Christmas in Portugal

23rd- I wake up early, finish packing, catch a cab to the bus station, followed by a 10 hour bus ride to Lisbon, the second half of which I was so bus sick that I thought I might die and was literally curled up on the seat crying. That bit they were playing Me myself and Irene, and I'm not sure I'm ever going to be able to watch that movie again without feeling sick. The first half I watched a clockwork orange, which was a fabulous film, but I was sad to watch it because I'd been holding out to read the book first, and I loathe reading books after seeing their film version. But then I finally arrived, and Mariana picked me up. As it turned out, the bus station was right next to the old world's fair fairgrounds where I had been when I was five years old, the last time I was in Portugal. I was introduced for the first time to the Gray family, with whom I'd be staying.

24th- Christmas lunch at the Gray's house; thai food. The guests were mostly ambassadors. They mostly spoke in English, since everyone spoke that, but some Portuguese. The food was fabulous. Afterwards we went to an 8 o clock midnight mass at a little English speaking church. I ate a body of christ wafer. I wasn't sure which was more inappropriate, to take it, or not to take it. Then they opened presents, and I had a stocking, which was incredibly sweet of them.

25th- Christmas lunch at a friend's house, a family which is apparently the largest date company owners in all of the middle east, and possibly the world. We had fantastic Moroccan food, including hummus and cous cous, and plenty of dates! Then we went to Luis' family dinner, which was maybe 50 or so people, with lots of portuguese food. Unfortunately I didn't eat much of that, since most of it had meat, and also because I was too stuffed from lunch! But I tried this interesting sort of cheesecakeish thing, which was delicious. I met a couple who run a music managing company and a 30 day world music festival. The man is from mexico and the woman used to live in Union sq, so I spoke a combination of spanish and english with them.

26th- Went into lisbon (i'm staying right outside of lisbon) to a beautiful cathedral, went to two very modern art exhibits, went to the center of town, and then went back for dinner. I might add more details on the exhibits later.

27th- went to the westernmost point of europe, which was beautiful and windy and fantastic. Then now I'm going back into lisbon to the old cathedral and the design museum and who knows what else!

On all the days, everyone I spoke to was incredibly well traveled and interesting, and extremely talented at small talk. I picked up a little Portuguese, and kind of want to learn it after spanish. I'm having a fabulous incredible time, and finally have real things to report! Much love and best holiday wishes to everyone.

This is a blog post....

I had extremely long extremely perfect round nails, but then they got chipped so I cut them down to stubbly nubs.

We have some new members of our household. Two are just here for the weekends; Manoli’s daughter Paula and Paula’s son Sergio come and stay with us on the weekends, because her husband (also named Sergio) got send off to Iraq. The other appears to be permanent, and I find it far more disturbing; a giant pig’s leg, including hoof and the works sits proudly in the middle of our kitchen, right next to the water and the fruit. Manoli and Imad casually cut off little slices when they feel like it.

That reminds me of how when Paula and her family used to come over for lunch or something, I would always say ‘when are the Sergios’ getting here’ because it was plural and I found that amusing.

I have somehow gotten Livia approximately 9 times nuttier than she was, or at least revealed herself to be. Friday we very loudly sang along to instruments playing Christmas songs in Plaza Mayor. Opera style. In two different languages. (But mostly we forgot the words so a non-language.)

For Christmas here, they give presents on the day of the three kings (January 6th) not from Papa Noel. Although now they do that sometimes too, but that’s like the Non-Spanish Way.

Turron is their big Christmas candy, in all sorts of different types.

I joined the gym and now I do a spin class 5 times a week and pilates 2 times.

I remember a lot of my dreams now, even a bunch that I had a while ago but forgot about.

I got my library priveledges temporarily suspended from bringing back books late but now I got them back so I’m going to go take out The Cloven Viscount (Italo Calvino) in Spanish! I’m also reading The Catcher in the Rye in Spanish but the book is completely falling apart so its annoying to read.

Milena left for Germany, and it was sad. It’s strange to think that I’ll be leaving soon as well. I feel bad for Livia, because while both Jasmin and I (her closest friends here) are leaving in January, she will be here until June.

Holiday break starts wednesday, at which point I'm headed to Lisbon, capital of Portugal to stay with the Gray family (family friends) for christmas and such.

Chanukah has come and gone, with none a latkah because a) I forgot to make them and b) there are no jews in Salamanca. When I say that i mean it in all seriousness, because they all got kicked out and never came back. Many people haven't even heard of chanukah.

I miss home but mostly all is good. I've been studying a lot and I took all of my exams, for the most part doing really well, especially considering that they aren't in my native tongue. My Spanish has improved, though its not really where I want it to be, but thats okay. In some ways I'm very ready to go home, but in others I really wish I could stay the whole year.

wrote this sometime a while ago i think last week

THINGS

They don’t have my shoe size in Spain. In every single store I asked, which was quite a few, they only have up to the size right below me. DAMN FEET.

I’m training myself to lucid dream.

I miss tofu.

I’m becoming a vegetarian again, because I just cannot stand to eat meat any longer (no offense meant, only for me)

Grilled croissant is the best thing ever. Or croissant planchas, not positive the best way to translate it…

I’m reading a book in Spanish. Its called Lloviendo Amarillo.

My friend in school moved to Madrid. But now I’m working on making others, so it’s okay.

I have the chicken pox. No, that’s not a joke.

My hair is getting rather long.

Halloween was fun, but definitely odd.

My friend Livia’s birthday is this weekend.

I moved (same family, just different house). The new house is lovely, and a five or so minute walk to both my school and the library. However, I’m now rather far from the city center.

It’s absolutely frigid here.

I really badly need more books in English.

I have a painful bruise on my toenail that’s been there since maybe the second week I was here and it hasn’t gone away at all.

I take two yoga classes a week and a pilates class. I’m also getting a gym membership this week with my friend Emily.

A girl named Emily who was living in another city (from my program) just moved to my city, and is apparently going to be in my school.
I got a new cell phone that doesn’t die every time I receive calls! It’s pretty.

I eat so much nutella here. ITS AMAZING.

I wrote this today

In the library. I now am loving the library here. Which is so not surprising; I've always been a library person. I love this library because
a) it has free internet, and i don't feel obligated to buy something to use said free internet
b)it has awesome cds that i can just grab and add to my computer
c) its next to my school and therefore nearby a bus stop
d) it doesn't close for the lunch hours from 2-5 when everything else is closed
e) BOOKS!!!

My family is moving on the 1st of November.

I made a friend who is into ska. My first friend that is actually Spanish! She's completely rad.

I started Yoga and its completely amazing...I feel so good.

I finally understand what resumens are. The literal definition is summary. Everyone writes them of the textbook at home then reads them out during class. They are actually incredibly helpful, and I think I might continue doing them when I get back.

I'm still not used to the 24 hour clock, but I'm trying to train myself.

I wrote this sunday

I bought a pair of pants Saturday afternoon as well. They are a type of pants that are fashionable here, but I haven’t seen them in New York (although ironically enough Michelle told me that just bought several pairs on the Internet the other day). They’re those pants that are skinny in the legs and then the crotch hangs low. Like some guys wear. But they’re made for girls. It’s pretty wonderful.

Why do I think so much about pants?

I’ve become addicted to pears.

School is okay. But it’s difficult. I’m not sure that I will do well. Which sucks.

I’m very homesick.

Also Saturday I went grocery shopping with my family. We bought many sweets. I eat so many sweets here.

Tomorrow I think I will make myself a peanut butter banana sandwich for recreo (break. It’s at 10:30ish. We have three classes before and three after)

Please someone explain what pilates are to me?

Zara is a store in the United States also, right? But I recalled the clothes in Zara in the US kind of sucking. But here Zara is completely fabulous.

I'm reading Nausea by Sartre, and I completely adore it. Its like all the weird experiences that I've been mostly hiding but talking about with a select few since I can remember. And its written completely gorgeously as well.

I've been reading a ton recently, because anything in English is completely welcome and exciting to me.

Apparently my Spanish has improved immensely. I didn't really realize. I've been thinking that its terrible. But Imad(my Spanish father) said that its very noticeably improved.

I lost my converter!!! ahhh!!

Also I've begun to completely loathe American accents. They're nasty.

More later, when I have time, I have to go home and meet Jasmin. We're going shopping. I'm late!

okay so what has been happening....

Friday I went with some friends and went sightseeing! Then we spoke spanglish and ate in some little bar. It was basically just being shown around.

Saturday I went to a Melendi concert. He is apparently a pretty famous Spanish pop artist. I hung out with my friend Jasmin during the day and then we met up with some other kids I know at the show. Jasmin is a German exchange student, who goes to a different school than I. She speaks near perfect English, and her Spanish mother is the sister of my Spanish mother, so we're currently honorary cousins, I suppose. The concert was lots of fun.

Sunday I went out to eat with my family and then hung out in this internet cafe near my house. By internet cafe I mean a bar that happens to have coffee and internet. Which is what most places are like here. On every block there's maybe two or three bars/cafes with tapas, drinks, coffee, and places to sit and chill out. I happen to live near to two that also have free wifi, so I'm pretty much becoming a regular.

Monday I went to school. Then afterwards I went with Jasmin to get a bus pass. We met up with two other German exchange students we know, Johanna, and Mila (I think her name is...)

But I didn't go Tuesday or Wednesday, because I've been sick. Instead I just watched the first half of season two of Lost. It was pretty cool, especially since one of the new charecters is one of the main girls in Resident Evil, and I just saw that movie for the first time a few days ago. It was really awesome. Hopefully I'll go to school tomorrow? Because I hate being sick.

Speaking of sick I have now become incredibly homesick. jdskfljdsfkdjls

something everyone needs to know

the word here for lollipop is chupachups, which translates directly to suckysuck. yummy?

everytime someone says that(which is surprisingly often because they have these awesome candy stores called kioskos like every block) i laugh hysterically.

yo comprendo mas y mas...pero paso a paso!

also: found a chinese food restaurant yesterday! scoreeeeee

First (full) day in Salamanca!

So. There is no peanut butter in Spain.
Hay es una problema.

Everyone keeps on patting under my chin, like we do with babies.

People keep on telling me ‘tranquila!’ again and again. I’m assuming this essentially means ‘chill out, yo’ due to context and the definition of the word ‘tranquil’ in English. I suppose they think I’m freaked out (I am). My mother and my area advisor say it all the time. They also say it like, ‘ah, this is so peaceful and nice.’ And my mother used it to describe her house.

My parents smoke in the house. People smoke in restaurants. Everything smells like cigarettes.

There is a separate fruit market. Which has bread as well. I know some people do that in America too, but I think it is odd.

We don’t have internet. (update now that I’m posting this…the library and this coffee place really nearby both have internet so I’m good)

They peel pears. They peel all fruit, instead of washing it.

They say ‘Vale!’ all the time. About every other sentence.

The mullet is an extremely popular haircut.

My mother’s name is Manoli (sounds like canoli), which is a nickname for Manuela.

My father’s name is Imad. He is from Kuwait.

Yesterday I read the majority of The Sirens of Titans.

My parents cook everything with a TON of oil.

The word for piercing is piercing.

Speaking of which in my (private) school we aren’t allowed piercings, so I’m currently wearing a piercing retainer.

I started making artist’s trading cards. Enjoying it very much.

I can understand most things, and if not then they can explain and I understand. However, I often doubt that my instincts are correct, and feel unsure if I am correctly understanding, although I am right 99% of the time.

My mother turns on the hot water by lighting a match in this odd box thing on the wall that I believe is an old fashioned water heater. Mi casa esta antigua, pero nosotros cambiamos pronto, en dos meses.

I brought way too many clothes, especially considering that I am going to be wearing a uniform to school. I’m getting my uniform at 4 pronto hoy.

My family is incredibly nice, but I am going to have to make some serious adjustments, I can tell already. And also perhaps buy some of my own food just for me. And also probably get my mommy to send me peanut butter.

And now I´m in Barcelona...

....after an excessive plane ride, I´ve arrived today, along with 16 other exchange students from CIEE and a bunch more from other countries and programs. We will be doing some touring and orientation here.

Wednesday: go to a hotel in Boston, meet a bunch of strangers and forcibly bond with them. Learn a bunch of useless non-information that was already summarized in the tiny booklet we were given. Go into the hot tub. Watch half of Pulp Fiction in my room.

Thursday: Wake up at 7 to go on a duck tour (no idea why) and then go to Harvard Square for lunch. Carry the most fatass suitcase in the universe (alias Bertha) to various buses and get on a plane at 4:30.

The Blurish Plane Bit From Thursday to Friday: Sick on the plane, terrible gossip magazines centered around celebrity twitter updates, scrabble on my itouch, listening to Why?, crying and panicking about what the hell I have gotten myself into partially due to pure unadulterated exhaustion, excessive amounts of carbs, more sick on the plane, no sleep, maybe a little sleep, Germany, cookie dip packs with nutella, why no coffee??, and then suddenly...

Friday: Staying in a Youth Hostel, its like sleepaway camp. Just arrived in Barcelona, and my jet lag is a little weird, but not too bad. And now we will soon go on a bus tour.

Also: read No Exit (Sartre play) and it was completely fabulous, loved it, fitting to my mood too ("Hell is...other people") beautifully written, fabulously funny, and thought provoking.

I miss people already.

Bye Bye Long Island

Yesterday and the day before I went to school. I gathered my textbooks, talked to my teachers, and worked out what I'm going to do about my math class(and all my other classes) and how I'm going to make up the work. So many essays! And when I get back, so much work! My classes seem fantastic, I'm really sad to leave them behind, and miss so much. It seems like if I hadn't been doing this trip then they would be easy, as well. I signed up for art club and jillion other things, and I'm sad to miss all of those.

But mostly I'm just glad to be out of there. Two days was more than enough. I am going to miss Meg like an insane puppy though Others from school as well, but I'm particularly reminded of her because she just left after coming over my house to say goodbye. We listened to music and danced and tried on a bunch of my clothes. It was fun, but it was weird to watch her close the front door and know that I wouldn't see her face in person until January, and this is one of my very best friends.

HEY MEG I WILL MISS YOU SO MUCH

And others. but I didn't get to say a proper goodbye to so many people. its a little odd. how quickly things disappear.

I packed today. Watched the first four Lost episodes too, but mostly packed. Especially important considering that I hadn't really packed at all until today. I have so many things, and I'm so oddly attached to them. Piles and piles of objects that I find I can't spend 4.5 months without. And I get so frantic about which I will bring. And really they don't matter.

Its so odd how much I will miss my things. Just having access to all my books, and music, and LiLi(my lion pillow, its too big to bring) and all of my clothes, and my magazines, and my incense, and my penny collection, and my grandma knitted love blankets, and all of my jewelry that I never use anyway and my hair products and my lullabye CDs and my sweaters and all of my shoes and all my old notebooks and my art supplies and infinite amount of the lotion that I like and all the foods I like. that sentence didn't work so well. But having that access is comforting, even though I won't need all that stuff.

My room is maybe clean.

Long island may be lame, but I'll miss the beaches, I'll miss my room, I'll miss my friends, I'll miss my family,and I'll just miss being at home. Because that is what it is, that I'll miss most. Home. The whole vibe that word encompasses. Let it sink in.

Good-bye.

A poem about a friend

with curls like a dream
and spurs like a girl
with purrs and with growls
this creature she howls
and laughs up her nose
every note echoed in prose
in halls painted blue
and she kicked off her shoes
to the mantlepiece, mantlepiece, mantlepiece, mantlepiece, mantlepiece, mantlepiece what a whistling brew

Sharp Teeth

My teeth
My teeth are sharp
my tongue against my teeth
I feel it
I feel it
taste buds
taste my teeth
taste my sharp teeth
taste chinese food
my tummy hurts
hurts
hurts
hurts with my sharp teeth that hurt
that hurt who
hurt who deserved it
(they didn't know it)
(I didn't know it)
Sharp though

Packing part 1

I had to bring about 4 or 5 bags of clothes and books from my dad's to my mom's because apparently I keep all my cool clothes at my dad's house. Beginning to pack! Eight days....

First Post

Okay so I searched 'Start A Blog' on google. This was the first reasonable looking link. I clicked it, and realized I already had a blog here. With no posts. And extremely odd formating. Fixed it up, and I here I have a blog.

For the most part I'll be posting whatever, whenever I feel like it. But I promise to post updates on what is going on in Spain at least once a week. That is about 18 promised posts (not difficult). I'm hoping by the end I'll be speaking fluent Spanish.

Something uncomfortable I have realized: Everyone I will know for the next 4.5 months I haven't met yet. The people I will live with I know nothing about. Anyone I hug, am friends with, date, kiss.....haven't met or even heard of them yet. It's an odd feeling. whenever I think about it I essentially implode with nerves. I feel like I constantly have a vibrating ball of electricity tightly floating right below my ribcage.

In school I will wear a uniform. I almost feel glad, because although I am a big fan of clothes and dressing up, I honestly have no idea what the social view on my clothing would be. In the USA, I know what is normal and actively choose to ignore it. However, in Spain, I don't, and therefore would never know if what I'm wearing is cool or odd or what, which leaves me in an uncomfortable place of vulnerability about my wardrobe. So I'm glad about uniforms...but I do have to fit everything I'll have for the next 4.5 months in two suitcases and a carry-on, which doesn't feel like enough to me, eternal packrat. Also: all the American books I'll have I have to pack. FUCK! I'm buying all the Vonneguts I haven't read yet and bringing them. I suppose I'll just try and read in Spanish?

I'm scared about making friends.

This is a blank slate, I suppose. And that is a frightening thing. But also, a beautiful thing, full of infinite possibility. At this point, nervousness and excitement have become indistinguishable.