Ooh Dear...

So I was so close to doing an update per week and I'm a little bit late for this week...And well, you're gonna have to wait for the full update (censored) to come at a later time as I need to go to bed.  I have not slept this weekend because I have been acting like a crazed college girl on her spring break.  I have so many stories and well, they are not all going on here.  Sooo - that being said, if you watch How I Met Your Mother you will appreciate some of the incidences that occured this weekend.  And if you know both me and Anna AND know HIMYM then you will really appreciate these crazy adventures of ours.  Okay, more to come later.  Hope everyone had a splendid Thanksgiving.  Miss and love everyone mucho.

On the search for my matador that can hold his liquour,
Linds

Counting My Blessings

Hola Chicos y Chicas!


Wow, updating the blog per week has been nice as it allows me to reflect on my week but not as easy as I thought it would be. I picked up more classes along with some additional ones for this week so I’ve been busy lesson planning this lovely Sunday but wanted to take a break and blog it up a bit.


Okay, quick recaps…


So this week was pretty crazy. Teaching was good – nothing too funny or radical. I did teach my beginner students “See you later, alligator!” “After while, crocodile!” – they think it’s absolutely hilarious and now when we are doing role-playing and one of the students says “See you later” the rest of the class chimes in “…alligator!” It’s cute. I’ve been using music in a lot of my classes- none of my “weird” indie music (well, except for my hot student as he appreciates it – which just makes him even hotter in my eyes!) but some really fun songs that I can somehow intertwine into my classes. My high-school girls love hip-hop and want to do a song by Akon or Neo which I’m having some issues with finding an appropriate song by these gentlemen.  Either way, using music has been a big hit and I LOVE having my students sing along. There is one student who sings her heart out every time we do a song and she reminds me of Colleen singing “Let Me Be Your Servant” – if you have ever witnessed this then a smile just crept to your face. So imagine when Berta bursts into “You’re So Vain” or a Norah Jones song- I just imagine Beans at church singing. Loves it.


So Anna and I lost it this past Friday and did it. By “did it” I mean we had a massive shopping spree. It was bound to happen. You have two girls that are obsessed with clothes, that have lived in Dallas (one BEING from there) that live 20 minutes from one of the biggest shopping districts in Europe and well – it was bound to happen. We pretty much would black out each time we went to the register with our plastic cards. Not looking forward to that bill… But OMG, got some SUPER cute clothes. I’m totally trying to embrace the whole European look. It’s so dramatic over here and yet casual. I love it. Obsessed with leggings. And cute boots. And fun accessories. Aaah…


Saturday night was a fun one. I went to my friend Casey’s art exhibit. Alas, no Javier Bardems lurking around but I did witness some great art. It’s so nice to see a friend’s work and be blown away by their talent. It’s a pleasant surprise. I stood by his painting and every time an older man would walk by and would check out the price and the painting, I would casually mention how the piece was “turning me on” in hopes that one of these dudes would just buy it. But then I realized that it would help if I said that in Spanish and how I didn’t know how to say “turning me on” in Spanish and how I REALLY need to improve my Spanish in order to learn these important phrases during these important times…Right? Anyhu, after being all artsy – I met up with Anna and we went to this bar that pays homage to the show LOST – Bharma. It was super campy and fun. We met up with some other friends there and proceeded to bar hop around this great neighborhood in Barcelona – Poble Nou. We met some more presh Spanish boys and possibly picked up a few students for this coming year, haha. Now, as cute as these Spanish boys are – and as charming as they are – and as super sweet as they are…Why do they have to be so darn short?! And then, when I meet a tall one, why does his teeth have to be so jacked?! I know – I’m so shallow. I already had this discussion with our friend Albert earlier this week – and I know – if I gave these boys a chance I could see past teeth and height (I’ve done it before… Jess, Burns & Fannin – you KNOW who I’m talking about re: height) but maybe I am just not in the mood to make compromises? Which leads me to…


www.colorquiz.com


Okay, so some of my students are at the “Personality Adjectives” lesson and I am trying to find a fun personality quiz for them to take to make the lesson more interesting and fun. So as I do my research I come across this link for the Color Quiz. So I decide to take it and wow… My results were hilariously accurate that it scared me. I made Anna take it and same for her – such results that were almost too harsh to hear. Pretty much it says that I’m very sensitive (duh) and that I’m afraid of rejection (double-duh) and that I always long for independence and the freedom to make my own choices and I use my charm to get what I want (mmm… okay, duh). It then went into detail regarding other characteristics of myself (some were too funny to mention here) but that pretty much – I’m never going to meet a guy that will meet my expectations and needs and I’ll constantly make excuses in order to not get too close to someone. Nice! There’s a dose of reassurance for me! Anyhu, if you are bored and have a spare 10 minutes – I suggest that you take it! It will be interesting to see if you received just as fitting results as I did…Or if not. Sometimes, actually MOST of the times, these tests are so vague and you pick up on what you want to hear about yourself but I liked how blunt this one was – it was actually more negative about who I am, a swift kick to keep me in check, perhaps? Maybe a sign that I SHOULD compromise?  Stop being so shallow… No se.


Anyhu, before I go – as I don’t have too many crazy, hilar updates for ya’ll – I do want to end on a positive note in lieu of Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday and I’m so sad that I will be missing mashed potatoes and turkey and green beans and stuffed melitons (South LA dish – one of my faves) and pecan pie…. Aaah – the agony. So Anna and I are going to one of our fave Catalan restaurants here and plan to stuff ourselves with local delicacies and give thanks… So this week all of my lesson plans revolve around Thanksgiving and teaching my students what the importance of this holiday is about: giving thanks for what you have! So, here I go…


(WARNING: skip ahead if you are not in the mood for my mushy-gushy-ness)


I am thankful to have this opportunity to explore an amazing city, become immersed in its culture and surround myself with such lovely, inviting people that teach me something new each and every day.


I am thankful to have a family that supported me 100% (with some natural hesitation from my mom) on my decision to come live here. I am thankful for their constant love and keeping me in check.  I am thankful that they will have the opportunity to come visit me in my new home-town!

I am thankful for my friends. The ones I’ve made here. The ones I have back home. I am so thankful for the ones that have kept in touch with me: making me feel loved and missed back home. I am thankful for their support and their hugs that I will receive upon my return. I am thankful for the friends that continue to challenge me in positive ways – by being role-models in how they live their lives. I really appreciate that. Oh, and I appreciate that I have some of the FUNNIEST people on this earth for friends.  Thank God for surrounding me with people that possess a sense of humor. 


I am thankful for my roomie. For constantly making me laugh. For making me not casually live my life but to embrace it each day and question it and make the most of it. And for her amazing Korean cooking skills. Especially when we come back from the bar wasted and she force feeds me kimchi fried rice.


I am thankful for being an American and everything that revolves around Americana.


I am thankful for my faith and how it has grown so much since I’ve been here. I am thankful for the need to continue to strengthen it and grow within it.


I am thankful for having a job that I whole-heartedly enjoy. I am thankful that I have 2 bosses that are so wonderful, fun and supportive. I am thankful that I have students that I am learning just as much from (if not more) as they are from me.


I am thankful for having a roof over my head, legs that carry me down the cobblestone streets of the city, big eyes to take in the beauty and graffiti and ears that let me listen to the mixture of Spanish, Catalan and music on my beloved iPod.


I am thankful that I have the freedom to write and express my thoughts and views.


I am thankful for my life and all of the wonders and surprises and challenges it brings.


So thanks for letting me get a bit sappy. I’m sure ½ of ya’ll skipped through that part so I’ll end with my one song suggestion and a big wish that all of you have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Eat some Turkey for me. I’ll drink some Sangria for you!


On the Search for a Matador that will meet all of my expectations...
Linds



Song Suggestion:
“The Long Way Around” – Dixie Chicks
(my anthem since I’ve been living in Barcelona)



Movie Suggestions:
Sunshine Cleaning – If you ever need something to make you appreciate what you have…Watch this movie. So lovely in so many ways.

Soy Mio

Alright – even though it’s technically the 3rd week here in Barcelona – it’s still in the 2nd week in the US so I am keeping my promise: writing a blog entry per week for the month of November! So, as for excitement, not too much going on…I do have more funny stories to share so I hope you enjoy them…



Wait, I do have one exciting thing to announce! Anna and I just booked our “Winter Break” trip! We are hitting up Granada and Seville (south of Spain) followed by a quick rendezvous to Lisbon, Portugal! I’m super excited to see the culture of Southern Spain – flamenco, the birth place of tapas, Moroccan influence, more gorgeous cathedrals and architecture. I’m also thrilled to go to Portugal! Lisbon is supposed to be a very charming city and the food should be amazing as well. So hooray! I’m also counting down the days until my mom, dad and Chris arrive in Barcelona! I get to show them my new hometown and then we head to Italy to celebrate Christmas. I can’t wait. If you have any suggestions of places to see and experience while in Rome or Florence – please let me know! Especially any restaurant suggestions – always welcomed. Okay, so enough with the exclamation points (!!!) for this paragraph…Onto the funnies:


I know I keep saying that Anna and I have reverted back to our college days but we REALLY have. Just with a twist. So I wake up this morning…Okay, more so this afternoon… and creep down the hall towards our living room. I see someone on my couch. I get closer to see Anna passed out. I wake her up and inquire why she is passed out on our couch to hear her simple explanation that she was too tired to walk to her bedroom and the couch was closer to our front door (it’s not). So we start to recap our evenings. Everything seems very normal-day-after-partying, right? Well, here is where the TWIST comes in: I have writing on my arm. Okay, nothing too crazy from an evening out that involved consuming many Jack & Cokes. BUT – the writing – it’s all in Swedish. That’s right. I have dirty expressions (and some helpful ones, I’m sure) written down my arm in Swedish. After we have a good laugh, Anna goes to the kitchen to get us some food to start helping with the hangover hell. TWIST: She grabs a baguette. I mean, who the hell eats baguettes to help them with their hangover? Europeans. And because we are the newly, sophisticated Europeans that we are – we decide to reenact our favorite Flights of the Conchord video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuXdhow3uqQ) with the baguette. Moving on – after the baguette couldn’t help us we decided that we needed grease. We get dressed and make our trip to the nearest McDonalds. TWIST: Versus doing it drive-thru style still in our PJs with makeup and hair from last night ½ in tacked, we have to actually dress nice, clean up our faces, wash off Swedish words on our arms and WALK 5 blocks to the Mickie Dees that faces Sagrada Familia and wait in line with all of the other tourists for our greasy-goodness (although the difference between us and the tourists – we are possibly still drunk). So still living as if we are in college – just with a European twist.


This past Friday we had the best of intentions to hit up the Modern Museum of Art here in Barcelona. As we decided to do a menu of the day for lunch (best concept of ALL time) we ended up finishing our lunch too late to make it worth the trip to check out the museum. So we trekked it to one of my top three spots in Barcelona: Park Guell. On the way there we got the genius idea to take our Christmas picture while in the park. How Barcelona of us, right? In the Gaudi ginger-bread setting – what doesn’t say Christmas greetings from Barcelona? Well, just to make sure that people would know we are keeping with the Christmas spirit, we stopped at a Chinese Gift Shop (the same one as the mean lighter man) and bought two of the most obnoxious reindeer antlers to wear for our photo shoot. So we get to the park and, after surveying who we could ask to take our picture that wouldn’t judge us TOO much, we pick this nice mom and ask her to play photographer for us. As she gets ready to click the shutter – we bust out these red and green foot-long reindeer antlers and pose. Not only does she burst out laughing but we get other people around the park staring and laughing at us – some even came over and started taking pictures of us! It was hilariously embarrassing. After three tries, we ended up not getting even close to a decent picture. Anna and I look so freaking awkward in these photos as – due to how huge the antlers are – we are sitting so far apart from each other, you would be surprised to know that we are sisters/friends/roommates. We plan to attempt another Christmas photo shoot in the near future.  I’ll keep you posted...


So after the photo shoot failure, we decided that all we could do now was start our Friday night early. We walked around our neighborhood (Gracia) and barhopped. Come 11ish we realized we were starving and stopped by a local tapas restaurant near our apartment. As the bill came, Anna and I realized the most embarrassing thing ever… We didn’t have enough money to pay the bill!!!! We both assumed the other one had enough money to cover the other one and yeah…too bad we didn’t communicate this earlier before we stuffed our faces with patatas bravas and grilled peppers. So, after we explain that we are 3euros short of our bill, we tell our waitress that they could keep me at the restaurant while Anna went running back to our flat to get more money. Yes, I was kept hostage at the local tapas restaurant. Anna returned back with more money and we went along our way. Luckily I was “valuable” enough that the restaurant knew Anna would come back to rescue me with money for the bill – and lucky enough for me – she didn’t just peace out. Although that would have been hilarious. I could just see myself sitting at the bar until they start closing down the restaurant. And then having to go in the back and wash all the dishes and take out the trash because, that’s what happens to people who can’t pay the bill, right? They do the dishes in the back. At least that's what Hollywood says. Either way, I have never had this happen to me before (nor has Anna) and it made for a hilarious night… I know you must be thinking that our good luck from the bird poop is running out. But we decided, as it was FRIDAY the 13th – all good luck from the birds was null and void on this day.

Last night (which led to the funny hangover story this morning/day) we went out to celebrate our dear friend Casey’s birthday. We went to one of my top three bars in Barcelona – Alfa – and danced the night away. Casey is in the art school here so we got to meet a bunch of his fellow art student friends from, literally, all over the world. One of the boys who is from Sweden had a bunch of his friends visiting as well (yes, this all results to the Swedish writing on my arm) and let me just say – what a precious, fun bunch they were. And a bit confusing. So at first glance, one would assume these boys liked only other boys. And at first chat, you would assume the same. They liked my whole 1930s look I was rocking (gay-vibe) but then they would dance with me in a very hmm…non-gay way (hetero-vibe) then they would talk in explicit detail about their designer glasses (gay-vibe) but then buy me a drink in a very “I’m kind of hitting on you” way (hetero-vibe). Come to find out – they were all bi-sexual. Can I just say that bisexuals have got to be the most CONFUSING people on this planet! I mean, it’s one thing to say that you are curious regarding sexuality or that you perhaps have dated both sexes before…But in the same night – you hit on everyone that moves? Is this fair? Is this just being horny? I still don’t have an opinion on the matter and I’m all for freedom of sexual expression and choice but in conclusion: bi-sexuals are confusing. Anyhu, the night ended with a dance party at one of the art boy’s flats and, of course, this led to my impromptu Swedish lesson where the translations were recorded on my arm.

Teaching is going along fabulously. My trouble-maker student of the little girls can no longer take English classes so it was a tremendous change teaching the girls this week. They were so ridiculously good that they got three stickers each and the promise to do a Hannah Montana song for next class. Amazing how one bad apple can sour the bunch. My high-school girls continue to be one of my favorite classes to teach – it brings out my old SJA self- gossiping about cute boys and fashion. My hot student is well, still ridiculously hot. And then Domingo is still full of wonderful insight and precious anecdotes. I totally have the teaching bug and wonder what will happen next year regarding my career path – will I want to continue teaching or go back to event planning and fundraising…

Speaking of next year – I’m starting to realize that I may not be ready to return to the States in a year’s time. I decided to not fret over it yet. A good friend of mine reminded me that I have over six months in an AMAZING city and to enjoy each day as it comes. I really don’t need to make any decisions until March-ish so again, I’ll keep you posted…

This week is going to be a busy one with classes and trying to get back into a working out routine. Perhaps I won’t have anything fun or funny to write about come next week. But then – it’s me. And even on my most routine days – something bizarre that results into something rather funny is bound to happen. So, I’ll keep you posted…

On the search for my matador (that possesses a fabulous sense of humor),

Linds

Song Suggestions:

(nothing new but just some songs that make me smile)

“Eyes” – Rogue Wave

“Recovering the Satellites” – Counting Crows

“Body and Soul” – Tori Amos

“Closer to You” – The Wallflowers

Taking the Good with the Bad

So it’s getting a tad-bit cold here in Barcelona. As we don’t have central-air or heat in our flat we are bundled up like Eskimos and huddled around our portable heater. Ah! To be college-poor again and live in an old building with horrid utilities…Brings me back to Loyno. Okay, updates, updates and more updates for ya’ll! Where o where to begin…?

Let’s go over the “bad” news first. Nothing horrible and actually – they end up being a bit hilarious so I’ll share. So I finally got sick enough where I had to go to the doctor. The medicine I needed for this sinus infection wasn’t available over the counter so I had to go and get a check-up just to make sure all was okay and get the prescription. So I go to the Hospital/Clinic and once we go thru the language barrier fun, I go and sit in the waiting room. As I’m waiting, every time a person would walk into the room – they would greet the entire room: “Buenos Dias!!!!” And, I kid you not, everyone would respond back: “Buenoooo!!!” - I was like, Que?! Actually, I just stared. Nobody called me out for not chiming in but I was just amazed at how friendly all of these sick people were and wondered if this was waiting room etiquette over here in Espana…Next time I’ll be more prepared. Anyhu, all went well and I’m on the path of recovery…

2nd “bad” story: Spanish classes = FAIL! So Anna and I found a great deal for a month long intensive Spanish course as we felt we needed to brush up and become a bit more fluent. So we go to our first meeting with the school and take our placement tests. The next day I get to class and meet my other two class-mates: a girl from the UK and another girl from Japan. And then I meet my teacher…Oh. My. How one can make their skin color and hair color match to a tee is beyond me. Especially when it’s a nice shade of orange.  So I take my seat and she asks my name (yes, this is all in Spanish) and I say “Lindsay.” “Lindsay Lohan?!” “Um, no.” “Me gusta Lindsay Lohan! Te gusta Lindsay Lohan?! Te gusta Paris Hilton?!?! Me gusta Paris Hilton!!!” So for the REST of class she insisted on calling me Lindsay Lohan. And then she would giggle afterwards. Riiight. So we were discussing how to say if you like something, really like it or hate it, etc. and she made us write about our favorite celebrity and what they would and would not like… So, just to go along with the entire Lohan/Hilton theme- guess who my celebrity was? Well. You can’t have Paris and Lindsay without Brit-Brit! Yes, I wrote a report on Britney Spears – how we are from the same place in the USA (you should have seen my teacher freak) and how she likes to sing but she likes to party even more so! Okay, so this is when it gets a bit worse… She makes us write what we like and dislike and then read it aloud to the class. So it’s the Japanese girl’s turn to go and she mentions how she likes shopping and reading but doesn’t like cleaning her house. Great job…Moving on, right? Um, no. Our lovely teacher decides to ask her why didn’t she say that she likes sushi…Or karaoke? I mean – can we please be a bit more stereotypical and ask her where she keeps her Kimono? So, besides being called Lohan and how ridiculous this teacher was with her views on outside cultures – she just sucked at teaching Spanish. She gave us worksheets and kept texting her lovah while in mid-sentence explaining some pretty basic, simple Espanol. Yeah – I didn’t return. So I continue my search for an affordable Spanish class and, in the meantime, allow my teenage girls to teach me some Spanish slang.

3rd “bad” story(s): Okay, there is one thing to be lost in translation when discussing various topics in Spanish. But to be so confused that you constantly make stupid purchasing decisions…Oh yes, I have become a pro regarding this. It all started when I thought I bought an orange…And it turned out to be some mutant grape-fruit sourness thing. Then I bought grapes…All with seeds. Have you ever tried to pop a grape in your mouth and almost break your teeth because of seeds?! Eck. Okay, then, in honor of Castanyada (I will discuss this later) I thought I was buying the castanyadas that all of my students have been talking about – some type of sweet dessert. Instead I bought yams. Yeah – I don’t know either. And then, to compliment the apple pie that I baked the other day, I went and bought vanilla ice-cream…Um, no – I bought some nasty-ass cinnamon ice-cream instead. Yes – I am a PRO. So the best one yet is the other day. All around the city are these Big Lots-esque stores aka as "Chinese Gift Shops."  You can find all ends and odds stuff there. So I went to buy one of those fire lighters for our stove along with a few other items. I get home and am trying to light the stove but the lighter will not work. I show Anna that I bought this defect lighter and storm back out the apartment to get a new one. I walk into the store and tell the guy – I just bought this and it doesn’t work. He looks at me, takes the lighter, TAKES THE CAP OFF, and fires it up. Again. And Again. Each time he lights it he goes “HaHAHAHA” and then gets quiet. Then lights it up again. And the laughter begins again. After the 5th time, I grab the lighter from him and storm back out… So maybe this isn’t just a lost in translation moment but more so a blonde one? Claro que si.

Okay, so onto fun and good stories!

So three Friday nights ago we decided to venture out to our very first Spanish concert. We discovered a band, The New Raemon, when we were researching Jose Gonzalez. We downloaded some of their music and decided to check them out live. Well, again, my Spanish is nowhere near fluent so I wasn’t quite sure what they were singing about but I knew I liked their sound and the lead singer’s voice. So, Friday night Anna and I decided to pregame before the concert- perhaps a bit too much. So we walk over to the venue which happens to be a double-auditorium for the arts. In one section is where the Barcelona Symphony performs and the other was a sit-down formal concert hall where The New Raemon was playing.  Hmm… Totally not the venue we were expecting. So, we go in, rather giggly and such, to find out that we are some of the youngest people there. The more we survey the crowd, we also notice that we are more so dressed for a concert at say, The House of Blues, than what these people were wearing (very conservative church clothes). Okay, no big deal. Well, the music starts and we are chatting away and signing along and then get real quiet when we notice – NOBODY else is singing along. These two Spanish girls to our right look like they want to kill us and the guy to my left looks like he is praying… So as the music keeps going – people would randomly shout, in perfect unison, Hallelujah… Um yes – The New Raemon is a Christian-Rock band! We went F-ed up to a Spanish Christian Concert!!! Aaaaaaaahhaha! So when we realized it – oh – I mean, I had to stick my head in my purse to somewhat muffle my laughter. We had to leave early as we were going to be kicked-out if we stayed any longer. I mean, still a good band but not what we were expecting… So we head to the bar across the street and continue the night with more drinking.

Okay, so this is where luck comes in: As we walk in we notice that a bunch of guys in tuxedos are sitting around the bar. One comes up to us and bluntly states: “You girls are American, right?” – So we end up sitting down with these guys in tuxes to find out … They all play for Barcelona’s Symphony! As the night progressed, our new friend (the blunt one) Matt offered Anna and I two free tickets to the Saturday showing! Of course, we gladly took him up on the offer and went home excited to have the opportunity to dress up for an evening at the symphony. So Saturday rolls around, we get our tickets and head on into the gorgeous music hall. So, again – our Spanish is not at a fluent level – hand our tickets over to the usher who beings leading us down the center of the hall…to the front row!!! It was crazy! Again, we were the youngest people in the hall by a good twenty or so years but this time, we knew we didn’t have to figure out what was being said and just enjoy the wonderful music. Such a great experience! The best part was when the solo pianist came in and performed a few Beethoven pieces which were amazing…Especially since it was RIGHT in front of my very eyes.

 Later that week we had a farewell party for our friend Jake that was heading back to Cali. He wanted to do everything very Barcelona-esque so we went out in the Barri Gottic area (where we used to live) and bar-hopped around. As it was a Wednesday night – most of the bars were pretty dead so we decided to continue the party down Las Ramblas (the main street in Barcelona) and buy some cervezas off of the Euro/Beer Men and walk around. As we were some of the only people on the street we ended up having cartwheel contests and wheel-barrel races down the main drag. It was rather hilar and I think everyone that passed us just rolled their eyes and muttered “immature Americans.” Either way, I think it was a good send-off.

So last weekend was Halloween which is not a big deal over here. They celebrate Castanyada which literally means The Chestnut that they eat on All Saint’s Day. It’s the only time the bakeries make these sweet, chestnut little treats so of course Anna and I jumped on that bandwagon and bought a dozen of them… Can you see how healthy we are being here? (Beans – we can discuss my food journal later). Anyhu, there are a few clubs that celebrate Halloween mainly to make some $$ off the American expats. We decided to go but wanted to dress up a little bit – not be THOSE obnoxious Americans but still continue on the Halloween tradition over here. So we opted for head-devil and pocket-devil (or fallen angel). Guess who was who. So we got dolled-up for the night and again, here is where the pre-gaming becomes disastrous- we drink and drink and do not leave our place for the clubs until 2AM. Good thing this is a late-night city. Well, as the club we wanted to go to is 208098 stops from our metro station we ended up creating the party on the way to the club. We danced with other fellow Americans in costumes, we took pictures with random passengers on the metro, we had a debate on why Halloween is not hurting Spanish culture and why mullets are gross (okay – that was just me with this one punk Catalan boy) and pretty much – had a huge photo-shoot the entire time. So I guess, in the end, we were THOSE Americans... It was a pretty tame Halloween night but still loads of fun. And carrying around a pitch-fork in a club is a GREAT way to flirt with boys… I highly recommend it.

Okay, a quick cultural digression (as some of you think I JUST party. Pshaw!):

Jake and I visited Tibidabo the day before he left. Soo fun! It’s the other highest point in Barcelona and is considered Barcelona’s other mountain. There are a lot of hiking opportunities and the Temple of the Sacred Heart (Temple del Sagrat Cor) sits right on top. There is also a small amusement park that is the oldest one in Spain- been around since the 1800s!  Also, a  few key scenes of Vicky Christina Barcelona were filmed there. So we visited the Basilica and decided to hike around the area. Some of the BEST views of the Spanish countryside ever. I would look down and see just hills upon hills with these adorable little farm homes tucked in between...

This past Friday we went to the MNAC (The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya) and explored around. Barcelona has such an amazing art scene – so many great museums and so many areas to help cultivate and preserve the arts. You have to appreciate that. By living in Barcelona post Dallas and being from New Orleans I just know I must live in a city that is culturally alive and aware. To have the access to museums and art galleries and to promote the creative… It’s a great environment.


Teaching is still going great. I have created some great relationships with various students and classes – it’s fun to have the varied ages as I can act differently depending on the class. I can be goofy with my teenage girls, have heart-felt conversations with my eldest student and bond over music and movies with students that are closer in my age. This past week, I had my class with Domingo, my older student, and was teaching him various adjectives used to describe someone’s personality. I gave him a worksheet where I asked him to use the adjectives he learned to describe his wife, kids, grand-kids, former boss, his teacher (me!) and various other people in his life. I have to say – I was rather touched at his kind words regarding his wife. I feel that if I was to give this lesson to a married person back in the States – male or female – that majority would use negative adjectives to describe their mate – perhaps nagging, lazy, unappreciative, etc. Perhaps these would be said jokingly but I just don’t think that we are promoted to be as honest and upfront with our feelings as many of my European friends were raised.  Okay, so the words he used to describe his wife: hard-working (she raised four kids and always had supper ready for them – it’s the hardest job in the book! – and yes, I’m quoting him), sensible (hmm – don’t know many men back home that would call a woman this word…) and affectionate. So of course, cue the “awww” from me. He then follows with:


“This isn’t one of the adjectives we learned today – but I think of my wife as my treasure. I hold her dear to my heart.”


Yes, I just melted and no, I cannot make this up. I just really appreciated Domingo’s honesty and heart-felt description of his wife and how important she is to him. I did ask if he had any single, Matador sons but alas, no.


I could go on with more teaching stories or random excursions and encounters Anna and I embark in on a daily basis. This city is full of characters and they love to interact with us. No complaints. Just funny stories. Anyhu, as Nicole just informed me that it is National Blog Month – I vow to post a blog each week for the month of November! So be on the look-out and hopefully I’ll have some good stories to fill this blank space with.


For those of you that just booked a trip to come see me (Babbsy!) or getting on it (Eri/Meesh/Fanny/Burnsy) – I just can’t wait! There is so much to show ya’ll… So please, come visit!  I’d love to have you.


Still on the search for a romantic matador,
Linds


Song Suggestions (just for you Suze):
Freeway – Aimee Man
Hot Stuff vs. World Hold On – Craig David vs. Bob Sinclair (um yes, I just put a club mix on the list)
Two Weeks – Grizzly Bear


Movie Suggestion:
{500} Days of Summer/ {500} Dias de Junto
I think majority of ya’ll have seen it but oh- I finally got to and loved it. Love, love, love it.