Today is Tuesday (again)...

...and I missed Monday

Tunes: random

I'm going to miss this time of isolation (to an extent). I don't say that in a strong sense of the word, but my time abroad has given me a lot of time to myself, really forcing me to come to terms with internal conflicts and my relationship with God. At times, it has been one of the most difficult thing I've experienced. At times, it has been one of the most beautiful things I've experienced. My time of being in starkly different places with starkly different cultures has forced me to take my external and internal events, and process them with the one ever-consistent thing in my life, God himself.

On Sunday, we had a message about the blessing of prosperity that God gives, and how that applies to the internal health of our hearts. More than ever, I have been experiencing this here in Spain, specifically with regard to having my needs met in a time of isolation. Through events, he has opened up my heart to be able to express myself through writing and music, and he has also given me a group of friends to pour into via a bible study on Monday nights.

So I guess after writing this, I guess I can't say I'm going to miss this, because I will experience this same application of God's provision in different aspects of my life in the different seasons that I come to. Perhaps a different physical journey, but with the same spiritual destination: salvation.

Today is Sunday

Tunes: O.C.M.S.

And I'm going to my church Vida Abundante (Abundant Life). I stumbled upon the place because an American I met at Portland Ale House invited me to check it out. Since that day, my friends Allison, Catherine, Nick, Julian, and Caitlin were started trickling in and were all adopted into the Vida Abundante family. We were met with hugs, words of encouragement, and excitement, as this growing evangelical church showed us God's love.

When I say family, I mean it in many different ways. In the spiritual sense, they are a messy group of brothers and sisters who love God and love people. They do a pretty dang good job. In the traditional sense, I've noticed how every child has 30 uncles and 30 aunts. They love their children and everyone else's children... it's just one big source of love. They've got Spaniards, S. Americans, Americans, Gitanos (gypsies), and people from all over. Christ has broken down barriers in order to create this family, and it's changing lives.

AND they have a fog machine. It was pretty ridiculous when I saw it the first service I attended, but they have a fog machine to accompany their heartfelt music and dancing. If you know my friend Joe Courage, and have experienced his dancing during worship, he has a 70-year-old doppelgänger in Spain who jumps and spins and shouts. And he gives the best hugs.

Off to read and 'descansar' before two days of heavy studying for my last exam on Wednesday :)

Today is (pretty much) Saturday

I'm going to miss random nights staying up late in my kitchen pondering my life while playing solitaire, accompanied by random accordion players passing by my apartment.
Here's a short clip of a street performer in San Sebastián that I recorded:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6Cr4xgKLic

I'm going to miss late-night hangouts with my Italian friends, trying to make sense of a mix of Spanish, Italian, and English to explain the lives we live.

Today is Friday

Tunes: Sviatoslav Richter

I'm going to miss the sociality of Spain. Yes, I admit it. Every night, I pass by tapa bar after tapa bar, and marvel at how well Spaniards know how to get their friends together to eat, drink, and socialize. Just the whole idea of tapas is contrary to most American ways of eating. At home, we each have our own plates, and might share with friends. In Spain, at least with tapas, you basically order a ton of appetizers and share them with the entire table. It's reaching across each other, passing food, talking about anything and everything...

Maybe one day I'll open up a tapa bar. Main items: bravas, jamón serrano, pan, chorizo, croquetas, y calamares. Look out.

First test tomorrow. It will determine my entire grade for my history of philosophical and scientific thought class. Let's see how this brain can perform on Spanish soil.

Today is Thursday

...and I missed an entry yesterday.

I'm studying. A lot.

I'm going to miss the beach here. I haven't seen it in more than a week because I hurt my knee and I've been studying a bunch. I'm just minutes away, and I already miss it. Well, after my exam on Saturday I'll spend some time out there. It's been so nice having the Mediterranean in my back yard.

Today is Tuesday

Tunes: The Acorn

I chose not to write about something I will miss, but something that I will not: the politics and a few cultural aspects of Spain. It has been very good for me to be in Europe, in order to see a collectivist sort of system, which is the opposite of our individualist system in the US. It has helped me to see the idols of both systems, and has taught me very much about the hearts of these people I have been interacting with daily. I have to thank Carmen Manuel, my US lit teacher here, because she has been the one to point out most of these cultural differences.

Socialism:
Marx is held in high esteem here, and if you do not have a socialist train of thought, you are considered heartless. The thing about this system, is that it relies on those who earn the money to pay for everybody else. The communist creed is this: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." - Karl Marx. Spain has a very steeply graduated income tax, and the wealthy support (or attempt to support) the spending of this country. Big business is looked down upon, and so is being personally wealthy. If you have money, you are called a "pijo," which means posh/snob/spolied, and despised (I have seen this attitude displayed countless times). So despite the fact that the upper wealth bracket supports a large percentage of the entire economy, they are not rewarded for their success. I just don't understand it. I won't pick at each way this system isn't working, but I will note that this country, along with Portugal, Ireland, Italy, and Greece (google search PIIGS), are some of the most financially hurting countries in Europe.

Conformism (externally and internally)
-Externally: Perhaps this is a minor thing, but appearances are very much a part of the culture here, and if you do not follow the general trend of "do's and don'ts" for fashion, you will be stared at. If it is not June, then it is not yet summer, and you will be stared at for wearing sandals, tank-tops, or shorts, regardless of the temperature.
-Internally: Thought processes. The high school system does not teach critical thinking, but a heavy load of memorization and repetition. The "papers" written in college are akin to what we would consider an outline, and it is mostly 'copy and paste' from other sources. I don't see much challenging of the credibility of the sources from which my colleagues gain their knowledge, and it scares me when I hear the amount of slanted journalism they accept unquestioningly.

Absence of "The American Dream"
I titled it that because Carmen Manuel, my US literature teacher was the first one to point this out to me. There seems to be a general acceptance for one's position in society, and it is bizarre for someone to try to rise above their socioeconomic status. When I first encountered it, it seemed to me as hopelessness. Carmen always talked about how Spaniards are so good at finding someone to blame for each problem, complaining about it, but not doing anything to change the situation because such action is a social abnormality. Carmen usually equates it to Spain's Catholic mindset in opposition to America's Protestant mindset, and I have been playing with that idea very often these past months.

I feel like writing any more seems like me whining about Spain, and such a medium for such sensitive cultural topics leaves much to be desired. If anyone would like to talk about any of these observations in more detail, lemme know.

Off to (try to) study!

Today is Monday

Tunes: iTunes shuffle

Today is Monday, and that means I only have one week and two days left in this faculty. The 16th is my last exam, and then I head to Alicante to kick it with the Fryes until I head home. I was considering what I was going to miss (about our cafeteria) over a cup of coffee: the lady who always greets me by yelling "AMERICANOOO" when I walk in, 80 cent coffee, the most random music playing over the stereo, and all of my classmates that would make me sit with them because it's weird to sit alone in Spain.

Good memories. Perhaps I will pick different aspects of my experience and describe what I will echar de menos when I return. It will be a good way to process my transition and waste time while trying to study.

New pics

Check 'em out

An unforgettable night

Tunes: Timshel

Sunday night: get back from the beach, and have an email waiting for me from Karioka, my capoeira teacher, asking me if I want to party with him and his friends in Elda. Down. So within 5 minutes, I threw some things in my bag and headed out the door for pickup. We caught a bus, and headed down. I had no idea what we had in store for us. (Oh, btw, it was 7pm when I left VLC, and Elda is about 2 hours away in bus. So the commitment meant being out all night and catching a train the next morning to make it back in time for classes. Which happened)

So we arrived in Elda, and grabbed a kebab while admiring the festivities of the Moros y Cristianos festival that was going on: thousands of people dressed as Muslims, pirates, and centurions parading through the streets. That was quite a sight by itself, but it was not what called us to the town. Karioka (Which is a nickname for a guy from Rio de Raneiro. His real name is George) has some friends of many years who wanted to celebrate in their own manner. We met up with them in a bar, and the laughs ensued. The group was 40 years+, and we were the weirdest combination of people. One guy from Las Canarias, one from Brazil, one from McAllen, Texas, a 20-year-old from the US, one from Spain, and a hob-glob of friends who came and went like a swarm of giddy children.

After a few bars, where I was not permitted to buy anything, we headed to Pepe's warehouse. What were we doing there, I wondered... I soon found out, as a series of Brazilian drums were brought down from shelves and distributed to every able hand. Karioka had taught these guys how to play years back, and we were going to make our own parade to outdo the Moros and Cristianos. After about 30 minutes of practice, we hit the streets.

Our Brazilian conductor was so meticulous, ensuring each person was dead-on. The result: a fantastic melody of beats, whistles and yells, accompanied by a town-full of people ready to join in and dance around us. We went from street to street, plaza to plaza, drawing crowds and smiles. We played from 1am to 7:30am. I don't understand how it was possible. Here's a photo of what that did to my hand:

I'll soon post photos of the smiles, dancers, and insanity of it all.

And I made it back to class the next day?? Yupp. Nothing a little siesta, food, and frisbee can't fix. Man, that was a great night. I don't know how it happened, and don't know if it will ever happen again. Thank you God, thank you Spain.

The end of Capoeira

Tunes: The Revelator

Well folks, Capoeira is done for the semester. We had our last class Wednesday, and a "family dinner" last night. Our teacher always calls us his family, and we really experienced it last night. I think I might have said this in a previous blog, but it holds true: there's something about the bond among people who've killed themselves in workouts together. It's been the same in wrestling, football, and rugby. I can't explain that well enough, but I can show you a picture of the effects capoeira has had on my feet:



I think I'll continue to do this sport/dance when I return to Austin. We'll see though, since I always find a way to do too many physical activities, leaving no mental energy for studying (which is why I'm in Austin right now).

A bit of ramble this morning. Just enough time to sit down for a coffee, but not quite to break out my journal and Bible, so I figured I'd share my morning mood with you.

I'm curious as to what my life will be like upon my return. Any person I know here, I've met on this side of the Atlantic, so they don't truly have enough of a bearing on me to see where/how I've changed. I don't often have someone hold a mirror up to my face.

I feel more free, but also with an accompanying stability. I am a little less outspoken, but I feel that I express myself better than ever. Oh, time the revelator. We shall see how I emerge from this epic.

Sixty-nine cent cherries

Tunes: The Cinematic Orchestra, and other recently added songs

Been really enjoying my time recently. This morning, I woke, prepared breakfast, and drank coffee while diving into the word and my mind. It's been a battlefield recently, and I haven't been bored. I later grabbed a sheet and my backpack, hopped on my bike, and headed to the Viveros garden. Stopped at a fruit stand to get a cluster of cherries. I discovered a moth hiding in the pile, and commented how it adds más proteína.

Sunlight, birds, books, and cherries. All while spread out in the park. Finished the Screwtape Letters, and moved locations to read Peyote Tourists. Since then, I've been thinking about how it's possible to experience the most beautiful things without enjoying them, all because of an unhealthy heart. And conversely, how it's possible to experience the most simple things while enjoying them immensely with a healthy and steadfast heart.

Time for class

A view of yesterday's experience

Check out the photos I just posted.

Teeth marks left by biting watches

Tunes: The Black Keys

I had a great day today. My alarm was DeYarmond Edison, and I had enough time to sit around in the quiet of the morning before I made my way to class. Literature was the most engaging yet: we just read The Snows of Kilimanjaro, and we talked in depth about the existential core of the story. The whole class seemed to be on the edge of their seats, and the discussion went on well after class let out. We were tearing into the idea of the circular plot and the dreamed, yet unattained salvation. Oh, existentialism.

A good friend gave me her thesis to read, and I was captured by it for the rest of the day, reading it in my translation class and whenever I had a chance. Remember how I was talking about anxiety? Well, I went to the doc's today to get a heart monitor for 24-hrs. Gotta make sure my ticker's working properly. After that, I went with my fellow UT friend Becky to the City of Arts and Sciences to walk around and take pictures. I have to say, I think today had the best weather of Valencia I've experienced yet.

After a couple of hours, we walked back, stopped for my first-ever cup of mouth-watering horchata, and parted ways. I dropped into my faculty to say hey to some friends, then headed to the Viveros, which is a large park at the edge of my campus. I'm so glad I got to spend most this amazing day at such a tranquil place. I continued my reading and day-dreaming by a large bird cage, listening to their songs while reading about Julio and Lila. After a few hours (time was irrelevant), I wandered around the largest rose garden I've seen. They just fully bloomed last week, and I'm glad I had my camera.

I'm going to a friend's place now to eat dinner and watch a movie.

Goodbye

Ground beef

Tunes: O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack

Just about to go to bed. I'm hobbling around because my feat are like ground beef. Had capoeira today, and it was a fantastic class. Only thing is, I'm missing a good amount of skin from my feet now. We did work, that's for sure. Things are starting to click.

Our teacher is from Brazil, and has the most unintelligible Spanish I've ever heard. I could swear he doesn't even speak Spanish, and that he speaks to us in Portuguese. Anyway, he's a beast of a man. He's going to be a great grandfather one day, but I don't think he ages. He just gets more mighty. He calls me "barba," which is beard in Spanish.

Our class has been bonding quite a lot over these past months. We're planning on doing a BBQ on the beach before the semester's up, and I hope it happens. There's something about the bond formed with people you've sweated pounds with... and then there's something else about the bond formed with people you've FIGHT-DANCED with.

It's too late to be writing. I have class at 8am. I'll try to give you something good soon.

Old men, new teacher

Tunes: Rhymin and Stealin

My philosophy class got a new teacher last week--you know, the class with the old men. The old men and I have a growing a relationship. Each day, they speak to me a little more, and one even knows my name. It's like I'm surrounded by a bunch of fathers, but they really act like children. It's fun.

Well, since we got our new teacher, the class dynamic has changed greatly. Our new professor actually interacts with us, asking us questions, and searching for more than one-word responses. One of my old men friends normally throws out quick answers to some questions, and with the old teacher, never encountered any problems. Our new teacher responds with "why." A simple response, yes? Well, the first couple of times this happened, the old man looked like he was going to have a heart attack. It was as if he was never asked a question before/called out in front of the class.

It almost makes me sweat, watching him (sweat).

New prof is great. Now the class has depth.

Well hey there

Tunes: Iron & Wine

Sorry to all for not writing as often. I've been quite busy with school as exams approach, but that's not the main reason I've been so absent. I've been dealing with anxiety over things I can't control. It's been a struggle to live in the present and trust God with circumstances that are out of my hands. Day-by-day, He's been showing me how to do this, and I've been able to take part in some beautiful things that I could have missed out on.

Take yesterday, for example. I was in my room most of the day because I had quite a load of work, but was tinkering through it slowly, held back by a worrying mind. I finally laid all of it out, and plowed through what needed to be done. After that, I was able to go to the beach--however, as I arrived, so did the clouds. And the rain. But with a filled spirit, an uplifted heart, and some good friends, we decided to stay at the beach. Good choice.

Spaniards don't like bad weather. Almost all of my classmates haven't been to the beach once because it's "too cold." All of the Erasmus students go every day because most don't have beaches close to their homes normally. The rain hitting was quite a spectacle. There were screams, and a large wave of people flooding toward the metro stops. I had to hold back my laughter.

It was Nick, Allison, Caitlin, Julian, Will and me. We packed up all of our stuff (to keep it from getting soaked), and started hitting the volleyball around while laughing at the fleeing beach-goers. (Can I still call them beach-goers in this situation?) Caitlin and I walked barefoot to a restaurant to get some ice cream. When we returned, we decided to play paddle ball in the sand. Made up a sort of paddle ball / 4-square game combination.

Then, we started up a 3v3 game of volleyball. We were such fools the entire time. Whenever announcing the score, we would (try to) make up stupid rhymes. Our team (Nick, Caitlin, and I) lost both times, but I think we had more fun that way. Everything was a joke, and we had no decibel limit. Fun without the sun ftw.

At around 6, we all ran home to shower up and head to church. I love that place. They are a true family there, and we were immediately adopted. After a great message and many kisses, we went back to the girl's place to watch Dear John. Dear reader, don't bother. It was some good fellowship time, though. We know how to enjoy each other.

Bah. I have to get back to grading papers. Hasta pronto

A panoramic

San Sebastián weather is funny. Both days I was there, it was cloudy/rainy constantly, until 5pm, when the sun magically came out. Both days. Unfortunately, I climbed this castle hill before 5pm, so this picture has clouds. Imagine this picture, but at 5pm.

Munsters in San Sebastián

Been quite wiped recently, because I took a trip to San Sebastián this weekend. I went with two German and one American friends. Definitely one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Spain to date.

We went in an overnight bus, leaving from Valencia at 11pm, and arriving at our destination at 6am. (I'll avoid complaining about the bus ride) Upon arrival, we caught a cab to our hostel, where our Russian host allowed us to check in! Six hours before normal check-in. It was perfect--we had planned to find some bar to hang out in and drink coffee, but a bed for a much-needed nap was more than amazing.

The weather wasn't what we would have hoped for, as it was cloudy and raining off-and-on. However, it was unable to mask the beauty of San Sebastián. It is a city on the Northern Atlantic coast, surrounded by green mountains and boasting of surfer-worthy beaches. We spent our entire saturday walking around, climbing up a castle that overlooked La Concha beach, the city, an island with a quaint lighthouse, and more beautiful coast.

This city is quite different from Valencia. Being so close to France, it has a more european feel. The people seemed to be a bit more relaxed than the Valencianos. Well, to be honest, I'm not sure that is exactly it. It's the Basque country: a region that, much like Texas, values their independence. They seem to have their own way of doing things. I didn't spend enough time to really explore their culture for two reasons: I was only there for two days, and the city was full of Irish and French for a rugby match.

Speaking of rugby... I went to my first proper match. Totally unexpected. It just so happened that the semi-final match of the Heineken Cup was held in San Sebastián, due to the fact that neither Munster (Ireland) nor Biarritz (France) had a stadium large enough for the match. It was great. I'm not sure why, but on my way to the match, I felt the happiest I have in weeks. I think it had something to do with the fact that I was walking in the drizzling rain along a canal, surrounded by stunning buildings, and heading to something I've never experienced before.

Beer was sold by the liter, songs were song for every occasion, female and male, child and adult... everybody was exploding with excitement. Being surrounded by all of that made me sweat with desire to get out on that field. Sporting a red beard, and speaking English, I naturally cheered for Ireland. We lost, but it was a fantastic match. And another thing: after a rugby match, everyone's friends. Well, more or less. The Irish sure love a fight (I was told), but I didn't see anything break out.

I'm sorry, but I need to return to homework. Crazy thing, homework. It needs to be done.

My day

Up before the alarm, refused to snooze, an hour of quiet, ekg, gypsy caravan, body pump, quick class, truth injection, full stomach, much yelling, much sorting, the perfect song, and bed

The Lady with the Red Hair

Tunes: Kasa no Hone

I dedicate this blog to a lady who I see just about every time I go to the roof. She's stands somewhere under 5 feet tall, lives on the top floor, and always hangs her laundry on the lines on the roof. She has red hair, and a little chihuahua. The first few times I saw her, she would walk up with her laundry in a bucket and her dog sitting on top--the dog had a red cast on its front left paw. It would just sit next to her while she hung things up. Now, the dog's cast is gone, but it still sits next to her the entire time she does laundry.

A few weeks ago, she was walking out onto the roof while I was walking in, and I gave her quite a fright. I could hear her opening the door, but she had no idea I was up there. Today, she gave ME quite a fright. I went upstairs to hang laundry, pushed the elevator button to come up, and it came just like normal, but I almost walked right into this small lady coming out at me. Random timing with her pushing the up button and me pushing the call button.

Anyway, I figured she deserved a place in your hearts.