a finale

and what would a proper homecoming be without a 24-hour debacle in the newark airport? absolutely inadequate, no? 

oh u. s. of a., how you made me feel right at home by canceling my flight from newark to minneapolis without announcing it or displaying it on the departure board. you knew i wanted to spend my five hour layover getting hopelessly excited, only to dash my dreams on the rocks of the hideous new jersey turnpike. lord how i loathed the pitying looks in the continental customer service line as i tried to pull it together, after finding out i'd be staying the long and jet-lagged night. and then you had the gall to wave new york's glittery skyline in my face as i was shuttled to my hotel just 30 short short minutes away. oh happy homecoming. oh sweet loyal nation that i sometimes regret to call home.

you're just lucky my sister was waiting at the airport with a great big smile when i arrived. you're lucky i am happy--whatever the time--to see my family's faces, all in a row, under the fading summer globe in the garden blooming big with pink and green. and then inside, with a coffee pot full to the brim and an expertly executed torte (thanks abby) for a final ringing note. it is good to sleep in my bed knowing others are nearby. i like waking up to a little slowness and comfort and a summer that i recognize. it's time for a change, and it is good to be home. 

(though i hope spain will call again)

one week more

seven days left of this summer abroad. it's a little strange to think about...

monday night we wandered the city searching for a cafe we'd found the week before and shouting american songs in spanish. this led us to anna's computer, where we youtubed spanish music videos for probably three hours. we found out that america is not the only home of chintzy tunes. classy, thy name is david bisbal.

tuesday was mahayla's birthday, and i think we spent it well. anna and i bought her some bizarre salt n pepper shakers shaped like figures in the semana santa procession,

and we trotted around the city at night finding people to talk to near the glowing river, and music to dance to at pícaro bar. the only thing that would have made it better would have been an enormous chocolate cake. and ice cream. and apple pie. obviously.

wednesday and thursday slipped by,

and on friday we did some hiking in the mountains near segovia, to a really beautiful sight of a battle during the Spanish Civil War. it was great to see green grass and blue mountains, as toledo is rather brown and water-starved. our guides were also very enthusiastic, reminding us that even though the site is beautiful, it is scarred with what happened there long ago. and it once was a desolate place.


next we trekked to franco's tomb, which is impressive and imposing but pretty damn infuriating. the dude planted a big cross and an enormous vault on a hill to commemorate his abhorred existence. it was a little creepy to walk around the dimly-lit interior and stare up at biblical paintings and statues, and then see franco's tomb covered in flowers near the altar. what gall.


but a lovely time nonetheless. saturday, my Master Painters of Spain class took a day trip to madrid to see many of the paintings we've been studying, and my friends and i ate supper at a vegetarian restuarant called madre tierra. the lights were low and orange, the waitstaff smiled wide, and we were served little cups of coffee flavored liquor at the end, on the house. my tongue was buzzing all the way home until i collapsed into bed, eyes and head hot with the day and the talk and the night.

it's been a busy weekend, and i'm ready to relax. considering the air is thick with heat, it seems even more attractive to spend today studying inside and lounging about.

i keep thinking about what it will be like to be home again. while i can't wait to see the fam, sometimes i get a little nervous when i look too long at toledo's rocky surface and layers of tiled roofs, and it's plazas full of people enjoying nothing at all. it might be a while before i return. but i hope i will.

bits

i shan't lie, i like to make things sound pretty. especially up here on this blog, where i can control whatever shows up on screen. ha. ha. you think you know, but you have no idea. the following is a smallish list of some of the weirder things spain has to offer us little albino estudiantes:

numero uno: eye-less cats. EYE-LESS. sometimes tail-less, and always wild and eating garbage. my friend anna tries to pet them a lot, and it's rather a job to get her to back off. "hola, gato!" more like hola, rabies. these cats are not friendly and they are certainly not fluffy. they're basically walking pipecleaners. poor sodden beasts...

dos: raucous and abundant pidgeons/swallows. i hate birds, and the other day, one flew in my open window. but we won't get into that.

tres: fiestas en los barrios. meaning, neighborhood carnivals that echo our own county fairs, but in a slightly less safe and organized way. you thought that wasn't possible? you thought wrong. i'll give you a quick "hypothetical": three girls see a snazzy octupus-like ride at the fiesta in Poligano and decide to give it a go. they do the sensible thing and buy a ticket (2.50€), and wait along the perimeter to be called. stupid, stupid little girls. when the ride stops, they are basically trampled beneath the stampede of ratty little niños who haven't paid, but know the real rules of the fiesta. they run about the ride for five minutes searching for an open seat, only to be openly mocked by a pair of scrawny mullet-topped chicos who have slid into the last one. oh sad awakening. barrio fiestas suck.

cuatro: cat calls. don't be surprised if your quiet three-person chat at a terraza on sunday night turns into a three-person defense against the opposite sex. also, no need to walk around feeling insecure. there are plenty of men (old and young) willing to tell you that you're loved...er whatever. luckily, they are never aggressive.

cinco: dubbed movies. actually, dubbed everything. i will commend the spanish on their taste in films, both american and otherwise. there is plenty to watch. but just...how can i take Robin Williams seriously when his voice sounds dark and suave and spanish? yes, it's educational. yes, i prefer robin williams in english. yes, this is obnoxious.

seis: ham. wait, have i mentioned the ham? HAM. there, i've mentioned it thrice. ham is everywhere. if you think you like ham, you might think you'll like spain. i assure you, this is no ham you've ever tasted at your family christmas party. this is ham in many different shades of blushing pink, with all sorts of shiver-inducing textures. ham for dinner ham for lunch, ham hanging in your window. have you had enough? ham.



having said all of this, let it also be known that first: this list is in no way comprehensive, second: this stuff is true, and third: i love spain. what would it be like without all of these things? far less exciting.

(but lord, the cats are hideous.)

zoo day

i harldy know how to characterize yesterday.

we meant to do several things. first, to see some scenery. mountains, to be precise. second, to move around, because this week has been homework heavy. third, to leave toledo. it is lovely but sometimes small. my friend mahayla and i planned a hiking trip in the nearby sistema central of mountains, just two hours away. finally finally finally.

but we suck at planning.
not knowing exactly what bus to take from madrid to cercedilla (the mountain town), we left toledo at 8:30 hoping for the best. the best turned out to be a longish trip to the train station, only to find that the next trian to cercedilla didn't leave until 1. little time to hike at our leisure and then return for the last bus to toledo at 10. big fat sigh. big fat deal. we were tired anyway, we had prepped ourselves for a hard day's work. we had gotten up early to travel, and we both knew that meant making a lot of (well-worth) effort to squeeze every last bit of enjoyment out of our destination. we were strangely relieved at being thwarted.

that's ok, now we know what to do next time.
yeah yeah. next time.
that's alright, since we're already in madrid, we might as well take advantage of the park.
of course of course.
and while we're at it, let's check out that thai restaurant i saw last time i was here.
brilliant idea.
and damnit, let's have some wine.
claro.
holy crap! they have a starbucks here. let's give in and get a cup.
yeeesssss!
now for sweets.
how about nutella?
no day could be without.
sí!
and isn't that the plaza mayor?
let's sit here for a while.
a while...
a while.
while the sun is finally peeking out.
but the breeze
still plays around.

it was a great day. it was a day at the zoo for an 8-year-old. we stumbled on things we hadn't expected to find, like a handmade jewelry store where they offered you a flower when you walked in the door. like the picnic of old men and baguettes in the park. and a guy with pink shoes. and the caixa building with it's outer wall of funny vegetation. and a store that sold peanut butter.


it was great because it wasn't what we had planned. we got back to toledo before we were exhausted and we couldn't help feeling giddy whenever we looked at each other and remembered that we had spent the day talking and walking and feeling warm in the plaza for hours, with our jar of nutella on our welcoming stone bench.



today is cold and clear. cold for toledo, that is. the blue wind tried to blow through me when i stood in front of the window, and it felt good to wake up still satisfied.

this is stupid

i am already sorry for writing this post because it's so dumb but i suppose it's my blog isn't it? and i've been writing a paper for much of the day and needed lots of breaks and do you know what i did on those breaks well i looked at pictures of food of course but mostly just cakes and colossal cakes they were, man i haven't had cake in a rather long while so now i'm sharing some grand-cake-photo-love with you just don't drown in drool because damn these cakes look ASOMBROSO (amazing).

caramel cake
double chocolate torte
tiramisu cake!
pistachio petit-four cake
strawberry chiffon shortcake
alright it's not cake but come on, s'mores pie?
also these are tarts

moment of silence. someone please make one of these soon.

la tarde

today: is busy.

i have homework. and of course, i'm nervous about it. but i suppose i shouldn't complain, as it's my first assignment of the summer.

before i begin, i relax. of course. because procrastination is my master. class is over for the afternoon, so i head outside, bag over shoulder, nectarine in hand. it's 11:40am.

the streets are finally busy. the weekend was quiet, a siesta larga. but now it's back to "work". i step into spots of scorching sun and soothing shadow as i manage the now familiar narrow streets. the cobblestones accomodate me. we're pals. i can turn twisty corners without looking, and have learned to listen for the teeny cars that take up the roadway when they pass. toledo is a small small world.

as on most weekdays, there are people on corners with tickets hanging round their necks, for sale. they wear hats and sunglasses. i don't know what the tickets are for, but i assume they are touristy in nature. they don't bother anyone. i watch for the occasional accordian player, but he's not yet out today. maybe soon--his jaunty notes fit this place so well.

as i walk, i catch moments of conversations and words i recognize. i try hard to eavesdrop when i stroll...i think i am improving. when i bump into people (often), "perdona" slips easily from my mouth. this is one thing (be it small) that i am proud of--not having to think before saying certain things.

store owners smoke lazily in their doorways, and greet you solemnly when you enter inside. their windows are filled with glinting swords (toledo's pride) and amber jewelry, leather bags and crappy jewelry, molded marzipan and wooden jewelry. some people lay out goods on blankets. there are LOADS of shoe stores too. it's typical. but comforting. i know this place a little now.

i end at the Plaza Zocodover, the city's medieval market spot, where there's a arch called La Puerta de Sangre (as it was once a place for hanging delinquents). the plazas are my favorite. mostly because they are natural meeting places, and ebbs in the city's steady tide. for older people, especially. they watch me as i pass through, because that's what people do when they're relaxing. sometimes friends come to sit with them. other times they call to aquaintances passing by: "has luego, bonita". though their faces are indecipherable, i imagine they're content.

no, i'm sure of it.

feliz 4th de julio

**it has come to my attention that i forgot a most important july 4th celebration, so i have thus rectified my mistake in the table below. apologies! and i hope your day is great, Beck!

Happy 4th of July! to all of you U.S.ers in a position to celebrate. Here, not so much. Too bad, because it is one of my favorites, and something i actually miss. I tried to see if Spain had any holidays today, but no such luck. But in case you're curious, the 4th of July is also:

*AUNT BECKY'S BIRTHDAY*	good ole Saint Cloud
Birthday of Queen Sonja	Norway
Commemoration of Jewish Genocide	Latvia
Day of Agwe	Haiti
Family Day	Lesotho
Fisherman's Day	Marshall Islands
For Independence Day	Guam
King's Day	Tonga

hurrAH!
fiestas for all. i'll have to go find a hot dog or something.