I've adopted Helena and Valentina to be my little sisters. They're just too much fun to be with to not have them be part of my family. We talk about boys and how great they are. We also talk about boys and how much they suck. Balance is key, ha! Tonight we ordered pizza and watched La Bella y La Bestia which is Beauty and the Beast en Español. We munched on pizza and had to use my pocketknife to cut it. It was a silly and splendid night.
Now for the sad part. Valentina is from Italy. It is highly unlikely that I will ever see her again. Helena is a Cali girl like me, but I'm headed to Costa Rica for the year and when I get back, I'm headed back to WA for school so it may be quite some time before I see her. I wish I didn't have to leave my hermanitas. Come Wednesday, I may bawl my eyes out saying goodbye to people. Tomorrow is the last day of classes. Then come finals. Thursday, I fly home. I'm sad.
I just saw a man get trampled by a bull. It was one of the most horrific moments of my life.
My friend, Bryce, went to investigate afterwards and he said that the man was alive but unconscious. He had been trampled all over his body, including his face. Yes, that means he had a hoof to the face. We don't know the extent of the damage, but there is a definite and likely probability that he has internal bleeding. Praying for him!
And this is the reality of running with the bulls.
I suck at longboarding. Well, not completely. I've only fallen once but I wasn't even moving. I'm too cautious to fall. In general, I'm very cautious. I only engage in activities that are thrilling, but safe, like bungee-jumping. I don't dive for the ball when I play football, I am terrible on all things with wheels (except bikes) and I've been hit in the head too many times to count playing soccer. I really want to get over these fears. I want to get hurt doing something exciting. I want to take a couple risks and tell a good story. I want to be like these girls. They're awesome. Role models, really.
Today my bracelet broke. It was nothing special. It has no sentimental value other than its age. 7 1/2 years spent on my wrist. It was an old hair tie that I took the elastic out of because I got bored in class. I forced it onto my wrist and there it stayed, other than during volleyball games. Volleyball league rules state that you absolutely cannot have anything on your wrist other than a sweatband. I find this absurd considering it is not a contact sport. But rules are rules, so I had to contort my hand at least twice a week during volleyball season to keep from being penalized.
The silver lining is that my bracelet broke while I was watching the bull run in Sagunto, Spain. It wasn't a normal street bull run. It was in a large, rectangular arena. The arena was lined with cages and bleachers. Under the bleachers were the cages. That's where I was. The bars are big enough for a person to fit through but not a bull. The crazies would taunt the bull and then run back into the cages when it charged them. Unlike last time, the bull was very much energetic. In fact, they had several different ones over the course of the night so as to keep them feisty. Also, luckily for me and the bull, this didn't end in death and gore.
Bummer number two of the night was that I didn't bring my camera. I didn't know we were going to watch the bulls so I didn't bring it. There's not really a silver lining for that other than the fact that I can steal pictures from my friends. It's just not the same though.
I know I'm not in Italy but, "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?" If a person of the male persuasion were to yell my name from below my balcony right now, I'd most likely go with him.
Every now and then I get in a silly little mood where all I want is for my life to be like the movies, where the girl gets swept off her feet, there are a couple hiccups along the way, and then girl and boy live happily ever after. Not like the real Romeo and Juliet,even though I love the story. It's all silly, I know, but I want it anyway. I just really enjoy spending time with guys. They're easy to hang out with and it'd be nice if I could find someone who enjoys hanging out with me as much as I enjoy hanging out with him.
This is the closest I've ever gotten to fairy-tale status. Don't be fooled. This didn't end well.
I could write about this for days, but I won't. On a completely different subject, today, I went to Malvarrosa Beach in Valencia and sunbathed for about 6 hours. I'm probably 20 shades darker. Also, I showered and scrubbed my head but there is still sand in my hair.
This was shown to me by my awesome Romanian friend, Sergiu. It blew my mind! Nashka Paroza!!!
1) Go to Google Translate 2) Set the translator to translate German to German 3) Copy+paste the following into the translate box: pv zk pv pv zk pv zk kz zk pv pv pv zk pv zk zk pzk pzk pvzkpkzvpvzk kkkkkk bsch 4) Click “Beatbox” 5) Be amazed :)
For the lazy, just click here and it’ll be done for you.
Here’s the breakdown:
zk = suspended cymbal
bschk = snare
pv = brush
bk = bass
tk = flam1
vk = roll tap
kt = flam2
kttp = flam tap
krp = hi hat tap
pv = short roll th = better hi hat thp, ds = instant rimshot
If you're feeling rather adventurous, feel free to mix it up and switch up the combos.
I would love for my life to be destroyed. Not really like in this article though. I want to live and experience life to the fullest. I want to understand people, from everywhere, in all situations of life. What is most important to me is that I understand and get to know them like God would. I want the interactions I have with people to make a difference for the better in them and in me.
I'm so excited to be going to Costa Rica! I'm going to be there for over 9 months, teaching...something. I don't really know my job description yet. But I'm going!!! I'm going to meet amazing people. I'm going to be hanging out with a lot of young children. I'm going to be pushed to the limits of my capabilities but I know that I'll make it through. I've got God and a wonderful support system. My cousin and some of my closet friends are my prayer partners and my parents and brothers, not to mention my aunts, uncles and cousins, support me 100%. I'm really blessed. Not everyone has opportunities to go out and serve like this. I hope that my experience changes me for the better, permanently. But I guess that's a choice. It's my choice.
Decision made. God and I are going to change me permanently, for the better. I'm going to use everything I've got to live, learn and teach.
Here at ESDES, we are not allowed to participate in "Running with the bulls." If we do and the president of the school finds out, we get kicked out. However, the president made a concession for a group of us. He said we could go and watch as long as we didn't run. We ran anyway.
You probably think I'm insane for two reasons.
1) It's running with the bulls! It can be super dangerous. People die EVERY YEAR!
2) Why risk getting kicked out of school?
Well, we all made a pact not to post anything on facebook until this is all over. Posting this does not break that, and as of today, only one person follows my blog. Ha! So, no harm here. But most importantly, the bull was pretty lazy and tired. We're guessing that this was his second night in a row for the run so he knew what was going down. Even so, I was really careful to keep my distance and use the protective cages when he ran by because he did have a few moments of fierceness.
All this being said, I think it's important to note that I don't really like this tradition. The running is fine, but it just upsets me that at the end of it all, the bull gets killed. Some get multiple nights, but they all get killed in the end. Luckily for me and the bull, this was not his night. A lovely little cow was brought in after the festivities to lure him out. Despite my qualms, I'm glad I got to experience, just once. After all, it is (distantly) part of my heritage.
I never thought there would ever be a person who could destroy a piano and still earn my respect. Jamie Cullum is the man. Also, I've liked him for a very long time. How did I not know about this video? Apparently I'm a terrible fan.
Rain is such a blessing. I’ve been studying for my Spanish midterms for about an hour in a little alcove on the second floor. As I paused a moment to collect my thoughts, I began to hear the magical splashes of heaven descend upon the ceramic tiles outside. All the windows are open in this room. The smell of days of heat being washed away is wafting in. It’s divine. The breeze is carrying in an ever so fine mist. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about rain that makes my heart pound faster, and makes my feet itch as if they want to run and never stop. Sometimes, I give into this urge. There are a few joyful cries of girls who have heeded the call. They’re dancing and giggling with delight at the cool rain that is bathing them. I will not be joining them this time. It’s not that I don’t want to, or that I think I'm above it, I just feel that this time, I’m going to soak in the peace that the rain brings. Rain brings joy and energy, but today, it brought me peace.
Every time that they pass out sack lunches here in Sagunto, I wish that there was something more I could do to my bread and cheese. They have lettuce and tomatoes but they'd just make my sandwich soggy. Today, they had the giant toasting machine up and running! I toasted my bread with cheese and tomatoes. Good choice.
The other day, I came across a great blog post by Kate Spencer. Being in a foreign country has really made me think about how I feel about sexual harassment. A lot of my friends tell me they enjoy it when a guy checks them out or whistles at them. To be honest, I don't dislike it too much myself but when it's aggressive or in the middle of the night, in a moment of vulnerability, it's just not right. My initial reaction is usually to clench my fists, walk faster and put on the "bitch" face. I would just prefer that if a guy thinks I'm attractive, he not make suggestive motions and circle around the block with his friends howling at the top of his lungs. Let's leave it to a whistle and maybe a wink at most. Keep it kosher.
