So after dinner last night, I headed to the nearby internet cafe. I ended up catching up on “work.” The eblast application we use has been bugging out lately… not sure what it’s about but it’s really thrown a monkey wrench into things. Anyway, there I was working away, and some dude suddenly ran into the cafe, shut the door, and asked the shopkeeper to lock it. Through the window, I saw another dude coming up and pounding on the door. I don’t know if this was thug activity or what, but the guy was breathing super hard, as if he were running for his life! Then the shopkeeper got on the phone and in a matter of minutes, two cop vans pulled up and tons of people poured into the streets. Across from the cafe, cops interrogated two men… I tried to ask the shopkeeper what happened, but I couldn’t really understand him, so I just asked short questions like, “maybe the guy (being interrogated) was drunk?” They had a “problem?” It was really kinda scary, because I had no idea what was happening.

Plus, the internet cafe was near closing time, so there was only one other guy using the computers– and he was totally engrossed. Anyway, it was a weird experience. When I left for home, the cops were still questioning the guys and canvasing the neighborhood streets. I just scurried home as fast as I could. Didn’t want to hang around and press my luck.

So far, today has turned out to be a real bust. I walked all over town searching for a cafe with wifi. I even went by the McDonald’s. In the end, I crashed at a cafe near the school, nursed a cup of thick hot chocolate, did some more work, and then headed off to meet my new Chinese friend Shu. Just my luck, I totally misunderstood her on the phone yesterday. I thought we were meeting to hang out/eat at a cafe. Nope, when we met at 4p, she had already eaten and she had planned to take me on a tour around town. Meanwhile, I’ve already been here two weeks, and I’ve seen plenty of places… I asked her where to buy good nougat, and she didn’t know so she took me to the Carrefour??! When we got out, it started raining and neither one of us had an umbrella, so she suggested meeting next Friday!!? I have no idea why we couldn’t just go sit in a cafe and talk, but she just didn’t seem interested. So I went home in the rain, and now I’m at the internet cafe again. Totally lame Saturday. I mean, at least I got some studying done earlier, and now I can update my blog, but still…

Well it’s been another busy week. I’m still ramping up my vocabulary, learning a shitload of new words. Since I started this immersion program in early November, I’ve been trying a new system to organize my notebook: I write word lists in the back and categorize them by parts of speech. So far, this has worked wonders for my memorization. I’m pretty psyched about it: my class is full of youngsters (whipper snappers in their late teens and early 20s), but the words aren’t sinking in for a lot of them. Maybe they’re out partying every night… who knows. I’m just happy to keep up.

Man, today the teacher went off on the Taiwanese student in our class who always says “Si” but never really understands what the teacher is saying. I always see her in the school after class, but I don’t know if she’s just surfing the web or what, because she doesn’t understand AT ALL. Whenever the teacher calls on her, it’s the most uncomfortable next few minutes. Poor girl. I tried to tell her yesterday in Chinese that the teacher doesn’t want her to say “Si” if she doesn’t really understand but today, it was the same thing all over again. So the teacher asked her, “Comprendas?” which means “Do you understand?” And the girl just kept throwing out words trying to guess what the teacher wanted. I think maybe she needs private lessons, because she’s already been here at least a week longer than me, AND she says she wants to major in Spanish!!

Anyway, in other news, I went horseback riding with Inke yesterday. My teacher helped me find an equestrian center online, then Inke and I spent like 30 minutes talking to the school coordinator, asking if he could call to get more information. Finally, we mapped it all out: taxi to bus station, bus to the small town on the outskirts of Salamanca. All was great. On the bus there, we met a Chinese lady who’s studying Spanish at the University of Salamanca. She’s about my age, and is from Shanghai! Isn’t that amazing? I go to Spain and meet someone from Shanghai! Of course, she speaks a gabillion languages: English, Chinese, German, Italian, and Spanish. So jealous! So the riding started off well… but then my horse started doing this sudden run/stop thing. One time, I squealed and in turn, I think that made Inke’s horse nervous. So then her horse kept trying to buck her off! It was crazy! And Inke’s riden for like 10 years. The first few times, no big deal, but then after like 8 times, she started getting scared. Inke and Shu (the Chinese girl) switched horses but the same thing happened. Unfortunately, the leader couldn’t switch his horse with anyone because it was only for advanced riders. Long story short, we ended up having to dismount and walk the rest of the way back. We were in the middle of a tree orchard (I think a place where they grow trees for logging?). It was beautiful but then it started getting dark and cold. By the time we got back to the ranch, we’d missed the bus back to town. Eventually, the next bus came (like 30 minutes later) and we made it back to Salamanca, but my god, we were cold, dirty, and hungry. And I had planned to get my picture taken after our ride– but because of our incidents, it ended up being way too dark and by then, the mood had soured. Bummer.

Thankfully, I made it back to my family’s house in time for paella. Delicious. I ate so much last night– and in record time. Tonight is spaghetti. I also spotted a Dominos down the street from school today… could be a dangerous discovery! I’m craving food from home big time!

Sorry for the long silence… internet connection at the school is super sketchy– at times the connection is so good I can do Skype video with Bubbey. Other times, the wifi just cuts out and uploading my photos takes ALL DAMN DAY.

So last weekend was quite busy. Stuart, my housemate (who I just learned today is 62 y/o—nearly as old as my father!) rented a car and was kind enough to shuttle a few of us out of town to Segovia and Madrid. I mention his age, because he’s amazingly mobile for a senior citizen (well, he is!!). I mean, every morning he books it to school so fucking fast, I’m practically running to keep up (and I’m a very fast walker as it is!). He used to lead safaris in Africa, and he mountaineers too— I think that’s the term for it. He’s been to Nepal eight times already. Definitely a Lewis and Clark type if you know what I mean. Anyhow, thank goodness I brought my Dramamine, because we rented this little Corsa car (similar to a Civic hatchback) and the winds were so strong, the vehicle flapped around the whole way there and back.

Overall, I’m enjoying Spain. One nice thing is that all the places I’ve visited feel very safe. And because of the siesta and late late dinner, people are out and about past midnight. I really love the architecture too— crazy old buildings and then in the same place, ultra modern public transportation options… it’s a cool mix. The only downside is that most of the old buildings are religious edifices. To me, that’s such a waste of brain power and manual labor… wouldn’t it be so much better if these buildings served more useful purposes for more people? People here tell me that, particularly after Franco, the role of religion has decreased dramatically. That makes sense, because all these beautiful places are nearly empty! Ah well, regardless, I must admit it’s quite amazing to stand inside something that was built in the 13th century. People back then must have been so damn brilliant!

Let’s see: what else. Oh, my host family asked me the other day to use less hot water. Mind you, I took a 10-minute shower, and the reason I was in there a few minutes longer than usual was because I was also laundering my underwear!! Anyhow, she explained that there a large tank of hot water that serves the 43 families in the building. She claims I used up all the hot water… Needless to say, I’m now down to a shower every other day and it’s 5 minutes tops PLUS I turn off the shower when I lather up. I told you I’m camping for three weeks!

Hello, hello! Yup, can you believe it? I made it to Spain safe and sound. The journey to Barcelona last Wednesday was a rather long one (SF0-LON-MAD-BCN)– 20 hours door-to-door, but the important thing is that most everything went according to plan. I even managed to bump up my flight (using my broken Spanish) and get into the city an hour or so earlier than expected.

Barcelona is amazing! It’s a rather compact city, so I was able to see plenty in just two days. Plus, everything is very clean, tidy, and public transportation rocks (always a plus in my book). Man, before my trip, I had gotten myself all freaked out about petty theft and such. I hardly saw anything sketchy. I don’t know if maybe the city started becoming more aggressive about combating pickpockets or what, but seriously, I noticed way more sketch in Shanghai. Yes, the morning after I arrived, I procrastinated for a good thirty minutes before working up enough courage to go outside and roam the streets. But once I got out there, it was totally fine… Really, I felt like I had gone way overboard splitting out my money and documents into three separate places, etc.

Now the part of my trip that totally bombed? My fucking shoes. It’s ALWAYS the shoes. Had I known Clarks (Privos!) would fail me yet again (strike 2), I would have just worn my goddamn Sketchers man-shoes. You don’t even want to guess how badly my feet are fucked: mondo blisters (which I punctured at night)… maybe the lesson here is simply that my feet are abnormal. I have no idea what the problem is: maybe my feet are too wide for Clarks? I dunno. I just have deformed stubbs now. It’s a true shame, because I had even painted my toenails. Ah well, I can’t get it all right. So the status now is: I think the shoes are BETTER… granted, I had been wearing them nonstop for 10 days BEFORE the trip started (I probably should have known then, but I was in denial) so they have come a long way. But still… they aren’t the same as my beloved Birks.

But back to Barcelona. I can’t speak much for the food– I went to a few places but eh, not particularly memorable. A bit salty for my taste (I’ve been craving Bub’s food actually). But the city itself is very very nice. Really great architecture, some funky architecture (more creepy, freaky than anything else), and then just a little bit of everything in terms of geography: mountains, beaches, city, parks, marina, and the weather was quite good. I can really soak up that Mediterranean sun.

I arrived at my host family’s flat on Sunday night. I’m staying with a retired couple in their late 50s (but they remind me more of my grandma, who is in her 80s). But it’s very much like staying at a grandmother’s house: they turn off all the lights, the chandeliers are missing most of their bulbs. The bulbs that ARE there are CFLs. The handsoap is majorly watered down… it’s pretty funny. I consider myself pretty conservationist, but uh, grandmothers are a whole other level. Yesterday, the apartment was so dark when I got home that I rammed into an accent table (luckily, nothing was broken) in the hallway. Now I have a monster bruise on the hip. Another student is also staying with the couple. He’s an older Brit who has lived in Germany for three decades. He’s a lively chap– very chatty, and since he knows German and French, he just spews all the words out in trying to communicate with Senor and Senora. I kind of just keep quiet, but I’m trying to talk more. It’s a little intimidating– and a bit unexpected. Anyway, we eat breakfast and dinner (9 pm!) at the house. In between, I kinda just stay on campus or walk around downtown. The days are long that way, but there’s no cell connection or internet at the house (they don’t even own a computer!), so you know me… need to stay connected for as long as I can.

The classes are going really well. At first, I was bummed about not testing out of basic basic, but it’s ok. I’m making good progress. They are not kidding about immersion… it’s full on!

Ok, well the school is closing in about 15 minutes and it’s getting dark outside. I should pack up and get going. I’ll try to update again tomorrow and post some pictures.

Hasta manana!

John turned me on to Dr. Phil recently… Yeah, I know, Oprah gave her seal of approval years ago way before he had his own show; my only explanation is that I’m always about 10 years behind on pop culture. Seriously. Felicity, Sex in the City, Entourage, and many more I’m sure. Anyway, my exposure to Dr. Phil comes at a good time considering that I placed a call to the counseling hotline just this past weekend. In short, I’m fed up with my depressed friends. I don’t know what it is, but I’m like a magnet for miserable people. I’ve tried so many things with so many of them… but as I have been told before, change has to come from them. And I have to stop trying to find the answers.

Long story short, the phone counselor suggested two things: 1) stop the endless research for resources 2) don’t suggest anything 3) ask what they intend to do about their unhappiness 4) try to reconnect in common areas. So 1-3 is actually a different method for me, so I should give it a try. Maybe it’ll be less frustrating, because I won’t feel like I have wasted my energies thinking up options. Number 4 is going to be tough… especially since two decades have passed since we were in the same state. I don’t know what we have in common anymore.

But back to Dr. Phil. He’s pretty direct, and I like that. But in tonight’s episode, I didn’t get his position, backing a 21-year old mother (instead of her own very organized mother) in keeping custody of her 2 kids. The chick had issues: I mean, she dropped out of school, she was hanging with some ex-con dude who chain smoked around her kids, she had horrible relationships with her family even though her parents were raising her kids now… God, she was just a fucking mess. Sure, she deserves a chance to get back on track, but why should her kids have to hang around waiting for her to get her shit together. Either have your shit together or your kids should be cared for under more stable conditions. Anyway,the episode is to be continued, which means I’ll never know what happens.

But Dr. Phil made an interesting comment. He said many of his clients ask, “How do you know who’s a loyal friend?” His answer? Loyal friends come through the door when everyone else leaves. Then he said, you don’t have to agree with everything someone does in order to support them. So now I’m totally confused. Which is which? On one hand, change comes from within, so if someone doesn’t want to change, what can I do? On the other hand, if I feel I’ve done all that I can and I decide to just lie low, am I being disloyal? Ugh. Too much emotional drama.

I should be cramming my Spanish…