There was a huge, horrible earthquake in Chile today. "I'm feeling badly; it's not an attempt at decency." (Grammar glitch alert! To feel badly actually refers to literally feeling something -- say, with your fingers -- badly. So maybe they are burnt or something.) The world is an AWFUL, sad place. I usually find it extremely difficult to... reconcile this fact. And I wonder how other people do it. I'm not sure if I succeed or not - I think I might just carry it for most of the time. Does that count as reconciling it? I will say, it's a huge relief to come across people who think & feel similarly. Especially when they are brilliant, crazy articulate professors making an honest effort to do good and help other people. It makes me feel less like an insane, depressed, mood-swingin', existentialist weirdo, lol. To be understood so hard is kind of a miracle, I think. "Life is like banquet food for us lucky few," says Annie Clark. It sure is, and I'll never know how or why. Many people are far from lucky.
I got an e-mail from the sociology department yesterday: "BU School of Social Work--Optimists Wanted." I couldn't decide if I am an optimist or not. My friends would laugh at me for saying this, because apparently I'm Optimist of the Year Friend, haha. Well, I don't totally disagree. I am an optimist in that I hope for the best and believe that people are inherently good. I like this (from Wikipedia on optimism, lol): "Antonio Gramsci famously called for 'pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will': the one the spur to action, the other the resilience to believe that such action will result in meaningful change even in the face of adversity." Yes, even though that doesn't make it all any happier, yes. I say, do your best, and make use of the good you have - we all have (being nice is the new black! ;). And, for the love of God or whatever entity is watching us go up in flames and tsunamis from somewhere, LIVE YOUR LIFE! Don't wait, don't be afraid to change, and recognize that most of the time, people don't know what they're talking about, so come to your own conclusions about things. Everything!
All right, enough preaching. Preachsta22 I am not, lol. I will lighten this post up with arguably my best Spain photo to date! We went on a group trip to Sevilla, where it never rains unless we're going on a group trip there. In that case, cold & rainy times 2010. We visited a museum and mosque (I THINK!...) and an IGLESIA (church), but I'm not totally convinced it wasn't the same exact one we visited in Toledo because it looked, I don't know, EXACTLY THE SAME? *It's not clear.*
Right, so we ended up in a maze. It happens. And HERE is where I just had to go all Tyra Banks-that-week-on-ANTM-when-she-goes-behind-the-camera and kill it. Below, find my friends in forest explorer, movie poster mode (que ouaaaaais!):
Love it. So I originally set out to write a real downer of a post with maybe my favorite album ever, Rilo Kiley's The Execution of All Things, as the soundtrack, but I have since moved on to less heavy fare... some Jaymay, mostly THAO! I know - damn my undying optimism! I'm going with "Travel" from We Brave Bee Stings and All, a new favorite of mine from that wonderful album. Still weight but less weight, ok? Reconcile.
"But I took / a million looks / how they ate me up, made me heavy, and for what?..."
It's my birthday (owwwww!) and I gots some time so let's blog it up! Blog, blog, blog-a-delphia! I love birthdayyys! I got a call from my parents today, which was really nice because I hadn't actually spoken to them since I left! How bizarre. I also received this stellar e-mail from my brother:
heyy happy bday spanish girl - i dont really kno how old you are but i think its 21...correcto???
We celebrated last night --> this morning, so naturally I woke up after noon today in a daze with my i.pod earbuds in my ears (?), a mysterious bruise on my leg (?), chocolate&cookie crumbs stuck to the bottom of my socks (?), and the inability to taste food so much (?). Yeah, that last part was weird! I was telling Em, I felt like the cursed pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean. I thought that was an A+ allusion. But yeah, looks like I covered all the 21st-birthday bases, ya? Haha. I had lots of fun! After a super fun and economical dinner, we went to this very lesbian-y bar full of cute chicas (GUAPAS) and then some other stuff happened I think and theeeen I got home after 7 this morning. Thanks for coming out with me, you guyszes! Here I am the day after, post-bday night, looking a bit weathered:
Haha. Even though nobody even almost cares about turning 21 here (18 is the important b-day), it was still super exciting for me! At least until the travesty that was "Happy Birthday" in Spanish. Guys, I know there are a lot of words to remember and all, but.... lol, I'm just playing, you cool kids! Thank you so much! Right so, you can buy alcohol anywhere and it's not important. My grocery list yesterday went like this: tissues, chocolate, vodka. No, I didn't just get dumped. I DID get carded. And I was all like, it's cool; I'm 20. Yeaaaah! 8)
What else did I do to celebrate? I went shopping at my official most favorite clothing store EVERRR ("ohmygod! you're my totally, fucking, like, favorite?"), Stradivarius! Listen up, homies and home-ettes: Stradivarius has the COOLEST shit for the BEST prices. Mango and Zara and H&M and all those other tickity tack tranny messes that call themselves tiendas de ropa (clothing stores/I'm exaggerating a little bit maybe but go with it) DO have some nice things. HOWEVER, when it comes to REBAJAS (sales), Stradivarius kicks their asses and also gets some names and some numbers. Believe that.
Tonight we went to this sweet JAZZ BAR/CLUB/PLACE with live music! It was SICK. The band/rotating musicians were all SO GOOD! Below is a pic of this dude rocking out on guitar:
OK! I love Madrid! Living here is amazing. I've had an AWESOME 21st birthday and I'm really happy to be here. In that spirit, here is what I have been listening to all day / I wish my host brother would GO OUT once in a while so I could have a proper dance party! Argh - host brothers these days! But yeah, I'm SO glad I gave Merriweather Post Pavilion another chance (thank you!)! Please turn this up loud and dance for your life to "Brothersport" by Animal Collective! Because LIFE, woman, LIFE is God's most precious GIFT!!!
Valentimes is upon us, which means 1) my birthday is one week away :D and 2) lame couples are spending large sums of money at nice restaurants and/or jewelry stores. But my favorite thing about this day, no lies, is the AWESOME "Happy Valentine's Day" by the amazing Andre 3000! I listen to it every year on this day and it makes me feel less utterly alone! I love VDay because I lo0ove this song. And as for Spain, for the most part, Spain says no thanks to your socially constructed, commercially-driven, and ultimately heartless day of hearts! (Because Spain's GOT it like that.)
In other news, we spent a couple days in Sevilla this past weekend! It was fun and I'll tell you more about it later. But for now, please dance to this and give it up for VDay!
I wonder how many "literary classics" I have read to this day -- in English classes, mostly -- that I have failed to really consider. Even when I liked them, that liking wanted... authenticity. Until my awesome AP English class senior year, English usually happened like so: teacher explains the major themes and explains why with evidence in the form of literary devices, recurring ideas, etc. I guess the priority above all else is to build a strong foundation of literary analysis skills with repetition on the solid ground of classics, and that makes sense. But couldn't we do that while also being encouraged to find our own ideas? I say find because I think they are always there, somewhere, regardless of age or IQ or anything. It's a matter of pulling them down from out of the air and identifying them somehow and thus, a matter of encouragement and guidance from teachers. Yes, I read and thought and related with characters, but I don't think I felt that my ideas about a text were really valid and worth exploring until rather late (junior year?). Maybe it was my lack. Maybe that's why parents send their kids to private schools. Maybe most of our ideas aren't original or interesting anyway. And maybe this blog just got REAL boring! Sorry - I'm afraid literature and education rank high on jbahz' list of favorite things. (In my dreams, I'm at least an English major.)
Anyway, so all these classics that we neatly laid out and learned and did away with like algebra problem sets in our pre-self-realization years.... They were all basically the same in that they were taught to us in the same terms: archetypes & literary devices; meals are to communion as rain is to rebirth and maladies are symbolic of moral shortcomings, and so on. And it's strange because this brand of reading -- the teaching of literature where everything more or less has a definitive meaning -- might be quite the opposite of what these authors/artists wanted. Classics are classics because they are TIMELESS. It's one thing to create something popular that captures the contemporary here&now, but for people to feel that same connection years&miles away... what an accomplishment! One that should be experienced first and learned second.
Have I lost you yet? Yikes. Maybe this would be a good time to throw in a Spain photo or two. Let's see....
Ha! Why it's none other than me and Miguel de Cervantes, author of literary classic Don Quixote! Howwww appropriate. And one more. The first is in Toledo, so let's go Madrid on this one:
Nice. All right. We're almost through - I promise! So if you made it this far, you're probably at about here: "JBAHZ! JBAH. Ok, as much as I love hearing about your philosophy on teaching English in our schools, what does this have to do with anything?" Vale. Well, as I am studying abroad, I am currently enrolled in four classes, one of which deals with Spanish literary classics starring antiheroes. We are almost done with La Celestina after my professor spent at least three classes telling us how amazing and important this book is and was. It's about a clever old woman, a former prostitute and current brothel-runner and romantic rabblerouser of the young, who manipulates EVERYONE and helps boy get girl after asking the devil for help and concocting a special potion. Yeah - questionable at best. But she's kind of a big deal and people know her, yet they don't hate her for being a whore. SPOILER ALERT!!!... (...you're not gonna read this book!!!)... all the characters end up dead. We're not there yet so I don't know how - at least one is murdered. Today my professor asked, "hay brujerÃa?" (is there witchcraft here?). If so, he said, none of them are "culpables" (guilty) - responsible for their actions. That is the word he used - guilty. He then asked, do all the deaths equal punishment? From God?
At this, my wonderful friend Cristina said what many were thinking, that she didn't think the deaths were necessarily punishments. Professor replied, but yes they are - in this religious time in Spain, that's what it would mean. He may have just been playing devil's advocate, but what if it doesn't mean punishment!? And why do they have to be guilty? While this book is way old and written in a VERY religious Spanish environment, it is also considered the best; it is also regarded as a work that influenced society (Prof. compared it to Uncle Tom's Cabin in that regard). If it's known for breaking ground, then shouldn't we break some more when analyzing it?
I don't think Celestina was sorry for anything she did (set up some sex meetups via witchcraft for money & such (n.b.d.) but she never killed anyone!). Or maybe I just really want it that way. Like, BSB levels of wanting it that way. But I don't think it has to come to some religious conclusion with a definitive message where you're either on Team A Interpretation or Team B. Sometimes there are no answers. Celestina and her prostitute posse did what they had to do (without really harming others) to get the most out of their pre-fated, low social class marked lives; and they didn't apologize for it! As they shouldn't. I can roll with that attitude - especially in fiction, babez. Yes, so, I'm excited to finish the book, read some critical essays and form my own ideas about the characters in La Celestina. Ultimately, I think it's strange how regardless of the siglo or the place or people, we are all basically the same. (Cue in-my-dreams major change #3: Anthropology!)
OUAIS! Enhorabuena if you made it to this closing paragraph, you ridiculous individual. This is where my head was for a little while on Thursday and I just had to write a book about it for my three friends who will hopefully read this blog, lol. Hopefully I can redeem myself with some music I know at least two of you like!
The title of this post is a line from a Death Cab for Cutie song, "Expo '86," that clearly guided my writing here. Without any real reason or rhyme, Thursday was a day for "Transatlanticism" ("I need you so much closer" - gorgeous), which led to listening to the album of the same name full of great songs I love to sing/harmonize with, etc.! You can play "Expo '86" below.
Until next time, ya? I'll try to actually write about Spain. Maybe. ;)
Here I am starting a blog about my study abroad adventure. In the words of Megan Fox’s character Jennifer in the world’s most awkward movie to watch on a plane, Jennifer’s Body, “You’re such a cliche!” Ugh, tell me about it. But I promise to try my darndest to make this blog worth reading! It will NOT be boring times 2010 with posts that read like, say, this: “This weekend, we’re heading to [Spanish city X]! We’re going to have lunch there. I hope we can sit outside! LIPSTICK! Tee hee.” No no – none of that. It most likely WILL be…: 1) Full of 30 Rock and other comedic references. 2) A place for my best and most relevant photos, but not too many. 3) Very music-centered, like me, but with a Spanish artist/song focus. 4) Less about what I do, more about what I think. 5) A barrel of laughs! Haha. That is my hope. Basically, if I can get anywhere near Jane’s super entertaining and thoughtful Sydney blog in terms of hilariousness and readership, I’ll be more than content.
So, on starting this blog… there are a few reasons. For one, I have been inspired by blogs popping up around me on all sides. Besides Jane’s, there is my brother’s blog, which features lines from hip-hop songs throughout! UMM, the chances of that happening here? I’d say strong to quite strong! Haha, I just updated my i.pod with a bunch of Andre 3000 mixtape stuff but I DIGRESS!…. Also, other people from the group (the BU study abroad group of students/note that ish) have started cool blogs. Inspiration. It strikes. For two, I came up with this perfect blog title, Tapas y Guapas, and there was just no way I could walk away from that. Tapas = appetizer food that often comes with [alcoholic] drinks. Tapas are a staple in Spain for during the day, for dinner (especially when you’re a student on a budget ;), whenever. Guapas = adjective for pretty or good-looking when describing feminine nouns, like chicas (girls). I’m pretty sure it’s also used as a noun, which is my intention here: pretty girls. Because holy god, there are so many! There are good-looking men, too. But anyway, Tapas y Guapas ! It’s perfect. It’s sexual and violent. No, but it is perfect. And for three, I enjoy writing for an audience (music-related posts on the WTBU blog, for example). I miss it, and I want to write something for my friends back home.
All right, it’s time to wrap this up. Of course I will be writing more about Spain and my life here, but on my own terms; I make no promises in terms of content or length. This is no autobiography of sorts, although it is a similarly bent and biased thing. “Just bahz by jbahz,” lol. The rest is up to you, hm?
By the time you see this post, it will stand with a picture and hopefully a widget to let you know that I’m currently listening to Spanish artist Bebe’s latest album, Y. It’s fantastic – just what I was looking for. Isn’t that the best? Oh and to answer my question, Madrid is definitely SOoOoO GOOD! Thanks goes to Nina for telling me about Grooveshark.com, an awesome site for streaming music and widget-ing it too, apparently. Ttyl, you all.
