BUEN DIA !

New City, New World.

I arrived in London yesterday afternoon, and I immediately wanted to skip across the airport, and at the same missed the flavor of Spain so much. Ironically, the first person I talked to when I arrived here (other than the border officer who grilled me) was a young guy from Spain needing help to buy a metro ticket to the city. And so I was grateful for him.

And then I let go.

I met a friendly metro worker who helped me find my way to my friend’s house that I am staying in (“Do you have FB?..” as I walked away implying No - later in the evening he found me just from my first name! Creepy.) And the barista at a cafe who pretended to steal my ipod that I left out sitting in their alleyway, and the bustling fruit market right in the middle of this small town, and a really good dinner of pasta, tomatoes from the backyard garden, wild mushrooms, and feta cheese we had last night, and a cup of tea, and a pile of fashion magazines to end.

Today it’s raining. i wanted to wear heels in this city, but looks like i should look for rainboots instead. i am ready to explore.

oh london

I am a Regular at a cafe in Madrid !

there’s a little place by my work where i discovered a decent cup of coffee is only 1 euro, so I’ve been going there every morning for the last few days consecutively. now, the barista knows me by “cafe con leche caliente para llevar, sin azucar,” and i barely have to wait in line when there is a line, and just slide that baby euro over the counter with a smile and say “Hasta luego! Ciao!” (i love that you can say CIAO here without feeling pretentious.) 

{Willy eyeing my nectarine…}

Today was my second day tutoring, and it’s not that bad. after my morning at the travel agency, i have a 2 hour break, and then i meet with my “student” Ruben - who is really a sweet, lovely guy, probably late 20’s, with a nicely trimmed beard and big eyes from northern spain - and we just talk for two hours every day and discuss worldly politics and problems, and i correct his papers and help him with presentations.

He is special though. Today, i found out that he is thinking about moving to Sudan next year and starting a business project investing and working with the entrepreneurs there, and perhaps collaborating with some NGOs. my heart immediately lit up when he told me because in the back of my mind, i’ve always wanted to work within the scope of social business, using business strategy to fulfill NGOs’ values and goals in developing countries. 

isn’t it strange the specific people we meet in such a big world ? 

in other news, FELIZ CUMPLEANOS PAPA ! he surprised me with the news that he will be coming to Madrid this Friday =)

Ciao !

“Hola reina, que quieres?”

i am enjoying, or rather overindulging myself with the loveliness of europe that i find in cafe con leches and pastries at the ever abundant outside street cafes, and practicing spanish with whoever will talk to me (like the guy i bought a burrito from, and had a conversation about burritos in america - or the grandma at the park who could string together - and did -10 different topics seamlessly together like it was her job).

at times while i am standing at the metro station with names like Plaza de Espana waiting for linea 3 to take me to places like Colonial Jardin, i remind myself the simple statement: “I am in SPAIN,” which usually is then followed by a gush of gleeful, joyous thoughts and self-confidence to know that i was never here last year on this day, that i am here because i wanted to be here and i made it happen with my own good will and money, OR perhaps more accurately, i am here thanks to all of the good things and people in this universe that have shifted to make space for me here.

i remember having this same euphoric relapsing feeling of contentment while i was backpacking central america last summer too. the strongest memory i have of this was the time after a day of climbing a hell of a volcano, my limp tired body jumped into lake nicaragua just before sunset, and i just floated and filled myself with the thought, “HOLY SHIT, I AM IN NICARAGUA.” [sometimes, i have the urge to kneel down and rub my hands all over the ground because i’ve never touched this part of the earth before.] that is enough reason and celebration for me to be happy in the world.

i have to admit though that this trip is missing something that i crave secretly despite being so comfortable in the clean, pristine, airconditioned trains and being so close to easily accessible, delicious food. and i think it’s unfair to want another trip while you’re in the middle of a great one - but i want to sprout another foreign journey to somewhere where everything from the people to the culture is raw and humble and surrounded by nature, where everything is green or blue, and life is not easy but dangerous and beautiful.

i think these man-made monuments and architecture and all the museums filled with world renowned art and divine cathedrals that i’ve been to here are absolutely gorgeous (which helps distract from the fact that the european economy is crumbling), but nature just does not compare. and i miss that rawness that i’ve found in central america and south america that i haven’t found in europe. i want to see more of south america, or southeast asia, or india, or …

i’m going to london soon, and supposedly i might have a chance to work there for a year (this has happened all through connections and emails and is all very vague still) - but - i don’t know if i’m ready for that yet. a part of me still wants to explore something more wild than a job. i admit, i was proud whenever someone asked me if i was here vacationing in spain, and i would say, No i am working. (i am doing another something that will make my resume shine; that i am moving forward in whatever career i am trying to build.) but i am 23 and not 32 and i feel like i worry too much about long term goals about what’s going to happen, and anything to do with finances (how will i pay off my college debt? how will i afford my dream kitchen? how will i take care of my parents after they’ve retired on top of my own future family?) usually stresses me out because growing up, my parents have shared their own financial stress with me, and it makes me feel terrible and anxious. but i know everything will always work out. it always does. and once you get on a career track, it’s hard to leave it. my dad thinks it’s the opposite though. he says i want to do all the fun things first before really working hard; that if i work hard first, i’ll have all the resources and the time to travel again (“When i’m OLD???” is my comeback). 

anyway, there is no conclusion. i just wanted to write.

tomorrow i’m teaching my first ever english class in the world. and it’s not the fun games kind. i’m taking over for a friend to teach this super smart guy who’s applying to get a job in the european union, and his interview and selection process is all in english. so basically our classes are going to be conducted in the language of politics (which is foreign to me) and i have to pre-read political articles and documents beforehand.

so basically i will be taking a politics class this week.

Living in Madrid

Allo.

Sorry for the no-update. I’ve been in Madrid for a little over a week now, and it’s been swell, I can’t complain. The sun is a lot stronger here, especially during the afternoon - hence understanding the need for siestas. This capital has a totally different vibe than Barcelona, I can’t pinpoint it exactly. It feels more like an old-mixed-with-new urban city than the latter’s avant-garde seaside Mediterranean counterpart. Everything is also so close. I wander a lot through different neighborhoods, and in the end, find myself back to where I was yesterday - or something like that.

Yesterday I walked around Chueca after work, looking for a cheap noodle bar, but never found it. It’s known as Madrid’s gay part of the city (I think that comes alive at night), but during the day it’s known for good food. Anyway, the streets were pretty empty so I found myself in another borough before I knew it.

Right now I’m living about half an hour outside Madrid in a suburb town with a family. They have a cute black puppy that gets so excited, you don’t even have time to pet him. I’m also working in a small travel agency here, part time from 10-2, trying to help them get customers from America and Japan for one of their tour products. I like this idea of traveling and working, paying my way through each new travel project and meeting new friends along the way. Another job actually just fell in my lap the other day - teaching English. I can try anything once.

I have around 2 more weeks left in Madrid before heading out to London, and then back to Barcelona to fly out to Boston. Time flies !

PS. sorry, i’ve been slacking on the postcards. i’ve written 10 and have 10 more blank ones. i can’t find a post office… . 

last day at work !

my desktop after finishing my project.

i remember my first day i was a mess and so nervous that when i got home my body felt like it needed to melt. i also vented on here. but, throughout my 4.5 weeks, i’ve gotten to love the cryovac family and they were some of the sweetest people ever. they treated me like a little younger sister despite my disabled and awkward spanish. i wish my spanish had been better so that i could’ve been closer friends with them instead of just simple conversations and hellos and coffee talks, but i will really miss them.

this is the office at viladecans at a “business park,” 8:30AM.

my first friend was sabino, an older friendly chubby guy who invited me to his coffee breaks at least 2x a day. i only got to know him the first week and a half here before he went on vacation, but before he left he told me in his broken english “it’s not what i mean but i love you you are a nice person” in the most sincerest way. he would willingly give me spanish lessons over lunch. then there’s yema, who’s a fashionable hot young mom of two kids who’s desk is next to mine. super cute and sweet and sarcastic. there’s actually a little group of young moms here that would talk about their babies a lot. tino was also really fun. he always ate his food so fast. also a cool, hip dad of two. jordi was my eye candy, a young cute lanky guy with big light eyes who was the only one to wear raggedy sneakers to work. i had my eye on him, ha ha. he and this hot shot grandpa who they called past’or in tight jeans and leather shoes, invited me to take shots with them after lunch. regina the receptionist was always really sweet. my first lunch at work, we celebrated her birthday. i loved auora and ana who were the most “mom” figures to me - concerned that i never ate enough during lunch, and teased me that i was on a bikini diet despite me trying to explain that i just get full really fast and then hungry again really fast. they were the sweetest. auroa is a wild traveler at heart though. she is off to ethiopia for one month ! and ana is an older sophisticated mom in heels and told me stories of her extravagant travels in europe. there was one girl - so chill and laid back - i’ve forgotten her name ! who does marketing and communications for cryovac. she’s also a new mom of 7 months who’s an avid traveler since she was 24 and has been traveling with her hubbs every year. she told me about a modern art island in japan that i need to check out (naoshima). and then of course there’s gonzalo - my advisor for the project i did for him who helped me get this job. always busy, on the run, but has a big heart and is full of wild stories. he treated me well and i had fun getting to know him and his family of two young girls in dresses. he took me on nice lunches, and to france, and today on my last day we drove to sitges, a rich, coastal town that reminded me of a lot south beach for lunch. i got a bangin seafood paella. we came back late and by then, mostly everyone in the office had already gone home so i wasn’t able to say a lot of my goodbyes….

but i’m so happy i was able to do this. the people that i meet really make these trips worthwhile for me. good bye cryovac. thanks for being so good to me.

off to madrid on monday for another one month long project !

the weekends the weekends

buenos,

bettina, my partner in crime, has arrived ! i couldn’t be happier to run around with someone else around the city, especially on weekends which i live for. everything tastes better when you compartir, sabes ?

Friday after work, we explored a gorgeous park with gold statues, fountains, hedges, and a huge mamut statue. on our way home, we got paella and sangria at a corner restaurant. the view and the drinks were the best; the paella was not so much…oops !

Saturday we went out for coffee and pastries with some friends, and then headed over to la playa in Barcelonetta. We got bocadillos (sandwiches) and ate, swam, and siesta’ed on the beach.  For the evening, we saw harry potter of course. Though I had no investment in HP since 8th grade and have not seen Pt. 1 nor ready any of the books since the 4th one, it was still pretty good. For a good two hours, I forgot that I was in Spain and had to remind myself by repeating it and dancing as we walked home. We ended the evening by getting ice cream and stared at the sagrada for a couple hours with questions and musings. (“I wonder what Gaudi looks like…”….”I bet he has a moustache like Dali’s….”….”Probably because their name’s rhyme.”)

Sunday was rainy and cloudy the whole day, so we went to a cafe (can’t get enough - any place you go to though, they will make your coffee, even a simple cafe con leche, by the cup so fresh for you), and then took a siesta. At night we went to see a “light show” with fountains and old school love songs blasting to the beat.

Observations:

- There are so many cute old couples who walk around this city. They hold hands and hold each other up. 

- I feel like my life is on a steady, happy incline. I am loving Europe and would love to invest a year or two here. 

- I sleep funny here. At home, I can fall asleep within five minutes, but here, it takes me much longer because I am caught in a long string of thoughts that are of absolutely no importance. Sometimes, I find myself falling asleep and then wake up in the middle of a thought, as if it was so loud it woke me up. I also dream more here. A flaw of mine is that I rarely dream, but here I’ve been dreaming almost every night. (Last night, I had a dream I accidentally let out a puppy from my car and couldn’t get it to come back - and it was a night of a winter storm, and I was devastated that it would die…)

What strange lands I am in !

I have two weeks left in Barcelona. I can hardly believe it.