In Prague!

A quick update, lack of internet lately...

Berlin=awesome. I loved: Tiergarten, the sweet hippie cafe where Florian and I ate a vegetarian buffett breakfast and all the history. What an amazingly interesting city. We saw the wall, tons of commie apartment buildings, amazing uber-modern skyscrapers and a lot of great Doner Kebaps (Turkish gyro).

Before that I was in Giessen with Florian. It has been nice to be with more people who speak Spanish! Although the Argentinian accent of my dear friends can be hard to understand :). Early on I got to see Marburg, where Florian studies, which is just north of Giessen. It has a castle and several very old churches. We had a coffee at a cafe by the river. Between the river and the castle, I was ready to spend another month just in Marburg.

Also got to see Amsterdam with Helen and Allie, though the rain and lack of planning limited severly what I got to see. We still managed to enjoy ourselves. It is a beautiful city, loved the canals.

I am currently panicking about moving back to boring old America, trying not to get emotional about leaving Florian and trying to figure out this Czech language. I want to devote my life to studying languages.

Also wondering if I could handle the winters in Berlin. I am thinking no, but will you all still love me if I run away to Europe? I am very much looking forward to coming home. I am already planning potlucks in my head. And I am in desperate need of a good dance party, so you all have to fill me in on where to go now that Shattered is closed.

Love & besos! Be home soon!

Last moments in Madrid

I have mixed feelings about leaving. I'm tired, I've gone out every night this week and am sleep deprived. I am sad to leave my friends, terrified of how I'm going to feel when it really hits me that I can't jump on the metro and go to Aluche.

I have only had bad interactions with Spaniards in the last couple of days. I shared an elevator with our new neighbors last night and instead of introducing themselves they demanded to know if I was a smoker. She's pregnant. What a lovely goodbye for me, being accused of killing an unborn baby in the last civilized country to allow smoking in public. Seriously, you can't even smoke in the bars in Amsterdam anymore! The fact that they pardoned me was no consolation.

That has been the worst thing-I feel like this city is kicking me out. I was literally woken up by the roommate who will take my place this morning. I'm sitting on the couch with my luggage. I keep trying to figure out what the one thing is I want to spend my last 20 minutes doing, and all I can think about is taking a nap.

Giessen, I hope you are sympathetic.

My last night in Madrid

Looking forward to Germany.
Scared of how awful I'm going to feel when I have to go home.
Sad that this year is ending.
Tired from going out every night & don't feel like cleaning the kitchen.

I'm just going to focus on the first one. AND the fact that the European Cup final is tonight! Go Alemania!

Anna & I's home away from home:

Nearing the end

The title of my blog limits me a bit. But I'm going to keep it going through July when I will not be in Madrid. I'll be in Giessen, Germany!

Things I've done this week:
1. Got reprimanded by the super for talking too loud. Go figure.
2. Stole lavander to dry & make things smell pretty.
3. Watched Germany work their way into the final game of the Euro Cup!!
4. Hung out w/ two of my oldest friends (Helen & Allie were here!)
5. Kicked Flo's butt racing him back to his apartment. I'm faster, stronger, better.

Cost of living in Spain

I'm not worried about running out of money in Madrid anymore. I already did! What is there to fear now? The worst has happened and I am just happy to be blessed with parents who wish me shelter & food.

However, having Hannah & Kyle & Kristin here has reminded me how expensive it is to live on the dollar in a European city. I did some research at the (fully stocked!! strikers are taking a break for the weekend) Carrefour today.

Loaf of bread: 1.40€ or $2.15
Peanut Butter (small jar): 4.15€ or 3.40€ from a natural foods store or $5-$6
Milk (1L): 1.25€ or $1.92
Soy milk (2L): 2.40€ or $3.69
Diet Coke (2L): 1.32€ or $2.03
Clean&Clear face wash: 6.70-7.25€ or $10.30-$11.14
Herbal Essences shampoo: 2.95€ or $4.53
store brand shampoo: 1.60€ or $2.46
Olive oil(1L): 3.45€ or $5.30

For bread & milk, these are the cheapest prices or the milk I've seen Anna buy (I go soy). Also keep in mind that US brands (like that face wash) are more expensive than local brands. I've tried many knock-off shampoos & conditioners and all have been lacking in quality.

What I would love to know is: how do these prices compare to US prices?

The trucking strike is apparently still on.

Just now, in the midst of a well-warranted study frenzy I realized I don't have any notes over one of the poets I'm being tested over tomorrow. On my walk to the library I realized how light headed I was from only eating fruit and chips and drinking too much coffee.

So I decided to stop over at the local CarreFour Express and get something to eat. I was also interested to see what was left.

Last night Florian made me some amazing pasta and on limited supplies.

In the fruit section there is a handful of spotted apricots and probably 20 apples (okay, and a ton of ginger).
The fresh fish section is empty and the lights are turned off.
screens are pulled over half of the empty meat section.
There are no vegetables.
There are no eggs.
Milk is getting low, OJ too.
No onions or potatoes.
The sausage section is about half-full.

Yea for bacon and mustard sandwiches?! I'm not as creative as my novio.

Trucking strike!

So, I went to go buy spinach for a salad this weekend. As usual, CarreFour was out. I kind of expected it, they aren't the most reliable with produce. When I went in yesterday, they had no lettuce or salad-making produce at all. This is unprecedented in my year in Madrid. But, in a very untypical fashion, CarreFour had posted a helpful sign explaining the absent produce.

The truck drivers are on strike because of high fuel prices! I expect if I walked into CarreFour this morning the fruit section would be a bit lacking as well.

Eurovision '08

Last night we watched the Eurovision Song Contest & ate an amazing Italian meal. For the estadounidenses, this Eurovision thing is pretty freaking awesome. Think American Idol with less hate, more ridiculousness & more languages. It has been around since the '50s. Russia won. Mostly because of the Olympic ice skater in their act? What that has to do with music, I do not know. There were also Latvian pirates, fohawks & well, Spain. Most of the acts were bad pop with pretty outfits. Spain's submission...was original, to say the least:

In case you didn't catch it, the third dance move is the "maiquelyason" or Micheal Jackson. Sweet.

GIANTS!

Yesterday was definitely the most memorable Super Bowl ever. Anna & I and all our closest European friends watched the game in an Irish bar. We had to explain all the rules (What is an interception? Why don't they just kick the ball? What happens if you punch someone?). Lucky for us, the entire crowd was rooting for the Giants (everyone booed the Patriots when they walked on the field). I rooted for them because the Patriots beat the Rams once. Enough reason for me. I really wanted to see Tom Brady fall on his face. The last quarter, that final run, was A-mazing. The entire bar went NUTS. All the Americans were jumping and screaming. Florian was practically cowering from all the noise. John was screaming and clapping though I don't think he knew why. Roberto was reaching for another cigarette. Anna and I were shouting insults at Brady. It was beautiful. Yea for fútbol americano in Spain!!