timelines.

really early: spain celebrates father's day in march. happy fathers day (im late, it was two weeks ago...), papitula! 

really late: spain also moves their clocks ahead late. today late. happy time change, welcome spring and summer.

right on time: spent the weekend in valencia! went to an aquarium and managed to spend seven hours in it. perfect. 

oh! and firsts! -an aquarium!! (the list of detailed first-times is too long to bloggify but spans from belugas to penguins to seahorses and lions). -mediterranean sea!! -real paella!! (from valencia.) now those are some huge deals. 

trust.

i had to go to the doctor for some meds. its near my university, about a twenty-minute walk from my house, so i decided to go right after class. but. i forgot my insurance card. i didn't want to go all the way back home and all the way back. no way. so i gave it a shot.

         "hi, i need this and that, but i don't have my insurance card." 

         "i'll give you the prescription now, and you come back with your card tomorrow morning, ok?" 

times like that i say, come-on usa, get some socialized medicine already!

paelladas.

on saturday. ohhhh saturday. let me tell you about saturday. it was in the high seventies. i wore a sundress. hair up. sunglasses on. i shaved. all big deals. i was spending the weekend at erins house: finally a place all to ourselves (unfortunately of utmost importance. not out of a distain for our families, but more out of a distain for the jump backwards from once-hand independence). it would have been good enough.  the sun would have been good enough. the shaving. the dress. the cold drinks. the sand. all would have been good enough. 

but then we get invited. we get invited to go make paella at la punta. there is a place in cádiz called "la punta" which is a literal "point" surrounded by water in the old part of the town. it is the only place that is still legal to drink publicly; knock-em-back, spain. the place is usually only populated between the hours of 2am and 6am where it looks something like this: a row of pretty shitty dance-clubs, dirty, crowded, and populated with raging seventeen-year-olds. to be honest, description aside, it is not the greatest place to go (although it will always have a place in my heart). but this description of la punta is solely the after-dark description. we had no idea what we were in for when we were invited to go make paella at la punta in the middle of the day. ha! it. was. incredible. we pack up a grocery back with some tinto de verano (the summer delight that has made its face shine again) and hit up la punta. 

there you have it: a group of about twenty or thirty twenty or thirty somethings, having the time of their life, wearing chef hats, laughing and singing and shananagining. standing around a portable burner and gas tank. and. a. huge. absolutely huge. pan of paella in the works (kira, thought of you and steven and those way-too-large paella pans at his work that we never really knew why anybody would ever use them. i now know.). in go the veggies and the chicken and the stock and the rice and the tender love and care. out comes paella. then a kiddy pool shines his face. in goes the apples and the red wine and the sugar and the alc. out comes sangria. 

astounding. spaniards have a way of standing around in the sun all day and making it feel like the day was completely spent worthwhile. satisfying. with a purpose. well, paella, of course. :) 

 

somehow.

i am officially without any voice. none. well, there is some sort of noise that comes out when i attempt to talk, but its not quite humanly comprehensible. wowza. 

seventy-five and sunny.

uhoh. its warm enough to go to the beach. i got a little sunburnt yesterday when erin and i spent the afternoon in one of the nearby pueblos (one of the "white towns" built on a cliff, stacked with old white buildings and gorgeous views) sipping glasses of wine and beer in the sun. i say this uhoh not as an uhoh of skin protection or my (not-so-silent) love for the layers of winter, but more as an uhoh of the realization that i won't be ready to leave this place in four months. uhoh, indeed. 

golden parties.

it was a day spent in glory. its how birthdays should be, right? especially when you turn six. especially when its your golden birthday. exactly. the day should be spent at grandma's house, in grandma's patio..... with all of your best friends and all of your family and your grandma's exchange student. its exactly how it should be. and yes, it was a day worth writing home about. 

the family all comes over around three. we eat a rushed meal (well, "rushed"... lets be honest nothing moves very quickly here) and begin decorating the patio. balloons galore (ay, no puedo más. voy a morir con la falta de aire!), party favors, more balloons, food, the whole shabang. the whole family is there. aunts and uncles and cousins and grandmas. the kiddies arrive an hour later. the whole load of 'em. the whole neighborhood. the whole city im pretty sure. then. it. begins. five hours of dancing and congos and kids on shoulders and throwing kids in the air and spanish versions of piñatas and presents and cake and more dancing and whistles and running and falling and soccering. all in the patio. then come the balloons and the balloon animals (no, im so sorry sweety, i don't know how to make a crown with seven points and a star on the top, but i would love to make you a sword...), and more dancing and singing and games. the sun sets. the kids trample me over and sit on me. now that is what i call a birthday party. 

carlos (my host brother) comes down the stairs with a glass. "what's this?" i ask. "whiskey," he replies. they've all got stiff drinks. "michelle, drink up." i love this place. 

a weekend in the countryside.

it is march. MARCH. no me lo puedo creer! i sincerely apologize for my lack of blogability. no good at this. maybe it is a good sign, however. maybe it is a demonstration of the way that life has been in this place. right? excuses. but good ones. :) 

i have too much to write about. too many stories to share with you. i hope that i can sum them up with enough hudspah, enough heart, enough truth. i will try. 

two weekends ago erin and i had a chance to get out of cádiz and visit our friends in sevilla (a town about two hours north of here). we met them last semester-- they are true gems of this country [they're rollerskaters! when they aren't working they spend their time rollerskating on the streets and in the plazas. now this is a crazy and really popular past-time of tons of spaniards...] a few times have had the chance to go visit them again. [not quite vicky, christina, barcelona style--we're much tamer than that. but, maybe along the same sentimental line. quizás.] a normal visit goes like this: meet up, get a drink, see the city, get some more drinks, see more of the city, meet up with friends, and come back to cádiz. its a flash. a quick sensation of the vibe of the city. and it is always great. but this time... well this time it was different. one dear friend, javi, lives out in the country-- about a half hour away from the city. he owns his beautiful country home fit with gardens and a pool and neighbors with chickens. fit with three sweet little dogs (well, two sweet little dogs and one little devil-of-a-thing). fit with a beautiful, strong, chocolate-brown horse. fit with guitars and outdoor seating and hospitality. you see, these friends are amazing. so erin and i had the chance to go visit javi and the gang two weekends ago! this time, instead of feeling the hearty pulse of the city, we got to enrich ourselves in the smooth tranquility of the country. we relaxed by the pool (its in the seventies here? that shit's crazy). we spent the morning riding off-road motorcycles through the country-side (scenery fit with wild horses, rivers, cliffs, and barbecues). we stopped by the river and skipped rocks. [come back in a few weeks and, see that rope over there? we'll jump on in the river!] we played the guitars and sang. we cooked THE MOST INCREDIBLE (pardon my excitement, it is truly sincere) lunch. we napped in the shade and listened to the chickens do their chickiting. we made plans to return, we made plans to be alive, we made plans to certainly spend more days feeling that air. 

let me tell you, that weekend of february fourteenth? better than any. life to date. as much as i love cádiz (and am even more in love with it since my sister and mom came to visit), it always feels good to step into a new environment. to get out of the city for a bit. but even more thanthat, it always feels good to be reminded of what beautiful things you are living for in this life. for such great friends, for such experiences and adventures, for such amazing views and days. the country always does that to me. i'm a sucker for that place. and, oh man, what a great breath of air. 

  

in other news-- i dropped one of my classes. best. decision. ever. maybe javi and the gang enlightened my outlook on school once again. or my momma. whoever is to receive the thanks: thank you. 

we got back from a month-long vacation in january. we had class for a week or so. we went to sevilla. had a few more classes. and ohhhhh myyyyy goooooodnesss that was just tooooo much school. so we had vacation again. :) this past week has been carnaval.

car...na....val.....i just don't know where to begin about carnaval. so i will write about it later. tomorrow. stay tuned. because you are going to want to hear about carnaval. 

with all of my love.