Mi cumple y el viaje a Atenas

In true celebratory fashion, I broke in my twenty first birthday with a Spanish history exam before taking some quality "me" time during the afternoon to take a nap and enjoy some time in the park. The evening was spent preparing for the party I was to host that night, which turned out to be everything I could have hoped for to celebrate my birthday in Spain. It really was a reflection on the great people that I have come to know this year, and I think everyone had a great time crammed into our small apartment dining on tapas, snacks, and the Italians' four-man pasta effort, and helping themselves to an array of drinks. Taryn even made me a "cake" out of Maria cookies, frosting, and sprinkles, after her oven stopped working as it baked the real one she had planned. It was quite sweet (in a few ways). Even with exams the next day for many, I was really pleased with how many people came and how much fun was had. Happy birthday was also sung at least five times during the night. My birthday marked a sort of renaissance for me here in Spain. While I had really loved the month before, it was for different reasons. I had been busy traveling and having guests come to visit me. After my birthday, I have really started to be pleased with living here again, and my outlook on going home has turned from "basically ready", to "I could definitely spend another year here". The biggest reason for this I think is realizing that I've reached the point here where the good friends I have had all year have become the "real friends" that I had missed at the end of last semester. Also, I've felt a renewed excitement about the Spanish language that I think I had lost for awhile. It's amazing how much you can learn in just a few days when you get that passion back.

A few days after my birthday, I was off to visit my Madison friend, Mandy, in Athens. I had been looking forward to the trip for weeks, but was met with tragic news the day before I left. I had known that two members of her study abroad group were struck by an out of control car as they walked home one night. Although they were both seriously injured, it looked as though they were both going to be just fine. Tragically, Eric passed away unexpectedly a few days before my visit. Honestly, I couldn't believe what I was hearing when she told me, nor can I imagine the pain that they have gone through the last few weeks. The news tore me apart the entire day, and I had never even met the guy. It was just so easy to relate to the situation, and I couldn't help but think about what it would be like to have that happen to someone here in Madrid. And his poor family, seeing their son leave to spend the semester of his life in Athens, never to come back home. I'm still in shock just thinking about it.
Needless to say, I felt that it wasn't exactly a good time for me to travel to Athens, but as my ticket was non-refundable, I went with the goal of just lying low and helping Mandy feel a little better if I could. The mood there was sad, no doubt, but I found everyone in higher spirits than I expected. It may have been a result of having a vigil for him the night before, which probably gave everyone a chance to have a bit more closure to what had really happened. Talk of him that weekend was about what a great young man he had been, a real tour de force it seems, with the ability to light up a room. When his name came up, there were more smiles than tears. It was truly inspiring to see that group of people cope with a tragedy of such colossal magnitude.

After a late night arrival into Athens, I was greeted by a smiley, giddy Mandy, the same one I have missed all year, and the long bus ride back to her apartment flew by as we talked about everything under the sun. While she was the same person I had always known, I could tell that she had developed a slightly higher level of maturity, which I suppose is true of most that live abroad for any significant amount of time. She also seemed to do everything with a kind confidence that I had never seen as much in her before. Her apartment is situated on the top of the highest hill in Athens, and as we arrived late, and the house was full with another visitor as well, we said our good nights and I slept beautifully on the air mattress that had already been prepared for me.

Early the next morning I met her roommates, Emily, Safia, and Lindsay, as we all struggled to get up in time to catch the coach bus that would be taking her group to the famous town of Marathon, where the young Athenian army defeated the Persians in 490 BC. It was quite an awe inspiring moment for me to look over the battlefield and think of democracy's bloody triumph over a powerful imperialist army that day. We even entered a burial mound, where skeletons lied uncovered, and one could fairly easily guess how they had died, such as a smashed in skull...

Later that day we made a chilly two hour stop at the coast for lunch and what would have been nice sunbathing and swimming. However, as the wind howled, we were quite ready to head back after eating Mandy's expertly packed picnic lunch. Tired from a busy day, we all collapsed for a little while when we got home before Safia prepared us some tasty tuna melts and fruit salad for dinner, and after I had some time to talk to a few more members of her group, we all settled in to watch a movie, as the circumstances didn't exactly warrant a crazy night out. It was a very nice first day in Greece.

The next day, Mandy took me on a big tour of the city, which I had been really looking forward to since I had arrived. Our first stop was the Acropolis, which is the most famous image of Athens. A series of temples, most notably the Parthenon, dedicated to Athena, stands atop, dating back to the 6th century BC. There is also a beautifully preserved Roman theatre that is still used for special performances these days. While I have seen a lot of Roman monuments before, this gave a whole different sense of antiquity as it sat among so many Greek ruins. So many of the ideas we still live by today descended from the Greeks, and the sheer age of the perfectly constructed temples I was looking at was almost unbelievable. After the Acropolis, we descended the steep hill and emerged into a beautiful green and bustling area lined with vendors, shops, and restaurants. I found an old map of Europe written in Greek, and after a little haggling, had found myself the perfect souvenir. We passed through the Agra, which was full of temples, theatres, and statues which were all quite impressive.

We spent an hour or so wandering through the street markets, and stopped to get a delectable gyro and coke for a late lunch costing only 2.50 euro. I think I'd be eating a lot of gyros if I lived in Greece... We ran into Mandy's roommates on the street a bit later after we made a stop in a gorgeous Orthodox church, and made plans to meet them for dinner later that evening. Mandy and I walked around Parliament, through one of the city's parks, and watched the changing of the guard, which was quite a production compared to others I have seen. After another walk through a different section of the street markets, we found Mandy's roommates sitting outside at a busy restaurant, where I ordered a delicious Greek salad and a very different type of lasagna (the name isn't coming to me at the moment) which is very typical, and had warm pita bread as an appetizer. The food in Greece is second to none. I would be in heaven living there. Absolutely stuffed, we walked to a bus stop fairly close by and caught a mini bus up one of the city's giant hills through the winding streets back to Mandy's apartment.
The next day, we took the tram to the beach with a group of her friends. It turned out to not to be the nicest of days, but we spent a very lovely afternoon at the beach, and before I left, I continued my conquest of Europe's shores and took a running plunge into the frigid Mediterranean.

That night, Safia outdid herself yet again on delicious pasta and Mandy made her trademark nutella dessert. And after I had semi-packed to leave early that morning, Mandy and I headed out with a few of her friends to a bar nearby, where we passed a few very relaxing hours talking at a table outside. With so many new faces around me all weekend, it was nice to have a smaller group to talk to and get to know more personally. Most everyone in her group is really friendly and interesting and I look forward to hopefully getting to know some of the Wisconsin students better when we are all back at Madison again next year. We arrived home late that night just in time for me to catch two hours of sleep before heading out at 4:00 that morning on my walk down the giant hill to catch the bus that would take me to the airport. It had been a great trip, and it was a treat to see Mandy again after so long and see a little bit better what her life was like there in Athens.

I made it back in time for class that morning, and after a bitter hour and a half battle against my drooping eyelids, fell happily into my bed for a much needed siesta that afternoon. I've also had a great week following the trip getting to know some new people and planning out my last few months here. I'll just say there are some pretty amazing trips in the works... Again, you have to love budget airlines and having a student's flexibility. It's a great combination. I'm off to Santander on Spain's northern coast in a week for 20 euros including all taxes and fees. I did have plans to visit El Valle de los Caidos today, Franco's incredible burial monument outside of Madrid, but it's raining and cold. That also puts a damper on the hike in the mountains I was going to go on tomorrow with Emma and Pablo. Kind of a bummer, but it's nice to have some downtime too, I suppose. That's all for now. Spain is better than ever.

RIP Eric Stearns 08-04-2008

Mis queridos padres...

After Dani and the boys returned to their respective countries, I finally had a moment to breathe. For the first time in weeks, I found myself sitting on my bed, alone, in an empty apartment. While it had been fabulous seeing so many friends, it was nice to have a moment to collect myself again. I spent a few days casually studying for my upcoming exams and enjoying the improving weather with Ivan and Elena in Retiro Park. Before I knew it, my parents were on their way to visit me. The night before their arrival, we had a goodbye party for our good friend and flat mate, Dominik, who was heading back to Germany a few days later. A great time was had by all, and as always, there was plenty of tasty food and wine to go around our crowded apartment. I finally headed to bed about four thirty, leaving just enough time to catch two hours of sleep before leaving to pick up my parents at the airport that morning. Seeing them walk out of baggage claim was a very surreal experience and I realized at that moment just how much I had missed them since our last time together the previous August.
Having them here was a very special time for me, being able to show them around the city and help them understand exactly what I had been doing all year. I had booked them into a small hotel two blocks from my apartment, which was quite convenient, and we spent the first few days passing by the royal palace, making tranquil stops in various parks and plazas, the Prado museum, the university, and my favorite neighborhoods. They had a few different tapas experiences and we had an absolutely fabulous dinner in an Indian restaurant I had wanted to try, where we struck up a conversation with a 9 language speaking Argentinean martial arts instructor. We also saw an incredible flamenco show. This was all in the first couple days before they left for Barcelona, leaving me sadly behind to cram for and sit two midterm exams as they went on an adventure to a city I have still yet to visit. They arrived back in Madrid on Friday afternoon with stories of their adventure, and we spent the night walking around the city. We ended the night at a fancier tapas restaurant called La Musa that was packed with people and unique food. I was absolutely stuffed after trying all sorts of new tapas and desserts.
Saturday, their last day in Madrid, we spent seeing the last parts of the city I wanted to show them, like the huge forest-like gardens that extend to the south of the Royal Palace. We also took a cable car ride over Madrid's largest green space, La Casa del Campo, where we saw the end of a morning bike race, and as the sun was setting, we stopped in Madrid's majestic Atocha train station. That night, we went to my favorite Thai restaurant with my friends Emma and Julie. It was really nice to have my parents get to know two of the people that have really helped me feel at home this year in Madrid. I couldn't have asked for a better visit from my parents and I really did enjoy every minute that they were here.
The excitement of my parents' visit was slightly dulled by the departure of Dominik, which was a bit hard to swallow. The night before he left, after I had dropped off my parents for the night, I joined him, Emma, Pablo, and Annie at a nearby tapas restaurant for one last toast and chat before his departure the next day. As my parents and I helped him carry his last things to his car the next morning, I found myself at a loss for words for what exactly to say to him. I knew I would be seeing him for a short hello and cup of coffee in another month as he passed through Madrid on his way to Peru, but it still felt like goodbye, so it was hard to know exactly what to say. It made it easier, when seeming to be thinking the same thing, he told me that the words weren't necessary at that moment, and that we would be seeing each other again soon.

I still struggle with how to tell Dominik how much he has unknowingly affected my life. In the end, we never became quite as close as I would have liked to have been, the result of both leading two busy lives, but Dominik had a profound influence on me during the 7 months that I knew him. Not on any incredibly deep level, but on a very basic one, which is all the more important, I think. He is a person that I really admire, and leads a life that I have almost attempted to mirror, I guess you could say. We are similar in many ways, I think, but he has always been impressively good at living his life how he wants to live it. One of the coolest people I have ever met, intelligent, hard working but understanding when not to work so hard and perfectly take advantage of the time when he doesn’t, such as this year in Spain. He always speaks his mind, but has the friendly personality that allows him to do it effectively. And while he is constantly busy, he finds time almost every single day to run distances that pushed me to my limits as I tagged along. He is one of those few people one meets in their life, that while they may not make up a large part of one's time on Earth, profoundly influence how one lives. I will remember Dominik and what he taught me for a very long time. I guess that he really way like that older brother that I never had.

Visitas y viajes. De nuevo...

Goodness, I'm getting so behind on this blog. Again... Somehow the weeks pass, and I realize I could write a novel about what has happened since the last time I wrote something here. After my fantastic adventure in Asturias, I was back in Madrid one more day to see Melissa before she headed back to the States, and then my friend Dani arrived the day after. It was pretty easy to pick her out of the airport crowd with her blond hair among a mass of black. She was surprisingly awake and ready to go after such a long flight, but mostly was just better than me at fighting off sleepiness. I felt as though I could have slept for days after my trip and having Melissa here visiting. It was great to see Dani, and not as strange as I would have thought to be guiding her through the metro on the way back to my apartment. It's actually starting to feel quite normal having visitors here, and I like that. We passed a few fabulous days in Madrid, seeing the sights and some of my favorite haunts, and it was fun to be back in her company for the first time since last summer.
Before we knew it, we were off to the airport a few days later to spend the night trying to sleep in the airport (my second time in five days), as we had a 6:00 flight to Sheffield, England to visit Chris and Dave after their trip to Amsterdam. Sleepily, we arrived in East Midlands, and caught a bus that took us through a few quaint English towns (with streets that reminded of Privet Drive), and a train through the beautifully green English countryside. Chris and Dave were waiting for us on the platform when we arrived, and as always, it was great to have my boys back.
In true English fashion, we took a double-decker bus from the train station to a stop near his dorm. Sheffield, while the fourth biggest city in the UK, felt nicely small in comparison to Madrid, and had the familiar feeling of a college town, with bars and tasty places to eat scattered all over the place. Chris lives in a luxurious dorm with a living room (so jealous), and definitely has more of a college life than I do this year. At times I do tend to miss it. We spent the day walking around town, which was actually quite beautiful despite the unwelcoming English skies. It was a bit strange to have everyone speaking my native language again, and I think I got a little taste of the culture shock I'm going to have when I get home. Even though the culture is of course quite different there, having English spoken by everyone in public places had a strange effect on me which is quite hard to describe. I felt a bit awkward talking to people there and I still don't know if that is because I'm not used to people speaking fluent English in public places, or if it is the difference between English and American English that gave me some sort of inferiority complex. I think it might have been the latter. It was quite funny to read the street signs there, some of which contained phrases that I honestly had to think about to understand.
The next morning we were already off to London. For some reason, the bus near Chris's apartment was significantly late in passing his stop, and the traffic in the city was horrible. With panic on our faces, I could tell that each of us was mentally trying to create a path on the street for the bus to pass. We arrived at the station exactly when the bus was supposed to leave, and we saw it still idling on the other side of the building though the glass windows. Sprinting with our backpacks and suitcases, we arrived just in time to catch the bus to London. It was a long ride (around 4-5 hours), but I happily took the time to rest.
London was beautiful, and raining, of course, when we arrived. We navigated our way though the Underground, with our veteran Chris as the leader, and were soon at the hostel, where we were promptly told it was full despite having reservations (I've never understand how that happens, but it does frequently) and moved to a hostel a few blocks away. Kindly, they did refund my 10% deposit on the room though... Our hostel was an absolute crap hole, but for 10 pounds a night, not any worse than I was expecting, and we wouldn't be spending much time there anyways.
After some lunch nearby, we set off on the Underground to see Big Ben and the Parliament, which were stunning next to the Thames River, despite the light drizzle. We walked along the chilly waterfront as it started to get dark, and passed the beautiful Westminster Abbey, a spooky statue of Sir Winston Churchill, and eventually arrived at Buckingham Palace after a walk through a mysteriously foggy park. We spent another hour or so walking through the upscale neighborhoods nearby. Then we paid a visit to King's Cross to satisfy our Harry Potter appetites, visiting Platform 9 3/4, where they have the back end of a luggage cart sticking out of the wall, the other half on its way to the Hogwarts Express. The train station is beautiful. After deciding we had had enough walking for one day, we headed back to the hostel to grab some dinner and play some cards that night. It was great to just sit around and shoot the breeze with such good friends.
The next day was much more beautiful than the first, and although there was a biting wind that howled all day, it was finally sunny. We walked around Kensington Palace, the former residence of Princess Diana, enjoyed the park nearby, passed by the magnificent Tower of London, and got caught in a storm on the Tower Bridge that only lasted a short time. After a coffee to warm our chilled bodies, we passed through the Globe Theatre and continued our walk along the river down to the London Bridge. The city is so beautiful, and really, you can see most of the important things in just a few days. Granted, we didn't go into much because of the lines and outrageous prices (especially when everything is in pounds), but it was a lot of fun just being able to walk past such famous places one after another.
To top off our London experience, that night we had a tasty fish and chips dinner in a cozy little restaurant near our hostel, and played a few more rounds of euchre before hitting the sack. Since the city chose that weekend to do major work on the Underground, basically all of the useful lines were to be closed the next morning when we needed to get to the airport. A cab picked us up at 4:30 that morning, taking us to the nearest metro stop with a connection to the Gatwick Express train, and we were already on our way out of London after our short but pleasant trip.
We arrived in Madrid very sleepy after a long morning and only a few hours of sleep, and after constructing a four person bed on my floor using my mattress and our spare, and closing my window shutter, we all drifted into a blissful three hour nap in my dark room. Dani had one more day in Madrid, where she got to visit many of the same places again as I showed Chris and Dave around. It was such a treat having them all in Madrid, and the boys and I had some great times together even after Dani was on her way back to the homeland.