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.)