Thanksgiving

Well, as you probably know, I spent this year's Thanksgiving away from home. For the first time in my life, I wasn't sitting around the table with family. This alone was different for me, but the entire Thanksgiving weekend was. Then again, what hasn't been different so far..

This all started with the fact that I had three classes on Thanksgiving day. Never in my life have I had school on this day, so it was a little depressing heading to class. To my surprise, my classes would turn out to be really cool. First we took a field trip, and for my second class of the day, our professor canceled class and took us all to a café, and bought us coffee and muffins! Ridiculously awesome!

I followed up class by having a nice skype convo with the fam, so at least I got my family fix in for just a little.
This was when I realized that my "Thanksgiving dinner" would be very, very different. Although I had plans for that evening to see a play, "Carmen", I did not have any plans for dinner. So I would end up eating Thanksgiving dinner, alone, at Burger King. LOL

But you see, this was OK, I actually embraced the moment. My family thought it was quite funny too, and helped me realize that this day would be one I would never forget. So there I was, alone in Burger King on Thanksgiving, with a big smile on my face. Probably never again will this happen, and for this reason I was able to really enjoy that moment. 

Things were a little more normal that Saturday, as I was invited to a "Thanksgiving party" at the house of an American. The party was nice for me, I was able to get a little piece of home. There were a few other Americans, some Spaniards, Germans, Polish, just multicultural. But then again, the first Thanksgiving was a dinner between different cultures, so in a way, we captured the true purpose of Thanksgiving with that party. Anyway, it was more of a buffet style, rather than sit down, but this was nice. Really good food, nice people, and just another great experience. These kinds of things can be hard to come across, and for that, I am thankful.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Cumple de Carolina

I hope the video works. Anyway, this weekend was the birthday of a friend, Carolina. She is the girlfriend of the nephew of the guy I live with, Emilio. Got all of that? So yea, it was her cumpleaños on Thursday, and I went out to celebrate with her, her boyfriend Luis, and all of their friends.
The festivities started Thursday night, with the whole group going out to dinner, then following that up with a trip to a discoteca. This was your textbook b-day celebration, dinner and discoteca. I had a great time, lots of awesome food and beer, then clubbing and more alcohol. So this was a nice way to kick off the bday weekend.
The festivities then continued on Saturday, with a trip to Luis's house outside of Sevilla, in a little town with a population of just around 5,000 called, Castilblanco. The town is really nice. It's your typical small town, little shops, everybody knows everybody, and beautiful scenery. Just heading to the suburbs was cool for me, something different. But the continued bday celebrating was even better.

We started drinking immediately after arriving. I was expecting this, but didn't know how much. Started off with some free shots at the local bar, then went to the house and kept it going. Basically the party consisted of just hangin around, drinking and eating pork and chicken and lots of freshly baked bread. I mean this combo right there is heavenly. Although funny story, gotta love the Spaniards in general for this, they love to drink and they also love to force food and drinks upon you. So when one of Carolina's friends asked me if i wanted more beer, and I told him no, naturally he began to fill up my cup. After about 1/3 full I said it was enough, but he kept pouring. This continued until it was filled to the top. Looking back now it was just fun. I mean why not drink, drink, drink right? So we also went out that night, and went back to the house to eat and drink more. Overall it was just a nice, chill weekend, with cool people all making for a good time. Definitely gonna do it again soon. Hasta luego!

Mis padres

For the first time, and hopefully not the last, I had some visitors here in Spain. My parents came, hit up the island for a few days, then headed over to the mainland to see me. When I first saw them, it honestly felt like just a normal day back home. Of course it was great to see them, but with Skype and Facebook it really didn't seem like anything different after not seeing them for a while.  During their time here we didn't do anything crazy or wild, but we spent time together, had fun, and relaxed. What more can you ask for?

One thing that we did a lot of was that we ate out for almost every meal. This was no problem, because for the most part we had some great food and I love to eat out. Other than that, we did some of the typical tourist things, such as seeing the Cathedral, Plaza de España, and a few others. This was actually nice for me, because I hadn't done much of this yet even though I had already been here over 2 months.

I know as far as my papá, he absolutely loved the coffee over here. I would have to agree with him, it really is significantly better than that of the U.S. With that said, I would have to say that one of the highlights of their trip was probably coming to my place. They love my apartment and location, it's hard not too. I'm pretty lucky to live where I do. They also got to meet Emilio, and try some of his amazing food. We had this great lunch, followed up buy a bunch of sweets and pastries. Just chill.

So overall, my parents trip to Spain was a success. For me to be able to share my experiences over here in person with them was a lot of fun for me, and I think it was great for them to finally see what I'm talking about and not just read it. Skype is great, but the real thing is always better.  I can honestly say I spent more time with my parents this week while they were here, than I would during a typical week when I am back home. There's nothing wrong with that, but that just made the time spent together over here even cooler. So for anybody reading this, come visit me in Spain :) P.S.-David and Sheila = awesome parents!

Barcelona vs. Cajasol

Well, it was a long time coming, but I finally got to see Ricky Rubio and his Barcelona squad in person. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about this game, is college basketball. The atmosphere at the game rivaled that of a Big 5 game in Philly. Right off the bat, you could feel the sense of urgency, and the intensity that both teams had.  I think anytime the big, bad, Barcelona comes to town, the home team is going to be a little more fired up than usual.  This was evident from the start.

The stadium is small, that of a college basketball arena, packed full of eager fans ready for battle. There were  two drummers, leading a raucous crowd that at times I think had an impact on the game. Although I was rocking my Ricky Rubio jersey, inside I couldn't help but root for Cajasol Sevilla.

I was really lucky to have gone to this game. As I mentioned, the atmosphere was great, but the basketball was even better. Right from the start, both teams came out firing. Cajasol was hot from the field, and Barcelona wouldn't go away easily. Both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively it was a solid game. Although the scoring was low, with a final score of 77-65, the game was still exciting. Guys were knocking down shots, dunking all over, and there was a good up and down tempo that really kept things interesting.  It was back and fourth with both teams sharing leads, but Cajasol surprisingly had Barcelona under control, almost the entire game. It wasn't until the final 4 minutes when Barcelona proved to be too much.

So in the end, I got to see a solid basketball game, and on top of that, sat in the second row right behind one of my favorite players. It was a nice way to kick off my Saturday night, and I'll definitely be going back to more games soon!!

The Mountains and the Mediterranean

This past weekend was one of the best of my life, no lie. To start it off, Saurday morning three friends and I rented a car, and decided to head to Málaga. To me, just the idea of renting a car and driving around Spain would be enough to call it a fun weekend, but we did so much more. 

 So of course have to also talk about my first experince staying in hostal. It was certainly something different. I wouldn't call it a bad experience, just, interesting. You walk up to the place, and it doesn't even say hostal or anything, it looks just like any old building. We walk in and immediately you notice a strange smell, not a good smell I must say. We were greeted by a very outgoing and also quite strange British fellow. He gave us some sheets and a key, and that was it. Our room had 9 beds in it, so that meant that we would be sharing the room with 5 strangers. In the end, it wasn't so bad. Before going to sleep that night I hung out in the lobby with some others who were staying there, ended up meeting three Bulgarians and two Hungarians. In our room, there were, my three German friends, the two Hungarians, two Australians, and one guy from Whales. You really don't won't find something like this in the U.S I don't think. So although at times it wasn't the most clean and comfortable spot, I still found it interesting staying in the hostal.

OK now I will get to some more of my favorite parts of the trip. On the way to Málaga, we stopped at Torcal de Antequera, and Desfiladero de Los Gaitanes. If you don't know these spots, just check them out online. I really don't think I can describe sites like this. The Torcal de Antequera is a mountainous, rocky area that you trek through. The view and the images are amazing, but what I won't forget is the silence. While there, we all stopped, and just stood in the calming silence. Things like this you really just have to experience for yourself.

Also, we went to the beach twice during our trip. The first time, we just sat on the beach as the sun went down, drinking a little, just talking and passing the time. The other was right before we went home. Here we there were mountains all around, with the sea right in front of us. There is something about mountains and the water that I love. Both stops were so great. I got to experience the Mediterranean for the first time, something that I had wanted to do for years. And I don't know, just relaxing on the beach with some friends is great, can't beat that. What I would probably have to say was my favorite part of the trip, was our drive out of Málaga, to the Cueva del Nerja. This is another place that if you don't know, you can check it out online. We drove on a highway that runs right along the coast. This is just amazing. One one side, you have the mountains, and the other side, the Mediterranean sea. The highway runs right inbetween them and I don't know what to say other than incredible. We took a stop on the way, just to take pictures. Standing there, looking over the sea, with the sun shining and wind blowing, I just felt free, like I had escaped the madness of the world. Moments like that you can never forget.        

This was a lot of information right here, but I hope you can get an idea of how special this weekend was for me. To visit three amazing sites, rent a car and drive around Spain with friends, touch the water of the Mediterranean, it was all really something that I will never forget. Words can't describe how great it was.                                                        

21st Birthday in Spain

I really didn't know what to expect for my 21st birthday here in Spain.  A long time before coming here I knew it was going to happen, and I knew it would be different from your typical American 21st birthday, but never did I think that I would manage to go the entire couple days before and after my b-day without drinking any alcohol! But you know what, I really don't mind because although this birthday was really different, it was something I won't ever forget.

The night before my bday, I met up with two friends, Donja and Caroline, for what I thought was just going to be a little walk around and some dinner. I ended up eating a delicious Argentinian sausage and then the three of us decided to take a little walk around. We came across a little playground for children and decided to try out all the cool stuff. It was really fun! I hadn't played on a little kids playground for quite some time, but it was fun, I think it helps loosen you up, and bring out the hidden youthfulness inside!

After all that fun, we went looking for a tapas bar. We found one, but unfortunately I ordered what I believe was squid, although I still don't really know if that's what it was. Anyway, we ended up hanging around for quite a while just talking and then next thing I know it's 12:00, I was 21! Donja and Caroline sang happy birthday to me in German, first time that's ever happened to me but it was cool!
The next day, I had a little mini bday party at my place.  Donja came, along with Emilio's nephew and his girlfriend, for some great food, and a delicious cake. It wasn't anything crazy, but I had a really good time. The rest of the day I just relaxed and did nothing. But sometimes it feels really good to do, well, nothing.
So that pretty much sums up my birthday. It wasn't crazy and wild, I didn't get black out drunk, but I did however really enjoy it. I think change is a good thing, so celebrating my 21st birthday in a different way turned out be something I won't forget. And besides, I still have this entire weekend to celebrate American style! Bottoms up! Woo!

My first hair cut in Spain

What and experience my first hair cut was! I was warned about Ricardo the barber.  I was told that he was a talker, and just an overall procrastinator.  Well, I realllllyyyy underestimated good ol Ricky.  After sitting down in the chair, he walked over to the door, for what appeared to be just some fresh air. A little fresh air turned into some stretching, as if cutting my hair was a marathon.  After he put the cover over me, it appeared as though he would finally begin cutting!
Wrong again. He strikes up a conversation about the Los Angeles Lakers, and asks if I can somehow find him a yellow, and he was very specific, YELLOW, sweater that says Lakers across the chess. Then he asks me how I want my hair cut. I told him a 3 on the sides, and 5 on the top.  He seemed shocked by this, and told me he would use a 2 on the sides.  I wasn't about to argue. Finally, he begins cutting my hair. After cutting the sides and back, the phone rings. Nooooo! I saw it coming, but I didn't think it was possible. He proceeded to talk on the phone for at least, at least, 5 minutes. Longest 5 minutes of my life...So when he finally hangs up, he goes to check his cell phone, because during his conversation on the phone, he received a text message.  At this point, I was thinking, OK, he's definitely gonna start cutting once he's done checking his text message. Wrong again. He whips out a chocolate candy bar, and starts eating away!
At this point, I couldn't even get frustrated, the whole situation was just funny. I almost began laughing, I felt like I was on a sitcom show.  So he would eventually start cutting again and he decided that he wasn't going to use a 5 on the top. He grabs his scissors, and he starts chopping at the air, something like Edward Scissor hand. It was pretty cool, but a little frightening as well.  Turns out, the scissors were a great idea. I was really pleased with my hair cut! Ricardo then asked me if I use hair gel. I told him no. What does he do next, I think you probably know. He squeezed hair gel all over and starts styling up my hair with gel! At that point I couldn't argue...To top it all off, when I was paying, he began talking about the "ladies" and making odd slurping noises in reference to my new hairdo. It was creepy, but just hilarious at the same time. So despite all the difficulties that I came across during my first hair cut here in Spain, I walked away with a great memory, and a nice cut! Can't argue with that!

For the love of the game

There is an old saying that goes, "you never appreciate what you have, until you loose it". Well, the phrase goes something like that, anyway, I know exactly what it means. These days, I feel like an animal trapped in a small cage. I need more basketball!  Before I left for Spain, I was playing some of the best basketball of my life.  That last month before leaving, I was playing 3 or 4 times a week, and things were really clicking. I figured that upon my arrival to Spain, I would pick up right where I left off. Well I sure was wrong about that. It is dam near impossible to find a public basketball court, where you can just play for free, no reservations, just basketball. Right now, I am playing just once a week, every Tuesday. I have found this to be very hard for several reasons. First, for me a basketball court represents freedom. I don't know what it is, but just the simple act of dribbling a basketball makes me feel good. Running, jumping, dribbling, shooting, I can't really say what it is, but there is something about the sport that I love. Like I mentioned, I feel trapped these days because of the lack of basketball currently in my life. Maybe I am just spoiled, I don't know. I am used to being able to play whenever, wherever, with no questions. It has been really hard for me to adjust to being limited to playing once a week. Not only that, but it is hard to play just once a week. Basketball is about rhythm, consistency, and practice. After going one week without playing, it takes time to adjust. It's a terrible feeling, that first shot you take after not shooting for a while. Shooting a basketball should feel comfortable, second nature. When you go a week between playing, nothing feels right. Not just that, but my stamina is not where it normally would be which makes it hard to stay focused and motivated. Well, enough complaining, things could be worse. With that said, I have found that it is true, you don't know what you've got until it's gone, and for me, that is basketball.

Life is good

With one week of class under my belt, I am feeling much more confident than when I started.  Yes, it still will be a challenge, but I know that it's something I can handle.  I don't know what it is, but I have found that I am much more motivated over here in Spain.  Every class, every assignment, I feel the need to try really hard, maybe it's because the change of scenery, maybe it's my passion for the language and culture, I don't know, but I like the new me!
On another note, I have met some really cool people. After one month here, I have made so many new friends, from different countries, cultures, it's just really cool. The other day, as I was getting onto the bus to play basketball, a girl stopped me to ask about where she could also play basketball.  This was interesting, because at first, I thought she was a Spaniard, and she probably thought I was too. We both came to discover otherwise. She is German, and well, I am American as you may know.  It was just a really cool experience, and now we are friends.  Then, that following weekend, I actually met two guys from France, who were pretty cool dudes! I didn't think it was possible to meet anybody from France that I would get along with! Just kidding, no really, OK just kidding. Well anyway, what I'm trying to say is that meeting so many new people from different backgrounds is refreshing.  It makes you think about and respect your own culture more, and at the same time, you learn about another culture, it's just really interesting.  So, with all of this said, life is good!

The Real World

After three weeks, I have finally started my regular classes.  With this, I also am getting a better sense of what my time here will be like.  I have four classes, Three cultures: Muslims, Jews, and Christians; Psychology of Learning a Second Language; Anthropology of Latin America; and Contemporary Spanish Literature.  All of the classes are really interesting, and luckily all of the professors are really interesting people as well.  I guess I shouldn't complain, I'm living in sunny Spain, living the good life, but I have to say that I am a little bit concerned about the work load. All of the classes are obviously taught in Spanish.  This isn't a huge problem, I understand Spanish very, very well. My concern is that when it comes down to reading long articles, books, and writing papers in Spanish, it takes a lot more time for me versus writing, and reading in English. That makes sense considering I'm a native English speaker. Yet, with the extra work that it will cost me, I just hope that I can manage it all well enough. But enough rambling, I don't know really what to say. I know that I can handle the work, I guess I'm just a little anxious and or nervous. Anyway, I have off class tomorrow, because there is a nation wide strike that will be taking place. That will be very interesting to experience. So who knows about the classes, I guess I'm gonna find out soon!

Livin' the Life!

As I approached my second weekend here in Spain, I came across a difficult decision. To go out Friday night, or not to go out, knowing that I had to wake up early Saturday morning.  Well, of course I went out!!! Some time I had! The evening started out by meeting up with a hugeee group of both Spaniards as well as Americans.  We then took the metro to a Chinese buffet...not my first choice but it was surprisingly scrumptious. We then took a longggg walk and reached a plaza where there was a botellon going on. Botellon is when hundreds and hundreds of people fill up plazas, standing around drinking, talking, just having a good time and keeping it chill. After several hours, we left and headed for a discoteca! We didn't spend much time there, and then we were off to another discoteca!!! We didn't reach the second one until after 4 in the morning! Anyway, what a great time we all had, dancing around like crazy people with nobody there judging our horrendous dance moves. It wasn't until almost 6 AM when I got home, leaving me not much time to prepare for my trip to Cádiz, one of the most beautiful and historic cities in Spain. Oh and I must mention that it sits beautifully on the coast, making for great beaches. I just got back from an amazing day there, saw so many interesting historic sites, as well as spent more than 3 hours on the amazing beaches there, and top top it off, I met some more local Spaniards who are now friends in which I've already made plans with for next weekend! So what a weekend it's been, and I still have my Saturday night ahead of me!!! Don't know if I'll be partying it up tonight though, as I'm going off of less than two hours of sleep, but we'll see! Adios!
 

First Week, and a almost a half..

Well, one week and almost a half down here in Spain, and things couldn't being going any better! I feel like I've already done soo much, yet I know that there is still much to accomplish. The start of my first class here has put a little hold on all of the fun, but I know that this class will in the end be a benefit.  For one of our first assignments, we had to go and find random Spaniards, between the ages of 18-29, and ask them questions from a sheet that was given to us.  I bet for many, this task seemed insane, but for me, it was awesome! I had no problems walking up to random Spaniards and asking them to answers some questions. Of course, I choose the University of Sevilla as a place to find my subjects.  The whole process was a great success! I got a chance to mingle with local students, and overall just build confidence. The fact that each group of students that I approached was very outgoing and friendly also helped. That is just a fraction of my first week and almost a half here in Spain, but trust me, there will be much more!

Basketball in Spain

Well, this is the start of my first weekend in Spain, and it's been a busy one. I just finished the first workout for tryouts for a basketball team here in Spain. After not playing for more than a week, boy was I not prepared. They go hard! I was dying out there, I'm not exaggerating, I felt and believe that I was close to a heat stroke. The coach was so intense, few water breaks, no smiles, all business. The workout consisted of everything from jump rope, push-ups, sit-ups, resistance training, all things that I suck at! We did do some drills that allowed me to show my skills, but I was so winded that I couldn't give a good example of what I'm capable of. This was not what I was expecting. Something interesting though, the whole time during the work, I really did feel like I was about to have a heat stroke, but the whole time all I could think about was my national pride, USA, USA and I didn't want to give up and have all the Spaniards say, "Look at this weak little American". I know that sounds silly but with the coach eye balling me all the time, I didn't want to disappoint. I must mention though that all the Spaniard players were really nice to me, helped me when I didn't understand, and generally seemed interested in what I had to say and though. I think this is interesting because basketball is a language. All of us were there for one reason, we love basketball. Anyway, I'm gonna get going, first weekend here, I have to go live it up! Right? Probably shouldn't after the evening I had but I feel much better now. Peace out! Time to partayyyyy!!!

First few nights

Well, I've been in Spain for about three days, and I can't describe how amazing it is here. You really do have to see it for yourself.  I just got back to my apartment, went bar hopping and plaza hopping if that is a word? There are plazas everywhere and every night,  even a Wednesday night like tonight, the plazas are full of young people drinking and socializing, its an amazing atmosphere. I was hanging out with some local Spaniards who happen to be friends of mine, new friends, but friends. They gave me some great advice and a few phases to use when it comes to the ladies. Now, I've got to say that the women in this country are, wow, and wow is a good thing ;)
I could keep going on and on and I've only been here for three days. That's enough for now but I will be back on here for sure so keep checking in!