al campo, compai!

Recently I'd been feeling a little city-trapped. Kind of bummed to not be able to get out into the mountains/beach whenever I feel like it (due to lack of car, mostly). And then the past two weekends I was invited to do just those things. Yay for friends!
That's the beach (because I'm sure you needed an explanation). We played Volleyball and tossed a frisbee around and ate sandwiches and generally had a good time.

Then this past weekend--which was a 3-day weekend thanks to a Monday-holiday--I went with friends that I met at the rock-climbing wall (and more of their friends) on a bouldering/camping trip. YAY!
The next morning it was really foggy. We bouldered a bit more anyway. Then it started to sprinkle, so we packed up camp and headed to a little town nearby. Then we went to this other awesome place (National Park?) where I'd been climbing once before. We did a little hike and admired the rock formations seen here in the background:
Then it got dark and we went home.

I may have missed out on some sleep during the weekend, but I feel much better. Refreshed, if you will.

Oh, one more picture. This is my flatmate, Rocío, and I on Halloween. We went out with her boyfriend who was visiting for the weekend. At the Irish Pub near our house they were giving out free pumpkin hats with a birra. I bet you can't tell which one is me (lie).

whyohwhyohwhydidn'tIbringmycamera?!

I asked myself the other day...I suppose it's so that, at the end of the day, I still have something to write about.

I rode my bike (yes! I have a bike! Bought a small, used "mountain bike" from a girl who was moving) down to a park I'd seen from the highway, but had never been to. I thought I'd investigated every green space in Granada, looking for a place to play frisbee. But NO! Oh, life is always one up on you, eh? Anyway, much to my delight, this park is quite big, and has GRASS! For those of you who have been here, you know its a pretty dry place, and that grass is not a common landscaping element. Anyway, it has enough space to throw a disc around, and if you feel like running some laps or practising hurdles by jumping over fixed metal bars, well, the option is there. *shudder* I digress. My point is that we now have a place (although a bit far away for some...) to practise a bit. whooohoo!

Back to the story...
I followed the river down to this park and when I got there, and was riding around to check it out, when low and behold I see: a herd of sheep; a few goats; an old, limping shepherd with a baby sheep dangling helplessly from one hand; and a scraggly sheep dog, trotting alongside the herd. The goats were stopping to eat leaves along the path, and then they'd get swept along again in the herd. Most of the sheep had bells around their necks which combined with their trotting and baa-ing made quite a racket. They were following a path alongside the park that later went under the highway and eventually out of the city. A cloud of dust followed them and I was impressed by the speed at which they trotted along. I wondered what would happen if the sheep decided to go off the path--the gimping old man didn't seem spry enough to herd them away, and the dog looked pretty ambivilant. But I suppose that looks can be deceiving, and its also possible that the sheep know the route from previous trips.

I assume that the man was bringing the sheep down from the mountain, since the weather is changing, and they have to come down out of the hills when it starts to get cold. Apparently not too long ago they still closed one of the main roads of Granada--which is the old route from the lower lands up to the mountains--to cars during the night sometime in the Spring for all the shepherds to take their animals up into the mountains for the summer. I think that is bad sentence. Oh well. Anyway, it was a fun sight to see in city (albeit the edge of the city) and somehow refreshing. A touch of country-life and a waning lifestyle which, despite modernization, still manages to survive.

[/my picture of 500 words]

same school, different job

Technically my job hasn't change, and my title is still "English Language Assistant," but I no longer have any English classes. I follow around one class of first years (I say more or less equivalent to Freshman, but I think it would be more like seventh graders, since they don't have middle school, but do have a 2 year pre-professional program after secondary school) and help out in the music, math and history classes. So far its been pretty fun. The material, obviously, is much more varied than last year, and I'm enjoying the change. The past two weeks I've been helping to explain the planets ("Uranus" is really hard to pronounce!), the Solar System, basic algebra, factors, prime numbers, whole notes, half notes, etc.

The professors have done a pretty good job so far in their English speaking, but the class is probably not more than 50/50 Spanish/English for now. If it were more, I think the kids would give up trying to understand. I'm sure the amount of material we've covered so far is much less than the professors would like, but its really like giving two classes at once, since the class gets paused on a regular basis for me to explain something in English. Also, since I have the same kids everyday, rather than 3 different classes each day, I have almost all of their names memorized already, which makes me happy. I also still have a few out-of-class hours with the professors to prep for classes, help with their English homework from the Official School of Languages, work on conversation/pronunciation, etc.

I'm looking forward to starting my masters classes in a week or so, but still nervous about how I'm going to manage to be in two places at once when I need to go to class in the morning while I'm at work...heh. But the director at the high school has told me various times that they will be as flexible as possible and that he knows this is a really good opportunity for me. Awesome. So if all goes well, by the end of next September, I'll have a masters in translation and interpreting! And then I need to find a job... :)

Hope all is well in your worlds.

pictures a la vuelta

I like graffiti...have I mentioned that? This is my favorite granadino artist, "El Niño de las Pinturas"



hehe



I like the terrace...



so, let me tell you the story about how I've lived in this city for, oh, about 10 months, and JUST NOW realized that the oddly decorative...what do you call these things? poles-to-prevent-cars-from-driving-where-they-shouldn't's are supposed to be pomegranates. Which makes perfect sense, since "Granada" in Spanish is "pomegranate"... but did I realize that? no. I'm embarrassed. Ashamed. So I decided to publish my stupidity in order that you might laugh at me. =)

not restless anymore

but maybe a bit rest-less.

I left the States eaarly Wednesday, on week ago. (Following a 5.5 hour drive to Phoenix the day before.) Flew direct to NY. Had a 7hr. layover. Flew to Dublin. Had another 7 hr. layover (this time I left the airport to explore the streets of central Dublin, walk around the sweetest library ever in Trinity College, and stop at pubs for some tasty vegetable soup and a Guiness. classic. Also, it was cold there. Like maybe 50 degrees. also classic, right? But It was sunny most of the time, so I guess that was lucky. Also the smell of the sea when I first stepped off the plane was great.) then flew to Madrid, and hauled my stupid suitcases through the stupid metro and streets-under-construction to my friens' house. Dropped the stuff off and got back into the metro and went in search of them at a bar. They were relaxing and eating after house-hunting (they have to move soon). I was tired. I wanted to shower and bed. Ohwell. Hung out and talked for a long time, then went back to the house and did the same. It was fun... One Portuguese, one Slovak, and two United Statesians (including me).

The next day, after a long night's rest, I went out to coffee with my friend, we did some exploring, and then had lunch with our other friend during her break. Also along for the ride was her Irish friend who is studying in Pamplona and was going to play with us in the tournament. (In the end I think there were only 2 spaniards on the team...hah...)

So next day, tourney. Open and womens championship of Spain. It was on artificial turf which meant that any of us awesome/stupid enough to layout have burns all over the knees, elbows and hips... And I think the little black chips of tire helped to heat the field and burn us through our cleats in the near 100 degree weather. this is me, jumping up to D a disc from the other team. I have no face, but I have red hair. [photo taken by Hermann Kaser]

For a team of mostly pickups who'd never played together before, we did pretty good and pulled 3rd place out of the 8 teams of chicas there. (I think there were 13 open teams.) We should have actually played int he finals, but we kinda choked when the other team pulled a zone D on us and none of the girls on our team normally play handler...kind of key when you're trying to swing the disc back and forth and find tiny breaks in the D... But anyway, we didn't deserve to win that game, so the other team went on to play finals and get 2nd. I was honestly okay with sitting in the shade and watching it...

And then after two days of ultimate (I am NOT in ultimate shape! wow!) I was really sore. And tired. And having trouble sleeping. Maybe partly from jet lag. The next day I went to a museum with a friend from the Canary islands and then out to lunch. Then walked way too much.

And then I got up the next morning, hauled all my stuff through the metro again (only to find that one of the lines I wanted was closed for construction, so I had to get out, catch the special bus to do that transit, and get back in the metro for a few more stops. All with my stupid suitcases. And taking way longer than I planned. When I got to the bus station I had 15 minutes before the bus I wanted was leaving. Fine, I thought. And then I saw the line at the ticket counter. *sigh* Didn't happen. So then I waited another hour (which is not so bad, sometimes the next bus isn't for 3 or 4) and hopped on to Granada. Got a city bus from the station that would take me close to my new flat, and called my new "compi" (housemate) when I got there. She came to meet me and pulled one of my suitcases along. yay.

Then I went and bought some bread. (And a few other things to survive on until I figure out where the best grocery stores/fruterías/panaderías are nearby.)

But just incase you were starting to feel sorry for me, for being all exhausted and stuff (don't worry, I'm not flattering myself, I know you weren't...) ;) this is the view to the east from my new balcony. That's right, I have a balcony this year. hurrah! And it faces south. Perfect for winter sun-soaking while having a coffee in my pj's...hehe..

friday night, 10:02 pm

I'm restless. And in a Coldplay sort of mood. Though Coldplay is usually a bit sad or lonely or maybe just mellow, for me. So maybe I am some of those things, too. I've been back from my cross-country adventure for more than a week now. I'm going back to Spain in a little less than two.

I've been to the dentist (twice) and the hair salon (short hair does need more cutting, if less shampoo...) I've gone running and lifted weights. I've read books and painted, and stalked my friends on Facebook. I've written emails and gone out to lunch with a aunt-like friend from my old church. I'm trying to translate a book (its going veeery slowly) and I have several articles of clothing that need fixed. I've just ordered various things (like a rain jacket and a new external hard drive) that are much cheaper here/to buy in dollars. I'm getting most of my list of to-do-before-I-leave done. Or I'm at least on track...

But I'm antsy. Or maybe ADHD, a bit. I clearly have enough to "keep me busy." And I have lots of things to look forward to: seeing my brother and his family tomorrow, eating green chili in every (main) dish I eat until I leave, playing in the Spanish women's national championship in Madrid in two weeks (not as impressive as it sounds...but awesome) moving in to a new flat, starting school/work-school... etc. But... I'm not ready for bed, and I can't pin what it is that's making me unsettled. Unsettled? Antsy. I mean, maybe it's just the espresso I drank a while ago. Or maybe this is just what happens when I want to be creative without a specific outlet in mind... paint? no. draw? no. cook? no. write? sure. ramble, ramble, ramble. Sorry, guys.

friday night, 10:32 pm

sugar on the street

So, I don't do a lot of creative writing, despite the fact that I enjoy it, and every time I read a good book (/essay/graphic novel...) I think... I want to write! Anyway, today I was vaguely inspired, and below is the result. Its essentially un-editted (as is nearly all of my work...including a good many college papers--due, I suppose, to my tendencies of procrastination...) so please forgive its rawness. Also 1. I have been reading "Tar Baby" by Toni Morrison (which I recommend) so my writing might have taken on a brief Morrisonian touch. Who can say.
2. Mom suggested I edit the part about Dad swearing at the sugar-break so it doesn't sound like he swears all the time. I said, no! thats funny! Can't sensor your kids after a certain age, you say something and it might get quoted! sorry? Besides, personal writing is always subjective... Anyway, here ya go:

There I was, standing in the parking lot, on the hot, black, ugly pavement, with beautiful, white, perfect grains of sugar all over my feet. Spilling out of the bag, spilling onto the trunk of the car, my feet, and the hot, black, ugly pavement. It was such a contrast, those whites and blacks. Ugly and beautiful. I stood there for a minute, not reacting, just looking at it. Then I quickly righted the bag, and laughed inside my head at dad swearing swearing away at the pete-for-damn's-sake of the situation. He went in to exchange the 25-pound broken bag for a brand new one, because otherwise, there go our savings! And in this perfect, consumer world, we do NOT tolerate a broken bag. Oh no.

So he went in, and I stood there and looked at the sugar. White on red. White on black. And white, tiny-sticky all over my feet and flimsy leather sandals I'd bought in Nicaragua for about one U.S. dollar, proud of bargaining down the price using my then-mediocre Spanish skills. And then it hit me. All that perfect, beautiful white sugar that was more perfect and more white than sand, more perfect than natural... I knew where it came from. I've seen the sugar cane fields, the poor Haitians, illegally crossing the border into the Dominican Republic to work for slightly-better-than-starvation wages. Seen the Haitians hop out of the bus when it was stopped on the road for passport inspection. Held little black braided babies who couldn't stop touching my blonde (how so blonde?) hair while the boys and soon-to-be-men played a game of beísbol in the crooked, ugly field. Seen the fiery hell-factory where the workers with black, wet-black skin worked by the furnaces, worked on the docks, worked in the trucks, worked with shovels, to put huge loads of cane onto the conveyor belt. To grind and pound. To heat and melt To refine, refine, refine. That sugar comes out cleaner than anything those men own, and it gets shipped away so fast they hardly see it. Or maybe so they don't touch it. Just back to the fields. Back to the factory, back to the black coals and ashes that don't make marks on their skin, but do on their lungs.

And there I was, brushing it off my feet, self-conscious of the bikers nearby, laughing—where they laughing at me? Laughing at my sugar spill? It wasn't my fault, the bag had a hole. They were not laughing at me, they didn't even see me, and wouldn't have cared if they had. No one cares about a bit of sugar on the ground. But I've seen huge mounds of sugar. They do that, you know? They dump in on the ground in huge, bigger-than-life-ant-hill piles, I couldn't climb a mountain like that. Not if I tried, that hill of sweet, sticky, perfect white sugar, piled before they bagged it up and shipped it to my country, for me to spill on the ugly, hot, black cement and take back, demanding a refund because of the little pile that was sitting on the ground that I could not use. I moved my feet out of the way, but when my dad came back, balancing a brand new big blue bag on one shoulder, he made new tracks on the perfect, too-perfect white-sand sugar. What happened to the old bag? That he took back? Do they throw it away? Or does some unconcerned employee take it home to put that perfect sugar in a fresh peach pie? I hoped so, and we drove away, off of that hot, black ugly pavement of the parking lot onto the hot, black, ugly pavement of the road, just drove away.

Lindsy vs. a lot of the country

So, approximately a month ago, I embarked on a mega road trip. It started out with a friend, who had come to my wee town to hang out and do some backpacking. We drove up together to Denver, where she lives. Then I headed west to visit some other friends from college. Then up to visit my sister, then south again to a frisbee tourney, then north again, then way east (family reunion) then west-ish a bit (wedding of dear friends) then slowly southwest again, towards home with various stops where friends and relatives live. Yeah, long trip. I decided to map it out, and give you the mileages between each major stop, should you really care. Mostly it was for my curiousity. I think the picture enlarges if you click on it.

In other notes of interest, I have been accepted into the masters program (translating and interpreting) at the University of Granada, signed up for classes, and am trying to figure out how to pay for it. I'm just hoping I can actually attend most of the classes, and get the degree...

And now, since I clearly am not in the "bloggy" mood, I shall put up a few pictures and leave it at that, por ahora.

Beginning of Gila Wilderness Adventure Hike (in which Erin and Lindsy find a crashed plane, nearly step on a rattlesnake, set up terrible bear bags, cross the river a lot, and generally have a great time).

Lunch in the black canyon.

The beautiful vineyard on which live three of my beautiful friends. [insert snarky comment about adjective choice here.]

workin' on the ranch

So I spent a few long, hot days tearing out old barbed-wire fences on our neighbor-friend's ranch. Besides upping my respect level for those who do physical labor on a daily basis and wondering at the silliness of our continual need to do exercise specifically to stay in shape, as our daily lives become more and more lethargic due to the wonders of modern technology, I was surrounded by a beautiful countryside full of thistle flowers, grazing elk, beautiful skies/clouds, a neat old/fallen down ranch house, and lots of buzzing, buzzing flies (do you think this is a run-on sentence?). On the last day I took my camera and snapped way too many pictures. (And then got lost in a thought-tangent on digital photography... What if I didn't take all these pictures? I still got to see it all. I couldn't share it, or save it, but there's something special about that, too. A once in a lifetime image. Hmm...) Anyway, here are some of my favorites of the day.

~ The olde ranche house ~

~ The somewhat dilapidated kitchen ~

~ apacalyptic scene of abandoned clothing in white dust (dry wall remains, I suppose) in an emtpy room ~

~ ze fotografer ~

~ elkies ~

~ dead juniper and two dying agaves backed by an awesome sky ~

~ classic mirror shot with bonus little mirror and getting-rained-on mountains in the distance ~
*this and many others may or may have been taken while driving... oops*

~ I love storms here ~

Okay, I suppose that's enough. Until next time, enjoy our Wild America!*
* line taken from Marty Stouffer's PBS show, all rights probably reserved.

...there and back again...

I've been home for about 5 days now, and I miss pan con tomate. Hmm, that was a bad opening line. It could have been, "and I miss friends terribly, think about them everyday and stalk them using facebook so that I can virtually be a little closer..."(true.) or "and it sure is nice to be back, see my family, look out any window and see mountains/beautiful sky." (true.) or even, "and while I'm excited to learn useful things from my papí, get to watch my niece and nephew's softball/T-ball games, etc. three months seems daunting in this little pueblo without any people my age/ulitmate/climbing...better get out into the mountains and go backpacking." (true.) or EVEN, "and have already seen traces of the legendary 3-foot long scorpian (about 1 meter, for those of you who don't understand "American measurements") ;)~ said to inhabit the wild lands of the West, occaisionally stinging and then eating cattle from local ranches..." (false.)

But, I've just had my café con leche and toast for breakfast, really wanted to eat tomato on it, and had none. (What? I was fully expecting huge ripe garden-fresh tomatoes all summer!?) I suppose I'll survive. I HAVE been getting my fill of New Mexico green chili (and red), which makes me incredibly happy. There's nothing like it, really. I might have to end up settling in New Mexico just for the green chili. Eh, lets not say the words "settle down" yet...

This summer I've decided to teach my neice and nephew as much Spanish as I can...they're just at the right age to absorb all that stuff without much effort. We'll see what happens. Either way, they're absolutely adorable. I'm jealous of their beautiful brown skin, hazel eyes and loooong eyelashes (inherited from my dear brother). *sigh*

Pictured above, Marlea and me, posing with our gafas. At left, happy Darrion, playing with Kelcie's dog, Echo.

Yesterday Dad and I mixed and poured 5 loads of cement, to add on to the porch on the the west side of the house. Looks pretty nice. I've also already been to the local "library" twice and am trying to do a pre-application for a masters program in Granada for next year. We'll see what happens! I've also been getting up at about 7am and going to bed at around 10 or 10:30 pm. (...Not an uncommon supper time for me in Spain...) weird. I think I'm going to go sit on the porch and read for a bit...

bombs are bad

They're pretty destructive. And then sometimes they do this other bad thing, in which they don't explode upon landing, and leave the large surrounding area unapproachable. Deadly. Or, if their presence is unknown, they can detonate by the disturbance of someone or something that passes by. Bad, bad, bad. My life is pretty bomb-free these days. But I've just read/looked at a fantastic photo-essay about bomb clean-up in Uganda. The photos are spectacular, and the story chilling, but not hopeless. I invite you to check it out: http://glimpse.org/stories/view/the-clean-up-crew-bomb-disposal-in-the-wake-of-war/

It makes me ask myself... what am I doing here? Spoiled little me, enjoying the evening breeze coming in my window in my safe, clean, warm (er, during the summer anyway) flat. Spending weekends on the beach playing ultimate.

...

Granada, te quiero

So, I've been here for about eight months, now. Every time I travel somewhere else, I come back to Granada and give a little contented sigh. *oh, the Sierra Nevadas...* I like that Granada is small enough that I see people I know on the streets, in the park, in a bar, at the library... I like that Granada is big enough that I can go salsa dancing, see Flamenco shows, meet people from all over the world. I don't like that Granada does not have very many green spaces. But I love that I can go 20 minutes out of the city and be climbing on limestone, high above the olive groves, watching mountain goats elegantly sprinting down rock faces, and the ever-present Sierra Nevadas as the backdrop, still snow-covered and ski-able in early May. (Though the temperature today in the city was about eighty degrees farenheit.)

The thought of leaving, picking up somewhere new, finding a job, finding a house, making new friends again was exhausting to me. And sad. I've loved my time here. I'm not done here... So I applied to do my same job again. And got it! So its off to home (New Mexico) for the summer, to do lots of projects with dad, translate a book, do odd jobs for a rancher friend, take an EMT course (???), visit friends and family in CO, and do the same in Ohio and IN. Then I'll come back to my dear Granada, find a new flat (one with a balcony, please!) and head back to my little school to see if a second year can get any of those kids past the present simple and "hhwut eees juur nayme?" Oh and I'll probably climb more and go to more ultimate tournaments. And maybe with the team from Granada we are finally getting together. :) And if I can possibly work out the scheduling problem I will apply for the Masters program here in either translating or Spanish. And go into yet more debt, woohoo! But a masters from the University of Granada would be pretty handy to have, I would say.

So thats the news from Iberia, friends. Enjoy your Sunday and hug your mother if she's anywhere near.

un par de fotos

Girona. cathedral. beautiful sky.

Girona. River. Cloudier sky, but nice lighting in general.

Venice. Leaning tower framed in bridge railings.

Venice. Fruit, anyone?

I am spoiled

So I haven't updated in a while. The last three weekends have been spent in ultimate tourneys and a "convention/practise." First Madrid, mostly Spanish teams. Then a weekend in Santander to meet with my team and practise together once before our tournament. We are all United Statesians living in Spain (various parts) put together by an ulitmate player who has been living in Madrid for the past couple of years and met us all at various tournaments throughout the last year or so. Then this past weekend was the tournament: Bibione, Italy. I took off early (no problems with work, tehe.) and flew to Girona for a connecting flight to Venice. It was going to be a long layover before Ryan air pushed my flight back 2.5 hours, so I took a bus into the city and explored all day. Beautiful place, I kind of want to live there... Its not far from Barcelona but I'd never been. Cool old fortified city wall which you can walk along on top. And awesome cathedral.

Took the night flight to Venice and arrived to an absolute downpour. More water coming out of the sky than I'd seen for a while. Waited in the bus stop for about 20 minutes before venturing out to find my hotel. Met up with a friend and her sister. Next day we explored Venice, ate lovely Italian food, and walked around all day. Later some of the boys from my team showed up and we walked around more and ate gelato mmm. Then off to Bibione where the tournament took place. Our team stayed in two trailers together and embraced lots of typical "American" traditions/manners of speaking. It would have been painful had it not been so fun. It was a great team and I hope to play with them/see them all again later.

Next 3 days were spent on a lovely Italian beach wearing tiny red shorts with white "wife beater" shirts, winning all our games, and goofing around a lot. We ended winning the whole tournament which was a first for me. And so fun. I love beach ultimate so much more than grass. And its so much fun to play with/meet so many people from all of the world! There were 33 teams in total--we played teams from Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, etc. I am terrible at picture-taking at tournaments but I hope to rob some of my teammates' soon.

Now I have less than one-month here, unless I change my return flight...which probably depends on whether or not I'm coming back next year or not. (Hurry up! Tell me if I have the job or not!) :) I've loved my time here, and can't really picture it ending. I think I'll stop writing about it for now... Hope to see you all this summer when I'm back. besos.

*** pictures refuse to load currently. will add a few later.

kids today: dense or clever?

So today in my class with the first years (freshmen-ish high school age) I was getting a bit frustrated. We were doing simple exercises in which they had to look at a picture and later recall details about the drawing or ask their partner what objects were depicted, etc. My English instructions (though always complete with charade-like gestures) are often lost on them, but even when the professor would explain in Spanish, we were met with blank looks, questions, and poorly executed worksheets and nothing learned, I'm sure. * sigh * These were simple things, really! Then the last exercise: cut each line (a sentence). Then cut each sentence on the lines seperating each word. Later they would have to arrange the words to form the sentence correctly. This took AGES. Partly becuase only about half had brought their scissors along. But partly because they just didn't know where to cut. THERE ARE DOTTED LINES! The cutting process took so long that we didn't have time to do the exercise so the professor told them to guard them until the next day. But they'll get all mixed up! Well, put each pile in a different page of a book or something, he says.
After a few minutes I noticed that most pairs were doing something pretty creative in order to keep the little piles of words seperate, but store them safely. One group was color coding their slips with markers. Another group was making mini-envelopes for each pile. Others were following the advice of the professor. (Still others had yet to cut each strip and thus were spared the problem to begin with...) They each seemed rather proud of their solutions.
It was a good ending to the class. I no longer felt that they were lost causes, all. They may be a bit thickheaded from time to time, but they've not lost their capacity to think. [p.s. do not tell me that they were feigning stupidity in order to avoid work... they really didn't get it. And besides, that would just depress me again, and you don't want to do that, do you?]

An apple a day keeps the Dr. away. The Dr.?

So sometimes I am impressed with national healthcare, and other times I am not. Today I experienced one of the not-impressed moments. I needed to go to a Dr. to get a form signed/some sort of paper that certifies that I am in good health/mentally stable/not a drug addict/capable of travel, etc. in order to complete my application for renewing my program here. Fine. So this morning I call the first office on my list that is near to my house to see if I could get an appointment for this week yet. Sure, 6:30. Today? Yes, today. Okay, sweet. After hanging up I realized that he didn't even take my name... oh well, must have a pretty open schedule...? Odd.
Later, upon entering the office, I noticed another strange thing: no reception desk. Just a little waiting area. I called out a soft greeting to announce my presence and sat down to read my book. A few minutes later an elderly couple left a room and the Dr. ushered me in to his examining room/office. I sat down across the desk from him and told him what I needed, showing him a sample paper that I'd translated from the suggested form. "Okay," he says, pulling out a pad of letterhead paper, "Let's see your identification." (To write my name correctly on the paper.) "You don't have any diseases or anthing, right?" "No. Not that I know of." He nods and writes something out on the paper. "This bit about the traveling...is that necessary?" Well, I'm not sure, I don't think the wording is too important, as long as it says I'm a healthy individual..." He signs the paper, stamps it and hands it to me. His phone rings and he has a short conversation with a friend. I put the paper away and wait awkwardly for him to finish, trying not to listen-in on his conversation. "I think that's all I need, thank you very much." I say, wondering if he is going to charge me. "No problem, hasta luego."
Um, thats it? I just walk in, have him sign a paper for me without so much as taking my blood pressure and walk out again? I guess I was expecting a physical. But why would he need to do that? I'm clearly healthy and not addicted to drugs and have no diseases. Anyone could tell, just by looking at me! Right...? Whatever. Sure made it easy to get my paper taken care of. But note to self: in case of actual medical attention, find other doctor...

fresas frescas

So last weekend there was a special offer at the frutería below my flat: big box (1.5 ish kilos?) of strawberries, 3 euros! yuummmy! I bought a box, of course, and made some shortcake to go with it. took along berries when I went climbing with friends. Then yesterday I went down again to stock up on more fruit... box of strawberries, 2 euros! woohoo! I was going to off to share half the box with my flatmate, Gabrielle, knowing they would hard to eat by myself before they went bad.. but she, seeing my box on the counter, went and bought her own! hehe. I guess we love fruit. Gabrielle, by the way, comes to us from Toulouse, France. The new-ish addition (like, since Feb.) to the house, as Sarah left in January. We get along well, and make far too many desserts for our own good, as each of us likes baking a bit more than cooking. Today, inspired by the strawberries and rare presence of cream cheese in my refrigerator, I decided to make fruit pizza. mmm. Crust was a little thin, but that can be fixed for next time.

Had another friend from college come visit this last week over his Spring Break. We did lots of walking/city exploring/climbing/tapas/flamenco listening to/graffitti admiring, etc. All good activities. I had a cold all week, though, so I'm pretty tired. For this week, then, its relax, apply for renewal of current job (I think I could do Granada another year...) and plan for Mom and Dad coming in two weeks!

The Jabberwocky

My Dad used to tell me this poem by Lewis Carroll...
Its a fun one, and someday I think I shall memorize it (Kathy did so years ago and I think can still recite it upon command...) ;)

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

and a picture of the gorgeous coast on the western tip of Tenerife.

oh, andalucía

Apparently I've been lax in blogging recently. oops. My excuse is that I've been having too many adventures. tehe. In the last few weeks I've been out climbing in various gorgeous places nearby (It's great way to get out in the country, spend a day in the fresh air, sun, and do a physical activity. Plus its just fun, and the people I go with are also fun. Mostly Spanish, but sometimes with some Germans and Italians as well.)
I also went to Cadiz with my flatmates and various friends. We dressed up as sailors (and a captain, of course) and spend the night trampsing through the streets amongst WAY too many other people. EVERYONE else was dressed up (Carnaval) and it was pretty entertaining for about the first half of the night. Then the amount of people + alcohol was much greater than the number of bathrooms and the streets became a disgusting mess. Plus we lost my flatmate and spent a long time trying to find him again. It turned out to be a long night, but we eventually got back to Malaga where one of the guys lives and we crashed at his beautiful flat right next to the sea. (Then I went swimming in the cold, cold water. But, I was on the beach, so I had to...)
Then this past weekend/week I hopped on a bus to Madrid and then flew to Gran Canaria for an international beach ultimate tournament. Awesome. Beautiful weather and fun times. I have a few more freckles. [But apparently I am not in 3-day ulti tourney shape...eek! tired.] Sunday night I took a boat to Tenerife to visit a friend and the next day we rented a car and toured around the island. I'm amazed at the changes of scenary we saw in such a small space. Tropical beach and desert and mountains and forests and bare volcano and crazy rocks and wild coasts. Then on Tuesday I headed back to Madrid, spent a few hours in the bus station and caught the night bus back to granada. Home by 5am for a short nap before work. I think I'm finally recovered... Ready for a new week.

i heart bibliotecas

Basically, libraries are awesome.
Here's my list of today's finds:
Guía Costa del Sol (guidebook for southern coast of Spain)
Italiano, curso completo de autoaprendizaje (basic Italian book)
Watchmen (comic/graphic novel...in Spanish so some of the clever word-plays may be lost, but they didn't have it in English, so I don't really have a choice...I read pieces of it during my "Graphic Novel" May term class at GC last year, but never read the whole book. No time like the present, right, Craig?)
The Virgen of Juarez (movie based on violent events that occured/occur in Juarez, Mexico)
El Camaron de la Isla + Paco de Lucia (CD, some of the greatest flamenco artists)

Yay. Excuse me while I go read.

more flamenco

José Cortés. baile.

This was from last night. A ridiculous line-up of musicians led by Rubén Dantas. (or Rubem, in Portuguese?) He's a brazilian artist, most famous for bringing/introducing the Peruvian cajón to the realm of flamenco. (Now considered THE percussion instrument of flamenco.) This video is more traditional flamenco, but the majority of the show was a bit more jazz-y. Artists from all over South America + Australian/Iran, Cuba, Mexico and I don't even remember where-all-else. Kinda ridiculous. There were probably at least 20 musicians in all.

Also, this guy's footwork is amazing. It takes me a while to master really "simple" flamenco steps. This guy? unbelievable.

and the video...

now shall we see if it works? I think so...

more flamenco

Have I mentioned that I'm rather in love with flamenco? The sound, the rhythm, the dance, the guitar, the singing, the cajon...basically everything! I just started taking dance classes, we'll see how much I can learn in a few months....
On Thursday I went to a nearby (tango?)bar to listen to some flamenco. The guitarist "Pajarillo" is someone I've seen a few times now, and been introduced to. The singer (not a traditional "flamenco" voice, but quite good) and the man in the purple are brother and sister. This always makes the dynamics more fun, I think... The man on the right playing the cajon (percussion box) is my co-worker at school. He's a history teacher/anthropologist/flamenco enthusiast. We have English conversations every week (practise for him, since next year he has to teach the first level classes in English) and I always feel like I'm getting a free lecture, its great. Sometimes he brings the newspaper and we talk about something to do with current Spanish politics or culture or society, other times we talk about the same in the U.S. Sometimes I get a history lesson on the area--talking about the moors and the christians and the architecture and placement of villages... Other times we talk about music and he teaches me rhythms or shows me youtube videos of great flamenco or other Spanish artists. Its a pretty fun hour out of my week.

Anyway, after this show my friend and I went with this professor to another venue (smokey!) where we watched what I'm going to call a "gypsy jam session." It was awesome. It was a relatively small place and there were not a lot of people there--all part of the flamenco world, its seemed, save for Tamara and me, and they took turns singing, dancing, clapping, (smoking) etc. Everyone just playing and dancing for fun, not performance. I tried to take some videos there but it was super dark and kinda noisy so they turned out very poorly. All in all, though, a fun night.
** I'm not having success in uploading the video... I'll try it in a separate post?**

school days and walking home

Sometimes I really enjoy the questions that the students ask me in class... The other day I was asked how old I was. 23. Then one of the boys raises his hand and asks: "Are you boyfriend?" No...I am not boyfriend... Had to review how to ask the question, and then answered that no, I do not have a boyfriend. "Are you asking for you or for your friend?" The professor teased him. "For him, for him!" I told one of my other coworkers about it and we had a good laugh imagining me going on a date with this high school boy (who has to be 7-8 years my junior) and him getting carded when trying to buy a drink. Anyway, I've made plenty of much sillier blunders in Spanish, but they are always kind of fun to hear.Also, yesterday I was asked by some of the students if I smoked. I took the opportunity (speaking in Spanish, which I try never to do in class, so they could actually understand me) to say that no, I definitely do not smoke. Smoking is sooo common here, and kids start really young. I explained, too, that I was an athlete, and smoking and sports don't mix. "What sports to you play?" I wished I could have said futbol, because that would have been more impressive to them, but whatever. "I run and play ultimate frisbee (time-out while I explain what "ultimate" is) and climb." Then they all proceeded to tell me that they don't smoke either, which I don't entirely believe, but I hope is true. Or that maybe, just maybe, they might be sliiiightly influenced by me and other people who do not smoke? Anway, it made me feel good to be able to talk about it in a non-lecture format.

And, because it was a day of funny expressions, apprently, while walking home a guy (older) passing me on the street made the comment, "Muy rubia!" um, what? Okay, I get "rubia!" and "hola, guapa!" from time-to-time, meaning "blonde/light person!" or "hey there, beautiful" but... "very blonde?" that was new. Yes, I am very blonde.

Also this bank's holiday message made me laugh. "Happy urban year"? and the other side of the building said, "Happy urban Xmas." So there you have it... Happy urban year, ya'll!

good news for people who love bad news

That's a song. But I can't remember who sings it. oops. And I just learned that 2 or 3 google searches releases about the same amount of carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle of water. (I can't say I'm too worried about it, actually. Should I be?) anyway, its true that lots of bad stuff is happening these days. Gaza's getting pounded. An indonesian ferry with several hundred people aboard sunk. A Nepalese reporter was "hacked to death." bleck. no good. But there is also good news out there! On a rather small scale (but related to bigger things!) I finally found a little health food store that has all fair trade products. (Including brown sugar, woohoo! But no vanilla, boo! But David Bon. brought me yummy extracto de vainilla de Mexico. so I'm set. ) I'm excited to finish the average joe (hah...) coffee I bought at the super market so that I can go buy fair trade coffee. And now I'm off in search of fresh cilantro to make a yummy sweet potatoe, black bean dish (from Simply in Season, the burritos) because my dear friend Emily sent me the recipe! Yum good food and good friends. Also today is very sunny. And I will go to my second flamenco class. That's right, when I come back I will be pura gitana. pure gypsy. Everyone tells me I look like a gypsy already. (a lie...) And then to the climbing gym. Um, but anyway, I just browsed the BBC homepage to see if I could put up some more good news...um...kind of hard to find. Scientists got some footage of the Solenodon? (Only mammal that can inject venom into prey. Lives on the island of Hispaniola--DR and Haiti.) Yeah, thats about all I got. Plus an advert for the best job in the world, i.e. "island caretaker" on small islands of Australia. If I thought I had any chance of getting it I would apply...

randomies

Went out for an afternoon walk and tea with a friend yesterday. Here's a view of the Alhambra from a little plaza in which we stopped.


So I used to think that the weather was the Most Boring Topic On Earth. Adults discussed it all the time. I disgusted it. (hah) We vowed as children to Never be so boring. Guess what? I talk about the weather now. This brings me to the awkward place of either admitting that 1. its not so boring after all, or 2. I have become a lame adult and must seek some form of immaturity to counterbalance this terrible fact. Okay, maybe not, but it also leads one to similar thoughts on slightly more important issues. Take my college idealism, for example. We rode our bikes around everywhere, lived on about 10-20 (high end) dollars for food a week, shared cramped spaces with lots of people and tried to avoid the acquistion of material objects. And if acquired, they were probably from the street, the dumpster, the thrift store or a friend. At some point, though, I will probably have my own (or with a husband/family, but lets not get ahead of ourselves here) flat/house, a car, too many material objects, etc. Where is the balance to holding on to those "ideals of youth" (if I may) and "growing up?" Some things I will just come to realize don't make sense anymore in a certain era of my life. But there's part of me that says, yeah, but they COULD still apply, you're just allowing yourself to let them go. hmm...
On a completely unrelated note, I've been getting really yummy green/red peppers in the frutería below my house. They're quite huge and very sweet and juicy. And cheap. Like tangerines... anyway. I was inspired to take a picture the other day. enjoy.

Escocia

Trying something new, here: a video. I went to Scotland over New Year's and visited some friends from Goshen who have been there for the past 1-2 years studying and working. We had a lovely time wandering about Edinburgh, looking at cool buildings, entering cathedrals, cooking yummy food, eating at pubs, etc. On New Year's Eve Miriam and I hiked partway up Arthur's Seat (sweet rock formation formed by iceburgs that the city has now encompassed) and got comfortable with our warm mulled wine in a thermos and waited for the fireworks. They were shot off officially from the castle and another hill nearby, so we had an excellent view of both. Also little private fireworks which went off at various minutes before and after midnight. Albeit short, it was quite a lovely show. After the fireworks we could here the whole crowd on the street party singing Aud Lang Syne. One of my highlights of the trip, though, was finding this small Swedish band jamming in a tiiiny street (a "close," if you will) while wandering a street festival full of official performances and theatre troupes arranged by the city.

Other highlights were walking out to a little island off the coast when the tide was down and tromping about with Miriam, taking an early morning walk by the river, seeing Rosslyn Chapel and learning about some of the many symbols in it, exchanging backrubs and good conversation with Miriam, yummy curry and other splendid foods, lots of tea and hot chocolate and coffee (and some Guiness and Scottish whiskey and locally brewed beer as well), wearing six layers outside, and playing a frozen game of ultimate frisbee on New Year's day with fun hung-over players from Edinburgh's uni team, Ro Sham Bo. It was a lovely trip, and--though cold-- I really only got rained on once, which is quite impressive. There were even two days when the sun was out for the majority of the day. Apparently I was quite lucky. :) I look forward to hosting Miriam and Chris when they come to do a quick tour of Southern Spain in early February. It was fun to be able to say, "see you in a month!" instead of one of those awful goodbye's where you are not sure when you'll see the other person again.