Little Cositas/Pequeñas Things

1. The brie souffle was a big hit. Sergi & Pilar inhaled it! But really, who can't love brie, eggs, bread, and milk? Next we tackle banana bread and cheese bread.
2. This band is my newest crush --> Sin Fang Bous. Check out the song The Jubilee Choruses.
3. I've felt extra inspired as of late and full of fun artsy ideas. Which, I'm loving.
4. Friday night was ridiculously fun...we woke up and wandered across the street in pjs to drink coffee and eat croissants and then went back to Liz's apartment to make omelets and potatoes. Que rico chico!
5. Liz is going to teach me how to use some of her awesome design programs so I can finally work on some print material for Something Sunny. Which, btw is still going slow and steady.
6. I am so behind on work...

Much love.
<3

Good Things and Bikes!

So many good things!
1. I made pesto pasta for my host family. My host mother didn't eat any of it, but after Sergio (the pickiest person in the world) started raving about it she cautiously tried some and it was a hit!

2. I am making brie souffle on Friday for them. Fingers crossed they like it.

3. I have fallen into a rhythm of cycling classes. I go five days a week before classes start. I leave feeling accomplished and start my day. But today was a little different because for the first time in maybe...8 years I rode a real bike. Yeah, it's been that long...

"Bicing" is a public transportation program for Barcelona residents that allows you to take a bike from the station and return it to any one of the hundreds of stations in the city in 30 minutes. So nervously I grabbed a bike and off I went.

I loved it! It did take a little while for me to get the hang of it again and what with pedestrians running around, and cars, and traffic well it's no great wonder how I accidentally bumped a woman with my handle bars...opps! I shouted "Pardon!" as I rode by. It takes me just over 30 minutes to get to school and when I got home I dropped off my things and went and bought a helmet. No one here wears helmets... so yeah, I look a little stupid but hey, I value my brain and I'd like to keep it intact!

Happy Wednesday!

Thailandia!

Sergio got back from his 22 day trip to Thailand. We went through his 523 pictures together tonight and then I installed skype on his computer. It was a pretty low key Saturday night. I also bought the book Three Cups of Tea in Spanish and some ice cream bars that turned out to be awful. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Köszönöm Threadless!

So I thought Threadless (the tee shirt company) would appreciate my glow in the dark story. They wrote back last night saying they were glad I made such a 'memorable and glowtastic first impression on your classmates'. Oh and they also gave me a 5$ coupon for a tee shirt! WHOOOO! I think I might go with this one:

Ps: I went to a delicious Hungarian dinner last night where they made a hearty stew of potatoes, peppers, sausage, and onions. Add a dollop of sour cream, bread, sangria, and this yummy crumbly dessert that you eat with jam...and OH MY GOODNESS I was very full. It was also very easy to make and (the best part) CHEAP! So family, get ready for some new authentic Hungarian recipes. I also learned a few Hungarian words like Szia & köszönöm (Hello & Thank you!)

Pss: I have so much work to do this weekend....ah!

Glow in the Dark

Today is my first day of art classes at the University of Barcelona. Pilar forgot to turn her alarm off and at 5:30am it kept beeping and beeping and beeeeeeeeping.

Eventually it really was time to get up and I got ready and left for Photography I. When I found the class I thought it was odd that no one was milling about the halls. In fact, I didn't see any students anywhere! So thinking I was somehow late I quickly, without thinking, opened up the room to a pitch black classroom. The Professor was up at the podium with a powerpoint and I couldn't see anything. BLACKNESS.

I walked in. I heard rustling, which told me students were in fact in the room, and a bunch of people started laughing at me and murmuring.

I was wearing my Threadless tee which was glow in the dark and monsters and floating eyeballs suddenly became visible. On dear God. So the floating eyeballs made their way, stumbling, to the nearest desk where I proceeded to, in the pitch black, sit on some girls art work.

Then three minutes later the professor said, "Ok see you next time." I wasn't late...I was early. There were two back to back photography classes.

At least everyone got to see my tee shirt in all its glory...
It's lunch time now and then I'm off to Sculpture II!

Music

I thought this was a lovely cover of a good song.
Enjoy.

Ash Wednesday

So it's starting to hit me guys, I have exactly three short months here left! I am feeling increased anxiety to speak as much Spanish, read as much Spanish, and learn as much Spanish as I possibly can in, sadly, my last semester here. I even spoke Spanish in my dream last night. I think it had something to do with the play, Luces de Bohemia, that I was reading late last night.

So drum roll in a desperate attempt to cram as much into this experience as possible I am suspending my Atheist beliefs and jumping on the bandwagon for Lent. How will this help me in my goal?

I am giving up English for Lent. I am only permitting myself to speak to people in English that do not speak Spanish, ie: Family and friends on skype.

Wish me luck! (I think I'll need it)

Ps: The photo above was taken Ash Wednesday five years ago at my Catholic all girls school. Oh the memories...

Happy Valentines Day!

I love you all so much you mean the world to me. Happy Valentines Day!

And here's a little diddle you may be familiar with :) I woke up to it this morning and it seems highly appropriate.

New Year's Resolution Update

So my New Year's Resolution this year was to read a book every week for the year. Now, I haven't been keeping close tabs on the weeks and the books BUT I have been reading a lot of awesome books and I'm ready to share them!

Book 1: The Gursney Literary Potato Peel Society

Book 2: A fabulous bread recipe book (that I can't currently remember the name to!) that although I know isn't a traditional novel is still a book! I make 8 different types of bread out of the book and a total of 13 loaves. The family favorites where Cheesy Bread, Monkey Bread, and English Muffin Bread. Mom complained that she had gained 2 pounds off all the bread I was baking.

Book 3: The Good Earth I loved this book. It's a story of a farming family in pre revolutionary China and the tale follows a man as he loses everything and gains it all back again and more. It's a beautiful book that discussed the relationships of man and Earth along with woman and society.

Book 4: Bird by Bird I really didn't like this one. It's basically tips written in novel form of how to become a writer and expand on the creativity that exists within all of us. BLAH!

Book 5: The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio: How My Mom Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less I LOVED this book. It's a true story about a mother living with an alcoholic and abusive husband and ten children in the 1950's. They are poor but they are far from unhappy. It's a wonderful book about a mother's devotion to her children and determination to make the best of everything. She supplements the families very small income by entering her jingles in competitions and as luck would have it she was quite good at it. The ending left me teary eyed and emotional.

Book 6: 1000 White Women. A fictional story in which President Grant makes a secret agreement with a Cheyenne indian tribe to trade 1000 white women brides for 1000 horses in an effort to better unite and civilize the indian race. The book is written from the intelligent and witty perspective of May Dodd, who in attempt to escape a horrible life back home volunteers for the program. Her husband is the head of the tribe and her accounts of indian life and the wilderness are quite fantastic. I also cried at the end of this one...

Book 7: The Devil in the White City I just started last night but I already like where it's going. It's a, "spellbinding bestseller that intertwines the true tale of two men" a brilliant architect who designed the Chicago World's Fair and a serial killer who uses the fair to kill his victims. Sounds exciting!

Ps: It's freezing today! And Pilar made leek soup. YUM!
<3

Letur, Spain

This past weekend I was invited by Spanish friend, Nuria, to visit her grandparents village in Castilla de la Mancha, Don Quiote's birthplace. The picturesque little village has a population of 500 and is known for its almond orchards and olive oil. I felt as if I had stepped back in time 80 years. These people had preserved a way of life that not many have a chance to see much less experience and I felt honored and thrilled to have been part of it, even if only for a weekend.

My tour through town revealed the Roman aqueducts that snaked all through the small village and were still in use. Everywhere we walked you could hear the gurgling water.


The town center was the Plaza de Torros where they have the bull fights. It was less a plaza and more a flooded grassy field where we found a donkey tied up and grazing.

Following that trend the swimming pool was more a pond than anything. There was a smooth tree that spanned the length of the pond. In the summer they spread soap over it and make it slippery and have contests to try and get all the way across. The few that do receive a jar of jam for their accomplishments.


My favorite part of town though had to be the 'Mirador'. We walked up these stairs to the towns vantage point. There, stretched in front of me was one of the most fantastic, incredible, expansive views. Pictures don't do it justice, but I really tried guys.


Later that day the celebration started which meant good food and a lot of drinking.



So after eating so much I thought I would burst I sat back and happily watched her family argue, yell over each other, laugh, and tell stories. No one got up from the table until 6:30pm. I realized this weekend even more how much the Spanish value their family above all else. They think it's crazy that Americans would move away from home for a job. To them that is pretty unheard of. Or to go away to school for that matter.

There are more stories to come and for more pictures of this awesome weekend check out my flickr account!

Andalucia!

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Andalucia with my friend Nuria (that's in Southern Spain). She invited me to her grandparents house for the weekend. It's a six hour car drive and I'm really excited to see the country. I hope everything works out!