Madrileña

cambios

2008-11-04T07:23:00.002+01:00

New place, new blog.

Check out cassidyisinthestates.blogspot.com .

Thanks for reading!

A late goodbye

2008-08-31T18:36:00.002+02:00

I am back in Columbia finishing up school now. Florian and I talk about once a day over skype. I am super busy with Journalism classes. I miss Madrid and my friends muchisimo. But life is busy here, and there are friends to enjoy in Columbia too!

In Prague!

2008-07-14T17:41:00.002+02:00

A quick update, lack of internet lately...

Berlin=awesome. I loved: Tiergarten, the sweet hippie cafe where Florian and I ate a vegetarian buffett breakfast and all the history. What an amazingly interesting city. We saw the wall, tons of commie apartment buildings, amazing uber-modern skyscrapers and a lot of great Doner Kebaps (Turkish gyro).

Before that I was in Giessen with Florian. It has been nice to be with more people who speak Spanish! Although the Argentinian accent of my dear friends can be hard to understand :). Early on I got to see Marburg, where Florian studies, which is just north of Giessen. It has a castle and several very old churches. We had a coffee at a cafe by the river. Between the river and the castle, I was ready to spend another month just in Marburg.

Also got to see Amsterdam with Helen and Allie, though the rain and lack of planning limited severly what I got to see. We still managed to enjoy ourselves. It is a beautiful city, loved the canals.

I am currently panicking about moving back to boring old America, trying not to get emotional about leaving Florian and trying to figure out this Czech language. I want to devote my life to studying languages.

Also wondering if I could handle the winters in Berlin. I am thinking no, but will you all still love me if I run away to Europe? I am very much looking forward to coming home. I am already planning potlucks in my head. And I am in desperate need of a good dance party, so you all have to fill me in on where to go now that Shattered is closed.

Love & besos! Be home soon!

Last moments in Madrid

2008-06-30T14:21:00.003+02:00

I have mixed feelings about leaving. I'm tired, I've gone out every night this week and am sleep deprived. I am sad to leave my friends, terrified of how I'm going to feel when it really hits me that I can't jump on the metro and go to Aluche.

I have only had bad interactions with Spaniards in the last couple of days. I shared an elevator with our new neighbors last night and instead of introducing themselves they demanded to know if I was a smoker. She's pregnant. What a lovely goodbye for me, being accused of killing an unborn baby in the last civilized country to allow smoking in public. Seriously, you can't even smoke in the bars in Amsterdam anymore! The fact that they pardoned me was no consolation.

That has been the worst thing-I feel like this city is kicking me out. I was literally woken up by the roommate who will take my place this morning. I'm sitting on the couch with my luggage. I keep trying to figure out what the one thing is I want to spend my last 20 minutes doing, and all I can think about is taking a nap.

Giessen, I hope you are sympathetic.

My last night in Madrid

2008-06-29T18:17:00.002+02:00

Looking forward to Germany.
Scared of how awful I'm going to feel when I have to go home.
Sad that this year is ending.
Tired from going out every night & don't feel like cleaning the kitchen.

I'm just going to focus on the first one. AND the fact that the European Cup final is tonight! Go Alemania!

Anna & I's home away from home:

Nearing the end

2008-06-26T10:39:00.003+02:00

The title of my blog limits me a bit. But I'm going to keep it going through July when I will not be in Madrid. I'll be in Giessen, Germany!

Things I've done this week:
1. Got reprimanded by the super for talking too loud. Go figure.
2. Stole lavander to dry & make things smell pretty.
3. Watched Germany work their way into the final game of the Euro Cup!!
4. Hung out w/ two of my oldest friends (Helen & Allie were here!)
5. Kicked Flo's butt racing him back to his apartment. I'm faster, stronger, better.

Seriously?!

2008-06-17T10:13:00.002+02:00

Looks like I won't be getting the Adelante beat. But how freaking sweet would it be to work for the radio station? I hope that is an option for me. If not, fall semester is not looking good.

Acabo de...I mean, I just had this dream...

2008-06-17T09:41:00.003+02:00

So. I'm starting to have epic dreams again.

A few nights ago, I was in the states and I almost missed a train back to Spain. And I hadn't packed at all. Exactly like the recurring dream I had in the fall.

Just woke up from a dream that was very blatantly about how I am not looking forward to going home because I expect to miss Spain and the Erasmus life terribly. I kept trying to speak in Spanish to everyone. Have to find a way to speak Spanish daily in Columbia! I really hope I get the Adelante (Latin American community) beat for the Missourian.

There were also performing orca & belgua whales...but I don't think that meant anything. They were just sweet.

Cost of living in Spain

2008-06-14T16:23:00.002+02:00

I'm not worried about running out of money in Madrid anymore. I already did! What is there to fear now? The worst has happened and I am just happy to be blessed with parents who wish me shelter & food.

However, having Hannah & Kyle & Kristin here has reminded me how expensive it is to live on the dollar in a European city. I did some research at the (fully stocked!! strikers are taking a break for the weekend) Carrefour today.

Loaf of bread: 1.40€ or $2.15
Peanut Butter (small jar): 4.15€ or 3.40€ from a natural foods store or $5-$6
Milk (1L): 1.25€ or $1.92
Soy milk (2L): 2.40€ or $3.69
Diet Coke (2L): 1.32€ or $2.03
Clean&Clear face wash: 6.70-7.25€ or $10.30-$11.14
Herbal Essences shampoo: 2.95€ or $4.53
store brand shampoo: 1.60€ or $2.46
Olive oil(1L): 3.45€ or $5.30

For bread & milk, these are the cheapest prices or the milk I've seen Anna buy (I go soy). Also keep in mind that US brands (like that face wash) are more expensive than local brands. I've tried many knock-off shampoos & conditioners and all have been lacking in quality.

What I would love to know is: how do these prices compare to US prices?

The trucking strike is apparently still on.

2008-06-12T20:51:00.001+02:00

Just now, in the midst of a well-warranted study frenzy I realized I don't have any notes over one of the poets I'm being tested over tomorrow. On my walk to the library I realized how light headed I was from only eating fruit and chips and drinking too much coffee.

So I decided to stop over at the local CarreFour Express and get something to eat. I was also interested to see what was left.

Last night Florian made me some amazing pasta and on limited supplies.

In the fruit section there is a handful of spotted apricots and probably 20 apples (okay, and a ton of ginger).
The fresh fish section is empty and the lights are turned off.
screens are pulled over half of the empty meat section.
There are no vegetables.
There are no eggs.
Milk is getting low, OJ too.
No onions or potatoes.
The sausage section is about half-full.

Yea for bacon and mustard sandwiches?! I'm not as creative as my novio.

Trucking strike!

2008-06-11T10:29:00.004+02:00

So, I went to go buy spinach for a salad this weekend. As usual, CarreFour was out. I kind of expected it, they aren't the most reliable with produce. When I went in yesterday, they had no lettuce or salad-making produce at all. This is unprecedented in my year in Madrid. But, in a very untypical fashion, CarreFour had posted a helpful sign explaining the absent produce.

The truck drivers are on strike because of high fuel prices! I expect if I walked into CarreFour this morning the fruit section would be a bit lacking as well.

Getting serious.

2008-06-04T03:08:00.002+02:00

This is my second night in a row staying up way too late, but at least I accomplished something tonight! I am about 6 pages done with my supposedly 10 page paper. So basically, I have a really sweet introduction and a great outline of the meaty stuff which I'm avoiding until tomorrow. Going to turn the paper in on Thursday.

Tomorrow: Kyle, Kristin & Hannah!

Friday: First final. Should probably start studying for it. Also, Vincent is having a big dinner at his & John's piso that night (crepe!), which will be a lovely way to show off my life to my friends from home.

A conclusion

2008-06-03T12:29:00.003+02:00

I am growing so much here in Madrid. Florian told me recently that I am an adult. And I realized I am an adult. I am learning that things can be done differently than I was taught. For example, over-easy eggs. We always scrambled them growing up. I LOVE over-easy eggs.

Check out this lady. She seems to be thinking for herself, which is inspiring to me right now. She's my sister's age also, which is pretty cool and makes me feel kind of old and unaccomplished. Ha!

Yum!

2008-05-30T00:28:00.003+02:00

Made Florian a pizza last night (we even had ranch dressing!). It was probably the tallest pizza I've ever seen.

Just whisper sweet (past perfect) nothings into my ear...

2008-05-30T00:15:00.004+02:00

Finally finished signing up for classes today. I signed up for an introductory German class. I am craving a third language. I then was immediately gripped by the senselessness of that act. If I am going to graduate from MU anytime in the near future with a double major, I really should take classes that give me credit for at least one of my majors. I double checked, and wouldn't you know it, the Spanish class I needed had opened up. I took the last spot and dropped the German class. Maybe in the spring. I want to speak it so badly!

Florian and I bought our tickets to Frankfurt the other day. From a German website. I hate having that wall up. I hate not understanding. But this feeling isn't about being lost in the dark. On the contrary, when I learn a word in another language, when I learn how to pronounce a group of letters or how to conjugate a verb, I get this rush through my body. Languages just turn me on.

Así, gute nacht a todos. I'm going to fall asleep to The Sound of Music (since Grey's won't be online until tomorrow) and dream happy little dreams about the apple muffins Anna made tonight. Sweet dreams to you too!

Tag!

2008-05-26T16:09:00.004+02:00

My dear friend Amanda tagged me on her blog, Hoi Polloi, so hear are some fun facts about Cassidy Diane Shearrer. The rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. If I could be a superhero, my power would be communication. If I could live forever, I would learn every language in the world. I like to talk.
2. I love God and believe the Bible. I've also been rejected by Christian friends and disgusted by evangelists. Living in Europe amidst the Catholic church history makes me queasy. My closest friends don't share my beliefs but also never judge me. The mistakes of the church make me very sad.
3. Creating is my favorite thing to do by myself. Having left behind my sewing machine and film camera in the states, I've been really into cooking here. Learned how to make my own pizza crust yesterday!
4. I have an unhealthy attachement to my laptop. Celebrity gossip sites, illegally downloaded TV shows & facebook are my biggest vices right now. The celebrity obsession began when Mary-Kate Olsen started dressing weird-people.com was a fashion consultation site for me. Now the Olsens have better security and my taste for fashion has devolved into perezhilton.com.
5. Living in a this new culture has made vegetarian resturants the freaking mecca of all establishments. Found one last week in La Latina, Viva la Vida. Holy scheiße.
6. I want to live in a big city, but I really don't want to be a suit. I would be content to serve coffee for the rest of my life.
7. I always wanted to be in the boy scouts. I am still angry that I'm not an expert fire builder. Survival stories were my favorite as a kid! I wish I could say with 100% certainty that I could make it on one of those deserted islands (unfortunately, I am pretty sure they've all been bought up, so I may never get a chance to prove myself).

Though I barely know 7 people with blogs, I will tag Anna, David, Marta, La Revolutonista, and Cafe Con Soja.

Eurovision '08

2008-05-25T21:35:00.004+02:00

Last night we watched the Eurovision Song Contest & ate an amazing Italian meal. For the estadounidenses, this Eurovision thing is pretty freaking awesome. Think American Idol with less hate, more ridiculousness & more languages. It has been around since the '50s. Russia won. Mostly because of the Olympic ice skater in their act? What that has to do with music, I do not know. There were also Latvian pirates, fohawks & well, Spain. Most of the acts were bad pop with pretty outfits. Spain's submission...was original, to say the least:

In case you didn't catch it, the third dance move is the "maiquelyason" or Micheal Jackson. Sweet.

Toledo-third time around

2008-05-18T21:18:00.004+02:00

Florian & I took a bus to Toledo on Saturday and spent the weekend sitting in coffee shops and getting lost in winding alleyways. Poppies are blooming here right now and the view from the bus was incredible-brilliant streaks of red on each side of the highway.

We saw an old monastery where Isabella & Ferdinand were planning on being buried (ended up in Granada)-old and cool; Florian got bored somewhere during my commentary (probably at the phrase 'nave lateral') but I think at one point we were actually standing in a crypt. Sweet! We drank lots of café con leches and café solos-several in a cafe that was obviously a straight portal to 1988 (check out the couch in that photo & think lots of Tracy Chapman). My favorite part was that the cafe wasn't trying to be stuck in the 80s, it literally was.

Also ate some yummy pizza in Plaza Zocodóver and talked with a Portuguese woman who had 13 kids. Decided that was a few too many.

P.S. Happy Birthday Dad!!

Fuegos Artificiales!!

2008-05-16T14:26:00.012+02:00

Last night we met my friend Megan in Retiro Park for a picnic. A bunch of ERASMUS kids showed up and we had a good time listening to Vincent play the guitar. The weather is finally really nice here! There were cute little Spanish kids dressed up in costumes for the holiday and we saw some bats after the sun set, but clearly the light and firework show was the highlight.
Vale, here we've got a photo of the lovely Anna & friends in the radiance of the explosions. Super cool! Also a still of the lake and some of the first fireworks. The video didn't work, so I threw in another firework picture. Imagine music and explosion sounds!

We had a big group and got desperately split up in the crowd, but we all met at a cueva in Sol afterwards. I first came to this bar in the fall with Giovanni and couldn't understand any of the quotes on the wall. It was very rewarding to realize how much I have learned this year! Also, John's mom is still in town and I got to talk to her again which was wonderful. And I finally taught Vincent the cup rhythm we've been working on. It was a great night. And I was in bed by 1:30!

I am anything but a madrileña.

2008-05-15T17:24:00.003+02:00

Went to Canal today for the first time. One metro stop away from my piso. Anyway, played some padel (I think that's how it is spelled). It is just tennis on a smaller court with smaller rackets. Super fun! Luckily Florian had never played tennis before, so I didn't look like a total idiot, just a bit of one.

Today is another fiesta. This is the first madrileño holiday I actually know something about, though sadly, only the name of the Saint: San Isidro. I get two days off school and all the little girls in my neighborhood are wearing dresses with red flowers on their head. And there are fireworks tonight! I don't get it, but I like it.

I take it back

2008-05-07T12:31:00.002+02:00

As always when I open my mouth to insult someone, I end up being quite wrong.

She may have just felt guilty for being an hour and twenty minutes late, but my profesor was actually really helpful in our meeting today. I know now that the exam is going to be killah and I will probably fail, but at least she isn't planning on failing me without reading my exam!

Rhymes with Witch

2008-05-05T14:01:00.003+02:00

I am in 5 classes this semester. The hardest by far is my 20th century Spanish poetry class. I love poetry. Reading in Spanish is incredibly difficult because I have to look up at least one word a line, but I find that I understand Spanish poems better than some English ones. I am forced to find the meaning behind every word (or be utterly confused), whereas I tend to skip over a few words when reading in English.

So. Luis Cernuda has a few poems that are about 3 pages long. Needless to say I have a new vocabulary sheet that is about the same length. I am learning. I love this challenge, it is my favorite class.

Today after class I went up to my professor and explained I was having some difficulty and asked her when her office hours were. Her response? This is not a class for people who don't have a very good grasp on Spanish.

Then she showed me the books I need to read for the class on the bibliography I've had since the beginning of the semester. The books she showed me were already underlined and I've been making copies out of the one relevant to our current theme for weeks. Only after a few more minutes of conversation did she give me her office hours.

If you are reading this and you teach something, please don't forget how valuable encouragement is to a struggling student.

Charity

2008-05-04T15:29:00.003+02:00

Madrid has quite the homeless population. After reading Irresistible Revolution this fall, sharing makes more sense. I really want to live a life that has community and giving at its core.

Which is great and all...except when I start giving away things that don't belong to me. Florian's food. Florian's money. Florian's sweet comic book in Spanish that we found sitting outside my apartment. And the latest:

Okay, clearly not a tragic loss. First of all, the front wheel was busted. Secondly, well, Florian is a fully grown man.

The convenience store by his apartment is run by an Asian family, like most of the 'alimentaciones'(or 'chinos') in Madrid. Florian tried to ride the bike from the dumpster to the chino. Hilarious!

It was around midnight, but the Asian kids were still up, helping their mom run the store. We bought what we needed at stepped back outside to get the bike and go home. The kids followed us out. The little girl was eying the bike-I don't think she even noticed we were there. I opened my mouth and offered the bike to the girl. She didn't have a clue what I was saying, but her brother immediately said "Sí" and she hopped on.

You should have seen her face! So cute! Hopefully Florian will survive.

Boredom strikes: Cass blogs.

2008-05-01T19:39:00.004+02:00

Going to see Iron Man tonight with friends. The last movie I watched was crap, so my expectations are pretty low. Vamos a ver.

Today I cleaned the bathroom (so exciting!) and took a bath while listening to a sermon from The Crossing. I am so glad they podcast their sermons!

Florian has been teaching me German. So far the only thing I can say with any confidence is "ich mag dich auch sehr, hübsche" which basically means "I really like you too, cutie." I think I'm going to have to take lessons if I'm going to learn anything useful.

Molly came this weekend!

2008-04-27T20:22:00.005+02:00

I got to spend the weekend with Molly! On Friday we made stir fry and went out to La Vía Lactea in Malasaña with her friend Megan. Then some more of her American friends from Granada showed up and we went to El Laberinto. I've been to both places before-not too expensive, the music doesn't suck, the decorations are kitschy and Laberinto has a foosball table. Sweet! We sang David Bowie songs all the next day.

Saturday we walked around, I finally saw Madrid's cathedral. It seems much more modern than other cathedrals I have seen in Europe. The paintings were super colorful. After a long walk we ended up in Retiro with Florian and my friend Alicia. Good times, we sat in the shade (the weather here is incredible!) and tried to avoid getting sunburnt. The Prado was free after 6, so we saw some excellent Goya. That man was witty! He was commissioned for all these portraits of generals and royalty, but in his free time he sketched his political opinion out-very antiwar. He was awesome.
This morning I went to El Rastro with Molly-super dangerous. I wanted to buy every hippie summer dress in sight! She checked out the Reina Sofia-which I still need to do(!) and then headed back for Granada. But not before I made plans to possibly live in her unfinished basement next year. $150 rent? Yes.

I ate cornflakes for breakfast...

2008-04-23T11:38:00.002+02:00

...should I really go vegan for sustainibility reasons if I don't plan on going all organic? Is it a failure to say I will try to eat organic as often as possible? Do I need a label like 'vegan' to be serious about caring for this planet? I think most of you would say no. I can't save the world eating organic anyway, right? And is it really possible to weed all the hypocricy out of my life? Can I really go vegan when I'm spending my parents money? Is it a responsible use of money?

Yummy confusion.

In case you haven't recieved a proper indie education:

2008-04-22T13:42:00.001+02:00

Florian

2008-04-22T02:06:00.004+02:00

I drank too much coffee today, apparently, because here I lie, wide awake at 2AM. Amanda requested some photos. This is the guy I met at John's birthday party in January. I've been crazy about him ever since. He is constantly encouraging, brings out the artist in me and likes my cooking. To say the least. First photo is at Plaza Mayor and the second is at The Cure concert!

Dinner party, photos & vegan possibilities?

2008-04-21T20:24:00.010+02:00

Last night Anna made the most amazing Jamaican food for all of our friends (turns out we have quite a few!). It was a wonderful community celebration-everyone chipped in with the cooking and helped us with the food costs. We had a genuinely great time. I was exhausted for most of it, and at one point sitting on the couch next to Florian, I stuck my ear into each conversation in the room and realized that I have found a truly incredible group of people. I am so happy to be sharing my life with all of them right now!
Mati and Pablo taught us all the Argentinian national anthem, Patrick brought German beer for Florian, and Anna's jerk chicken sauce is on my list of favorite foods now.

In other news, I think I may become a vegan. Florian and I had an interesting conversation about whether or not to eat animals the other day, and it got me thinking. I believe God put animals on this earth for us to eat but I also see our unsustainable agricultural practices destroying the earth.
Now, I have only been seriously considering this for a few hours, so feel free to give me some advice. So far I've realized I'm going to miss scrambled eggs, Flat Branch burgers and salmon. Currently trying to figure out how bad the over-fishing problem really is. My exceptions would be: If you cook it for me, I'll eat it. Because over all, I still value people over animals (which I realized is in direct conflict with most vegan beliefs...). Second exception would be any free-range produce, that is, food from animals raised in a sustainable manner. I don't want to be a hypocrite about my beliefs, and this is definitely an area in my life where I feel I can be hypocritical (i.e. the McDonald's french fries I ate in Venice).

Finally, the photos you have all be waiting for:

1. Me and the hermanos in Andalucía! 2. Floating kid head! 3. It was rainy and cold. We were tired from all the relaxing in Spain. But whatever! Paris was amazing! 4. Those amazing friends I was telling you about. By this point in my 3 week long travels, I was exhausted, homesick and coughing a lot. They managed to put up with me and I love them for it!

Back!

2008-04-14T16:37:00.005+02:00

I have been avoiding an update this week because there is so much to say, I am a bit overwhelmed. So to avoid all the whelming, I am going to write a bit about the past a bit about the present and a bit about the future. I promise photos of my travels with witty captions in the future.

Past: My dad managed to run 3 red lights in a row in Sevilla. Luckily my family & I survived our Andalusian vacation. We slept like kings in a timeshare condo in the center of a labyrinth on a hill. We saw every major city in Andalucia as well as a few tourist traps and small beaches. Favorite thing? Kebap in Granada.

Present: Making my own kebap tonight. And strawberry shortcake! Also, just recieved an automated reply from my journalism advisor informing me that she does not advise over email and that I should stop by to make an appointment. All the more reason to give up and move to Frankfurt!

Future: Though I am not moving there(after all, I can still live up to half of the promise I made to my mom that I wouldn't "fall for some european and never come home"), I am spending the summer in Germany with Florian. We are going to hit up Prague, Amsterdam, Berlin and some campgrounds in Scandinavia. Hopefully Helen and Sarah will be involved somehow!

One day in Madrid

2008-03-27T12:38:00.001+01:00

Last week I was in Granada. Yesterday I was in Paris. Today: Madrid. Tomorrow: Somewhere in Italy.

Photos and details to come.

staying up late to listen to kels's game

2008-03-09T01:05:00.008+01:00

Check out this poem Marta posted. Loving it. Took me back to senior year of high school, trying to do Stat homework with Leah while drinking a peppermint patty mocha. All I remember is falling in love with Billy Collins and impromptu poems written on paper napkins.

Don't let this post fool you into thinking I'm homesick. I'm an Erasmus student for life now.

Ich bin freue!

2008-03-07T13:52:00.007+01:00

Yesterday was lovely! It became lovely when I met Miguel. Miguel is in my Women's History class (the orange from the previous post). He does an excellent non-flattering imitation of our professor.

But the highlight was The Cure! I've never seen more middle-aged women dressed in all black. It was freaking awesome. Did you know that in Europe, bands usually do two encores? When he finished singing the first time, I was disappointed because I thought he'd only come back up for a few more songs. But he ended up coming back up 3 times in total! Crazy. Why not just have an intermission or something? It was great though. I've had this song in my head all day, along w/ Boys Don't Cry. Thanks to Flo's mom for giving sweet birthday presents to her son.

Then this morning we said goodbye to Jenny. Lame.

Tonight? Pizza made by Roberto, clearly.

Bought some sweet new pants

2008-03-05T15:53:00.006+01:00

I'm bummed because I just realized a lot of my friends stopped posting on their blogs. I'm missing out on some good stalking. That said, I haven't been super faithful to this blog in the last couple weeks, so I can't really complain.

The last couple weeks have been mostly about choosing classes, freaking out about all my travel plans coming up and Florian. I'm trying to diversify my interests. Today I bought new pants at H&M and walked around Malasaña, a great bar district I've really only ever seen at night. Tomorrow I'm going to see The Cure!! And then I'm going out to say goodbye to Flo's friend Jenny who is returning to Germany at the end of the week. She laughs at least as often as I do, if not more. She's freaking awesome.

Madrid is treating me pretty well. I've had a few bad moments lately, but I'm trying to remember that sometimes cultural differences just seem like evil people. My professor reprimanded me in class yesterday for eating an orange. Of course, I had no idea what she wanted from me, so we ended up taking about five minutes out of class to discuss my orange and whether or not I could eat it. After class, she explained to me that "in Spain, we finish our food before we come to class." She is actually really atypical of most of the professors I've met. She, for example, actually shows up on time to class. Most of my professors are at least 15 minutes late. Which I love!

Still happy in Spain,
Cass

My family is coming in 2 weeks!!

2008-03-01T21:44:00.004+01:00

Lately I've been saying goodbyes. Sometimes that means throwing a huge party in La Latina and playing games with Vincent all night even though I'm about to fall asleep. This weekend it meant going to a sweet bar in Malasaña where they played Queen & Twisted Sister. Incredible. Also, lame that people are leaving.

Today sat in Plaza Mayor in the sunshine eating bread and cheese and drinking apple juice. Before that I learned all about maté from Florian's new argentinian roommate. Sweet! Also sat in a 18th century garden. My life is way too "tranquila." Pero, me encanta.

Globalization

2008-02-22T18:07:00.002+01:00

Today I sat in my piso reading The Kite Runner (in English, written by an Afgahn) eating a passion fruit (which if you experience winter where you live, is from anywhere but there) and fried corn from the Mexican store. All I needed was a pair of stylish Italian sunglasses.

In other news: my sister is cooler than yours.

Will someone please chose my classes for me?

2008-02-21T14:05:00.003+01:00

I'm still recovering from a week of all-nighters (both study sessions and parties) and now I have to start all over again! I just sat through this really sweet Art History class only to realize at the end that class attendance is mandatory. I'm going to be in Paris & all over Italy for like 3 weeks coming up. Lame!

So far I have 2 of 5-6 classes needed. The Art History class from last semester and a Women's History class that seems pretty sweet. Anyone have any suggestions? I can take almost anything I want, so the process of selecting 5 is kind of overwhelming. I am really disappointed because a lot of the classes I wanted to take aren't offered this semester. As always, I'm going to end up in a bunch of classes I could care less about. Sweet!

Exasperatedly yours,
Cass

Comida

2008-02-15T22:14:00.005+01:00

Today I organized the refrigerator (which is not spelled with a D?). Among other things, I created a "random meats section." Seriously, hot dogs, some kind of fish, what I think was chorizo, bacon, and the star of the show: pate made out of a rabbit our neighbor killed. That's right. I have a neighbor who goes rabbit-hunting and makes his own pate.

I made Florian french toast this morning, with eggs and bacon. Pretty sure he's not impressed by American food. Neither he nor Adam nor Roberto could handle maple syrup. To be fair, the man does now how to make some mean cereal. Walnuts. Raspberries. Yum.

Ciao!

Almost there...almost there...

2008-02-12T23:19:00.001+01:00

After finishing my second and last paper, I found out you can conference call on skype! Sweet! I caught up with Molly (studying in Granada) and Anna, who studied in Italy last semester and is now at home in Columbia. It was so good to talk to my friends again as if we were all in the same room together. Molly is having way more fun than I am-staying out late and living with an amazing-sounding commie homestay mother. I need to go visit!

Tomorrow after my 3PM exam I am free. Hallelujah. Going to spend the next few weeks staying out all night and sleeping in the sun in Retiro all day with Florian. This was the longest semester ever!!

Study break!

2008-02-10T15:29:00.001+01:00

While researching for the paper I have to turn in in less than 24 hours, I was distracted by the primary results on The New York Times site. Did you know John McCain is 71!? That's ridiculously old if you ask me. Other interesting facts: Mike Huckabee was born in Hope, Arkansas-where my grandfather was born and raised. Also where Bill Clinton was born. Let me tell you, that is the kind of town that would make you want to grow up and change the world. It would make me want to be a democrat though.

Still rooting for Obama. He won in Missouri by 1%! That's nuts!

GIANTS!

2008-02-04T13:08:00.002+01:00

Yesterday was definitely the most memorable Super Bowl ever. Anna & I and all our closest European friends watched the game in an Irish bar. We had to explain all the rules (What is an interception? Why don't they just kick the ball? What happens if you punch someone?). Lucky for us, the entire crowd was rooting for the Giants (everyone booed the Patriots when they walked on the field). I rooted for them because the Patriots beat the Rams once. Enough reason for me. I really wanted to see Tom Brady fall on his face. The last quarter, that final run, was A-mazing. The entire bar went NUTS. All the Americans were jumping and screaming. Florian was practically cowering from all the noise. John was screaming and clapping though I don't think he knew why. Roberto was reaching for another cigarette. Anna and I were shouting insults at Brady. It was beautiful. Yea for fútbol americano in Spain!!

First test is Monday

2008-02-01T16:32:00.001+01:00

Skip to about 00:13

Definitely not my dream guy, except...

2008-02-01T11:55:00.000+01:00

I had this dream last night that I was dating an expat from Arkansas. Somehow in Spain he managed to live in a trailer and go hunting on the weekends. He was as american as it gets; his mom invited me to church. I was in love.

Need to stop reminiscing about the US before I go to bed!

Ikea furniture is okay, but...

2008-02-01T01:03:00.001+01:00

This late evening, in a moment of solitude and procrastination, I sat organizing my photos into subcategories in iPhoto. I fleshed out the photo album of my Paquin apartment from last year and pined away for better lighting and fabulously garage-sale awful furniture. I'm now sitting at my quiet open window, remembering all the quiet moments on the roof, talking to my roommates through the kitchen window. I miss that place. It was impossible to keep clean because it was so old. The floors were kitschy & went perfectly with my mismatched furniture and found decorations.

I regret leaving Nancy's life-size cardboard cutout of Beyonce in Columbia. It fit in my suitcase.

That said, they don't have bidets in Columbia.

Money

2008-01-25T18:33:00.000+01:00

When I came back from the States after Christmas, I stopped at the money exchange kiosk in Chicago and exchanged most of my Christmas dollars for euros. Whether it is because of the writer's strike, global warming or our economy, I left a bit short-handed. Especially because the bright lady working the kiosk couldn't tell the difference between a franc and a euro. I paid $1.47 for a relic of pre-EU France. Yes! I have another coin to add to my growing collection of useless U.S. quarters and dimes.

Well, maybe not entirely useless. My new fire hazard/incense burner:

I am in love with...

2008-01-22T23:12:00.001+01:00

The Streets.

If my door would close, I might feel differently.

2008-01-22T20:31:00.001+01:00

So, I've had two dreams in the past few weeks about having my own room. No hidden subconcious messages there.

That said, Anna is the best roommate I could ask for. But, maybe next year I need to think about living in my own place.

Molly!

2008-01-22T12:17:00.001+01:00

I called my Mom yesterday. Poor lady hadn't heard from me in like 2 weeks. I realized I'd even forgotten to reply to one of her emails! Being that I feel this need to communicate constantly, that was very unlike me. I realized a few days ago while talking to my italian friend Giovanni, I am not consumed with depression anymore. In fact, I love living in Madrid. Luckily, I have plenty of time left here. I am so glad I chose to do a year-long program.

Molly Moore, my good friend from Mizzou, is leaving today. She has been in Madrid staying with me all weekend and it has been a blast. I was a bad host and didn't take her to any museums or historic old buildings. But I did take her to a sweet house party where she practiced her spanish with a bunch of french and german students. It was so nice to go out in Madrid with a friend from home! It made me realize that my friends in Madrid are amazing. Everyone was so nice and would talk with Molly in her always-improving spanish, or english. At el Junco (where we watched the best blues show I've seen yet), my friend Florian even tried to buy her a beer. The beers were 7 euro. Seemed like an extra nice offer to me.

I can't remember which day now because the whole weekend was kind of blurred by staying out so late each night, but we found ourselves in Plaza Mayor at one point. We had gone out to see the city during siesta and everything was closed. It was kind of a downer until we got to the plaza. The sun was out and the day was beautiful (I honestly thing winter is over in Madrid, though I don't think it ever really came). The night before we had been reminiscing about hot summer days where you can't breathe and have to go for a swim to stay alive. Sitting in the sun, listening to this incredibly joyful guitarist, I could not have been more content. There has been a lot of happiness going around lately. Hopefully you can catch some of it too.

Last night Anna, Molly & I went to a bar in Sol for Molly's last night. It is a place Vincent has taken us before. It is small, dark and filled with cushions and hookahs. We were all exhausted from having so much fun, this was the perfect place to relax. Though someone walked off with Molly's jacket, which still makes me kind of sick, it was a great night. We smoked some peach hookah and talked with these colombian guys about la vida madrileña.

Some of my dearest friends have finally joined me over here. Sarah will soon be up north, Nancy is in Fez, meeting all kinds of amazing people-she has a moroccan roommate! Erin will be in Paris and Molly is about to get on a plane to Granada. The other night I skyped with Amy in France. I don't feel like I am missing out on as much now that everyone is off on their own adventures. I have also been very distracted by a nice german boy lately, so that might be why I am feeling less homesick.

Germans are awesome.

2008-01-15T23:22:00.002+01:00

Some things that have gotten lost in translation the last couple of days:
-my birthday. It isn't tomorrow.

D.A.N.C.E.

2008-01-13T12:53:00.001+01:00

Went out dancing at Club Low off of Gran Via this Friday. When I got there, my feet hurt and I was tired. At about 4 in the morning, Roberto and Anna had to drag me off the dance floor. I protested...one more song! I lost a little hearing, but at least it wasn't techno. Yea for Postal Service and the Stones and so many lovely dance songs.

Noticias madrileñas

2008-01-08T12:36:00.001+01:00

Today is my first day back to school. Exams are coming up at the end of this month and the beginning of Feb., so naturally I am in the computer lab updating my blog. It is also the warmest place on campus. I ate some delicious cafeteria tortilla and read the news after my horrendously boring Cervantes lecture. I found out today that I do have to read Don Quixote. Sweet.

Now for the news: The metro cleaners' strike ended today. Which is pretty awesome, because the pile of red-wine tinted vomit at the Quevedo station was starting to gross me out. Plus all the metros were starting to smell like the NYC subways. The question remains: How awful was it to have to clean up a few weeks worth of trash after the strike?

Javier Bardem! Oscar worthy? We say yes! I highly recommend No Country for Old Men (No es país para viejos). It is about an assasin, the man he is chasing and the policeman chasing them both. Lots of people die. It is so choice.

España and the rest of Europe are talking about the primaries. Mostly they are saying what I am: anything will be better (Although I admit, Huckabee freaks me out a bit). In 20 Minutos, the paper I read this morning, they seem pretty excited about Obama. As am I. I haven't heard much about his plans, but as the paper put it, he would change the way the world sees the United States. I think we need that.

There was also a feature on prostitution in Madrid. It made me realize how I have grown used to the girls standing on the streets. When I go out to Sol and walk back home, I walk past them on Gran Via everytime. The article explained how most are foreigners and are in a state of semi-slavery. Some were sold into prostituion by their families. They have to pay rent and a pimp of some sort as well as a prositituion mafia for protection.

Some Portuguese tried to sneak cocaine into Spain...they froze it in with octopus. How is that for news of the weird.

Living in Madrid, I have learned a few things:

2008-01-04T17:02:00.001+01:00

1. If you want your name spelled right, change it to Katarina.
2. People standing on the left side of the escalator are not to be tolerated.
3. Watch the sidewalk when you walk to avoid stepping in dog crap (At first I just thought everyone was having a bad day, looking at the ground all the time).
4. I know how lucky I am to have an oven in my apartment.
5. When I ask someone out for a drink, I know they expect me to pay for it.
6. Staring at a beautiful man on the metro is totally acceptable.
7. Dread-lock mullets happen to good people.
8. When walking towards someone, you don't have to move out of the way until the very last second. They usually won't run into you.
9. Calimocho is yummier than most red wine. Sangria is even better.
10. I am not surprised by tuna pizza. I even enjoyed it once.

Vuelvo!

2007-12-30T19:47:00.001+01:00

This morning as the plane was landing and the jet-lag was starting to settle in, my stomach flipped-with excitement! I never thought I'd be so positive about returning to Madrid.

My piso is empty because my roommates are still on vacation. It is awesome.

Traveling was smooth. Due to my penny-pinching creativity, Anna and I had the most complicated and ridiculous travel plans ever. Her amazing parents drove us to the train station at 4 in the morning. When we arrived in Chicago, our amtrak train took us right by stations we would see again soon. We took the amtrak all the way into Chicago, walked three blocks through the city, climbed three flights of stairs to the above-ground metro (remember all this is with about 100 lbs of luggage-plus whatever Anna was carrying), and rode the orange line back out of the city. Chicago is beautiful! Wow! The waits in Midway and the Atlanta airport are still blurred in my mind. Highlights? Reading OK's exclusive interview with Jamie-Lynn Spears, an amazing berry smoothie and pizza!

The flight to Madrid felt long. I had been traveling since December 28th at 5:30AM when Mom woke us up and we left Dallas. So between the 28th and the 30th, I was in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Georgia and Spain. Let me just say: I have had enough of all this sitting. It is nice to be done traveling! And I am so glad to be back in a country where I have to speak Spanish.

The reason I was homesick

2007-12-22T02:21:00.001+01:00

I grew up in Columbia, Missouri. It was always a source of pride to me that I was born in Tacoma, Washington-it meant I was a little bit cooler than the rest of Central Missouri. But I would never tell someone I was from the Pacific Northwest anymore.

Lee Elementary school made me culturally aware to things other than the Spice Girls. Then there was a dry spell where I grew up and tried to fight off suburban white culture. I escaped and ended up back on Paquin, living behind Lee Elementary. I worked at a coffee shop and regained that pride. But now I was proud of being from Columbia. Every detail of downtown life felt cool. I refused to call it "The District." I made a point of only shopping local. My bike was my favorite possession. I relished the fact that I could have no plans on a Friday afternoon, but be at THE party by Friday night.

I left all this-a community that took me 18 years to find-for Spain. And was surprised when I didn't find a great coffee shop in four months? It will take time to have such a rich life in Madrid, and it may be that instead of having a regular bar and a predictable party, I experience life by wandering a bit.

I am glad I'm going back to Madrid because I think I can do it better than I have been. I can do it with more fervor, creativity and inquisition! But for the next week, I am enjoying how great it is to have a place where everybody knows your name.

Columbia things I am really excited about!:
1. Our beloved theater Ragtag is finally moving.
2. The amazing downtown community is once again buzzing about the True/False film festival. Columbia: Go! See a documentary! It is the best weekend of the year.
3. The Missouri Theater is expanding. I am torn-upset to lose the charming but crumbling old building, but hopeful that they will do the new place up right.
4. All of my friends seem full of ideas-most are going off to study abroad, the rest seem to be planning escapes to bigger and better lives. My heart is bursting with their excitement.
5. The fact that this still exists-and it was featured in the worst magazine in Columbia! Thanks to the J-school, my town is very well-documented, so believe me when I say this publication sucks. My friend Kyle says the articles are mostly on etiquette for Republican fondue parties and how to make your house bigger. With stories like that, a feature on MSR3000 is especially sweet. I'll leave the magazine unnamed, but you should all check out Kyle & Tony's 2AM radio show on KOPN.
6. Snow.
7. Mike the carpenter, who sits outside Ragtag everyday full of stories about growing up in the Haight-Ashbury district and hitch-hiking through Europe.

If you are bored in Columbia, please take a stroll downtown. There is life on those streets and passion in every single coffee shop on 9th St. Considering there are like 17, there's probably enough passion to go around.

Merry Christmas!

America!

2007-12-17T06:28:00.001+01:00

On Friday night, I left Sol around 4AM, was in bed by 4:30 and then this happened: 2 hours of sleep, met Anna in the metro, a 10 hour flight, delays for rain and snow, a 1 hour flight, 3 hours in a car lost in Chicago with my huge suitcase on my lap, savored time with dear Nancy, 2 hours sleeping on her couch, a taxi that almost didn't show up, a taxi that sped just enough to get us to Union Station on time, a 5 hour train ride that lasted 7 hours, 5 hours of sleep sitting up in the train, meeting Anna's family and the best BLT of my life, sleeping in the car to Columbia, loving on my family, slightly surreal (due to lack of sleep) Artisan Xmas party.

Highlights: sleeping sitting up, meeting Nancy's family, talking in English, stealing a pack of cloves at the Artisan gift exchange.

Mostly I am jet-lagged and wondering what I am doing here in Missouri. Home feels weirder than I thought it would.

Tomorrow: Artisan, Lakota, Kaldi's, Main Squeeze. And then repeat.

José

2007-12-13T20:01:00.001+01:00

I have only really met one of my neighbors. His name is either José or Joseph, he never introduced himself. I'm going to go with José since that is a Spanish name. So, José is older and lives by himself. Dawn has these crazy stories about him showing her the pheasants he cooks. The weirdest story she has involves him showing her his new shower. That all said, the only thing he's ever showed me is his nativity scene-he is totally harmless. He always mentions how he lives alone. Anyway, after he showed me his nativity set I thought I'd like to do something for him. He seems like a cool guy and I welcome any Spanish friend.

So, I made a ton of food the other night for John & Vincent's Christmas party. I saved back a few lemon bars and a cookie for my neighbor. Then today I made snow slugs, a Shearrer favorite. Before I left I devised exit strategies with my roommate (I have cookies in the oven!).

José invited me in and took me into his kitchen. This is where I got confused. He took a bottle of maple syrup out of his fridge and showed me how the fridge was a General Electric fridge from the USA. Then he said something about "brujas" (witches) and waved the syrup bottle around for emphasis. Then he let me leave. He was talking a mile a minute with a huge grin on his face. I really have no idea what he said. Before I left he asked me if he had shown me his nativity set and then thanked me for the cookies.

Hey, Feliz Navidad.

Revisiting the Library

2007-12-11T13:58:00.002+01:00

Today I finally went to visit a professor during office hours. Profesora Ruiz Montejo is my favorite for two reasons.
1. I understand 90% of what she says.
2. She smiles.
She explained the final exam to me: 6 short questions over 6 slides, 10 minutes for each question. Obviously, I need to study the images, so I explained my trouble with the library. She told me to try again and that the books are organized by class.
So I gave it another shot-I had time to kill before my next class anyway. I went to the 2nd floor, to the art section, and there, to my surprise, were about 1/2 of the books on my bibliography list-all on one shelf.
The library immediately seemed a little brighter. I noticed windows letting in the ever-bright sun. There were nice long tables with individual lamps. It was quiet.
My sports-fan-like devotion to Ellis began to fade.
So maybe it is just that the geographers and the historians have one up on the Filología department, but I sat there with a book in my hands not caring where the difference lay. The photos and the font in the book were HUGE. It was in Spanish, English, French and German. I'd have to be a blind idiot not to learn something! That said, I still need to look up the meaning of "soteriological."
Besos!

P.S. The doctrine of slavation through Jesus Christ. What a word.

Mi amor: Barcelona

2007-12-11T13:31:00.001+01:00

Highlights of the week:
1. I realized Rick Steves is not some lame dude my Grandpa swears by, he actually knows his stuff. For 15 euros a night we stayed at Hostel Malda in a huge room in what appears to be a really freaking old (and therefore sweet!) building.
2. In the midst of being lost, the metro conductor closed the doors so fast that Patrick and I got stuck on the train (Anna might say we left her at the station, this is a bold falsification). The group of Barcelona kids drinking rum and cokes out of plastic bottles behind us thought it was hilarious.
3. I woke up early one morning to explore and get breakfast alone. No one was in the streets. It was so peaceful to walk through the tiny, old, clean alleys in silence. In the States, this peacefulness only exists around 6 in the morning. It was almost 9. Maybe I can be a morning person in Spain.
4. From the ancient-feeling stone alleys of Barrio Gótico to the wide streets on the hill by Parc Güell to the colorful, narrow alleyways to the beach, there wasn't a single place I wouldn't want to live forever.
5. One word: bicycles.
6. I speak Spanish. Barcelona speaks Catalán. Therefore I must speak Catalán.
7. Washing off our feet as we left the beach, an older woman opened up to us. She cried about the power of God but never lost her composure. She opened up to us. Her favorite things in life: coffee, the beach and God.
8. Drinking the cheapest beer in Spain and watching FCB win a game!
9. Pat's pasteurized milk. I had forgotten how much I love that stuff.
10. Collecting beach glass by the water and thinking about how I get to see my Grandma in a week or so. I wasn't happy on the beach-I was content. Much better if you ask me. I wasn't excited about Barcelona like I was about Paris, but I did feel like I had found a potential home.

Possibility

2007-12-04T02:02:00.001+01:00

I have been thinking a lot about community lately. Being the liberal peace-loving hippie I am, community means a lot to me. I left my strong community in downtown Columbia to live abroad this year and sometimes I wonder why I gave up that family. What I didn't anticipate was what my community would look like in Madrid. I knew I would have one, but I expected it to focus around a café like my community in Columbia did. I expected it to be made up of madrileños and Spanish students.

Instead I find myself in a community of Erasmus students from all over Europe and our meeting place changes every night. I went out for a drink tonight with one of the first people I got to know in Madrid. Giovanni, this Italian guy that I thought looked so cool with his Ray-Bans. He has lived in several places and told me tonight about how he has the travel bug and wants to leave Madrid.

I knew living here would change me, but I didn't anticipate finding this international community. Tonight Giovanni and I marveled over how unique it was to have a community that isn't defined by a place. In fact, the opposite: The international community is defined by travel and being in a place that is strange to you.

The verdict is still out on whether or not I will catch the travel bug and spend my years bartending in foreign languages. But it is a romantic idea. Though I could pass my years on the corner of 9th and Cherry very peacefully, I might learn Italian and French and live in Argentina photographing for a magazine or in Uganda working in an Irish pub.

Some things are the same everywhere...

2007-12-03T21:44:00.001+01:00

...like Texas Hold'em. The game was in true Erasmus style: We played in three languages and were always a little confused, we took a long white bread and nutella break and practiced our Spanish profanity, which is probably only funny to us.

I couldn't even beat him at a staring contest.

2007-12-01T15:05:00.001+01:00

You know that feeling you get when you realize someone you love is way cooler than you realized?

Alberto and Adam came into the bar last night and put a euro down on the foosball table. They then proceeded to kick ass. They beat the undefeated and then everyone else in the bar-twice. Then they played the first guys again and beat them about 8 times over. No one in the bar had any euros left to play my friends.

3 hours. Not a minute wasted.

Hookah fulfillment

2007-11-30T01:07:00.001+01:00

This adventure has so far only left me feeling sane about a quarter of the time. This entire week I have been sleeping from about 5AM to 2PM instead of at night like normal people. Needless to say, I haven't gotten much done. However, Antonio is very commited to learning English and tonight he dragged me out of my safe cocoon room to a sweet Kurdish hookah bar where we studied my native language. Seriously-he brought a book. Though let me tell you, the idea that God has allowed me to make money by hanging out with a nice Italian guy at a hookah bar...is wild. I don't think I could have planned it better myself.

I also got a letter from Dylan today. He is about 6 months or so into his mission in Switzerland and being his pen pal is another great part of my life. His note was short and sweet and affirming-kind of like he is. I mean...Dylan is really kick-ass and hardcore and tough...

Anyway, despite all my breakdowns and feeling crazy, there are sweet things about this life I am living. And I will look back and remember apple tobacco, traveling friends, couchsurfers and Italian accents.

Hippie comeback

2007-11-29T01:29:00.001+01:00

Tonight Anna and I went to a book study through an English-speaking church in Madrid called Oasis. The book: Irresistible Revolution. We showed up a half an hour late and I hadn't read any of the book. Just another day in Madrid for me, only tonight I enjoyed the lonely confusion in my own language.

The small group reminded me of Amanda's church in Santa Monica and I found myself thinking about God for the first time in a few days and it felt so good. One of the girls from the study loaned Anna and I her copy of the book. I am now 4 chapters in and very nervous that my life is about to change.

The author makes his own clothes and has dreadlocks. That's the least of it, so far, he's renounced Christian culture and made friends with lepers in Calcutta. I've got butterflies.

Una amistad hecho por los cielos

2007-11-28T02:30:00.001+01:00

I feel like things are finally starting to calm down and even out in my life. A huge weight has been lifted by buying a ticket home for Christmas. Before I was so consumed by the limitations of money and the ridiculous idea that I had to tough it out for the year. I think part of me thought I would be giving up by going home (even if it was just for a few weeks). Then I started to think about what my sister would do and I realized that, no questions asked, she would have already bought the ticket. Sometimes I try to live by unnecessary rules I have made up for myself. It is good that I have let this one go. I feel like a weight has been lifted.

Aside from the wonderful Christmas to come, I finally have a job here. God pretty much just threw that one at me-I didn't even try. Twice every week I go out for coffee with Antonio, from Rome, and we talk for an hour and a half. He pays for my drink and gives me 12 euros. It is a sweet deal.

Thirdly, I am finally feel a sense of community here. Today I sat outside my Facultad with Jesús. I drank my mint tea and watched the wind blow the leaves off the trees (Fall finally found Madrid!). He smoked his Marlboros and played Justice for me on his MP3 player in classic Spanish style, us sharing the headphones.

Tonight I met a group of friends at Boñar de León, a bar I like for the free food, though Adam informed me the food was "de mierda". A mi, me da igual. But we sat around and finalized Christmas and New Year's party plans and drank wine and ate paella. Then John, Vincent, Anna and I hung out at my apartment listening to Simon and Garfunkle before going to El Junco where Vincent played his saxaphone and Anna and John sat in the back room. This jazz club is so...jazzy. There are black leather couches and the whole room is full of smoke. Everything about the place screams cool. Vincent and I stood watching the seven other saxaphone players take turns on stage and I realized that these songs I am learning at El Junco will forever remind me of Madrid. And I will have happy memories of this city.

Besos!

Cassidy updated her status.

2007-11-25T22:16:00.001+01:00

I am...
elated to be going home for Christmas with my family!
about to google "jaw hurting" to see if this cold of mine is actually a foreign disease.
drinking white nectar numi tea and daydreaming about the Artisan.
blessed to have friends who will mail me puppy chow and love.
going to talk to Nancy tomorrow, finally.
wondering how to get Guillaume Canet to marry me.
wondering if I am too sick to go to El Junco and listen to Vincent play his sax.
mostly looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, in my basement, in my town, in my midwest, in my country, in my language.

Glee

2007-11-20T02:06:00.001+01:00

It is 2:10AM and it is raining. At first I thought someone was showering in one of the apartments across the "courtyard", but it is actual rain. I ran to the front of the apartment and watched all the cars moving through it, their headlights reflecting on the wet road. The city is so much more colorful when wet! It made me think of this warm, scratchy blanket my great grandma made for my dad. It has held together rather well and has been in our living room for as long as I can remember. My favorite place to be is wrapped up in that blanket on the bench on our front porch at home in a thunderstorm. The best is if I can see the whole thing, muggy start to wet toes finish. Rain is my favorite sound.

Trying to enjoy my own damn grass.

2007-11-19T13:03:00.001+01:00

I forced myself to get up for class today. In class I finally copied the syllabus from another student. Yea Cervantes!

I sat in the cafeteria-the only other warm part of my facultad besides the computer lab, which is closed right now. I sat in the cafeteria and read a book (in English!) on Spanish women writers. I was reading the history of women's suffrage in Spain when I realized I was actually interested in Spanish history. I am beginning to identify with Spain in some way. My apathy towards Madrid is so lame! It was refreshing to CARE about this place for once.

Just now I walked over to another building to use a computer lab, and it started to rain. I almost started crying I was so happy. It is cloudy and cold and sprinkling a bit, and honestly, I'm just glad for something different. I walked through a garden in the midst of this happiness and found a (dead for the winter) pomegrante tree. Which couldn't have been any cooler.

It is raining!!!

Amigas

2007-11-15T02:18:00.001+01:00

I just found out that my beloved friend and sister, Amy Sharland, is going to be in France for Christmas. I feel like Cindy Lou-Who at the end of the Grinch who Stole Christmas when he gives back all the presents. I'm going to the Alps!

I am also trying to figure out how to be a better friend from across the ocean, and it kills me to know I am missing out on people's lives changing and growing. Sometimes I am homesick for my own reasons, but mostly I just wish I could be in Sarah's small group and skip class with Nancy.

If I have ever told you I love you, I still do.

-Cass

Fall wouldn't come to Madrid so I had to go find it.

2007-11-13T02:05:00.001+01:00

Paris is humid, cold and rainy. Of course I fell in love, what other choice did I have?

The weather was different every five minutes, just like in Columbia. It seemed more modern than Madrid, but the sunken steps in Notre Dame made me fantasize about...well, honestly, being a gypsy like Esmerelda. The whole city was absolutely enchanting. I found hummus in the first grocery store I found. I lived mostly on croissants.

Favorite things I didn't expect:
-They have a seemingly sweet bike rental system on the sidewalks
-Amazing international food-ate the best Japanese food ever on the steps of the Louvre.
-Excellent espresso, best I've had since Gimme Coffee in Brooklyn.
-Huge beautiful trees on the sidewalks and plenty of rain to keep them happy

...all things to keep in mind when I decide whether or not to move there. In love.

One of the coolest things about our visit was couch surfing. Pat figured it all out, but essentially we used the website to meet up w/ these French guys and stay with them for free instead of in a hostel. The first two nights (including Pat's B-day), we stayed w/ Nicolas and Pierre in a really sweet old apartment. We didn't get to hang out with them much, but they made us coffee, gave us a futon (three on one bed...it was a challenge, but warm) and a set of keys. I was amazed by their trust and generosity. I start to believe in crazy concepts like world peace when a complete stranger from another country will invite me into his home. Pierre & Nicolas had had 35 other people stay on their couch in the last 2 months! And the second night we were there, one showed up! A girl from Hungary who had stayed with these guys before came and we got to talk to her until Pat and I went out to celebrate his 21st with a Hoegarden beer.

The last half of the weekend we stayed with Freddy & Felipe. They lived right around the corner from the Eiffel Tower, and since we were with them on Saturday and Sunday, we got to hang out with them a little more. They took us to a friends for dinner and we drank wine and watched a boxing match and then went out together. Pat bought me a crepe in the middle of the night, and I spilled jelly all down my jacket. Lame! Anyway, I thought Freddy was hilarious and he seemed to think I was too, so we pretty much laughed the entire weekend. Sunday night they took us out to a restaurant down the street. It was such a blessing to have them, the only way I know how to order food is to point and ask "How much?". I can count my French phrases on one hand, which is more than I had before I got on the plane. Freddy and Felipe walked us through how a French meal works (cheese is very important and coffee is at the end-no matter how bad Anna wants espresso).

We spent the last day revisiting places we couldn't get enough of, and taking a billion more pictures. Now I'm in bed on San Bernardo wishing I was riding a bike along the Seine river or hanging out with Freddy and hoping I can find a way to fall in love with Madrid too.

Recurring dream

2007-10-26T12:20:00.000+02:00

I haven't had one of these since I was a kid. I have always paid attention to my dreams-since I was a kid and we would all sit around at breakfast discussing them. My dad always had the craziest ones. Anyway, I've decided I'm sick of dreaming.

Since moving to Madrid my dreams have been waking me up in panic. In the dream I realize I am about to be late for my plane, and that there is no realistic way to catch it. I.e. I am a 9 hours drive away and the plane is leaving in 8 1/2. That was the dream where I was in Texas and apparently had to drive up to STL to fly to Spain. I also had one where I was driving to WA, and turned around to try to make a flight out of Chicago. One time I had a layover in Santa Monica. Last night I was in the shower when I realized my flight to Pakistan was leaving in an hour and a half.

Anyway, all this nonsense is bound to be happening considering I'm just now leaving home for the first time. And between my psych-major friend Jaci and dreammoods.com, I think I've established that I am worried about living in Spain on my own. Whodathunkit?

The tapa thing is finally starting to work out.

2007-10-25T17:35:00.001+02:00

Last night Anna and I had plans to meet friends in Sol (center of Madrid) to go to a jazz club. But we had two hours to kill before the show, so we took our time walking to Sol. Anna convinced me to go to a mass! The church was incredible. It was huge-with all sorts of crazy decorations and statues everywhere. It seemed a bit kitschy to me, but still way cool. The building itself was incredible. The mass was awesome. We missed about half of it (literally, verbally I missed 95% of it because I was too busy gawking at the building to try to understand the Spanish), but Anna kept explaining everything to me. I didn't go to church last week because I am tired of getting homesick everytime I go, so my heart was really read to hear some scripture. Or at least talk about peace.

Afterwards we went to this café that is known for the huge amount of free food they give out with drinks. We had wine and talked about our amazing families and friends. The café lived up to its reputation. For 9 euros worth of drinks, we got 2 pinchos (servings) of Spanish tortilla, 2 small baguettes and a huge plate of olives. When we were full, our waiter came over and asked if we wanted another dish. Dang!

Then we walked to Sol and listened to some amazing blues music, and went out for even more tapas at El Tigre! At El Tigre I think Anna and I both fell in love with all of our Erasmus friends who were with us. Adam, from the Czech Republic, knew all of my favorite American movies. Vincent, from France, was clearly only there for the tapas and kept getting everyone to order more beer so he could eat more. The other three were entertaining in their own ways. I think we're going to have a movie night together to share some cultural things. And so I can be a hostess and cook for people.

My madrileña...

2007-10-23T00:35:00.001+02:00

is a true partner in crime
but lets me make my own mistakes
she explores this huge city with me
in a way that preserves my independence
she is excited when I'm depressed
comforting her disappointments keeps me from dwelling on my own
qué suerte that I have a friend here
who misses the same home I do

Cervantes

2007-10-22T11:44:00.001+02:00

I'm about 3 weeks into the semester and I'm still hoping that one day I will walk into my Cervantes class and magically be able to understand my professor. It might be the 10AM class time (which means I have to get up at, gasp, 8:30AM), or his unreasonably fast speech. Either way, I'm taking comfort in the fact that my French friend's notes aren't too much better than mine.

Today I think I learned that Cervantes was captured by pirates and wrote them stories. And then he and Lope de Vega wrote some plays in Madrid. Right, it is time for an amazon.com trip. Need to hear all this en íngles.

A few more things

2007-10-17T11:31:00.001+02:00

1. Euros are fun. I gave my wallet away, all I need is a coin purse. There are like 12 different kinds of coins and only a few bills.

2. Madrid is like LA in the sense that everyone has a dog, except Madrid dogs are the most well-trained animals I've ever seen.
They're allowed in every store because they don't go around sniffing everyone and barking. At first I thought my foreign stench was repulsing them, then I realized, they don't take interest in anyone. The down side is, Madrid has no dog parks, so there is crap all over the sidewalks.

3. Everything moves slowly...it's like hakuna matatta over here.

4. I think madrileños are more composed. Americans are always walking fast and talking to someone on the phone loudly, madrileños are always talking softly, or, more likely, not at all.

5. Beautiful men are everywhere, America is ruined for me.

Why life seems slow

2007-10-15T14:06:00.001+02:00

An introduction: I am not as depressed as this blog makes me seem, forgive me for this has become my outlet for cultural frustrations.

I tend to be slightly pesimistic in Madrid, with the assumption that if I expect the worst, I'll usually be pleasantly surprised. So far, this attitude has helped me avoid all kinds of despair.
I'm sitting a library at my university, thankful for a silence I haven´t found anywhere else in the city. In front of me is a wonderfully old smelling book on Cervantes. It is one of the recommended books for my class on Cervantes-one of the few published in NYC.
In this library you have to request the book and the librarian hands your handwritten request to some mysterious man or woman in the back who retrieves the book for you. I requested this particular book because it is written in English and I was pretty sure I´d be able to take it home with me.
"Pretty sure" means "I hope" in Spain.
The librarian told me to wait for 15 minutes. I waited for 25, read a chapter of Harry Potter in Spanish and cried as Harry saw his parents for the first time in the mirror. Finally I realized I probably had to go up and ask about the book. The first librarian said something to me that I didn´t understand and moved on to the next patron. In this scenario, I assumed the best and threw a helpless glance to the second librarian.
She consulted the man in the back and brought me my book.
I stumbled in Spanish, asking if I could take the book home with me and then tried to use my public library card instead of my university library card, but eventually I found myself here, seated in a far corner with the book I chose to read on the life of Cervantes. It is a joy in any country to sit down quietly and open a book.
Unfortunately for me, no level of Spanish or English language proficiency will help me read a 183 page bibliography of the works of Cervantes.
God said something about finding joy in our suffering. Tomorrow I'm going to find joy in a biography on Cervantes, but for today I'm just going to read more Harry Potter.

How to freak out in a foreign country

2007-10-09T13:16:00.003+02:00

1. Contemplate the long-lasting effects of your quick, uninformed decisions.
2. Drink lots of espresso.
3. Don't ask questions.

And always remember, you probably just screwed up.

I still say the deer plot was stupid. Oh Izzie.

2007-10-08T00:48:00.000+02:00

Thanks to the fantastic website tvlinks, I have kept up with American TV. I have spent hours hiding from the big city in my living room watching Friends in a tiny box in the corner of my laptop. The picture is usually scrambled, and if I pause it at any point, the audio doesn't match the visual. I usually load it in segments, sometimes up to five. Tonight I watched the first two episodes of Private Practice. I have to say, I love the Santa Monica location, and I definitly was sniffling at one point, but I don't think it will last. Babies switched at birth? C'mon!
Tvlinks has movies too! I watched Superbad, which was cool except for the occasional bathroom break guy and the audience laughter. Yea for stolen cinema!
The coolest is when I watch Heroes-it usually takes a few hours to load and if I let my computer "sleep" for any portion of that loading, it stops and I have to start all over.

Fear not, tomorrow I'm going to make one of my roommates hide my computer from me and lock me out of the apartment. I'll discover Madrid yet.

First day of classes, kind of...

2007-10-02T23:34:00.001+02:00

I am drinking the worst cup of coffee ever. I'm sitting in the basement of one of the Filología buildings on campus. I've gone to two classes and I have two hours to kill until the next one.
During the whole month of October I get to choose my classes. That's right, I have a whole month to choose. So obviously, today, all of my (potential) professors decided not to do anything except briefly summarize the syllabus.
Today has been a frustrating day. Every day in Madrid depends hugely on me-do I have the energy to explore? Do I want to speak the language? Can I get out of bed? It is so easy to hide in my comfortable apartment with my American roommates watching Friends on my laptop. The moment I do take a risk and talk to someone or even just leave my apartment, I have good experiences. Last night Anna and I found the "edge" of Madrid and a beautiful park where we sat in a slight drizzel writing letters to our best friends and loving the fact that we'd managed to stumble across something amazing (a view of the sky, a temple, a fountain) in the ever-claustrophobic & winding streets of Madrid. It's hard to convince myself to leave my apartment, because it is so hard to find places I feel comfortable in Madrid. I'm used to knowing Columbia like the back of my hand. It's like Cheers went off the air or something, I don't know anything or anyone!
Seriously! This espresso is so bitter! I'd kill for Kaldi's.
Anyway, I think I'm going to take Spanish Literature since 1975 instead of Medieval Spanish Lit. For one, the words "castellano antiguo" (old Spanish-think foreign Shakespeare) TERRIFY me. I have enough trouble with modern castellano! Reasons 2 & 3: The 1975 professor talks SO fast, but she smiles. Also, her class is in the afternoon, and we all know how I am with mornings. I couldn't even make it to my 11 o'clock class last semester.
I'm glad school is starting. I haven't had to think about anything but mochas, enchiladas and plane tickets since May. It will be nice to challenge my brain again!
At the same time, it is scary. I have a whole new set of confusing experiences coming my way. I wish someone would choose my classes for me! That said, I have been depending on my friends and roommates too much and I look forward to being more self-sufficient and curious. Current plan: Pick classes and establish schedule, get a job teaching English, spend money from job on travel.

Love, Cass
P.S. After I wrote this I met a guy from Sevilla! I love it when I get out of bed in the morning!

Three things

2007-09-28T18:07:00.001+02:00

1. Fall is here. You can't tell by the trees, there aren't that many and the climate is so different here that I doubt they'll change that much. You can tell by the temperature and the air. It's cooler and feels like school should be starting-which it is! I sat through a 2 hour orientation today and I think I understand how to register for classes and where the library is.

2. Drullets. They are everywhere. Mohawk + dreadlocks. Don't worry Mom, I've thought this one through, pretty intensely, and I think I've decided against it. I'll post pictures (of other people) later.

3. Tomorrow I'm going to Granada. It's the super-moorish place down south. I'm not sure what the plan is, but I think I'm leaving early tomorrow morning w/ two of my Erasmus friends (Erika from Italy and Amélie from France) and Anna. Patrick & Anna and I also bought plane tickets to Paris for November two nights ago. And I think I've decided to spend Christmas in the Swiss alps. Or something...

This is the best breakfast I've ever eaten.

2007-09-22T12:44:00.001+02:00

Without a doubt. Sorry Mom, everything you ever made me is not as good as what I'm eating right now. Sorry Uprise, Main Squeeze...you just don't cut it. Anna found bagels. Good ones. 85 euro cent bagels. Affordable. Now, that alone, would not be the best breakfast ever, that is just a good find, an affordable bread from home. However, in the same store as the bagels I found hummus.

Let's dwell on that for a moment.

I found hummus. And it doesn't suck. It's amazing. (I just stopped to take a bite)

Well, it's about 1 in the afternoon here, and considering I got home around 6AM from an amazing night, I should probably go back to bed. Last night was almost as much of a victory as finding this hummus-I was awake enough to figure out how to take the bus back home! Anna slept on my shoulder and I kept asking all the Spainards around me if I was going in the right direction. I think that's the secret of this foreign country: ask lots of questions.

HUMMUS!!

A book of one's own

2007-09-18T20:53:00.002+02:00

After I was turned away from the tiny library in Toledo for lack of pasaporte, I found myself in tears over a bilingual book of poetry by Billy Collins in a bookstore near my apartment.

And after losing myself to my favorite poet for two blocks, I have rationalized the 11 euros I charged and I'm not going to think about how few coins I have in my pocket now.

El Rancho did me some good after all.

2007-09-15T18:24:00.000+02:00

So last night Anna and I saw Un Corazón Invencible. It was a lot of fun to watch an American movie dubbed in Spanish, but I'll probably try to see movies in their original languages from now on. It's called A Mighty Heart in English. I really recommend it. I'm always impressed with a movie that is mostly dialogue and set in one location, but still thrilling and captivating. Afterwards we went out for Mexican. The bartender made us margaritas and we got this huge plate of nachos with amazing guac on top. I doused my chips in salsa and inhaled them. Spicy food is hard to find in Madrid for some reason. I paid about 4 euros for tabasco sauce at Corté Ingles because I miss those flavors. I guess working at El Rancho I built up a bit of stamina for habaneros. At the Mexican place I finished off the salsa with a spoon. Ha.

Then, inevitably, we went out dancing and I found myself missing Shattered pretty hardcore. Techno is just pretty lame.

Here is a happy picture of me, for the few of you I've called crying, so you can know I am not miserable or anything. Plus a view from my apartment. There are a few more on my facebook.

It's siesta time, so I'll make it short...

2007-09-11T14:40:00.001+02:00

In usual Cassidy fashion I am living to the fullest. This morning I went to bed at 6:30 after a breakfast of chocolate y churros (fried sweet dough with hot chocolate-but it's like a melted chocolate bar...amazing) and a very full night of dancing. The metros are closed from 1:30AM to 6:00AM. I woke up at 9AM for my Spanish class. I bought a café solo (espresso) at the bar in the metro and mixed it with some cold water to make my own iced americano, and was therefore quite able to follow all the verb conjugating in class. Even with an alert brain this is a task. My teacher is about 3 inches shorter than me, skinny and loud. She looks like she's been smoking a pack a day since she was 14. Deep, raspy voice and amazing teeth. Thick black eyeliner and a lisp and Madrid accent like I've never heard before. She pronounces my name "Cachidy". I had gone out w/ an Italian guy from my class (plus my friend Anna and Giovanni's friends). So we sat there and moaned while she talked about the present tense. I made it through, and even managed to eat lunch in the cafeteria with some friends-a girl from Finland, a girl from France and two guys from England. I had tortilla, which is this lovely egg/potato omelet thing. Served cold and it's probably horribly bad for me, but it's the only thing I KNOW I like.

The last couple of days have been days of languages. I've been learning Italian from all my Italian friends, and speaking Spanish with people from all parts of Europe and then speaking English with my roommates and Anna. I've found my English grammer is totally messed up. I keep saying things like "I have thirst" because that's how you'd say it in Spanish. One of Giovanni's friends, Lydia, knows 5 languages. Holy cow right!? She's from Italy but has an Australian accent when she speaks English because that's where she learned it. So, if you find yourself in Italy and want to greet someone, you can say "¿Come stai?" Which is, "How are you?" And then they will say, "Bene, gracie, ¿eh tu?" And you will say "Bene." Or maybe "Fuerza Italia!" but probably not, because that has nothing to do with this. Most of my vocabulary is only useful at a fútbol match. Oh, I also probably spelled all of those words wrong...

That's all I've got for now. I love everyone and am trying to live in the moment instead of thinking about the things I miss about the states. Although last night, I almost started crying because I wanted Gumby's so bad. I could literally taste it in my mouth. Ha.

Jet Lag Ramble

2007-09-02T18:49:00.001+02:00

It's almost 7PM in Madrid and I just woke up from last night's sleep. I feel like I stayed up all night at a sleepover or something. But I'm here. Finally.
I made it through a 2 hour drive to St. Louis with Mom & Ranch where I freaked out about how much luggage I packed and tried not to cry. Then Ranch & I overcame the coldest car on the train for a 27 hour train ride to Penn Station. Trains are lovely. No rules. We handed out cookies to strangers and drank hot tea. Then we were in NYC where I got steadily more anxious and excited. Excited to live in a big city, terrified to leave home. Shawn was calm and steady and took me to the airpot where I made a fool out of myself crying and had to spend the next half an hour conjugating spanish verbs to keep from breaking down again.
JFK was so calm and quiet compared to LAX. It made me feel even crazier. The lady who checked my bags couldn't read military time any better than I could and for about half an hour I thought I was going to miss my plane. I'm the worst traveler. I turn into this unreasonable sobbing mess. Anyway, by the time I got onto my Irish Aer Lingus flight and bought a glass of shiraz, I was settled again and reading and feeling so lucky to be on a plane full of funny accents and teal colored stewardesses. I'm used to flying Southwest, so Aer Lingus was freaking amazing. So much food! I got to watch Sex and the City.
Just as my eyes were drying out, I opened the first present from Dad (he labeled all these little packages for me to open at certain times on my trip-the first one said 'open halfway across the Atlantic'). I thought it would be a CD, so I had my CD player out all ready to switch over music. It turned out to be this book from my childhood called 'Jesus Loves You' or something, which I still knew all the words to. So of course I started crying again. My dad, somehow, KNOWS me. I'm tearing up right now thinking about it.
This year I need that kind of love, familiar love, God's love, Sarah & Nancy love. Leaving home was hard, and I woke up many mornings this summer wondering if I could live with myself if I backed out and didn't go. I woke up at Shawn's wondering why I even wanted to go to Madrid. But as I was leaving Columbia and NYC, everyone poured so many good wishes into me that I think I will be able to ration them and make it through the whole year.