It’s hard to put all you’ve realized into a straight line of words. Most thoughts come and go. Lately it’s been a lot of conversations about the world as we know it and as we don’t, about what we know of ourselves and what we wish we’d discovered sooner. It’s a continuous process, but in a different environment it’s a whole different dance. And I will leave it at that – if I were feeling more contemplative and anxious to delve in that direction I would let you in on some of these realizations. But as it stands, you only get to know that I am having them.
It’s been awhile since the last one, and that last one didn’t say much about my life so far. Where to begin…
Since Madrid I have visited Cádiz, Córdoba, and most recently Nerja. Cádiz is the land of Carnaval, greatest excuse to drink on the steps of a cathedral, talk to Spanish people and eat DANK hot dogs and chocolate covered strawberries. We arrived around 6:00 pm Saturday and met up with our bus at 6:00 am Sunday morning, with only beer/wine, food and good stories in between.
Córdoba was also great, although not at all in the same way. Our day in Córdoba included a two-hour lounging session at some Arab baths (including a massage) and a tour of the famous Mesquita/Catedral that Córdoba is famous for. We also spent a decent amount of time in the Alcazar: palace gardens of Spanish royalty – Beautiful! Two cones of ice cream, lots of sunshine and fun pictures… Still, the trip was altogether too short.
And Nerja: two-hour winding bus ride into the province of Malaga, a beach town full of English and German retirees. Two friends and I rented an apartment about two minutes from the beach and spent the weekend cooking for ourselves (a greatly missed ability in these parts), watching the news in English (!), and sleeping in the sand. Please see the last blog for my thoughts on the ocean… It couldn’t have been a better weekend (well, it could have been a little cheaper I guess, but that’s true of most things. At least it was worth every sentimo).
And now? I continue on with what has become a somewhat steady routine: 5 classes total, each of which meets 2x/week; volunteering in an English class at a small elementary school; flamenco classes; meetings with my intercambio; vino tinto; lots of food, bread, and coffee (I tried to NOT drink it this weekend and ended up with the WORST headache both days. I guess there is no going back); and spending my money all too easily on things only my waistline has anything to show for.
This weekend is Sevilla. Dad comes a week from tomorrow with Pam for their two-week tour of the peninsula. I continue to mark one day after another off my calendar of remaining days… occasionally things pass much more happily when you just don’t think about time. I think that’s why the Spaniards are how they are with coming and going – things are just so much less of a hassle and a hustle and a horror when time isn’t such a concern. It makes me chuckle to see all of us American students pulling out our planners and writing every last detail and to-do item despite our life right now: I have at MOST 5 hours of homework every week. And yet we can’t help but be engulfed in our need to organize what we are doing when, with what little we have to do and with so much time. So an afternoon passes and you’ve accomplished very little in the grand scheme of things? Meh, time. It passes. So does everything that must get done, and usually without much worry, ESPECIALLY here. I will worry when I have no choice next year on American soil living on American time. And even then… time passes the same everywhere. It’s only our perceptions of the importance of that passing time that are so different. It’s only now that I realize how intense our perceptions are.
I’m spent for the evening. Despite my return to the world of caffeination, I have yet to get rid of this headache. I promise something more thoughtful and descriptive next time!
¡Besos fuertos para todos!