“Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep alone under the stars. Learn how to drive a stick shift. Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back. Say no whenever you don’t want to do something. Say yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around you disagrees. Decide whether you want to be liked or admired. Decide if fitting in is more important than finding out what you’re doing here.”
— Eve Ensler
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
"Hasta el 40 de mayo, llevas un sayo"
Sunday March 13th -- amending this post to include things that have happened/things I have been doing recently.
A few things about my life in Madrid right now (including things happening recently):
1. I eat at least 1 orange a day. Usually 2.
2. I walk at least 2 miles a day, just in going places.
3. Charo has decided that this is the week I am going to try a lot of different foods. I agreed, but drew the line at rabbit.
4. It's now Lent and I'm not giving up anything.
5. The 4 year old classes that I teach English to at the elementary school are growing on me. I like one class better than the other. The one I like better has this girl, Carolina, that is always hugging my legs/body when I am standing and I can't get her off. At first it was annoying but now it's getting cuter. Overall, I just don't love the "pequeñitos" (really little kids).
6. The weather is all over the place, but getting better! Hence the title of this post.
7. I started taking a lot more walks - walking from place to place and using the Metro less. Sometimes it doesn't even take any more time than the Metro would. I realized how close many things really are.
8. I'm not being the kind of student that I usually am... but the whole "pass with a C" and grades don't transfer to SMC policy has been making me feel like I'm better off spending my time doing something else than doing homework. We'll see how I feel about this when I apply to grad school.
9. I finally made it in a discoteca until 6am and took the Metro home. It was exhausting, that was Thursday and now it's Sunday and I'm still tired from it.
10. The crescent moon haircut that Charo gave me is finally growing back in!
Hasta luego!
A few things about my life in Madrid right now (including things happening recently):
1. I eat at least 1 orange a day. Usually 2.
2. I walk at least 2 miles a day, just in going places.
3. Charo has decided that this is the week I am going to try a lot of different foods. I agreed, but drew the line at rabbit.
4. It's now Lent and I'm not giving up anything.
5. The 4 year old classes that I teach English to at the elementary school are growing on me. I like one class better than the other. The one I like better has this girl, Carolina, that is always hugging my legs/body when I am standing and I can't get her off. At first it was annoying but now it's getting cuter. Overall, I just don't love the "pequeñitos" (really little kids).
6. The weather is all over the place, but getting better! Hence the title of this post.
7. I started taking a lot more walks - walking from place to place and using the Metro less. Sometimes it doesn't even take any more time than the Metro would. I realized how close many things really are.
8. I'm not being the kind of student that I usually am... but the whole "pass with a C" and grades don't transfer to SMC policy has been making me feel like I'm better off spending my time doing something else than doing homework. We'll see how I feel about this when I apply to grad school.
9. I finally made it in a discoteca until 6am and took the Metro home. It was exhausting, that was Thursday and now it's Sunday and I'm still tired from it.
10. The crescent moon haircut that Charo gave me is finally growing back in!
Hasta luego!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Morocco: waka waka we are all Afrika
There are several notes written in my notebook about my three day travel extravaganza to Morocco, so I am just going to synthesize into lists.
Travel on Friday: Madrid > Sevilla > Tangiers, Morocco, Africa.
Travel on Saturday: Tangiers > Tangiers Beach? > Chefchouen > Tangiers.
Travel on Sunday: Tangiers > Tetouen > Tangiers > Sevilla > Madrid.
Things that happened/things I noticed on buses during the trip:
1. On the bus trip from Madrid to Sevilla, I fell asleep in the morning and when I woke up we were going through beautiful mountains, some with steep rockfaces. I've been so happy to see that Spain has mountains - I see them every Tuesday and Thursday morning on the train to the elementary school, but I haven't seen anything very impressive. This morning I found this place where Spanish mountains finally beat VT mountains. Little did I know what great mountains were to come in Morocco!
2. Driving from Sevilla to Tarifa to take the ferry to Tangiers, I noticed a place where there was a lake right at the foot of a mountain, just like in one of my favorite Spanish short stories, San Manuel Bueno. I was so excited to see this out the bus window.
3. The mountains in Northern Morocco are GORGEOUS. I couldn't get over this.
4. All of these points are about mountains.
Things that happened in Tangiers:
1. I rode a camel.
2. We saw Hercules Cave, and the water was so, so blue.
3. We went to look for a teahouse on Saturday night but couldn't find out.
4. Found a girl from Connecticut that is studying in Sevilla who was on the tour with us who knew people at Saint Mike's! I was so excited. First person she knows? Jordan Porco. What are the odds? It's a small world.
Things that happened in Chefchouen:
1. We fled a protest.
2. A man called me "Shakira" and said "waka waka", because he thought I was Spanish. If he had said this in front of a real Spaniard, they would have been mortified. I just laughed.
3. Between fleeing the protest and leaving on our buses, I used a bathroom that was actually just a small hole in the ground. "A non-Western toilet." That was interesting.
4. Noticed lots of animals just roaming in the beautiful Atlas Mountains, and their owners collecting them up before dark.
Things that happened in Tetouen:
1. There are cats everywhere. This is actually Morocco in general, but I noticed specifically in Tetouen.
2. Finally got to try Moroccan tea and it was delicious - so sweet!
3. I finally got the souk/zoco experience that I was looking for. It was such a cool experience to be walking through the very narrow, wet streets of the food market with entire chickens hanging from the awnings and lots of meat, fish and vegetables everywhere and people talking, selling, laughing, doing normal things. I was a little disappointed that my tour program was so Americanized and seemed so unauthentic, but this experience made up for it, a bit.
4. We saw more rugs - in both cities they brought us to rug co-ops to see where they make and sell rugs. I have never been interested in textiles or rugs or anything, but they were actually really interesting and beautiful.
5. I finally got to buy some Moroccan gifts! I was so excited.
6. I found people that are nicer than Canadians or Americans - the Moroccans were so kind, interesting and eager people. They are also all really smart - most of them know at least 4 languages. (Arabic, English, French, Spanish) - they were great.
Travel on Friday: Madrid > Sevilla > Tangiers, Morocco, Africa.
Travel on Saturday: Tangiers > Tangiers Beach? > Chefchouen > Tangiers.
Travel on Sunday: Tangiers > Tetouen > Tangiers > Sevilla > Madrid.
Things that happened/things I noticed on buses during the trip:
1. On the bus trip from Madrid to Sevilla, I fell asleep in the morning and when I woke up we were going through beautiful mountains, some with steep rockfaces. I've been so happy to see that Spain has mountains - I see them every Tuesday and Thursday morning on the train to the elementary school, but I haven't seen anything very impressive. This morning I found this place where Spanish mountains finally beat VT mountains. Little did I know what great mountains were to come in Morocco!
2. Driving from Sevilla to Tarifa to take the ferry to Tangiers, I noticed a place where there was a lake right at the foot of a mountain, just like in one of my favorite Spanish short stories, San Manuel Bueno. I was so excited to see this out the bus window.
3. The mountains in Northern Morocco are GORGEOUS. I couldn't get over this.
4. All of these points are about mountains.
Things that happened in Tangiers:
1. I rode a camel.
2. We saw Hercules Cave, and the water was so, so blue.
3. We went to look for a teahouse on Saturday night but couldn't find out.
4. Found a girl from Connecticut that is studying in Sevilla who was on the tour with us who knew people at Saint Mike's! I was so excited. First person she knows? Jordan Porco. What are the odds? It's a small world.
Things that happened in Chefchouen:
1. We fled a protest.
2. A man called me "Shakira" and said "waka waka", because he thought I was Spanish. If he had said this in front of a real Spaniard, they would have been mortified. I just laughed.
3. Between fleeing the protest and leaving on our buses, I used a bathroom that was actually just a small hole in the ground. "A non-Western toilet." That was interesting.
4. Noticed lots of animals just roaming in the beautiful Atlas Mountains, and their owners collecting them up before dark.
Things that happened in Tetouen:
1. There are cats everywhere. This is actually Morocco in general, but I noticed specifically in Tetouen.
2. Finally got to try Moroccan tea and it was delicious - so sweet!
3. I finally got the souk/zoco experience that I was looking for. It was such a cool experience to be walking through the very narrow, wet streets of the food market with entire chickens hanging from the awnings and lots of meat, fish and vegetables everywhere and people talking, selling, laughing, doing normal things. I was a little disappointed that my tour program was so Americanized and seemed so unauthentic, but this experience made up for it, a bit.
4. We saw more rugs - in both cities they brought us to rug co-ops to see where they make and sell rugs. I have never been interested in textiles or rugs or anything, but they were actually really interesting and beautiful.
5. I finally got to buy some Moroccan gifts! I was so excited.
6. I found people that are nicer than Canadians or Americans - the Moroccans were so kind, interesting and eager people. They are also all really smart - most of them know at least 4 languages. (Arabic, English, French, Spanish) - they were great.
Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris
Being Abroad
Something that I've noticed that is really difficult about being abroad is that you have to put yourself "out there" more than any other situation in life because this place, regardless of where it is, is 100% different than where you life. Even a little different is very different. You can't understand every word they say and subsequently can't express yourself exactly as you'd like - which can be frustrating. You have to invest a lot to come abroad, including of course, a lot of money. You have to invest a lot of time and energy and effort before you even leave the U.S. When you get here, you have to invest your whole self. Invest your whole self in this new place and culture, and it's exhausting, draining, exhilarating, inspiring, all at the same time. 4 months if both a long and short time - it's a challenge either way you look at it. I'm having an incredible time and enjoying everything - I'm investing my whole self in everything.
Something that I've noticed that is really difficult about being abroad is that you have to put yourself "out there" more than any other situation in life because this place, regardless of where it is, is 100% different than where you life. Even a little different is very different. You can't understand every word they say and subsequently can't express yourself exactly as you'd like - which can be frustrating. You have to invest a lot to come abroad, including of course, a lot of money. You have to invest a lot of time and energy and effort before you even leave the U.S. When you get here, you have to invest your whole self. Invest your whole self in this new place and culture, and it's exhausting, draining, exhilarating, inspiring, all at the same time. 4 months if both a long and short time - it's a challenge either way you look at it. I'm having an incredible time and enjoying everything - I'm investing my whole self in everything.
Paris, in general
I was so excited, relieved and genuinely happy to see some friends from Saint Mike's in Paris over the weekend of February 18-20th. I had been truly craving some familiar people, people I feel comfortable with, and especially people who were on the same page as I am as far as things happening at home, things happening abroad, etc. It was so good to just be with people who knew me, understood me. One example of this that comes back to me from that weekend, and that I think will for awhile, is that when we were out in the city, the girls were always turning around to make sure I was still walking behind them. I walk slow, and that's fine with me - it's always been the case and I'm used to it. As long as I can see the group, I'm fine, and I don't need anyone to walk with me just because I'm behind. However, it sometimes is disheartening with my friends here when no one ever turns around, even just to wonder if I'm still there. In comparison, the SMC girls were constantly turning around, even to the point where I would laugh when they did it every two minutes. I said to Anna how I noticed this difference and she said "Saint Mike's raised us right!" and I thought about how part of it must be Saint Mike's - because my friends in Madrid are great, it's not that they aren't kind people, but maybe it's just that we come from different backgrounds that the SMC girls were more concerned with looking out for me. It just made me feel really comforted, because I know that there will always be someone turning around to look for me. It also made me wonder how it could be that no one was turning around to check on Jordan the week before, but I also know that that isn't why anything happened, and that that sort of "blame" doesn't exist. It was just interesting timing to be thinking about both things. Overall, despite very yucky weather, I'm very happy that I went to Paris and I'm so happy to have been reunited with some friends. It was all worth it.
Here is a list of things that I noticed in Paris/that happened in Paris:
1. The Metro is nearly impossible to find and not nearly as clean or convenient as Madrid.
2. I know that Paris is the "City of Light" and one of the most beautiful cities in the world and blahblahblah, but... I thought it was kind of dirty.
3. It rained and was gray and cloudy the entire time.
4. The people were not as rude as I had heard. The nicest people I've found anywhere are still Canadians and Americans, though.
5. People actually wear berets here, unless those were all tourists.
6. I know more Spanish than I thought I did - because I realized in Paris, not knowing French, how easily I do communicate in Spain.
7. We saw the Fountain of Saint Michael and took a ton of pictures in front of it, naturally.
8. I ate an eclair in France!
9. I chose to go up in the Eiffel Tower at night and it was the BEST decision. Even though it was cloudy and kind of cold, it was SO exciting and I know that I might never do that again - so fun.
10. I explored on my own on Sunday, and went to the Musee d'Orsay. In the museum are two of my very favorite paintings by Renoir. I've had a poster of one of them in my room at home (and at school freshman year until it ripped) for several years, and I've always admired my aunts wooden cut out of one of the paintings. In the museum there were tons of people, but I turned a corner and saw the paintings on the wall right in front of me and my heart actually started to beat faster - like I was nervous or had a lot of adrenaline or something. I don't know that much about art and have never really had an experience like that, but it was just really exciting to be standing in front of this painting that I've always liked so much, and to be seeing the real thing, on the wall, right in front of me. That was a really good moment in Paris.
Here is a list of things that I noticed in Paris/that happened in Paris:
1. The Metro is nearly impossible to find and not nearly as clean or convenient as Madrid.
2. I know that Paris is the "City of Light" and one of the most beautiful cities in the world and blahblahblah, but... I thought it was kind of dirty.
3. It rained and was gray and cloudy the entire time.
4. The people were not as rude as I had heard. The nicest people I've found anywhere are still Canadians and Americans, though.
5. People actually wear berets here, unless those were all tourists.
6. I know more Spanish than I thought I did - because I realized in Paris, not knowing French, how easily I do communicate in Spain.
7. We saw the Fountain of Saint Michael and took a ton of pictures in front of it, naturally.
8. I ate an eclair in France!
9. I chose to go up in the Eiffel Tower at night and it was the BEST decision. Even though it was cloudy and kind of cold, it was SO exciting and I know that I might never do that again - so fun.
10. I explored on my own on Sunday, and went to the Musee d'Orsay. In the museum are two of my very favorite paintings by Renoir. I've had a poster of one of them in my room at home (and at school freshman year until it ripped) for several years, and I've always admired my aunts wooden cut out of one of the paintings. In the museum there were tons of people, but I turned a corner and saw the paintings on the wall right in front of me and my heart actually started to beat faster - like I was nervous or had a lot of adrenaline or something. I don't know that much about art and have never really had an experience like that, but it was just really exciting to be standing in front of this painting that I've always liked so much, and to be seeing the real thing, on the wall, right in front of me. That was a really good moment in Paris.
Plane to Paris, February 18th
Yesterday morning I found out about what has happened recently at Saint Mike's. I didn't know what to say. The death of a young person might be one of the hardest tragedies to endure, especially when you are also a young person. How many times had I even seen him, 3 or 4? But it feels like a family member has died, because I can only imagine how his family and everyone at Saint Mike's is feeling and my heart has felt so heavy for them. It's terrifying to me to think that someone at SMC could feel so alone, and I know that our family will never be the same. I have been thinking about all of the people that I have not been kind to, and realizing ways that I can change my thoughts and actions to take better care of others. Life is too precious to spend one second uncomfortable. I think I've "grown up" in leaps and bounds since starting college - I am less selfish, more globally oriented, much more conscious and sensitive to the world and the people around me, and less emotional - but there are still a lot of times where I don't do all that I could do to take care of others. Since coming to Spain, I have realized that I have spent a lot of my life wanting to "grow up." So many people have always told me how "mature" I am, and I have been so proud of how independent I have always been, but sometimes it seems like I've forgotten to be young. In Spain, Charo, the faculty at the school I teach at, the BU people, everyone is always saying "eres joven, eres joven" - you are so young, you are so young. I never thought that 21 was that young - but I think the Spanish are right - what am I rushing anything for? I want to spend the rest of my time abroad just being young. Not everyone gets to enjoy their youth - it would be a disgrace to do anything but be young while I am.
Being abroad is for thinking.
My whirlwind month of travel is over. So much has happened in the past two weeks, not just to me and my travels, but there has also been a lot happening at home in VT that I have been thinking about. I can't believe it is March already. I am a little sad but also relieved - while seeing so many new, interesting places was fun, I am also so excited to be spending a longer period of time in Madrid, and to not feel like I'm rushing around! I have been to three countries and two continents in 4 weeks and I finally have some stamps (African, at that!) in my passport. In order to avoid posting one gigantic blog post about everything, I am going to post a few lists/notes that I have made in a little notebook I've been carrying around instead, so here comes several posts one after another!
I have realized since being abroad how much thinking I am forced to do. I have a cell phone here, but I am in no way connected in the way that I am connected in the US. Everytime I leave my apartment, it's just me and my thoughts until I get where I am going/meet someone I know. I can listen to my ipod on the train, or write notes in my notebook, or even talk to someone on the bus or train if that happens, but I'm not texting, I'm not calling anyone usually, I'm not connected. I realized this mostly when I was in Paris, because I had so much extra time in the city when I was wandering by myself, Friday afternoon and during the day Sunday. It really forces me to think and stay inside my own head because there are so few people that I know here, no one that I knew in Paris, and I think it's been really good for me to finally just stop and think. It's like being "off the grid", but internationally. It's not just a Leap weekend disconnected or deciding to turn off my computer for the night. It's a lot of time that's just me thinking, and I think that's good because it was time for me to slow down and just think.
Here come the thoughts from my notebook!
I have realized since being abroad how much thinking I am forced to do. I have a cell phone here, but I am in no way connected in the way that I am connected in the US. Everytime I leave my apartment, it's just me and my thoughts until I get where I am going/meet someone I know. I can listen to my ipod on the train, or write notes in my notebook, or even talk to someone on the bus or train if that happens, but I'm not texting, I'm not calling anyone usually, I'm not connected. I realized this mostly when I was in Paris, because I had so much extra time in the city when I was wandering by myself, Friday afternoon and during the day Sunday. It really forces me to think and stay inside my own head because there are so few people that I know here, no one that I knew in Paris, and I think it's been really good for me to finally just stop and think. It's like being "off the grid", but internationally. It's not just a Leap weekend disconnected or deciding to turn off my computer for the night. It's a lot of time that's just me thinking, and I think that's good because it was time for me to slow down and just think.
Here come the thoughts from my notebook!
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