Finding myself in a bar with 2 chicagoans and 1 boy from priego

So, yes two posts in such a short period of time? CRAZYTOWN. I can´t believe my good luck of the past weekend! So my friend joel´s housemate(the german carpenter christoph) is part of this network called couch surfers. Basically, it connects people with an extra, guess what, couch--with traveling vagabonds. Or, like a mini hostel network without all the $ caus hostels definitley add up. But so i come home from walking around friday night and who do i find? But one girl, katie, from lake forest and nick from st charles. Nuts. Turns out katie and i used to play softball together, or against each other as the case may be, back in the day. And they were so chill...it was refreshing to enjoy new people´s company so much, and of course, to wax nastalgic about chicagoland. Chicagoland...kinda sounds like disneyland dont it? Neverneverland...

The only lame part of the weekend was having such an indecisive host. Joel is really nice. Really nice...but he doesnt know when to assert himself. The chicago kids wanted to go to a club but didnt want to pay money. Well, that doesnt really work. BUT there are pleeenty of pubs with a club like atmosphere where you can go for free. But instead of taking us there, joel insisted that we go from club to club in the rain...thinking we could ¨¨bargain¨¨ our way in there. Yeah riiiight. So we ended up wet and tired and bar, clubless.

Pet peeve alert: WHY IS IT THAT SOME PEOPLE INSIST ON WALKING 7-10 feet AHEAD OF YOU! STOP IT!

But sat was good times...a lazy 12 oclock start to the day and then a nice shrimp lunch. Seafood is so inexpensive here its crazy. I´m used to thinking of it as such a delacacy...that i never buy it caus i assume it will be too expensive. But for teh two of us it was about 3 euro..muy bien. And then iwondered about granada some more, though really...i am done with spain. Or, at least for now. The city is too--hard, too formal. Granada is better than most places, but its so hard to find...softness, cushions and coffee. The terreterias are nice, though its clear they´re a tourist attraction. Some have tinges of exoticsm though...the typical arabian lights hanging from the ceiling and really flavorful tea! But, such a selection. My favorite is un mil flores...or one thousand flowers. So sat night i was going to go back to priego, because its my second to last weekend...but the chicago kids were so cool and christoph was having a big ol bday party...so i decided to stya. SO HAPPY I DID! There were two traveling carpenters from germany(they are part of a sect that mandates tehy travel for 3 years at least 50 km from their respective towns and learn the trades of europe. And, they have to wear cordoroy uniforms...apparently its real easy to find work...they just have to decide where they want to go!) who were really interesting and cool, a guy from uruguay, four french girls, an american from maine and another couch surfing german guy around 37ish.

It was really nice meeting such diverse people and it reminded me why i came back to europe in teh first place--i LOVE doing that. Hearing peoples stories. So, it was really an optomistic evening. hurray!

oh, and i hear i AM getting paid this month. AWESOME. ha

Jubulent

Well, it´s my last weekend in grenada and i´m a visitin my friend Joel who is also a langauge auxillary(sp?). Right now we´re in his school and i think i´m really going to miss my spanish ninos. They´re so cute and seem to really like me. Well. I mean, i don´t grade them or anything--but do you know that it´s illegal for elementary-middle school students to be assigned homework? No wonder they don´t learn anything! AH well, that won´t be my problem past next tuesday...

In other news, i got proposed to by my uh morrocan ´friend´. His name is mohammed and we had a rather awkward phase back in november when he insisted on following me around, even if that meant from one end of the grocery store to the other...and i was a bit FREAKED out. But then i didn´t run into him for two months and all was well. YEsterday i saw him again at the grocery store, fine, he bought his groceries and left. Then, i saw him at the bus station while waiting to hitch a ride to grenada and he kept asking if i would be his novia(girlfriend) and, let me say his spanish is not great, so i tried to explain that i was leaving spain. Para siempre(for ever) that im going back to chicago(mini lie) and after saying this 8 times, he´s like...you´re not spanish? NO! And then he´s like, ok, i go with you. And i stare at him. He´s says again, ¨i go with you. You want to get married? Let´s get married. I´m in love with you.¨

Stop.

To which i say, no, it´s impossible. You can´t come with me. And he´s like why? WHY. why? Luckily the bus came and that was that(after i had to take my bag back from him because he tried to carry it to the bus for me...ay. Que disastre.

But other than that...i´m really enjoying my last month in spain--probably because i know im leaving and therefore the normal air of desperation had been lifted. I see a way out! Rebecca is going to visit in ire in early march, we´re goin to copenhagen! And then..i don´t know. I´m forcasting a May return to chicago...but we´ll see.

I´d like the scrambled eggs with a side of stability, please?

juanitooooo!

Juanito is the name of my boss´ son. He´s 6, has this chubby-wubby face and is alwayys getting lost. So, about now, 4 pm when francis wants to leave, the entire school hears the bellowing sound of ...you get the idea

Well, its been a while since i wrote here and most of that has been because of a lack of computer time. I traveled with my sister for 2 weeks round spain(andalucia again) and then went to ireland, where i was still sick with a sinus infection! And then have been trying to catch up to all the lovely birthday notes i receieved. THANKS ALL!

As for where things stand now...Im leaving spain feb 7 and flying into dublin. From there, i have this meeting with te bunac people about the work process and such and hope to find an apartment and job in galway. To be honest, im a bit tired. I dont know if i can make it--meet all new people again...its HARD work. And spain has certainly drained me. But, at least they speak in english! So, there´s hope. Do i feel regret about leaving? In ways. I´ll miss the kids and i´ll miss certain people...yet not deeply. I´ve yet to make any life long friends here, except for possibly Rj, the guy from pittsburgh in the next town over. I still dont think anyone here knows me--and i´m not exactly sure why that is. Language barrier, sure, but its more than that. It´s that, while people here are very open with each other..they dont seem to get into any nitty gritty details. There´s nothing lasting. And maybe thats different in other parts, i can´t say. But, i do feel very very lucky to have such great friends at home...

I suppose alot has happened. I mean, it has. And i don´t think i can recapture it all here now. Plus, after a nearly 2 month absense, who is even still reading it? Im not! But, for ol´ times sake. Seeing the lil lulu was great fun...except when she decided that she hated spain and all its traditions and customs and blaimed it on me. It aint my fault people are nuts and only go to dance clubs and dont sleep til 7 am! ayay. And ireland, well. It´s such a great country. the only thing i wish, is that i was going back with friends. right now, i know Thekiso(who i kinda kept in touch with these years), Brian(kinda as well) and Kinga(my awesome lit prof who seriously believesin magic). Henry...my friend who visited in dec...i don´t know. We used to have some friggin awesome times but...i don´t know. Things have soured considerably and as much as i miss our friendship and miss him, i think it´d be better to be on my own then to feel like i´m no longer wanted. Why you ask? got me. But that seems to be how it is. and it suuuuuuuucccckkkks. And it even got me wondering about my judgement of people, whether i´m a big fool. I don´t know. I hope not.

So that´s pretty much where we stand...that and trying not to go boredoutta my mind til i leave. It´s an experience, says Francis. And he´s right. But i feel like for me, this experienec is just bout over.