i'm in madrid. this is my blog of what i'm doing.

A little under five months ago… I was sitting in an airport in Chicago, scared out of my mind, as I waited for my plane to board. I wrote my thoughts down into a word document, but I still remember it so vividly. I remember where everyone was around me, people that I now know. I remember feeling so confused and so scared, but tying to keep composure and I couldn’t stop thinking of the song ‘bruised’ by jack’s mannequin. It’s like I didn’t realize what I was embarking upon until I was sitting there. Maybe I didn’t even realize then, either. It seems so long ago, despite how clearly I remember it. At that time I couldn’t have imagined everything I’ve done and seen so far this semester, everything that’s happened, all that’s changed in my life. I’m not sure if I’m any different, but it all seems like so long ago. January. That’s winter! It’s now June. That’s summer! Ahh! Five and half months is a long time… it’ll be bizarre going back to my normal life. the weirdest part will be not having to speak Spanish… at all. Not having to read it or hear it. I’ll probably miss it actually.

I cleaned my room today. Not my normal cleaning, which consists of picking up all my clothes, but rather I seriously picked up, organized, wiped down, etc. I also decided to start pre-packing, putting anything I know I won’t need in my suitcase, to get an estimate of how much room I’ll have. It almost looks like it did when I moved in…

I know I still have over 3 weeks… but compared to 5 months it feels like I’m about to go home tomorrow. I’m still not sure how I feel about going home—I find myself saying more than anything, “I’m ready to leave, but I don’t want to go home”. It’s weird to think that in a few days I’ll be paying my last month of rent, that June is my last month here. It’s making me nervous… I thought I’d be more excited, but now I’m just kind of scared, and I don’t know why. I think it’s because I can see this ending, this adventure that truly is once-in-a-lifetime, and I’m not ready to accept that it’s over.

There’s a lot to do before I go. I have to finish up souvenir shopping before I go. I also have to see a bullfight, do the cable-cars, see the nuns, go to this one churrería and maybe do a wine-tasting day trip.

All of this in 26 days. Fuck. Tomorrow is my last day of class, and two weeks from tomorrow are my two last finals. Then I have 10 days of sheer nothingness before I return. I’ve I made a goal of taking one picture every day. Just one picture, so I have to make it a good one each day. Surely they all won’t be good, but hopefully I can do it. I’ve been slacking lately, but I figure I took several pictures on two separate days so that counts. But 26 more pictures. (And none of them will be of me, Matt. Jerk.) I'll post some pictures soon.

I truly must affirm that redundant schedules and boredom are quickly ensued by insanity. Maybe I'm feeling it particularly strongly today, because I see the end in sight, but I am seriously starting to lose it. I want to run around like a mad-man outside, shouting absurd, random things and humming Ride of the Valkyries.

I think I just hate routine. I need change again. Some people seem to hate change and not deal with it well, but I'd consider myself a strong advocate of it. That's why this summer and next fall should be very nice.

I think I'll recover a lot of sanity come May 31st, when half of my classes and exams are over. Yes.... It's so bizarre, I feel so full of energy and ambition but I haven't the slightest idea what I want to do. I feel like there's nothing I want to do. Hopefully I can direct all of this vitality into studying, and then it'll be over in no time.

It's really bizarre that THIS wednesday we have our 'reverse-cultureshock' orientation. and this friday is our 'farewell' dinner, when I don't leave for another 40 days. It makes it seem like it's right around the corner-- which makes me excited and yet nervous. But then lo, much time yet remains. I need to get souvenirs for people... and do any final shopping. I also have yet to see a bullfight, ride the cable cars, buy bakery from cloistered nuns, and go on a wine-tasting daytrip!

Ok Ok. I know I've been lazy with this blog. Part of it has been laziness, the other part is I figured that no one really read it because NO ONE COMMENTS. You don't have to have an account to comment. Comments are the motivation to write, I'm keeping this blog for you all more than I am for myself.

Anywho. School is winding down, but really it's spiralling at intense speeds and I've been very very busy. For example, today I hope to finish one of my very long final papers. But I'm not here to complain.

'PICTURES!', shout the people. The thing is-- posting pictures on LJ is a really tedius process unless you have a paidaccount and can load them straight from your computer. What i've been doing is transfering them from facebook, but I just realized that facebook offers a link for people to publically view any of my photoalbums! So that's what I'll do.

New albums.

Paris

The Madrid Wax Museum, and a random night with my friends.

Old albums you may or may not have missed. I'm sure i didn't post all of these pictures anyway.

Barcelona (you've seen many of these already)

Spain is a timewarp

Extremely Durable?

Retiro Park on a Sunday

People watching is a sport or an art, albeit a little creepy

Whew. So there you have it. You asked for pictures, and now you have more THAN YOU EVER COULD HAVE WANTED. Ha.

I've been sick for the last week, but I'm starting to get better. The end is near!!

Oh, and here's a picture of me I took yesterday, just so my parents don't forget what I look like. Someone told me that I look like i've matured a lot since getting here. Idk. But my eyes do look really green/hazel in the sun! Neat, eh?



Hi mom. Hi dad. I'm all grown up. When did that happen? Don't worry, I still need you guys.

I'll make a more substantial post soon, I hope. That is, if at least one person comments.

Where to start...

With the flight I guess. It was at 5:45 am. Ugh. Then we took an hour-long busride from the airport into paris. So i got to the hostal around 10. Mind you I had about 3 hours of sleep in me for the night, but nevertheless, I marched on.

First thing we did was head over to the Eiffel Tower to marvel at it's sheer amazingness. So we did that, then decided to do a boat tour of the city, so we went up and down the river and saw everything. Then we were famished and found a grocery store nearby and bought the fixings for a pic-nick, which took place on the grassy open fields on the south side of the Eiffel Tower. Probably the best pic-nick anyone could ever hope to have. Needless to say, we didn't want to leave the grass and the amazing few, but we eventually did and headed over to the Arc D'Triumf (spelling?). I personally wasn't that eager to see it, but it was cool nevertheless. After a much needed coffee break (no sleep, remember?) we headed to .... THE LOURVE. First let me just say that The Prado is nowhere NEAR the caliber of prestige that is The Lourve. Nothing compares to it. Firstly it's absolutely enormous-- it used to be the royal palace before Louis XIV moved it to Versailles. We spent probably 2-3 hours seeing the worlds most extensive and famous collection of art. It was all so breathtakingly unbelievable. I stood in front of the Mona Lisa! The Lourve was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. After we had seen all that we wanted to see, we left in pursuit of dinner. Dinner was nice, we went to a somewhat fancy restaurant-- and only had mild troubles ordering food. Lots of pointing at the menu basically. Then, as if we weren't stuffed enough, we got crepes on the way back to the hostal. Then we went crashed, mainly me.

The next day we woke up early, around 8 am, to get to the Eiffel Tower before the lines form to go up in it. The line was already pretty long when we got there, but it went fast. It's a lot taller than it seems-- you don't even realize how tall it is until you go up it. What an amazing view, it was another place i didn't want to leave. Then we walked around a bit, trying to find a metro (they're frustratingly IMPOSSIBLE to locate in Paris), but eventually did and were soon on our way to Versailles. Within the next hour we were in Versailles, walking towards the palace. We actually didn't go inside the palace itself-- i really only wanted to see one or two rooms anyway, but we did go to the fountain gardens and Marie Antionette's domain. Although it was absolutely amazing and really surreal to be there, it's kind of a tourist trap. On our way back to the bus-station we stopped and bought REALLY fancy cakes to eat. I mean.. come on... how could I resist eating cake AT VERSAILLES?? Let them eat cake!! (i know she didn't really say it, but still, I had my cake and ate it too! Hell i even took pictures of it!). I had a great time walking around, and the weather was soo nice. It was nice the day before too-- sunny and 70's or 80's. So we got back to Paris around 5ish, and decided to do some shopping. I bought an incredibly sexy black, button-up shirt with french cuffs. Then we bummed around the hostel and rehydrated ourselves with liters upon litres of diet coke and water. Later that night the girls didn't really want to do anything because their feet hurt, but i wanted to go out and see more stuff. What kind of lack of common sense does it take to not bring comfortable shoes when you KNOW you're going to be walking about ten miles a day? I have no pity for them, and wasn't going to let their poor feet ruin anything for me. For most of Versailles they just sat and relaxed, while i walked all over, absorbing the wonder. So, I told them I was going to go see the Moulin Rouge and they could come with me if they want. They did, but just complained the whole fucking way, which pissed me off, b/c they didn't have to come. I just kind of ignored them and smiled because as i said-- i don't care about their feet. The Moulin Rouge is in a reeeeally smutty part of town that just seeps with sex and decadence. It was a bit scary, but at the same time it felt so nice to be out of the touristy, rich part of Paris-- to see the other side of it. I sat in front of the Moulin Rouge taking pictures for a bit, though i feared my camera would get stolen if i stayed too long, so we left after about 5 minutes. You really can't spend anymore time there, unless you plan on going inside-- i don't even know what goes on inside-- but it's probably nothing like what the movie was... so i'd just be disappointed.

Then we went back to the hostel around 1. I stayed up waiting for our taxi to come at 4:30 to take us back to the bus to take us to the airport, so it was another sleepless night. I didn't mind really. The hostel though... ugh, if you ever find yourself in Paris, avoid The 3 Ducks hostel at all costs. It was the dirtiest, least secure place i'd ever seen. The 'bathroom's are really two filthy latrines in the courtyard and two equally squalid shower stalls. needless to say, i abstained from showering-- i had showered right before leaving for paris, so i figured i'd be fine, especially in france, where hygeine isn't of the upmost importance.

In general it was such a nice vacation. It was nice to get our of Spain, it was nice to get away from everything, to clear my mind. The french seemed a lot nicer than i thought they'd be too, and Paris wasn't a dirty city at all, at least no more dirty than any other big city i've seen. English was pretty widely spoken-- I used my two french phrases asking 'do you speak english?' and 'where is__ ?', and was fine. I took over 250 pictures, of which i'll post about 20 when i re-size and upload them all. be patient. I'm not sure what else to say. Any questions about the trip? France?

I LEAVE FOR PARIS IN 11 HOURS. AHHHH!!! I’m nervous, but excited.

I’m in a weird mood. It’s like I don’t know what to think about, I feel like I need to be constantly distracted because I fear that if I’m not my brain will implode because it won’t know what to do. I feel like a Spaniard—they fear silence. Never will you see two Spaniards sitting quietly, they’re always yelling or squabbling (they’re not big on talking), OR the television is always on. I’m not sure they even watch it, but rather just crave the constant noise. Needless to say it drives me crazy. I think going away to Paris for the weekend will be just what I need. PARIS!!!

I’m actually going to the airport at like 1 am, and just sitting until my flight leaves at 5:45 am—this is so I can take the last metro there instead of paying 30euro for a taxi. I’ll bring a book.

My apartment is SO cold. I probably shouldn’t complain because it’s been in the high 50’s, low 60’s today, and you all have feet of snow, but still! It’s cloudy and my room is cold and drafty! Close the windows! This morning I got out of bed, put on a shirt, a sweater, my track jacket, and still felt the need to wrap myself in my blanket as I got ready. Joder. Oh, but for anyone who doesn't know, I realized I can pick up stray wifi signals in my kitchen! Bless your soul, Comtrend.

I have 78 more days, of which only 33 are school days. Amazing ratio, I know.

I won't be back in Madrid until Sunday morning, so until then. Aur revoir! (one of the 5 or so French words I know. I might not make it back alive...)

Ok, so after being questioned by several people if my blog is dead, (it’s not), I realized I should make a post. I apologize—the last several weeks were traveling, mid-terms, and spring break, which was relaxing, but I was seriously depressed for most of it. Better now, though not fully convalesced yet.

I’ve decided that I don’t like how this blog is going, and I’m going to try to make the entries more engaging, etc. I really don’t have any funny stories though, nothing crazy really happens.

Travelling:
So I’ll post some pictures of Barcelona. What an amazing place. It really is so different from Spain that it feels like a different country, they even have their own ‘language’ catalán, which isn’t very different at all, they just want to be recognized as ‘culturally autonomous’. Beautiful place though, I’d like to go back. I could write pages about Barcelona, but it would be boring, so I’ll just show you pictures.

I’m departing for Paris this Friday, and I’m getting a little nervous, but more than anything just REALLY excited. All I want to see is Versailles, the Lourve, and the Eiffel Tower. It’s going to be absolutely amazing. It’s also going to be the only traveling I do outside of Spain, unless I decide to forego a trip back to Barcelona and go to Ireland instead, which doesn’t seem likely.

Classes:
For anyone still wondering, I got into the classes I wanted to. My reunidas are painfully easy, and going just swell. The complutense ones—one is this hilarious old man who talks sooooo slowly, seriously so slowly that by the time he reaches the end of the sentence, no one remembers how it started. And he wears bow-ties; I’ve been keeping track of how many different ones he has, so far I don’t think I’ve seen the same bow-tie twice. The other one is this young guy, probably right out of grad-school who talks faster than I could in English. It’s as if he has this terrible fear of silence, he never stops talking. I have to write a 15 page paper in addition to the final. It’ll kill me, but oh well. I have a tutor for that class.


Enough talk, here are some pictures. I wish I had funny stories, but I have pictures, some of which are funny.

La Reina Sofia Modern Art Museum. This is actually a picture taken from their amazing glass elevators. The clouds looked really synthetic.


( Pictures! but not too many. please look! )

As of 1pm today, I am officially on spring break, “Semana Santa”, for the next 10 days! Mid-terms are over! What a relief.

Am I traveling? No. After playing with the idea of Portugal, and almost going to Ireland, I decided against it because all the airlines triple the prices for this week, so I might as well travel later on. So what I’m doing instead is a ‘Tour of Madrid’ type thing. I’ve created a list of over 10 museums to see, as well as other sights such as a famous Coventry, cable cars and an observation tower. It’s seriously going to so much better, and more cultural than going to Portugal and drinking for ten days with people I dislike. And hopefully the weather will be nice too and I can hit up Retiro and Oeste Park a lot. There are also several bars and cafés I’ve been meaning to check out. I’ve also started a list of movies I want to see, including Notes on a Scandal, which gets here tomorrow, and I hope to finish Memorias de una Geisha.

But for today I’m going to sleep for the next 20 hours. Well actually I might be getting my cartilage pierced (yes, this will be the third attempt), but it’ll be on my right ear, which hopefully is luckier than the left one, and won’t get infected. That’s assuming Erin doesn’t chicken out.

I’ll make a post every few days about the museums and other sights I’ve experienced. Madrid is huge and for the next ten days it’s mine!

parking: sidewalks are fair game! So is the middle of the street apparently. No rhyme or reason that I’ve been able to discern. Which leads me to …

drivers lisences!: According to one of the guys in my apartment, in order to get a driver’s license in Madrid you have to be at least thirty and go through a year-long course. >_< . That’s INTENSE. Needless to say I see people under thirty driving all the time; the police don’t seem to care much.

TV Commercials: They do not appear every 8-10 minutes like in America, but rather for every 30 minutes or so of program there is a super-long block of commercials, like 10 minutes of solid commercials. It makes no sense to me, b/c I just mute the tv during the time. I very very rarely watch any TV, but every so often I watch Friends, which is surprisingly still funny in Spanish.

Movie Theatres: Ok, so I’ve probably seen about 7 or so movies here, but tonight was the first time I went on Saturday night, and when I bought my ticket I was asked “Row 3, 6 or 7?” to which I replied “What? What difference does it make?” assuming people would just sit wherever they want. She stared at me blankly and said “The distance from the screen…” with a tone that screamed “duh”. I got into the theatre, the first one there, and found my row, but the seat numbers made no sense and seriously went “5, 3, 1, 2, 4”. Oh, Spain. I just sat in the seat I liked the most, still assuming no one would really care what seat they sat in. But then people kept trickling in and tried to find their seats. It was especially funny when the lights dimmed so people were waving around cellphones and lighters. I wanted to shout, in Spanish of course “just seat wherever the hell you want! This isn’t a theatrical performance or an orchestra!”.

Almost all the movie-theatres show only movies dubbed in Spanish, and about 90% of all the movies are from America, which a smattering of films from Spain or other countries. Do not mistake these for grandiose theatres like Marcus, they’re mostly small and of mediocre quality. But hey, it’s better than no movies! Oh, and also-- there are no matinees. In fact the earliest screening is never before 4 pm, and they charge the normal rate, except a few theatres that charge a euro or two less. Also, I’d say about 50% or more of Spaniards stay for most to all of the credits. So, take an aisle seat so you’re not trapped.

Bowling Alleys: Scratch that, they don’t exist here.

Mode of rebellion: Emo hasn’t hit Madrid yet, which means they’re still in the ‘gothic’ scene. I don’t know where they even get the stuff; Hot Topic doesn’t exist here. Maybe they get it from the website, idk. They all hang around the video-game arcades, which I go to every so often for DDR.

don't get me wrong. Different doesn't mean worse, or bad. I love it here. :D

Saying hello: You have to say it all the time! Well, not all the time, but whenever you're leaving or entering your aparment building and you pass someone it's customary to say 'hello' or 'good day/afternoon/evening', even though you don't know them at all. Same with when you get into any elevator, they'll say hello to you.

Skyscrapers?: There really aren't very many at all. For being such a huge city, it's seems mostly urban residential sprawl, but perhaps i just haven't located the 'business district' yet. I'm sure Madrid resembles some parts of New York and Chicago, but there aren't many buildings with more than 10 floors.

The Dollar (Euro) Menu: Think you can get two apple pies for a dollar? Or even a euro? Think again. Here it's ONE apple pie for a euro, approximately $1.30. And a double cheeseburger? 2euro! Wtf McDonalds. Oh, and KFC doesn't have potato wedges. The Colonel is rollllling in his grave.

Store Hours: I've probably already mentioned this, but good luck going anywhere between 2:30 and 5, unless your destination is a restaurant. Oh, and on sunday, don't even bother looking at the store hours, NOTHING is open, (except Corte Ingles [imagine Wal-Mart but twice as expensive] and a few malls). Seriously, you can't even buy bread from a grocery store on Sunday, because they aren't open!

Diversity: You'd think a city of what, 5 million, would have a lot of diversity, right? Well it does, but maybe it's not what you think. There are very few blacks, and the ones you do see are usually Morrocans selling bootlegged movies and imitation high-fashion products on blankets in the metros or on street corners. Asians, well there are Chinese people, as I haven't seen a single Vietnamese or Korean restaurant, and very very few Japanese ones. Chinese people have a stigma here in Spain-- for example, 'general stores' and 'euro stores' are often called Chinos (which translates as 'chinese men' or 'chinese'). It's kind of sad that I've never seen an asian on the university campus, nor have I see a general store or euro store NOT being run by an asian. Thankfully Chinese restaurants are EVERYWHERE. The diversity that isn't often seen is a huge mix of europeans, and americans. I'd also say there's a good population of Central and South Americans here too.

well, after two weeks marked by a general dismal mood, things are looking brighter! Don't get me wrong, i had some really good days, like extremadura, and going out with my friends a few times. And willy comes next week! How exciting! I think i've decided not to travel anywhere over spring break because I didn't plan things sooner and now tickets are so much more expensive. Idk, i might still end up going to portugal. I'm definitely still going to Paris, as i've already bought tickets and reserved a hostel. I'll post pictures from my weekend trip eventually, I haven't resized or uploaded any of them yet. I love how many protests there are in spain, i always see signs around campus. There's a new sign all over protesting the war in iraq, demanding the withdrawal of all spanish troops (which is all of 12 probably), and saying "no to imperialistic wars". I lovvvve it. It's like a spanish version of Madison. And a lot bigger. I realized a few days ago that the semester is already more than 1/3 of the way over. Crazzzy, It makes me sad because it feels l like I still just got here, but I think when it's time to leave, I'll be ready to come back home. Oy, not much else is new. I'm just glad that i'm not in a moody slump anymore.

So I went to the most beautiful park/garden/monument I’ve seen in Madrid, on one of the most beautiful days of the year. It was also one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. But more than all of that, I was fascinated by all the people that it attracted. And I realized that a sunset seen from the Debod Temple is almost the same every day, but these people are pure life. I feel like I’ve captured an essence of who they are, a part of their story, and I think that a lot of the pictures I took really do tell their story. I’m not saying they’re “artistic” by any means—for me, taking pictures isn’t about being artistic, it’s about capturing the beauty of life around me, the life that inspires me. Here are some of my favorites. A few that I really liked sadly didn’t turn out well, ie. they were blurry, so I’m not posting them.

I HATE HOW FUCKING UNORGANIZED THIS FUCKING COUNTRY IS-- MOSTLY THE GODDAMN UNIVERSITY. WORST. REGISTRATION. "SYSTEM". EVER. IT'S NOT EVEN A REAL FUCKING SYSTEM. I'M GOING TO BE STUCK TAKING FUCKING 'ORIGINS OF HUMANITY' WHICH WILL GIVE ME USELESS FUCKING ANTRHOPOLOGY CREDITS BECAUSE THE COORDINATORS HAVE FUCKING ROCKS FOR BRAINS. I'M ON A TIGHT FUCKING SCHEDULE TO GRADUATE HERE, AND I CAN'T BE FUCKING AROUND WITH ANTRHOPOLOGY BECAUSE YOU'RE ALL INCOMPETENT.

well technically i CAN, because I think I have like 9 credit slots free for electives, BUT STILL! i'd want those to be things that I actually want to take, not that i got forced to take in a foreign country.

UPDATE: After letting my rage diminish over the last several hours, I can't help but remain bitter and irritated. The thing is, there are basically only 2 classes that fit into my schedule that will give me credits I need. I can go to both sections for one, and only one section for the other. The problem is that no one class can have more than 5 kids from the reunidas program, and each class i've gone to has between 7 and 11 of them. So who gets to take the class? Who knows?! I wrote a letter explaining the urgency of my situation that I take these classes. I figure I'll get into one, because the teacher is allowing 7 of us, and there were only around 8, and in the other class there were 11 on the first day, and 7 the next. And out of 7, i figure i could be one of the 5 pretty easily. So let's cross our fingers and hope i don't have to take "Origins of Humanity". I wouldn't mind but i'm only getting 15 credits for this semester, so i'd like for all of them to count for something, considering i was planning on taking 18 credits or more. I should have taken a fourth Reunidas course-- i wish they had told us we could sooner. Fuckers.

I'm very tempted to not watch them on Spanish TV at 00:30, but I fear if I try downloading them, or watching them online in English that i'll stumble upon who-won-what lists and that would ruin everything. So i'm going to be staying up until about 4am. I think i'll take a really long nap before they start...

Blood Diamond:
Blood Diamond is one of those few movies that reaches a level of reality and humanity, and often inhumanity, that evokes in the viewer such empathy and contemplation. That is to say, it goes beyond being just a movie. Advertised horribly improperly as an action movie, Blood Diamond is a drama with a documentary feel that goes into the heart of the cyclical corruption of diamond and civil war in Sierra Leon in the mid 90’s. Although I was rather young during that time, before seeing this movie the word ‘Sierra Leon’ meant nothing more than some distant place in Africa to me—and it made me solemnly aware of how blind the western world is to everywhere else. At the very least Blood Diamond will make you wish you kept up on the global news more, because it’s certainly had that effect, and more on me. It’s hard to talk about Blood Diamond as a film because as I’ve said, it’s one of the few movies that rises to a level beyond storytelling, beyond being a movie. But as a reference, I’d place it between Hotel Rwanda and The Constant Gardener in terms of plot, whereas the quality, emotion and strong message are much closer to Hotel Rwanda, for which I hold much respect. I don’t say this about many movies, and I probably say it more than I should, but Blood Diamond is, surprisingly, a movie that everyone should see. It’s about the human and global condition.

On an aside, it also reminded me of similarly cynical anti-violence movies of 2006 such as Children of Men and Pan’s Labyrinth. Perhaps it’s an illusory correlation, but to me it feels like a trend.


Looking Spanish:
Ok, so looking European can be nice at times, but it can also suck. For example, when someone stops you in the street and asks you something, which is probably directions. Just now on my way back from a café some guy did just that, but I really couldn’t understand him at all because he was mumbling, so I just said “sorry, I don’t know”, assuming that was an appropriate answer to “do you know where this street is?”. But if his actual question was “hey, what day is it today?” or “do you eat babies?” then I made a big fool of myself.

Another funny situation my relatively European look just got me into. As I said, I was getting back from a café—well while at that café I was enjoying a very strong espesso and the free wireless internet that came with it, when all of a sudden my computer tells me it’s downloading some .txt file, so I stopped it and said ‘reject’ because I didn't know what was going on. Then a few minutes later, it goes again, but before I can stop it, it finishes. So I open it, a nokia txt file from Charlotte. >_< I should mention that there’s been a group of like 6 girls sitting nearby since about ten minutes after I got there. The text says “hoola”, and I think to myself “oh, god. Wait how do they even know they’re sending it to the right person?” then I deduced that I’m probably the only person with a mac in the café, which they must have made sure of, so when sending it via Bluetooth, they knew that the mac was mine. I didn’t really think much about how to reply, so I ignored it. Four minutes later, I get another saying “venga hoy a salir d fiesta” which means ‘come partying today’. Now I’m really thinking “oh my”. I’m still not positive it’s the girls nearby, nor which one of them, but not knowing how to send her a txt from my computer, i don't think much of it. Then they left a few minutes later. Oh well, next time it happens I’ll try to be more social.

Sometimes I wish I didn’t look European so I wouldn’t have to tell people that I’m not—they could just infer it. But if looking European means looking more attractive, ‘yes, please’ I say!

Still, very funny. I like being hit on, good self-esteem boosts.

I finally got around to buying some clothes, prompted mostly by the general release of the spring line. So, I went to the street for shopping, and it really was amazing how many clothing stores there were—and almost all had guy clothes. So after going to a few shops and either not seeing any jeans I liked, jeans that were 120euro or ones that weren’t in my size, I got a bit disheartened. (Jeans are my goal here). Then I got to this place called Sefora, which I can only describe as a more European style H&M—ie. Styling clothes for relatively cheap. It also had a nice atmosphere, I didn’t feel like the workers were judging me—do you ever get that feeling at clothing stores? So I tried on some pants there, just to see how the sizes run in Europe—a 38 european is a 30 US, but they fit me almost perfectly, which means they’re more like a 28 US. It also seems that the pants here are much more fitted, but also longer. The shortest length I saw was a 32 US, whereas a normal pair in the US would be a 28x30. Unfortuntely I didn’t really like any of the jeans at Sefora, except two pairs that were out of my size. They had white jeans for like 20 euro and I was almost tempted to buy them as a joke; a la willy style. But I didn’t. I did however buy a cool baseball tee that says “Nankai Bay Flying Circus” that also has some Kanji on it, and a black zip-sweater. Both were pretty cheap, but I’m pleased. Hopefully I’ll find jeans eventually… I went to this store called Salsa that had some nice jeans, but they were expensive and I didn’t have much more money on me so I didn’t waste my time there—though one of the sales associates seemed eager to help me, or hit on me, I couldn’t tell.

I’ve decided, after a few weeks of class, that my three Reunidas courses are a joke and should have no problem getting an A in them. They’re mainly a joke because everyday feels like amateur hour due to most of the students in them. My real classes start next Monday, assuming I even get into them—registration here is the most disorganized thing ever. Frankly everything here is a bit less organized. Except the metro and bus systems, <3.

So Caroline and I have been testing out the various Chinese restaurants in the neighborhood, and find ourselves returning to ‘Sake’ again and again. This place is amazing! First of all it’s always the same three workers everytime we go, so they definitely recognize us now. One could order pretty much anything for under 5euro. We normally each get a dish, some rice, and water, running us each about 5euro, but today we went for lunch—this means that you can get the every popular “menu del día” in Spain, which means you get more food for cheaper! So we got 2 appetizers, a main dish, a dessert, and a drink for 6.15euro each. And you don’t even have to tip! Considering it’s so cheap, I can definitely afford to go there at least once a week. It’s not the best Chinese food I’ve ever had, but it’s the best Chinese food for 5euro one will probably ever find.

Speaking of stores in Spain, they’re all “~rías”. That particular suffix is attached to any noun and means “Store that sells such noun”. There’s a general lack for general stores, which the exception of the every ubiquitous Corte Ingles, and therefore you see stores specializing in almost everything. Walking down a given street you’ll see locutorios (computer labs where you pay by the hour), cervezerías (bars, but you can eat there too), cafeterías, the occasional restaurant, alimentaciones (basically snack stores that are always run by Chinese people), some grocery stores, “euro stores” that really aren’t euro stores, but rather it’s all cheap (they’re also always run by Chinese people), and  a slew of various ~rías. I’ve seen cheese stores, egg stores, globe stores, stockings stores, sock stores, doll stores, clock stores, chicken stores, ham stores, bread stores, pillow stores. It’s crazy! Here’re a few recent pictures. Sorry for the rambling!

I’m convinced they don’t sell hallmark cards in Spain. Not specifically hallmark brand, but just those kind of cards.

I’ve realized that I don’t know how I’m going to be able to watch the Oscar’s. I’m not sure if torrents work on campus, and even if they did I’d have to sit there for quite a while… I’ll figure something out.

I’m debating the idea of letting my facial hair grow out. I figure that I already have a euro-mullet, might as well go for an entirely different look. Plus I think this is the first time in my life it’d be able to grow out without splotchy. It would be short and well kept. Maybe just a goatee or something to that extent. We’ll see. EDIT: Next day, that would probably be a bad idea that I won’t follow through on.

I just wrote a 4.5 page paper for ethics and what are Values and what are the values most important to me. >_< daunting. i should have put ridiculous things like sex appeal, deceit and magical auras.

what kind of country doesn't have grocery stores open on sunday? what if i need bread?!?! in order to take a hot shower I have to light the water-heater with a match. sweeeet.

After deciding that the only way to stop feeling homesick and uncomfortable in the city is to let go of everything that’s familiar to me and just accept that things are different here, and almost always less organized. When in Spain, act Spanish! I thought to myself, and couldn’t think of a better step than my hair. It’s far too stylish for Spain. Thus, I’ve cut most of it off and fashioned a pretty nice euro-mullet with a faux-hawk. Possibly the ugliest thing imaginable, but I’m gonna rock it. There’s something comforting in knowing that you look ridiculous (by American standards. The Spanish probably think it’ll be hot). I think it’s also another step in detaching myself from the things I desire. I no longer have full-time internet. I no longer have pretty hair. But I’m going to enjoy myself the best I can. As caroline’s sapient grandmother advised her “even if you’re not having a good time, just pretend like you are, because you just might end up having a good time then!”. Oh, old people and their senility. Nevertheless I shall prevail, and I’ve found a generic cola brand that is only 0.18euro a can, compared to 0.45euro a can for Coke Light (which is oddly 4 cents more than regular Coke). Cheap diet soda and a euro mullet-- Things are looking up for me!

Hell, just today I already got two compliments on the new hairstyle from two girls in my business class. I told them i was doing it as a joke, but they said it actually looks good. Odd.

Here some pictures from the last few days.