Getting ready for New Year shenanigans

1.  Potato tacos - check!

2. showered and beautified - check!

3. clean room - check!

4. cava - check!

5. grapes - check!

6. duke - check!

7. italians - check!

8. rain gear - check!

Stay tuned...

Reina, Chocolate, Church.

Reina arrived in Barcelona late on Sunday night. I have not seen her in about 5 years. It was so wonderful to see her again and a little trippy to realize we have known each other for close to 16 years. She brought all kinds of goodies from Japan including mochi and rice seasonings. Hell yeah! In return, I took her around Barcelona for a day and we had a blast. There are some photos below and more on my Picasa site (click on the link on the left).

Xocolata Calenta - the GOOD hot chocolate ´
at La Nena

Exterior of Sagrada Familia

Me in awe...

Interior ceiling of Sagrada Familia

Pious Reina

Photos from Christmas Brunch/Dinner

This is me rollin up some potato tacos

Dharma and I setting up the brunch buffet

Duke seducing some Italians

Duke solo

Christmas Eve Eve

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  My roommates are all out of town visiting family and Duke and I have the whole flat to myself.  It is really strange because I know it is Christmastime, but it sure doesn't feel like it.  Nothing sells like pine and none of the stores are playing annoying Christmas music.

It is weird to not have huge holiday gatherings to feel anxious about or shopping madness to avoid.  I have nothing to be reactionary about with this season right now.  It's actually forcing me to have my own holiday spirit.  It's like when you're little and you complain about chores all the time, but then when you live on your own you turn into a neat freak (well, this kind of happened to me, but then I turned into a slob again).  Tomorrow night I am going to a gay expat dinner party which ought to be fun, but celebrations with new friends is just not the same as being with homies.

Right now I a pretty content.  Duke is snuggled up under a blanket with me.  I have ice cream.  I have bad TV.  YEAH.

Medieval Market

Here are some photos from Vic, a village about an hour outside of Barcelona. I recently met some friends there and went on a lovely hike to an ancient monastery and visited the annual medieval market. The authentic market was really exceptional. Everyone was dressed up like medieval times and really played the part. They were all drunk and dirty and covered in animal guts and wine stains. It was fantastic! I had some mulled wine, grilled butifarra (a type of Catalan sausage), and some ribs. It was all served damn near cave man style with no utensils and on clay dishes. They were also aerial acrobats doing a stunning rendition of the Hunchback of Notredame.

Being able to be outside of the city and to hike around in the woods was absolutely delicious. As much as I love Barca, I need to connect with the nature and eat some meat with my hands every once in a while.

Care package wish list

• Reese's peanut butter cups
• Almond butter with golden flax seeds and sea salt (last purchased at Trader Joe's)
• Korean seaweed (kim)
• a Korean washcloth (I like it ROUGH)
• Flaming Hot Cheetos
• hot sauce (i.e. Sriracha)
• corn tortillas
• Lawry's Seasoning salt
• Bragg's amino acids

'Tis the season

For as long as I can remember, I've never really enjoyed the holidays.  There have been good moments and there is always good food.  However, the season fills me with unease: family chaos, the annual climax of mass consumerism, financial stress, and the bastardization of beliefs I used to hold sacred.  

On Tuesday after work I wandered into a shopping center.  I was early for a date with a friend and needed to kill some time.  It should have been rush hour, that time between work and home when tired adults and children fresh out of the confines of school gridlock places like grocery stores.  I was in a shopping center between Thanksgiving and Christmas and it was almost empty.  There was store after store full of bored employees in an imported exhibit of the American mall.  There was a Claire's with no tweens and an H&M with no Asians inside.   A tractor beam of faint holiday music tugged at me and I realized I was walking towards a Starbucks, of all places.  I went in.  I don't drink coffee and I especially don't drink Starbucks.  I bought the most American, corporate, joke of a coffee in the largest size possible: the holiday mocha toffee latte...with soy milk.  And I drank it in.  All of it.

End of quarter exams!

I hated exams as a student...I hate them more as a teacher.  Writing them is horrible.  I was sick last week and work is really hectic write now because I recently found out I have to do exams for all my company students.  AND since it's the end of the month, I need to do evaluations for all of them too.  I just want it to be summer again so I can be unemployed and going to the beach everyday.

Felicidades!!

I have INTERNET!

I am sooooo excited about this.  No more having to meet with people in person.  No more talking to real people.  No more wasting my time doing productive things.  No more having to read an actual paper map to find my way around.  Oh internet, how I've missed you.

Quick weekend update...

Friday, Bente and I went to a lesbian mud wrestling match.  It was pretty fun and we met some really cool people including the owner of the Cat Bar in Barcelona.  There were tons of promotions at the club and people were giving out free chuptos of Jagermeister which was nice.  Unfortunately, when it came time for the actual match, I couldn't see anything because all of the tall people decided to stand in front of me.

Saturday, some friends and I met up at the now regular bar, Foxy Lady and then migrated over to Oddland.  Afterwards, most of them went home.  Alex and I rallied and went to Otto Zuts to dance our asses off.  the music was even better than the first time I went.  Who goes to a dance club and gets to crazy to 90s alternative????  This guy.   Also, props to my Ethletics (the eco-ethical version of Converse) for allowing me to jump up and down on broken glass the whole night.  Spanish Style - I got home at 6:30 in the morning, walked the dog a couple hours later, then went to bed again.

Sunday was mostly me being in a coma.

I'm the a loner geek...

With a laptop in one of the coolest bars: La Porta del Raval.  I'm talking to the interweb instead of real live people in this happenin place.  However, I have good news.  Apparently, the 20 day wait for internet is no longer 20 days.  If all goes as planned, I should have internet at home on Saturday.  Otherwise I will become an alcoholic buying glasses of wine at bars so I can justify using their internet.  Wine is about the same amount as water in a lot of places, so I feel obligated to drink it...that is not a complaint.

In other news, my Moroccan roommate is moving out so we shall see who takes his place!

Oh internet, how I miss you

I currently don't have internet at my house.  It's supposed to be there within 17 days or so.  :/

Things are going pretty well.  My home is turning into a Mexican soap opera, except no one's actually Mexican and I'm not involved (so it's wildly entertaining).  I've picked up a couple more students which is good.  I also got some great feedback from my groups so it's good to know that I somewhat know what I am doing.

It's actually starting to get cold here, but I can still walk outside most mornings with Duke in a t shirt and sandals.  As mentioned before, it is startlingly similar to SoCal.  The nights have a very dry sort of cold to them even though we have lots of clear, sunny skies during the day.  There has been some rain here and there, but I haven't had to use my umbrella yet.  That might also be several years of desensitization to bad weather in the Pacific Northwest.

OH!  Major discovery: Carrefour near my house carries gluten free products INCLUDING beer.

Book Market!!!!

Today I went to an open air book market at the old Sant Antoni market.  It was AWESOME.  There were vendors selling tons of used books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, "adult" things, comics, old postcards, etc.  Nerd paradise.  I bought a manga and an old cowboy book to practice my Spanish.  Unfortunately, the manga is confusing because it is written in the opposite order as English books (right to left).  I keep messing up the order of the frames when I try to read it.  The market happens every Sunday which is super exciting!!!  Yay!!!!

Tonight I'm going to a Halloween party at a Texan friend's house. It will be interesting to celebrate a holiday that originated in Europe, became something else in the U.S., and now is being re-coopted again in Europe.  They have All Saints Day here, which is basically cemetery day.  Candy, scantily clad people, and costume parties are largely an American invention.  I don't know who or what I will be going as, but I am going over to a friend's house in a few hours for some inspiration and assistance.

October photos

View from my bedroom window

 This is the castle/church at the top of Tibidabo

Birthday card from RJ $

Graffiti on a bank :)

View of Barcelona from the top of Tibidabo

Educational children's ride at Tibidabo

As always, there are more photos on my Picasa web album.

The rest of October

The Popo:
Haven't been arrested yet.  After the cops came that one day, I never heard from them again.  They still make me nervous of course.

The Birthday:
I had a very chill gathering of folks on an overcast Sunday.  We started out at a Moroccan hookah bar.  As we were waiting for the place to open (I was on time of course...the store was on Spanish time of course) I saw a really large man on a scooter stop, slowly fall over with his scooter on top of him, then stand up with his pants remaining on the ground.  Definitely the highlight of my birthday.  After some delicious hookah and tea, we headed over to an Indian vegetarian restaurant and finished at a cabaret/speakeasy-looking bar.  It was wonderful being surrounded by lovely new friends, but I was totally missing my homies.  Shout-out to Auntie Linda and Dad for the generous contributions to my adventures and to RJ$ for the rad birthday card (it's totally me).

The Hike:
Tom, Duke, and I hiked to the  top of Tibidabo last weekend.  Barcelona proper is super urban so it felt unbelievably nice to be on a mountain above the city.  There is a theme park at the top of the mountain.  It is kinda weird because the theme is the American Wild West...

The March:
Yesterday, I met up with my friend Dharma and participated in a march against the pathologization (what is the real word for this?) of trans identity.  We marched from Plaça Universitat to Jaume.  Even though I didn't really understand what anyone was saying it felt really good to connect with the trans movement in Barcelona and spend the evening with so many lovely trannies, butches, ftms, CDs, mtfs, bois, girls, gender queers...and everyone that loves them.  I regret not  bringing my camera and taking photos, but hopefully I will be able to find some soon.

Photos coming soon...

Life is a little too exciting sometimes

This week was really stressful.  My classes are all over the place and it figuring out how to get everywhere for the first time was a nightmare.  I spend nearly the same amount of time traveling as I do in actual class hours.  I have it all figured out for the most part now so that's quite a relief. 

My new roomates are wonderful.  One of them recently left to go back to Mexico.  He's a former Mexican boy band member and his nickname is Party Party Boy.  We used to sit around and talk Mexican food all day.  I miss him already!  The new roommate is originally from Morrocco and he's going to help me with my French.  I'm pretty excited about that.  The Ecuadorian has just had her heart broken.  She and her sweetie recently split up and she misses Party Party. 

I just about had a heart attack on Wednesday because the cops were banging on my door and screaming at me in Spanish.  They asked for my passport and then if anyone else lived with me.  I told them I only spoke
English (they didn't at all) and that was the only one in the flat.  I also told them I was just visiting Barcelona.  They didn't write down my passport number or anything and then just left.  They also went to our neighbors across the hall and started talking to them as well.  I am not sure what was going on.  I told my roommates about it and they were confused as well because things like that rarely happen in Barcelona.  I thought it was going to be the Spanish version of an ICE raid.  No one else seems concerned about it so I am trying not to be.  

I have only had random access to the internet since I moved to my new place. I thought they there was going to be wifi by the time I moved in, but it hasn't been set up.  Fow now, I am paying an arm and a leg to use a mobile internet device.  It pretty much cancels out the fact that I moved into a cheaper place. 

Things are getting better :)

I've been so busy looking for work lately that I haven't posted in forever!

I found more teaching positions so now I have enough for rent and food (barely).  I still need to find more hours, but it's a load off of my chest to mostly afford living here.  The classes are all over town so I'll be traveling quite a bit, but that's the way it goes for your first year of teaching.  On Thursday I move into my new place near Universitat.  The common areas are quite small, but my bedroom is going to be a lot bigger with a full size bed and an external window (yay!). 

This week is the Mercé festival which is the biggest festival in Barcelona.  It is a week long and there are free events every single day.  Over the weekend I saw Belle & Sebastian and Goldfrappp among several other bands.  There were fireworks on Sunday night, but I flaked out on going because the thought of being smooshed by sweaty strangers in  a crowd for the third night in the row did not appeal to me. 

I have a job interview today in Badalona, just at the edge of Barcelona, and then later in the afternoon I have my first in-company class.  Now it's time to walk Duke the duker.  Yesterday an old lady got really mad at me because he diarrheaed on the street and I couldn't clean it all up.  Hopefully, we won't have the same problem again.

Not so cozy

So...I have to move out.

It turns out my new roommates are very intolerant evangelical Christians.  Apparently I am not allowed to have any visitors sleep over and absolutely no hanky panky in my room.  The other day, they sat me down and told me not to open the door for strangers.  They keep sending my conversion emails and trying to save my soul.  I think I would rather go to hell with all the other fun people.  So, I talked with them and let them know that this was not a good match for either of us.  They were ok with that and I am moving out at the end of the month with my full deposit back.  I am glad that inconvenience and awkwardness are the only real consequences of this situation.

Last night my friend, Dario, had a jam session at his place.  It felt like being at the mods again - hanging out with a bunch of guitars drinking cheap alcohol and eating vegan dip.  Oh, and earlier that day, I went skinny dipping with a bunch of bears in Sitges.

Now I am at home boiling some arroz caldo and nursing a sore throat.

Gettin' cozy

This last week has been fairly busy for me.  I moved into my new place on Wednesday.  It's in the same barrio as before, Gracia.  Duke and I share the space with 2 people and 4 cats.  The salon is painted like the Catalan flag and there's is a nice terrace to hang out on.  My room is small, but I love the location and the creatures I live with.

Since it is the beginning of September, everyone is back from vacation including all the language schools.  I hit the streets and sent out a blitzkrieg of job applications.  I nailed one interview to tutor people for SAT I and II and AP tests.  She'll be sending me clients as they come in, so for now I'm not sure how many hours I will get.  The pay is good (20€/hour) and they provide all the teaching materials. I met another person yesterday who will be handing over some of her private classes to me at a similar rate.  On Monday, I have an interview in Montgat for an English teaching position.  I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that I can start bringing in some dough soon.

Stay tuned for photos of my new place!  Duke and Ourso, one of the cats, are napping in the salon.  It's really cute.

Mexican food

I had Mexican food 3 times this week.  I was jonesing pretty bad.  I had some decent nachos twice in a row, killer enchiladas with mole sauce, and some tacos with the best hot sauce I've had so far in Barcelona.  I even had some agua de tamarindo tonight.  The menus are confusing for me because all the Mexican Spanish is converted into Spanish Spanish and I have no idea what is going on.  Mexican food is also a good deal fancier than in the States.  There are no taco trucks here, but the fancy Mexican food is delicious.  It's a whole different, incomparable experience.  Here is the big problem; things do not come with a side of beans and rice.  One restaurant didn't even have beans or rice on the menu.  This is a big, big deal.  For those of you who know me well, you know about my unhealthy obsession with lardy beans.

The hunt is on.

(P.S. Why do I keep moving farther and farther away from where the tacos are?)

Technical difficulties

I am trying to post a short video of the Correfoc in Gracia last week, but I am having technical difficulties.  In the mean time, check out new photos by clicking on the Picasa link on the left.  Stay tuned...

La Festa, Gràcia!

The Festa Major de Gràcia is probably the coolest thing I have experienced here.  For you Oly folks, it is like the Procession of the Species, but for 24/7 (literally every hour for a week) + lots of drinking.  Different neighborhoods dress up their street and compete with decorations made from recycled and found materials.  Some of themes include horror, burlesque, cartoons, and bees.  There are free concerts, films, poetry readings, classes, etc. for the whole community to enjoy.  The energy is absolutely electric.  Everyone has so much Catalan and Gracia pride and the festival is very intergenerational.  Everything is outside so it is easy to cruise around with Duke.  Everyone falls all over him of course.  Someone even told me that they were gay for my dog.  I have taken tons of photos so far so check out my Picasa to see more!

Cava Tasting!

I went to the Penedes region to go cava tasting with some people from my TEFL program.  We sort of took a nap on the grass of one of the wineries while waiting for them to open (there was a mix up with our tour reservation).  Of course, the owner drove up and thought we were drunk and passed out on the lawn.  He asked us if we had enjoyed his cava :)

First week of August staycation

I visited the Barri Gotic.  It was a crowded and claustrophobic, but still beautiful.  The Gothic and ancient Roman architecture is amazing and from the smell of it, the sewage system might be somewhat original.  There were street performers, merchants, people traveling from all over.  I took a tranquil moment to imagine the splash of chamber pots being emptied from above and the the trot of horses instead of mopeds.  No one who is actually from Barcelona will go anywhere near the Barri Gotic, especially during tourist season.  I saw as much free stuff as I could and took a bunch of photos.  None of the photos do any justice to the area, however.  There is so much detail that I could not capture - I was getting some high school flashbacks of Ms. Zierer's art history class the entire time.

Later on in the week, Duke and I went on a micro urban hike from my flat to Arc de Triomphe.  The Arc de Triomphe was, of course, grand and impressive, but it was all overshadowed by the best discovery ever: THE ASIAN MARKET.  It's no 99 Ranch, but they have the essentials: vinegar, tofu, soy sauce, seaweed, peanut butter.  It even had old Filipino dudes loitering inside.  Victory.  

 

After returning home with my prizes, I decided to get a haircut since it's been about a month since my last one.  I always get nervous when I cheat on Sarah.  We were seeing each other for 6 years before I left for Spain.  I chose the perruqueria with the Asians inside because they had cool hair and I figured they would take care of me.  Foreseeing an immense language barrier (they spoke Spanish and Mandarin), I looked up hairstyles online, took screen shots with my camera, and brought them in for nod and point communication.  I think they thought I was a riot because:

1. I was in Spain and couldn't speak Spanish
2. I look like I could be Chinese, but couldn't speak any Chinese languages
3. I brought them a photo of an Asian man's haircut.  

The whole process was a sitcom.  They did some strange stuff like shampoo my hair with a squirt bottle and Pantene while I sat upright in a chair.  I also got kind of nervous during the cut when I looked down and saw what appeared to be dried blood on the haircutting bib (I'm not sure what that's called).  All in all though, they delivered and I'll be back in a month or so.  

Yesterday, my Galician roommate, Reuben, decided to have a mini celebration because it was payday.  I got to partake in some traditional Galician food and drink: empanadas and licor café.  Galician empanadas are not like Filipino empanadas.  They are giant and you order them by the kilo.  The base of the filling is caramelized onions along with tuna or meat.  Licor café is the granddaddy of Kahlua.  According to Reuben, Galicians drink this like water and get wasted.  It's delicious, but I couldn't drink more than a glass of it.  We ran out of ice so we were trying to drink it straight up.  I thought my teeth were going to rot out of my face.  I also got to have some chorizo that was actually spicy.  It was really good, but nothing like Mexican chorizo.  It's really dry like pepperoni.    Reuben has been living off of garlic and rice for weeks now so it was a really big deal to have such a lavish  meal.  I felt totally honored that he wanted to share it with me.  

Put on your dancing chanclas

On Friday we received our TEFL certificates. It was a really sweet and informal ceremony. Afterwards, I went with some colleagues from class to the Mercat de l'Abaceria Central to pick up some food for lunch. This was the closest to a dinner party I've had in a looooooooong time. The food was delicious: loads of fresh lettuce, super sweet tomatoes, stinky blue cheese, crusty bread, sautéed mushrooms and zucchini, wine, olives, the best mango in Spain, and cured meat.

After this sweet, languorous lunch we headed up to Parque Guëll. It was absolutely packed with people and we lost each other immediately. Duke, Kendel and I walked to the top of a couple little mountains in the park, including Tres Creus. It was really beautiful with wonderful views of the city. There were performance artists all around including belly dancers, puppeteers, and musicians. At around 6 pm, Duke and I headed back home so I could rest up before the end of course drinks.

I wandered over to Plaça Virreina at about 10 pm. There's a great bar/restaurant/pool hall there and I got to hang out with TEFL alumni from previous classes. We closed down the bar around 2 or 3 am and then headed to the discoteca, Otto Zutz. The cover was steep for me, 12€, especially since I don't dance, but then Lady Gaga came on and I had to get my money's worth. Yes folks, I went dancing. It was a big deal. At first, I could not stop laughing at the playlist they had going: the Police, Elvis, a LOT of REM. It just wasn't what I expected in a dance club. Somehow I ended up on some kind of go go dancer box. After a few minutes I remembered I was afraid of heights, panicked, and then got down. Then I saw some friends across the way, forgot about my acrophobia, and climbed onto the VIP platform to hang out with them (later I was reprimanded by one of the bouncers). I headed home around 6 am. Halfway home, sheer exhaustion and dehydration got the better of me and I jumped in a cab so he could drive me 5 blocks to my flat.

(NOTE: I posted all of my Barcelona photos online.  Check out the link on the left!)

Yay!

I am TEFL certified to teach English and I passed my exam with a 94%.  I have the rest of the day off and then tomorrow is our certificate ceremony.  Huzzah!

August is vacation month for Spain and then work will probably start at the beginning of September.  I´ve got a little time to relax now and explore the city more.  I thought about renting a car and driving along the coast, but petrol is expensive here and people drive like maniacs.  

Anyone want to visit this month?  It´s hot as hell, but I have some free time to hang with people.

Self portrait.

Per request of my dad, here are some photos of me in Barcelona.  

In Spain, it is required to attach a photo to your CV (resume).  Do I look employable?

Some kind of sweet brown goodness...

My hairy leg and a dog bite (not from Duke)...

Los perros.

Pride in Sitges

This past weekend, Johanna and I went to Sitges again for Pride festivities on Saturday night.  We had a blast.  The little streets, which look like a fabricated neighborhood in Disney theme park, were stuffed full with an international mix of 'mos.  Dinner was at the Super Pollo, basically a Catalan El Pollo Loco.  The food was unexpectedly superb.  For about 11€ we had half a roasted chicken, a generous plate of fries, croquetas, and a bottle of cava.  Afterwards, we wandered the bars, encountered some fierce queens...and I now owe Johanna $1 for dancing on the pool table.

We were supposed to meet Jessy at some rave, but didn't end up making it to the bus.  The logical substitute was, of course, to jump into the Mediterranean with pretty boys cruising up and down the shore.  We were later informed by some Catalans that it is weird to go to the beach topless in the middle of the night since there is obviously no sun.  Oops.  After sharing refreshments with our new Catalan friends for the night, we made it back to the train station.

Like 13 year olds at slumber party, we stayed up all night and took the first train back to Barcelona in the morning.  It was silly, exciting, and appallingly difficult.  The train was packed with the haggard remnants of the night; we ran to the last car to snag some seats.  When I finally got to my station, Joanic, I zombie-crawled home wreaking of salt, sweat, wine, and dawn.