Week one of class is under my belt, well kinda. If you have seen the movie 13th Warrior you will understand in part what it is like to sit in a class and listen to a lecture for an hour trying with all that is within you to understand what is being said, but still you can only pick up bits and pieces. After ten minutes of intense listening I would need to take a break, much like a runner does in the middle of a track workout. There are times that it seems as though I can feel my brain getting bigger or maybe it’s imploding.
Anyway, things are going. School has started and I feel pretty good. However, it is hard to really know sometimes what is going on inside. Last night when I got back from reading at a nearby pub, I stopped by Ameli’s room to talk for a bit. It had been a long day and my tiredness magnified my emotions of irritability. I did not feel sad, but in the middle of explaining how I felt, I had to stop talking in order to hold back my tears. Its funny, I didn’t even see it coming. But, this shall pass. I don’t know how long it will take, but all I can do it try to keep moving forward.
But, this is indeed something to look forward to! Ben Harper + Barcelona for 4 days+ new people= A good time awww yea!
Note!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wrote my address down wrong, so here it is.
Calle Latassa 23 2B
Duplicado
50006, Zaragoza
Zaragoza, Spain
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Friday, September 22, 2006
Torla- part II
The ground began to rumble as Huw sat up in the cold wet tent. He looked at me, but I was sound asleep. I felt a sudden pain in my side. As I began to wake up the tent was shaking. Huw looked at me and said,
-“Holy hell, it sounds like the mountains are going to fall down!”
-“Hue, I’m from Oklahoma, we have storms like this all the time. It will pass” I said calmly “just go back to sleep.”
About three hours later I woke up, the clouds still smothering the sunlight. As I poked my head out of the tent, I could not help but wonder how long the rain would continue. But, I had no room to complain, I did not look at the weather beforehand, planning not being a particular strength of mine. This of course often to source of many problems and adventures, because, what’s fun is it if everything is set in stone?
The ground was wet, as were our close, packs, and tent. So, we spent the next few hours in a near by bathroom trying to dry our stuff out under a hand driers. It should be noted, that this method is rather tedious, but it worked. Huw came down with a fever and the weather forecast was rain for the next 24-48hrs. We decided to walk back to the little town just west of where we camped in hopes of finding a warm dry place to sleep for the night.
As expected, the sky began to growl like a man’s stomach who had not eaten in a week. So we followed suit and began to cover our bags and put on our rain coats. As Huw struggled to get his coat he commented,
-“this coat is pure rubbish! Gortex my ass!” he said emphatically, as he held the coat in front of him noting the areas that were completely absorbed with water.
-“I feel horrible” he said
-“ok, lets get out of here before the volume two of ‘The Perfect Storm’ commences.”
We started down the road and we only need to cover a few kilometers to reach Biescas.
As we entered the town, we could tell that is was not a normal stop for tourists. It was a nice town, but a bit eerie. As we walked through the streets, the people looked at us as if we did not belong there. We asked a man where the cheapest place to find a room was and he told us, it was on the other side of town. Fortunately for us Biescas is a small town. We walked through the door to find an empty reception desk, we rang the bell and nothing happened. We decided to try a little later so we went across the street to find something warm to drink.
The cafeteria was a small and crowded full of men watching T.V. Huw and I entered with our packs on and as soon as we broke the plain of plastic beads that acted as a door the men stopped what they were doing and just looked at us for a while, one of the guys got up from his table providing us a place to sit. We placed our bags against the wall next to what looked to be a slot machine. At this point we did not really care if we were welcomed or not, we had committed and decided to ride it out. After a café and a few tapas (tapas are similar to appetizers in the U.S., but not as fancy), we decided to try the hotel once more.
Huw was looking pretty bad, any color he had in his face was gone and he was doing his best to stay focused until he could get in bed. The lady showed us to a room, it had two beds that occupied the majority of the space, but we were content. Huw dropped his bag and crawled into bed. I took a shower and put on some clean, but damp clothes and went for a walk around the city.
The sun was trying to come out almost all afternoon, but… it was not raining. The day was still young and I wanted to see some more of this town. I found a nice walking trail next to the river and enjoyed that for a while. On my way back I ran into an older gentleman by the name of Don Antonio, he was staying in what looked to be a retirement home. He spoke very quickly, but had a beautiful smile and wore a classic driving hat.
One of the many things I hope to learn about while in Spain centers around the Spanish Civil War. Much like in the U.S, many veterans are getting older and their stories will simply be another event in History. But, I had the opportunity to hear a first had accounts and that is something you can’t get in the classroom. So, I asked Don Antonio about his life.
He was born and raised on a small farm in Biescas. Pointing over my shoulder he showed me where the school house used to be, he smiled as he reminisced of the past. As I looked into his eyes, I could see him as a young boy running around the school yard chasing the girls. His body reflected a number of hard years on earth, but his spirit was still very much alive. We laughed together a bit and then I asked him about the war. He told me that the people of Biescas fought for Franco, he did not say it with shame or regret, but simply as it was. He told me about a battle the occurred between Biescas and Gavin, which was close to were we had camped that night.
-“los de Gavín eran Republicanos, y nosotros somos de Franco” he said.
He gave me a brief account of what happened. He used his walking stick, he pointed out houses used for defense and the rout the enemy used to attack. The more he spoke the heavier his spirit grew. It was not long before he simply stopped talking. He looked at the ground, then back up at me,
-“muchos personas murieron aquí” (many people died here).
He gave me a few other details about the battle, but for him it was not a story, it was life. He lost friends and family; he fought against his neighbors and now, he walks the streets of a city that yields memories around every corner. We spoke a while longer before we said goodbye, but as we shuck hands he looked into my eyes and said with a calm sincere voice, “You are young, and have lot yet to experience in life.” As I walked away from him my heart grew heavy, I looked back as he was slowly making his way inside.
As I walked around the streets, you could see the decay brought about by the passing of time. I had a lot to think about, so I made my way into a nice warm bar, to think and enjoy a cup of café con leche.
-“Holy hell, it sounds like the mountains are going to fall down!”
-“Hue, I’m from Oklahoma, we have storms like this all the time. It will pass” I said calmly “just go back to sleep.”
About three hours later I woke up, the clouds still smothering the sunlight. As I poked my head out of the tent, I could not help but wonder how long the rain would continue. But, I had no room to complain, I did not look at the weather beforehand, planning not being a particular strength of mine. This of course often to source of many problems and adventures, because, what’s fun is it if everything is set in stone?
The ground was wet, as were our close, packs, and tent. So, we spent the next few hours in a near by bathroom trying to dry our stuff out under a hand driers. It should be noted, that this method is rather tedious, but it worked. Huw came down with a fever and the weather forecast was rain for the next 24-48hrs. We decided to walk back to the little town just west of where we camped in hopes of finding a warm dry place to sleep for the night.
As expected, the sky began to growl like a man’s stomach who had not eaten in a week. So we followed suit and began to cover our bags and put on our rain coats. As Huw struggled to get his coat he commented,
-“this coat is pure rubbish! Gortex my ass!” he said emphatically, as he held the coat in front of him noting the areas that were completely absorbed with water.
-“I feel horrible” he said
-“ok, lets get out of here before the volume two of ‘The Perfect Storm’ commences.”
We started down the road and we only need to cover a few kilometers to reach Biescas.
As we entered the town, we could tell that is was not a normal stop for tourists. It was a nice town, but a bit eerie. As we walked through the streets, the people looked at us as if we did not belong there. We asked a man where the cheapest place to find a room was and he told us, it was on the other side of town. Fortunately for us Biescas is a small town. We walked through the door to find an empty reception desk, we rang the bell and nothing happened. We decided to try a little later so we went across the street to find something warm to drink.
The cafeteria was a small and crowded full of men watching T.V. Huw and I entered with our packs on and as soon as we broke the plain of plastic beads that acted as a door the men stopped what they were doing and just looked at us for a while, one of the guys got up from his table providing us a place to sit. We placed our bags against the wall next to what looked to be a slot machine. At this point we did not really care if we were welcomed or not, we had committed and decided to ride it out. After a café and a few tapas (tapas are similar to appetizers in the U.S., but not as fancy), we decided to try the hotel once more.
Huw was looking pretty bad, any color he had in his face was gone and he was doing his best to stay focused until he could get in bed. The lady showed us to a room, it had two beds that occupied the majority of the space, but we were content. Huw dropped his bag and crawled into bed. I took a shower and put on some clean, but damp clothes and went for a walk around the city.
The sun was trying to come out almost all afternoon, but… it was not raining. The day was still young and I wanted to see some more of this town. I found a nice walking trail next to the river and enjoyed that for a while. On my way back I ran into an older gentleman by the name of Don Antonio, he was staying in what looked to be a retirement home. He spoke very quickly, but had a beautiful smile and wore a classic driving hat.
One of the many things I hope to learn about while in Spain centers around the Spanish Civil War. Much like in the U.S, many veterans are getting older and their stories will simply be another event in History. But, I had the opportunity to hear a first had accounts and that is something you can’t get in the classroom. So, I asked Don Antonio about his life.
He was born and raised on a small farm in Biescas. Pointing over my shoulder he showed me where the school house used to be, he smiled as he reminisced of the past. As I looked into his eyes, I could see him as a young boy running around the school yard chasing the girls. His body reflected a number of hard years on earth, but his spirit was still very much alive. We laughed together a bit and then I asked him about the war. He told me that the people of Biescas fought for Franco, he did not say it with shame or regret, but simply as it was. He told me about a battle the occurred between Biescas and Gavin, which was close to were we had camped that night.
-“los de Gavín eran Republicanos, y nosotros somos de Franco” he said.
He gave me a brief account of what happened. He used his walking stick, he pointed out houses used for defense and the rout the enemy used to attack. The more he spoke the heavier his spirit grew. It was not long before he simply stopped talking. He looked at the ground, then back up at me,
-“muchos personas murieron aquí” (many people died here).
He gave me a few other details about the battle, but for him it was not a story, it was life. He lost friends and family; he fought against his neighbors and now, he walks the streets of a city that yields memories around every corner. We spoke a while longer before we said goodbye, but as we shuck hands he looked into my eyes and said with a calm sincere voice, “You are young, and have lot yet to experience in life.” As I walked away from him my heart grew heavy, I looked back as he was slowly making his way inside.
As I walked around the streets, you could see the decay brought about by the passing of time. I had a lot to think about, so I made my way into a nice warm bar, to think and enjoy a cup of café con leche.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
The Torla expedition part I
As my dreams came to a close, my sore tired eyes opened. It was almost 9am on Wednesday and there was only one thing on my mind. Get out of the city. The destination was unknown and the events to take place a mystery. I had five days and a backpack. The contents: a two man tent, rain coat, a pair of paint, extra t-shirt, three pairs of socks, a few book, passport, money, toothbrush, chacos, two long sleeve shirts and a few other things.
As I began to walk towards the bus station, I smiled, for I had no idea where I was going to go. The goal was to go to the mountains and the general direction was north. So, I bought a bus ticket. While I was waiting it occurred to me that I did not have any food, so I bout some peanuts, almonds and bread. Then I had a café cortada (a shot of espresso with a little bit of hot milk) and bout a map.
I took my set on the bus and got out my lonely planet. As the bus set off I quickly fell asleep as the rocking of the bus seemed to put me into a trace. Then a sudden jarring of the bus caused my head to hit the window. This acted as a wake up call for me, because I still needed a plan. I opened my travel guide and flipped through it, El Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido was in the close proximity of where I wanted to go, so I got off the bus a little early at the small town of Sabiňanigo.
It was almost 11:30 when I arrived. The town was quiet and still. The streets we empty and the ticket office was closed until 3pm. As I took my first step outside of the bus station, it began to rain. I wandered around and found a pub in hopes of eating some lunch, but they did not have any food. So, I sat and studied my map and ordered yet another café cortada. After savoring each drop of what could be my last for a while, I headed back into the street. To my surprise, there was another guy who looked about as lost I was.
-“¿Discúlpame, pero de donde eres?” I said.
-“Yo soy de Inglaterra, ¿y tu?”
-“Soy americano”
-“ahh, good! Where are you trying to go?” he asked
-“well, I am not so sure, I was thinking of going to the National Park close to Torla”
“good, that is where I am going. But, I am going to climb Monte Perdido”
-“o yea, what is that?”
-“it’s one of the mountains in the park.”
-“Well, lets go!” I said,
It is always more fun to travel with someone, and this was no exception. His name was Huw and he had a very strong British accent. He told me that the next bus for Torla would leave tomorrow at 11am. We decided that waiting was not an option so we started walking.
The rain was still coming down and I had left my rain cover for my backpack at home. So all my stuff was getting wet and we needed to walk 17km. We tried hitch hiking for a while with no success. I spotted a gas station ahead of us, so we sought cover under the roof far a little while and I begged the men at the station to give me a trash bag so I could cover my bag. He smile and observed with curiosity as I made a makeshift rain cover for my bag and it worked rather well. With a boost of confidence I slung my pack on my back and Huw and I headed out onto the open road.
We had not made in 100 meters when the slight rain turned to a full blown down pour. Any hope of getting a ride was gone, and we walked back to the gas station only to be meet by the guy at the station with this “you stupid kid” look on his face.
-“I think we need to get a bit more aggressive in out approach” I said
-“what do you mean?” responded Huw
-“I mean, I am going to make someone look me in the cold wet face and tell me no, instead of simply driving by.”
Five minuets later we were on our way to Biescas with a group of musicians from Zaragoza. They even played AC/DC in our honor. Huw and I looked at each other and smile while shaking our heads. The plan had worked.
We found a camp site a few kilometers outside of town. After we set up out tent, a nice cold beer was the only thing on our mind, that and not being wet!
As I began to walk towards the bus station, I smiled, for I had no idea where I was going to go. The goal was to go to the mountains and the general direction was north. So, I bought a bus ticket. While I was waiting it occurred to me that I did not have any food, so I bout some peanuts, almonds and bread. Then I had a café cortada (a shot of espresso with a little bit of hot milk) and bout a map.
I took my set on the bus and got out my lonely planet. As the bus set off I quickly fell asleep as the rocking of the bus seemed to put me into a trace. Then a sudden jarring of the bus caused my head to hit the window. This acted as a wake up call for me, because I still needed a plan. I opened my travel guide and flipped through it, El Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido was in the close proximity of where I wanted to go, so I got off the bus a little early at the small town of Sabiňanigo.
It was almost 11:30 when I arrived. The town was quiet and still. The streets we empty and the ticket office was closed until 3pm. As I took my first step outside of the bus station, it began to rain. I wandered around and found a pub in hopes of eating some lunch, but they did not have any food. So, I sat and studied my map and ordered yet another café cortada. After savoring each drop of what could be my last for a while, I headed back into the street. To my surprise, there was another guy who looked about as lost I was.
-“¿Discúlpame, pero de donde eres?” I said.
-“Yo soy de Inglaterra, ¿y tu?”
-“Soy americano”
-“ahh, good! Where are you trying to go?” he asked
-“well, I am not so sure, I was thinking of going to the National Park close to Torla”
“good, that is where I am going. But, I am going to climb Monte Perdido”
-“o yea, what is that?”
-“it’s one of the mountains in the park.”
-“Well, lets go!” I said,
It is always more fun to travel with someone, and this was no exception. His name was Huw and he had a very strong British accent. He told me that the next bus for Torla would leave tomorrow at 11am. We decided that waiting was not an option so we started walking.
The rain was still coming down and I had left my rain cover for my backpack at home. So all my stuff was getting wet and we needed to walk 17km. We tried hitch hiking for a while with no success. I spotted a gas station ahead of us, so we sought cover under the roof far a little while and I begged the men at the station to give me a trash bag so I could cover my bag. He smile and observed with curiosity as I made a makeshift rain cover for my bag and it worked rather well. With a boost of confidence I slung my pack on my back and Huw and I headed out onto the open road.
We had not made in 100 meters when the slight rain turned to a full blown down pour. Any hope of getting a ride was gone, and we walked back to the gas station only to be meet by the guy at the station with this “you stupid kid” look on his face.
-“I think we need to get a bit more aggressive in out approach” I said
-“what do you mean?” responded Huw
-“I mean, I am going to make someone look me in the cold wet face and tell me no, instead of simply driving by.”
Five minuets later we were on our way to Biescas with a group of musicians from Zaragoza. They even played AC/DC in our honor. Huw and I looked at each other and smile while shaking our heads. The plan had worked.
We found a camp site a few kilometers outside of town. After we set up out tent, a nice cold beer was the only thing on our mind, that and not being wet!
my address
Hello to all,
I wanted to simply post my contact information. So here it is:
Cl Latassa 23 2B
Duplicado
50009 Zaragoza
Zaragoza,Spain
Write me a letter and you can count on getting one back!
I wanted to simply post my contact information. So here it is:
Cl Latassa 23 2B
Duplicado
50009 Zaragoza
Zaragoza,Spain
Write me a letter and you can count on getting one back!
Friday, September 08, 2006
Cafe con leche
Cafe con leche
Today had its ups and downs. I spent most of the morning on a long walk around a huge park close to my apartment and I just kept on walking for most of the morning. This city is really beautiful and I love the fact that they have so many sidewalk cafes, where you can just sit down and have some coffee. They are a great place to read and take in the day.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
and so it begins
My room (top)
Madrid (bottom)
I am here.
Tonight will be my first night in my own room. Although I was going to be staying in the international dorms, I will actually be staying in an apartment with a German guy and two French girls. We had our first dinner tonight and I must say, I did not represent America very well or maybe my lack of cooking skills represents the US very well. Nonetheless, all I had to offer was a grilled cheese sandwich and a crappy salid. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I think they will be a pleasure to live with.
I have been in Zaragoza for two full days and it has proven to be very interesting. I thankfully had a student from the University meet me at the train station. His name was Hector and he has been a great blessing to me una salvavida as they say here. I spent the last two days with his family and his mother can cook some food incredible food! It was so much fun and I enjoyed some great conversation with them. Most of the time we would all have a good laugh when I would say something incorrect or some other linguistic mishap would occur.
All in all, I could not be more content, I have a place to live, food to eat, new people to meet and a huge country to explore! This is no doubt an very different country that the US, people here seem to be rather put off by religion as a whole and I guess I understand why (in part). There is so much to learn and I am rather opinionated when it comes to particular issues, so I am taking some time to just be quite and listen. Well, I have had very little time to read so I am going to do that. More blogging is on the way.
Friday, September 01, 2006
The BBQ is over, my bags are packed and my eyes are red (from being tired, don't get any ideas). Every time I prepare to leave the country I end up staying up late. I don' t know why, it just happens. Work that should take an hour takes me three.
My grand father told me one day, that if I ever had more that a half dozen good friends at any given time in my life, that I should count myself a lucky man. I am a lucky man and I am so thankful for those who I call friends. This post will be another short one, but its better than nothing. Time to pack up the rest of my room.
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