Barcelona (that I wasn't on) with a series of Sangria pitcher chugs. Europe won that one, so upon finding that out, I took it upon myself to contact our Italian friend Carlo, who plans a bunch of international student parties (and put himself at the head of the 'European Team') to plan a night of beer Olympics. This finally, amidst a lot of chaos and last minute coordinating, took place.
We started at Garland/Rachel/Jane's piso (apartment) and had social drinks, and a spaghetti dinner. When things go too loud, they asked us if we could relocate, so we went to Valerio's piso, and set up a game of flip-cup. It ended up being more Italy vs. US because Carlo's brother and friends were in town, and the Italians won flip cup. After that, we played a game of real beer pong. It was really really close – down to one cup each – and our champion James made the last Italian cup, thus tying the US and Italy for the night.
Why didn't this go well for me? I was sitting near the US end of the table when James decided to celebrate enthusiastically with a fist pump in the air, thus punching a light fixture and shattering glass all over me. One bloody hand later on his part, and me waking up with shards of glass in my bed the next morning, and we had saved US dignity. Sort of.

Italian and American international students prepare for a game of 'flip-cup', an event in a Europe v. American drinking contest, which the Italians won.
(Photo: Carlo Bitetto)

Right-o. Next post: Valencia, Madrid!

Hasta luego!
Alex

Dublin

2009-04-12T12:20:00.000-05:00

Hello again!

I'll update on the list from the last post once I get back next week, but right now I'm in Dublin as part of our first trip for spring break, or Semana Santa as the Spaniards call it. So far we've done so much, and good thing, too - we leave for Venice tomorrow.

Our first night here it was raining, but we got in around midnight or so, and went straight to bed after checking in at the the hostel, where we have one room with two bunk beds crammed into it and a sink. It gets the job done, but it's no royal palace. Free breakfast though!

The first full day we got up at the crack of dawn to book tours for the day, had breakfast, ended up not booking a tour for that day (but rather the next), and wandered to this famous pastry shop, Queen of Tarts where apple crumble and tea were had. Delicious! Then we went to a free walking tour through Dublin and saw: Christ church cathedral, Trinity college, Adam and Eve bar, Temple Bar, Stephen's Green, City hall, Bank of Ireland, ancient Viking settlements, O'Connell Street, the Spire (nicknamed 'the Stiffy by the Liffe' and other such things) the Liffe River, and...Il'l have to sort through my pictures to figure out the rest.

After the tour we sat in Stephen's Green (a park) and watched a pigeon vs. seagull war over bread, and then meandered to a restaurant to have a real Irish dinner, which consisted of beef stew with mashed potatoes and Guiness bread. Once back at the hostel, we played cards and Scrabble until midnight while waiting for the bars to open back up (Apparently, on Good Friday in Ireland there's a law against alcohol sales). We met some boys from France, Alexis and Tibu, and all went down to Temple Bar for a very fruitless 30 minutes of waiting around for nothing, and came home and went to bed.

Yesterday we went on a bus tour through the Irish countryside which was gorgeous! It run from 9 to 5 in the evening, and we got to see so much! The pictures will be up when I get back to Pamplona. When we got back, we at quickly - Stacy and I got burgers, and Kate and Lindsay had Lebanese food. Then we got ready and went with Alexis and Tibu to meet up at Trinity College for our pub crawl, where we found about 150 people there for the event. We split into three groups, but still we had about 50 in our group. We went to three different bars, and got free entry into a night club at the end. Lots of fun was had - Fruli, a strawberry beer, was discovered - and we made friends with some Irish boys at the end of the night, Owen and Brady. Very eventful!

Today, we got up early to go to St. Patrick's Cathedral for Easter mass - the national cathedral of Ireland, which turned out to be Episcopalian. We went two hours early expecting it to be packed, and the doors were locked, so we wandered to the other church, Christ Church Cathedral, and sat on a bench for a bit. One hour beforehand we went and were told that we'd only be let in (without paying) about 15 minutes before the service, so we went and sat in the park next to the church. The service was gorgeous - the St. Patrick's boys choir was incredible. I managed to have a coughing attack at the beginning of mass and had to lock myself in a bathroom with Kate's water bottle for about ten minutes, but besides that it was great. After church, we came home, went to get lunch, and then went to the Guiness factory for a tour. It was so crazy - I didn't expect it to be that fun and interesting! Of course, we got a complimentary Guinness at the end of the tour, which was fun. I learned a lot about how beer is made, and got to see an exhibit on the advertising campaigns throughout the history of the company. All in all, a great day was had!

To Venice tomorrow until Wednesday, then Florence for a day, and then Rome until Sunday! I'll try to keep you posted!

loveyoumissyou,
Hasta luego!
Alex

List: Run-down of Spain

2009-04-06T04:34:00.000-05:00

So, it´s been a month since I last updated. I´m so so so good at this game.

I won´t plague you with an entry long enough to cover a month for two reasons
1) none of you really want to sit still and read something that long. Pieces are better.
2) I have photos I want to upload which I cannot do from school, seeing as I am not on my computer.

So the last you heard I went to Bilbao. Geez. Since then this is life:

- weekly soccer games with the international students, mostly guys, one of whom I found out is a player on a semi-professional league in Germany. =awesome
- the beginnings of a competition between the European and American students studying here, which started on a trip to Barcelona that I couldn´t go on. Don´t worry, America is behind right now because we lost a Sangria chug, but I´m sure Europe will quickly realize it was just luck on their part.
- A five day trip to Valencia for Las Fallas, and then to Madrid.
Seen in Valencia: Torres de Quart, the Mediterranean sea, parades, festivities, and two story structures on fire.
Seen in Madrid: Palacio Real (Royal Palace of Spain), Plaza Mayor, The Reina Sofia (which contained a Picasso exhibit including the Guernica, and a Dali/Miro exhibit. Also Paul Thek.) El parque de Buen Retiro (think Central park of Spain).
Various goings-on of the trip will later be elaborated. Along with photos.
- A sucession of family dinners by Lindsay, Stacy, and then me. Tomorrow is Kate´s turn!
- Various spaces of warm weather (and pretty pictures) in the P-Lo. Lots of exploring. Parks, wild animals, and other such oddities have been discovered.
- Another concert, the Mozart Requiem, in a church yesterday for Palm Sunday.
- Semi regular attendance of church in Spain. It feels almost obligatory. Either way, it´s interesting. And fancy!
- Oh, and I´m sick. Again. It´s super great.
- Elections are being held in PSP and I was nominated for something like seven positions. Flattery, at it´s finest. I think I´ll aim for a secretary of sorts. I have to make a video speech and send it in by tomorrow night.
- Free entry to one of the most expensive clubs we know about here, Marengo, as well as free drinks. Whoo for being blonde, American, and of a pleasant disposition. Story to follow.
- OH!!!! As of last week, I got my life together! I started running and doing excercises every day, and each day either after or between classes (depending on my schedule) I go to this nice study room in the library and study for anywhere from 1.5-3 hours a day. I´ve gotten up to date on my History of Advertising notes, finished two books for my Literature class, and almost finished all the assigned reading for my Lenguage Publicitario class. AND I got my first essay back (for international relations) and I got a 9/10. And when he told me my grade he said "Excelente."

We leave for spring break on thursday night, and our plans are:
Dublin, Venice, Florence, Pisa, and Rome. I´m beyond excited! As should you be - there will be pictures!

However, that´s it for now - I´ll come back later today and elborate a few things, and upload photos. If you´re super impatient, a bunch of photos are on facebook : )

love you, miss you,
Hasta luego!
Alex

Alas, catching up again.

2009-03-05T04:32:00.000-06:00

My ability to slack and get a week behind on this thing amazes me. I´ll do what I can to make it brief.

Last Thursday:

Ironically, I stayed in Wednesday night in vain. I woke up about five minutes after my 9 a.m. class started, and I was so annoyed with myself that I got up anyways, and made it to the second half of class. She took attendance, and I guess I participated enough in the second half for her to be okay with counting me because I had to tell her my name to put on her roll since we weren´t yet registered, and she did it. Swell.

Between that and my next class, I made my way to the cafe, and this girl named Svetlana came with me because we both had a two hour break. We ended up having coffee and talking the whole time. I found out she was born in Russia, but has lived in Germany the past six years. She´s 23 and she can speak Russian, German, English, French and Spanish, and just for fun she´s learning Turkish, Portuguese, and Chinese. So now, I feel like the biggest slacker, most uneducated, lazy American ever. And am motivated to pick up French. We´ll see how that goes. I don´t think I´ll try it whilst in Spain.

Moving on, I had class, etc. As far as I recall the day went well, and I stayed in that night because none of us wanted to be tired for our trip the next day.

Last Friday:

Lit. and International relations - oddly enough, with nine hours of sleep I had more trouble trying to stay awake than I do when I don´t get any sleep. Lindsay chalks it up to the life of a photog.

After class, I went home and got my things together to head to the bus station. Somehow, I was convinced that it was an hour later than it really was, and that I was running SUPER late, so I started to go into freak-out mode. I then realized that I had another hour, at the same time as I found my registration form that I was supposed to turn in that day. So. I got to hike to school, run around the Fcom building during siesta trying to find some way to turn it in (a nice man who was still in his office said he´d drop it off for me at four when the secretary got back), and then run all the way home, pick up my things, and book it to the bus station. Not to mention it was the hottest day we´ve had since we arrived. Awesome.

So I made it to the bus station, we all got our tickets (with few complications) and boarded our two hour bus to Bilbao. Halfway through the trip I went photo-nuts with my point and shoot out the window, and yet still missed every opportunity to photograph the sheep on the countryside. Alas.

We got to Bilbao and figured out how to get to the tram from the bus station, drove through most of town along the river, and got off within a few blocks of our hostel. One hike up a massive hill, and we arrived at Hotel Bilbi, where the staff is super friendly, and the hotel is super sketch. The rooms themselves were nice, but one of the elevators wasn´t to be used - something we didn´t know until we saw the strategically placed sign on the seventh floor door (not on the first), the hallways had creepy green lighting, and the door numbers were written on the doors in sharpie. It was...an experience.

So we dropped off our things, and went for a stroll through the historic part of town, did some shopping, happened upon a political rally of a basque seperatist party that was banned by the Spanish government, wandered through a carnival and ate some churros, got dinner and made our way back. The way home was a bit convoluted, and somehow we ended up taking a shortcut down this one street - San Francisco. We ended up having to walk about four or so blocks down a street that was lined by (in the space we were walking) near 80 to 100 men, all quite sleazy who cat-called and harassed us the whole way. Very. Uncomfortable.

By the time we got back to the hostel we were pretty freaked out, and weren´t sure if we were gonna leave our rooms again. We later found out that that street is where men pick up hookers. How lucky that five American girls, three of whom are ´blonde´per their standards, managed to find their way there, no?

Either way, we settled down and decided to go out, found a discoteque in a map/guide of Bilbao, and wandered over to find it completely empty. So, we strolled for a bit and met these genuinely nice Basque girls who invited us to come with them to a club closer to the center of town. Apparently, the area we met them in is the gay/lesbian part of town (also close to our hostel, which is why we were there) so these girls thought we were a group of lesbians at first, until they joked about it and we awkwardly navigated out of that situation. One of the girls had studied in Brussels and spoke excellent English and they were all really nice - older, about 23 or so. One was a lawyer, another a physical therapist, and I think the third a nurse. Very nice - they introduced us to more of their friends when we got to the bar, and we proceeded to have a good time.

Enter the creepers. I´ve decided that Kate´s SUPER blonde hair is a beacon for all creepers in any "social" setting to swarm and then realize that she is, in fact, surrounded by four other American girls, so we all get to enjoy the creeping. My creeper for the evening was this guy Brian, who attempted to convince me that it would be a great idea to make out with him. Yeah no thank you. Were it not for Kate attempting to fend off her creeper (and his friend) I would have completely abondoned the situation, but then Kate would have had two creepers to deal with. No bueno. In the end we had a good time, but I still vote we dye Kate´s hair brown.

Last Saturday:

We got up pretty early, wandered in the most beautiful weather along the river and through some cool parts of town. We went to a really pretty cathedral and ran into some American guys who introduced themselves and were very polite. It was a photo field day - cute babies everywhere, street performers, people with their dogs, awesome architecture. I was thrilled, to say the least. Eventually, we ended up at the Guggenheim, and Stacy and I ventured up about four stories of stairs to get onto a highway overpass above the museum so that we could take aerial pictures. Awesome, minus her semi-fear of heights, and the lack of a crosswalk. Two mad dashes across four lanes of traffic, and plenty of stairs later, we both had good pictures, were alive, and Stacy didn´t hyperventilate.

The museum was really cool! There was a Richard Serra exhibit of sculptures you walked through that messed with your perception of space and what was vertical, etc. that I really liked. The main exhibit was Takashi Murakami, a Japanese pop artist, who did the cover art and video for Kanye West´s album with the song Good Morning on it. He had paintings, figurines, sculptures, and video animation. All very cool, although some of it was hyper-sexualized as a social commentary, and it was a bit uncomfortable.

Moving on - we found a Subway that had a Ben and Jerry´s in it! We went there for lunch, wandered some more, and then got our things and headed to the bus station. On the bus ride home we brainstormed about what all information we plan on putting into the Spain program presentation for next year (as we hope to be in charge of it), and then we all went home upon arriving in Pamplona.

Last Sunday:

I´m pretty sure I slept most of the day. I know for sure I never left my apartment. I felt like quite the hermit. I may or may not have gotten a lot done on the computer (next fall´s schedule, setting up Santander online banking, building a budget, etc.) but still. I didn´t leave.

That night, Rocio´s dad came buy and I signed my contract, and got a reciept for rent this month. He was really great, and complimented my Spanish, which was awesome. That was...about it for Sunday. Oh, and fourth roommate got back into town - Marta! She´s super nice.

Monday:

Class, grocery shopping, and then I cooked dinner for Roomie Dinner. It was really nice - I made a penne pasta with a spinach cream sauce and chicken, something none of them were used to eating, but they all really liked it and cleaned their plates, so I was really excited. It was fun to sit and have dinner with them - as a group we seem to work pretty well together, so I´m really excited about that!

Tuesday:

Class...and then..I dunno. OH! I went to a classical concert on campus with Lindsay, celebrating St. Cecilia´s day. There were about 10 or so solo performances - two accordian, one classical guitar, multiple piano, one jazz saxophone. At the end, the orchestra and choir performed together. It was a good time! Then I went home for Roomie Dinner: Part II, for which Marta made tortilla! It was really good - and she said she´ll teach me how to sometime, so that´s one more thing off my list, right? : )

Tuesday night there was a communication school party at Reveren2 (reverendos) because Wednesday was our Día del Patrón, so we didn´t have school. We all elected to go - the first time all five of us have gone out at the same time - so after dinner I met them all at Leslie´s apartment, and we went from there. It was a really good time! Lots of dancing, a lot less American music, we ran into some friends of ours, and made some new ones. Hilarity ensued.

At the end of the night, our friend Pedro was super nice and walked us home, because his car was parked over on the far side of Iturrama, by my apartment, so we were basically on the way for him. I enjoyed not arriving at my apartment totally paranoid and jittery. Success!

Wednesday:

I slept in until about 1, and then we all tried to get together and go watch a soccer game that was happening on campus by the gym, but when we got there (after walking through the cold rain) it was apparent that it wasn´t so popular to watch the rec sports here, and there were no spectators or bleachers, so we kind of wandered off before we were super awkward. Or atleast more awkward than usual.

We all ended up in the Communications building, where celebrations were being had for our patron saint (which one, I still don´t know) and we sat, I had a sandwich, and we recieved raffle tickets. Nobody won - and we didn´t want to - for most of it, and then Lindsay´s number was called and she won a free t-shirt! We found out we could buy them for 5 euro as we were leaving, so now we all have Fcom 50th anniversary t-shirts. You´re jealous.

Kate, Lindsay and I ended up wandering trying to find this one Mexican restaurant that we saw and were then craving, but when we finally found it they were closing, so we sat ourselves in a bakery and had tea and pastries. It was nice.

Later, I met up with Stacy and we went shopping. We made our first venture to Corte Ingles, the hugemonguous department store/supermarket with all sorts of imports. P.s. Lee jeans can run up to 100 euro here, and peanut butter is 3.50 for the tiniest container you can imagine. And Miss Sixty, the clothing brand, is like designer clothing here. Who knew?

After shopping, we each went home, changed/got ready, and went to dinner at the Mexican restaurant, all VERY excited about having something with spices in it. Needless to say, Spain doesn´t quite to Mexican food the way it should be. Salsa? More like ketchup. And the smallest basket of cold tortilla chips I´ve ever seen. Spanish rice? Tomato flavored rice. It was all just...a little bit off. But we ate and now we know.

After, Lindsay and I walked Leslie home, dropped some things off at my place, and went over to hang out at Garland´s apartment with a group of international students before we went out to the International Student party/event. It was super crowded when we first got there, and really not too much fun, but after awhile it cleared out a bit, and we found some more people we knew, and things improved. It was a good time, all in all. After, we all walked home, and bedtime was upon us.

Today:

Class. Really really really early 9 a.m. class. Oh, and it was snowing outside. Big, fat, wet snowflakes. Exactly what you don´t want to see when you´re already freezing inside your apartment, and you know you have to go outside. Anyways, that´s about it - we have roomie dinner again tonight, which I´m looking forward to - Rocio is cooking - and then I plan on sleeping for as long as possible.

Hasta luego!
Alex

Today, I tried to asphyxiate myself. Super Bueno!

2009-02-25T13:36:00.000-06:00

Hola, todos!

So I left off on Monday afternoon, yes? Well, Stacy and I talked later - before my evening class - and decided that all of us from Mizzou should get together and have dinner, and attempt to plan our trip for this weekend. I offered to have them all over, and she said she'd tell Kate and Leslie, and I called Lindsay, so we had dinner plans! I then made the video I mentioned to send to chapter, and when I looked up from doing that, I was twenty minutes late to leave for class, so I decided it would be best not to go.

Instead, I did some stuff around the apartment, and then went to the grocery store to get stuff for dinner. Menu: Lasagna!! So I got to the little store up the street, called Dia, but I hadn't shopped there before, so I sort of walked through it and tried to see if they had all the ingredients I needed before I loaded up my cart. I ended up having to ask where the lasagna noodles were (which they did have) and then attempting to explain and ask for ricotta cheese (which they did not understand, and did not have). Either way, I got the things I wanted, and went home. All the girls showed up and about twenty minutes later the lasagna was done, and everybody loved it! I was so excited - I think this is one of the best ones I've made, even sans ricotta. So afterwards we all sat there and had wine and cookies and attempted to plan a trip to Amsterdam, which sadly will not be happening this weekend because we couldnt' find any deals on flights so close to when we wanted to leave. After many many other discussions on where to go, we settled on taking an afternoon bus on Friday to Bilbao, staying the night in a hostel, seeing the Guggenheim on Saturday, and then taking an evening bus back - plenty of time for sightseeing, etc. So we have plans!

Let's see, Tuesday morning I got up a bit early and met with my international relations professor so that I could get copies of the maps he handed out last Friday, when I couldn't go because of my lit class - a conflict he knows about. So I went to his office and he was so funny! He showed me all of the trinkets he's got from the foreign countries he's been to, and there were plenty, and told me little stories about a bunch of 'em. I pointed out a Fred Flinstone figurine, and he said he's got that because his name is Pedro, which may be equivalent to Fred? Either way, he couldn't find his extra copies, so we wandered downstairs to the copy room - which, now I know where it is - and he had the lady make copies for me, and they were free! Oh and also, I wore a scarf and I FINALLY figured out how they tie there scarves here - kind of like a very complicated bandanna, but I did it! But right, so Tuesday started off much the same as Monday - good lit class, and then on my own for the hour between lit and international relations. On our way out the door Stacy and I ran into Santiago, and we talked for a bit, and then she went home and I headed to the library cafe.

I put my things down, ordered a cafe con leche, and once I got it, went back to my table - made it ALL the way without spilling, and then as I set it down (mind you it was full to the brim) the coffee spilled all into the saucer. Boo. And the napkins provided on the tables don't absorb anything, so I smooshed a bunch of them into the saucer and the coffee just spilled onto the table. About three more spills and twenty 'napkins' later, I just had my cup off the saucer and dried off, and sat doing my spanish word finds and drinking the remainder of the coffee. AND I found out that I was so cracked out on Monday, because they make cafe con leche with espresso, not with coffee. Whoops! Caffiene overload, much?

So after a bit, I wandered around towards the fcom building and went to international relations, which was fun and interesting, and then I walked to yet another grocery store on the way home to get stuff for lunch - fajitas were on the menu this time, with the intent of them lasting me all week (which it looks like they will!) I went to Eroski, and ran into two of the other international students, Tyler and James, and we all sort of attempted to find things with little luck and much wandering. I couldn't find face wash to save my life, and finally asked another lady who was shopping, and she said I'd have better luck at the farmacia, so I'll go eventually. However, can I please point out that it is a truly unique experience to be grocery shopping to the music 'Sexy, Can I', and other such American rap songs that you just...don't grocery shop to.

Right. So I went home and made the most awful fajitas ever, because I was super scatterbrained and in a hurry, and then I went to my Structures of Journalism class - for the first time - only to realize about ten minutes into it (a two hour class) that he was talking about how to properly put together a business proposal. I was sure I was in the totally wrong class, so while I - unenthusiastically - took notes about business proposals, I got really annoyed that I was missing the class I was supposed to be in. However, at the break, I turned and asked a girl behind me the name of the class, and she said it was in fact structures of journalism, but really more of the busniess side of things, at which point I gathered my things and left. No way - not only can I not pay any attention to that sort of thing (though I thoroughly respect people who can), but the teacher was this young guy who was 'friends' with everybody and who didn't speak clearly and the class was noisy the whole time - I couldn't follow most of it anyways. So, I called Kate and she told me when her historia de publicitad class was that night, and I elected to go to it. So I was home, got on the computer, looked up and had to run because I was going to be a bit late.

In reality, I would have been completely on time except I didn't know exactly where the classroom was, so I made the most awkward late entrance of my life. I went in the left door (there were two doors, kind of like a movie theatre) and nobody was on that side of the lecture hall, so I poked my head around the corner, and everybody was silent and watching me, and then I had to to back and shut the door because it didn't close properly, and it was SO loud because I was nervous, and then I kind of scampered to the closest empty seat and muttered 'lo siento' as I passed the professor. Awesome, yes?

So I followed along okay, but the professor has some very odd mannerisms that make it very hard to actually listen to what he's saying, but I think I did alright, and there are literally about ten of us international kids in that class, so I think between all of us we've got it. At the end I went and apologized for being late and explained why I wasn't in class last week - because of our stupid schedules - and then he told our whole group that there are class notes if we need any help and we can get them from the copy desk. So that's an option.

I spent last night in, and today I didn't have class until 1 p.m. so I slept in this morning, too. Went to international relations, it was interesting - we talked about global power systems - and then I came home and did a much better job at making fajitas. Minus that I filled the whole kitchen with smoke and tried to asphyxiate myself. : ) Today was lovely though - I walked home and it was the first day I didn't need a coat! But I think it'll only be that way in the afternoons for awhile, before it really warms up. So I had lunch, cleaned the kitchen like, twice, swept my floor, busied myself, showered etc., and then I went back to campus for class this evening - historia de publicidad again. It was alright - very hard to focus again today, but I'm sure I'll get better.

Tonight I had more leftover lasagna, and the girls are going out tonight, but I don't think I can really wrap my head around the idea of going out at 1 a.m. at all yet, much less on a Wednesday, so I think I'm gonna stay in and get enough sleep - I have class tomorrow at nine, and I missed it last Friday because I went out, so I think this is a good plan.

Mkay, off to do sudokus, and Spanish word finds! I'm going to try to get some pictures of campus soon - I'm just waiting for a time when I won't look super dorky - and I'll have pictures of Bilbao up after this weekend, for sure! Hope all is well at home!

Hasta luego!
Alex

Proof that I have a home

2009-02-23T07:54:00.001-06:00

I figured I oughta let y'all see where I reside, so you know for sure I'm not secretly living in a cardboard box that just happens to have access to the internet. So, more pictures : )

My bedroom!

My closet

The opposite wall of my room, and my window.

The view from said window.

The intense metal blinds on the oustide of my window that, when all the way down, will block out any form of light.

Our lovely kitchen

The living room and (on the other side of the wooden fence thing) the entry way.

The SWEET view from our living room - the Pyrenees!

And me, still alive : ) No worries!

Hasta luego!
Alex

Que dia increible!

2009-02-23T07:22:00.000-06:00

So far, today has been awesome - and it's only 2:25! Recap:

I've got a two hour break on Mondays between Lit and International Relations, and I'm not sure who all else is on campus during that time, so today I decided to have a morning to myself. Not to mention I actually woke up on time today - 7:15 - to shower, blow dry my hair, dress and have a real, sit-down breakast without having to run to class. I was even early! And not one bit tired. Anywho, after Lit, Stacy had to run to meet her proyectos group (for a class I'm not in), so I sort of wandered to Fcom with the intent of having coffee (to be completely awake) and writing in my journal. The Fcom cafe was crazy full, so I went to the law building computer lab, but it was reserved, so I walked over to the library with a newspaper I picked up and on the way ran into Santiago - we chatted for a bit about the weekend and classes, and then I went to the cafe in the library.

Lit was really good today - she didn't have a powerpoint, but I was actually super awake so I followed along really well until near the end, when my mind wandered a bit. I don't know what she said, but I ended up being reminded of the fates in Hercules, the Disney version, during the scene where they try to cute his life-string, and he becomes immortal and breaks their scissors. After that I tried harder to focus, but it's easier to daydream when the lecture is in another language, I think.

I'm learning that it's easier to listen to her lecture if I listen to a complete thought/idea, understand and then summarize it in my notes. I miss a lot more when I try to take notes as they go.

I'm finally starting to feel settled. My room is set up, and clean, I know for the most part and maybe for good my class schedule, I know my way around campus, my neighborhood, and parts of old town, I have school supplies, I'm able to understand the majority of what's going on around me, and - when I'm awake and thinking in Spanish - I can communicate effectively. I've also started putting together a budget, so I can figure out how much I have to travel with, etc. I know my way around our kitchen, I know where the grocery store is, where to take out the trash, and finally hwo to ask for help if I need it. -- Oh, and I have friends! : )

So much less stress - it's wonderful. I think now that we're at this point, we're going to start traveling. Stacy wants to meet some friends in Amsterdam next weekend, so we're all going to try to go, and I'll email Denise for all her advice on where to go once there. : ) We've made plans to meet tonight at my apartment, and I'm going to make lasagna, and we're going to try to make plans for Amsterdam this weekend, and then maybe Dublin for St. Patty's day!! It's all very exciting!

PSP pinning for the Rho class was last Friday, so I'm going to send Denise my first "Greetings from Abroad" video so I can congratulate them and introduce myself. I wish I could have been there to get to know them, but hopefully I'll be able to fix that promptly when I get back. I know a few who had rushed before, and Rob Bratney is in it, so I know him! He told me Marty might be his big :D Epic.

Anywho...I sat down and read that newspaper I grabbed - La Vanguardia - and found an interview with a philosohper - Clement Rosset - about his thoughts on the ability to know one's self and others, and how your identity does not exist, it is only based on other people's perceptions of you - which is think is similar to Kant? I could be wrong. Either way, his philosophy was so positive, I liked it alot. Basically it was that what is happening now is real and that is life, and is what makes us happy, and the things we think up, plan, dream, etc. are not real (until they happen) and they are what make us sad - things that aren't yet real.
[Translated]: "Happiness comes from what is, what is real, and it is active. Sadness comes from wishes, from what is not, the unreal, and is passive...To live is, in itself, happiness."
He also quoted a character from a Hungarian play - a king of the 15th century, I think - who said,
"Vengo no se donde. Soy no se quien. Muero no se cuando. Voy a no se donde...Me asombre de esta tan alegre." - Martinus von Biberach.
[I come from I don't know where. I am I don't know who. I die I don't know when. I'm going to I don't know where. I'm astonished that I'm very happy.]

I liked the idea of it - that who you are, where you're going, everything - you don't really know, but you are alive and for this you have no reason to be anything but happy.

Today is a good day, so far. I can finally breathe easy, and I am happy.

Hasta luego!
Alex

Pictures of SPAIN!

2009-02-22T16:46:00.000-06:00

Pictures pictures pictures, yay!

The view of all of San Sebastian from the top of the mountain. It was cloudy.

Felicita, Kate, Stacy, Lindsey, Stacy and Leslie on the stairs up from the beach in San Sebastian.

Awesome Spanish soccer kids on the beach in San Sebastian.

Kate and Stacy in the plaza where Vantage Point was filmed, in San Sebastian.

The marina.

A street sign with both Basque and Catalan Spanish.

A family on the beach at San Sebastian.

Stacy orders gelato in San Sebastian as Kate and Lindsey look on.

Kate, Me and Stacy on the walkway by the beach in San Sebastian.

Me at the top of the mountain overlooking San Sebastian.

Kate, Stacy, Lindsay, Me, Stacy and Felicita, Saturday night before Singular.

Hasta luego!
Alex

The Final Attempt to Catch Up

2009-02-22T15:24:00.001-06:00

Okay, I've decided I'm tired of being a week behind on my blog because it's much more useful for you guys to know what's happening now and not what I did last Thursday, so I'm going to briefly give you a run-down of what's happened the past week and three days. Brace yourselves!

Day 5: Friday, 13/2/09

This day was set aside for orientation for all of the new international students at U. of Navarra this semester. We had to be on campus in the Edificio Central at 10 a.m. so Stacy and I got up, went down to the hostel office to drop off our suitcases so that they could have our room empty, met the rest of the girls outside Pizza Hut, and we all wandered down to campus. We had actually been to campus before this - on Thursday night, or Wednesday? - to attend the award ceremony where Mizzou recieved the Premio Brajnovic from the University of Navarra for excellent journalism. Our professors Brian Brooks and Fritz Cropp were there, and we were pointed out and made to take lots of pictures with them, but in the end there was a reception and we got to have wine with our professors from both Mizzou and Navarra, so that was entertaining. Anywho, so we had actually been in the building where orientation was being held once before, and were able to find it pretty easily. We waited in line, got packets, and sat in a room where we met student staff members who are also international students that have been there longer, and faculty members who told us about plenty of activities and helped with general information about school. After that, we had a break, snacks, and took a group picture, where we were also able to meet with people about purchasing cell phones and setting up student banking accounts. Most of us from Mizzou had cell phones already, so Stacy, Kate and I set up bank accounts, and we all said we'd go in on Monday to get it all finished and deposit money, so that was good. Then we got to meet with advisors about actual classes, which was useful - afterwards we realized that this part only pointed out to us everything we didn't know, which was better than being completely unaware, I suppose.

We had lunch after the academic meeting, in the cafe in the library building, which we walked to with Penelope and Ana, the two women who were our advisors. The lunch was really good, but the portions were massive - I suppose lunch is the big meal in Spain, versus how we have large dinners in America. After lunch, Stacy and I walked back to the hostel office and retrieved our suitcases, and we each called taxis and went off to our apartments! When I got there, Rocio was home, and she helped me get all my things out of the elevator, and told me I could put them in another girl's room for the night, because she would be out of town. I put them where she showed me, and we sat and talked for about an hour and a half. It was a very complicated conversation - I established with her that it would be okay for me to sleep on the couch here until Francesca, the Italian girl who was moving out, left, and then pointed out that I had no keys, so we would have to coordinate when I needed to home. She told me she was going out that night, and wouldn't be back until really really early the next morning (6 a.m.!) and then at one in the afternoon the next day she would be going back to her home town to spend the weekend with her family. So, after a lot of not understanding one another, we established that it would better for me to stay with a friend Friday night, and then come back Saturday night and pick up Rocio's keys, which she would leave for me, and then when she got home Sunday, I would get Francesca's keys and she would get hers back from me. Then we tried to talk about television, and I attempted to explain 'Dancing with the Stars' because she was watching some dance t.v. show, and it just got very...interesting. It was fun, though : ) she's very nice, and patient.

After the break, I went back to campus, and met up with the international students for a scheduled tour. I was in the yellow group with Stacy, and we met a nice girl from Wisconsin in our group. The student staff took us on a tour of campus, and we saw all the classroom buildings, and the gym (very...small), and then we went on a brief tour of Pamplona, up a major street and then into the old part of town. Stacy and I ended up walking with Marta, a very nice girl who pointed out all of the best places to go out to at night, as well as a lot of the historical parts of town. We went past the Ciudadela, which is the old fort/stronghold where everybody would go if the city was at war, etc. It was really interesting, I plan on going back on a nice day to take some pictures. At the end of the tour, all of the groups met up at a bar to get pinchos, which is what tapas are called here, and it was very chaotic but fun.

We tried a few new things, had a glass of wine, and discovered the sheer amount of smoking that's allowed in places here. By the time nine or ten came around, the bar was packed, and everybody was smoking, and when they were done, they put their cigarette butts out on the floor. It was kind of gross, but we were there so long we sort of got used to it. After awhile, Marta appeared out of nowhere, and dragged me over to meet this guy named Pedro. She said he was really nice, and asked me again what I was studying. I told her communications, and realized she was taking me to meet him because she thought I was studying economics and he would be in my classes. She said something equivalent to 'oh, well' and introduced me anyways. Via Pedro, who is actually very nice, I met Santiago and Raul as well. I talked with them for a really long time, and after awhile Kate came over and talked with us. Santiago is studying history, so he and I had a nice chat about all kinds of things and how history repeats itself - it was great nerdy fun!

After that bar got super crowded, Pedro and his friends asked us if we wanted to go dancing, and we said sure. Stacy had gone home sick, and Leslie was tired and went home, so we got Lindsay and Pedro and Santiago got Jane, Garland, and Rachel - three other American girls from North Carolina - and we all walked to a different bar, where you salsa! So, we were there, Santiago tried to teach me how to salsa - atleast better than I already knew - and Raul danced with Rachel, Jane, Kate, and I. It was a lot of fun, but eventually they asked if we wanted to go somewhere else, so we wandered and finally found this completely empty bar called Opium, and we danced there and had the place practically to ourselves. It was a really good time! The guys walked us home after that, and I stayed with Kate in the extra room in her apartment that night.

Day 6: Saturday, 14/2/09 -- Valentine's Day

This day was the international student group trip to San Sebastian, which was great fun! We were supposed to meet at campus at some horrible hour, like nine or so - I don't recall. What ended up happening, is Kate and I ran a bit late leaving, and didn't meet up with the girls to walk there, and when we were walking we got distracted by our conversation and walked all the way to my apartment, and then got lost trying to get on campus. We ended up having to call a taxi to get us, while recieving phone calls from Felicita, one of the girls in Kate's tour group from the day before, about how they were waiting for us, but we would be left if we didn't get there soon. So, we were stressed, the taxi arrived, and we got there probably fifteen minutes late. Once on the bus, John Rueda, the faculty member in charge of us, said he was glad we made it but announced that if people were late to the bus on the way home, they would be left in San Sebastian. It was good natured, so I wasn't upset, and we had a nice bus ride down there, Kate and I just talked most of the way, and I think I fell asleep the last twenty or thirty minutes.

We got there and ended up in a group of us five from Missouri - Kate, Stacy, Leslie, Linsday, and I - Felicita, (other) Stacy, and Magdelin (spelling is questionable). Felicita and Stacy are from the states, and Magdelin is from Holland. We had a good day! We saw a beautiful cathedral, walked along the coast, wandered through the old part of town and found ourselves on the set of Vantage Point (!!!!) - which, I was the first person to figure out where we were, something incredible since I have a horrible knowledge bank of movie trivia - and then we took a train up the mountain on the full opposite side of town to see a view of the whole city. I'm pretty sure we walked atleast a few miles just going back and forth all over that place, but it was gorgeous. Along the beach, in the early afternoon, there were youth soccer league games being held, and it was really cool to see such good soccer being played. We saw dogs everywhere, we got gelato at this cute little shop, and after the train ride up the mountain, we wandered through the city and found La Vaca (the cow), a restaurant where we had lunch. I had this amazing sandwhich concoction, and the other girls got hamburgers, haha. Finally, we wandered back to the bus (on time) and rode home. I sat next to Felicita this time, and she and I talked about all sorts of things in an attempt to stay awake the whole ride home, so we wouldn't be too tired to go out that night. I think I again slept for like 15 minutes at the end, but it was alright.

Once we got back to Pamplona, the bus dropped us off in the perfect place for us to walk to Carrefour - the equivalent of Wal-Mart here. They have everything! That night we were really just getting essentials so that we could last through the weekend, so we got hair dryers/curling irons etc., and enough food for a few days. We walked back, and I went with Kate to her apartment to get my things, and then I finally went back to my own apartment. Eefja (pronounced Evia) let me in, who was the roommate I dind't meet when I came to see the place. She's from Holland, 20 years old, and she's so nice. I set down my things, and she and I talked for awhile. My suitcases had been moved out of her room because she got back that day, so I set them in the corner of the living room, and she showed me where blankets were for later, in case she wasn't up or home when I was going to bed. I made pasta for dinner, and got dressed and curled my hair, and met up with the girls at Felicita's apartment before we went out. When we did go, we went to a bar called Singular, which was great fun. All of the music everywhere we've been out has been American music. Some have been converted to electronica versions, but most of it is just the same, so we know a lot of the music which is fun.

Felicita and Stacy left Singular early, and the rest of us were going to go to Merengo, a discoteque (for dancing), with Pedro, Santiago, and a few of their other friends - Alejandro, Miguel, and Jaime. We walked to Merengo, and the line was out the door, so we decided to go somewhere else, where the line was also ridiculous, so finally Pedro asked us what we wanted to do, and I suggested we go to a playground! Playgrounds are prime entertainment, no matter how old you are or in what country. Regardless, he looked at me like I was crazy and said he'd never been to a playground at 4 a.m. (***Note: hours to go out in Spain are usually 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., so this time is not unusual for them, and the idea is that at some point us Americans will get used to it) but he took us to one anyways. It was a lot of fun! We legitimately played for probably half an hour, and then this is what ended up happening: Four American girls, and five Spanish guys, sitting on a playground at 4:30 a.m. in Pamplona, Spain carried on a political discussion about Barack Obama in Spanish. It was kind of awesome. Hahah, either way, after awhile we got really cold, so we walked back to where Pedro had his car, and he dropped us all off at our apartments.

This was the first night I spent in my apartment! I slept on the couch - happily, I was exhausted - until something like two in the afternoon the next day.

Day 7: Sunday, 15/2/09

So, I woke up at 2 or so, and showered, got dressed, and went to meet the girls at Stacy's apartment so that we could plan our course schedules for the next week. We worked on it for as long as we could before mass, and then we went to the English mass at the church on campus at 5 p.m. It was one of the activities listed on our international student orientation, but I'm fairly sure we were the only people there. However, Santiago was there and we talked to him after the service, which was very nice.

We walked back to Stacy's after the service and kept working on our classes, when I realized that the credits we were going by where the wrong ones. Here's how it works:

There are three systems of course credit, U. Navarra 'actual' credits, ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credits, and Mizzou credits. On a class' syllabus, there will be Navarra credits, and ECTS credits, and to figure out the Mizzou credits we were told to divide the ECTS credit by two.

For example: If a class has 8 Navarra credits, it might figure into 5.5 ECTS credits, and then 2.75 Mizzou credits. Which is useless to us, because we need atleast three credit hours for a class to add up to a full course at Mizzou. However, at Navarra, the amount of 'actual' credits reflects student work in the class, and typically ranges from 4 or 4.5 credits to 10, where 8 and 10 credit classes are the hardest and most demanding classes in the university. So we realized that even if we enrolled in 5 or 6 of the hardest classes Navarra offers - keep in mind that we'd be taking them in a foreign language - we would still not have enough credit for 12 hours at Mizzou. So we had a group meltdown, sent a few very stern emails to Mizzou, and then gave up and sat around stressing together for about another hour or so, before we all went home.

I finally got back to my apartment, and Rocio said I could put my things in my room now - that Francesca was gone. I was so excited!!! I found sheets with baby polar bears on them in my closet, and made my bed with them and a comforter they gave me, along with the blanket Miranda gave me (which actually matches the comforter!). I emptied my suitcases and put all my clothes in my closet, folded better than I would even for Talbot's, put my suitcases in the smaller closet, and set up my desk and put my thins on the shelves. I am still so excited - my room is adorable! After that, I fought with their internet for a bit, because they had an installation disk that only worked for Windows, and it took me a bit to figure that out, and then give up. So I ate, and then finally went to bed.

Days 8-14: Monday 16/2/09 - Sunday 22/2/09

This is a muddled overview, because that's how I remember it. The credit system, which I previously explained, routinely screwed all of us girls up over and over again this week. I have about three different versions of a feasible class schedule, that ended up with a ton of classes that wouldn't work out. At one point Kate, who is trying to graduate this coming December, broke down and cried in an advisor's office here at Navarra, and Stacy - on Skype with our study abroad coordinator, Fritz Cropp - almost did the same thing. I had my share of being frustrated, and finally decided that I was done with it, put together a schedule with as many classes as I knew would work, and made it perfect - highlighted and everything - as an act of stubbornness, I suppose, stating that I refused to change it again. I haven't had to yet, actually, because Mizzou finally pulled their heads out of the sand and figured out a much nicer way to interpret ECTS credits (still dividing by two, but then rounding up to the nearest whole number), so I think I may actually have it settled.

My courses (once I hear back that they officially will transfer) are:
Literatura Espanola Moderna y Contemporanea (Modern and Contemporary Spanish Lit)
Relaciones Internacionales (International Relations)
Lenguaje Publicitario (Language of Publicity/Advertising)
Estructura del Periodismo (Structure of Journalism)

My Lit class I think will be the hardest, but Stacy is in it with me, and we're going to split up the five novels we have to read, and work on it together, along with the six smaller books of poetry. International Relations should be fun, the professor is funny, and very nice. I told him I have a conflict with his class on Fridays, and he said it was alright - the first five weeks we'll only watch movies, and the rest of the Fridays he'll talk about the United States, because I know that. However, one day in class he was comparing empires throughout history to the United States, and called out our group - Leslie, Kate and I - to answer four questions for him. We understood everything he was saying except for probably one word in each question, which made it impossible to answer, and made us look retarded. He rephrased his questions enough - like, "What is the symbol of the U.S.?" to where we could answer, but who knows the word for 'eagle' in Spanish off the top of their head, so I had to say bird, and then realize that I knew the word (augila) right after he said it for me. So we still looked kind of silly. Either way, classes should be good - my lit teacher offered to sit down with Stacy and I next week to put together a plan for how we should study for this class, and Lenguaje Publicitad seems like it should be fun, and the teacher was super nice when we met her after class and said we were international students. All is well!

So, good! Oh, what else? At the beginning of the week we attempted to set up our wireless on campus and had to work with Marta, who also works at a tech help desk, for like twenty minutes, setting up networks, and changing proxies, for it all to still not really work. Later that day I'm pretty sure I found a spot where skype would work, and not my internet browsers, and I left voicemails on skype but almost started crying because I didn't have internet at school or at home and hadn't talked to anybody for about four days. But -- later that week, Stacy and I realized we had the same internet providers in our apartments, and the same problem setting it up, so we looked up how to do it online using a computer lab at school, and finally got directions that worked! We set it up at her house first, and she talked to her sister for awhile, while I met and hung out with her roommates, and then we went to my apartment and set mine up! It was probably the greatest part of my school week, to be honest.

Also this week, I went back to Carrefour to buy towels, a mirror for my desk, and food for as long as I could make it last. I was by myself and ended up spending near to two hours there wandering through the aisles and looking at all the exciting food. I bought things I know how to cook though, so I came home with stuff for wraps, Nutella + bread, fruit, yogurt, and peach juice!!

Another day, Kate, Leslie and I were getting lunch at the cafe in the Fcom (communications) building, and the ladies at the counter called when your food was ready by asking and using your name. However, Leslie is a very uncommon name in Spain - everybody she meets has trouble with it - so we were sitting there waiting for our food, and we heard mine, and Kate's, and then maybe 15 seconds later "...SANDWEECH", which is what Leslie ordered. So now we call her sanweech. Apparently she's also heard Laslie, and Lady.

Thursday night is a big night to go out in Spain, apparently, so a bunch of us international kids went over to Jane, Garland and Rachel's apartment, where they actually had chips and dip, and we played card games before going out. We all went to Singular again, and they played Summer Night from Grease, which Jane, Rachel and I sang to our entire group of friends, and then they played Losing My Religion, so it was all in all a great time. After awhile, Stacy, Lindsay and I - who were planning to go to Merengo afterwards - opted to instead go home and got a taxi back to our apartments.

Friday night was bowling night for the international kids, and I was on a team with Robert from Boston, Stephanie from Montreal, Joel from Taiwan, and Linsday from Mizzou. It was good fun - first game I got 94, and the second I got 105!!! We took the bus there and back, which was also and adventure, and I found out that there is one thing close to my apartment - the bus stop! : )
I talked to this guy Johnathan, from Germany, about Bayern Munich and he said he's been to one of their games, and that I should definitely go, so I'm really excited about trying to make that happen now.

Saturday...OH! We went shopping! All of us girls from Mizzou wandered down to Casco Viejo - the old part of town - and found a bunch of streets full of shops. It was a lot of fun! I got so much on sale, it was crazy! I found a shirt for like, 5 euro, a coat for 19 euro, a sweater for 8 euro, etc. etc. I got black tights, some RED pants - which are super fun - and another cute top. We sat and actually participated in siesta like we should - at an outdoor cafe (it actually warmed up) eating and talking for a few hours. It was really nice. We went home in the evening, and then met up again to go out, and wandered back that way and ended up like this: Five American girls, in Spain, in an Irish pub, one of us which was drinking German beer, speaking English, surrounded by spaniards. It was really amusing. So we hung out there for a few hours, and ended up going home to get some sleep.

Last night I shut the crazy intense metal blinds on the outside of my window that block out all possible light, so I woke up today at 4 in the afternoon. Intense, but I think maybe I'll finally have caught up on my lost sleep now, and I'll be okay, ideally. We'll see tomorrow, no? : ) I spent most of the late afternoon at home, cleaning and getting my things together, and then finally I called Stacy and we wandered through my part of the neighborhood finding essential things like dumpsters, markets, and eventually this little asian store reminiscent of a dollar store at home, where we got super cheap school supplies! And I got a book of sudokus and word finds in Spanish so I'm excited :D

So yeah! That's everything! I'll put up another post of some pictures, and then I'm caught up! Excellent!

Hasta luego!
Alex

Journal: Part III

2009-02-19T12:52:00.000-06:00

Day 3: 15/2/09 11:55 p.m.

Stacy woke me up after she showered this morning, by knocking on the door to the rom I shared with Lindsay, and in the dark I struggled a LOT with the key, but I got out and showered. It was like, 7:15 a.m. Stacy told me the shower leaked all over the bathroom and into the hallway when she was showering, and I figured out it was because the shower head was one of those connected to a hose that you can take down and hand-hold, and it swiveled out to aim at the shower curtain when you turned it on, so I ghetto rigged it to stay still aiming forward by putting a packet of shower gel around it's base, and squishing it all into it's holder. The shower was just a nice as our room! So, after that, I woke up Lindsay and when we were ready we knocked on Kate and Stacy's door.

They were almost ready, and I woke up Leslie, who was still sick, and needed food. So Lindsay and I went to find somewhere to get bread and soda. We wandered by a park and found a bakery, after asking people in about three different stores where a market was. We got bread and water, and went back. Everything we saw was super pretty, but I was afraid to wander too far and get lost. We gave Leslie the food, and the rest of us set out to get phones and then see the apartments Kate had lined up to see.

The first one we went to was Teresa Arroyo, at Iturrama 72, but we didn't have the room number, and after walking and finding it successfully, we realized we had to be buzzed in, and didn't know who to call. Luckily, somebody came out and we caught the door, and - being early - waited in the lobbly hoping she would come to get us. When she didn't, we read all the mailboxes and couldn't find her name, so...we went up (Kate, Stacy, and I, while Lindsay waited to see if Teresa would come down in the lobby) and started knocking on every door. It was hilarious - we felt so dumb, and got so turned around that the only times the doors were answered were by 2 older ladies (one of them we accidentally knocked at twice) and once by some college age girls who were not Teresa. Finally, before we were about to give up, Kate rang 4B and it was her!

She was so super cute, in a little black dress with black stockings on, and she was really friendly. She and Kate had been talking on Facebook for awhile, so they were excited to meet one another. The apartment was very nice - basically a long hallway, with bedrooms off to either side, two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen. We all really liked it, but Kate found out that the girls there smoked inside, and because she has bad allergies, she was upset because she'd probably get sick living there. Either way, we thanked Teresa and said we'd let her know, and moved on. That day we had atleast two more incidents of not knowing what apartment number we were actually going to, one where the guy just didn't answer the door, and plenty of walking.

Inbetween apartments, we found a cell phone store, and - the first time we went - found phones we could get for 19 euro. We ended up going back twice more that day, once around midday, so Stacy and I could get ours, but I didn't have my passport on me, so I couldn't get it then, and then again after siesta, when Kate and I both got one. They're very tiny, and plastic, and super lightweight, but they work. Our little Movistar LG phones : ) I'm pretty sure the lady at the store got really tired of us, but - despite being the least pleasant person I've met here - she was still fairly nice and helpful.

By the end of the day, we had seen about seven apartments and there were five of us girls - and Leslie had gone on her own to see two more, and Lindsay had been to one of her own - so we felt pretty okay about having places to live. The idea was to let Kate pick which one she wanted, and then we would go from there. The last one we went to were these older girls - about 28 or so - one of whom was named Victoria, and I really really liked them, and once Kate picked the apartment she's at now, I called them to see if I could live there. They remembered me and said they'd love to have me, but they had to check with their landlord first, and that they would call back in the morning. Lindsay called Teresa and was told that another girl had been looking at it, and they would let her know the next day, too. Leslie picked one up on Sancho El Fuerte, so she was settled, and Stacy picked one that she had to hear back from. OH! And Linsday called this one lady about her apartment, Adela, who was really...intense. She called on Skype, and so when Adela asked for her cell phone number, she flipped on us when we said we didn't have cell phones yet -- "IN SPAIN YOU HAVE TO HAVE A MOVIL!!". Like I said, intense.

We went to the ferreteria, or hardware store, that day to buy converter plugs for our computers, and the man there was really nice. The converters were only 2 euro, and Stacy and I ended up going back there later to buy umbrellas (seeing as it rained for three days straight once we arrived), a corkscrew and cups, so that we could have some wine. It had been a super long day. We also discovered fruterias, fruit shops, which Kate was REALLY excited about. Apparently she loves fruit more than most things in this world, so we went into one, and I got a few oranges, and we each got a few other things, and Kate loaded up on tiny bananas, apples, etc. That is where we discovered that you could get a bottle of wine for 1,40 euro or so. Stacy and I went to a different fruteria later to purchase a bottle of wine each, to surprise the other girls when we got back to the hostel. Funny how it worked out, but Lindsay showed up with a bottle of wine and a corkscrew, too! So we ended up finishing two of them between us five, and then going out to find food.

Food was actually hard to do - we expected everything to be open super late because it's Spain, right? Nope. Apparently not on Wednesday nights, atleast. We ended up going into two bars that had food and being told they were about to close, and finally being directed to a restaurant/bar that stayed open until one or so. It was named something that had to do with the Danube river, I believe, and we asked the waiter was was good and ended up with a huge plate of indiscernible fried foods. Kate and I each got salads, and we were all very brave and tried just about everything on the plate. Meanwhile, at some point mid-meal, two very old men who were drunk watching the soccer game on t.v. started singing I believe the French national anthem, at which point Lindsay decided to take a picture, and we ended up gettng serenaded, and then talking with these men for like fifteen minutes. It was really entertaining. So, after being brave with our food, and drunkenly serenaded by men old enough to be our grandfathers, we walked back to the hostel and went to bed.

Day 4: 12/2/09; Stress, stress, stress.

Apparently, last night Stacy's person called back and told her she wasn't going to be able to move in to their apartment, at which point Stacy got online to the University's site for housing and emailed about 15 people about coming to see their apartments the next day. This morning, I got a call from Victoria during which she explained that she liked me very much, but their landlord had also been looking for somebody to move in, and had found (and chosen) a different girl. So I started to freak out. Lindsay got a call from Teresa saying she hadn't decided who would be living in her apartment, and that she would call back that night...anyways basically we were all strung out about housing, and Stacy and I opted to rent a room in the hostel for another night, while Lindsay would stay with Leslie, whose apartment-mates were going out of town that day, for the weekend.

So, in melt-down mode, I started calling every phone number I could find on the University housing website, and lost track of who I talked to - half of whom said they had already got somebody to rent their room, or that they were no longer renting, the other half saying that I could come see it, but at the beginning of next week. So finally, Stacy got me off the phone, we went and checked in for another night with the hostel people, and got breakfast at the hotel restaurant that was across the street. When we got back to the hostel, Kate and Leslie had called taxis and were getting their stuff together to go move in, and Lindsay and I moved our stuff into the room Stacy and I would stay in. I ended up getting calls back from a lot of people whose names I didn't remember, and had to navigate through that awkwardness in Spanish. Super fun.

So finally, I called this one number - Jaime something - not even caring if it was a guy or a girl anymore, because I just needed someplace to live and didn't want to stay in a hostel for the rest of my life, and it ended up being this girl's father, who was acting as landlord for her apartment, and said he could call her to make sure she'd be home and that I could go see it that day, about thirty minutes after I called. I was ecstatic!! The apartment was on the complete opposite side of the neighborhood from our hostel, but Stacy decided to go with me, and we hiked over there. The girls there were Rocio and Marta, the other roommate is Evia who is from Holland, but she wasn't home. They were really really nice, and the apartment is great, and the living room has this awesome view of the mountians (the Pyrenees) and I said I would call back that same day and let them know, because I had one more apartment set up to go see, which Stacy and I went to next.

The apartment next was being rented out by a woman, and it was currently occupied by four guys in college, who were all moving out for various reasons, so it would be four rooms to us, which was a great back-up if the three of us found nothing, and it really came down to it. It was nice - when we walked in there were like, seven guys there eating and playing video games, which was kind of intimidating, but Esteban, the one who showed us around, was very nice and spoke to us in English for practice, which was fun. After we left, we went to see one Stacy had lined up, which was so cute and they girls there were so nice and it seemed like a great place, so she said right away she'd like to live there, and we kind of talked through how she'd need to move in the next day because we didn't want to pay for another night at the hostel. Once we left, I called Rocio's dad and told him the same thing, and then I got ahold of her and explained that I'd need to move my things in the next afternoon. All was totally great, and we had places to live!!

Linsday still hadn't heard back from Teresa, but she was okay with Leslie for a bit, so while she was still stressed, we were feeling a bit better. We ended up going to Pizza Hut for lunch, which was somewhat hilarious, but at the same time extremely delicious. I think at that point Stacy was saying she was tired of eating things that she didn't know what they were, so Pizza Hut was a nice change from that for a bit.

That night, there was an international student party at a 'discoteque', or a club, call Bye-Bye Disco, which was actually on the street my apartment is on, just up a ways. We decided to go and got ready, and ended up walking over there around 12:30 or so. We know now that that's really early to go out , here, and so when we got there it was basically empty. We stayed until about 3 a.m. or so, and it filled up a little, but we had orientation the next day, so we left. It was fun, despite the lack of people, though. It was nice to go out and do someting other than try to figure out the necessities.

Leslie and Lindsay went back to Leslie's place, and Stacy headed back to the hostel, but I walked with Kate because she'd been having trouble getting her locks open, and her place wasn't far from the hostel, so why not? I helped her in, used the bathroom, and walked back by myself. I had no reason to be nervous - everything in Pamplona has been contrary to all the shady stuff you expected, no purse stealing, no cat-calling, everything is well lit - but I dunno, I walked quickly. I ended up getting noticed by a group of guys, but I was a ways off, and they were pretty drunk so I probably seemed farther, and one of them said something, and I ignored it, and then he said something else, and I just said 'Adios!' and kept walking, at which point his friends all laughed, and they all went on their way. It's funny now, but then it was kind of like 'Well, shit,' y'know? Haha, an adventure, either way.

I got back to the hostel, and Stacy was on skype with her boy, so I changed and started to skype people, and the whole world was over at Matt's place, so I got to talk to a lot of friends, which was great. The only downside is that I was up til like, 5 a.m. and around 5:30 our doorbell rang, and this angry Spanish guy - about our age - was at the door, and politely told me that he couldn't sleep because I was so loud. I felt really bad about it, apologized, and went to bed.

--------------
Mkay, I think that's it for today - I'm trying to catch up, so we're at Thursday of last week, now, which puts me at a week behind. I'll probably have a ton of time to catch up this weekend, but for now a few of us girls are heading over to a friends to hang out for the evening, so I'll leave you with this so that I can get ready : )

Hasta luego!
Alex

Journal: Part II

2009-02-18T09:07:00.000-06:00

So, I'm going to keep entering what I have in my journal, before I start anew, thus that is what follows:

Frankfurt, Germany 11:00 a.m.
(time change, ahead seven hours)

We landed a few hours ago to find a cold, windy, and wet day outside. For the first time ever, I got off a plane via stairs - outdoors - and rode a bus to the terminal, just like in a movie! A nice woman with an English accent answered my question to let me know the bus was headed to the correct terminal. While still on the plane, though, I was following a German man as we were de-boarding, and he started going on about something with me in German, so that's twice now I've been mistaken as German. He was nice, though - he noticed free postcards on the wall in business class and handed me three, so now I can write home when I get to Pamplona : )

Inside the Frankfurt airport everything is in German and English, so I'm much less terrified, and the people at customs and passports checks have all been pleasant. This time I leave from gate A32, terminal A, which took literally almost 20 minutes walking to get to. I met a nice couple on the way, and they wished me luch when we got to the terminal and they were going to a different gate.

I've met up with the other girls now, Kate, Stacy, Lindsey, and Leslie. Apparently, they had the U.S. Ice Fishing team on their flight, as well as a 19-year-old kid with a drug problem on his way to detox in France.

At first, I was in the original (and now wrong) terminal, A32. A woman with three young children was there, the youngest was a little girl who was in the middle of a screaming temper tantrum. I'm now very glad that I was in the wrong terminal.

One more flight to go, and then a train or bus ride to Pamplona!
- Alex

12:15 p.m.
I've just boarded the plane to Madrid, where I was sitting next to a lovely woman named Maria. She's traveling to Segovia, just outside of Madrid, to see her mother who is going to be 100 in May, and because of her age is in poor health. Maria is a missionary in Bolivia for the Catholic church, and that is where she is traveling from. She was excited to hear that I will be studying in Pamplona, and is a very kind woman. The flight attendant came by while we were talking to ask Maria to put her bag in an overhead compartment because she was next to an emergency window, but Maria only speaks Spanish, and the flight attendant only German and English, so I translated! However, in the end they had to move Maria so that she could keep her bag with her, so now I've got the whole row to myself.
- Alex

5:37 p.m.
The flight to Madrid was nice, after where I felt off. I tried to sleep laying down in my row, but they came around with lunch, which was pretty good. After eating, I think I slept across the seats for a bit, but I ended up sitting and sleeping. I've read a bunch of the book about traveling, that Chelsea gave to me, and it has some handy tips. Despite all my nerves about not knowing where I'll be living, and not knowing my course schedule yet, I'm starting to feel really confident about this trip. We got off the plane and, after saying good-bye to Maria, went to get our luggage. Nothing was lost, and we all got all of ours pretty quickly.

Once we were done with that, we paused, and I wandered off to ask about a bus to Pamplona. The lady said take the 200 bus to Avenida de America, where we could get tickets to a long-trip bus. I actually did most of the speaking at the info desk, with the employees outdoors to find the bus stop, and finally with the bus driver. I was glad I could do it!

At Avenida de America we bought tickets and had an hour and a half wait til we left. We sat and I talked with Kate a lot. We got food - I got a piece of Spanish tortilla, and they got sandwiches. We've now boarded our first bus, and we'll switch to the final part in Soria.

I am in the captial city of Spain!
Estoy en el capitol de Espana!

- Alex

1:05 a.m. Pamplona, Spain. Hostel.
We're here! After the bus ride, our transfer at Soria - when we realized Leslie was sick and vomiting - and the last leg of the bus ride to Pamplona (I slept, but what I saw of the countryside is beautiful), we squeezed into two tazis and were driven to the hostel office. The lady there walked us, in the rain, to where we're staying. It's nice - clean, secure, hotel-like. I got Skype and called a few people. I couldn't get ahold of my mom, but I talked with a bunch more people on Facebook chat, too. All is well! We're getting up super early tomorrow to look for apartments, though, so...buenas noches!

- Alex

Hasta luego!
Alex

Greetings, and Journal: Part I

2009-02-18T08:33:00.000-06:00

Hello hello hello!

So, I fell of the planet for a bit, and on my last night in the hostel I was putting together this blog, only to realize the next day upon moving into my apartment that I wasn't able to set up the internet at my apartment on my computer, and then to endure about four days sans internet while trying to figure it all out, along with everything else.

So now I am finally starting this blog which will hopefully help me to keep in touch with everybody even despite the time difference and our differences in schedules! I'm thinking I'll type up what I wrote in my journal on the plane ride and then I'll post new entries for each following day since, so that I can kind of keep it all separate in my head, yes? Let's begin.

On Monday, February 9th at 4:20 p.m. my flight via Lufthansa airlines took off from the DFW airport for Frankfurt, Germany. From my journal:

Big day! Today, I'm moving to a foreign country where I will live for the next five months. I'm sitting in my airport, waiting to board at 3:30 and take off at 4:20. It's currently 2:55, so I have an hour and 55 minutes left in the United States.

I've decided that I'll be excited tomorrow, and that today I'm allowed to be sad about leaving. As of this morning, I cried when I had to say some goodbyes, and the only thing people could tell me was to go get on a plane and not come home for five months. Awful, no? I'm going to miss everybody. I'm going to miss home.

Miranda and I picked up Daddy to drive out to the airport, where Mom met us. I checked my two bags, and wheeled my carry-on and camera bag to security. It's apparently becoming the norm for me to be completely patted down and to have all my bags searched, and today I was even told to stand in this big cylindrical tube with my arms up while, I assume, a scanner thing spun around. then I was patted down by a sweet elderly lady, and watched while another woman serached and swabbed everything I was taking on the plan. Alas, such is life - I'd rather deal with that than not make it on the plane.

I don't know where I'll be living yet. I'm hoping I can go to an apartment complex and ask the front desk if anybody is looking for a subleaser. I'll be in the hostel Kate reserved for tomorrow and Wednesday night, though, so I'll be fine.

The news is on right now, and they're discussing President Obama's plan for the economic stimulus, with plans to create jobs by improving roads, expanding hospitals, etc. but the downside is that a lot of spending will be cut across the baord - including for education, which is a concern. Also, they mentioned rumors that the war in Afghanistan will be worse than the Iraq war, which is no good. With Trey having just joined the navy, David Cochran in the Marines, cousin Jim at the Naval Academy, Jaron wanting to join the Navy, Stuart in the Air Force, and Matt wanting to join the Marines...I just don't want an awful war.

Tonight is Obama's first prime-time news conferece on CNN as president - I'll miss it because I'll still be flying, but hopefully it will go well. 'Yes, we can', right?

Oh, haha! On a lighter note, the lady searching my bag found Mateo's glasses - the bear Matt gave me - and she thought they were mine and said something about how they were so tiny and that I would have had to have a tiny face, but when I told her they were for the bear, she thought it was adorable. It is adorable : )

Five minutes til boarding - until nine and a half hours of confinement to seat 30D.
Goodbye, America! Goodbye, Texas! I'll keep up with this as best I can, until next time,

- Alex

4:45 p.m.
Our plane is taxiing to the runway right now. However, two things:

1) Before getting in line to board, I got a tuna sandwich and then ate it in line. When we started to move, this rude, bald man in a white sweater stepped right past me as if I wasn't in line at all. I blew it off and smiled because - since we were boarding by seating - I knew I wouldn't sit next to him.
2) The man at the counter called my name over the speakers asking if I could please come up to the counter. Wondering what I could have possible done wrong, I went up and they told me the seat I was in, 30D, was broken and that I would be moved to a new seat, 36G.

The man in the white sweater is now sitting right next to me, across the aisle. Karma.

p.s. everything on this flight, and all the crew, is in/speak German. It's kinda fun : ) There were German newspapers in the tunnel while boarding and when I was getting my sandwich, a woman asked if I was also on this flight, then started seapking to me in German when I said yes, I think asking if I'm from there. I guess I could pass for German then, eh? : ) --- Lift off!!

- Alex

6:26 p.m.
Ground speed: 616 mph
Altitude: 35,000 ft.
Outside temperature: -72 F
7:45 hours left

6:55 pm
Just finished dinner - pasta, rice, cheese, bread, and a brownie, and I had my first legal glass of red wine : ) Matt was so vexed that I would technically be legal to drink before him, even though his birthday is now less than a month away - he told me to have a drink on my flight for him, and so I did! For some reason I was still nervous I'd get into trouble - I didnt' ask for wine until the third time thye came around. Silly America, with it's rules.

The T.V. display shows our flight progress when they're not playing anything, and we're just about to fly over the East coast, it looks like. The flight attendants are wheeling carts of merchandise for in-flight shopping (duty free), and each cart has a box full of cartons of cigarettes on top. All I can think of is how the guys back home would be drooling. My dorks - I missed them enough when I went to Missouri, so I think this will be rought, almost half a year!

Goals:
- Do better to keep in touch with friends/family
- Go to a professional football (soccer!) game, maybe Bayern Munich? (Luca Toni!)
- Visit atleast four other countries (Italy, Ireland, France, Greece)
- See all family - Rome, Madrid
- Find and accomplish atleast one photo story
- Learn a dance
- Learn how to cook atleast one ethnic dish
- Be physically active; bike

- Alex

9:14 p.m.
I just watched the new Woody Allen move, 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' and I'm more excited to see Spain. The artwork in the movie is amazing.

There are 2756 miles and 5 hours left of this flight. I ate some of the Spanish chocolate I have for the flight - it's amazing, but very rich. It may last me a very long time, which I'm okay with. That's one more thing I have from home, right? : )

I think this is going to be a grand adventure. Anna and I were talking with Betsy last semester, about how everybody deserves a love story - Anna thought this one boy would be mine. I think that sort of love story can be so amazing, and who knows? I may have one of my own, but I think Spain - or just these next five months - could be a love story, too. A chance to fall in love with myself, with life, with culture, art, music, food, knowledge, beauty, everything.

As much as I already miss the people from home, I think I've realized something - I would like nothing more than to take those people and make all of us just wake up! Do something, go somewhere, see everything!

That may be one of the many reasons I absolutely love Chelsea so much. She goes to nuclear power plants in her free time, spends Thanksgiving on the Amazon river, and goes to Germany for new years - she's alive.

1:15 a.m.
I watched both in flight movies expecting to then be tired enough to sleep until landing, but I think I got...two hours of sleep? And now I have just been fed breakfast at 12:45 a.m., but I suppose in Spain it was 6:45 a.m. Still, this time change will take some getting used to. As it is, not only do I not normally eat at this hour, but I tried to put salt on my eggs and hasbrowns and it all poured out of the packet, so my stomach is displeased. Oh well! We should land in an hour, it looks like.
- Alex

Technically, what I wrote next was what I take to be the next day, so! Another entry!

Hasta luego!
Alex