Valencia::

I have no idea how this week has made my mind so jumbled in time but it has. I can barely remember everything we’ve done just regarding this past week and I think it’s because we’ve done almost everything under the sun here in Madrid. Not to mention going on a seven-hour train ride south to Valencia. This weekend getaway beautiful, getting to see the country side on the way there was magic and sending the day swimming in the Mediterranean again was everything I’d been waiting for. The water was a perfect temperature, the hostel we stayed at had a beautiful view from our patio and the spirits were kept high despite a stomach dropping pick-pocketing incident. While in Valencia we realized there was a carnival going on because of the huge ferris wheel we could see from almost any in the city. Rode an octopus ride, a free game of bumper cars, rode in a slingshot dragon ride, had nutella drizzled waffles, a hot dog, popcorn and climbed this playground ropes course pyramid. We met this younger kid who was interested in where we were from so we told him and said we were studying art. He get s excited at the fact shows us some of the work he does himself. He paints these self-portraits that deal with his life and evolutionary self, overall inspirational for someone as young as him. My back may be sunburnt but it was a fantastical trip to the coast. 

Journal week 4

Dear Journal,

The past couple days have been rough with my lost phone, pick pocketed wallet, the miss-dated ticket and other problems back at home. I never understood the concept of the ‘world falling beneath your feet’ until all of these events continually slapped me across face within the past four day. At this point even the smallest things, like tripping on the sidewalk or an out dated metro pass, made me want to fall to my knees and break into tears.My mind was clouded and I was awaiting for the next bad thing to happen. Luckily I was/am traveling with the best group of friends; I had a negative view of Valencia after the pickpocket incident but that same night my views were changed. After the theft, all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball on my bed and wait for the next day to come, but my friends convinced me to go to the fair with them. I felt that I would be a sketchy little walk over to the fair for a group of girls, so I followed. My wallet was gone, all I had in my pocket were a couple euros; the plan for me there was to take photos of friends and people at the fair. The next thing I knew, Vivian was handed me a ticket for the first ride. After that Meli offered to buy me some food and a drink. Everyone chipped in for my drink; the bar tender was very kind, giving away two tickets for the bumper cars. The last ride we got on, Vivian explained how I lost my wallet and ticket sales man brought the price down from three euros to one. After this night I definitely felt a lot better. Walking back to the hostel we passed homeless people; that got me thinking, the position I was earlier that day when my wallet was taken from me, I was still better off than a lot of people. There are so many other people in the world that require more attention than I do. All and all, my friends were awesome and I decided that Valencia was filled with great people; you just need to find them.

¢¢¢ ∆ ¢¢¢

Dear Blog,

This week was a long one in the best possible way! With this being the last week for us to study and participate in Madrid culture I wanted to make sure to go out of my way to really get out there and communicate. On Sunday night I went back to a local bar that I have been frequenting to watch the game, USA vs. Portugal. It was a vital game in order for the United States to try and clench a spot in the next round. When the second half started I began to get friendly with the bartender, Bea. She was a sweet beauty that I have secretly had a crush on since walking into the bar weeks before. She was routing with me for USA, mostly because she loved the United States captain Clint Dempsey. We went back and forth with random chitchat and screams for the USA team learning about one another and our travels. She was one of those bartenders who liked to participate with the costumer and Bea was friendly with the pours. After watching the second half of the game with the United States game ending in a tie, we share a few shots of whiskey together talking about what we wanted to do with our lives. She spoke mediocre English and had a thick Spanish accent making it hard to understand as the night progressed. Finally the bar was coming to a close and we stepped outside to share a cigarette. We said our goodbyes and went our ways. I see her whenever I go to the bar and it is extremely friendly.

Ryan

I don't quite understand how the smell of a city can simultaneously disgust and nourish me. Marrakech was spicy, sugary, and sweet, and most definitely rancid. The smells were as overwhelming as the people who lived there. I have never seen such polarizing personalities as I saw in Morocco. People were either screaming at you, cussing you out for not buying their wares and shrieking at your indifference, or they were screaming with pleasure. Yelling things like, "America number 1!" and "America so good!" There was so much yelling, so many smells, so many colors, so much life. Snake charmers, salesmen, beggars, children running, laughing, screaming, cussing. Women making tortillas, selling spices, ferociously marketing their henna designs. Men jeering or cat calling or playing cards. Men praying. Monkeys, parrots, snakes, dogs, and thousands of cats. The streets smelled like skewers of meat, hot peppers, tea, amber, mint, sandalwood, piss, sugar, rotting food, dust, sweat, baking bread, and oranges. I have never been to a place I loved or hated as much as Marrakech and I cannot wait to go back. I was also happy with our tiny group: Me, Viv, and my new friend James (Vivian's friend from high school). The three of us were able to navigate quite well together, avoiding the biggest tourist traps and more dangerous areas, while also meeting hundreds of people and seeing amazing things. I don't think I'll ever forget the deafening noise suddenly becoming a deafening silence when I witnessed a funeral wake of a dead man process down the streets in front of me; it was so beautiful and so foreign

. I am infinitely glad that I went to Morocco, and I can't wait to return.

Arte Mundo

After my close encounter two weekends ago with a skill I yearned to learn so badly, Kao and I ventured out to Lavapies to a place called Arte Mundo, a small store nearly passable if it wasn't for the lime green door.  High ceilings were filled from bottom to top with bins of beautiful beads and precious stones. With the assistance of the shop keeper we sifted for at least an hour, hand picking several stones with to make my first wire wrap. I knew it would be a challenge as it always is to learn a new skill, but I remember the lessons from Carlos not only about how to wire-wrap, but how to be an artist. As I watched him bend the wire into intricate curly-cues with the ease of practiced hands he told me, "Remember the most important things are practice and patients." My first wire-wrap may be a sight for sore eyes and only nearing completion I've learned a valuable lesson applicable to all aspects of my life. Growing-up doesn't mean you will know everything but rather that you've achieved the skills of patients and practice which make you a life long learner.

On a separate note I am excited to finish off my time in spain with a last weekend away in Valencia. Pictures soon to come.  

Temple of Debod

Temple of Debod is such a great place to visit monument here in Madrid. Vivian and I Decided to venture out and explore this Temple. At first I was not very enthusiastic to go see it due to the fact That the images of this monument did not do it justice. The historical background of this monument is what makes even more interesting. The Temple was built in south Egypt close to the Nile, and was a religious place dedicated to the goddess of Isis. but was rebuild in Madrid porque was in a threat after the Great Dam of Aswan was built. Spain Decided to help save the temple and the Egyptians donated the temple of Debod to Spain in 1968. This temple was rebuilt and still holds the real stones and sacredness That Helped it back in the day. First walking up to the Temple you notice its above a hill of a park and it overlooks the beautiful landscape Madrid. You could see House, the amusement parks there, the big beautiful cathedrals, and I thought You Could even see the Royal Palace. This monument is three buildings. One way is like an entree and the second is as well, but the third building was the best. You could walk through it and be surrounded by hieroglyphic writing on the walls. There was two levels to this small building and was completely tight to walk through. Being surrounded by an old Egyptian building, while in Spain was Such an experience out of this world, completely amazing. Even though it was not a great place to be in if your claustrophobic, Because you are almost back to back with a strange while moving around the building but I highly suggest people take the time to walk around and absorb the spirituality That was in the temple place for. 

Wire Wraps and Full on Conversation

Last weekend, Vivian and I went to meet one of her new friends, a street vendor named Carlos. He works outside of the Crystal Palace selling hand made wire wrap goods. I've always admired the style of wire-wrapped gems and the artist integrity that goes into ever hand made piece. Vivian helped me explain to Carlos how badly I wanted to learn the skill. He let us both pick out our favorite stones and proceeded with an intimate lesson! It was of course all in Spanish as most of the afternoon's conversation but it allowed me the opportunity to converse in Spanish for a purpose other than ordering food and buying things. We talked about Salsa and the diligence it takes to be an artist all while we watched awed at the twisting and turning intricacy of Carlos's skill. Not only did I come away from the experience with a custom, one of a kind, wire wrap, I obtained priceless memories and a new skill.

Entrando Marrakech:: Vivian

Jade and have made I safely to Marrakech, Morocco as of late last night. We flew with Royal Air Maroc and the moment we sat down in the first row behind first class we heard the Arabic music playing in the background and it’s started to truly sink in as we took off to Northern Africa. I feel very thankful and fortunate to be in the situation I am in, seeing as I met up with my friend Belen from Madrid near the airport and had a quick catch up before she kindly drove us to the airport. Then after easily bargaining the taxi drivers at the Marrakech airport for a lower price to our hostel. We finally made it to our room and then right after heard ‘Vivian?’ from the lower floor courtyard to find my friend James from high school staying just one room below us. He’s been backpacking around India for two months now and just got into town from Casablanca, so happy for him and tonight was the first night he’s slept in for 2 weeks. I cannot believe how fortunate I’ve been to be having such a fulfilling trip as the one I’m in the middle of right now. This three days weekend has only just started and I can’t wait to see the main plaza of the city in just a few minutes. We’ll post pictures to the blog as soon as we can because this city is absolutely gorgeous. I can’t wait to get some major culture shock out there, love being in a new country! Have fun in Portugal guys and have fun this weekend Frances!

Week 3

Dear Journal,

On Friday I came a cross a couple of kids in Sol; they were playing tag and one of them ran into me while evading the other. “Pardon!” and ran away. I would say this boy was around 7 or 8 years old. The other kid came up to me and said, “Sorry!” She seemed a bit old, maybe 10 or 11, but she seemed a bit more mature than the other. When she said that single word ‘sorry’ with a perfect English accent, I knew she was fluent. I asked her where she was from, but she just smiled, covered her face with her hands and ran away. Her mom over heard me attempt a conversation with their daughter and said, “We’re from Madrid; we live in the countryside, but we came here to see the new king!” She then told me that it was too crowded so they didn’t get a good look at him. I told her, "Your English is very good!" "My husband was from England," she replied," he studied at Oxford University and moved to Madrid where he met me." 

Ω≈Ω

Dear Blog,

This week went by so fast with so many different local interactions taking place! I spent much of my time at restaurants and bars watching the world cup with the local people. Although Spain has performed horrendous loosing once again, it has still been fun to be engulfed in the culture and atmosphere of the sport. The most memorable interaction this week came after the bullfight. A few of us met up with some other friends from accent programs to watch Argentina play Bosnia. We set off to find a place to watch and randomly stumbled on a great little pub where everyone had on an Argentina Jersey. It just so happened that the owner was from Argentina so this was surely the bar to be. I started chatting with someone next to me, Sebastian, who was escaping his wife and daughter to enjoy beer and football. We talked about the sport, about our lives, about what brought us both to Madrid. He enjoyed speaking with me. The highlight of the night came when everyone’s favorite player Lionel Messi scored the game-winning goal with a brilliant strike. The bar lit up and high fives went around for everyone, including my new friend Sebastian. It was what everyone came for, to enjoy a Lionel Messi goal.