Oh Inconsistent Me

(The highest point in Cadiz)

(El Puerto de Santa Maria Beach)

(Cathedral/Highest point in Cadiz... Big bell)

(Inside the Cadiz Cathedral looking out)

(Looking down on the city of Cadiz... Look at the colorful roof tops... one in the distance is painted cow print... can you find it? It will be like our own little game of 'Where's Waldo?' Everyone loves Waldo!)

Hello All! It has been a while since I have written and the consistency of my blog postings is becoming less and less, well, consistent. Perhaps due to the fact that my life style is currently inconsistent, left open with lots of uncertainty. It is definitely an unusual feeling to not know what the next week brings. When I’m at home or at school it is really easy to foresee what the following weeks will bring but here all I know is that on January 5th I will be back in Barcelona and I will be on the prowl for a job. Prowl is not an understatement. I have been sending out my CV (resume) to many schools and job ads that are posted online. I have also been posting my own personal ads for private English lessons however; right there next to my ads are all of the other teachers in Barcelona. It is a hunt, it’s like we are all in this big concrete jungle and we are all searching for the same prey… English students!! English students beware but please, for the sake of myself and my fellow teachers… show yourselves graciously! We need your business! So this is, at the least, what I have to look forward to in the following weeks… finding a job… any job really!!! So in the words of Aretha Franklin, “Say a little prayer for me!”

In the more current future, I leave tomorrow for Germany or as referred to by the Spaniards, Alemania. Sydney and I will leave from Jerez, Spain at 8:30 in the morning arriving in Barcelona at 10:00 am. From there we will wait patiently in the airport for 6 hours until our connecting flight arrives at 16:10 (4:10) to take us to Frankfurt, Germany. Once we arrive in Frankfurt at 18:30 (6:30) we will have about an hour to get our stuff and get to our connecting train that will take us to our final destination, Stuttgart Germany. The train ride will take about an hour and a half. Once we reach the train station in Stuttgart at 10:00 pm my friend Brandon will be there to meet us and show us to his place where we will be staying. Brandon and I have grown up together and gone to school together since 4th grade!! I am really excited to catch up with him and see how life has been. We will spend a few days with him and then hopefully head over to Munich for the weekend. We plan on stopping at a couple concentration camps in Dachau, which is a city along the way to Munich.

Well I know it isn’t much but that is all I have to write about now. When life starts kicking up speed I will certainly be writing more. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and enjoy the New Year!!!

Mmwah!

"So You Think Your Spray Paint Job is Worthy.... Ok, Fine, Me Too"

(Robert, Stacey and I pulling a late night in the classroom to finish our Learner Profile projects the day before they were due. A pain of a project but a great experience/resume builder!)

(Stacey and I letting the Learner Profile project know what we think of it.)

(Tada! We're done! Not the greatest picture because we are all so tired but check out that sweet Wooo Hooo in the back ground! The wooo hooo is an understatement of the excitement we feel.)

I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted anything new. One week ago I completed my TEFL course and officially became TEFL certified. This certification will open up so many doors for me in the realm of teaching English world-wide. Wahoo!!!! I spent the weekend following the end of my course catching up on sleep and preparing to move out of my flat. As of December Monday 15th my lease was up. Stacey and I leading up to that date went and looked at a couple of flats… geez talk about small spaces and expensive rates!! A couple places were in great locations but the rooms were depressing… I mean I would go crazy living in them for more than a couple weeks!! It was like bad dorm room meets motel 7 if there were such a place. In our final attempt to lease a flat we met with some girls who had completed our same course a few months prior. The flat consists of 4 bedrooms and overlooks the city quite beautifully. Stacey and I looked at our options and decided that as far as space and money were concerned we would find living with these girls to be our best option. Aside from the benefit of cost quality these girls seem pretty cool. I had met two of the girls the first Sunday I was in Barcelona and they seemed very kind and welcoming. Only after an hour of knowing them they invited me to their Thanksgiving celebration that was a couple of weeks away! Wahoo, there was real turkey at this celebration! These two Pennsylvania girls, Brigid and Alex, seem like very warm individuals and I’m pretty excited to live with them. The third roommate’s name is Jess, she is from Los Angeles, I’ve only met her twice but she seems like she will be a great person to get to know as well. Now you are probably wondering… 4 rooms, 5 girls… something is not lining up here… Stacey and I will be sharing a room. Let me tell you Barcelona is nooooo cheap cookie to bake. So we will be splitting our portion… sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.

So after I figured out all my living situation biz I got myself ready and packed up my room. Stacey had to be out of her place on the 13th so her and I double packed my room for a 24 hour period. To say the least my/our room was quite crowded. Four huge suitcases, clothes everywhere and two bodies in the small single-bed room created a space that was quite humorous but in the same sense could not be lived in for longer than a day or two. So the last night in my tiny flat Stacey and I had a problem… one single bed and two girls who had only known each other for a month… yea we didn’t see that being the most exciting option. Luckily I love staying up late and I had to catch the metro at 5am the next morning. So while Stacey slept I stayed up chatting with various friends who were online in the states. Five a.m. rolled around and I hustled off to catch the metro on time so that I could catch the train at 5:20. I reached the train station shortly after 5 a.m. and hopped on with the airport as my determined destination. Once at the airport I checked in and had 10 minutes to find my gate before the boarding to Seville began. I don’t remember anything about the plane ride because at this time I was so exhausted from running (literally) and very little sleep that staying awake was not an option.

(Sydney and I the day I arrived in El Puerto de Santa Maria)

After I arrived in Seville I followed my friend Sydney’s, a good friend from college, directions to take the bus to the Train Station, Santa Justa in Seville. I eager but tiredly searched out the bus pictures in the airport. I was so excited that I found the bus and the correct bus at that. I was the third (perfect number) person on the bus and selected what I found to be the perfect exit seat. Maybe if my seat wouldn’t have been so perfect to exit from I wouldn’t have exited prematurely. I knew I needed to exit on the first stop however, I didn’t not realize the bus would be letting people off randomly along the way to the first stop. Needless to say I found myself, bags and all walking down the streets of Seville, my initial thought was… “Crap, I seriously just followed these people off the bus, I look like a total stalker and I am f*ing not on the bus going to the train station anymore, grand!” Don’t worry though because my genius thinking quickly kicked in and I flagged down the nearest taxi. Had I known the train station was two blocks down I would have just walked but at this point 5 euros was definitely worth the trouble. At last I made it to my second train station for the day and the last leg of my trip to see Sydney. I fumbled around a bit looking to purchase a ticket but fortunately I did not fumble to long and boarded the train 10 minutes before departure. I am telling you, 10 minutes must have been key for me on this day. I took the train from Seville to El Puerto de Santa Maria, Southern Spain, where Sydney met me!! Wahoo!! We had to option of a bus or taxi… I chose taxi. At this point I had been awake for approximately 24 hours and was ready for a straight foolproof shot to the location where I would be able to set my bags down, Sydney's flat.

(Looking of the side of the peir in El Puerto... someone felt their art was worthy of over looking the sea... I thought it was worthy of taking a picture.)

I have been here in El Puerto since Monday and I have had such a relaxing time… all except attempting to book Christmas travel plans. We spent over 10 hours looking for cheap airfare to Germany before Sydney and I finally found a perfectly priced travel plan last night to Stuttgart Germany. I have a good friend who I have known for more than half of my life who is studying to earn his masters in Architecture in Stuttgart. We are going to head up that direction on the 29th of December and plan on staying… well we don’t know how long yet. We haven’t booked our ticket back home yet… I’m telling you procrastination is not the key to cheap and quick travel plans. We do know that we will end up in Barcelona where Sydney will get to experience my city for a few days, yey!! Amongst all that excitement Sydney and I think we would like to travel to Morocco for a day or two prior to Christmas. We still have great plans of traveling to Paris, Amsterdam, Prague and many many other places but as of right now the money says, “No, you only get two places!” Darn money. Well I will miss you all for Christmas and perhaps if time allows I will get to blog again before that day comes. However, if I do not get back to my blog before the 25th remember, Christmas is about the family and not the presents. Duh… you guys are smart rocking people and since we are family and/or friends I of course know that you know that! Love and miss you all! Continue to keep me in your prayers it is more helpful than you know.

Uno Beso

I Hope I Live Until I'm at Least 65!

(Eating dessert at Cuatro Gatos, "Four Cats," a quaint coffee shop were Picasso use to come and sketch. And yes, it's true, I am sporting like 8 different colors in the style of 3 different patterns... jealous!?)

So I can’t believe the time has come and tomorrow is the last day of class. Someone the day before class started said time will pass by quickly but slowly at the same time and I would say that is a true statement. I can’t decide whether four weeks is a long time or a short time. A month, in the scope of things is so short yet in this month I have accomplished so much. I have encountered a new culture and new things every single day yet I have consistently had the familiarity of my classroom and my classmates. That ends tomorrow. I cannot tell you how excited I am yet slightly nervous at the same time. Finally, I will be here on my own and not held here by the will of anyone or any class but by the choice of my own. For a while I got really home sick and thought my stay here would be much shorter than I intended. I did not like teaching and constantly having the sense of feeling deaf and mute on account of the unfamiliar/unattainable Catalan language really had me searching for a sense of familiarity. It was quite frustrating and I felt myself searching constantly for the next thing to entertain myself. I went here and there, tried to make connections constantly and fortunately in this search I grew much closer to my classmates. I finally received the hugs I had been missing and they were/are wonderful! We tend to take the routine things in life such as hugs, a simple touch or a quick goodnight wish for granted. Sure, I could be home and go for a couple weeks without a hug or a good morning greeting but take away the option to make that decision and it leaves you feeling mildly suffocated. Rest assured those feelings are not as they were a week ago but that I still miss, at the very least, a warm smile from each of you.

I leave this Monday to spend the week with Sydney. We still haven’t decided our holiday itinerary but that will all come soon, very soon. I am so excited to be spending this holiday season with someone I have known for so long and feel close to. It wont be home home but we will make our own home, starting with a bottle of red vino!

Well this previous weekend I was so fortunate to spend an afternoon with Lauren, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso! Last weekend was truly wonderful I really got a chance to get out and explore the city and see some of its sites. The Sagrada Familia, as you saw through my pictures, being one of the most amazing pieces of architecture I have seen, especially with all the symbolism! I truly cannot describe all the entities of this amazing structure. I hope to re-visit the Cathedral when it’s finished in 2050, assuming I will still be alive at the grand age of 65. Well, I had better start/finish my final lesson plan for EuroTEFL!! I am the absolutely last student teacher to teach tomorrow!! Wahoo!! On that note, I will leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the Salvador Dali Museum. Unfortunately, the Picasso Museum did not allow photos but that’s ok I prefer Dali’s work. Shhhh….. Oh and fyi, I can only upload 5 photos so I cannot possibly explain some of the details of my other favorites under this type of restriction. Thus, I chose these few photos because they can be displayed, for the most part, in a single frame... sorry. It really is sad.

Goodnight!
Mucho Love!

(I am a sucker for line work!)
(The detail in this piece is incredible! It goes on forever and like most of Dali's work you could become lost in the visual dialogue for hours!)
(I really like this one because at first glance it looks like a man and some clouds... as you look closer you will see a larger image of a man in the back ground and then finally before your eyes... one realizes the clouds are also people. Dali's paintings are ever unfolding. This painting is one of the more visually comprehendable paintings. So simple yet, to me, quite refreshing.)
(Here is one of Dali's crude, simple yet visually stimulating paintings. There was a room full of paintings/drawing in this exact style/series. All of the works in this specific collection were composed of very scratchy ink line drwaings and confidently odd images accompanied by boldly painted backgrounds. I suppose this was my favorite because of the bright green back ground.)

Who Sells Pigeons... Better Yet, Who Buys Them?

(My lovey accordion binder!)

Sorry it has been so long since I have written. Life has been semi crazy. I have been lucky to catch a few of your online from time to time, which has been really nice! Thanks! Here is the short break down of my current and crazy life. :)

School:
So I have five more days remaining in my EuroTEFL course.... thank goodness! I love the time spent with my teachers and classmates but I will not miss all the crapy grammar and unexciting lesson planning. I have found that teaching is a much structured profession or at least in the sense of teaching English. Today we received yet more grammar information... all which will be on our Exam Tuesday! Everyday we get about 3 hours of new information that we are required to obtain and regurgitate on this final Exam Tuesday... blah! So 36 hours of knowledge that will need to be studied this weekend along with, one lesson to plan for Tuesday, my completed CV (resume) by Monday and My learner profile (thorough analysis of my "learner," Rudy and his understanding of the English language) completed by Wednesday, I will also need to plan a lesson for Rudy tonight or tomorrow in order to give him a private lesson this weekend, along with the task of organizing all of my lessons creating a teacher profile (for jobs but also an assignment) and finally I will complete my course with a lesson on the last day of class, Thursday the 11th, which I will also plan in the midst of this next week. Whew... now that that is over....

Personal:
I am moving out of my flat on the 15th because that is when my contract is up. I will be flying to Sevilla Spain on the 14th where I will meet up with my friend Sydney from K-State. Sydney is currently working as an English teacher in a little town outside of Sevilla. I will live with her for a week while she finishes up her semester on the 19th. From there we will fly out of Sevilla for the holidays with anticipated travel to Germany, Prague, Amsterdam and lastly, Pairs. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to us!!! Luckily we have friends in 3 of the 4 locations we are traveling to so we wont have to spend much on room and board. From this point Sydney begins school again on Jan. 9th... for myself I am not certain of my plans. I may look into becoming a figure model, I may become a street performer or hey, there are a ton of dogs in Europe... perhaps I'll cosy up to a pup on the street and call it my own. Yeah probably not but stay tuned because it is true I don't know what's next. My classmate Stacey and I may share a room for a month at our friend Roberts place but as of now that's what I've got for you.

Anyway, I would love to write more and I apologise for the lack of creativity and the straight forward structure of this post but sometimes life screams order and basic organization... ahhhhhh! Cha right, that would be like calling life grammar and trust me life is not grammar! I will bring you more excitement from Barcelona hopefully in the next couple of days.

Just as the pigeons being sold in cages here should be... Out!
(and yea... that is a true statement... crazy ass people trying to make a buck)

“Who Needs Drugs When You Have English Teachers?”

(Traveling, somewhere, 27.11.08)

So Thanksgiving here is well… simply the last Thursday of the month… soooo non-existent. My American friends and I decided the week before Thanksgiving that we would all gather and have our own little Thanksgiving feast. Literally the same day we were discussing this mock-Thanksgiving dinner we discovered that ISLA (our study center) had alternative plans for our “not-Thanksgiving” evening. Another language school here in Barcelona had an opening in their schedule and invited us to come teach their students for an hour. We were not to thrilled at this news to say the least, especially considering it was scheduled right after our normal day of class. AH!

So we had a week to let the news set in and by Thursday it still wasn’t our first choice but I think we had all decided it wouldn’t be to bad and that afterwards we could still celebrate! So after class ended at 5:00 and we set off for the nearest metro stop so that we could reach our destination by 6:00. After a metro journey consisting of cramped spaces, Robert almost licking a handrail and the sweetest 5 o’clock accordion players Barcelona’s metro system could offer we finally hit the street near our destination.

We made our way to the school, which was quite near the station. Shortly after arriving to the classroom adult students of all ages began pouring in the room filling nearly all thirty empty seats. Some nerves began to show through amongst my colleagues. I feel fortunate that my tired mind warded off the majority of those nerves. Lawrence, our instructor, grouped us with 5-6 students each for a more intimate learning environment. We followed our lesson worksheets in our small groups and one-by-one made our way up to the front of the class to deliver our specified instructions to the entirety of the class; in order to keep the lesson moving.

Finally the class was over and we as teachers exchanged our wavering perceptions of the experience. We had all decided that this experience was well worth missing out on Turkey between the times of five and seven; our students seemed so appreciative and excited that we were there and that truly made the experience all worth it. One lady was so thankful and excited she utterly could not contain her face and body of enthusiastic gestures, Alex was quick to point this out. It followed with this statement, “Who needs drugs when you have English teachers!” We concluded with a picture to commemorate the event and then eagerly left that school, it was Thanksgiving dinnertime!!

(Commemorative Photo:
Back: Robert, Lawrence, Alex, Lauren
Front: Stacey, Natalie)

(Rahul, not my student but dying to know my age
and get a photo with me. Reservations much?)

After walking around searching for a restaurant we could all agree on, for about forty minutes, common situation, we finally decided on this small restaurant; tables topped with white linen and wine goblets. We made our way in, sat down and quickly were moved to another seat… apparently seat yourself means ‘seat yourself in the place we ESP you to sit.’ We again moved once more, into the smoking section, which was great because it was a whole room just for us! Perfect! We quickly ordered drinks, I finally got the gin and tonic I had been wanting all day and shortly following we placed the order for our long awaited Thanksgiving dinner! Now please don’t be offended and keep in mind I don’t know that I have seen turkey since I’ve been here, along with many other Thanksgiving items. The food came out, a salad, calamari, cured ham with vegetables and last but not least black rice and squid. Yes, black rice. Black rice, new to me but quite tasty, is rice cooked in squid ink! Sounds odd and it is but it is really good! Oh and yes, it does turn your teeth black… its ink, what else would you expect? We concluded our meals and headed on our way. To our surprise when we left it was raining. Luckily it wasn’t to far to the nearest metro station. After a long journey home on the metro I arrived safely at my flat and enjoyed another gin and tonic to celebrate while I called home. It was great talking to everyone! Thanks!

(Inky teeth... compliments of Mr. Squid)

This was not what one would call a "traditional" Thanksgiving. It was a long day and we truly had to work for our dinner however, it was great being able to share this holiday with people whose company I enjoy!! On another note I did attend another Thanksgiving dinner today (Saturday)… this dinner had all the real fixings!! It was so refreshing to have a taste of home!!! I SO MUCH love the yogurt here but it does not account for all the missing dishes I miss from back home. Today was gratifying.

Lost Road Meets New Road

(Myself, Lauren, and Stacey at Park Guell)

So last Saturday Lauren, Stacey and I set off for Park Guell by Antoni Gaudi, one of the huge tourist sites here in Barcelona. I most definitely will not be able to describe the history or importance of this architectural beauty but I have included a website that does just that.

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/gaudi/park-guell.html

Another thing this website describes well are precise and accurate directions to the park. This website clearly notes, in big red font, that it takes 20 minutes to walk to the park from the metro stop. This is providing that one is healthy and/or willing enough to conclude the twenty-minute walk with a 200 m steep incline. Now some of you may be thinking… twenty minutes, “not really my thing” and others, perhaps it’s the steep biz that’s got you in a bunch running towards the closest taxi. Well, let me assure you this little journey would have been as easy as a poodle in heat compared to our route to Park Guell!

So we arrive to the proper metro stop as planned, Lesseps. We made all the correct transfers and even congratulated Stacey on her fancy map reading. “Way to go Stacey!” Lauren states, as we are getting ready to transfer to our last line, the green line. Stacey is quick to reply, “We’re not there yet.” Oh if only we would have known the truth those words held, at that moment we would have had the tunnels ringing with great laughter. So we finally arrive at the Lesseps stop and make our way to the street. There are two directions a person would be most likely to travel coming out of this metro stop one, leads to the twenty-minute route and the other, well…. So looking back in irony the twenty-minute street/sidewalk was clear and ready to cross, almost as if it were freely welcoming us in the right direction. The alternate direction on the other hand had quite the obstacle. So a practice here in Spain that is very different from the US is the distance one is allowed near to construction vehicles. So we were getting ready to cross the alternative routes street when a traffic officer greeted us, along with many other people. Perhaps the crowd of people was our deciding factor for choosing this direction, who knows. Regardless, the man and woman officers were directing traffic because a huge asphalt truck was approximately thirty feet from squishing the entirety of the pedestrian traffic. See here in Spain it is ok for a construction truck to be so close to you that can touch it. The other day I walked under a cherry picker hanging up Christmas lights, no cones or anything! Today, 20 feet from a HUGE construction digger truck (whatever it’s called) that was scooping up huge chunks of street! Apparently liabilities are not as much of an issue as in the US.

Anyway, we chose to wait on the on the asphalt truck to cross the un-laid road to begin on our journey to Guell Park. So we walk about eight to ten blocks up hill until we start to ponder our location. We just figured we would have seen a sign or something and the fact we had run into the next metro stop kind of threw us off, especially considering Lesseps was the closest stop to the Park. Oh well we figure. Stacey’s map didn’t show the next metro stop so we assumed Lesseps wasn’t the closest and that maybe we didn’t have the most accurate metro map. No worries, we truly can’t be far however, we did think that at this point if we wanted to eventually reach our destination that maybe we should start thinking logically about directions oppose to walking aimlessly enjoying the beautiful day. “Let’s see, Park Guell is on a hill and we just walked up a hill… hum…” Well to our right was uphill and to our left just kind of leveled off. So right we went! We crossed a bridge and then finally spotted our first sign, Park Guell, this way! However, this sign sat at a fork in the road… hum… well the left side was slightly more inclined so we went left, onward uphill. We walked for a few more blocks and started to think that perhaps we may have missed our mark and that we should have gone right despite the incline. Anyway, we're kind of thirsty so we stopped in a quaint bakery to ask for directions and purchase some beverages. The lady, who of course spoke little English, replied to Stacey’s Spanish with, “Si, right and then left, left.” Awesome! We are so close… that’s only three turns… we just thought apparently this way wasn’t well marked with signs. So we kept walking and came to this little park… hum, ok…. Well we didn’t make a right so we definitely didn’t make our two lefts. We read some of the signs and quickly realized that it was our eagerness that stopped us however, we could not be fooled by just any old park. We asked a man on the street which way to Park Guell "donde es Park Guell?" and he pointed us straight, on we went!

To make a long story short an hour later and an uphill tour of the city we only encountered one more sign with slight indication of the actual direction. We also asked directions twice more, the first guy saying, “Right and then left, left (Sound familiar? This was several blocks down from the first lady who gave us the same directions!);” the second guy successfully directed us to our destination. I don’t blame the first two directors for their directions, neither spoke English well and it wasn’t like we were looking for the nearest street corner.

Regardless, we had a wonderful time at Park Guell! It was absolutely beautiful and the view of the city accompanied by the contrasting mountains of the west and Mediterranean Sea of the east made it all worth the workout!

(Foreground: Multi-coloured tiled mosaic seats.
Background: Beautiful architecture by Antoni Gaudi.)

(Guadi Dragon Fountain)

(View of the city from Park Guell)

On our way back home we took the twenty-minute journey, only this time we enjoyed the downhill nature of the walk. Three hours later we finally made it back to our original intersection near the Lesseps metro station, the traffic officers were still there only now the road was completed!! The construction workers had not only laid the new asphalt but had painted the cross walk lines and were now removing the tape that separated the asphalt from the fresh wet paint. Imagine that, one trip to Park Guell and a new road later we made it back to our metro stop and begun our metro journey back to our quarters of Barcelona.

(On the metro back home... here I come Poblenou!)

Thanks again for reading! Mucho Love + kisses :)

Shout Out to Charcoal!

So people don’t smile here much as you pass them on the street. It’s not like in the mid-west, my friends from IN and TX have confirmed my thought in this oddity. However, we discussed this idea of smiling at strangers with our friend Alex from Great Britain and he laughingly confirmed that in fact, we are the odd ones. Who smiles at strangers he says. He followed this statement with some British phrase that assured he might just kick someone’s ass if they decided to randomly smile at him. We all had a good laugh and continued on our break.

While walking to class this morning, and every morning, I pass the elementary school that is near to my flat, today it aroused the concept of children and culture. We are not born thinking; today I will or wont smile at the people I pass. No this is a cultural difference amongst many regions in the world and even parts of the US. While sitting at McDonalds (yes, we went the super cultured route) for lunch with my peers we noticed that the little baby sitting in the high-chair next to us was ever so playful, as playful as any other child. A child with out restraint, with out judgment and with the simplicity of joy in a laugh, a smile and a kind gesture such as reaching their little hand out to a complete stranger. The children here are so beautiful. They wiz around on their little razor scooters and roam the streets playfully just as every other child in this world. Children hold such a beauty in their innocence.

On my way to the art supply store another child caught my attention. He sat on the floor of the metro train peeling the chocolate center from the cookie his mother had given him. Watching him in such a carefree manor again arouse the feeling of innocents that children poses. To sit on one of the filthiest surfaces eating a cookie in such a content manor made me a little jealous and quite envious. I thought to myself, man, children really have it all; what I wouldn’t give to be a child again just for a moment. As I tasted that thought in my mind for a moment my eyes slowly shifted to his mothers leg and then up her body until I reached her face. This slow movement allowed me the time to realize yes, being a child is and was great but what an honor to poses wisdom. If possessing that innocents again means that I must trade the value of my ever-growing wisdom I don’t know that I would do it. More often I look at my elders and envy their wisdom far more than I envy innocents of children. Not to discredit the children of this world they hold such a unique and precious key in this life, one that touched my life more today than the wisdom of any adult, a smile.

So I made it to the art store after a long week of sketching with a mechanical pencil in my tiny little sketchbook… pa. However, it was well worth the wait this supply store rocked my socks off!! This store had soooooo many stinking supplies of all colors and sorts! Metallic gold and bronze oil pastels!! I didn’t buy the metallics this time but perhaps on my next visit… oh yes, there will be a next visit! Finding this place made me mucho mucho happy! They didn’t have paper but they had a little brother store, which wasn’t little, just down the street full of paper! It was just as wonderful as the supply store. The great thing is these places have postings and connections for art classes in the area. If I stick around here for a while I will surely be signing up for a class… I would really like to take another figure drawing class and I know somewhere in Barcelona has one but I’ll just have to see about pricing.

So to end I would like to thank all of you who read my blog regularly or just at all, especially those who make comments. I must be honest I was a little discouraged to find out that I don’t have many readers. I know I write a lot so I find it completely understandable. I mean seriously… who writes almost 10 pages single-spaced in less than a week! I’m not sure I even wrote that much in a week in college. Well I probably did but not by choice that’s for sure… What has happened to me!!? Just Kidding, I love it and as time and passion allow I intend on
continuing with my blogging as planned.

Love and miss you all! Hugs for everyone!

Also, I have included a drawing that my new art supplies helped me achieve… thanks art supplies!

(Also I would like to note that the lady in this picture is fully dressed... rare of my drawings... I know. So if you like clothing you may have to keep coming back to this drawing)

Alcohol Air?!

(View of the city from Guadi Park, details to follow)

So today marks my week anniversary of living in Barcelona. It is quite incredible how I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of this city. Mostly because I have been learning the infinite details of the English language. An experience and opportunity that first grade Natalie would have turned her nose to in a hurry. Class is great. It can be challenging in regards to rigor but it excites me for grad school! We begin class at 9:30 am so… 2:30 am your time. During class we get a couple 5-15 minute breaks for coffee, soda, cigarette; choose your vice. Oh and of course that is restroom time. Vice and a piss, it’s truly a grand 5 minutes. Sincerely. So aside from our V/P breaks we also get a hour for lunch, well depending on our teachers punctuality. This is great because it provides a lengthier period to converse with our classmates. It rarely comes with out a breath of sincerity, a little bitching and the idea of expanding character. I really look forward to lunch, its time compliments my last blog post.

Aside from our breaks in class we do work. Every morning we have three lessons. This past week we had at least one lesson on teaching English, we had a crash course in the Czech language and of course grammar (that or some other tedious form of the English language). After lunch, disregarding the first day of class, we observe and/or teach beginner or intermediate students of all nationalities. This has proven to be quite exciting in a one on one situation. As far as teaching a whole group of students it has proven to be more of a challenge. I don’t find myself nervous or without confidence only there are so many rules in teaching to follow. Maybe I’ll make my own rules when I’m done with training, maybe not but why not push the envelope. Many people before me ripped that envelope wide open! Oh yes and Fridays are crash course Spanish Fridays. Our teacher speaks about as much English as I do Spanish sooooo… muy muy poco (very very little). I hope to learn lots!

So next week will occur as normal, three lessons in the morning, V/P breaks, lunch, teaching/observing in the afternoons and of course Spanish Friday. I will teach my first hour-long course Wednesday at 2:00 pm so 7:00 am your time. I got pretty lucky that I only teach one class next week. Some of my peers have two lessons to teach but I'll get my turn the following week. Also, this week we will all have an additional lesson to teach. Our teacher signed us up for an extra curricular teaching assignment Thursday night, happy Thanksgiving right?. It should be good though, one more thing to put on my CV (European Resume). Yes and our CV is also due next week… Friday. Good thing I already have mine done!! Refine refine oh I have time.

There is just so much to tell I could just write and write! I will close with a couple snips from my day today. Today was an adventurous day so I will expand later. I was not able to make it to the art supply store but the gift shop at the Gaudi Park had a graphite stick (a stick of H2 “lead”)!!! Wahoo!! I think shading will be much easier to come by than with my mechanical pencil.

Last story. Stacey and I went to this bar called Airbar. It was a pretty chill place. Good music, art on the walls and their liquor/beer bottle arrangement behind the bar was quite aesthetically pleasing. Anyway, so Airbar is not just some hip name or some fancy pansy way to sway people in. No, the reason being… they serve alcohol air! Sounds odd huh? Looks odd too! First they take an ash trey looking dish and place a shot glass in the middle. Then they fill a separate shot glass with several types of liquor, one that is green in color. After this is complete they fill a spray bottle with some flammable liquor and set the torch near by. The bartender proceeds by taking the freshly poured mixed liquor shot into the bottom of the ash trey dish. With a tall glass in his right hand and spray in the left the bartender spritzes the liquor in the bottom of the ash trey dish, into the shot glass centered in the ash trey dish and finally into the glass in his right hand. Once this is complete the bartender grabbed the torch and let it rip. Shortly after everything was on fire the bartender placed the tall glass upside down over the shot glass snuffing the flame. The chemical reaction from this snuff causes the alcohol in the dish to rise filling the empty shot glass in the dish. Once this has occurred the buyer grabs a straw and sucks down the liquor. While the buyer is taking his or her shot via straw the bartender grabs the tall glass and covers it with his hand so as to not let the “alcohol air” out. The buyer, once the shot is completed, takes the straw and sucks the "alcohol air" out of the glass!! Random huh?! I’ll let you know how that goes if I end up trying it.

Wow that was more of a description than I was anticipating. Thanks for reading! Night and love you all! :)

Fresh Bread Comes Unpackaged Too :)

(Lunch time with Lauren, Robert and Alex. Stacey didn't feel well.)

(Drinks on the coast of Barceloneta with Stacey and Lauren)

It’s amazing how life interjects itself into us. Here we are, this being brought unto this earth and the world, as we know it has no choice but to become apart of us. Life and this place as we know it has been here long before us and will be here long after us yet some how we are folded into the crescent of its existence. We are what we make of our time here and of to whom we give our honor. We decide in whom we indulge; we decide with whom we interact. If we sit and point fingers then we hold ourselves in a bind. We restrain ourselves from learning and understanding the beauty for which we were created.

Tonight I was able to share a table with two ladies whom this life folded my way. See in our comfort zone we are so quick to seclude ourselves to those with whom we are comfortable, people that reaffirm our being and reaffirm our comfort to exist as we see fit to our own definition of being. Our being is not ours to be had it is ours to be shared. When we share our being that is when we become. It is a beautiful thing to reach out, to know and understand. This occurs in a simple smile to a stranger on the street or to the man we call a bum who may have lost his life to the bottle. Perhaps disconnect begins with an incomprehensible situation, perhaps something tragic, perhaps something simple. I do not commend actions that lead to self-destruct but who is so mighty that empathy is an unattainable characteristic.
I love being able to know people I may not get the chance to aside from the idea of circumstance. What are we truly put here to do or to be but lovers of mankind and honor. I am no perfectionist but to attain the smallest grasp of what it means to truly love with out condition would be a humble acknowledgment.

You may not agree with my opinion or see my words fit but know that they are not with constraint to a formula but find them simply to mean that love is the answer to the ultimate questions we seek.

Thanks for allowing me to blah de blah about what I find to be beautiful in this life.

Betcha Neva Had Pear Yogurt

So to begin.... this week I have learned that the title of this blog post would be a complete and total failure in the ways of accurate grammar and spelling. So what to do? So in every day we say things like... "I'm gonna go to the store." So should we teach "gonna" or "I am 'going to' go to the store?" To go or gonna... that is the question.

On to pear yogurt.... So I have found some of the best tasting yogurt I have ever had in my life! It's this brand called "Yogur con (insert flavor)." I happen to be eating "Yogur Con Pear" as I write to you... this flavor struck me with much intrigue while I was in the store ... umm, pear yogurt. Can you even buy that in the states? Anyway, it is pretty tasty. I'm sure I pay for it in calories but with all the walking up and down stairs and to and from school I need the extra energy!

Stacey and I went on a cell phone hunt Wednesday night. We got out of class at 6:00, it was already dark. So we had google find and map out the closest Vodafone for us so we would have an accurate idea of our destination. We started on our journey both really tired from the day and not to thrilled that it was only our third day and we had just been given our second teaching assignment. We wanted to get our phones (which we had been trying to do for 3 days) and get home so we could get our lessons planned. We followed all the right streets and made all the right turns only the final street we ended up on is split into approximately 5 streets. No big deal because all the signs we are reading are still confirming our accuracy in travel. We walk and walk... and walk and finally come to an area that looks as though we are getting away from all the businesses. Mind you this is still not a problem because we are approaching a metro station and this phone place is right by the metro station!! Horray, we are soo close and it can't be far now! So we get to the metro station and well it is definitely not the right station. Damn it! Well to make a long story short, after one survived pickpocket attempt, lots of map viewing and almost 2 hours of walking the same 5 blocks we decided it would be best to just start drinking. Stacey and I found a great little pub where they pour the gin and tonics quite generously. We had a nice dinner, some great drinks and called it a night. Oh and here they have lime flavored tonic on tap... craziness huh?! I am happy to report that last night Stacey and I accurately located our new phone company and purchased our phones... all within about 30 minutes, including walk time. Funny huh.. ha.

Class is great but I will write more about that soon. I have been writing for the last 2.5 almost 3 hours.

Mucho Love :)


Stacey and I after our adventure and the phone card I bought as an attempted replacement. I needed to feel like I accomplised something!

A New Shower Perspective

So I know I just wrote but with a perspective like this it's quite hard not to run and tell. So it's true what they say about cold showers... they do bring a whole new meaning to waking you up. So mid... no, not even mid-shower the hot water goes out and not like at home where it kind of fades out so you have a warning. No, it's like someone flipped a switch and now you are showing with fresh water from the cold Mediterranean Sea!! Not to mention, right when the cold water switch occurred I had just lathered up with a full head of conditioner and was completely covered in soap... perfect timing right?. Now you all may be thinking to yourselves that sounds wickedly unpleasant but I am here to say give it a shot and you may find it be be quite the opposite. To begin it makes for a great morning laugh, it challenges you mentally and physically. Mentally because you're thinking this is the last kind of shower I want to take and physically because.... well you try it and you'll see. Finally, it makes stepping out of the shower the most desirable part of showering because now, instead of the that being the coldest part of the shower process it has now become the warmest part!! Enjoy and remember laughing at yourself and situations is always key!!

Early Mornings Call for Blog Posts

So here it is 5:00 am and I cannot sleep. Not that I am restless only my body is still lost in some sort of time translation. I laid in my bed half awake as my upper eyelashes tickled my lower eyelids and my little tummy growled feed me. I must say, and obviously, the Golden Grams and computer on my desk sounded much more appealing than fighting with my body for an extra 30 minutes of sleep. I may regret my decision tomorrow morning during my Czech lesson in class but I have done much of my college career on less sleep than this so I think I will be fine.

You will all be glad to know that I have found my way to the grocery store during open hours. Needless to say I am eating much more than bread and cheese these last couple of days… wahoo!! Although, I will say in relation to food here I have come across some oddities. So the Golden Grams that accompany me right now are dry and let me tell you there is a good reason for this… that's the best way to eat them!! But seriously what I was getting at… so the milk here is so extensively pasteurized that it only needs to be kept at a luke warm temperature if even cold at all!!! They sell some of their milk on the dry shelves… blah. A friend of mine Wes Morgan once told me a quite gnarly story that involved milk and it’s processing. Needless to say milk and I still have some issues so seeing it on the dry shelf is truly going to be an obstacle. However, I did buy milk but I’ve been debating that first glass. Plus with all my recent cheese consumption and the added yogurt to my diet I don’t think I am lacking on my dairy. No Osteoporosis for this lady! I mean seriously, my favorite food is cheese! That would be like the lady who loved her some oranges and lemonade dying from Scurvy… just aint gonna happen.

So we teach our first lesson tomorrow and it’s only the 3rd day. I will be teaching a board game and introducing the gerund (the ings) and infinitive ways to construct sentences. I am pretty excited. We were exposed to a little bit of teaching yesterday and it can be quite rewarding… especially when you’re students are so eager to learn. Wish me luck!

I will write more when I don’t have to wake up in 1.5 hours. I hope you all enjoyed my last post. I also hope you all received all the disclaimers… well the one about my room. If some of you are having trouble believing me hit me up and I will get you a fresh shot of my room, as is. If that isn’t candid enough for you catch me off guard on aim/ichat: suprdawl or skype: nstegman. Oh and be tuned in for some more sweet videos. My friend Aaron and I are doing a little Kanye gone international via Aaron and Natalie… stay tuned…. it will be bad ass and that is a promise from Aaron and I. Aaron I hope you like that I just made a public promise for you. ;) go team! Oh and if anyone can google locate the apple store here in Barcelona I will give you mad props... good luck!

Besos y hasta el poste siguiente
Senorita Natalie ☺

Oh and I have included some drawings I did last night… I hope to make it to the art store this weekend to get some bigger paper. As well as I hope to get some architectural drawings in soon! Oh and picture two is lacking on the shading... sorry bed time called before I finished.... which it probably wouldn't have been a big deal if I had I stayed up to finish the drawing. Egh hindsight. Night, Kisses!

Video of My Flat in Barcelona!

Bare with me it's not a perfect but it's a decent view of my pad. Oh and as a disclaimer my room is not not that messy. I had just unpacked and was sick of chores so I made a video!! Oh and my roommate told me if I wanted to occupy this space longer than this month I could!!! Yey!! I wont be homeless and I'll still be 5 blocks from the beach!

Un beso,
natalie
(dont be fooled by my spanish salute... I copied that translation... looks good though... right? hehe )

Blog Attempt While in Spain!!!

Here is my feeble attempt at producing a blog for everyone at home who isn't on my mass mailing list. Some of these posts will be emails I send and some will be spontaneous formulations of my wondering mind! I'll start you all off easy.... here is my first mass email back home.

Quick Pre-Thought:
You all will see that I composed this message at 3:15 Spanish time. I ironically sent the message the next morning about 10 am Spanish time which in hind sight is 3:00 am central standard. Think about it. This whole time thing is still entertaining!! Not intentional but entertaining.

Hello everyone!

So it's 3:15 here and I can't sleep. This whole time thing is still getting the best of me. Yesterday I was thinking I would go to bed early, 1:00 am, so I could get up and explore Sunday afternoon and find things such as more food and a cell phone. I also had plans of pre-finding the place we would be having drinks Sunday evening. I guess I was kinda tired because I slept for 15 hours!!! I didn't get up until 4:30 pm which fortunately was enough time to shower and let my hair air dry before I needed to start my excursion at 6:00. Leaving at 6:00 would allow me time to make error on my metro travel and foot journey. You will be happy to know I was right on with the metro travel and that I only over walked by 8 blocks… not to shabby. I arrived to the little bar on what would look like a dead alley street promptly at 6:50ish. Way to go me!!! I was the first one there. It was great I got to speak clear and full English sentences all evening! It's amazing how simple things like that can feel really refreshing. Like having a McDonalds Coca-Cola when you have a headache.
So needless to say I was not able to accomplish my simple Sunday tasks but I hear it's a good thing I slept because everything is closed on Sunday's except bars. Tomorrow I intend on going to the market or grocery store… whichever is open and getting some food. I bought great bread, cheese and OJ when I got here however; it was not to my knowledge that's what I would be eating for the next few days. So while I love cheese and bread I would really like to give something else a whirl so I don't tire myself of one of my favorite snacks. Oh I did buy these little soccer ball shaped Cheetos. They came in a green package so based on my American knowledge I thought they would be jalapeno flavored… boy was I mistaken. I don't quite know what flavor they are but if I had to take a guess I would say they are bacon and cheddar. They aren't terrible but we'll say I'm glad there isn't a dog around or they may have found their way into its bowl.
So I should probably be sleeping. I start class tomorrow and have to rely on my "natural alarm clock" I have no concept of time and no alarm. That was one of my goals for today to buy a watch, cell phone or clock but well you've heard that story. I left my roommate Rudy from Slovakia a note and asked him to please wake me. I sure do hope he gets it. If not I intend on waking up periodically to check the time on my computer.

So I don't know who all has gotten what information but here are some of the basics. I live in a cute little flat on the 5th floor with no elevator and I love it! I have 3 roommates, Rudy from Slovakia is studying Spanish at my study center, Jose is a painter and Alva is an English translator but I don't think she's affiliated with the school in anyway. Jose is cool but quite independent so I don't see him often. Alva is even more independent and I've only seen her once. Finally Rudy, he is really really quiet, really. I'm pretty certain he's in his room all day but he makes himself seen as little as possible.

Anyway, I hope this gives you some insight to my life here in Barcelona! Please feel free to email and ask any questions I have left out. I miss you all dearly and I know you are praying for me and I thank you for that!!
Oh by the way I made a sweet video of my flat so when I figure out how to send it you will all get to see it!!

Love and hugs,
Natalie

PS: I am soo not tired and could probably type a few more pages but I'll spare you all. Umm pickle spare sounds sooo good right now. I'm telling you bread and cheese for 2.5 days for every meal will make you crave anything. Ok ok I guess split a "tortilla" with chicken and onions with Lauren. "Tortilla's" here are really omelets well at least at this place. Oh yes, Lauren from Dallas TX, Stacey from Indianapolis IN and Alex from England are 3 of my 4 classmates. Ok ok seriously I am off. Love you all!! Good night!
Disclaimer: When reading the salute messages such as "good night" or "good morning" take them all relatively or you could almost say with no regard to time. It surely will not apply to your time but relatively speaking it may not even refer accordingly to the time in which I send the message. I intend on sending this message tomorrow so good night will no longer be an applicable salute especially for you guys. Whatever, you guys get the point. You're all smart cookies… maybe a little nutty but cookies with nuts are my utmost favs!! Seriously who doesn't love white and milk chocolate macadamia nut cookies… yummmmmmm!!! Ok I have to get off this food thing.

XOXO!

Peace from closer to the Middle East than you peeps,
Natalie

Two salutes… you guys are so special! I only wish I could draw you a little picture… I suppose that will be something of the future.

Next day add on:
By the way I found out this morning I have internet in my flat!! Wahoo!! So when I can't sleep at 3 in the am it will be perfect for Skype etc..... Have a great Monday morning when you all start your day in 5ish hours!

Silly Goldfish

(Gold Fish Bowl by Matesse)

For as long as I can remember I have always enjoyed painting. As a child I fumbled my way through watercolors, grasping that cheap little yellow plastic brush and it’s stringy, to say the least, bristles. The first challenge that brush and I encountered was trying to recreate Matesse’s Gold Fish Bowl painting. I thought to myself the washes must blend perfectly, the colors must be exact, only I didn’t know they were called washes, and I would not say my grade school work was exact. However, I desired above all else for my class work to mimic Matisse’s work. I would not say at the end of this particular painting there were any grand praises or even a gold star. I would however say that during this time period in my life began what would come to be one of the most gratifying expressions of who I am, the addiction, painting.

It's Me!

(picture of me)

This space is my elegant yet unrefined attempt at sharing my artwork with whom ever chooses to take part. Please feel free to express your emotions or opinions, good or bad, as much or as little as you see fit. I enjoy life’s interaction with people and I believe the best way to do this is through a transactional channel of honest communication. My artwork is a small yet passionate area of how I enjoy expressing myself in this world. It has, at times, captivated my heart to the point that I never thought possible, creating emotional outlets only best expressed on wood. Other times my work has simply been a visual stimulation, something that has brought me warmth and happiness as I walk past. As I endeavor to script this journey of my artwork I hope that it is as revealing to you as I desire it to be and perhaps more.