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.