Just-Say-No!

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.

"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!

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.

:)

well hello world!

Conclusion: Love conquers all. It always triumphs. True love makes long-away hearts feel as though they're not so far away; instead of feeling a missing piece for that distant love, it makes you feel like it was there the whole time.
It is the thing in which i put all of my hope. That fact that love cannot be conquered.

friends are grrrrreat!

and i'm still jetlagged. :)

give it up for 3rd winds! woop woop

Something Neat

"What I can say to my family, and my community, is that the most important thing is love, not money. Sometimes they say that they don’t visit us because they have nothing to give us. We need love, not things. Even with money you can still feel alone inside." -Inocencia,16
Maputo, Mozambique

check out this website. it's very cool.

also check out Kristen Vogel's blog. (right over there, on the right). She's got some awesome things to say.

*sigh*

thursday night i had the most amazing time with a spanish guy i met through my italian friend, Roberto. The spanish guy (Gabriel)(like the angel) took me to see this animated french movie, Persépolis. From the moment we met al metro Plaza de España, conversation never ceased. We saw the movie, which was grrreat, we talked a little during the movie (he had to explain some spanish phrases to me...etc.) we were already having a good time. afterwards, when he found out i wasn't in a hurry to get home, we went to this Kurdish hookah bar in Sol, and i picked the flavor (peach) and we ate from a mini fruit plate and sat on cushions on the floor and talked for 2 hours. we talked about life, the spanish view of america, life some more, books, poetry, music, spanish grammar (always). conversation was easy. we laughed a lot. it was normal. but above normal. it was fantastically enjoyable. i had an extremely happy night.
at the end of the night, he walked me halfway home (which is a lot considering i live about a 35 minute walk from where we were). like a gentleman, or a good friend. or both.

funny thing was, it wasn't a date. we were only alone because cassidy couldn't come. she was hanging out at a hookah bar with sweet italians/teaching english. (see her blog, it's pretty sweet too). (it's just to the right, there.)

i'm happy.

last night, 3 hours of FOOZEBALL in a spanish bar.

can this get any better?! (oh wait, it does every day.)

love you Madrid.

love you too, reader.

i can't wait to be at home for christmas, and not be able to WAIT to come back here. it'll be a good feeling after the few "what the hell am i doing here?!" 's.

p.s. cassidy, if you dont' know her, is QUITE a chick. she's the best friend a frightened, intimidated, homesick, longing, complaining, lost, or normal girl (or guy) could ever have. look her up.