may

I'm sorry, blog. I'm so neglectful of you.
I wrote up a pretty decent summary of my trip to Venice, but the add photos thing never seems to want to work. And what would that post be without at least a few of the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of pictures that I took there? You're right, it really wouldn't be very exciting.
So, an update of my life. Life here continues slowly, yet somehow I'm able to sit down at my computer and 4 hours later not have accomplished anything. I wake up from a stupor, recognize the time, and blink, wondering just what new knowledge I've acquired within that time. Usually it's not much, but I guess you never know when random facts are going to come in handy.
Since my last post I have successfully navigated the library system here. It may not sound like an accomplishment, but believe me, you feel accomplished after it takes you 3 hours to check out a book. I thought I was being really perceptive by figuring out that you had to fill out little cards for each of the books that I needed. Well, once I had filled those out (complete with name, address, telephone number, book name, etc.) I gave them to the librarian, who squeaked "you don't have the 'signature'!" I was puzzled by this, since I had signed my name. She said, "you know, the 'signature'...the special number each book has...how are we supposed to look for the book otherwise?!?" In my head I thought, "um...you could start with the title and possibly try author if that didn't work out..." So I went back and tried to find this special number. I found A number which looked quite official, but when I turned the cards back in the librarian rolled her eyes at me and told me she'd have to come do it for me. So it turned out that you had to click on a little picture of a book to get to a separate page which had this other number, the first letter of which you had to find on a list of 5 papers taped on the wall above the computers to make sure it was in *this* library. And apart from this, some of the books are available for you to go and grab by yourself (or, rather, they are waiting to be hunted down, since they don't use the Dewey Decimal system here and it's anybody's guess as to where the book will actually be), while others are kept in a special lair beneath the library, which the librarians only descend to once every hour. So too bad if you come at 4:20...they wait until 5:00 and you have to wait until whenever they make their way back upstairs. Oh, and you can only have three books. And for three days.
They really just don't know how much better they could have it.
But I need to make a list of things I like, since I realize I haven't done that yet.
I like the fact that all the dogs here are so well-behaved. I don't get it. They don't need to be on leashes and trot faithfully behind their masters. They even look like they are smiling. Here you really need never be afraid of getting attacked. All the people have to do is whistle and the dogs return joyfully.
I like the fact that the food here is much fresher, more local, and more flavorful. I'll miss it when I go back to the U.S., where tomatoes bought in supermarkets taste like ashes in comparison. I'm a much better cook when I'm in Europe, it turns out. Almost everything I make, even if I just throw random things together, ends up somehow tasting good.
I like fresh-baked bread available a block away WAYYY too much. I'm trying to hold back. I really am. But its...sooo...good....[Homer Simpson sound]
I love Spanish old people. They are so active. Even though they walk with canes they still walk everywhere and manage to cover a considerable amount of terrain. They go out with their friends and even to bars. I pass them on the street and wonder what they could tell me about their lives.
I love my apartment, especially when I'm the only one in it. Today when I was cleaning it I realized that I feel perfectly at home here. It's so close to campus and everywhere else I need to go. (On the flip side, I HATE that our oven still doesn't work, even though our landlord told me in February it was about to be fixed...grrrr...I shake my fist at the Spaniards' conception of 'about to be')
I'm pretty content with the fact that my classes require very minimal effort. It's quite a shock. I really don't feel like I'm in school...more like I'm retired and am taking some classes for general enrichment. I don't understand how they ever learn anything here unless they are very independent learners, but it suits me fine right now. I did a presentation in class which I worked hard on but was still pretty sub-par and would have gotten criticized for in my classes in the States, but here I was congratulated four times, both by the professor and another student. And the two other students that presented said they were following my example by making Powerpoints. Ha! I think that really they were just impressed that a foreign student a) decided to go ahead and do a presentation and b) knows more than they do about St. John of the Cross.
Even though I don't have to work for my classes, I still have a hard time actually forcing myself to do work I need to do. But I think I'm entering a new stage of productivity because in most of June and July I won't be able to.
What else? I like that I can get Spanish tortilla in almost any bar. That I can go to Mass in a church from the 8th century (yes...8th!). That shopkeepers and old ladies randomly call me "vida" (life), which is something that no one else comments on happening to them. That my translation teacher gives painstakingly detailed corrections of translations, however painful for my pride that is (you'd think I'd have a handle on subject-verb agreement after a Master's degree...). I like that there are so many daily Masses here that I can choose where and when I want to go, and that I am a 15-minute walk from Perpetual Adoration. I love little Spanish children, especially when I see them getting swimming lessons at the gym.
Now, there are quite a few things on my do-not-like list: movie dubbing (it's pretty much impossible to see an original-version movie here so every movie sounds like a cartoon to me), the cold and rainy weather (case in point: it's May 16 and still sweater weather), getting harassed by men on the street or in bars, the cavalier attitude towards sex and relationships, the secularism that can actually be quite hostile to other points of view but swears it's "open-minded" or "free" (if you're going to be a bigot save us all time and call yourself one), the fact that no system in this country makes sense, which everyone complains about yet no one will change, the fact that I haven't really made Spanish friends and thus am speaking less Spanish than I did for the past year and a half in the U.S. (that part is particularly disappointing), the focus on outward appearances, the fact that otherwise intelligent people still think it's acceptable to rely on the media for their stereotypes...okay I'll stop right there.
I'm not going to Malta anymore, but I'm not heart-broken about it. The fact that my roommate is really flaky cost me some money but I'm kind of glad. Instead, I'm going to be spending a good three weeks in Italy, which I'm so excited about. I think it'll be much more gratifying, actually to see Italy by myself. All that's left is actually dealing with the logistics. Where to go? What to see? (Besides the list of, oh, fifty or so places I've always dreamed of seeing. And oh, yeah, catching miniscule glimpses of the Pope...)
Also, I'm going to live it up in Ireland, which is now less than a month away! And Barcelona and hopefully Menorca and Montserrat. I definitely am taking advantage of the beautiful beaches when I escape from cold and rainy Asturias. Actually, it will truly be an adventure, as I am set to be traveling for over a month with just a carry-on. Creative dressing!
Did I mention before that I'm doing a Filmmaking program next semester? The more I think about it the more excited I get. Yes, yes...the inevitable question is: "So you're not going to do anything with your Master's?" And the answer is: not anything directly related, but when your Master's is in a language you can kind of relate that to anything. Who knows what will come in handy if I go in a new direction? I don't think going to graduate school was a mistake or a waste of time. I learned a lot and gained a lot of confidence I don't think I would have gotten otherwise. And I do think it's valuable to learn early on what you're *not* cut out for. And I'm finally just facing the fact that you can only ignore a calling for so long before it becomes something you just have to do, no matter what you try to substitute in the meantime. The past couple years have been a process I still don't understand, which will probably be significant for many years to come, and the fact that they are bearing fruit completely different than what I expected from them when I started out does not make them any less necessary.
I'm actually looking forward to being back in Lexington. I think when I left Lexington to go to college I was blind to all that was going on there. But there really is quite a lot. There is actually a lot more live music in Lexington than in Oviedo. And art. By art, the quantity, not necessarily quality (Oviedo actually has some El Grecos and Goyas!). But it is nice to be able to go to more than two or three places to see something. I miss Gallery Hops.
Okay, future posts will include: Venice, Bologna, my mom's visit and Garabandal, and wherever else I go in the future!
Hope everyone is well back home.