First of all, let me profusely apologize for having gone five days without writing - I recently learned that my blog has quite the following among members of St. Luke's? Now that I know I have an audience (hey Googins) I will think more about what I'm writing, rather than blathering about my random thoughts. Although apparently those have been garnering interest as well. Plus I love my random thoughts. Also, I have been told to refrain from using the Lord's name in vain. So sorry about that. If I didn't hate emoticons so much, I would include a winky face right here.
NEXT, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT HOW GREAT MY PARENTS ARE. They arrived on Wednesday, and I tried (and failed) to meet them at the airport at 8 am. From the moment they got here, it has been absolutely fantastic, and I don't think I have ever enjoyed their company quite as much as I do here. Not that I don't always enjoy it. Ok, I don't always enjoy it. But most of the time I do. But here, it's a million times better than it has ever been before! We have been having so much fun, and getting along so well, and eating such wonderful food, and it just makes me so so appreciative of my fabulous family and how lucky I am to be here AND that they are able to come visit me. I mean wow. On Wednesday we were able to spend a lot of the day together, when they weren't recovering from jet lag, and we had an incredible dinner of paella after about two hours of drinks and tapas. Herein lies the secret to having so much fun with my parents - we can drink together. It's like a magical recipe for success, as long as Dad keeps both feet (and no hands) on the ground. Ha, I can't wait for them to read this - it will probably be a while. Thursday I had class most of the day, but we were still able to have lunch together and then after class we explored a little more then went to Els Quatre Gats for dinner, where Picasso used to hang out and discuss cubism. After dinner, we went to the Harlem Jazz Club (Mom was very curious, after my rave reviews in past entries), and saw a funk & soul band called Groove Juice that was SO AMAZING I COULDN'T EVEN STAND IT. We walked in, and I said to Mom, "So this is my fabulous life now... I listen to jazz in bars in Spain. Yeah." Mostly kidding. But seriously. How cool am I? Today we had chocolate con churros for breakfast, saw some Gaudi architecture before I went to class, then met back up for a delicious lunch of tapas while we took cover from the rain. Wednesday and Thursday were so beautiful, 70-75 and far too humid, so even though the rain was unfortunate, I was glad the humidity had broken. Afterward we split up for siestas, and then went out for some sangria before perhaps the greatest two hours of my life: dinner at the Huerga household. The apartment was all decorated for guests - candles lit, the fancy place settings, and snacks and drinks in the living room. We had a magnificent, LONG meal in which I talked so much I hardly remembered to eat - having to say everything twice for all parties is quite the chore. But it was so much fun, and everyone loved everyone else, and it was so wonderful to see my Spanish family and my actual family together and laughing and attempting (though often failing) to understand one another. Dad used his excellent Spanish skills to say "muy bien" and "excelente" while eating, and even asked a couple questions! Mom was a little more nervous, but also did very well, and the kids all speak a little English so we got along fine. As long as I was translating. I tried my best but there are some things that are pretty hard to explain - "He asked me if he could tell you what I have told him about you" is one of those gems. That's hard enough in English, actually. Or how do you say (or should you say), "My dad says you give a pretty good stink-eye to your brothers." That's the sort of thing I'd rather not say at all, actually, but I just made it up as I went along, as I do everyday, and it seemed to go pretty well. Afterward Mom & Dad told me how lucky I was to have such a great host family, and Ana told me how much she loved meeting them and how I was so lucky to have such friendly, easy-going parents. She said she instantly felt comfortable around them and thought they were a lot of fun to have over. It was SO SO SO GREAT. I don't feel that I have a vocabulary large enough to express it - it was outstanding, magnificent, divine, fantastic. Or "so so so great." However you like.
Among the other highlights so far:
1. Accidentally convincing Dad we should go to Las Vegas this Christmas to celebrate my 21st birthday.
2. Dad saying "perro grande" to every big dog we saw on the street.
3. Discussing how Bill Schweitzer would be an ideal one-of-my-first-legal-drinks companion (but on second thought, why not ALL of Christcare?!?).
4. Dad saying "Who is Gaudi again?"
5. Dad wearing his Ashland hat. (Pictures to come)
6. DAD ALL THE TIME (sorry Mom, I love you, but you're less entertaining - you know what I mean)
7. Explaining things I hardly thought I knew until I started explaining them.
8. THE GIANT PILE OF REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS THAT THEY BROUGHT ME
9. Can't deny it; having them pay for things.
10. Asking my mildly inebriated father about the economic crisis and learning about it in (an appropriate amount of) depth for the next 40 minutes.
11. Who am I kidding? Groove Juice. And the fact that my parents are cool enough to like it too.
More to come. This weekend we're going to Girona, a historically Jewish town outside the city, and Figueres, Salvador Dali's hometown. Then maybe a flamenco show? And they're off to Mallorca... so sad. But then next weekend we're going to Berlin, where MOM has to do all the translating! It's times like these when I seriously can't believe my life is real.
Showing posts with label Harlem Jazz Club. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harlem Jazz Club. Show all posts
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
I almost have a routine!
Six weeks down - which means only ten to go! Christ. That's not at all ok with me.
This week was less exciting than most, mostly because I was coming off my Milano high and getting pumped for Amsterdam, so Barcelona was great... but really feeling like an interim. Classes - mere formalities for the four days I am in Spain. I also had my first test of the semester, in my Spanish class. I finished really quickly, which worries me slash confirms my suspicions that I am awesome at Spanish. Or overly confident. Whatever.
On Wednesday, rather than remember that I had several Skype dates scheduled, I went to MACBA (Contemporary Art Museum... Barcelona... Art) and lost myself for (I kid you not) three hours in only one exhibition - the main collection was all that was open, since they were changing the other exhibits. It was really cool, and I liked a lot of it. I was also weirded out by a lot of it. For instance: the video of a candle burning, then a shot of that burning candle being held to a man's nipple. On loop. There was audio, but I didn't feel the need to pick up the headphones - oddly enough. And a full length film (I watched maybe 30 minutes) which made so little sense that I can't describe it in sentences, only in a series of phrases: people in primary color ponchos, men in leather pants whipping themselves, bearded women, little people, gravel mountains, drugs (that one wasn't involved in the movie itself, but I suspect was involved in the making of it).
That evening, I made some friends come with me to Harlem Jazz Club, where Caracola, a rumba band, was playing. They were really good, but not as fantastic as Meztuca. I really need Meztuca to play again. I'm trying to stalk them, but they appear to not use their website as often as I use the internet. But it was a really good show. Mostly I just want to delve into this wide world of la rumba catalana as much as I can. I also went to Harlem last week with some other people, and saw a REALLY cool jazz group - I can't figure out who, since all the website says is "Red Bull Music Academy All-stars," but they were so cool and the guy on the vibraphone(? - not so good with the terminology here) was INCREDIBLE slash so intense. They all just kept playing, and then randomly (probably not that randomly) soloing, and then one person would set down their instrument and go grab a drink or a different instrument, and then someone else would come over and pick up the one they had left. There were about seven people total, shuffling through who was playing. Then after a break this adorable tiny British woman started singing over recorded tracks - she was pretty good but nothing in comparison to the band. Then they all started slowly coming back up and playing with her - first the drummer, then the guitar player, then she yelled "we need a bass!" and someone came and played that, and there was someone djing over all of this. It was crazy good. AND they drug this random woman out of the crowd and made her rap over the whole thing! It all just seemed so spontaneous - I'm sure it wasn't, but it did look very impressive. So that's the story of last Thursday - then I informed the group I had to go home to watch the VP debate. Which I did, from my bed.
Tuesday night I actually fell asleep, headphones on, clutching my laptop, in front of the debate. I was determined to make it until 3, but I sort of forgot that it only started at 3, and would go until 4:30 or 5... so I was really tired. I didn't have class until 2 the next day though, which was very lucky. Also, to stay awake, I watched Top Gun, which I hadn't seen before, and OH MY GOD it is so great. Yes, I am in Spain.
In other news, I am going to Amsterdam in 9 hours. Very exciting, slash also means I won't be sleeping a lot tonight. But who cares? I'M GOING TO AMSTERDAM! WITH JANE! I am really excited. Mostly for Jane. But I hear the Netherlands are cool too. I'm trying to think if I did anything else cool this week. I really love my art history class. We're doing post-impressionism right now, and I actually know who both Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin are, so I'm feeling more accomplished than the first week. Not a lot. But a little. I seem to remember some educational comic book about van Gogh dreaming that the paints he was buying were food. So I'm taking that to mean he was poor. Which was confirmed in class today! I hope you all know I am (mostly) kidding about my complete lack of art knowledge. I mean, I don't know much. But I do know about van Gogh. Aaaaaaanyway, we're reading Jimenez in my poetry class, and Borges in my Latinamerican lit class, and learning about Lebanon in my Islam history class. I feel very cool right now. Did I mention I went to a jazz club last night?
[Update:] Oh my god I had to edit and say that Ana is the best cook EVER. We had baked salmon with potatoes and roasted tomatoes, and asparagus and mushrooms. And then pomegranate and yogurt for dessert. Ugggggh food baby.
This week was less exciting than most, mostly because I was coming off my Milano high and getting pumped for Amsterdam, so Barcelona was great... but really feeling like an interim. Classes - mere formalities for the four days I am in Spain. I also had my first test of the semester, in my Spanish class. I finished really quickly, which worries me slash confirms my suspicions that I am awesome at Spanish. Or overly confident. Whatever.
On Wednesday, rather than remember that I had several Skype dates scheduled, I went to MACBA (Contemporary Art Museum... Barcelona... Art) and lost myself for (I kid you not) three hours in only one exhibition - the main collection was all that was open, since they were changing the other exhibits. It was really cool, and I liked a lot of it. I was also weirded out by a lot of it. For instance: the video of a candle burning, then a shot of that burning candle being held to a man's nipple. On loop. There was audio, but I didn't feel the need to pick up the headphones - oddly enough. And a full length film (I watched maybe 30 minutes) which made so little sense that I can't describe it in sentences, only in a series of phrases: people in primary color ponchos, men in leather pants whipping themselves, bearded women, little people, gravel mountains, drugs (that one wasn't involved in the movie itself, but I suspect was involved in the making of it).
That evening, I made some friends come with me to Harlem Jazz Club, where Caracola, a rumba band, was playing. They were really good, but not as fantastic as Meztuca. I really need Meztuca to play again. I'm trying to stalk them, but they appear to not use their website as often as I use the internet. But it was a really good show. Mostly I just want to delve into this wide world of la rumba catalana as much as I can. I also went to Harlem last week with some other people, and saw a REALLY cool jazz group - I can't figure out who, since all the website says is "Red Bull Music Academy All-stars," but they were so cool and the guy on the vibraphone(? - not so good with the terminology here) was INCREDIBLE slash so intense. They all just kept playing, and then randomly (probably not that randomly) soloing, and then one person would set down their instrument and go grab a drink or a different instrument, and then someone else would come over and pick up the one they had left. There were about seven people total, shuffling through who was playing. Then after a break this adorable tiny British woman started singing over recorded tracks - she was pretty good but nothing in comparison to the band. Then they all started slowly coming back up and playing with her - first the drummer, then the guitar player, then she yelled "we need a bass!" and someone came and played that, and there was someone djing over all of this. It was crazy good. AND they drug this random woman out of the crowd and made her rap over the whole thing! It all just seemed so spontaneous - I'm sure it wasn't, but it did look very impressive. So that's the story of last Thursday - then I informed the group I had to go home to watch the VP debate. Which I did, from my bed.
Tuesday night I actually fell asleep, headphones on, clutching my laptop, in front of the debate. I was determined to make it until 3, but I sort of forgot that it only started at 3, and would go until 4:30 or 5... so I was really tired. I didn't have class until 2 the next day though, which was very lucky. Also, to stay awake, I watched Top Gun, which I hadn't seen before, and OH MY GOD it is so great. Yes, I am in Spain.
In other news, I am going to Amsterdam in 9 hours. Very exciting, slash also means I won't be sleeping a lot tonight. But who cares? I'M GOING TO AMSTERDAM! WITH JANE! I am really excited. Mostly for Jane. But I hear the Netherlands are cool too. I'm trying to think if I did anything else cool this week. I really love my art history class. We're doing post-impressionism right now, and I actually know who both Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin are, so I'm feeling more accomplished than the first week. Not a lot. But a little. I seem to remember some educational comic book about van Gogh dreaming that the paints he was buying were food. So I'm taking that to mean he was poor. Which was confirmed in class today! I hope you all know I am (mostly) kidding about my complete lack of art knowledge. I mean, I don't know much. But I do know about van Gogh. Aaaaaaanyway, we're reading Jimenez in my poetry class, and Borges in my Latinamerican lit class, and learning about Lebanon in my Islam history class. I feel very cool right now. Did I mention I went to a jazz club last night?
[Update:] Oh my god I had to edit and say that Ana is the best cook EVER. We had baked salmon with potatoes and roasted tomatoes, and asparagus and mushrooms. And then pomegranate and yogurt for dessert. Ugggggh food baby.
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