Yeehaw

Went down to N.Carolina (still am there now) for my sister's Score at the Shore tournament. Which is a pretty ironic name considering the shore is over 100 miles east. Silly southerners.

Visited UNC-Chapel Hill to see my friends Salem and Whit from Spain and was by no means surprised. Beautiful campus, beautiful weather, and of course, the women made GW girls look like mongooses with palsy. I enjoyed their company.

They took me to "Mama Dips", a southern home-style cooking restaurant and once again I walked away thoroughly impressed. They were a lil shocked that I had no idea what hushpuppies were, but c'mon, I'm a white Jew from New York. Give me a break.

They were, might I say, incredible. Apparently their name is derived from a similar food given to dogs to keep them quiet at night. Why do people give me food for animals? Why do I voluntarily eat dog food? No, I meant Taco Bell.

At night we went over to NC State to see Whit's friends. Now, ya know how everybody always says state schools always have the hot girls. This is entirely true. It was certainly an entertaining night. Got back the next morning after a quick pit stop at McDonalds, even though I fought for the Waffle House. I mean, who doesn't want to see a grizzly looking redneck with no teeth munching on poorly made waffles?

Actually, here in NC, i was pleased by the courtesies of most Southerners. "Hello", "Good Morning", "How ya'll doing" go a long way toward establishing a good rep with others. On the other side of the spectrum, there are the walking stereotypes, always a mixture of hilarity and utter tragedy. In fact, at times they were tragically comedic, but at others, just sad. Plain sad. I witnessed my first bout of true anti-Semitism, much to my disbelief, even after I told them I was Jewish and they didn't believe me. We were at a house party and some of the guys started cracking Jew jokes (the benign oh-look-how-they-are-cheap jeers as opposed to the neoNazi-get-em-done cracks). Now, I really didn't mind it too much but I was just shocked that it actually occurs.

Like, I come from Long Island, not exactly a brimming pot of ethnic and religious hatred. So for me, to witness this mild debasement of a peoples regardless was still sort of lurid in my eyes. Not to mention, there was an African American in the room. I guess the tension still exists. Oh well. No harm no foul.

We went to Duke to see some gardens or something afterwards. It was pretty. Considering it was over 100 degrees outside and my brain felt more fatigued than it does after Lindsay Lohan decides on pot or coke, i just wasn't in the mood to play and frolic in the flowers. Though, I did see all the major NC schools of the area, and to this, I am proud.

Later that evening before I crashed, I began to say things like "tiierd" instead of "tired" and "ya'll" instead of "you guyz", so sleep was essential.

Double Standards

Once again I find myself impressed that the media will go to great lengths to misjudge. I just read an article about how Obama's going to Israel and security fears are high. Critical advisors feel attempts on his life would be just as appealing to Palestinians as living. Fine. We get it, Israel has some problems. If that's an understatement if you ever saw it.

But on that same page, I see an article about Bush going to Jerusalem. The headline for the article? "Israel makes arrest in alleged plots against Bush". Alleged?

Yes, I know what the word means. But I also know that the word alleged is used anytime someone wants to minimize the possibilities of something really happen, to strike through the credibility of an issue. For example: "So you allegedly murdered this girl"
or "OJ Simpson alleges in his new book that his wife is still alive and he's determined to find out who really was double-murdered in his house that night". The word alleged is a cue for a second guess on authenticity. Now why would a man, President of the United States, aggravator of all, instigator of two wars in none other than Israel's region have an alleged plot to kill him. Why would the media paint this as something someone might make up in collusion with the Bush administration...to feel sympathy? harden his position on terrorism policies? Prove he's right about terrorism?

Then Obama, a man with a security detail who has yet to define a specific threat, gets plastered on the papers as if his life is not only in future of being danger, but has been in the past. I'm at a loss for words. Thank you drudge for continuing to disappoint. Ridiculous.

Add-on

Fyi, I think the Media in our country, a free press if you will, is not only desired, but necessary to a function democracy like ours. BUT, it must tread with caution. Right now, I'm just disappointed with the state of our press. I realize trauma and misery creates news, but the news also has the tremendous opportunity to mold our minds, shape our perceptions. Right now, my perception is that CNN, FOXnews, even Comedy Central's fake news shows, can shove it. You may be funny, but in the end, what are your viewers really taking out of it. I don't like how Jon Stewart thinks he isn't part of this crappy media establishment, cuz he damn is, but his rant against Tucker Carlson helped get rid of the terrible show and he certainly has a point. Oye!

Not Welcome eh

Watching American History X. Great movie, so underrated at times. I think it's interesting how movies like "Crash" get so much public appeal when they demonstrate happy endings and massive epiphanies of racial injustice without really getting to the issue at times. That's not to say Crash isn't a good movie, but I feel that movies that tend to show the more violent, more realistic, less pollyanna side emote much much about racism and anti-Semitism in the public eye.

As Danny says in his final scene, his departure toward heaven or hell (depending on how you view his spiritual catharsis), "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory... ...will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." (Abraham Lincoln, Inaugural Address).

On a more somber note, why does Brendan Frasier still try to act?

lol.

I was watching Christopher Titus stand up last night and he started to make jokes about Bush (actually not too harsh) and of all politics and of everything geopolitical and I realize as much as I enjoy it, I think I enjoy it less considering I know many people feed into that bullshit. Many people listen to FOXNews and CNN and gulp down doses of depression and gloominess, feeding into the cycles of stock market failures, bank foreclosures, and end of the world theories. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot more to it, but the media is really starting to tick me off. And they feed crap to hard working Americans who'll believe it.

Especially with the economy. I saw a poll on MSNBC the other day that said 17% of all Americans believe President Bush is the cause of today's economic stresses. Seriously? Is this a friggin joke? Forget the mortgage bonds of the 1980s, the creation of a bond market for mortgage securities. Forget the fiscal policies of the Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton Administrations of the past. Forget the fiscal irresponsibilities of banks giving away sub-prime mortgages to anyone with a nickel in their pocket. Forget the free meals of desperation served by every media outlet telling them to go to the banks and pull out their money before Venus hurtles into Earth. Forget two wars that were initiated by dozens of nations, international organizations, NGOs, President(s), poor information, the unfortunate miscoordination of intelligence agencies all over. Forget 9/11, the destruction of a world trade center with hundreds of America's most important firms. Forget the continual buying on credit of the American people, with absolute ZERO intention of paying it back. Forget the slowing of an economy that barely has any room to grow with the upsurge of India, China, and the labor-intensive EU. Forget the connected markets and the realization that every tick in the system sends a ripple through. No. Ladies and Gentlemen, the man you lampoon each and every day as being the so-called dumbest President of our United States has outwitted us all, and caused an outdated financial system of the 80s and 90s to fail, along with thousands of other businesses. You've been a great audience. Goodnight.

Oh, and don't get me wrong, Bush's expansion of the federal government hasn't exactly made our lives easier, but to say that he is the single cause of years of distress is just as laughable to say that Obama is a Muslim. Economically, the thing that pissed me off the most of President Bush is after 9/11, when he told everybody to go out, vacation, have a good time, return to normal routine, and to, of course, buy,. That wasn't my favorite thing considering now America, on top of the world for 70-80 years, feels entitled to everything! We're a strong nation with a strong backbone, but we can't even weather through a recession anymore. We've dealt with dictatorships and empires, injustice and inequality, secession and depression, but now we're told we can't buy our cake AND eat it too, and we flip a shit. Gas goes up to 4 dollars a gallon (still tremendously better than the rest of the planet), and Americans sound more willing to withhold wheat and food to the rest of the world just so we can get out oil. Get used to it. It isn't Bush. If we're gonna stick to oil, then we have to get used to it. It's the system. You can't break it. You can try to circumvent it (energy independence) or overcome it (new renewable energy). I prefer the latter over the former, because pulling out of the middle east entirely leaves an entire region to now sell oil to China, and Russia, and what good that'll do. We'll be back in Square one within a few years.

I understand I'm not a homeowner. I get it that I don't have kids. I realize people have lost ALOT of money. And I feel for them. But this...is the system. We've ridden to the top of the world on the back of a pony named capitalism, and now capitalism,a risk oriented activity, is biting us in the behind. We've taken our lumps in the stock market, a market built on risk-taking. We've watched hundreds of other nations follow our example, only to succeed, and then we get angry that they've copied us, even though we told them to for years. And we expect the good ole Federal Government to save us. Should the fed intervene? Well if it continues down this path with banking and mortgages, yes. It has to stabilize our confidence. But it is not the job of the USG to intervene in every little squeak of the system, or else we've lost our uniqueness and turned to socialism. I don't need the government to tell me where to put my money or where half of my paycheck goes. I think the government can do a lot of good, and a lot of bad. This issue is obviously a touchy one, but we must have faith. Perception is reality, and the perception permeating in the world today is that America is falling. America is falling hard, right? Or maybe is it that all other countries, following our example, have begun to level the playing fields economically. Maybe it's that our own fiscal irresponsibilities have smacked us back, and we must stand up, admit to our mistakes, and look to a better, brighter future. Maybe being Pro-hope, as Mr. Obama argues, isn't that bad of thing. Because looking at the media these days, I see gloom, doom, and more gloom. And frankly, I'm sick of it.

In the 1940s we went 4 years without an automobile being made for public consumption. Everything was directed toward the war effort. Today we have a public out of touch (either ignorantly or by choice) with our own two wars being fought across the ocean. Regardless of how it was started, we're there. Even more so, we have no backbone for survival. Do you think we would have fought in WWI or II if the people of America had the media of today? Do you think we would have won and prospered into the greatest nation, the most free and liberating nation on planet earth? Americans today are lucky we don't have to sacrifice. And maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the fights of the past we meant to free us from our burdens of the past. Maybe we can have our cake and eat it to. But that makes us vulnerable to anguish whenever a challenge presents itself. Today, we are faced with a challenge. And we will overcome. Jesse Ventura said it best: "Americans are bootstrappers, the word 'can't' isn't part of our vocabulary". I think however the tree of liberty and prosperity must be refreshed with the blood of patriots and tyrants from time to time, and that can be just as metaphorical as it is literal. We'll never know what the state of mind of "cant" is until we find something difficult to tackle. And if we never tackle something head on with American resolve, we'll never win. We must have resolve today and not become a nation of "whiners" as McCain's advisor recently said, because then we lose. I'm gonna go with losing not being an option, how about you?

Just wanna give a shout out to Billy Wagner, reminding him of his lovely performance in the All-Star Game again. G-d Bless, and get well soon.

The Never Ending All-Star Game

Unless of course Michael Young does something big with 1 out in the bottom of the 15th inning.

If anybody watched the Derby...did anybody have a problem that whenever Josh Hamilton's name was employed, it was followed by the words
a) Drugs
b) Cocaine
c) What a Happy Tale

Cuz for the a and b, I just feel bad that that's how he will forever be associated with. As for the c, it's a happy tale for Josh Hamilton. It's great that a man who barely knew how to live and got 26 tattoos without even realizing it was able to not only recovery (with a handler), but regain the strength to move up to the Majors. But serious....(pause)

I hate the American League. Don't you dare Joe Buck tell me that the AL is consistently better than the NL cuz the last time I checked, the power hitters were moving to the NL and all of the great AL pitchers are having some trouble when they move over to the NL. Don't test me Joe Buck.

...seriously, the story is a personal success, nothing more. If anything, this supposed happy ending is in fact a terrible story for the public, a tale with a terrifically poor morale and lesson. "Hey kids, I'm Josh Hamilton, I did drugs, hit rock bottom, then recovered and am a famous all-star...you can do it too!" The message is not my favorite.

By the way, as one blogger commented, when John Kruk reminded Yankee fans that they should cheer for Hamilton cuz he might be a Yankee in a few years, he ruined my night and my future birthday in a single breath.

I found out Ryan Braun was Jewish. And Kevin Youkilis, and Ian Kinsler. That's a lot of All-Star Jews. Happy times. Oh, and Scott Schoenweis, but jews really don't wanna claim him as part of the group.

So the AL won 4-3, and I'm sure they think they're the shit. Thanks Billy Wagner for doing what you usually do in All-Star games...Suck. Thanks Dan Uggla for the 8 errors and 5 Ks. Can you even field? You look like a gremlin on crack. There, I said it. Take it or leave it.

I might as well extend the insult to Joe Buck. Yes, I acknowledge he's a good commentator, but he's a jackass. Especially last month when he acknowledged that 1) he hates baseball and 2) doesn't even prepare for games anymore cuz it's boring. Boo Hoo Joe Buck. Go find 20 million a year elsewhere. That really peeved me off. If I had the oral talent (no jokes necessary) and the wit to be a sports commentator and was blessed with my Pops coattails, I'm not sure I'd complain about my job on TV, even if it were true. Your candidness has made me sick.

I've never seen a stadium clear quicker than Yankee Stadium in the last five minutes. Wow. Just Wow. It was like 3 minutes and there was one poor guy standing near home plate. JD Drew won the MVP. Philly fans still want him dead. As they do pretty much every other human being. These are the guys that rooted for Vader over Skywalker, Apollo over Rocky, Coyote over Roadrunner. I'm pretty sure they held a mock funeral for Michael Irvin, and booed Santa Clause. Not to mention, they threw pills at TO. I realize many Americans dislike his swagger and arrogance, but to wish him ill after he attempted suicide? Are we that low a civilization? FYI, a word to Yankee fans..you don't actually own the song "New York New York" by Frank Sinatra. I believe in communal ownership or full copyright and trademark restrictions. So there, you're doing something illegal. Finally.

Le Fin

I guess a final, final update…

I’m sitting on the plane right now waiting to land in Boston. The flight is so far so good, minus the plethora of crying babies behind me. Seriously, I don’t care who you are and where you come from, but crying babies suck. They are not cute. They do not giggle. They look ridiculous. I was one of them and I would have beat me senseless. Regardless, I’m coming home and I’m happy, so I won’t fret.

I know I’m truly back to the US when all of the Spanish Iberian flight attendants address me first in English, then in Spanish. I made it abundantly clear I wanted to speak in Spanish when I did not answer her for “coffee” but rather “café”. Obviously, I’m milking my time abroad. When the plane landed, the seatbelt sign turned off and did the “bing bing” to which I responded like the Madrid Metro with “Proxima estacion, Callao….correspondencia con linea dos”.

Getting back was well…so American. After picking up my broken luggage (2nd time for Iberia), I went through customs and got a “Welcome to America, Mr. Rosen”. Oh happy days. Then came the true American experience. Crappy buses, overpacked terminals, a TSA taking away my duty free Sangria because apparently even though customs said it was okay, TSA said no. I will say with experience and research of my own and my work that the ‘no liquids’ rule is preposterous and also I’ll add that Deana Figlioni of the Transportation Security Administration is a massive bitch and I will her ill. By the way, American airlines is delayed again. I’m 28/28 in delays. Why can’t these people run a business? The beautiful thing about American capitalism is that they’ll be bankrupt soon either from oil prices or lack of customer services. AA can go fornicate itself. There, I said it and I’m relieved.

I’ll see most of you all soon. For those who were abroad with me, g-d bless and continue being preposterous!

Call me Gypsy...

Oh no! Time to go....

Yes, I'm sitting here in my empty room with my bags packed tightly ready to return to what is obvious to me as the greatest nation to ever grace this lovely planet. Looking back, I made some amazing friends, had an amazing time, absolutely loved Madrid, but look forward to making my way back to a faster paced lifestyle, at times more cordial people, good italian spaghetti and meatballs, my dog, and knowing that I'm truly home.

Before I end with a oh so touching end remark, let me tell you about Pamplona. I'm not entirely sure how to describe it because it was like a spring break party with violence and blood. Oh, and Bulls. The Bulls aren't fed for like a week to make them extra pissed off, and then they spank them with nails on a 4 by 4....well, not really, but they taunt them alot. As Bryce said, these bulls are prolly minding their own business talking about the weather and BAM!, time to go f some people up.

Brent, Whit, Eli (how the hell do you wake up Susana 2 times in a single night is beyond me), Maria, and I took the bus up to Pamplona on Sunday morning. It was a pretty smooth ride, we got there and it was damn coldd. Like I know we're close to France, but that doesn't mean everything has to suck :)

Our hostel room was clean but when we took our first siesta, with 5 people to two beds, it was kinda like sardines in a can. All lines up, in uncomfortable, rigor mortis type positions. We then went to the cheap gas station, got ourselves some sangria, went to town.

Town was...again its difficult to describe this scene. We bought the white outfits with bandanas like everybody else so picture a sea of white and red, drenched in sangria. Like....there were more drunk people than an Amy Winehouse get-together. Oh Snap! (Culturally Sophisticated Reference # 1!). We mapped out our route for where the Brent and Bryce would run and where Tony, Maria, Eli, Whit, and I would watch them die.

Going to bed was a hilarious fiasco as now seven, yes seven people crammed. We gave Tony the patio and Eli and Bryce the floor. I must say, Bryce and Tony, between their bitching and sardonic remarks might have possibly accounted for 1/3 of my laughs this trip. Upon asking them if all football players from Kansas were this witty, Tony retorted: "Dude, most of them can't read...". He just needed to go to patio, he was being cranky.

So here's where the fun begins. 5:30 Wake up. Pitch black, silence...

Bryce: "Is everybody up?"
All minus Tony on Patio: "yup....(sigh)"
Bryce: "I just got this text from my Mom. She didn't even know I was running..."
Text Message: Bryce, You don't have anything to prove. We love you

I think that killed his inspiration to succeed faster than that friggin 0-2 curve from Wainwright to Beltran (CSR # 2!). Of course...he ran.

Pamplona is a pretty city I must say, minus the whords of crap and drunk people passed out. I think Brent told me that he went to go pee behind a dumpster and a man was drunk asleep behind there, so yeah, Brent urinated on a human being. I think I speak for everyone when I say he's a terrible human being and might be making a trip down south. No, not back to Tejas.

So after a single day of partying (there's 7 days of this shit), Pamplona looked more messed up then Britney Spears on a good day (CSR # 3!...Okay I'm done, I've had my kicks). They brought out the civilian cleaning crews in full swing, for apparently no reason. Tony and I saw some guy raking the ground. Like, raking pavment.

We got there at like 7 and the lines around the route were obviously packed. Tony, pissed off from the day before when he got his wallet stolen (I have no idea what is with this continent and petty theft - sometimes I wish there was more violent crimes), got us up close. We still couldn't see, but some nice Spanish guys told us to get a garbage can to stand on. I found one, Whit and I jumped up, had an awesome view. So funny story. The day before, we were going around asking locals who had run for advice. Most of them gave us the look and said "es muyyy peligroso" (Dangerous), and ridiculed us for being foreigners in for a high. Yeah, cuz whoever was the first Pamplona citizen to go "hey, instead of just herding them to the Plaza del Toros...why don't we have them CHASE US!!?!?...THAT'D BE ILLL" was a genius too. But by far, the best line from a local when we asked "Has corrido antes?" (Have you run before?) was:

Nunca he corrido. Nunca haré corrido. Tengo mucho miedo.
Never have I ran. Never will I run. I´m very very scared.

So reassuring.

So la corrida starts when the first gun shot is sounded (bulls let out of gate) and 2nd gun shot is when the bulls are all out. There's 12 bulls in all. 11 of them pissed off. One of them retarded. Makes for an adventure. brent and bryce left us and got prepared, we actually said a prayer for them, and then wanted to see blood from other people. I think the most frightening part of the race it looks like is not the bulls themselves, its the massive stampede of humans, in which you cannot actually see the bulls. Pretty damn frightening. The race was awesome. We saw one guy with an blood side, another with what looked like an ear torn off, and some conscious but stretchered people. Sucks, but hey, what the hell did you expect. I did not, unlike some (cough cough whit) take pictures of people in their most agonizing times.

Brent and Bryce came out victorious, our little warriors they were. Now, as is true with all testosterone driven males...the story devolved rapidly, and of course, as it should. So I'll proceed.

Real Story: Brent ran not too far but not too close, managed to physically slide into the Plaza del Toros, watched some people dive, ran the whole time, was brave, and did not get mauled.

Man Story: Brent was running along the side when all of a sudden Retard Bull came out of nowhere and went to go jab him in the side with his left horn. Brent, using his superhuman strength, broke the horn, stabbed the bull in the eye, and somersaulted backwards onto the Bull, using his grip to break the Bulls skull and liquify the brain. Afterwards, Brent used his firebreathing abilities to roast his kill. True story, no joke dude.

Afterwards, we kinda just killed time, still totally psyched about what we had just witnessed. The ride home was fine, of course, not complete without ANOTHER trip to KFC. What the hell is with charging for ketchup in this country. I thought this was socialism...?

I still can't believe this is my last hour in España. I definitely would recommend the trip and surely have learned some things and opened my eyes. Simultaneously, I would say that some of the best things in life come from home. I'm not homesick by any stretch of the imagination, but I do love my country and would bleed for it. I prefer crappy cold milk to lukewarm beverages, good old cooked meat to withering bacon fit, and overblown patriotism to political scorn. I do love soccer, but give me a team that can make me alive like the Mets, and I'm there. By the way, I think I'm returning home to a Mets team that is above .500. They did it! They don't suck, they're just mediocre!

Spain is a place of history and wonderment and when I get a chance to return, I undoubtedly will. From all the venga ta luegos to the random moments by Banco de España or in Buen Retiro to the singing in the streets to the arguments with street vendors, it has a life of its own and as my señora Susana states, it's not a matter of good or bad, but the difference between one life and the next. Yup, that's one profound Madrileñean flower therapist. Europe, contrary to popular stupid thought, is not a disgusting liberal place, but a continent that has U-turned after centuries of bitter violence, and world wars. Europe has blossomed into a powerful economic conglomerate, each state retaining its history in a way that the US cherishes. Spain is no different. I may disagree with some aspects of their lifestyle, but the people of Spain are by no means backwards, stupid, or Mexicans, and if you treat them that way, well you know precisely why Americans abroad think they have to wear Canadian t-shirts. For one, they don´t. Most countries love Americans and hate our government, and you know what, sometimes they´re justified, sometimes they can go shove it. Regardless, moms acts the same way moms in America do, kids bitch, and fathers think they control the world. We´re culturally worlds apart, but - and Danny this one´s for you - there´s more to them, than meets the eye. First person to name that movie gets an Oreo.

I'd say this blog was certainly a success, and I'll definitely remember these stories. I'd love to meet up with all my friends from here, but realistically, we'll all go our separate paths. Maria, I know you won't change the channel when I'm on TV ;) This has been an incredible vacation where I opened my eyes, developed my character, and revealed myself to well, myself, and it was definitely needed. For a transient period, I became a Spanish speaking, vino gulping, tapas-loving, futbol driven European with friends who were just as goofy and ridiculous as me and with a loss of inhibitions that allowed to me to be a jokester and all, but in the end, I'm a strong willed, politically motivated, English speaking, Coke drinking, Pizza destroying, baseball diehard who hails from the land of the free and the home of the brave: Amurrica. If you didn´t take a lesson out of this blog then that´s okay, I hope you simply enjoyed it. I like to make people laugh and cry, cuz I enjoy doing it too. I laughed a lot this vacation, and feel relaxed as I head into law school. I know it´s a big transition in my life, but I´ll tackle it somehow, and hopefully find my niche. I don´t wanna hate my job, I just wanna be happy, and as crude and corny as it sounds, being happy is a central tenet to our 243 year old declaration.

It's 10.00 AM and time to wake up Eli. I'll take the last metro from Gregorio Marañón to Nuevos Ministerios, then out to Aeropuerto Terminal Cuatro. Maybe on the flight I´ll get a beer, cuz when I return, I lose all my privileges as a cool college student. To everybody left over, que tengan buen viaje, te lo pases bien, y ciao! Echaré de menos España, pero como mi amiga Maria dijo, siempre tendremos nuestras memorias. Adios!

Cuz I'm Proud to be an American....

So we went to Hotel San Martin cerca de Plaza de Callao today for lunch with the entire IES Staff plus all the 55 IESers. In the middle of our appetizer, Bryce and I stood up, and prepared to chant the Pledge of Allegiance. All 55 of us got up and joined. Then Egen started the National Anthem. Here you have 55 American students singing the American National Anthem in a Spanish Restaurant. Quite possibly a top five proud moment of my life. I wish Will Mason was here for it.

Happy Birthday America!!!

Actions are louder than words. Ergo, I'm singing the national anthem as we speak. G-d Bless the U-S-A!

Una adición

Oh and I met a Mets fan from flushing today on the Metro. Ah, my people. Happy days.

Por el cielo

This morning after our exam, Brent, Whit, Say and I went down to Arguelles to ride the air Gondala thingy over to the outside of Madrid. I must say, it was pretty damn cool. We flew right over Casa de Campo, the fields outside of the Palacio Real and Alcazar and basically saw a very rich in vegetation environment that was the beginning of Madrid. Two days prior we were close to there on the ground at San Antonio de la Florida, a church decorated by Francisco Goya himself, in which he is also enterned there. It was used for parties and social activities in the 19th century outside of the city of Madrid. The fresco built on the techo or roof by Goya depicts the miracles of San Antonio and his adventure to Lisboa from Padua (Italy), where he managed to advocate a legal defense for his murdered father through the assistance of angels. The paintings are both of pastels and paints, and they often change colors abruptly. Of course, not allowed to take pictures. The interesting part is that Goya, instead of painting the ceiling in the eyes of a 13th century San Antonio, incorporated Madrid styles of the 18th century in there too. It only took him 6 months to paint, and he did it on his back much like Michaelangelo and the Sistine Chapel. One of the brilliant parts of his work was that he used a large sombrero type hat fitted with candles so he could work in the evening too. Goya was buried originally in France after fleeing unfair practices of the Inquisition in Spain, but was brought back with his best friend, who of course, is not even mentioned buried with him. I'd hate to be that guy.

I'm probably going to take a nap and then go to the gym, go out tonight. We have an exam early tomorrow (yeah on America's birthday, those pricks). I could care less lol.

I think we added Bryce and TOny to our room in Pamplona, which makes 7 people sharing a room of 2 beds...yeah this should be a doozy. Yeah, I said doozy.

Also, I decided and realized that I've changed the way I look at girls because of my experiences here. Normally a guy will check out a girl with a full body look and smile. I normally, being the voracious stud I am, do the up-down check-out. We're all familiar with this by now. Anyway, when I first came to Madrid, i would see these beautiful women in high heels, great legs and as you'd move up, then you'd see the face, torn and destroyed by years of teenage cigarrette smoke. Now I know you might think I'm being a lil unfair and shallow, but I'm talking about nasty. Think Yellow Barnacles on the bottom of a boat. Yeah, that bad. So now, I start face always. It's been helpful. Hope this helps :)

Pensamientos al azar

My professor told us that she thinks all Madrileños are not amable (courteous, nice) while Americans are superamable. I hate to sound like I usually do, but I have to agree. Not that people from Spain aren´t nice, but their demeanor is at best very standoffish. I have tried and approached many people in convo, only to have a pithy, irritating back and forth. Customer service is nil here. Maybe I´m just hideous, but I´ve gotten this from a lot of people. Also lol, many Spaniards will readily admit this too. Strange. I know it´s a broad stereotype and doesn´t hit home entirely, but there is always an ounce of truth to such phenomenons.

Also, when will the Mets realize that they aren´t in the NL West? They have to win more than half of their games to get to the playoffs. That´s really about it.

Going to take a siesta, then to Sol to search for some food and t'shirts, money is approaching shockingly low levels. Depletion rate complete very very soon. Rosen out.

Oh, and by the way, the Summer 2008 issue is finally up on gwdiscourse.com. While I can´t say I´m decepcionado that it came out so damn late, the work on the issue is up to par and very very thorough. Ash F is a lifesaver. I hope we get our act together in terms of time management, which I don´t doubt we will, but again, congratulations to everyone who worked the issue. Great stuff.

The March Down Paseo De la Castellana

Today the trophy and the players were received by a Plaza packed by about 1 million fans, worse than yesterday.

Within walking distance of my apt, I heard horns, firetrucks, planes (painted the Spanish colors in the sky), absolutely insane.

The team danced on stage on tv as if they were 10, so much jubilation. Incredible. I wish someone could see this. The plaza looks like Times Square on New Years Eve, colored red, and on steroids. From the air, the city of Madrid looks so similar to Washington DC, very similar clean wide streets and what not.

All About Brent (in way less than a thousand words)

So I'm gonna write about Brent, the Texas Cowboy, for a moment due to the fact that one, it's almost like writing about me considering we're confused daily, and also, cuz he asked vainly for a post on him.

This is more of poetic eulogy, after he runs with the bulls next week.

Brent. A good man. You eat too much, and at times, typecast yourself as a Texas frat boy, a benign drinker of sorts, a ruffian without borders.

Conversely, you are an intellectual in a sea of blue. How, I ask, this is possible considering your sister will be a Shaman? Rainbows squeeze droplets of sultry pitter-patter across the dusty plains of Tejas.

Belts of Leather. Where did you go Brent?

Walking in Memphis. Shit, we lost Brent again.

A man who knew too much. El Fin.

I can wholeheartedly say that this post could be the lowest moment of my blogging life. Brent, you didn't deserve it, but wear it proudly. AZNP.

CAMPEONES!

So, I said with a sigh of relief for the Spanish people, that after 44 years of football travesties, the Spanish National Soccer team is on top of Europe. The Eurocup 2008 Finale was absolutely incredible. So some fun stories of the night....

Plaza de Colon - Just picture a riot the size of the million man march, drunk and abusive, but lovable and fanatic. Absolutely incredible. Pictures really cannot describe the ecstasy of the crowd, but being there in the plaza with firecrackers going off, Spanish flags flapping everywhere, and broken beer bottles tossed around like confetti made me wish the United States rallied like this for a sport. Soccer is the only thing that unites the world, and personally, I think from a combination of both fear (the US didn't create soccer) and skepticism (all those players who overreact to a push simply to make sure the foul is called), Americans have yet to accept the sport. But, it is certainly growing. ESPN.com's front page headline was on the Spanish triumph, and that made me happy. Within just a few years, the US went from nothing to covering all Euro cup games, all World Cup games, and even hosting a few DC United, LA Galaxy partidos. Good for them. Even though I was so happy for Spain and we cheered and danced in the native tongue, part of me wanted to start screaming U-S-A, U-S-A, and other parts of me wondered what the celebration would be like if the Mets finally won a world series in my lifetime....For those of you who say it's just a game, you couldn't be more wrong. I just watched a single game lift up a country's hopes in the middle of economic woes, coming off a strike of massive ramifications, uniting conservatives, liberals, monarchists, and everybody. I watched a 90 year old woman scream "F--- Germany" in Spanish multiple times, while watching a 50 year old man break down like a child when the match ended. The only other things I've seen caused people to do that simultaneously was war and religion. It's more than just a game.

By the way, I made my way into a funny lil' fiasco with Brent and Danny too! While pushing our way through the Colón crowds (about 20 feet in 10 minutes), a man started screaming at me to back off his wife, even though I was just pushing my way through (and no, I wasn't coppin' a feel). We went back and forth in the only curses I know in Spanish, until he started to boil, and that's when I reverted back to my easier language skills in English. After saying "I don't know what the hell you want me to do", he grabbed my right wrist hard. I kinda panicked, took my left hand and reached across (btw the whole time terrified of my wallet being stolen), and twisted the hand he grabbed me with. The next part is factually true and not a show of my brute manliness. His hand...well, for all intents and purposes, cracked. I'm not sure what happened, cuz I bolted the hell out of there like a bull. As my buddy TJ told me "Dude, that was pretty badass up until the running part". Hey, I try...what can I say.

We ended up in Sol at a bar, screaming the night away. I'm not sure how any of us showed up the next morning, but we did. One of the weird things I noticed this morning was that nobody wore their Spain shirts or any kind of memorabilia of sorts. I think this contrasts well with the US, when, if a team wins a respective championship, the fans won't pull off their clothes for weeks. According to my grammar professor, she said that Spanish pride is not a national theme, but more of a national futbol theme. That is, the Spanish flag and colors are more indicative of a conservative time and are associated with Franconian dictatorship. So during the game and directly afterwards, everybody's all yay spain, but days later, it's more so of "we have a better soccer team than you" rather than "we are a better nation", which somewhat makes sense, somewhat doesn't.

I feel really lucky to have been here. Considering that I was in Spain for their first win in an every 4-year Euro Championship in 44 years, I picked a pretty damn good time to study and revel in Spain. I had such a great time, and made some great friends. One of the things I kinda miss is that being here for so short of a time, people tend to get to see the real side of me rather than when I'm in college and at times (unfortunately so) check my personality to either fit in or be accepted. Here, everybody just sings and dances and just goes with it and has fun. I guess my closer friends know who I am, but everyone hear now knows I sing to pretty much anything, sometimes well, sometimes obnoxiously. I joke way too much, and I think more people enjoy that than me bitching about politics or foreign policy. Hopefully it'll carry over. To continue my deep, pensive moment, I'll conclude with an email I received from my good friend and terrible Philadelphia fan, Dan Burd, who wrote to me last night:

I have to admit that I'm a bit jealous that I spent six months in two countries and neither of them ever won anything, and then you spend a month and a half in one country and they win the freaking continental championship. I don't even like soccer, but damn...

I am really lucky. This has been craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzy! Venga, Ta Luego!

El Partido del Siglo XXI!

Gotta be honest, pretty damn excited for the upcoming Spain v. Germany game at 2045 tonight. We're probably gonna head to Sol or Colón for the game. It should be quite crazy.

This morning we got up and went to the Rastro, a long flea market of about 2 metro stops in which you experience all Spain has to offer...the pickpocketing, the bumper car pedestrians. Oh, and cheap stands with people yelling at you. It´s actually a lot of fun and there´s some cool stuff to see. I was tempted by a pair of 6 euro aviators but held back. The Jew in me.

Danny and I ended up walking to Retiro to see a band and just chill. First of course, being in Spain and doing as the Spanish do, we went to McDonalds! A guy right next to us waiting in line was clearly American and couldn´t speak Spanish to the cashier, so we helped him. Damn it felt good to be a gangsta.

When we were walking in the parque, Danny ran into a soothsayer, literally a palm reader. She started giving us olive branches and telling us about our palms and then gave Danny the full run down. I mean everything. His life, his kids, his job, his death...all that creepy Ides of March bs. And low and behold, as she continued to ramble quickly in Spanish, we both heard her say something along the lines of ¨Okay, now you give me 20 for each hand¨. That´s the double take moment....20 euros for each hand? She must be kidding. No, she wasn´t. So Danny, the brilliant New Yorker he is (he´s gonna kill me for telling this one), pulls out his wallet to show her that he only has 10 euros on him...to which she of course says ¨Okay that´s fine¨. She tell turned to me to try to witchcraft swindle me, to which I gave her like 20 cents for the olive branch, and went on my way. She probably cursed me, but hey, curses can´t travel across oceans...can they? I hope I don´t eat those words.

The other night we went to this awesome bar called Cavebar, almost entirely made of Madrilenos. The only Americans were us. When we started dancing and what not, we had these semi'cute spanish girls come up to us and ask if they could practice their english on us. It was kinda ironic, considering I came 3000 miles to speak Spanish, and now I´m ending up teaching English. Cést la vie!

Chilling with LAH

So before I go on, I´m referring to the fact that I thought LAH was the completely oblivious, completely non-understandable woman working at the Lisbon Avenue Hotel. Yeah, I´m pretty dumb...law school here I come.

Anyway, so I just got back from a ridiculous weekend in Lisboa, Portugal. Now, let me start by saying that Portugal, in all its beauty and history, seems today a slightly irrelevant as a nation. Now I know many of you think that I say this simply because I´m an aggressive americaphile, but in fact, it´s because it´s just true. When the hell was the last time you heard someone say, ¨Damn, before I die, I really need to get to Portugal¨. Never.

Also, it´s language, while very difficult to master, sounds like people spitting. The funny thing is is that portuguese reads much like Spanish. You could pick up a paper and easily understand the article and gist of the story. But when it came to listening to it, it´s like night and day. In fact, on the train to the beaches (cuz Lisbon is on a river so we needed to take a train that reminded me of the LIRR to the Atlantic coast), one of the stops was called Paco de Arcos (with some accent marks strewed about). I kid you not, when the conductor called the stop, I thought she was saying Cashew. Strange.

The beaches and the area very much actually had a long island feel. It was weird, many of the trees and the smell of the ocean and everything made me think of Jones Beach. Some of it makes sense, considering Portugal and New York are on a very similar latitude on the same ocean. On the other hand, many things were different too. For one, that damn language.

The first day we got there, we took easyjet over to Lisboa...awesome airline, very quick and clean. They took my hair gel and suntan lotion though. But, I got to go through airport security without taking off my shoes. So it was similar to TSA, but the workers didn´t all look suicidal. That day we went to the beach and just relaxed. It was called ¨Carcavelos¨. Very beautiful. Pretty much every train ride consisted of the same thing: 1) falling asleep 2) someone yelling at me for singing to my Ipod 3) calling out for ¨Brent¨. We thought he´d be the first one to get lost, but that was until Melissa and Salem were either talking too much or simply not listening when I screamed Everybody up-and-out. Turned out fine though.

The nightlife in Portugal seemed fine, lots of bars, we didn´t hit too many clubs, but mostly did the bar scene at Barrio Alto. Lots of cheap beers and shots. The second night, before we made our way there, we went to dinner around 11 at Chapitos, a small trendy restaurant near the neighborhood of Rossio. absolutely incredible. Argentinian Steak, Margaritas, Baked Potato. Heaven on a plate. Audi, Maria, and Jess just took pictures of each other like Japanese tourists while Danny and I discussed the No Child Left Behind Act. Seriously, leave it for me to get the slightly cracked out party animal into a political discussion. But he´s going into education and runs an NGO for the entire Westchester region on helping reducing violence in schools, so I deferred to his expertise during that convo.

Saturday was exhausting but awesome. We made our way to Sintra, an old old town north of Portugal. There we saw some ancient Castillos built in the 9th century, some old monesteries, old bricks lol. But it was also at an extremely high altitude. Beautiful landscape coupled with greens and clouds makes for an enlightening experience. We would have gone into more sights if we didn´t have to pay, making it the 1,000th time Europe has forced our hand in seeing things that shouldn´t be kept from poor people.

Oh yeah, and then there was Belem, my favorite part of the trip. Belem, known for its pastel de Belem, is a gorgeous small town about a half an hour bus trip away from city center. There we saw the Tower of Sailors (at least I made up that name) dedicated to all those portuguese explorations of the high seas back in the 15th and 16th centuries. Also there´s the Torre del Belem, the famous tower, which I have pics of but can show you later. We went into the monastery, in which there was the tomb of Vasco da gama. Now, I´m a history major. Seeing Vasco Da Gama´s tomb as a history buff is the same as giving a small child an overdose of Sesame Street. It was so cool. This is the man who single handedly helped jumpstart European exploration of the high seas about Africa, and finally, reaching India bypassing the Mongolian controlled land passes, enabling Europe to discover America, open trade with China, and eventually stereotype itself as a landgrabbing, selfish whore of a continent. Que guay!

After our trip, we went by train over to the city of Estoril. The girls went to the beach. Danny, Brent and I went golfing. We put on our snazzy polos and went to the driving range of the Estoril Golf Club. Imagine golfing into the clouds, no joke. It was sunny and off int he distance we could see a small mountain range dotted with thin clouds. Brent could actually hit the ball that far too, but as he said, ¨drive for show...but putt for dough¨. Ahh the ever so wise muse. Brent, for those of you from GW, reminds me a lot of James Hacker, without the anger management control problem.

The funniest but at the same time most disappointing part of the trip up to the golf course could be summed by the fact that the sun was destroying our souls...margaritas sounded incredible. Brent pointed to a sign that said ¨margaridas for 1.90 Euro!¨. We proceeded to salivate and get happy, only to realize that margaritas were also a flower and we were staring at a flower shop. Oh lord. Where´s Brent?

All in all it was a fun trip. Last night we watched the España v. Italia game. I´m so glad Buffon´s a jackass, it made the win that much more appealing. I felt a little weird rooting for a non-US team, but now I especially have a reason since Spain will be facing Vladimir Putin in the semis. Gotta go get a Spain t'shirt so when I go to the Plaza de Colon where they set up the screen, I won´ñt be targeted as a non-Spain supporter, raped, and hung out to die on the fences they set up for public executions. Just kidding, Spain is part of the EU now, whenever there´s a problem, we all just hug it out. Tonight I´m off to a cooking class to learn how to make paella, sangria, and certain types of tortilla really well. Should be interesting. And to abbreviate like los madrileños do, ¨ta luego!¨

Le Fin of an Era

Now I know most of you probably thing I'm gonna focus on the end of the Willie Randolph Era, but in fact, I'm pretty damn excited about French President Nicholas Sarkozy's decision today to have France rejoin NATO Command. This is a MASSIVE step for an alliance that has an integral part in peacekeeping operations all over the world, and it's sure nice to have a strong European military take part in the operations. France, for all its snobbishness in the past, looks willing (or at least the President does) to engage the US on a number of important multilateral issues while simultaneously compromising between the EU and the US sides. I expect to see Sarkozy demand soon enough a European Union command within NATO to help coordinate EU activities. This should not, for now, be seen as a move to "check" the United States, but rather as a serious manuever to make the EU function well. They sucked tremendously in their African deployments and this could be a great step to both merge the alliance tighter while simultaneously alleviating the stresses that the US military holds from 2 Wars in the Middle East. Merci!

A facade of change

So before I take a nap, I'll comment briefly on waking up at 9ish and finding out that the New York Mets, pre-dawn, have fired Manager Willie Randolph, PC Rick Petersen, and 1st Base Coach Tom Nieto.

In a classless way that many will discuss for months to come, I must say that I don't think this change is for the best. To be entirely honest, while Willie's record with the Mets met many ups and downs, I'm severely disappointed because of 1) The way the Mets Upper Management handled this situation and 2) I actually liked Willie at times. He made a lot of mistakes, but always seemed to have his head in the game. I guess my affinity towards him comes from the fact that I'm loud and can be 'in-your-face' and most of the time, that attitude never is progressive. I liked his calm demeanor.

The Mets fired him because they realized that this PR debacle had to be settled and they could go two routes: a) Stand 100% behind their man or b) Fire him. Obviously, it wasn't 100% so they kicked him out in a pitiful way. THIS CAT BEHIND ME WON"T SHUT UP...sorry. Anyway back to my thought. They kicked him out expecting that Jerry Manuel or Ken Oberkfell of AAA NOLA might be able to re-energize this team or maybe send a message to their overpaid ballplayers that we ain't kidding around anymore. I don't think this will work. I think the veterans will continue doing what they're doing while the young players - specifically David Wright and Jose Reyes - will act as if this is part of the game, which it is, but in reality be devastated over the loss of their well-respected patron. Willie was the grandpa of the bunch regardless of his age, and some are gonna feel stepped on. To quote Matt Cerrone of Metsblog.com, "As a Mets fan, I’m embarrassed this morning, and I feel a little dirty".

I hope I'm wrong and that the NYM end up turning this season around. I hope I'm wrong and the big players on the team will step it up realizing their job insecurities. We'll see.

Good Luck Willie...thanks for taking this team from Art Howe's bunch of misfits into something that the rest of the league recently considered a force to be reckoned with. By the way, in my opinion, Omar, you're next.

Flying time...

I still can't believe I have only three weeks left. I've met the coolest people here and while I'm excited to open up a new chapter of my life, I'm like astonished that people you bond with so quickly will exit your life as quickly as they entered it. I sincerely hope, however, that we all stay in contact. Otherwise, that sh*t's "OD" as my partner in crime would describe it. (I'm sure I screwed that one up but frankly, I don't care...I ain't ghetto).

Okay, so today we watched a weird movie with Penelope Cruz, took my exam, then went to the Palacio Real for class. With regard to the exam, I was sitting there actually taking my time thinking about every word and each particular answer when it dawned on me that I didn't care, I wasn't getting a grade nor credit, so I stopped and walked out.

Whit, Salem, Danny, and I went to some awesome restaurant for lunch. 9,50 Euros for Pasta, Beef, a drink, and a postre (dessert) with all the pan you could want. It was tasty, and the waiter was really...well, spunky.

We managed to get our way down to the Opera metro stop and make our trip to the Royal Palace (aka Palacio Real), a gigantic edifice constructed initially in "la primera mitad del siglo..." haha, inside joke. It was reconstructed in the 17th century. Absolutely gorgeous. Some of the rooms were entirely marble, some porcelain (Carlos III of the Borbóns built a porcelain factory in the 18th century in the Parque del Buen Retiro).

In one of the rooms, there was the receiving area for all Presidents, Heads of States, Ambassadors who come to visit the official palace. So when President Bush comes to Spain for a royal reception (oh cuz we know how often that occurs), he'd follow old procedures to greet Don Juan Carlos II (El Rey), but he won't bow. The bowing practice has been done away with as nation-states grew more powerful and international law became more important than a single nation's power. A similar thing happened in 1908 in the London Olympics when American athletes, during the opening procession, were told to bow down to the reigning monarch. They refused. According to a bystander, "Americans bow to no one but the law". Damn right. Absolutely baller.

Toward the west side of the Palacio, there's the view of the campo or fields from old. In the Middle Ages, these were literally royal fields that surrounded the walls. Now, while there's many sprawling neighborhoods, you can see remnants of a barren field full of greenery. We went downstairs into the Armory, looking at some old armour, muskets, horse gear. We playfully made some jokes toward Rich, Harvard Singaporean Student, who's always setting himself up for a joke. But in reality, he's served his 2 year obligation in the Singaporean Army, and I really respect that. His description of the job didn't sound too fun, but it's certainly a duty and one that's necessary. Maybe my patriotism is just too much at times, but I really appreciate the Cicerean notion of giving to one's state. America's provided me so much, and while the ideal sometimes isn't the reality, I love her warts and all. To expand on this notion I must employ two awesome quotes from Robert A. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers". Yeah, the movie sucks, so if you deny it proper applause simply because you saw the crappy movie, you, my friend, are just plain goofy.

Speaking of Duty: "I told you that 'juvenile delinquent' is a contradiction in terms. 'Delinquent' means 'failing in duty.' But duty is an adult virtue—indeed a juvenile becomes an adult when, and only when, he acquires a knowledge of duty and embraces it as dearer than the self-love he was born with. There never was, there cannot be a 'juvenile delinquent.' But for every juvenile criminal there are always one or more adult delinquents—people of mature years who either do not know their duty, or who, knowing it, fail."

Furthermore: "The most noble fate a man can endure is to place his own mortal body between his loved home and the war's desolation."

Tomorrow, Whit and I are gonna go after class to the Naval Museum (Museo Naval) for a class project. Lemme say one thing, and maybe I don't remember American museums, but what the hell is with this g-d damn camera policy in Spain. You go to a museum to remember, but you are not allowed to take pictures. And yes, I understand the whole "ohh you might make postcards" bullshit, but c'mon. I see these AMAZING structures and paintings and the most I can say to someone is "hey, check it out on wikipedia or google...really neato"

Oh, Bibbidy Bobbidy, Bibbidy Boo, Boppy

Pre-trip quote of the day

Bus Alarm Sounds while stepping near the door of the bus

André: "NEGRO STEP BACK....Please empty your pockets and remain calm".

Enough said...don't ask.

Oh yes and...

We played like 20 wasted Scottish guys in soccer on the beach. Absolutely hilarious. My old school goalie skills came in for some nice saves (we have photos to prove it). Damn right. Furthermore, watching André hold back from actually demonstrating his Harvard/US U-21 national team soccer skills was hilarious. He'd just kinda hold the ball back and wait for the guys to come and try to take it from him. Never happened. Just cuz they're European doesn't mean all of them are better at soccer than an American. It only means 99% of them are....

By the way, total props to my sister for a game winning goal against NY State champs Stony Brook. Imagine if she gave a crap about school too!

Going Barcebroka in Barceloca! (and no, I wasn't the first person to say that)

So to explain my wild and crazy trip to Barcelona, I'd rather give it to you through quotations. That is..my top 10 quotes from Barcelona, a beautiful city. Kinda of like Madrid, but in need of a desperate shower.

1) "Bibbidy Bobbidy Bibbidy Boo" - Danny
Yeah, so for some reason we all found it ridiculously hilarious to quote family guy the entire trip and the time when Peter thinks simply because he has a mustache, he can speak Italian. So here we are, some American tourists who speak Spanish in an area that not only speaks Catalán, but almost scorns Spain. Catalunya (Barcelona´s larger state or region) is a place that considers themselves Catalunyan, not Spanish. In fact, I was told that many women will wear the Palestinian head dresses not as a fashion statement, but as a political statement, because they feel that like Palestinians, they too are without a proper homeland. By the way, Danny also does an incredible Portuguese accent, which unfortunately for us, made us look bad when we met two Brazilian guys who spoke English well, understanding our jabs. Damn Americans.

2) ¨You know the doors don´t open by themselves?¨ - Danny.
Once again speaking to the wonders of Europe, Spain´s metro rails are distinct as well. Unlike the NYC Subway or the DC Metro, here you have to push a button to open the door to get off and on, it doesn´t do it automatically. And you can always pinpoint the lovely tourists who stand there waiting for a door to open even though there´s a button in front of them. Yeah. Spanish people tend to have a small personal space too, so they usually wait with you on the train as if they´re gonna kiss you. Now if you´re into that kinda thing, it´s cool by me. Speaking of close for comfort, waking up in the hostel and walking into the shower where 2 Italian guys are sharing the same shower stall was a little creepy. I´m not a homophobe, but they were really pushing the limits in there. Regardless, singing Frank Sinatra drove them off. The Hostel was actually pretty good, save the 11 people for 8 beds or something like that. We managed. It was cleaner than expected, and frankly, I felt safe and sound. The first night we brought some cheap 40s upstairs and hung out in the room, and then went out. The second night we managed to make our way down La Rambla to pick up Tony, Bryce, and Mike, and then walked with them and our newfound friends from Guadalajara, México to the Beach and the clubs surrounding the Olympic Port. It was a blast, save for the fact that the Metro in Barcelona is grimy, hot, and at times, induces massive claustrophobia.

3) ¨Dude, we can get the big pizza, not eat all of it, and then eat the rest for breakfast¨ - Bryce
(Pause, no facial movement)
¨ I like where your heads at man...I like it¨ - Tony
Just one of those typical convos you have in a Barcelonian Pizza Hut, right? I swear, sometimes I felt like I´ve eaten more American food in Spain than I do in America. It´s cheap, and we´re all a little bit collegiate. That was after a long day at the beach in which we slept, drank, slept, swam. LET ME SAY ONE THING: I´ve never been so proud to be from Long Island before when I watched everybody, and I mean everybody moan about the temperature of the water. I thought it was a little cold but gorgeous, and once you dive in, it´s bliss. But nooooooo. Everybody from LA, Texas, Florida....¨Damn, that´s too cold!¨. Grow up by me, and you´ll adjust. There, I said it....

4) ¨Oh so what do you do...oh I´m a human tower builder....you mean you construct buildings for people....no, I build towers...of well, humans. I´m so proud of my family. They climb well. We´ve only lost a few daughters...¨ - Danny, imitating the human tower builders.
Okay, so I forgot the Spanish name of these incredible insane people, but basically (and you might have seen them either in the Guinness Book of World Records or on TV somewhere) they are a group of acrobatic psychopaths who´s idea of a fun day is to climb on each others shoulders as high as possible. And yes, grandmas and infants participate. It was absolutely incredible. A tiny little girl climbed up about 55 feet in the air, and to do her little crowd pleasing wave, yell, nazi salute, and then the human tower began to shake. It was actually pretty scary. Too be entirely honest, I didn´t want anyone to get hurt, but I wondered what 20 people 50 feet in the air hurdling downwards would look like. According to Tony, they should have started a mini running of the bulls to make it a tad more interesting. These guys only come out once a year, and we managed to see it. It was very exciting, and a nice way to wind down a crazy weekend.

For now, I´ll limit it to 5 quotes. The obvious winner of this post goes to Tony. A little introduction....

Okay so while you´re on the beach, you have four types of people.
a) tourists
b) topless women who look like walruses and should have kept their secrets to themselves.
c) Indians who scour the beach in search of victims (I'll explain)
d) Asian women masseuses who give you massages while rubbing way too much oil on your back.
Let me first say that I did get a cheap massage, it was not inappropriate (Uncle Mark), and it felt incredible. Secondly, we met some really cool girls from Baylor university who are also studying in Madrid, so we'll meet up with them. thirdly, the Indians. Okay, so the way this goes down is that you have Indian guys who come up and down the beach speaking poor spanish askingif they can sell you either Henna Tattoos, Coconut pieces (which were awesome), or Beer. They are as insistent as the Asian ladies, only to the point of absolute irritation. And after they ask you "Beer, cerveza?", they proceed to pick out and stereotype the dopest guy of the group and ask if he or she wanted drugs. In our case, that'd be Tony. He wears a bandana. Enough said. G-d bless you Tony. Anyway, three separate occasions Tony was asked if he wanted pot. He was kinda getting fed up with it and we were all cracking out jokes, and then some guy comes over and says this:

Indian Vendor: "Beer, Cerveza, Beer?"
Tony: "No, but do you have any heroine?" (now picture this in the most sarcastic, Will Ferrell type voice)
Indian Vender: "Be right back"
Us: "Excuse me?!"
(20 Minutes Pass)
Indian Vendor: "Here, you try now, and then buy later..."
(proceeds to pull a little 8 ball - heroine and crack cocaine mixed - and hand it to Tony, who immediately goes woah, noooooo.)
Bryce: "Hey Tony remember that list of shit we mentioned never to do cuz we'd end up in jail for life...this ranks up there".

Swear on my life, we didn't stop laughing for an hour. Damn that little Indian has a syndicate.

Second quote comes from Bryce to Tattoo Indian man....

Tattoo Guy: "You want Tattoo, come on, tattoo, look, dragon, lady naked"
Bryce: "Playboy ladies....does that come any bigger, I've always wanted something like that on my chest"
Unknown: "get a flag dude"
Bryce: "Hey, do you have an American flag?"
TG: "Yeah yeah yes yes of course, see somewhere here"
(Man turns to a page full of black cats, panthers, and lions and points to a roaring panther)
Bryce: "That's....that's a panther"

Finally,

The 100th time Asian lady has asked us about massages...Bryce responds..."if you put that piece of paper any closer to my face, maybe it will change my decision...no, actually it wont. Please get the word out to all your little friends. I don't want a massage. Spread that message. Very much appreciated".

Oh Barcelona.

Follow on

By the way, one of the things I noticed here is that Spanish people tend to always have an answer to everything. Obviously this is a crappy generalization, but I see Americans being more willing to admit ¨I don´t know¨and then go and find the answer themselves. Also, as much as I think she´s kickass, my señora apparently knows everything and anything about nutrition, the war in Iraq, diplomacy, oil, and American education, and frankly, almost everything is plain wrong. I never really contradict her, merely nod or bring up an interesting fact. Regardless, I hope all Europeans are not like this...

So far, that of course, has not been the case. My Spanish professor for grammar is awesome. She barely speaks English and when she does, she´s willing to make mistakes, something I admire. She follows the election in the US very closely, and has conceded to me that while she likes Obama (and yes, she DOES admit she does not have a vote nor should she), she recognizes that McCain is not Bush, something that many Americans have yet to discover...
She also lived in Maine for a while and has some funny stories from the US. Oh viajeros.

Love, Peace, Chicken Grease

Test Tomorrow...Hah

Hey everybody. Long time no see. I have plenty of updates, but I'll keep them as concise as possible.

Everything's been going real well. We went this past weekend to Valencia (the origin of the famous Paella), and hung out there. Weather has kind of been sucky, but we managed to get a nice game of American football going on the beach! Yes, people stared at us like we were insane, but hey some football and a swim in the Mediterranean ain't that bad. We had lunch at a restaurant near the hotel, got some Paella con carne. Usually, true paella comes with mariscos and pescados (fish and shellfish), but by the virtue of me being unable to consume those items, I went with the meat. It was pretty funny, because the waiter thought that me not wanting fish meant I was a vegetarian. And for once in our trip, it didn't seem like our Spanish fluency was the hindrance, I think this man was simply retarded.

My paella was excellent, save for the fact it came with conejo (rabbit). Now, I'm all up for trying new things, especially said meat, but it turns out they actually cook the rabbit whole. Yeah, so when I was munching on some arroz and noticed a bean shaped object, took a bite and clearly recognized the tiny little canals of the nephrons from 7th grade biology, I knew something was awry. Yes, I mutilated Bug's kidney. By the way, Susana's cat just walked into the room, and if it doesn't stop meowing, another animal will die pronto.

The nightlife was pretty incredible. The first night, we ended first at some bar (terraza) before going to a club. Turns out the bar was a gay bar. Now, I'm all okay with gay culture and what not, but when I'm taking a leak and a man is staring at my apparatus, consequently winking at me, that's just not cool. And as you can imagine, our group departed rather quickly. The second night was alright, I felt bad in the stomach, so I ended up keeping it a short night.

This week was long, but of course, full of stuff. For class today we headed over to el Parque del Buen Retiro (the Park of Pleasant Rest or Retire), which was first conceived by the Royal Family as a palace in the 16th century. Up until 1868, only Royals could wander in and out of the mini-Central Park. Since then, it's been opened to the public and is practically the centerpiece of Madrid Daily Life. It was gorgeous too. Within the park is the first sculpture of the fallen angel (angel caido), which of course for those holy rollers out there, is Lucifer, aka Satan, whichever you prefer. It´s pretty frightening, check out wikipedia if interested. There are many fuentes (fountains) within and the park opens up to La Puerta del Alcalá, which literally translated, was a port of entrance for visitors to the city. It´s weird enough to imagine a walled city, let alone the fact that almost every major city in Europe from the 9th to the 18th century was surrounded by some sort of medieval ediface, a muralla or a wall of some sorts to protect defensively or keep citizens in. Madrid itself wasn´t the capital of Spain until 1561 (at the height of its empire), before that, it was Toledo. The expression Holy Toledo! actually derives from the city and the fact that the city was the epicenter of religious life for Jews, Christians, and Muslims around the High Middle Ages. Neat, eh?

I wish I had pictures but my camera´s being bitchy, it works fine, but the uploads take a little while. Tomorrow we leave for Barcelona late at night. getting the hostel situation down was pretty difficult, because of the amount of people. You´d think that a group of 15 people from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, GW, UNC, Cornell, UT-Austin would be able to figure this out, but you´d be wrong. As Einstein once remarked, stupidity is infinite.

I´ll hope to get some pictures soon, and for those of you sweltering in the heat wave, send some heat over here! And tell the Mets to stop sucking.

For those of you who care about geopolitical debates, let me say one thing (and of course this is a personal opinion that I could write a thousand page thesis on), but I´ve been watching how the oil prices here have almost gridlocked an entire continent. Spanish truck drivers, fisherman are all on strike (damn socialism) and have pretty much shut down trade in Spain. I mean, people are rushing out to supermarkets for depleting food and gas stations have little left. I wasn´t around, but it reminds me of the pictures from the 1973 Oil Crisis in the States. The reason I say this is because while I think the Subprime crisis and oil shockwaves within our country is a problem, I don´t think its a crisis. And I think Americans, regardless of how deserving we are, needs to get over the fact that they can no longer bitch around the world without any consequences, and furthermore, need to be able to suck it up a little. I´m all for American hegemony. G-d, not a day goes by in the country where I don´t miss the beauty of my nation, where people aren´t as g-d damn rude, and where everything I see and touch came from the ingenuity of an American. But on the same token, I remember listening to people in the states complain and carp about oil prices and their cars. Seriously, buy a hybrid, invest in futures, do something worth while and stop complaining. We live in a free market society which I cherish. And if you think the US government is gonna step in for every little peep in the world´s market, you can bet your ass you´re being overwhelmingly silly. If you want capitalism, if you want the system that made America what it is and will continue to be, then you have to accept the fact that the supply and demand is proving to be true. People demand oil, ergo, oil prices go up. Blame Shell, Blame George Bush, Blame OPEC, Blame Muslims, but how come you never blame yourself?

Keep in mind that the entire world is heading for a recession at this point, China´s stocks are TANKING, millions are dying in natural disasters, Europe is coming to a halt in trade, and the US, the most economically powerful, versatile, technologically savvy country in the world is fighting two wars, while simultaneously keeping buoyant the world´s economy with Asia and the EU. We´re doing all we can at this point. Sure the USG could get involved more, but I see our government becoming more of a nuisance to our economic problems than a help. Until this becomes a Great Depression, I think it´s time for the average American to dig in and bear it. It absolutely sucks, and you´re absolutely right, I´m not poor, but that doesn´t mean I can´t have my say. If anybody can weather through this storm, it´s us.

Note: In WWII, car production halted for SEVEN YEARS to help the war effort, all metals and aluminum were taken by the government, and we, Americans, helped defeat the third reich while simultaneously blossoming the ´greatest´generation. This so called crisis will calm down soon enough as the stock market recycles itself, and while it´ll certainly suck for many, we´re in a period of absolute bliss in comparison. I hate to sound pollyanna, but don´t worry, be happy. And no, Andrew, do not make this into an argument about the war in Iraq. ;)

¿Que tal?

Hey everybody. So today we went to Segovia, about an hour north of Madrid. Segovia is probably the last stopping point for the Muslims as they controlled Spain over a millennium ago. Most of the architecture, therefore, has a very amalgamated influence from both Christianity and Islam. I have pictures and I´ll post some of them, but I´d probably rather show you in person. The three major places in Segovia, a small town, are La Iglesia de Vera Cruz (Church) y la Alcazar (Castle, in short Arabic). The Church was a crucial religious post for the Knights Templar during the 12th to 13th century and at one point allegedly protected one of the pieces from the cross Christ was crucified on. The Castle itself is famous for not only housing the Spanish monarch during the time when Fernando y Isabella united the Castillian and Aragon kingdoms, but also because of its unique look, which was the precise castle that inspired Walt Disney when creating the Disney castle for Cinderella. Also, there´s a Roman Aqueduct that´s pretty cool. Legend says that a women whose job it was to carry buckets of water from one town to the other made a compact with the devil in order to alleviate her stress. The Devil promised that he´d build her a way to get the water across towns with ease, and the conditions were that the Devil would finish it in a day. But the Devil only came out at night to work, so when the sun rose the next morning, he was one stone block short. His inability to finish the obra de architectura saved the soul of the woman, whose contract was null and void, but still had the devil to thank for the aqueduct. In reality, the one stone that´s missing is a result of the architectural integrity of the structure, the extra stone would have thrown off the balance of the engineering feat. It was pretty cool. Taking a nap now and then heading off to Atocha, and the famous discoteca Kapital (7 stories high) with everybody. Should be interesting. Ciao!

Reunión hoy!

Today we had our first day, walking around, telling us how cool and unforgiving Madrid can be. I took some nice photos for now. Just basics. The places you´ll see are by La Universidad Complutense, quite possibly one of the largest in España. The nearest metro stop is Moncloa, nice easy access to mi casa. The fourth pic is the building for the Ministry of Defense, kinda of like the national guard building by RFK Stadium in DC.

Day One Culmination

Once again, Hola de Madrid!

Last time I wrote I was just chillen, took a siesta. I was really tired. Damn Jetlag that I've never experienced. I decided to go outside for a walk by myself while my Senora was having a therapy session (she's a therapist, and uses floral essence and fragrance to relax her patients as they discuss their issues). She actually just finished her Masters thesis on the scientific relationship between the smell of certain flowers and the mitigation of PTSD. I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous, but who am I to judge?

The city is really pretty. Lots of little kids around, small streets, packed mini-cars, all that one would expect in the center of a European city. I managed, due to hunger, to find a Burger King (and trust me, I was looking for something a tad more authentic) to grab a bite. 1.70 E for a burger is like 2.50 in the US...damn exchange rate, but it satisfied my hunger.

Upon coming back, we went out again to the Supermercado. Much like peapod, this supermarket delivers groceries after you buy them. Pretty cool. Their bread is much smaller than ours, as is their milk. In fact, milk comes in these tiny containers that have tiny little spouts, like hershey's chocolate bottles. Oh growing food shortages...

We walked back, she told my Spanish was pretty good, which is a good thing. She also speaks English fluently, which is both a plus and a minus. The plus is that she helps me figure out new ways to say things. The minus is that she's originally from Argentina, an english section of Buenos Aires, and has a diverse family, so everybody speaks English, and frankly, I think she prefers it. We got back and I decided to take a jog. Down about 3 blocks is the Calle de la castellana, a long turnpike. Picture Queens Blvd, just cleaner. The city looked gorgeous, really clean, so I ran up and down this granite path and I made sure not to stretch in public. For those of you that don't know, stretching in Spain is a sort of benign taboo, much like sneezing without covering your mouth in the US or anywhere in fact. It's strange. But when in rome...
I got tired after about 20 minutes, head back, took a shower, and am waiting for dinner. More updates tomorrow.

En Seria?

Yup folks...I'm in Madrid. The flight sucked, well it wasn't thatttt bad. This little annoying Portuguese girl next to me kept staring at me, wondering why I was switching back and forth from reading El Pais to my English book. It was weird.

Good food though I must say, they got us there early, buen trabajo Iberia!

So the taxi back to the homestay was a pretty incredible ride. The highway that we traveled on, la avenida de america (because in Spain, to them, there is only one American continent), was beautiful and much like the Southern state, but with less green. The cars were pretty much the same, and they did drive on the right, interestingly enough.

The city is nowhere near the size of new york, but absolutely gorgeous from what I've seen. My apartment is on the calle (street) Fernandez de la Hoz, 58. My Senora is an elderly woman probably about 60, who speaks spanish and english well and is really cool. She's got two cats! Yay animales. She sat me down and basically went over keys, food, everything...really nice. And u

I'm pretty exhausted by now, but I'm actually not nervous at all for this adventure, which makes me really happy. I've been waiting a while for this trip. At the airport I met two RAs and a couple of coordinators and they told me my Spanish was really good, another plus. But when I realized my bag had ripped during flight and we went to baggage claim to get a receipt and more money for a new bag, I had to pretend I knew no Spanish so they could act surreptitiously in getting me more money. It felt pretty cool realizing that they felt my Spanish was good enough that they could tell me to act dumb (and speak English lol). Anyways, I'm gonna see what's around this city. And Dad, Everything is secure.

More updates, and fotos luego.

Hasta pronto!

Unsalvagable Incoherence

So I'll spare you my normal geopolitical lectures and focus once again on the poor excuse of a metropolitan baseball team.

Setting aside the fact that the 140 million dollar Mets risk becoming an average team, losing fan support before a brand new stadium opens, and SNY continues to falter, I'm simply an aggressive, annoyed Mets fan, as many can empathize. (not the Joe Beningno Type...I haven't had an aneurysm yet while complaining).

Let's not harp on broad, dumb things and get straight to the facts. As of Friday, May 23rd, the New York Mets are 1 game under .500, 4th in the NL East in a thank-the-lord parity league, have two stellar pitchers, a shaky rotation, a pin-up closer, more injuries than Hillary Clinton will have once the media gets done with her, and just got swept by an organization so bad, it makes my blood curdle. And I'm not talking about PETA, I'm speaking of the mighty Braves down south, a team whose hometown media rants and raves about the suckiness of the Mets, while they also have little to be proud of. Next time the team I favor wins 14 g-d damn National League East Titles, I'd expect more out of then than a single World Championship. As much as I hate to say it, some Yankee 'smart' fans, have a right to bitch.

Anyway, I think the problem rests not with Willie (though the thought that he actually thinks he can manage a major league bullpen is as ridiculous as when Joe Namath thought he'd actually get something out of ESPN Sideline Reporter Suzy Kolber) and somewhat with Omar. Matthew Cerrone of Metsblog.com (my fav! - yeah I went there) makes a good point that Omar tends to deplete the farm system, and might not be able to adapt to the changing business of baseball, where teams hold onto their grown boys and trade less. Frankly, while I wouldn't pay Castillo THAT much and Beltran hasn't lived up to his earnings, I still cannot fault Omar. I can hold him accountable, but not personally responsible.

Watching the past few weeks, I can say two players stick out in my mind as culprits of this fever. Before I continue, G-d Bless Ryan Church (even though you apparently told your ex-g/f that she was going to hell cuz she was Jewish....all is good).

a) Jose Reyes:
- Hitting subpar
- Looks Inexperienced as in '03-'04
- Too many SOs
- Low ABs, thereby, not as many steals.
- Doesn't really 'look' into it.
My buddy Justin pointed out that in 2006 (which of course was the coulda-shoulda-woulda year) there was a system that clicked with each inning in most games. Jose Reyes hit ball/walk, Paul Lo Duca move Reyes over, 3,4,5 hitters finish job, score run(s). Why is this basic, mechanical process not occuring again? Well, I think a lot of it comes down to (b).

b) David Wright:
Yes I know what you're gonna say...how in the world could I put a guy who has 35 Rbis, 8 Hrs, 6 sbs, and 50 hits onto the hit list. Well, when you're hitting .286 with an okay OPS, there's something to be said, not yelled. Wright is not hitting poorly though. So I'll give him credit that he's avoiding the hitting plague. But what he hasn't done is spoken up. And I don't mean screaming and yelling and all that nonsense, I mean really become a true leader. Ryan Church, after getting a concussion two games ago, came in to pinch hit in a sticky situation, and got a single. Reliable, Consistent, a mental leader per se who leads by example. But let's be honest, Church, a 3 month veteran of the Mets, can't pick up these team. Wright can. Wright needs to convey, however, that this is not about us, its about them, and I think when he comes in and makes some big hits, and starts acting more like a leader and less like the pretty posterchild, that the mentality of this team might change. It's not a formula, it's a theory. I really like Wright, he seems like a great baseball ambassador. The guy allegedly (and I believe him) doesn't smoke, do drugs, is good with kids, has a charity organization that he personally runs, is a good baseball player, and a overall nice guy. But it's time for his teammates to see him less like that cheerleader and more like the consistent Jeter or fiery but nevertheless strong-headed Rollins. Dare I even say Chipper "larry" Jones? No...cuz he's a bastard. End of Story.

I'll always have faith in this team to pull it together. But while I'm in Spain, I'm just hoping for something to change. Ignore the media, fight each other, kill the Philly Fanatic as a team, just do something. Cuz at this point, I'm having terrible flashbacks of Pete Harnish, Rey Ordonez, and Rico Brogna...three cool, but mediocre players. Mediocrity in the Big Apple just isn't our style....

-

El Equipo, El Tiempo, Los Mets!

Really nice to see them win tonight, rather possibly crush the Yanks. Ollie never let the wheels come off and settled in nicely. Church, man, what can I say...he's incredible. Fielding, Batting, he's done it all. Ryan Church is what Alex Rodriguez was to the Yankees last season early on, he's being an anchor.

Reyes looks like he might be breaking the slump, maybe he asked for Giambi's golden thong?

So the umps almost made a big boo boo. Well they did. My irritation at the reverse call wasn't the call itself (Umpires are only human), it was the fact that the Home Plate Umpire overruled the 3rd base umpire, and the 3rd base ump took it like a chump. I expected to see more conferring rather than a "Yes, Yes, Ok, Good" type decision-making process. Regardless, great win, let's keep up the momentum.

Good Read

Just read "First In", an account of the CIA team first placed in NA Afghanistan post 9/11, subsequently leading the fight against the Taliban. Interesting read, but I kinda wish it was better written. Read more like an intel report, but hey, I guess that's where the info's coming from...

Think Again

Interesting Article found in the Jerusalem Post about Obama. Basically says that talk is cheap, force is effective in so many words. Doesn't necessarily contradict my earlier notions about talk between the US and Europe (because we're not the Middle East or transnational terrorists), but does add a premium to military force. Check it out.