So...I don't feel like detailing everything...

I know these posts have been mad late. So I'm going to keep this brief as possible and try to fit in as much as I can...Y'all have to read this after all.

So yeah, I'm in Santander officially. Yesterday marked the pass of my first week in Spain...which means that time is about to fly by hella quick. I'll try to sum this up as best I can. So yah...Arrival. The train ride here was really dope. The scenery was absolutely amazing. The country is so verdant and dynamic. It was dope to see remnants of old architecture sprouting from between the new architecture and what not. It just goes to show that this country remembers its past. It's a redundancy that I'm going to keep mentioning probably. (...haha) I was fortunate to be awake for the majority of the ride, the reward was I got to see most of it. I know I was exhausted, it was the apprehension that did it most likely. It was nice to see Nuria (our professor and group leader) when we got here. It was nice to see a familiar face. I met with my host father Mino shortly after that. I consider myself lucky to be hosted by him. He's a super nice guy, hella smart and really knowledgable about history...Santander, Spain and the world in general. I talk to him about everything that I don't get to talk to my own pops about..refreshing for sure. I like the city so far, it reminds me of Washington state in the summer. It's verdant, hilly, cool enough not to be oppressive, but not so hot that it makes you want to kill yourself...Duval take a peep at Santander's weather and civil planning game...you could learn something.

Today was the second day of classes. In the meantime, we've been living it up as the locals do here. Life here is so relaxed. People work mad hard to relax harder. I can deal with that. Things start late here from an American persepective. I love how they take siestas into consideration here. All of us have had an ill time thus far. We've been going out almost everyday taking in what this city has to offer in our individual ways. The campus is small, but comfortable. The staff here is super helpful and there's everything that we need within an arms reach (in my opinion.) I love being able to walk to everything safely. The food is bomb, the people mind their own business and what not. Things are good..if not great. Unfortunately more details later...this library is about to close and I'm personally tired of being cramped in here...the city and..homework await...

Missed you internet!

So time to catch up again…about time? I know right? Synopsis time!

22.06.11 (day.month.year let’s get European.)

The day of the actual Santander trip was a well…a trip. We made an early rise at the crack of dawn…for no apparent reason. Oh well, paranoid planning makes for an interesting bedfellow…personality…whatever. Today is the day that the rest of the group gets into Madrid. The morning was pretty amazing…the air was fresh for being as metropolitan as it is. It was just before the city itself was beginning to take its first breath. The city was rousing itself just like we were for ourselves. In lieu of that, we decided to take one last stroll around the city while we were able to enjoy it. It was best that we take in some of the spots we caught the previous night and check them out during their daytime form. We ended up peeping souvenirs and other various window-shopping goodness. I’m going to miss this city for the next few weeks.

Allow me to rant on about this place a bit more. I love the way that this city breathes. The city feels so old, but at the same time so modern. It’s an interesting metaphor like the new built upon the old, as if the city itself based its progress on where it came from. Other signs of this lie in the street culture as well. “Los Indignadas” are what they’re called. They’re like a 20/21^st century version of the Taiyozoku of Japan. Some back history, the term stems from a group of high school to college aged youth in postwar Japan, a group of hopeless youth rendered indifferent for the fiscal and social future of the nation and its government. The difference in the Indignadas is that they’re done with being indifferent and complacent and they’re willing to fight and speak out against the injustice of their government. From what I gather, its overly conservative here, but the point isn’t put down like it is in the US. There are no party wars, just a struggle against the unjust powers in control. This country has a chance to really explode with growth; a spark of inspiration needs to happen to put it simply. It’s a matter of nothing more and nothing less in my opinion, but obviously it’s going to be more difficult than that. Nonetheless, it inspires me the change that the youth in this country want for its nation and culture. So yah…enough soapbox.

This Madrid experience is way too short lived, but oh well. I’ll be back the end of the road surely enough. We decided to taxi it up to head to Madrid Chamartin (the train station to Santander…and a grip of other places in this country). I have to say that the drivers here are straight G. They drive manual through these narrow, busy ass streets, creeping in between the tightest of spaces. Cars, alleys and what not, these drivers can’t be faded. It was nice seeing the city by car. It’s a totally different perspective though brief. The vista is so dynamic. Saw mad graff and got to check out the highway system in Europe from a glimpse. We got to see more of the city in a short time, much more efficiently than on foot mind you. I can’t believe that we made it in the time we did throughout that horrible traffic. The driver took care of us fat for sure. We finally made it to Chamartin. Finally, the group is together. I felt bad for them, because they basically looked how we felt on our first day in Madrid. That cramped, dirty, no-sleep travel feeling is a downer for sure. I totally understood. Everyone is looking forward to getting to point B, ready to sleep and shower and all those lovely amenities….ooohhh yeah.

The truth to Day 1: The Madrid Experience.

So I've never been more ready to get off a plane than in that moment. I was completely sleep-deprived, dirty, and a variety of expletives. The primary thing on my mind was how to get ourselves and belongings to the hostel and shower and recoup. Maneuvering through Barajas airport was mad strange so many twists and turns and stairs, lifts and escalators. It felt like some labyrinthine premonition...and it totally was, but more on that later. After weaving through the maze from The Shining, we made it to baggage claim. It took forever for us to cop our belongings as was expected. After than, we were pretty much lost in finding a way to the Metro station. We had the directions, but didn't know how to get to step one. We managed to ask for directions after a few cigarettes and unnecessary waiting. Everything in that damned aeropuerto is so spread out, but thankfully the line to the airport is basically the aorta to the city. The subways reminded me of New York which was nice and familiar in a bittersweet way. The last thing I wanted was to be cramped in a tight confine again, but oh well it's that or not get to the hostel. I was super en guard on the metro and combined with my lack of sleep and ever growing fatigue I was not a happy camper. We managed to maneuver though, my travel buddy was not thrilled about the ride. I would do the Metro again, but not her. She wants to taxi it up for the main part of the trip. Ehh...I'm not about that. Anyhow, finally we get off of 3 lines and countless exchanges and now we're officially out the Metro and on the streets of Madrid. The weather here is similar to home, but the kicker is that it doesn't have the raggedy-ass, smoky humidity that Duval has had for the past week or so. I didn't mind so much the radiant heat from all areas rather the suck factor was in having to lug mad kilos worth of belongings up flights of stairs and such throughout the Metro station and finally the hostel.

I've learned something about hostels pretty much. One, they aren't slasher movie experiences like in movies with titles of similar name. Two, I hate keys. We get to the hostel and we're having a hell of a time using Spanish to the jefe of the establishment. We had to wait forever to get our rooms and had to again lug our lives around with us yet again (and again when we check out fml) Why do these places have keys for every single solitary thing. I suppose in hindsight it was cool for safety purposes, but it's so unnecessarily convoluted. Those damned things were the root of all evil. We were even locked on our floor because a nameless someone (not I, real) turned the key the wrong way and got us locked on our floor. That was an unnecessary hassle, but eventually rectified. Anyhow, on a more lofty tip. I have to say that this city is freaking amazing. It has the energy and diversity of NY (not to mention varieties of gastronomic delights), but with historical and cultural flavor that supplements its distinct identity. This city is beautiful, so much about it screams history past and present. We took two trips during the day, the first was short lived mostly because I felt like shit, dirty and jetlagged. Rectified most easily, with a 4 hour nap haha. Finally, it was around 8:30 our time (post the keys fiasco) and we were finally able to rollout and enjoy walking the city. We traced the steps of the places we started, but didn't finish at the time. We've got mad pics, I can't wait to show those. The people flood the streets here, we saw street shows, mad government protesting and even visited the ol' Starbucks. The latter was fun, I got to compare experiences with the partners there over Spanish. It's hard for me to describe the whole undertaking here, this place definitely has to be seen to understand the experience. I don't mean to be overbearing but there's a myriad of things to see and do it seems here. I like the energy of this place, it's definitely something I encourage all my friends to experience. Its' going to be dope once all my class family makes it here..which is tminus 4 hours. I'm enjoying all of it, I've used more vocal Spanish than I've used in all of my classes, I can hear and feel the improvement of it all. The highlight of my day at large was walking and taking in all the sights and having Spanish convos with Rebecca aka Travel buddy. We capped the night at a small cafe close to the Puerta del Sol, using the language to shoot the shit about life and the experience. It was so enriching, I feel free out here, no worries than to improve myself, broaden my horizons and not worry about working for the man. I look forward to what the next 7 weeks will bring. Stay up on it! I know I will...on to the next one!

Day 1.

This one is a sort of continuation of my previous post. 06212011

So I managed to knock out for a little while, I can't even say how long...all I know is that I shot up awake and couldn't revert back to sleep mode for awhile. Before my previous doze...and now. I've spent mad hours going through songs for breaks. Found some useful stuff, but nothing super game changing. It's more than I had in my quiver before though...I consider myself fortunate. In my sleep-addled state, I've discovered a new love for Krautrock and Psychedelic rock. It's been an interesting experience, even though I didn't find many bboy breaks. So yeah, besides that I've noticed that international flights or any extended period flights seem to have this "seedy underbelly" to them.

So I'm chillin, wide awake with my headphones on minding my own and this parade of weirdness (in my opinion) seems to make its appearance known amidst all the darkness. First of all, the way that people parade around the aisles is so suspect to me. I know it's easy to get stir crazy when you're cramped in such a confined space for that period of time, that certainly goes without saying. I just think it crossed the line in the form of two bourgeois women (surprisingly not in first class). Anyhow, these two ladies were traipsing about the aisles staring crazy at everyone throughout the rows, leaning in and all that. There were a few times I thought they were going to reach for peoples stuff. I was not comfortable with any of it. I know I would've pulled a respond/react right then and there were that to take place. Needless to say, it wasn't cute at all. I'm glad that the lights came on when they did...It served as a way to shirk off the denizens of the dark back to the crevices they slinked out of. So yah, with the light came breakfast which was refreshing and small, but surprisingly filling. The best part of it all though...was the hour until the touchdown in Madrid. It was certainly the longest hour ever..lots of interesting stuff...I thought we were going to crash into the airport the way that the pilot touched down. I would've been so mad and also so dead. Anyhow, hour passed and now in Madrid!

Finally...I've got internet.

The first of many tales 06202011

To begin...my reality check has just been cashed in a major way. I remember a song "I'm flying on a jet plane...don't know when I'll be back again"and yadda yadda so the song goes. Today, has been a mad relaxing one, as I spent the majority of it absorbing creature comforts that many of us in good ol' Amurrica take for granted. To begin a long illustrious list, A/C (d/c du dun ch.), playstation, fire ass trees and last but certainly not least (or finally for that matter), the good ol' American toilet. I'm almost positive I won't be taking these things for granted once I make my return back. However, I digress. To be completely honest, I think that some of my previous apprehensions about being here have subsided. For now, I'm going to enjoy some fleeting moments of "me" time on this plane..the majority reason being I've really got no choice. I've been thinking about how my Spanish game is going to hold up out here, Its got me shook a bit because I'm literally being ripped from my comfort zone needless to say. I think it's dope to be taken out of the frame of reference I've been accustomed to only to be placed in the reality of a completely different culture...which is about to take the safety off for sure. I'm hoping my group family maintains the optimism...from the looks of it...they have and that's most certainly refreshing in my eyes. I'm going to handle myself proper and hope with the utmost optimism that they maintain that medium of thought for themselves. Anyhow, formalities aside...some background on what I'm seeing at the moment.

On a more analytical/whimsical note, this flight has a pretty diverse group. There's a grip-ton of transient students, a bible study group and various other transients heading to that side of the globe, perhaps farther. There's a variety of cultures and backgrounds as well...I like that. I've made friends already, kinda sorta...gotta converse with ze ladies sharing a row with the homie...totally helps pass the time. Anyhow...the flight staff is super friendly (not to mention easy on the eyes...lord christ jesus) and they're all Españolas as well. They've been more than helpful in assisting me in my Spanish game and they tell me I have a good accent...many of them were impressed. Personally, I'll take all I can get (that's what she said) I need the confidence booster at this point. So yeah....more now than ever I consider myself blessed with the opportunity I've made for myself. In the next few hours of me time, I plan on catching up with some music, writing and other various plans of action during the stay. First, I'm going to go through these joints I've stumbled upon. I wonder how the record game is in España...got me itchin for sure. For now, time to get on this archeologist tip and do some research! More mindspray later y'all...keep on the look out!

A trip of a lifetime.

Alright so it's been a minute since I've updated this thing...perhaps that's underestimating things. Needless to say, there's been quite a remarkable gap of events from the last post to the present day. I felt that the appropriate topic of discussion should be my European excursion to Spain. We've all got those "bucket list" things we would like to see to their fruition. Studying abroad was a definite one for me. Amidst the changes that have gone on in my life up to this point, I definitely think this is the best thing for me right now. New horizons rife with new possibilities. In lieu of all of these things, I thought this blog would be the best way to share my experiences with everyone back home (accompanied by ze' facebook of course). The official jumpoff starts tomorrow...I think I'm ready?