homeward bound

everything going according to sch.  too much to do. see you in america.  Love, Andrew

8am SPAIN

One Last Memory of Spain

I was getting last minute errands done last night while I was walking along Gran Via, approaching Montera St.  This area is notorious for having the most aggressive hookers, despite your best efforts to look down and walk fast.

A black woman with scars on her face grabbed my wrist hard and started to pull me toward the area she inhabited on the sidewalk.  I protested, violently, of course.  Her grip was so forceful, as if she was not going to take no for an answer.  "No, THANK YOU," I said as forcefully and dismissively as I could, rolling my eyes.  Then she grabbed my other arm, and maintained her first grip on my other wrist just as hard.  "C'mon, c'mon," she said.  "Whatta you gotta be afraid of?  C'mon, I wanna show you something.   You like it."  

Throughout the entire brief encounter, I yanked my arm away, protesting, "No, really, I have to go...I'm sorry, but I said 'no!'"    Then she screamed at me "Are you a homosexual?"  And I screamed back "Yes!"  Then she let go and was gone.

The whole encounter must have only been between 5 and 10 seconds.  But it's good to know old-fashioned romance is still alive.

5 Days left in Spain

Or less actually now...   Other than the concert photos and the pic with Michael and Ana, these are the ONLY two photos I've taken in Spain... yet... (hey, I got four days left).  These photos were taken in December in a scenic and tourist-friendly little hamlet on top of a mountain called "Toledo," about 30 miles south of Madrid.  We went there for a day on the train and it was very cold.  Those are my friends, Fran and Andrea.  As you can see, the streets are narrow, etc etc...  It was pretty.

Amy Winehouse in Concert! In Madrid, July 4th, 2008

These are the photos I took of Amy Winehouse while I was up close to the stage; I got a few of Jamiroqui too.  My back really started to hurt after standing in the same place for 6 hours to wait for Shikira, since she was the final act.  So I bailed out of the front and saw her from a far, but only could get pictures of her on the megatron monitor, of course.  I was really sad I only had a really old 35 mm camera that doesn't have zoom.  So keep that in mind when you look at these pictures, that I'm an incompetent wannabe photographer.  They're still fun.  Ya know, cuz it's Amy Winehouse, and she's such a mess...

Amy Winehouse in concert, featuring some Jamiroqui

Rock in Rio! Concert in Madrid

These are my friends and I at the Rock in Rio festival in Madrid, Spain in el ciudad del Rock (not joking) on the outskirts of the city. It's mostly shots of us and some distant shots of the stage. We even got our fireworks for the 4th of July.

Rock in Rio 7/04/08 Madrid, some friends and shots of the stage

Mike and Ana in Spain, 2008

This photo is the only one that came out semi-well, if you can even call it that. Well, Mike and Ana didn't have cameras. And clearly, I wasn't on my game. But I do usually have better luck with this little old film camera of mine.

Closing the door on Spain

OK, it's about time to get this blog started.

I'm naked because it's so hot and there's no G.D.S.O.B. air-conditioning in Madrid. Madrid, Madrid. Ah, me encanta Madrid.

I've been here for almost ten months, and surely that's enough time to travel, work, practice a foreign language and stave off a depressed nervous-breakdown that was happening back at home, no? ...Notice that habit I've developed of ending statements with, "no?" as a question tag. My friend Fran started doing that at first, now I'm doing it too. It's pretty cool, no?

I've forgotten how to speak English entirely, I'm sure, and will be communicating only through pantomime when I come home. And although Ana and my mother say my Spanish is good, I'm afraid it is not and I don't feel like I've improved, at least not enough, though I can get by.

I do appreciate the work experience I've had, the no-fuss work everyday, teaching and earning money thing. I have been supporting myself entirely with the income that I've made here, which is a lot to say for a spoiled brat like me. The staff of the academy I worked for was very supportive and I liked them.

I donated money to the Obama campaign today; I hope to win the prize to meet with him backstage at the convention speech in Denver. He is amazing; you know he is. Hillary represents the past. The choice is clear.

While living in Madrid the only excursions outside of the city I made were to Toledo (small city on a hill to the south), Zaragoza (where Ana's sister lives), and Jaca (where Ana is from, in the Pyrenees). I was a very sparse traveler. And even worse photographer. I left the digital at home with Salvador. I can't afford to buy a new one, so I used the old film camera that I have, to take pictures. It wasn't until yesterday that I finally developed them and put them on a disk to upload them, and I'm talking like 5 pictures for the whole year. Yeah, something inside me is dead, but whatever... And most of the pictures suck really bad, but oh well. I'll upload them soon.

I had a delightful time with Mike and Ana. Her family and friends cook, talk and walk, endlessly, in a continuous cycle of socializing, dining and closeness. A culture very different from the United States.

I'm fatter than when I left now. I need to get my hands on some hot little pills when I get back; ain't wantin' no junk in the trunk (or stomach in my case) .

I fly from Madrid to JFK on Aug 1st. Salvador picks me up. Then we'll stay in NY for a bit, followed by a trip to Montreal for a few days most likely.

What else is there to say? I haven't packed. It is hot.

Andrew