Thursday, April 29, 2010

wide open spaces

No, this is not a reference to the Dixie Chicks song. Exchange opens a lot of things up-- it opens up your vantage point and perspective on what's going on around you and what's going on within you. It connects you and exposes you blankly and without shame to every other kid in your same situation and every kid that does and doesn't want to help you out. It opens your eyes and opens your ears and opens your heart and peels away and layers on to your perception of the world and yourself. Being on exchange leaves you with some wide open spaces, place to roam and relax and work harder than you ever have. It's beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful, the definition in the dictionary might have to battle with April in Spain. The average temperature is 70 to 75 degrees and it's been sunny for two weeks straight. Photo tour? Excellent :)


April 10 was just a regular Saturday driving to my grandpa's house in Las Matas for our first outdoor lunch together since October until Jacobo donned these 3D glasses. I might have to take some sort of class for my withdrawl symptoms from Jacobo's total cuteness


Devon, Emma, and I are frequent park-goers, where children run, skip and play, dancing around their grandparents' fet and seedy teenage couples sprawl out on lawns where they should charge admission for the shows they put on. My host aunt recently told me that Madrid has more trees than any other city in Europe. I wouldn't feel comfortable using that fact in a research paper, but my aunt's zealous love for her city does add some credibility to the statement. This park is called El Capricho and we visited on a scorching day where the recently-fertilized smell mixed with freshly blooming buds... Surprisingly appealing






Capricho used to be the Queen's park... When it was a chilly day, she would have people go around and light these to warm it up before she went out for a stroll


I couldn't ask for two better friends. We're from Minnesota, California and Colorado and found each other in Madrid, Spain... I love them both

We all assumed April would go by a little bit slower (in comparison with other Spring months) as there were a lot of days in there that there was just nothing going on. We were right about the nothingness and how good it feels to be free of responsibilities (sometimes) but we were totally wrong about the slow part. Emma, Devon, and I have been doing a lot of wandering around and seeing things we've been meaning to see our entire exchanges. This includes gardens, museums, clubs, and restaurants, all in the city we've come to call our own.


My friend Devon sipping on her coffee outside of the Royal Palace. Off the lefthand side of the photo is the Opera house where we later saw the famous German opera Salome for only 15 euros a piece with a student discount.


Emma and I outside the Prado Museum with the tulips all in bloom

We also took a full day trip to Alcala de Henares, a small university village outside of Madrid. The buildings were old and gorgeous and the history was so strong you could feel it as you strolled the streets.







The next big day trip was to see Segovia, somewhere I've been meaning to go for a while now. It's northwest of Madrid, about an hour and a half by bus and it's absolutely lovely in that Extremadura Spain sort of way, originally constructed by the Romans and most famous for the acueducts that still stand there, centuries old.




The Cathedral-- oddly similar to the cathedral in Sevilla


The Alcazar-- The Fortress

I've also been taking little trips here and there with my host family-- This was a stroll through El Parque Oeste, the West Park, in Madrid with my aunts and uncles on my dad's side of family.






My host mom and Jacobo, with my host dad in the background


Please remember that the majority of this time the Champions League in European Soccer has been going on. I was and am and always will be a Barcelona Futbol Club fan and so I've been religiously watching matches with my Spanish friends, wherever we can catch them. Whether it be in a friend's house, in a restaurant or a hole in the wall bar, we watch. Last night Barcelona won the battle (a 1-0 game against Italy Milan's Inter team) but lost the war as they didn't have enough points to proceed on to the finals of the Champion's League. They needed 2-0. I love Spain's national identity that it finds in soccer- a sport that I absolutely love.

So what can I say? It's been easygoing and easyliving. I return home in far too short of a time-- I've never identified with a cliche as much as "time flies" is now hitting home for me. Lazy days reading David Sedaris while ordering a cafe con leche outside of the Royal Palace are limited; the question is, how do you come back down to reality when you're living in such a wide open space filled with nothing but what you want-- friends, coffee, soccer, a good book, and the newest episode of House MD. It's funny how living in a crowded city that never sleeps can feel more spacious and alive than the wide open plains of Minnesota brimming with nature and life. I'm simply, madly in love.

A kiss for you all! Sami

2 comments:

  1. Scrap,
    You, as always, had me laughing, nodding along, pondering, and learning from the words you share in your blogs.
    Looks like you've definitely got the life right now babe and I agree that you (and I) shall need serious therapy once we're back home, facing "real life" once again. It's a blessing and a curse to experience such freedom at our young age. It makes you thrilled to have experienced such growth and openness, but it will make it twice as hard to sit down at a desk job for the next thirty-some years...=P
    Best wishes to you throughout your last few days, I know you'll make the most of them, miss you babe
    "Sam.e" punk as always

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  2. despite the fact you sound like an elementary school teacher critiquing my work, i thank you for your kind words :) perhaps i shall add a poem!?

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