Today i finished my second exam of the semester. it was an awful experience. i've never felt like such a failure to my parents and to everybody and to myself. i hate the spanish educational system, and i hate myself for not working harder in spite of my hate for the spanish educational system. i was weeping on the bus back to my barrio from the campus when i started thinking about how incredibly useless and silly it was that i was weeping. and how incredibly ironic.
life will go on in spite of my failures, especially in my lame spanish anthropology classes. there are people weeping all over the world right now, in response to real pain and sadness. there are people every day whose lives are defined by hardships and getting safely through one day. how many times a day do i weep for them?
and how many times a day do i not appreciate what i have now, and where i am?
life is so much bigger than what i'm crying about. i'm crying for myself.
life goes on without myself.
i am still learning. i am learning so much about what it is to be a human being, about different worlds, and about how big life is.
i'll try harder next time. i promise. but maybe i need to look at things from a different point of view.
my english friend John, my Italian friend alberto and i walked to the Templo de Debod again and we studied there. the temple is a bit higher than part of the city, overlooking it as if it were its valley, so it gives us a great view of the western horizon. the sun's outline was so defined and beautiful, and when it hit the horizon, the line dividing the land the the sun was so clear that it seemed like the land cut the sun right in half, no cloudy rays to blur it.
we ended up wadding up a news paper and playing baseball, then cricket, then futbol, then keep-away from me, with it.
i bought plane tickets to italy. i hope i don't fall in love with it. it'd be too much.
if people watch the simpsons, no wonder they have the view that they have of unitedstatesians! we're just helping it along, aren't we? (p.s. i'm bringing that into the english language. it makes more politically correct sense.)(another reason why i love spanish.) oh well.
apparently the Beatles' song that describes my life right now is "With a Little Help From My Friends" and i'm as gangsta as Don Vito Corleone. oh yes.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
hello!
today's weather in madrid: high 63 and sunny! today we walked around with cassidy's friend molly who's in madrid for a couple of days before going down to Granada to study for the semester. we walked to sol, and then to Plaza Mayor. here's a pic of mayor...
we sat in the sun for about 2 hours and listened to this attractive young spanish guitarist play for a crowd of onlookers. (most of whom were doing the same as we were.) he played oldies like "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be" from the Beatles, "With Or Without You" by U2, and some good stuff from mexicans like Mana. it was magical. (to me, everything that occurs in the springtime and summertime is magical, and today's weather was close enough to bring that feeling.)
i'm moved in with Cassidy now. it's lovely! i love my roomies and no longer wake up to a high pitched, angry woman's voice who's spanish speeds up to 80 miles a minute when she's yelling at her daughter. don't get me wrong, she was great, but there are better ways to rise and "shine".
i love spain!
and italians steal my heart on a daily basis. is that ok?
too much spanish tortilla= "oh i don't feel so good"....
see mom, i AM learning things here!
we still have two christmas trees up. i'm ok with that.
i love cafe, and i found out that my new landlord (our friend Dawn who lives here) has this little contraption that spins really fast and foams the milk. home-made lattes!
contrary to the general idea that (as i've heard) europeans have, i believe we CAN help people in africa. it may be naive, but everyone needs a chance.
neo-nazi florist!! lol oh man cassidy's parents are hilarious. but no cassidy isn't dating the son of a neo-nazi florist.
and Marta, just so you know, your blog is the highlight of everyday of my life. i read it EVERY single day. thanks for being so creative. and keeping us up-to-date on what you're finding in life. (marta's blog is just there, to the right.)
believe it or not, i have a lot more opinions and things i could say on my blog, but, this is what i'm writing about. :)
happy sabbath erbody.
we sat in the sun for about 2 hours and listened to this attractive young spanish guitarist play for a crowd of onlookers. (most of whom were doing the same as we were.) he played oldies like "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be" from the Beatles, "With Or Without You" by U2, and some good stuff from mexicans like Mana. it was magical. (to me, everything that occurs in the springtime and summertime is magical, and today's weather was close enough to bring that feeling.)
i'm moved in with Cassidy now. it's lovely! i love my roomies and no longer wake up to a high pitched, angry woman's voice who's spanish speeds up to 80 miles a minute when she's yelling at her daughter. don't get me wrong, she was great, but there are better ways to rise and "shine".
i love spain!
and italians steal my heart on a daily basis. is that ok?
too much spanish tortilla= "oh i don't feel so good"....
see mom, i AM learning things here!
we still have two christmas trees up. i'm ok with that.
i love cafe, and i found out that my new landlord (our friend Dawn who lives here) has this little contraption that spins really fast and foams the milk. home-made lattes!
contrary to the general idea that (as i've heard) europeans have, i believe we CAN help people in africa. it may be naive, but everyone needs a chance.
neo-nazi florist!! lol oh man cassidy's parents are hilarious. but no cassidy isn't dating the son of a neo-nazi florist.
and Marta, just so you know, your blog is the highlight of everyday of my life. i read it EVERY single day. thanks for being so creative. and keeping us up-to-date on what you're finding in life. (marta's blog is just there, to the right.)
believe it or not, i have a lot more opinions and things i could say on my blog, but, this is what i'm writing about. :)
happy sabbath erbody.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
"Israeli security personnel will include snipers, bomb-sniffing dogs and bodyguards, including reservists called up especially for the visit. The operation, dubbed "Clear Skies," will cost Israel $25,000 for every hour Bush is in the country. "
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/942516.html
HA!
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/942516.html
HA!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Month of Hell
Preface:
Jesus thank you for the amazing Christmas break at home. i love my parents.
and my friends.
these posts always start out being as long as a novel, and end up being about 4 sentences long. maybe i'll write a book of all the things i was going to tell you and decided not to because my pride got in the way. eh?
feliz año and happy thursday.
Month of Hell....
5 down, 495 pages to go. + 3 projects.
see you in a month if i haven't exploded.
:)
Jesus thank you for the amazing Christmas break at home. i love my parents.
and my friends.
these posts always start out being as long as a novel, and end up being about 4 sentences long. maybe i'll write a book of all the things i was going to tell you and decided not to because my pride got in the way. eh?
feliz año and happy thursday.
Month of Hell....
5 down, 495 pages to go. + 3 projects.
see you in a month if i haven't exploded.
:)
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