La vida loca y hermosa. La vida locamente hermosa. La vida maravillosamente loca.
Well, that would be my life.
This is going to be a short post because I am behind with just about everything. Which is rather unfortunate, but a reality I must face. For now, I shall have to summarize what's been going on and eventually (read: during Christmas vacations) I will update in more detail on my travels.
Since I've last updated, I've had two Thanksgiving dinners, three days in Granada to visit one of my best friends (Audra), five days of having an Andalúz accent, one trip through an amazing set of Arabic palaces (La Alhambra), two meals consisting of tapas, one night with great éxito (success) in a Granada club, two unanticipated cross-country over-night busrides, one new English pupil, twelve days of iron pills, one dramatic friend-moving-piso intervention, two amazing Barça games (versus Levante, which I went to Camp Nou, and also versus Madrid, which I watched in a bar), one trip to the Christmas market, three awkward encounters with overnight guests, four hours on a bus from Barcelona to Valencia, two and a half days in sunny Valencia, three kabobs for lunch, one giant pan of authentic paella valenciana, two and a half hours on a bus from Valencia to Alicante, two days in beach side Alicante, ten minutes of sliding down banisters, one lift up to a castle on a hill, one amazing Italian dinner acompanied with a bottle of wine and the pretty-girl discount on shots, and a seven hours on a bus from Alicante back to Barcelona.
So, I told you all last post that my Granada friend (Audra) and I were planning a País Vasco trip over the December holidays, but we decided to avoid the hastle with planes and meet each other half way. This took us to the beautiful cities of Valencia and Alicante in la Comunidad Valenciana. It was a marvelous, relaxing trip, with lots of walking and some pretty good memories. And photos. If I ever get around to uploading them.
I've been back for a day now-- I literally got back into Barcelona Saturday night, showered, ate, and went to a bar with my super cool Barça jersey and scarf to watch the Barça v. Real Madrid soccer game, which is only the most important game ever and always. Tension is always high and cultural pride is on the line-- it is more than just a game. We won (duh) 3-1 because Barça is amazing and after, I promptly crashed.
This morning, I was greated by two bulldog puppies, one of which is going to live in my piso after I come back from California in January. Her name is Saphira, she is precious and adorable and I love her. I also love my roommates. They are gems amongst mankind and positively amazing to me. Sometimes, I find myself e-mailing my Barcelona friends just to tell them what cute things my roommates have done for me on a daily basis. I am so lucky to have such support from these wonderful men. One even decidedly (if in rather broken English) told my parents on Skype to not worry about me, that they would take care of me, and that I was like a little sister to them, and together, we are like a train. I'm not quite sure what the train bit was about (this is why we speak Spanish in the apartment), but as a student of literature, I would surmise that a train is a machine and in metaphorical terms, to be like a machine is to work in a cohesive, harmonized unit. (Yay college! I can make up stuff professionally!) And I suppose, then, it would be good to be like a train. So yes, my roommates are amazing. Also, my friends are amazing.
Really, when it comes down to it, I am extremely lucky. This morning, I was so happy, I quite nearly cried... much like when I hear the Catalán national anthem in Camp Nou before my first Barça game. It's just... I don't know... there's something about this city that makes me want to laugh with joy. Obviously, there are ups and downs, but I am so positively happy with the life I am leading. And the greatest part is that things can only get better. Oh yes, big plans for spring semester... it's going to be great.
In the meanwhile, before I manage to post about my Porto trip, the Barça game, and my trip to Valencia and Alicante, here are pictures of puppies. And everyone likes pictures of puppies, right?
Welcome to the family, Saphira!
(Today, she learned to not chew on my computer charger cord. Now, she is learning to not chew on my laptop. She's a charmer.)
