Molly came this weekend!

I got to spend the weekend with Molly! On Friday we made stir fry and went out to La Vía Lactea in Malasaña with her friend Megan. Then some more of her American friends from Granada showed up and we went to El Laberinto. I've been to both places before-not too expensive, the music doesn't suck, the decorations are kitschy and Laberinto has a foosball table. Sweet! We sang David Bowie songs all the next day.

Saturday we walked around, I finally saw Madrid's cathedral. It seems much more modern than other cathedrals I have seen in Europe. The paintings were super colorful. After a long walk we ended up in Retiro with Florian and my friend Alicia. Good times, we sat in the shade (the weather here is incredible!) and tried to avoid getting sunburnt. The Prado was free after 6, so we saw some excellent Goya. That man was witty! He was commissioned for all these portraits of generals and royalty, but in his free time he sketched his political opinion out-very antiwar. He was awesome.
This morning I went to El Rastro with Molly-super dangerous. I wanted to buy every hippie summer dress in sight! She checked out the Reina Sofia-which I still need to do(!) and then headed back for Granada. But not before I made plans to possibly live in her unfinished basement next year. $150 rent? Yes.

I ate cornflakes for breakfast...

...should I really go vegan for sustainibility reasons if I don't plan on going all organic? Is it a failure to say I will try to eat organic as often as possible? Do I need a label like 'vegan' to be serious about caring for this planet? I think most of you would say no. I can't save the world eating organic anyway, right? And is it really possible to weed all the hypocricy out of my life? Can I really go vegan when I'm spending my parents money? Is it a responsible use of money?

Yummy confusion.

In case you haven't recieved a proper indie education:

Florian

I drank too much coffee today, apparently, because here I lie, wide awake at 2AM. Amanda requested some photos. This is the guy I met at John's birthday party in January. I've been crazy about him ever since. He is constantly encouraging, brings out the artist in me and likes my cooking. To say the least. First photo is at Plaza Mayor and the second is at The Cure concert!

Dinner party, photos & vegan possibilities?

Last night Anna made the most amazing Jamaican food for all of our friends (turns out we have quite a few!). It was a wonderful community celebration-everyone chipped in with the cooking and helped us with the food costs. We had a genuinely great time. I was exhausted for most of it, and at one point sitting on the couch next to Florian, I stuck my ear into each conversation in the room and realized that I have found a truly incredible group of people. I am so happy to be sharing my life with all of them right now!
Mati and Pablo taught us all the Argentinian national anthem, Patrick brought German beer for Florian, and Anna's jerk chicken sauce is on my list of favorite foods now.

In other news, I think I may become a vegan. Florian and I had an interesting conversation about whether or not to eat animals the other day, and it got me thinking. I believe God put animals on this earth for us to eat but I also see our unsustainable agricultural practices destroying the earth.
Now, I have only been seriously considering this for a few hours, so feel free to give me some advice. So far I've realized I'm going to miss scrambled eggs, Flat Branch burgers and salmon. Currently trying to figure out how bad the over-fishing problem really is. My exceptions would be: If you cook it for me, I'll eat it. Because over all, I still value people over animals (which I realized is in direct conflict with most vegan beliefs...). Second exception would be any free-range produce, that is, food from animals raised in a sustainable manner. I don't want to be a hypocrite about my beliefs, and this is definitely an area in my life where I feel I can be hypocritical (i.e. the McDonald's french fries I ate in Venice).

Finally, the photos you have all be waiting for:








1. Me and the hermanos in Andalucía! 2. Floating kid head! 3. It was rainy and cold. We were tired from all the relaxing in Spain. But whatever! Paris was amazing! 4. Those amazing friends I was telling you about. By this point in my 3 week long travels, I was exhausted, homesick and coughing a lot. They managed to put up with me and I love them for it!

Back!

I have been avoiding an update this week because there is so much to say, I am a bit overwhelmed. So to avoid all the whelming, I am going to write a bit about the past a bit about the present and a bit about the future. I promise photos of my travels with witty captions in the future.

Past: My dad managed to run 3 red lights in a row in Sevilla. Luckily my family & I survived our Andalusian vacation. We slept like kings in a timeshare condo in the center of a labyrinth on a hill. We saw every major city in Andalucia as well as a few tourist traps and small beaches. Favorite thing? Kebap in Granada.

Present: Making my own kebap tonight. And strawberry shortcake! Also, just recieved an automated reply from my journalism advisor informing me that she does not advise over email and that I should stop by to make an appointment. All the more reason to give up and move to Frankfurt!

Future: Though I am not moving there(after all, I can still live up to half of the promise I made to my mom that I wouldn't "fall for some european and never come home"), I am spending the summer in Germany with Florian. We are going to hit up Prague, Amsterdam, Berlin and some campgrounds in Scandinavia. Hopefully Helen and Sarah will be involved somehow!