thisisaBLAST!

      alright, i'm just going to bitch for a minute and then i promise i'll write about something worthwhile.

• my ipod completely erased itself, for no good reason. luckily, all my music is on my external, so i just put it back on, but my playlists were erased, which irks me the most. i had a lot.
  
• i bought a pair of jeans in april that ripped this past week. in the butt. when i was in a bar, just hanging out. so i went to the store the next day to exchange them, which wasn't a problem. later that night at dinner, THAT pair ripped. in the same spot. and i didn't have time to return them, so i had to throw them away (the gash was irreparable. and not along the seam). they were pepe, too. and the perfect dark rinse and fit.
  
• my flight was pushed a day later. this meant that getting to the jerez airport at 6a yesterday, still drunk, was for naught.
  

      but onto the positive, i checked myself into a nice hotel, ordered room service (half of the dessert menu. gluttony's the deadly sin i partake in the most, and will no doubt be my demise), slept for a solid 5 hours in the afternoon in one of the comfiest beds besides my own (let me explain my bed in seattle: 4 pillows. 2 feather mattresses. the company store cotton sheets, and a flannel comforter. cocoon at its finest), and watched true romance, the namesake, and the rules of attraction. i was deeply asleep, again, by 12:30a, and awake at 5a to pack up my stuff and go to the airport. i'm now in madrid after a restful flight, and will be boarding the plane to chicago in an hour and a half. it's a ten hour flight, which i will no doubt spend sleeping. i don't know what it is about moving vehicles and i. some people get sick, others get restless, i don't even need a headrest and i'm out for the count.

      alright, skype date with kai.

we've hit the less than a week mark

      alright, i'll write today.

      this time next week, i will be on a plane to chicago, which will then take me to san francisco. i realized that i haven't seen a lot of things since january: a dollar bill, a front load washing machine, a gallon of milk, a lined notebook (all they have here is grid paper). i haven't worn a pair of rainbows since december, nor have i driven a car. i haven't taken a comparative literature class, and i missed mother's day. i try to read the news on a regular basis, and i'm missing a lot in the US right now. that is by no means to say that i don't take into account what's going on around the globe; my heart goes out to the victims of the cyclone in myanmar and the earthquake in china. i just feel very disconnected from the presidential debate (which, at this time, might be a good thing), the california ruling on gay marriage (my state! MY STATE!), and the deadliest tornado season in a decade. i've missed out on a lot since i've been here, and it's a luxury in some ways, no doubt (who doesn't want to get away from it for a bit and experience something else?). but i feel like i'm ready to come back.

      i feel that i've accomplished a lot of what i wanted to do when i arrived: improved my spanish (in speaking, writing, understanding), no doubt could i have put myself in situations that would have further improved it, but i'm happy with the level i've reached; i traveled so much, through spain, through rome and florence; i took copious amounts of photos; saved museum, disco, tour ticket stubs; did well in my classes; surfed a fair amount; met some amazing people not only around the world, but who will be coming back to seattle and sharing the rest of their undergrad experience with me; had honest to god paella and gazpacho; tried blood sausage and loved it; rode on the back of a moto; learned how to belly dance; shopped without (much) shame for my purchases; improved my tan; became a stronger, independent, more confident person. there are countless other things that have left an impression, but this entry would never end if i close to write them down.

      i'm so happy with how my experience in cadiz turned out, i wouldn't change it for the world. i've been very blessed, and am thankful to have partook in such a program. i remember sitting there in the gateway center, going over what classes i needed to double major, fulfill the teaching school requirements, and graduate in spring 2009. i asked my advisor, "look at this. if i study abroad, i will not be able to do this. i should just stay here, complete everything i need to do, and then maybe i can travel in the in between time." and he looked at me, shook his head furiously, and said, "you are not letting this one pass you by. you can take summer courses. you can take more than 15 credits per quarter. but YOU are studying abroad. this is going to change your life. i can't tell you how many people regret doing it. you have the opportunity, take it." i wonder if he'll be there when i go back to the gateway center in the fall so i can thank him profusely. having done the program, i couldn't agree with him more.


      with less than a week to go, the most i can do is explore cadiz further, study hard for my exams, leave the city, its people, and the program on good terms. when i say i'm ready to go back, i'm ready to embrace the reality that will consume me until fall 2009, at which point i'd like to return to spain to teach for a year before beginning the college of education program at uw. the past 5 months have been nothing short of wonderful, and i think i'm ready (well, i have to be, don't i? :) ) to face the next big change with as much passion as i put into being in spain for close to half a year.

one final down, 4 more to go! in the meantime..

the menu for when i arrive:


• kid's mac and cheese and kid's sundae from california pizza kitchen
  
• 2 unagi hand rolls, shrimp tempura, my own plate of sashimi, and green tea ice cream from shun
  
• bbq pork buns, shu mai, sesame balls, those shrimp-chive-corn discs, honey walnut prawns, shrimp dumplings from honey court
  
• rama garden with chicken, 3 stars, and crab wontons with plum sauce from thaiger room
  
• oysters and lobster at elliott's on the pier
  
• cheeseburger, onion rings, and a strawberry milkshake from burger hut
  
• greasy chicken chow mein from ANYWHERE
  
• mongolian grill
  
• hawaiian barbeque
  
• caprese melt, oklahoma chili, cornbread muffin, caesar salad from nana's
  
• ANY dopplebock from bottleworks. good lord how i miss dark beer
  
• bbq chicken pizza with pineapple slices piled on, from trader joes
  
• life cereal, courtesy of qfc. or safeway
  
• a venti iced chai from chocolati
  
• monterey omelette and house coffee from the rusty pelican
  

the master plan:


• gain at least 30 pounds
  
• lose it all thanks to the copious amount of cherries i will no doubt consume while working at the farmers' market
  
• and daily pilates
  

and so castles made of sand melt into the sea eventually

      i have a week and a half left and 5 final exams to study for. i've been up since 8a working on literature and felt it was time for a break. even if i don't have much to write about.

      i've decided not to write about the fact that i have so little time here until wednesday for fear of scaring my host family with the sobbing that will no doubt ensue. in the meantime, you'll just have to suffer through a rather dry post detailing school occurrences, weekend occurrences, and the fact that i've been listening to bob marley all morning.

      my literature presentation is over, my paper was turned in, and both went fine. final exam tomorrow. then the linguistics one on thursday, language and history of spain next monday, then translation next tuesday. whoooooo!

      thursday night was spent out, all of friday was spent recovering, and i surfed, slept, stuffed my face, studied, and went out for a bit yesterday.


      my friends are silly.

aprovechar - to take advantage

      i went to tarifa and morocco this weekend with aubrie. the weather was amazing in tarifa. it only rained a little when were there, but was warm and partly sunny otherwise. went kitesurfing for the first time, which was... an experience. it was difficult, but i'd like to try it again before i really pass judgment. lots of dogs. all over the place. i was in heaven. tarifa would still be heaven without them. i'll miss it as much as i'll miss cadiz when i go back to the states in two and a half weeks.


      on saturday, aubrie and i went to tangiers. i absolutely loved it. i kept getting distracted by person after market after landmark after view after sea after cave. it was difficult to absorb everything, but it was a good kind of overwhelming. my favorite bit was walking through the kasbah (old neighborhood). the smells, the markets, the pharmacies with their walls COVERED with jars filled with various spices and ointments, the one lane streets. the fact that our tour guide knew everyone. the tea. the lamb and prune dish i had for lunch. i'd love to return and spend a week or two visiting other parts of morocco, marrakesh, fez, casablanca. algun dia.

      mister bizzy. march 1999 - may 2008. rest in peace, johnny jumpup.

fell asleep listening to counting crows - black and blue

      i'm done with my literature presentation POR FIN. i might have talked to my literature professor for 2 hours the day before. it started with religion (my topic was religion as it pertained to the spanish civil war in the blind sunflowers), then segued into literature analysis, then life in general (being left handed, love, la edad del pavo...). it had been a very long time since i had talked with a professor, just them and i, in depth about our mutual love for literature, so i was very happy.

      last night was aubrie's birthday celebration (21!). we went to manila, which is a bar in the new part with beds instead of seats. had ourselves a mighty good time :)


      i'm going to tarifa and morocco for the weekend! pictures will no doubt ensue. i plan on going kitesurfing, as well. i figure i've been to the windsurf capital of europe twice already without having done it, so i might as well take advantage during this third (and final) visit. i'm downloading caddyshack for the bus ride over.
      note to self: writing a post still under the influence from the night before is probably inadvisable.

i suck at updating.

      Last weekend was spent in Cordoba and Granada with the program. Cordoba era impresionante; the mosque had been converted into a cathedral in the 12th century, so the architecture and design had an interesting mix of catholic and muslim influence. Before the tour, we were allowed time to wander around the city, so I visited the Palace of the Christian Kings. The grounds were gorgeous; calla lilies surrounded the fountains, and all of the trees and flowers were in full bloom.


      We arrived in Granada in time for dinner. Mara is studying there for the quarter, so my free time was spent with her ☺ We went to this amazing Moroccan tapateria with her friend Carolyn, another UW student in her program. Mara then took me to Chupeteria 69. Let me explain: over 120 types of shots, categorized by strength (soft, medium, hard), for 1 euro each. You’re given a 1 point card for each shot you take, and if you take a certain amount, you can trade in your cards for a prize (bandanna, fan, thong, hat, shirt, etc.). I ended up with a hat. The night ended fairly early since we had a tour of the Alhambra the next day. Plus I was the asshole that called the queen bed, all to herself. Tuve que aprovechar!

      I had been to the Alhambra before with my family, but it never ceases to amaze me. I took roughly 150 photos of the gardens alone. The scent of roses permeated the air; I kept my Ipod on and my camera strapped to my wrist throughout the tour. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.


      We had lunch at a restaurant in the Albecine (the muslim quarter in Granada), which was fantastic. Their falafel and hummus were SO good. I wandered a bit afterwards, since the Albecine was on the way to our hotel. I bought a gorgeous, blood red belly dancing belt-scarf-skirt situation and a funky little coin purse.

      Mara and I met up after a quick nap for beer, burgers and tapas with Katie (who was on a break from her program in Paris), her boyfriend Kevin, and Mara’s friend, Colin. We went to Colin’s place for a bit afterwards to hang out before the botellon. The botellon was madness, a bit like Carnaval in that you can drink in excess in public and there’s nothing the police can do about it. We witnessed a catfight which ended with the girls making up and stumbling out of the plaza. At around 3a we went to a disco and danced until 6a. Best moment: Ladytron – Destroy Everything You Touch came on and Katie, Mara and I danced harder than ever while screaming the words. We made it back to the hotel, in bed and spooning by 7ish, and woke up at 9:30 to pack and leave for Cadiz.

      THIS past weekend was spent in Mallorca and Ibiza. The Balearic Islands reminded me of the Canaries: lots of beach, lots of massive hotels, lots of bars. The major difference, as to be expected, are the megadiscos on Ibiza. 30 euro will get you into this HUGE 3 level discoteca with dancers (cut from fucking stone) on their own little stages and the dance floor on one floor, the bar on another, and a balcony-bar on the 3rd. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. We were in Mallorca for Wednesday night, Thursday, and Saturday night, and Ibiza for Friday. Our (Brandon, Taryn and I) time was spent on the beach, in various discos, or eating eating eating. Hawaiian pizza with extra pineapple and I arelikethis, especially if my very own fairly large pie is only 6ish euro.


      We woke up at 5:30a for the flight back to Sevilla. I’m going to sleep for a bit, but the majority of my day will be spent doing homework. I’ve got a presentation in Literature on Thursday which I have yet to start, and a fat reading packet due for History of Spain on Tuesday.

      I can’t believe I only have 3 more weekends here. I’m going to Tarifa and Morocco with Aubrie next weekend, then staying in Cadiz for the last 2. Mara will be visiting me the weekend before I leave. And then back to the States. Gah.