Probably my last blog (overdue) from Spain

It's been a really, really long time since I've written. So to those of you that read this somewhat occasionally, I apologize.

As usual, I've been trying to think of what I want to do with my upcoming "freedom" and whether or not I can actually do it. I regret to say that at this point it does not look like my internship in Argentina will be a possibility in January; this will be the second time it gets pushed back, but it's not the end. I've found another, more cost-effective program that does good work that I will continue to fundraise for.

With that said, when I leave my summer job on Star Island, NH in September, I will be going to Germany; yes, once again outside the U.S. My friend Ben's family has offered to host me at no cost to me so that I can take German courses at the local university. This is great, because I had been studying German on my own, made quite a bit of progress and then just left it to the wayside because I had no one to practice it with. It's actually kind of mind-blowing how cheap it is for the course: I'll pay 285 Euros for a 20 hour per week course for 11 weeks.

I'm also hoping to get my TEFL license so I can teach English at a private academy on the side to make some money and support my music habit. I'm hoping to do this for the next two years so that I can have a good enough level of German to study/intern somewhere, and perhaps even live in the best city on Earth, Berlin. This way, I'll have 3 super-useful languages, tons more great experiences and time to keep doing music.

Side note: my desire to make music has never gone away, but since I'm always moving it has been tough to play with people, so I've gotten into electronic music. I've got a ways to go, but I'm having fun with it and learning piano along the way. All is good :)

I finally got to Granada, the most incredible city in Andalucia in my opinion. There were people from everywhere, YOUNG people and plenty of good food, good bars and clubs to visit. I went to a house music club the first night that had a live saxophonist and keyboardist and was pretty impressed. The second night I went to another awesome club that played minimal tech upstairs and indie rock downstairs. Pretty much heaven.

During the day, I was able to see one of the most aesthetically city pleasing cities I have ever come across. The city has a long history of Arabs, Jews, Catholics and Gypsies living together in peace, which is easy to see from the various architectural styles throughout the city. I went around with Lolo and his friends, as well as my American friends and German couch surfer to have the best round of tapas in history. As some of you might know, Granada is the home of tapas, little food that was one time placed on beer glasses to keep stuff from getting into them. Now, tapas are a tradition, with every zone boasting its own specialties. On our tapas outing, we saw several bachelor/bachelorette parties in which people traveled from all parts of Spain to Granada, dressed up as groups, to say "farewell" to their soon-to-be-married friend. There were women dressed up as flamenco dancers, men from Pamplona dressed up as participants in the running of the bulls (with the groom as the bull), and the list goes on. I actually might have fallen in love with a bride-to-be from Alicante and yelled "think about it!" to her from afar. Maybe.

My time in Spain has been amazing. The country has a type of natural beauty that cannot be found anywhere else on the planet. I've found that many people in Andalucia will give you the shirt off their back without knowing you much better than someone off the street. The food has been awesome, even if it is mostly off-limits due to its meat content. Algeciras might well be the ugliest, most boring city in Spain, but the surrounding areas and more importantly many of the people here are top-notch. I know now that I don't want to be a teacher of high school children. Teachers, I have the utmost respect in the world and we owe you so much more than you are given. SO MUCH. My Spanish has gotten much better, which is a goal accomplished; however, I do have to say that much of it is vulgar slang that has no English translation for good reason.

Thanks for following me here during my time in Spain, hopefully I'll give you something to read about in the future.

Short video blog.

One door has closed, but several more have opened.

I've just found out that I won't be receiving the Christianson Grant to fund my internship in Argentina. This grant was the one I was counting on--as I had been told I had a good chance--to pay for the bulk of the program. As such, I won't be going to La Plata, Argentina in September. I'm going to push the date back to January 20th of 2011 to allow myself more time to get funding; I'll also shorten my stay considerably, from 10 months to 4-5.

This isn't all bad though; actually, it's not bad at all. I'm now going to go to a workshop in NYC to learn how to build a bicycle out of bamboo. It's a project that was started by several college grads in their work to spread sustainable, self-propulsion throughout the developing world--and of course, in the U.S. too. For me, this is a perfect way to acquire a skill/project that I can take with me when I go to Argentina in January.

On top of this, I'll be able to spend more time with my friends and family in the extra four-plus months that this new development gives me. Hopefully, I'll be setting up shop in Grand Rapids, working, trying to set aside money and fund raise, as well as take some German and/or piano courses at GRCC. Who knows.

I have my mother to thank for this mentality. She had to break the news to me, and this is how she did it: "Son, I'm so sorry. But, you have a few hours to sulk and then I'll be calling you to make sure that you're looking for another way to make it happen. You don't get anywhere by crying." I don't know if anyone has ever said anything so true or so full of love to me.

Please, if you would like to be involved in my project/internship in Argentina, contact me here or by email: peterjduran@gmail.com

Til the next time.

Use what you've got

I would say that my lack of money here has helped me in more ways than I could imagine. I was really hungry yesterday and had no idea what to eat. While thinking, I made myself a tea and put on some music--Ratatat I think. After looking through my cabinet and leftovers in the fridge, this is what I came up with: a tortilla, with black beans, couscous, hummus (in process in the picture below), spinach, tomatoes and cilantro. Oh yes, and a bit of hot sauce.

I think I've become quite resourceful in this way. I can look into the fridge and cupboard, and with a few spices and some olive oil, boring food becomes a way to have fun and is usually tasty. But, I think we can do this with anything. To be happy, have fun, we need to be resourceful, not necessarily have a ton of resources. I'm very much in this frame of mind as my time here winds down and the next stage starts.

Oh so beautifully cliché.

I've just gotten back from my Semana Santa trip to Germany and France, and staying true to this entry's title, my return signals the beginning of the end of my time here in Spain. It's a bit mind-boggling to think that I have already spent more than 7 months here in Algeciras, and only have 7 weeks left. With that said, I'll be flying back to the U.S. on May 26th, that is, if they let me out of the country (my visa expires before I am supposed to leave).

Alright, now to talk about possibly my last trip that I will have made during my time here. I left Friday morning at 7am for Málaga, slightly under the weather due to a fine scotch whiskey. I normally don't drink whiskey like that, but for some reason it was going down quite nicely. The day before leaving, I went to my school's office to make sure that my check would be in the bank by the time I landed in Germany as I had a shuttle and train to catch to arrive at Ben's place. The secretary told me no worries, to go on my trip and the money would be there when I needed it. My first flight landed in Barcelona and using my last bit of money I used an internet terminal to check my account balance: +0.34. This meant that unless the secretary could go back in time, I would have no money to catch the train/bus when I arrived in Germany.

Upon arrival I was tense. A nice older man in the airplane offered to drive me to Cologne, but it wouldn't have been much closer to where I needed to go and Ben would have no idea that I was there. So, I tried to see if I could get a hold of him or Tom or Jani in some way. I went to the info desk and begged to use the phone and to have the lady look up his family's phone number. One problem, Ben's dad is a doctor and his phone is unlisted, so no luck. Defeated and too tired to be resourceful -although selling my camera did cross my mind- I went to sleep on a bench. One hour later Ben's friend Fabian calls the airport feigning a family emergency so that they will permit me to use the phone. He tells me to act upset -which I don't hear- and that Ben, Max and Lena are on their way to get me. My idiotic, ear-to-ear grin tips the desk lady off that the call wasn't an emergency and she throws me a snotty look. Who cares?!?!?!? I'm not stuck in an airport anymore! I take another nap and wake up to seeing Max's slight figure running in the distance, looking for a lost American. What a joyous reunion, made better by a beer waiting for me on arrival.

After a nightcap with Ben at 1:30, we get up to leave for Paris by car at 7am so that we can see as much as possible. Never in my life have I ever seen one person take so many bathroom breaks in such a short amount of time; Ben, we love you anyway. Despite the 31351322 stops, we made pretty good time, getting to Paris in just under six hours; NOTE: French tolls are literally highway robbery, 14 Euros a piece. The countryside was beautiful, and although it was close to Germany, pretty distinct. There were small, rolling hills with neatly tended farms and old churches and buildings standing in the middle of nowhere. Tom had made a brilliant mix for the road, complete with lots of French music like Daft Punk and Phoenix which kept me from falling asleep and in turn kept Ben from falling asleep.

Upon arrival, Amy -Ben, Tom and Jani's friend from Australia that we stayed with- had a huge meal ready to go for us, which was perfect. We didn't go out and see much that day, but rather stayed in the area of the Bastille, where she lived, and drank champagne -not as glitzy as it sounds- and got to know our hosts. The next morning we went to the market to pick up food for breakfast. Now, I've been to outdoor markets all over the place and have been impressed, but this one was immaculate. Cheeses, meats, hot food, vegetables, etc. were all arranged in meticulous order; cherry tomatoes, set neatly row by row, all perfect color and locally grown were just one of the impressive food displays. These people LIVE food, which is a lifestyle I can appreciate and share.

I won't go into to much detail on everything I saw in Paris since I think that you'll get a much better idea from the pictures on my Facebook and Flickr accounts. What I will say is that the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Champs D'Elysses, etc. do not disappoint in person. Paris has this kind of classic beauty that pours out of nearly everything. It was also another place I would definitely consider living if I had the choice, and money in this case. The metro is well oriented, it's bike friendly, tons of live music, good food, people from everywhere, art of every kind, I could go on forever. Needless to say, whether we were in Amy's house making food and dodging the rain, or out seeing the sights, I was at home and on vacation at the same time.

Once we were back in Germany it was like Christmas all over again. Ben's family was amazing as always and I think they were set on making me gain weight; although, the food is usually really healthy (German magic). Ben's friends -I should say my friends now- made sure that I had a great time too. We went kegeln (German 9 pin bowling) and had leberkase (miscellaneous pork, made into a loaf and baked, served on bread with sweet mustard) and Bavarian weiss beer; it was possibly the most German thing I could do. In the off moments, I hung out with Ben, Jani and Tom, watching movies and just enjoying their company. It's tough to think that I won't see them for awhile, but I'm sure it will be like no time has passed at all when we do.

While I was in Herbede-Witten a couple of opportunities opened up for me. They came about while I was talking with everyone about what my brother Alex was going to do when he comes in July. Tom told me that if I wanted, I could work on his mother's horse farm or at a vineyard in Australia for a year and he would help me set it up. I was blown away, because I have been wanting to learn farming -from a student of sustainable development's perspective- and have been wanting to see that side of the world. And, Tom and Jani offered me to live with them and help me find work in Berlin, a place that I want to live for at least a year. Let's see what happens, but I think that one of these, if not both are going to come into fruition.

I feel a bit transient at the moment, but that's o.k. I like the idea of getting as much experience and language as possible. The only difficult thing is being far from my family and friends. I thought I would have more time with them this summer, but my job on Star Island, NH will have me away for 3 months save my mom's wedding. Sorry this one was long, it's been awhile. Take care all.

Let's hope this doesn't represent us as a country...

Short entry, but poignant, I hope.

When I write in my journal, I normally don't publish my entries here on my blog. In fact, I never do. It's very much a personal thing, a form of therapy for me. I feel like it helps me get thoughts out of my head and on to paper, that way I feel a bit less crazy. However, this one today was pretty significant for me personally and maybe a few of you can take something from it.

I personally have an issue with when I forget something or someone, or at the very least can not recall a memory as perfectly as I'd like to. At times it has to do with something I've learned in school (a particular law, bill, date, etc.) or how many siblings an old friend has. This "forgetfulness" can make me feel lazy, out-of-touch, callous, you name it. But, today when I was reading the short story "One Year of Life" by Cecil Roberts, something his character said gave me great perspective into this phenomenon. The person in question is a famous author, and after a discussion about his book wonders if fans consider him dim when he cannot remember exactly where he drew inspiration for a character from. After a bit of reflection he is given solace by concluding that "We have to shed the creatures of our mind for the next blossoming". I find this insightful and true in so many ways. The way I see it is that we might not be losing touch with these "forgotten" things at all; they just move from the front of our mind to the back. They become part of the fiber that composes us, part of our base as a being, and with that, I can live.

Just a thought.

Adios Barcelona, Annie and Uma. Hello Germany, Paris and the rest of my time in Spain.

Barcelona is an incredible city. It is clean, cosmopolitan, diverse and so much more that I look for in a city. There were old and new buildings galore, pieced together in an expert manner. So much so that you would almost think that the descendants of the original architects and city planners were the ones who continue this process today. There were people from every part of the globe, all speaking their own languages, in addition to English, Spanish and the local language, Catalán. For this, I felt like less of a tourist and more like a member of a community that continues to move and change in Barcelona. And although its a pretty big city, with over 1.6 million people living in the city proper alone, it is definitely livable for me personally. There are parks everywhere, public theaters and music venues, museums and any other type of stimulus that you may want. It also has distinct sectors of the city that feel much like those of New York or Berlin, which is something I really like; its like visiting several cities within one. I would say that above all, its most defining factor is that it is the least Spanish feeling city that I have been in here. Maybe this is why there is a separatist movement...

As some of you may know, this trip wasn't all fun for Uma, Annie and myself. It started out difficult and ended that way. I am going list these things off so that you can read through them, feel bad for us, and then move on with your life like we are trying to (...haha?).

• Thursday night - We were supposed to stay with some friends in Málaga and the timing didn't work out. Uma had wicked blisters and we walked around for awhile, hungry and trying to figure out what to do with ourselves. We got into an argument, paid for an expensive hostel and slept for 5 hours there.
• Friday morning - We showed up to the airport late, Annie couldn't check her bag, Uma didn't print her tickets and missed the flight. This sort of worked out since Uma ended up bringing Annie's bag with her after she had bought a new flight for later in the day and paid a substantial amount for the extra bag.
• Friday afternoon - In the train, at each others' throats, Uma was robbed of 400 euros, her passport and credit/debit cards. Good grief. Then we had an hour and fifteen minute transit to the hostel. We arrived hungry and tired, the food was crap. Annie had squid rings that tasted like spaghetti-os. Wait, she didn't eat them, I did.
• Monday afternoon - I realize that Annie and I won't have time to catch our flight back to Málaga by public transit from our hostel. A taxi would be super expensive to the airport in Girona (a city outside of Barcelona that has an airport used by budget airlines like ours), so I get a hotel and we try to make our way to it. We miss the last bus and then train by 2 minutes. We break down and pay one-hundred and fifty euros for a taxi. We arrive to the hotel and I open my email to look at the tickets to see when and where we are leaving from in the Girona airport. I realized we don't leave from Girona, but from Barcelona. Yes, I made the biggest mistake possible. We paid 150 for the taxi and another 70 for a room that we didn't need. In addition, the plane tickets were no good since we couldn't make it back to Barcelona in time to catch the flight. What do we do? Buy new flights so that Annie can get back to the U.S.
• Tuesday afternoon - Waiting for Annie's flight to leave from Málaga, I realize that I left my computer charger at the hostel. Emotionally distressed because of recent happenings and the fact that Annie is leaving, I have my iPod either stolen from me or I lose it in the last 30 minutes of my time at the airport.

Despite all of this, we are alive, well and I am happy that it didn't go any worse. I won't let the events sour me on Barcelona, because the city is amazing; I am the idiot. I am hoping that if I decide to come back to Spain next year to teach English (second choice) that they will locate me in Barcelona. I'll just make sure I figure out flight details before hand.

I've traveled five out of the last seven weeks. I'm tired, beyond broke and needing a break. Did I mention that I teach here? That part of my life is going well, I am comfortable in classes, I know what to expect and have a good rapport with the students. I'm going to take the next week to read, run and ride my bike. I need a break from moving long distances; I'll only get a week of such a break, since next week I am heading back to Germany to road trip to Paris with Ben, Tom and Jani. I'm really looking forward to it, since it will be my last trip while I am here in Europe.

My time here is coming to a close. Just over two months left, and it really feels like I have been here for three months or so. I've seen so much, want to see so much more, but am thankful for it all. I'm excited to see my friends and family again, and sad to say goodbye to the new friends and family I've made here.

Listen to this song. It's among my favorites these days. Here are some pictures too.

Visitors!

Annie and Uma have been here since Friday and Saturday of last week, respectively. It's been really great to have them here together...and to have two of my best friends get along famously, even if they are having fun adventures without me while I'm working.

We spent Friday and Saturday in Madrid. What an incredible city. It's the capital of Spain, a huge sprawling, urban monster, but inviting, clean and walkable. The buildings in the downtown area reminded me of the turn of the century architecture that I saw when I was in Buenos Aires. Once we walked towards the area that had the parks and museums, the architecture started to change into a mix of the old with more modern, sleek buildings. It was really well done and gave the city a feel of tradition and progress. Hopefully you can get an idea from my photos.

We took the high-speed train (Ave) from Madrid to Malaga, and then caught a bus from Malaga to my city. I LOVE the Ave. It goes 300+ km/h and turns a 6+ hour trip into a 2 hour and 15 minute joyride. For all the failures of public planning that I have seen here, the train is pretty awesome.

Since we've been back, Annie and Uma have gone to Gibraltar and Morocco while I was working. I've been able to show them a bit of Algeciras - which they think is pretty - and take them to get some good food.

Tonight we are heading back to Malaga, to stay with my friends Ashley, Jenita and Britney for the night in order catch our flight to Barcelona. I'm really looking forward to this trip since I hear Barcelona, and Cataluña is like no other part of Spain. In addition to Spanish, they have their own language, Catalán, and a culture that is quite distinct.

I'll be a bit more prepared to write once Annie and Uma have gone, so stay tuned.

Córdoba with Lolo

This weekend was the first of a few upcoming trips that I'll be taking in Spain. I went with Lolo to Córdoba to see where he lived for most of his life. We stayed in his grandmother's house, which was empty, which meant that we could roll in at anytime of the night...or morning that we wanted. BONUS. We ate at his family's house for every meal, which was awesome because I got to know them and eat some awesome food.

Migas - Day old baguette, soaked in olive oil, salt and pepper over night, then cooked in a pan with a special type of sausage that isn't meat and garlic, and then eaten with fresh radishes. This was a meal eaten during the Spanish Civil War and was continued through Franco's dictatorship. The people tried use whatever they could to eat and would waste nothing. It's cool when you can eat history.

Salmorejo - A tomato, garlic, olive oil and day old bread yet again, soup like substance that is eaten cold. This is one of the best things Andalucia has to offer the world if it is done right. Sometimes, they serve it with hardboiled eggs and Serrano ham, which I am sure would be wonderful.

Pisto - A bunch of veggies (squash, onion, garlic, tomato, eggplant, leek, carrot, etc.) mixed with olive oil and then cooked in a pan. Simply amazing!

Wine - Spain has great wine. I suggest a 3 year old Rioja that is not Don Simon.

The point is I am surprised I have only gained 5 pounds here instead of 30.The food is great and they eat at terrible times of day. That is ethnocentric of course. They normally don't eat much food at their night meal, which is around 9 or so.

Annie and Uma will be landing in Madrid on the 5th, and I'll be there to pick them up. I couldn't be more excited to have two of my best friends coming to see me here. The rest of you, get over here already!

More updates to come as they come and we travel. Here are pictures from this weekend.

Inspiration: Have a look with what I want to do with my life

TRANSIT ELITE from Dave Christenson on Vimeo.

Travel plans made!

It's a scary thought, but I officially have ALL of my travel plans made until I leave Spain. I would usually be a bit bummed about this, but I get to go to some killer places. I'll be sure to post pictures on my Flickr account so anyone who is interested can see.

This weekend I am going with my friend Lolo to Granada and Cordoba. Granada is a city I've been wanting to go to for a really long time, so I'm glad I finally get to go with him. He went to college there and says it's his favorite city in Spain, which I can see why from his description. Every kind of nightlife I could want: indie music, electro, minimal, jazz, rock and roll bars, etc. It's got THE Alhambra, an Arabic palace that many say could be considered amongst the wonders of the world. Not to mention, Granada is at the foot of the Sierra Nevadas, for snow aficionados, and 40 km away from the Mediterranean. Pretty killer I'd say. Then, the next day we are going to Cordoba, his childhood home and another equally beautiful and interesting city I'm told. Either way, I'm excited to go see his old stomping ground with him since we always have a good time together; and, I'm sure if he finds these places interesting, I will too.

The following weekend, I am going to meet Annie in Madrid. Uma may come too!!! That would be so cool to have two of my best friends here at the same time...but we'll see. We'll spend the weekend in Madrid, and if my friend Matt comes, we may take bus to Toledo to check that out for the day. Really stoked for this.

Thennnn, Annie and I are going to Barcelona for 4 days due to my awesome ability to find cheap flights. It's basically as far away from my city as you can get in the country, and we got round-trip tickets for 65 euro each. I'm hoping to Couchsurf there to 1) save money and 2) show Annie how awesome Couchsurfing is.

Finally, two weeks after that, for Semana Santa I'll be heading back to see my mates in Herbede-Witten, Germany. They've lured me in with Doner (turkish kebab, but felafel in my case), beer and a road-trip to Paris. I would have gone anyway, but I've been really wanting to get to Paris and it would be an awesome way to do it. Woot!

So, please, if anyone has any suggestions on things to do, or wants a postcard or something from anywhere I'm going, drop me a line and I'll get it to you. Peace and love!

 

 Top of the Rock of Gibraltar, with Morocco in the background.

 

Great Week.

My friends and family are the best. I had so many emails, Facebook wall posts, etc. that my homesickness went away. You'd think that I would miss everyone home even more for all of that, but truthfully it made me feel a bit more at home here. I know (and should have known all along) that my friends and family will support and love me no matter where I am. Pretty awesome group people, these familiares of mine.

It gets better though. On Thursday I went to my friend Lolo's house to hang out for a bit, like I usually do, before we go out for the night. The girls had said they were feeling down and had a movie that they would rather watch, so I was excited to have a guys' night for once. But, being the old man that I am, I was starting to lose steam as we were "waiting" for Xabi to get out of the shower; this is what I thought at least. Finally, he called us to come over, and when I showed up the lights were all off and Xabi was acting a bit weird. He got me to go into the living room and there I found about 10 of my friends waiting, with a cake, with American flags and trick candles. I was blown away by the amount of planning and thought that went into it. I really think I owe the most to Hannah, since she seemed to be the mastermind of the operation.

I've never gotten so many good gifts either. The professors at my school gave my coworker and friend Abby money to go and buy me something on their behalf. She hit the jackpot by buying me three bags of awesome food. My friend Lolo gave me a copy of a book that he said changed his life. One of the profs that I work with, Alfonso, got me a new cycling jersey. Hannah got me a rubber picha with little seamonkeys inside. Everyone is really to good to me.

Then, Friday I had two French Air Force cadets couch surf at my place. I took them around, showed them the city a bit, made dinner for them and had some great talks. They left at noon the next day and I didn't think that I would see them again. They called me later that day and said their departure - they were participating in a charity race across Morocco - had been delayed and that they wanted to hang out. I was stoked, since I was sad to see Tim and Fabien leave. We had a great time last night and they ended up giving me two of their flight suit badges as souvenirs of our brief, but fortuitous encounter.


Now, I've got one of my good friends Jose staying with me here at my house until Friday. It's really nice because in only one day I've had a great time chatting and learning from him. He's a guy that has seen a lot, done a lot and knows how to share it. He speaks five languages, has lived in many countries, and is one of the most honest, inviting people that I know. It's a shame that the reason he is staying with me is because he's moved out of his apartment and is leaving the city for good soon. I'll be sad to see him go. But, I think that I can take something from this. People, good and bad, come and go from our lives every day. We can't get down about this; rather, we have to cherish the moments we have with those special people. I honestly feel blessed to have so many great people in my life to say "see you later" to.

If this entry has been a bit corny or emotional for you, tough. Suck it up. Because the truth is, if you are reading this, you are probably one of the reasons I am feeling so lucky in life.

23...any different?

Yesterday I turned 23 years old. It's quite strange, I've actually thought more about where I've come since as far back as I can remember on this birthday more than any other. Let's put things in perspective now:

*My mother had already had my big head to take care of for two years by the time she was 23 years old. I can't even imagine having a kid right now. But, hey, different strokes for different folks right?

*I've been alive for almost a quarter of a century; that's a pretty substantial amount of time considering that when I was developing my sense of time, I was less than I decade old.

*We have had 4 different presidents in my lifetime, including two double-termers. That is pretty significant, come on; also, these geniuses have managed to get us in innumerable wars/battles/etc. and have succeeded in destroying much of what the U.S. once was and stood for. 

*I never, never, NEVER, imagined I would be who I am today or am where I am at. For better or worse, for knowing all of you, having my wonderful family and friends, I am pretty content with my here and now.

*No matter how old I am, I don't feel like I have ever really "arrived" at the next step or where I was going. Whether this is because I am always having to plan for the next thing, or whatever it may be, it's sometimes unsettling. On the other hand, I think that it keeps me moving forward as well, so I'm trying to live with this.

Off the subject from my birthday directly, this last week has been pretty interesting. On Thursday, while walking home at 5:30am from a night out, I was stopped by the police. They thought I looked suspicious and as such followed me. I was getting spooked because I walked through an area that makes me a bit uncomfortable at that time of night. After hearing a few sounds behind me, I pulled out my big, bad 1 inch pocket knife. As soon as I did that, the secret police in their unmarked soccer-mom van pulled up to the curb, jumped out and started yelling at me. One cop was particularly rude and was awfully pushy with his baton. "You aren't in the U.S. you know. You can't walk through the streets with guns and whatever you want." Suck it dude. They wanted to fine me 300 euros for a concealed weapon. but then let me go since I explained that we foreigners aren't well educated in international weapons and firearms laws. I should be a lawyer.

The following day I went to Carnaval in Cadiz. In a word, insanity. The city goes from a population of somewhere around 400,000 to over 1.2 million in a weekend. People come from all over the world to spend this "holy" festival with the Spaniards. Friday night is just a big party in public plazas and in the street. I was out until about 6 am with my friend Dave and had a pretty good time. I would say that the churros and chocolate on the way home were definitely the highlight of the event. Saturday is when everyone dresses up like on Halloween, most often in group costumes. A few of us went as the Ninja Turtles, yours truly being Donatello. Since I couldn't fit in a child's costume, I made my own out of basketball shorts, green tights, a green t-shirt and a purple pair of woman's underwear that I cut into my headband. About 8 of us went out together after a bit of a party in my friend Matt's house. We met up with another good friend Lolo and his friends from Granada...they are insane bunch. There were 7 of them dressed up as bees, going around the crowd buzzing, and "stinging" people with their tails. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to going and seeing them soon. My night came to a sudden halt with an unfortunate accident (no, not incontinence), but overall I think I got the idea of the insanity that is Carnaval.

Narrowing lens, changing perspective.

The internet is FLOODED with things to spend time on. I can bounce from Youtube video to Youtube video, to blog, to news website, to you name it. Let us not even begin to mention the life-sucker that is Facebook. I hate how many times a day I check my Gmail account and how sometimes I feel slightly anxious or disconnected when I am away from my computer for a few days.

When did I start communicating with people just as much through this as in person? Maybe, it was when I moved away from my old friends and family. Maybe, it was when I made new friends in other places and wanted to keep in touch with them. It's so great that I can keep in contact with so many people through internet. But, do we communicate because we want to really and would otherwise without it? I feel like sometimes things like Facebook and email may have us communicating with each other out of obligation to want to be connected with so many people in so many different ways.

The more I do this, the less I communicate with my immediate environment. I don't take time to just think, I don't listen to the words of the music that I have on, I don't take deep breaths of the way I used to, I don't smell it, and I don't always chew my food to taste it. It seems like all of these things become the background my laptop, whether it be while I am reading news from one of 5 websites I check daily, or an episode of Californication.

Our way of communicating is changing. In many ways this is great and I'm happy to be able to stay close to my loved ones while I am out and about, doing my thing. But, I think in some way, for me personally, the constant inundation of sounds, information and stuff that I find on my computer has me losing touch with myself. I'm turning into a consumer of another variety. I can take and read and listen and take in mass amounts of whatever it may be, just because it is at my fingertips.

I realized this between soccer on the beach in Getares yesterday and my morning rituals here in my apartment. I was surrounded by natural beauty, having a good time with friends, and appreciating it all, while somehow feeling anxious because I couldn't check my mail at a moment's notice. And yet, this morning, I sit here at my computer, no less anxious, no more fulfilled.

One week til Carnaval! Visitors this weekend! etc.!

Next weekend is the big weekend of Carnaval. Hannah, Meghan, Rocio (my roommate) and myself are going to stay with our friend Matt and hopefully have a blast. The streets are supposed to be just ridiculously packed with people all dressed up in group costumes. We've decided to bring an idea we've seen in the US to Spain. We are going to go as Facebook pages, a few of us at least. If you have not seen this, you need to do a Google image search and educate yourself. I think it's pretty brilliant and should be a lot of fun since we are going to have a blank wall and allow people to write on it. Ha, we may have to censor the pictures depending on what people write.

This weekend Matt and Amy are coming from Cadiz and Puerto de Santa Maria (a.k.a. Little Guantanamo) to visit us. It's always a good time to see these two. Matt usually stays with me and Amy with the girls, B v G. Stupid jokes aside, it should be good since we usually cook, hang out and just do whatever. I'm up for a weekend like that after an extremely planned last couple of months...or at least it feels like that.

I'm feeling more musical these days and am going to start playing my friend Lolo's guitar a bit more often, and maybe the one in the school when I have the chance on breaks. I need some kind of outlet in this sense. My outlet has been searching  and listening to new music. I have to say lately I'm really liking Apparat, Modeselektor, Moderat, Jonsi, Ratatat and Andrew Bird. A bit more on the tranquil side, but that is what the mood calls for.

Oh, and bonus! Uncle Sam is going to be returning me enough money to buy my new airplane ticket home! Too bad I wanted to buy meaningless crap with it to stimulate the economy...of Spain!

Alright, I'm going to go prepare a lesson. Here is a video that I can enjoy any time of the day and in whatever odd mood I may be in.

Sigur Ros - Við spilum endalaust - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Long overdue.

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I have been quite distracted...and got lazy, made a video entry and tried to upload it without success. But that will happen quite soon, I promise. I just got back from a few days in Sevilla, where I hung out with my friends Mike and Sam, that I met in Germany. It was nice to be able to show them around, help them see some stuff they might have otherwise seen and spend a weekend outside of Algeciras. When I upload the pictures to my Flickr account, they will speak for themselves.

A bit of disappointing news, I won't be receiving the Fulbright Grant. It would have been amazing, since it would have been over and above the amount of funding I needed. But, that son-of-a-gun is competitive. So now I am filling out apps for a few other scholarships that I think I have a better shot at, and my mom is starting to work on fund raising for me. Once again, if anyone feels compelled to help, donate, smack me, etc. please let me know.

I turn 23 in two weeks, which is a little daunting and sad, while pretty irrelevant. I haven't spent my birthday with my family since I can remember because of bowling, travel or something. I'd really like to, but what can you do. Meh. But, I will be going to the biggest festival in Spain, Carnaval, in the second best place to do it in the world, my second home, Cadiz. I'm stoked to go with my roommates and my friends and participate in something so unique. Check out what people do for this madness, Google search "carnaval cadiz".

That's all I can muster right now due to 9 hours of sleep over the past two days and endless hours of tours and walking. Take care and until next time.

Rain is worse than snow.

Algeciras has had more rain this winter than it has in many, many years. Here, the wind is so erratic due the unique geography, that it will gust 40 km/h from one direction and literally 10 seconds later 40 km/h from the opposite direction. This being so, and I am quite serious, the streets literally look like a battlefield, filled with the corpses of broken umbrellas. I thought I was smarter than the natives - ha - and was going to avoid losing my umbrella to the squall. As if. Within 10 minutes of walking in the perfect storm, my umbrella was broken and I was completely soaked from head to toe, save my rain jacket and my bag which are waterproof. Through this experience I've learned that: 1) it's acceptable to cancel an appointment or class because of rain here, and 2) that 5 euro umbrellas are good for one use.

Pictures to come. Peace and love.

Back from Germany. Happy New Year!

A lot of time has passed in between my entries. I deliberately took a break from writing - and using the internet, really - while I was in Germany. I was trying to reset in a way. I realized that I spent too much time on my computer and not enough doing things that I really wanted to do, like read, run, etc. It's far too easy just to spend time bouncing between news sites, facebook and any other number of time consumers. Maybe it's a bit of a new year resolution to me, to not spend so much time online. That would probably be a good one, since I really haven't made a resolution yet...any suggestions?

Germany was amazing, plain and simple. Far too much time had passed since I had seen Ben, but we picked up like a week had passed. His family took me and a slew of Australians in for about three weeks; I stayed the longest. It was nice to spend Christmas with his mom, dad, 3 brothers, their kids and the neighbors. While I missed my family, I feel like I didn't miss them as bad as I would have had I not stayed with such a loving, warm group of people. Christmas dinner was on the 24th, as per tradition in Germany, and we shared it with nearly 25 people. Much different from my family, we were sipping schnapps and great German beer until about 3am. I don't mean to get down on my "native traditions", but I kind of like the German way of doing things in this respect.

We went out with Ben's friends - who I think I may now call friends of my own - to neighboring towns to go bowling (my dreaded return to the game), dancing at electronic clubs and eat the sacred food, doner. Due to the high percentage of Turkish people in Germany, and inebriated youths' need for cheap, tasty food, we found ourselves in a doner restaurant no less than 10 times in 3 weeks. A doner is like a kebab, with lamb and chicken, salad and two sauces wrapped in warm flatbread. While I always went with felafel, being a good vegetarian, I did try the doner and can say that it is pretty amazing.

I did a bit of traveling with Ben, Jani and Tom (Ben's best friends and neighbors), and a few other Australians, Mike and Sam, who were staying with Ben for a bit while backpacking Europe. We went to Cologne to see the cathedral, Dortmund and Bochum for the Christmas markets and Berlin for New Year. I saw far too many awesome things to describe in a reasonable length. I will say though, that Berlin is possibly my favorite city on earth that I have seen thus far, and would really like to live there one day. It has such a mix of culture, history, music, food and great architecture. Combine this with a relatively cheap cost of living and I am sold. I'd really like to go back and learn a bit more German and chalk it up as another great life experience. But, who knows what my future holds for me.

I got back to Spain on Saturday night at about midnight due to a delayed flight in Germany. I was fortunate enough to meet two really nice Dutch girls who weathered the delay, cold and lack of buses with me from 1pm on Saturday until 3am on Sunday. After seeing them off - to a friend who was nice enough to drive two hours to come and pick them up - I tried to find somewhere to sleep. Too cheap to pay for a hostel for 3 hours and unable to find a 24 hour place to grab and coffee and do some reading, I took to sleeping in the entrance of a bank for a miserable hour, doing the same in front of the bus station for another hour and then finally getting into the station once it opened at 6am. Without saying more, I was never happier to get back to Algeciras.

I've returned with a renewed view of the remainder of my time here. I'm going to try and engage people more in general, be less ashamed that my Spanish doesn't sound like theirs (a near impossibility for anyone not from Andalucia) and set out to make my internship in Argentina a reality.

Happy New Year to everyone. Peace and love from the other side of the Atlantic.