goodbye spain..hello USA

Well, I leave for New York tomorrow. I just had a cup of coffee with a friend and feel wired. I hope everyone is doing well. I have had a good time here (most of the time) but I am ready to return. I arrive late Tuesday night (19th) and my cell phone will be in use again. So, if anyone wants to chat- give me a call! I will have lots of free time in the US. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Happy New Year! These pictures are from a giant nativity scene built in a plaza in my neighborhood. Well, the nativity is small but what you see in the pic on the left is a mountain. I guess the ´mountain´is about 6 feet tall. Something like that. Its neat I think. It has the same appeal to the people here as the tree at Rockefeller center. On Sundays this month I hardly go outside since the streets are clogged with people.

Parc Guëll

I went to Parc Guëll the other day. It is a beautiful park with a varied landscape. There are lots of trees and there is lots of cool Gaudi architecture here and there. In the pic I am sitting on a mosaic bench. Very beautiful although you can´t really tell from the picture. Behind me there is this sort of wall with a gothic feel. It was hard to capture it all on film.

Weird Barcelona

So I have found bits and pieces of strangeness in Barcelona. I should have been looking for it all along but these things are most interesting and amuzing when found purely by chance. The picture on the left is in the window of a children´s store. I found the quote funny and interesting and thought others might enjoy. I am not sure what ¨in the toilet of time we fife¨ means. Any guesses? I assume the last word is fife. Not sure.

I was walking in my neighborhood the other day and discovered there is a clown school nearby. So, I guess if I wanted to spend about 1000 dollars (yikes!) I could go to clown school for 3 months. Maybe that can be plan B or C.

Portbou and monkeys

I went to Portbou on Saturday. I was trying to get to France but had problems with the train system and didn´t make it there. Oh well. Anyhow, the picture on the left is of most of the village of Portbou. It is a very small port city close to the border of France. There was unfortunately not much there. The cathedral was closed (not just for the day it seems) and I think the entire village went to France for the weekend. Can´t blame them, right? I would.
The journey there was interesting. About halfway through my trip an entire boy/girlscout troop got in my train car. I didn´t think they would be that loud. Imagine 30 10 year old monkey-children literally swinging on the luggage racks! Yikes! And their group leaders (3 16 year old kids) had guitars and tin whistles! Fortunately they got out in Girona-a beautiful quiet little village- only to do who knows what. They didn´t seem to be anything there for kids. Who knows. Maybe they were all from Girona. I enjoyed the view of the Pyrenees from the train. I hope to see them up closer soon.

don limipio

So, Mr. Clean has a spanish cousin- Don Limpio. Just like in the Godfather, here ´Don´is a term of respect for a man. Don Limpio looks just like Mr. Clean. I wonder who was first? I guess I may never know.

being thankful

Yes, I am still a bit stuck on Thanksgiving...trust me, if you live out of the country you will understand thanksgiving. I have had so much time to think about what I am thankful for. Some of the things I am thankful for are definitely because I don´t have or can´t find them here...

To answer the question of anonymous, I will be in LC from Dec. 21 until January 5. Who is anonymous? I meant to post those dates too but forgot.

So, here are a few things I am thankful for (not exactly in the correct order but I am too lazy to change it.):

1. family of friends scattered around the world
2. natural peanut butter and other natural products (hard to find here)
3. the toilets in the US (the ones here are a bit strange)
4. chocolate
5. chocolate croissants
6. the little green parrots in Parc de la Citudella
7. comments posted by you guys on blogger (fun for me to read)
8. calabaza (squash) very yummy- especially orange squash
9. It never rains here so I can ride my bike everywhere.
10. dryers
11. actually having a washing machine in my apartment
12. loquo.com (helping me find language buddies)
13. the fact that I finally realized that since I like to eat I should learn how to cook
14. I have time to think (sometimes too much...)
15. email..how else would we all remain in touch?
16. paella and olive oil
17. the fact that Mr. Clean has cousin in Spain and in the UK (Don Limpio and Mr. Sheen). I find this endlessly funny. I will try to post a pic of Don Limpio soon for all of you cleaning fanatics

Okay, well you get the idea. See all of you in Louisiana in about 3 weeks. New Yorkers- probably not until January since my stopover in NYC is so short.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you are all doing well. Eat lots of turkey with cranberry sauce. I doubt I will find cranberries here and I certainly wouldn´t eat that canned stuff if I found it.
It is still beautiful in Spain. I think it has rained maybe 8 times out of the 2 months I´ve been here. It is a bit colder but not much.
I have not really been up to much new. I practice a lot and study spanish. I can almost roll my Rs now! Hooray! I am learning how to cook. If anyone wants to have a dinner party when I return let me know.( I´ll be in NY January 5th- Feb. 3 and Dec. 19-20 but those two days don´t count since I will be asleep most of the time) I made a delicious apple bread pudding the other day. Lots of butter.
If all else fails I can be a housekeeper when I return. I cook, iron, and clean a lot. I do look forward to having a dryer when I return. I have to really time laundry day right or I have no underwear for the day if I´m not careful (we have to line dry everything and it takes all day).
Once again happy thanksgiving and miss you all! I am off to study.

Montserrat

I went to Montserrat recently with a couple of friends from school, Eileen and Jorge. We left Barcelona early in the morning (VERY early because we all forgot about the time change). We traveled for an hour on the train to Montserrat and hiked up the mountain for a few hours. The views were spectacular. My photos came out great but they just can´t match the beauty that we saw that day.