emarquastravels

Football and Stuff

2011-09-19T15:15:00.003-04:00

Here is my Fall Football Blog. Ready? Go.

I am annoyed that the Bengals still have Marvin Lewis as a coach when he's terrible, we're terrible, and we loose constantly. Also, Ocho my main man is now gone. I mean good for him that he doesn't have to play with hoodlums and convicts, but I'll sure miss him. On the Ocho note people are being WAY to hard on the guy. He said he was "in awe" after playing with a team that 1. knows how to play football 2. wins and 3. no one gets carted off the field and put in prison. I'd be in AWE too. All the ex-Patriot players were talking smack because THEY have never played on the Bungals and have no idea what it feels like to work/play/be a fan of them. It's tiring.

This year I'm rooting for the Bengals to loose and clean house starting with Lewis. Can't wait til he's the winningest coach in Bengals history with a loosing record. Perfect. I watched them Sunday and wanted them to play well but at the same time didn't. We lost. Go figure.

On to college. Love. My Bearcats got beat by TN but that wasn't much of a surprise. I got some new digs to show my support here in the Lowcountry and a car decal. I don't really understand having homecoming at the Bengals' stadium...isn't it called homecoming for a reason? Okay on to Pitt and Syracuse changing conferences. I think it's bad news bears for teams to leave the Big East for the ACC for a couple of reasons. I understand that football is the money maker at most school, but what about all the other sports? Basketball, Tennis, Swimming, Track and Field...what happens to these sports if in 5 years there are only 4 mega conferences? Will kids still get the opportunity to play, get scholarships, and compete at a college level? This def makes me nervous and it messes with my conference so I don't like it.

I'm glad it's football season and everyone is amped about it. Sat we were at the Roost and everyone was supporting their team (Clemson and Gamecocks fans galore), drinking, and having a great time. The weather has actually cooled off so it feels like proper football time. So glad I can sit in my own casa and watch football instead of going to a bar for every game! Bring it on Bearcats!

It's about time

2011-07-18T12:50:00.003-04:00

I've been MIA for a hot minute but I'm back. I had fallen into the daily grind of work, sleep, hating work, talking about work, sleep, and more work. Stop. No more of that madness. It's so easy to get sucked into that world and hard to readjust when you get out. Being stressed for a year takes it's toll on your body, mind and dancers.

Last night Patrick literally scares the shit out of Pelota. Pup and I decided to go for a walk and Pat was MarioWiiplaying on the couch. I stopped near the mailbox to let pup sniff around when Patrick ran around the bushes and made some crazy noise. Pelota took off and ripped the leash right out of my hand, growling the entire time he was running away. Perfect guard dog we have. He came back when he realized he was far enough away to be out of harms way and it was only dumb Pat. I looked down and saw something all over the puppy and yes you know the rest. I had to clean him off and wash my hands before we could go on our evening walk. Way to go Puppydaddy.

I have decided that this world needs another book like it needs a hole in the ozone, but hell with it...someone might read it. Where to start is the hard part. What will it be about? Do I have this woman character searching for herself in Europe surrounded by booze, art, languages, boys, and tapas? Will she be funny like me? Does she need to have the experiences that I have had but with a twist to make them even more amazing or is it a book about people? My character could hate people and go through her life retelling the reasons people let her down. Will my other characters have your names or will I change them...just a little? I think the starting is the hard part. I think I'll just start in the middle and go back to the start and the ending...well it's not happened yet I guess.

Lets start. Go.

2010 Puppy Christmas

2010-12-26T14:13:00.004-05:00

Well it was one for the books. Patrick, Pelota and my 1st Charleston Christmas together. We thought about trying to get home for the holiday but my work schedule wouldn't really permit it. We got a real tree, put up a wreath, made Christmas cookies, and opened gifts at 7am Christmas morning.

Patrick-
"Babe you get the 1st round and I'll get the next. We have no one to wait for to get up so let's OPEN those gifts!"

Me-
"Umm it's 7 am."

Patrick-
"Exactly! What else are we going to do?"

And so we opened gifts early Christmas morning. The weather was really warm so we took puppy to the park where he met a great dane and lab mix to play with. Of course I didn't pack the camera but it was super cute to see that huge dog and lil Pelota. Lucky for us Pelota was run ragged and was super tired the rest of my vacay. He is too cute when he's tired. You can literally do anything to him and he just looks at you with big puppy eyes. Pat and pup are cuddling on the couch with the new heated blanket (you know its snowing). I swear it hadn't snowed in Charleston in over 10 years until last Feb when I came onto town! It's only a dusting and it's not sticking, but Pelota isn't having it. He hates going out to potty in the cold. Like his mother Pat says! Haha. All in all it was a great Christmas break. I def miss the fam and friends but having our 1st Christmas alone was nice.

Movie Review 2010

2010-12-26T13:50:00.002-05:00

Here is my movie review 2010:

Avatar- Cute story, loved the action and 3D. The characters were well rounded, the bad guys were bad and the main characters hot. All in all I loved it both in 3D and DVD. I usually don't believe the hype but this is a must see in my book.

Black Swan- Ummm disturbing. Natalie Portman was so thin that I honestly couldn't look past it. I get it. The self destruction of a dancer in the pursuit of perfection. Really I could have skipped this one. Caitlin, Pat's sister, is a dancer and knows what discipline it takes to live that life so she recommended it. To me life is hard enough without watching it for 2 hours on the big screen. If you want a movie to "make you think" or shock you see it.

Tron- Patrick was so amped to see this movie. We got there early, got the best seats, had the glasses and then waited and waited for something cool to happen. Where was the action? Where were the fight scenes? Why did "the dude" sit in his computer flat talking about nothing for 17 minutes? I wanted more and got nothing. Skip it save your money!

Potter- Loved it and can't wait until the last installment. When it's over I want the whole thing in a DVD set. So whoever reads this remember that for my Bday!

The Lovely Bones- I cried a lil. From the trailer you know that a young girl will die and the hunky Marky Mark will be shattered and try to find his daughters killer. I really thought the movie was done well. I'd recommend this if you don't need a feel good. God I love Mark Walhlburg. Cannot get enough of him.

The Legion- Def my type of movie and a quick time killer if your bored on a Sunday afternoon. Paul Bettany is a great actor. I'll watch it again when it comes to Netflix.

Hot Tub Time Machine- Watch it watch it watch it!! Too funny. Love the premise, the outfits, the soundtrack. It's too funny!

Just a few of my opinions. Still have a few in my Netflix queue.

It's Official

2010-10-07T20:31:00.004-04:00

I've been real crap about posting to my own blog with work, laying out, kayaking, swimming, couch sitting, and all the things I do...I just can't seem to find the time. As everyone knows or if you don't know your outta the loop, Patrick and I are engaged! I didn't do the whole Facebook everyone write me dumb messages so I can gloat and show off my ring...instead I called, emailed, and told my peeps about the good news.

I know I know Erin was never going to get married...Erin doesn't want to go thru all the wedding hoopla...Erin could live with Pat forever and not care...

Well as a couple we decided we did care. I still don't want to make it something it's not. To me marriage is about the couple and that's about it. Yes, you want your loved ones to be a part of your life but all the invitations and rules and registries are not for me.

We're doing this our way. Spain 2012 and then a party in IN. I want to be in the most beautiful place on Earth where Patrick and I met to say our vowels and be married. I'm not going to say "start a life together" bc that's crap. We've been spending our life together from the 1st time we met in BCN and I'm not going to chuck that out. This is just something that we're doing for us. More details to come...

If your pond hopping with us start saving those pennies and if not we'll bring Spain to you in Indiana when we get back!!

Ocho vs. TO

2010-10-07T19:46:00.003-04:00

Really you had to ask??

I was just asked this question and I thought my response was TOO good not to post!!

Response: No contest Chad...he's darker, sexier, richer (well I don't know about this), and catches more, runs more, and hopefully scores more this year...oh and Ocho def has more kids!! For the record I thought there were more but with a lil Google search I found out he's got 4...that we know of (Jicyra, Chad Johnson II, Chade and Cha'iel).

They are both fine as Hell and are funny as all get out but TO gets on my nerves. You know its in his contract to get more $ when he does something he's ALREADY getting paid for...I want some of that action!! (2 million dollars, with another 2 million dollars possible for bonuses) to catch and make TDs. Ummm what else is he getting paid for??

For the record me and Ocho go way back...like he dated/hooked up this chic that lives near my town and I sort of know people that know her

AND last year I went to the movies with him and his posse and he paid for my movie...so basically we're friends!

TO's got the smile but so does Chad. TO don't have a cereal with his face and last name on it...Ocho does and he's got the sex phone line on it too!! Let's be real this contest was won at GO.

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/oops-dwts-chad-ochocincos-cereal-accidentally-touts-phone-sex-2010110 (Funny article about the Ooops cereal #)

http://www.plbsports.com/ochocincos.html (Check out his pretty face on the box)

Really there is NO contest in my book. Hands down Chad is my main man.

Ochocinco holds the following records in the Bengals organization: Duh!!

* Most receiving yards in a season (1,440)
* Most receiving yards all-time
* Most receptions
* Most touchdown receptions
* Most receiving yards in a game (260)
* Most seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards (7)
* Most touchdown receptions in a game (3, tied with several other players)

Take that TO lovers. I know he's done some stuff too, but did he do it with Ocho's swagger??? I think not.

Hoosiers

2010-08-20T19:34:00.002-04:00

Okay I didn't write this but this is amazing to me so I had to post this:
Here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about Hoosiers.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed
from September through May,
you may live in Indiana.

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you
assistance and they don't even work there,
you may live in Indiana.

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the
same time, you may live in Indiana.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation
with someone who dialed a wrong number,
you may live in Indiana.

If "vacation" means going anywhere south of
Mooresville for the weekend,
you may live in Indiana.

If you measure distance in hours,
you may live in Indiana.

If you know several people who have hit a deer
more than once, you may live in Indiana.

If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in
the same day and back again, you may live in Indiana.

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow
during a raging blizzard without flinching,
you may live in Indiana.

If you install security lights on your house and garage,
but leave both doors unlocked,
you may live in Indiana.

If you carry jumpers in your car and
your wife knows how to use them,
you may live in Indiana.

If you design your kid's Halloween costume
to fit over a snowsuit,
you may live in Indiana.

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -
you're going 80 and everybody is passing you,
you may live in Indiana.

If driving is better in the winter because
the potholes are filled with snow,
you may live in Indiana.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter,
winter, still winter and road construction,
you may live in Indiana.

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car,
you may live in Indiana.

If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly",
you may live in Indiana.

If you actually understand these jokes, and
forward them to all your Indiana friends and others,
you definitely do live - or have lived - in Indiana.

Love being a Hoosier!!

Really 2 years...?

2010-08-09T17:30:00.003-04:00

So Patrick, aka the world's best boyfriend, and I have been together for 2 years as of tomorrow or the next day. We decided that we officially started dating on the 8-11th and my favorite number is 11 so I'm sticking to that one. August 11 is easy to remember and we both remember spending that day in Barcelona together and really we say what goes so...August 11th is our anniversary. I NEVER celebrate anniversaries because I can't remember dates and frankly I never cared enough, but it's a bit different now. Pat and I can think back to the sweaty flats we ate chorizo in and what festivals we watched death defying fireworks at, and where we laid on Mediterranean beaches soaking up the sun and sipping coconut juice. It's a nice reminder to get out the photos and see where we've been and where we are now. My last blog was about possibly moving and I'm going to say that today is the start of the rest of my life. Sounds cliche, yes. I stopped waiting tables and did some real job hunting. I want to stay here in Charleston and make a life for Patrick and I. I want a career and want to have a nicer car and all the things that I have been running from since graduating. I think I grew up...weird! I have met some really nice people here, I love the low country, I like our apartment, love downtown. All I need now is a meaningful career and I'm set. If I find one in the next few months consider me southern! I hope that the next 2 years of Patrick and my journey will be as exciting, fun filled, and memorable as the last. I can't believe it's been 2 years and also cant believe it hasn't been longer.

You know what they say "Time flies when you having fun." True Dat!

To stay or not to Stay

2010-08-01T11:21:00.004-04:00

That IS the question. Patrick and I have had a crazy life together in the 2 short years we've known each other. We started out in romantic Barcelona and then were apart for months on end, him being in Mexico and San Fran and me being elsewhere. We finally decided it was do or die (for our relationship) and Pat moved cross country to be with me. He's great by the way. We lived in Indiana for a bit, moved to Kentucky, then decided to move to the South. We like Charleston but do we love it...that's still up in the air. We have talked about wanting to try other places in the US and see if we can find a place that really suits us. I like that Charleston is a cool enough city to have my friends and family want to visit and it's not that far. I do miss my friends and family so this is now being factored in. When Pat and I were in KY we never really saw my friends bc everyone is wrapped up in their own lives. But now being this far from everyone makes me think...

So where to next? NC? Chicago? Back to Sonoma? Hawaii? I guess time will tell. We're here for at least a year so I bet we'll figure out if this is where we'll hang our hats or pack up and move again. I always say I hate moving...but I do it a lot.

Sick Day

2010-07-25T16:45:00.003-04:00

So I went to the Dr. who took some tests and said "Erin I can do more tests or I can give you 3 pills and send you home to bed." I was achy, had a temp, was sick to my stomach so I opted for the pills. Maybe not the best idea but it sounded like a viral infection, Dr. said that's what he thought it was so...that's what I got. Sitting on the couch all weekend sounds GREAT in theory, but really stinks. I did get to catch up on some movies that I knew Patrick wouldn't watch (2012, The Color of Magic, Planet 51). I wonder what the record is for watching the most movies in a row. I could be a contender.

I've been doing a lot of thinking since being awoken last night at 5am from a long time friend. I am a strange bird. I love my friends but choose to live as far away from them as possible. I can't explain it. I have been friends with this one person for a really long time and for years our relationship didn't change. I'm guessing the reason for this was because we didn't change. We drank, went to football games, had the same friends, went to the same school, did everything together. Then I decided to move 1/2 way across the world and leave them behind. Kate and I sat around in BCN some days bitching about our "friends" that never emailed us, never called, never wrote, never skyped. I was so mad about it until last night. I left. They stayed the same. I changed. I JUST realized this. Wow I know.

I have decided to stop being mad about change, it's life. I love change so it's weird that I was so upset about this, but I was. No more. As they say that was the past and I'm over it. I hope that I can keep our tattered relationship together and work towards having an adult friendship. It won't be easy, but is it ever?

May in Charleston

2010-05-14T12:36:00.004-04:00

So I got my 1st surfing lesson from Patrick the other week. It was great. The weather was hot, the water cool, and I had my pink board and the waves to myself. Patrick showed me how to paddle and go up to my knees on the board and said he'd help me judge the waves and such. I rode the 1st wave in on the board on my belly as instructed. It was cool. Next time he said knees so I did. Again super fun. The 3rd time he yells stand up so I do. Now that was what people always talk about. Surfing! Yea I was helped and only on about a 2ft wave but I was up! Then I called it a day, why spoil it. My 2nd time surfing was a bit different. We rode our new beach bikes to Sullivans and decided we'd drive out to Folly. We got there and there were a lot of fools in the water on boards. It was evening and the sun was setting. He said he wanted to get in and see how the waves were and I'd come in later. Me being me I walked out in the waves and got what was coming to me! I forgot that holding on to a HUGE pink floating piece of foam (or whatever it is) is an accident waiting to happen in the ocean. You all know where this is going. Surfing didn't happen that day, drowning almost did. I spend most of the time under water not surfing above it! I saw dolphins and almost had a heart attack. My suit is no longer wearable bc the bottoms were ripped off me and now are 3 sizes to big. I had scraps on my knees and one on my arm and 10 gallons of sea water in my ears, mouth, and nose BUT I still didn't hate it. The ocean has ALWAYS scared the hell out of me. There are monsters, sharks, sea creatures and deeeeep water out there. What are people doing in their home?? As I stated on facebook I was afraid of the beasts in the ocean BUT now I'm afraid of the beast herself. She is a wonder. I can't believe all those surfers that surf or get anywhere near a 60ft wave!?!?! I'm def hooked. I'm not obsessed like Patrick (eats, sleeps, and shits surfing) but I do want to get better and get a better board. Hey I wonder if I can have the most expensive hobbies; surfing, skiing, photography, etc.?? Life's short might as well enjoy it. Thanks Patty for the lessons. Anyone surf? Tried it?

Old Fashioned

2010-04-14T18:48:00.003-04:00

My mom said I was old fashioned. Yea I don't have a microwave or a TV and I brew my tea in a pot on the stove, but that hardly makes me old fashioned, right??

Right now I'm enjoying some "me" time after the 10 days with Patrick's parents and week with mine. I definitely had a great time with both sets of parents, but it is tiring always worrying about someone other than yourself. Damn, that must be how it feels to have a kid. I was worrying about the temp of the house and if we had enough food (we didn't bc we're poor), if there was enough to do, if my rents ate so they didn't pass out in public, etc. etc. Mom got us housewarming outside chairs which are fabulous and I've already fallen asleep in them on the porch.

Oh shit I just burned Pat's Coffee Carafe. Shit the house smells like burnt ass rubber and I have to go buy a new one. Damn. Ok I need a microwave. Karma/ Destiny/ Fate whatever it is I'm getting me one.

Shit.

The Cove

2010-03-01T22:58:00.002-05:00

I just watched The Cove. This documentary is about the killing of thousands of dolphins in Japan each September. The movie goes where no other documentary on this subject has. It really pissed me off to say the least. I am now sending petitions to the President and to Congress to get this issue out in the public. I am taking to the Social Media out lets that I use everyday and I hope that some people click on the links I'm adding and DO something too.

The Cove Secret is Out.great free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Click here if you want to help.

Watch The Cove to get a better understanding about Mercury poisoning. We are all in danger and most of us don't even know it. The next time you sit down to sushi you may be eating something that can cause Autism, memory loss, headaches, tooth loss, hair loss, vertigo and many worse symptoms.

You can help. Log on to www.takepart.com and DO something about it!!

January 2010

2010-01-10T13:44:00.002-05:00

Just watched the Bengals blow any chance of anyone ever taking them seriously. I wasn't surprised, but it's always a disappointment to see your team fall apart and make so many stupid mistakes (S. Graham missing 2 fgs)! Today Patrick and I decided not to go skiing with Danny and Mary Beth but pack up the house and get ready for the move. Just for the record Pat has over 20 pairs of jeans. He was like "Erin look I only have 17 pairs"...that was hours ago and I keep seeing him pull more out of the closet and try and hide-pack them! Haha. There will be no way that we can rent a place with small closets, no way! We have SO much stuff. I keep sending people on Craigslist questions about their place and number 2 question is what's the closet scene??

We're definitely getting more and more pumped about moving. Yesterday it was 16 degrees and it hurt me. Just an FYI Patrick's team mascot was the Dragon! Wtrandom mascot!! We had a great time on Friday for Pat's 31st Bday. Bootsys' was yummy as always and Cosmic Bowling can't be beat! Pat finally beat me (bc I drank a bottle of vino tinto on accident) and I think everyone had a blast. Pat definitely puts more emphasis on Bdays than I do. I really don't care about Bdays. I want a dinner and maybe a movie. I like gifts and all but bc it's so near to Xmas I really don't need much.

Ok, I'm being summoned to help tape boxes! The adventure will start the last week in January. Stay tuned.

2010 People!!

2010-01-06T13:53:00.003-05:00

So I jut rang in the New Year in Lawrenceburg, IN with Patrick and my Gma Lulu. It was a great time! 2009 was an interesting year for me. I decided to return to the US from Spain which was very difficult for me. I got home and was lost, excited, confused, depressed, happy...every emotion one can possible have. I ended up trying to lean on friends of mine who have shown their true colors and really are not "friends" to me. I took this pretty hard as people do. I was at the lowest part of my life and not really for any particular reason, but I was. I have never felt "depressed" and I never really understood when Sara would tell me how she felt...now I understand. It's so hard to put yourself in others shoes until you do it. It wasn't planned but that darkness opened up onto a beautiful new life. Patrick moved to IN and then to KY and we started our journey together. I'm definitely not saying it was all roses, but we learned a lot about ourselves and each other. That being said I found a job that I was good at, realized jobs that I wouldn't want to do again, and found out what I've always known...Follow your heart!

That brings me to today. Patrick and I have been talking about living near the beach and have thrown around many ideas but have decided to GO FOR IT and move to Charleston, South Carolina. People think we're nuts because we make a decision and do it unlike everyone else who bitches about their situation and does nothing to change it. That's what I love about Patrick and I. We do things. He said babe I'll move there and he did. We said we'll stay and visit the family a bit and we did. We said we would choose a place for us to explore that we both could grow...we are! Some are nervous for us and I appreciate the concern, but I have this feeling it'll all work out!! The next update will be me in our new apartment loving our new neighbors and our new life. I hope you can come and visit and see what we do with the rest of 2010!

check me oooout

2009-07-08T18:41:00.005-04:00

Here is my profile on BTTA's page in Facebook!!
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=40315297022&h=wHM4O&u=uqsxJ

So, I’m from small town U.S.A. in a little city called Lawrenceburg, Indiana. I grew up always wanting to be somewhere else and here I am definitely somewhere else! Okay, so my story is I graduated from the University of Cincinnati after 5 wonderful years, got a “big girl 8-6” job and decided life was too short to stay in the Midwest. I packed my bags and moved to Barcelona where I started the TEFL course with EuroTEFL. I am very glad that I came to BCN when I did (August) and took the course here and not online. The first time I had to get up and teach a class I almost fainted! How do you teach something you’ve taken for granted your entire life, English? The course taught us how to be a teacher, practice certain skills needed in a classroom, and prepare for a life as a teacher in a foreign land. Our class was great also because it was summer which means vino, sangria, cervesas, y muchas fiestas!!

The day I graduated TEFL an alumni came bursting through the doors of the school proclaiming that she had all these private classes and needed a teacher. That new teacher was of course me. I started out teaching only private classes in people’s homes. This is a great way to make money in BCN because you work for yourself, make your own hours, and charge whatever you choose. The downside of private classes was I did a lot of traveling and running around between classes and I didn’t have much material to work with. I did this until Christmas and then started working for a small language school, Alsace in Sarria. I also worked for a company that sent me to teach business English during the afternoons. By the end of the school year I was making enough money to get by and even go to La Roca and spend some hard earned cash on designer duds (at discount price, claro)! After the school year ended Kate Hopkins and I embarked on a new adventure and moved to Valencia, Spain to teach a summer camp.

After teaching a classroom full of sweaty 6-8 year olds I was itching to get back to the city, the people I loved here in BCN, and some older students. This year I have continued with my private classes that I kept from the beginning and continued working at Alsace. Oh a side bar about private classes: do them! My family has pretty much adopted me and has taken me to their other houses they own in Spain, have taken me skiing, and are also offering me to live with them free of charge (no nanny duties) if I promise to speak English (oh I promise)!

Living in Barcelona has definitely changed me and I learn about 100 new things a day. It is exciting, rewarding, challenging, difficult, but most of all it’s worth it. There are times when I want to jump on a plane and not miss my friend’s wedding, but then I remember I’m living in Spain! After you live here awhile you find the stores that sell peanut butter and Dr. Pepper that you thought you couldn’t live without. Now as I’m returning home for the holidays I’m researching places to buy chorizo and fresh bread! I will agree with Traci when I say that the only thing I wish was different was the price of hopping home. If I was from Germany it’d be about 20 euro, but my flight cost a lil bit more than that!! Best thing about teaching is hearing Kate in the other classroom singing and making animal noises (a goat goes baaaa), listening to Danny’s crazy grammar questions (Have you ever hear of a gerund?), and teaching CEO’s (along with perks such as concert tickets)!! I will always have a place in my heart for Barcelona and all the great people I met here during this crazy trip that is my life!!

Purple Trout

2009-07-08T18:21:00.003-04:00

So, I have been interning at this SEO Internet Company called Purple Trout. Before I started I had not one clue what SEO was and for those out there who aren't in the know SEO means Search Engine Optimization. In non computer terms it means to get more traffic or people to view a certain webpage. The company is really cool and I have learned soooo much since I started! I never knew about black hat tricks to get Google to give a better rating (which they dont do, of course)! Who would have thunk you can HIDE things that the human eye can't see but a computer can read?? It's crazy. Everyone at PT have been really nice and seem eager to help the interns out which is really nice. I know most of you are thinking umm Erin haven't you been an intern like 10000 times...well yes I have but I decided it's better for me to be doing something and learning than looking endlessly for a job that's not out there!! What can I tell you about PT?? The president is really into fishing (the name purple trout)so if you see any cool fish decor let a sister know! The building is super nice. It's located in Newport by the Levee which is good and bad for me. Good - near Starbucks, Brio, Dewey's Bad - near Starbucks, Brio, Dewey's!!! Kate you feel me?? Hopefully I'll learn a bunch and expand my BRAIN and move on to the next chapter in my life!!

I'm Back

2009-07-08T18:07:00.004-04:00

Ok, so it's been a long time since I've written, but I'm back. Someday I will go and fill in the missing time but not right now...I'm just getting back in the swing! Last weekend was the 4th of July, my favorite holiday, and this year was no exception. I love the 4th because I love fireworks, family get togethers, new red, white and blue outfits, and the food! Whew what didn't I eat? The list could go on and on or you can reference back to all the foods I was bitching about missing in Europe and that's what I shoved in my mouth! I'll just say that America makes it easy to be fat. Everyone asks "Whats the biggest difference between here and Europe?" I have 3 answers. Number 1. Time. Europeans do everything slower, take their sweet time, and enjoy life. We Americans are FAST at everything. Number 2. Convenience. It is so convenient for me to hop in the car, go to Mcd's grab a latte, run my check to the bank, stop at Sara's and drop off a shirt, and be home in an hour. In BCN I left my house an hour before I had to be somewhere ten minutes away because I knew I'd run into a haggle of tourists, the Metro would stall, the taxi would take me for a ride, or it would take that long to walk. Number 3. Weight/Body types/Habits. I put all three in the same category because to me they are the same. Here people have bad habits like eating late and eating bad so they are overweight and have a different body type than Europeans. Most people I knew in Europe were slimmer, ate a better diet, and exercised more. I said MOST people. The myth that fat people don't live across the pond is false! I have gained a bit o weight (not telling how much) just because I can get Starbucks and not have to walk 3miles to get there and 3 miles to get home!

Minutes after the assault:

2008-05-26T08:06:00.001-04:00

So, Kate and I are sitting in the house with the windows wide open listening to Dixie Chicks when we heard a most peculiar sound. We sprang up to see what was the matter when we witnessed two men dragging a huge yellow metal barrier (used on our street for the road construction) to corner a man in his car from driving away. The man in the white car was reversing down the road (the wrong way) to get away from the two men with the barrier and smashed into a dumpster, cars, and finally scraped against a construction trailer before stopping. The two men ran up and started yelling at the man in the car as the man in the car was throwing the finger (yep it’s pretty universal) and then he ran the barrier off the road and took off. While this is happening there is a young girl on the corner who is on the phone talking adamantly about something (you know it was in really fast Spanish so Kate and I were like what?). So, the man in the car is on the move down a one way street the wrong way and one of the men on foot is trailing him closely. The man in the car is then cornered because there are unsuspecting drivers driving down the road the correct way. He finally gets out of his car and throws a white purse at the man trailing him (meanwhile the man on foot is screaming God knows what). While this is happening the young girl is crying on the corner and we’re watching from above along with everyone else in the neighborhood. The foot men return the purse to the crying girl who is still on the phone. We then see her act out exactly what took place to the men who helped her get her purse back. So, this is what we think happened (from her acting it out, some of the Spanish we heard, and the account we saw/heard from the baker to the cops); the young girl was on her cell phone walking down the street we live off of when she had her purse yanked off her shoulder by a crazy man who drives a small white 2 door car. We believe he jumped out of the car, since she was on the phone and not paying attention, and robbed her and then jumped in the running car and took off when the two good Samaritans ran to her rescue. They then had no way to stop the car except to use the road barriers and themselves as road blocks. All in all they got the purse back, but the asshole got away. Kate and I have decided we need to up our skills in the neighborhood watch because if we would have known who the bad guy was we could have launched something out the window to hinder his flight, but since we hadn’t a clue what the Hell was going on we did nothing but watch. You know the Po Po didn’t show up for like 20 minutes, guess it’s the same in every country! Just another night in the hood!

Pubcrawl:

2008-05-14T10:32:00.004-04:00

So, I have like a third job now working for a pubcrawl that goes to 4 bars and a night club. When Kate, Annie, and I first got here we got coaxed (not too hard) into participating in the Smashed pubcrawl (my competitor). We started at Travel Bar and went to 4 other bars and the club Sunset at the port. All I’m going to say is our hostel amigos Ian and Scott came with us and there were drinking games, whipped cream, and Kate ended up in a sprinkler! Gotta luv my new job! The first day I started I was stationed at Kabul Hostel to recruit the people staying there to join the pubcrawl for that night. Let me tell you how easy my job is…I walk up to groups of travelers (mostly men, not on purpose but it’s how it is) and ask them if they want to come drink with me and have a great time. Needless to say, I usually talk most everyone in to coming. From what I’ve seen on most nights we have between 15-70 people and it usually depends on the weather and if there is a futbol game on or not. If there is a huge match being played that night we sometimes cancel the crawl because everyone here in Europe is obsessed with futbol. Let me tell a few stories from pubcrawl madness. Ok, so there was a group of about 15 Australian boys around lets say 19 years old and they decided that they were going to fight all the British guys because they had nothing better to do. The fight started at the second bar called Arena and he Ausi boys decided they would start pushing the Brits, well the Brits weren’t having it so they started back (meanwhile there was a shady bum type guy watching the entire ridiculous fight and waiting for his opportunity to pick pocket them) and the whole thing lasted about two seconds because they all realized they had no wallets! Another time I called Kate and told her she had to come to the 3rd bar, Ryan’s, because there were a bunch of hot guys buying me drinks and I needed a wing-girl. She came and we all drank and one of the guys was talking about how he really liked the huge VollDamm beer bottle that was on display on the bar. As the crawl was leaving to shove off to the last pub, The Green Room, dude grabbed the huge bottle and shoved it under his shirt (it is like as tall as my leg so it wasn’t well hidden) and left the bar. We were all hammered so I thought it was comical until I realized we still had 2 more places to go and nowhere to put it. I decided to hide the huge bottle in a bush that was on my way home so I could get it when I left the nightclub. We went to the last bar and nightclub and then Kate called it a night and went home. As I left the club I ran over to the bush with our prize in it and it was gone! I knew it wasn’t the boys because I ditched them while they were walking back to Kabul. I walked in the casa and there on the table was the bottle! Kate had taken a taxi home and told the guy to stop while she ran out and stuck her hand in this huge plotted plant (the taxi driver was like wtf) and she pulled out the bottle and jumped back in the cab.
Flyering here in BCN is like joining some sort of social club. The same people work on the same streets passing out flyers to whatever pub, restaurant, nightclub, or pubcrawl they’re promoting.

Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I walk down the same streets and give besos (side kisses for those of you who aren’t European) to everyone and ask about their night and make small talk and then go on to my spots. There are some people who I really like such as the guy who flyers for Sugar (the bar next to SubRosa and is owned by the same people) who always gives me beers or good gossip or offers the weed he’s smoking on the street and then there are people that I won’t even give a side glance at like the British chic who always tells people our pubcrawl sucks and hers is better. I would like to grab her by her British hair and well we’ll leave it at I can’t stand her. If you get a chance, download Kate Nash’s “Foundations,” and you can hear the way this chic talks. Every night I work I swear we have a new person working and most people only last that night and they quit, it’s really funny because it’s so easy and good money if you’re personal. Last night a British chap named Brennan started and hopefully he stays because he’s cool and looks a lot like Jared Leto so he’s bringing in the “birds,” as he calls them or female patrons to be politically correct. Tonight (Saturday) I raced home from Costa Brava to make sure that I had time to shower and get to work by 7:30pm. I actually made it and was only like 5 minutes late, went out and was working hard when one of the dudes I work with came and told me the crawl was off! I walked down to Malpaso, our first bar, and asked what the deal was. Francesca said that the crawl was called off because of all the drama going on behind the scenes.

Here’s a rundown or the drama in a nutshell; we flyer at Kabul Hostel before we send everyone out to the streets and this guarantees at least some people (if I work Kabul then there are mass dudes…duh) and if no one come (when Dan the half stupid Swedish guy works) then it is harder for us to have the 30 people necessary for a proper crawl. The owner of Kabul was letting Dan and me up on the weekdays and Saturday to talk up the crawl and I was having a blast doing it, but not he’s decided he’s starting his own crawl and so he’s talking shit about ours to the people staying at Kabul. Also, Dan is quitting and starting his own crawl that is exclusively in Irish pubs. He has asked me to flyer on the beach during the week but since I’m a business woman I’m going to tell Richard, my boss, about Dan’s proposal and see if he’ll let Kate and I flyer for him for more money! I’ll let you know how this all pans out. Anyways, it’s like high school but with much bigger people. It’s great!

Update: You know how I do...got the job on the beach! Tanning and getting paid! Luv Life!

Changes:

2008-03-25T10:08:00.001-04:00

So, since being here in Europe I have changed a lot. The most dramatic changes for me is the no shopping rule I’ve been living with, my change in diet, and my general disregard with fashion. Lets start with no shopping. I can not say that I haven’t bought anything since living here in BCN, but I have put myself on a budget of buying only things I HAVE to have. When I packed to leave I was drunk (thanks everyone for the limo) and I didn’t pack the way a smart person would. I “forgot” all the essential things like socks, jackets, long sleeves, adequate footwear, ect. So, I have had to buy a few things, but my normal days at the mall are no longer. It hurts to report, but it’s true. Second, my taste buds have had to blossom since living here in Spain. Here is a list of foods that I never ate in the US, I call them the Kate made me do it list: guacamole, avocado, red and green peppers, Skyline Chili, garlic, ham (only Spanish cured ham), mushrooms, coffee, spicy salsa, fish, seafood, sushi, black beans, steak, hummus…
Kate will eat almost anything and she’s like you have to eat it so just eat it and I do. I NEVER ate Skyline Chili in the states and now I kill some dip or some on my hotdog just because it’s different and has taste! The third change is my fashion here in BCN. It’s not that I have lost my touch or gone blind, but because my amazing closet is somewhere buried in my rents’ basement I don’t have much to work with. If you have been checking out my photos on webshots you’ll see what I’m throwing out! I work with what I got here in my tiny closet. I know it’s not that big of a deal, but I hate looking sloppy and sometimes it just happens here! There are also other personal changes that actually mean something but I’ll keep them to myself and see if you can pick em out when I come back.

Sailing:

2008-03-25T10:04:00.001-04:00

When Kate, Annie, and I first moved to BCN we decided we need to make friends. That’s pretty obvious because everyone wants friends, but we decided we needed friends who had certain attributes. Kate wanted a friend with a boat, I wanted someone who spoke the language and knew the places to go at night, and Annie wanted the know about good food in BCN! Well, needless to say we got all that and more! I met Marc (my intercambio) at TEFL the last day of our teaching. He speaks Catalan, Spanish, English and whatever else I can’t remember. He also has a friend Antonio who owns a sailboat. Their other friend Roger is a photographer who knows all the great places to eat and go out in BCN. We have hung out with these guys ever since meeting at the Marce Festival. One afternoon the guys asked us to join them for a sailboat experience. Just to give a little background I had never sailed before and am afraid of water, Kate and Annie have had some experience sailing, Marc gets seasick, Roger sailed halfway across the world with Antonio, and Roger’s nephew Nolask had never been sailing. We got some sandwiches and boos an d jumped on the boat. Marc was already rethinking his decision of coming with us when it was too late and we had untied and set off to sea. Nolask is a curious, energetic, young man who was jumping up on the front of the boat to have the sea splash him in the face that is until he was in the back puking his guts out! Annie turned about 37 different shades of green and was right beside Nolask puking the entire time! It was great. Well, not them puking but I had a great time with the sea air flowing through my hair and the water splashing up in the boat and seeing the fear in Marc’s face! Roger and Antonio told Kate and I that the winds were pretty strong and the waves were super choppy, but we were having a blast. We only decided we had to turn back when Annie was threatening to jump off the boat in the freezing water and swim to shore! I was pretty happy with myself because I wasn’t afraid and I held down my breakfast! We got to the shore and went to the beach and ate our sandwiches, lomo con queso, and drank bottles of Cava. Annie chilled out on a towel for the remainder of the day to settle her tummy! Marc being the responsible adult figure he is decided to teach Nolask how to kill someone with his bare hands! It was pretty funny to watch Nolask practicing on Marc! I have to point out here that we had only met these guys maybe two times and we were in some town we didn’t know! Real smart. After a great day the guys decided it was out of the way to drive us home so told us we needed to take the train…so like em! So, I can’t remember details but Roger and Ant have sailed for super long distances for long amounts of time on that boat. I could not imagine, but I’m up for sailing any sunny day!

The night I should have died:

2008-03-25T09:55:00.000-04:00

One night Steve called me and was like let’s drink. Since I can’t say no we decided to go to this place off of the Ramblas where Steve knew the bartender. We started out with some of his roommates from his flat. I met a dude from Indiana who knows Baundi and played soccer with him at Hanover (random, small world) who also hung out. Anyways, we met a couple who was on holiday from Ireland and that’s when things got ugly. All I remember is someone asking for shots and then I took it and it was lights the fuck out! I heard something like oh yeah it was absinth…and then next thing I know is I’m flying over the rooftops of BCN. Yeah, I did say flying! I guess some of us decided to go up on the roof terrace of Steve’s flat and then somehow we ended up roof jumping over 6 story buildings. This is when I should have died. What the Hell was I thinking…well duh I wasn’t. I must have thought I was some crazy athletic cartoon character who could leap over gaps in roofs and bounce if I fell! The cops were called on us and we had to RUN and then FLY over the roofs to get to safety. I don’t remember much but that it seemed like a dream and I would have chalked it up as one except I had bruises and cuts all over to prove that I was a dumbass! The next day we met up with the couple again and they informed us that their last day in BCN was spent in bed because they were so sick from the previous night of drinking! Go us! Steve feel free to add anything I left out!

Monday Dinners:

2008-03-25T09:50:00.000-04:00

Every Monday Kate, Kris, Steve S, and I get together at our casa and cook dinner and drink wine and catch up. Kate cooked the first meal and made chicken stir-fry, Steve was next with amazing Carbonara; I made Mexican night with tacos and tonight is Kris’ turn. I made a cheesecake just in case Kris isn’t up to par! Kate has been brainstorming some dinner ideas such as breakfast foods and I think I’m going to try to find the ingredients to make my famous lasagna (be jealous Bob and Sam)! All we have to do now is figure out how to convert the measurements and we’re golden! Who knows how many kilo liters are in a liter…not us!!

One Sunny December Day:

2008-03-25T09:47:00.001-04:00

Remember when it was December 8th and we were having a picnic in the park…well that was today! I talked to mom the other day and she said Lakota had a snow day and everyone from home has been facebooking me about the cold weather! I still think it gets too cold here for my tastes, but it is “temperate” and I haven’t seen a single flake of snow so I guess it’s alright. Kate and I met up with a lot of other TEFL teachers and friends at Parc De la Ciutadella and had lunch and cava. Parc De La Ciutadella has the Arc de Triomf, the Catalan Parliament building, museums, and a botanical garden. That night everyone met out for drinks for Steve Allen’s birthday and Kate, Danny, Steve and I had sushi at a really cool neighborhood near our hood. I am definitely going to take people to this stretch of bars and restaurants because there is such a wide variety and every place is cool in its own way. I do believe I made an ass of myself after drinking wine to pregame, sake and vino at dinner, vodka at the first bar, going to Sub Rosa (I already explained this place puts drugs in their drinks), and whatever else I drank at the other 50 bars and clubs we ended up in! Thanks Kris for taking care of me!!

San Sebastian, Spain:

2008-03-21T12:43:00.001-04:00

Kate and I had over a week off of school because of Easter so we decided to check the internet and find a place in Spain we could afford to run off to for a bit. We came up with San Sebastian in the bosque part of Spain. San Sebastian is this little fisherman’s village on the sea that is famous for their version of the tapas called pintxos and their white wine. The day before we left, San Sebastian was hit with a huge tidal wave that destroyed many buildings, cars, businesses, and roads. Yes, the day before we got there the biggest wave they had seen in over 80 years hit and took a toll on the city! When we arrived we took a cab to our hostel which ended up being a 5 euro fare because we thought San Sebastian was huge, but in reality it’s super small. We checked in to our hostel and the manager told us what was now closed because of the wave, some roads, the hot springs, some restaurants, and the clubs along the beach! We decided we’d take a look around and see what trouble we could get in! We walked, climbed, strolled, and tromped all over every square inch of San Sebastian! At night we would go on pintxo crawls instead of pub crawls! At each bar you walk in and look at the bar to see what beautiful creations they have out on display for you to eat, you ask for a plate and a drink and then pick out the pintxos you want. They have every different kind tapas you can think of and many I didn’t even know what they were! My favorite drink was the txakolin (sort of a Riesling tasting wine that has to be poured high above the cup to oxygenate it) and my favorite pintxo was a croquette filled with duck and mushrooms! Kate liked the Kalimotxo (nice red wine served in ice with Coke) and a pintxo that was in a seashell with seafood in it. We tried a lot of different pintxos throughout our stay and realized that these Spaniards eat and drink 24/7 so it was just the place for us! The beaches are very nice and the town is very beautiful. We definitely want to go back when the temperature is super hot and we can sun bathe and check out all the surfers! Oh, did I mention that San Sebastian is also famous for their waves for surfing? Well, there were tons of water sports happening before our very eyes! The water was so cold I couldn’t believe anyone would want to be near it, but they were surfing, body boarding, kayaking, and wind surfing! All in all, Kate and I had an amazing time in San Sebastian and would recommend it to anyone who likes the beach and beautiful scenery!
Ooo almost forgot about how funny I am! Well, Kate and I were walking to our hostel and there was this group of older people walking our way. One of the men (old enough to be my father/grandfather) was eyeing me and walked right next to me and asked me in Spanish where the beach was. Since it was around 9pm or later I was like “What” or “Que?” He asked again where the playa was so I pulled out my gun and pointed to the beach (while making my huge arm muscle budge…duh)! I thought is was sooo funny and I am still laughing at myself even while I write this! Ha.
Luke, we got to the Bilbao Airport and we checked in and got in line at gate 5 (which was on our tickets) and the lady took our tickets and we entered the plane. Kate and I walked to the back of the plane to our seats and there was an elderly couple in our seats. I looked at Kate and was like what’s the deal with people being in our seats (it happened like 3 times throughout our trip) and she was like well they’re moving. Just then over the loudspeaker the lady says in Spanish something about Seville and I turn to Kate and say SAVILLE? Yeah, we were on the wrong plane! Somehow the people let us through the line, check-in, and boarding without noticing we were heading to the wrong place! Jerry’s kids I tell ya!

Question:

2008-03-21T12:42:00.003-04:00

When did it become alright and even fashionable to wear shit that doesn’t make a bit of sense? Last night I was in Travel Bar Port with the crew participating in Trivia Night when I saw these girls dressed in the worst outfits I’ve ever seen! I know fashion is hard to understand most times and no one can say that 6in stilettos are as comfortable as trainers but, wearing thick framed glasses with no lenses? Seriously!? This chic had on glasses with no lenses, a long tank top with black tights and red Converse shoes that looked as if she wore them in the sea and walked in the Mt.s and her hair was crimped. She was a damn mess and she walked around as if she was Gwen Stefani on the red carpet. Her friend also rocking the nasty ass Converse trainers and black tights had on the smallest shorty shorts that were white with shiny material woven in. She also had a tank top on and was wearing her hair in a sort-of side pony. I have to mention that Kate and I both had our winter coats on because it was super cold and raining. I’m so sick of this fashion that says I’m a damn slob and proud of it! That girl is giving other girls a bad name because not only does she look stupid I hear her talking and she acted stupid. Maybe this is showing my age, but I never went to my closet (my amazing closet) and said what should I put on today so I can look a damn mess! I would never buy layers of clothes only to wear them at inappropriate times. Walking in Sarria, a very nice part of town I work in, I see the most amazing stores and fashion and wonder if these girls have ever seen an outfit that matches!

Tape Worm:

2008-03-21T12:42:00.001-04:00

We have this reoccurring discussion about tape worms. I know it’s a bit strange but for some reason the damn thing keeps coming up! When Kate and I were talking about the two girls eating like pigs but being so skinny, it was there. When I looked at the pictures from my birthday and realized that I am not the skinny girl I think of myself as, it was there. When Kate and I were discussing the children outside walking barefooted in the nasty streets of BCN, it was there. And when I was walking with Alex in the sunny cobblestone streets of Villafrance, it was there. For some reason I have thought or talked about tape worms ever since I got here. Alex kindly explained that he thought that Kate might have a tape worm because she can house just about everything in the flat and not gain a pound. He also told me how she could extract the worm from her body by eating only salty foods and then holding a glass of water near her mouth and when the worm came out of her mouth to drink she could grab it and yank it out. I about died when he said this, but Kate also told me the same story so I guess it’s been done before. I’m seriously going to have to look these suckers up on the net because it’s freaking me out that I keep hearing about ‘em and hell I want one!

Skiing French style:

2008-03-21T12:41:00.002-04:00

Carlos, the father of the two young girls I teach on Thursday nights, asked me if I wanted to go skiing that weekend with him and his family. I couldn’t say no to this amazing offer because it had been over a year since I last got to ski. I packed my pack and headed to the Brils’ flat on Friday. We got in the car and headed to their mountain house in the Pyrenees. Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself! I got to the flat where Cristina, the mother, was trying to get all the stuff packed and the girls ready. Meanwhile, the girls were trying to rip my boots off so they can wear them, jumping rope in the house, running ramped in the hall, and not listening to a word their mother was saying. When we finally got in the car they were put in their car seats and we were off. The trip I believe was 2 hours I can’t remember because I was too distracted with the two girls. You have to remember I speak English and a little Spanish, the girls speak Spanish and Catalan and no English, and the parents speak a little English. I had been nervous the entire day worrying about all those hours with a family that I could not communicate with. Carlos can speak a lot better than he thinks and his wife and I could speak pretty well also, so a dogged that bullet. The girls were another problem completely. They are what should I call them… spoiled brats and get everything they want. All the girls have to do is wine, cry, or yell for anything and it will be done. Yeah, that about covers them. There was not a moment that went by that one of them wasn’t crying or whining or screaming about something…made me rethink kids once again! I thought it was Carlos who was the pushover but I think the mother babies them so much and that’s the reason they are like that. One Thursday I was teaching and Cristina the 5 year old said caca which means shit so I said well go to the bathroom then. She kept yelling EEErriinn (that’s how she always says my name) so I go in there and she hands me toilet paper and expects me to wipe her! I laughed in her face gave her back the tp and walked out of the bathroom! I ain’t no mother, ain’t no nanny, and sure as hell don’t get paid enough! So, as I was in their holiday home I noticed that the mother did everything for them. It was exhausting to watch! The first night we arrived around ten and the little one went straight to bed while Carlos and Cristina were cooking. I helped set up the table and then we sat down for our 15 course meal at 11 at night! First, there were the crisps and next the pork loin and steak, and then the corn on the cob, followed by soup, and bananas and yogurt, and then ended with dessert. I was lucky I was drinking red wine and a beer at the same time so I didn’t have time to eat everything they were trying to stuff me with! On record the 7 year old can eat more that Kate or any man I know (and that’s saying something). She ate everything on her plate and kept asking for more (at 11pm) and asked for more dessert and she is less than 4foot tall and weighs less than 50lbs. Man she’s an eater. The next day I was awoken to the sound of Cristina’s little voice asking where I was at 7am. Everyone was up and getting ready to pack the lunch and get suited up. Guess what time we got to the slopes? Carlos and I got my rentals, ate, got the car ready, packed up our packs, all in about 30 minutes and you know the two girls were still in the mirror crying about how their hair looked (they ski in helmets)! We finally got in the car to drive the 15 minutes to the French Mt. we were skiing and got on the slopes at 10:15am. Their house is located on the border of Spain and France, but we decided to ski in France because it is cheaper and less crowded. After we got started the day flew by and I had a great time. The girls were a little scared at first because all the snow France had gotten in the past 4 days was ripped away by the 150km winds at night to leave a wonderful ice-filled hill. When everyone got their ski legs on we were able to hit most of the runs. Around lunch the girls found other kids to play with at the bottom of the hill and Carlos and I were free to ski the blacks by ourselves! You know the kids that they were playing with ended up being the family I no longer teach for with that devil child Tony! His parents were like “How’s the new job at the school?” “Do you have any free time for more classes?” Thank god Carlos was like we can’t talk we gotta ski and we high-tailed it outta there as quickly as possible! Carlos is a phenomenal skier. He has skied many different places and has also jumped out of helicopters with a parachute on his back into fresh power! I was a bit nervous to ski with him because I didn’t want him to have to worry about waiting for me, but I think I did alright for not skiing for over a year. We had a blast for 2 hours and then had lunch in the sun at the bottom of the hill (with Tony and Imma and the lot). After lunch we met up with two of Carlos’ friends who are snowboarders and we skied the rest of the evening. After it was getting dark we packed up and came back to BCN. It was a good trip with good skiing and definitely made me appreciate the sacrifice my friends have made when they decided to have children of their own (not saying your kids are bad like these girls, just that kids are a handful)! About the place we skied; it’s called Cerdagne Puigmal, they have 35 runs on the map, elevation is 2,700 m, they have a range of difficulty from green to black, and they have weird between the legs lift thing that’s like a T-bar but it ain’t. The weather was sunny and the snow was icy at first but loosened up as the sun hit it, on the side of the Mt. where Carlos and I skied the snow was deeper and there was a base unlike the rest of the Mt. I would say it reminded me of a steeper Seven Springs, Pennsylvania.

Sunny Sunday:

2008-03-21T12:41:00.001-04:00

Catalan Alex borrowed his father’s car and took me on an amazing road trip on Sunday. It was the most beautiful day anyone could ever imagine. The sun was out and it was warm but not too warm and there was a slight breeze that wasn’t too cold. Alex took me to the little town outside of Barcelona called Villafranca. Villafranca is a wine town that is famous for their vineyards and cava. The town is very old with cobblestone roads and ancient churches. His father has his business in this town and drives there each day from BCN. We ate lunch at a proper Catalan restaurant (everyone here speaks Catalan) where we ate steamed mussels, chicken croquettes, some past dish with chocolate sauce, and a huge salad with blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, and all sorts of other nuts and good stuff. I literally thought I would die if I ate another bite. Good thing we split it! After lunch (and dinner) we walked around the old streets and eventually got back in the car to drive to this little castle Alex had found. The castle was a real live castle but we don’t know what it was for or what it’s used for now. It is in this tiny town with some houses, a restaurant /inn, a lake, and the castle. We sat outside in this gazebo made of vines and trees and drank our café con leches. After digesting we drove back to BCN the long way through all the little towns near the sea that I am in love with Sitges, Tarragona, Casdefells, and Graf. Graf can only be entered by a one-way tunnel and is on the sea. There isn’t much there but a few houses and a marina, but the town is so quaint that I love it! This was the best Sunday I have had in BCN thus far and it was such a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the city. Thanks Alex!

Anne and Aaron’s Visit:

2008-03-21T12:40:00.000-04:00

If you take all the places Kate, John, Annie, Leslie, and I have seen in BCN and add them together it would not equal the amount of places Anne and Aaron saw here on their Spring Break! They were definitely busy tourists and got their money’s worth! Of course the airport again was a nightmare. I sat in the terminal waiting for their 2:45 plane to arrive for 6 hours! I finally got fed up and left and you know ten minutes after I arrived at my place our buzzer was ringing and it was them! I still can’t believe that anyone can find our flat but somehow Leslie and Anne and Aaron managed. I felt bad because as Anna and Aaron were settling in every one of our friends were coming in the flat ready to drink and party and all the couple wanted was sleep. Since it was Kate and my birthdays we had people over to the flat to pre-game before heading out to the club. A and A opted not to join us because jet lag had set in. I can honestly say that sometimes during the week I forgot that A and A were even here because they would get up before I got up for work and wouldn’t return until my work day was over. We went to a Japanese restaurant where they cook in front of you on Sunday for my real birthday. Proper Spanish style the meal lasted over 4 hours long! The rest of the week Anne and Aaron saw the sights, Anne ate a nasty hamburger (I forgot to warn her not to), and I got them wasted on their last night here. We ended up going to the bar down the street that has kegs at your table. As your table drinks everyone watches the TV screens to see who has drunk the most beer and when some other table passes you everyone yells! It’s an amazing place. Afterwards, we took them to a couple of bars along the water and Anne ended up drunk as a sunk at a hidden bar I like to go to. Anne thought it was really cool that there are bars here that look like flats and you have to ring the bell to be allowed in. All in all, I think they had a great time and we were happy to host them (you know they had to buy me dinner and brought Skyline!). If you want more details ask Anne!

Animal stories:

2008-03-21T12:39:00.000-04:00

Since I’ve been here I have heard the most amazing stories that have to do with animals! The first I heard at a picnic. A girl had this pet snake and the snake was a boa constrictor. She loved her pet so much that she let the big snake sleep in her bed with her. The snake was fine for awhile and then it seemed to be sick because it wasn’t eating. She decided to take the snake to the vet and find out what the problem was. He told her that the snake was healthy and sometimes snakes don’t eat for long periods of time. After the second month had gone by she was convinced that something was wrong because it still had not eaten anything. Again, she went back the doctor and then he asked about how the snake lived. She explained that she loved the snake so much that it slept in her bed with her and would stretch out along her body under her armpit. The doctor said the snake would have to be put to sleep at once! The girl was like “What? Why?” Then the doctor told her that the snake was not eating because it was sizing her up. “The snake wants to eat you so he’s starving himself and measuring you every night to see if you’ll fit!” Yeah, this is the point where Kate was freaking and everyone else was like what the Hell was wrong with this weird ass chic that she would love a snake 1st of all and then let it out of its cage and in her bed! Then someone else that was at the picnic was like who was this girl and the name was given. We were like why do you care about her name? Then another person said they heard the exact same story from one of their friends! So, this is either false or there are 2 really messed up chics with bed snakes! Second story is told with a French accent so read it with that in mind! Antoine, Kate’s boyfriend from France, said that while living in a flat one year he had a flat mate that owned a pet rat. Yes, a rat. But this was no ordinary rat, it was clean and intelligent! Antoine: “The rat took a bath every week and we would let it out of the cage and it would know where it was allowed to go and not allowed like the table. The rat would curl up in the shoulder of anyone who was watching TV on the couch and sometimes the tail would dangle in your face. The rat would let you know if it was thirsty by kissing you or really licking your mouth to get the spit. (I about died at this part) One time the rat went behind the TV and then the TV stopped working and the rat SHOT across the room because it ate through the wires. The other roommate opened his door everyday and only asked one question, “Is it dead yet?” When I first saw the rat when I moved in I was like no way but then I didn’t mind it. One time it even ate the last bit of our joint and slept in his cage for like 3 days! One day we came home and it had a (he’s acting like he’s popping a zit) on the top of his head. It was a huge pimple (after Kate and I told him what a pimple was)! Then two days later it was all blown up in its cage. The roommate opened the door and asked only one last time. “Is it dead?” The rat died of a tumor on its head. End of story in French accent.

Movies

2008-01-18T00:27:00.002-05:00

There are some original voice theatres here in BCN that Kate and I have been seeing American movies. So far we’ve seen Resident Evil 3, The Golden Compass, Beowulf, Cassandra’s Dream, Elizabeth, The Other Boleyn Girl. The movies come out a long time after they open in the states, but at least we get to see some of them. Seeing Elizabeth here in Spain was a little different than watching it in America because it’s about Spain’s past! There are parts in the movie that are in Spanish and there were NO subtitles because everyone in there but us could understand! Kate and I looked at each other and we’re like WHAT?! The movie ended up being the best one we’ve seen here and I would recommend it to anyone.

Redskins

2008-01-18T00:27:00.001-05:00

So, Marc and I went to intercambio this morning and during my Español lesson he explained how I sound while speaking Spanish. “You’ve seen old Western movies, right?” “You know when the redskins talk like me bird, you man (while he’s holding his hand behind his head to make feathers out of his fingers).” I’m like looking around to make sure no one heard him and was like REDSKINS are you serious. I have to then explain that people prefer to be called American Indians not called the color of their skin! Marc’s always good for a laugh! He also had a few when he was reading the compositions that I wrote about my birthday and about Greendale. The first composition was about what there is to do in Greendale and of course I added that it was necessary to visit PNS. Marc thought that was funny. The next comp was about my birthday and I wrote the whole thing in the wrong tense! Duh my Spanish sucks! I had to add the part about everyone who is visiting me from America is going to bring me gifts and Marc about peed himself! Hopefully one day I’ll learn to speak Spanish, but at the rate I’m going it’ll be like in 10 years!

Familia

2008-01-18T00:26:00.002-05:00

So, picture this…You’re a college graduate with a good job, living on your own, making good money, and basically hating life. You then quit your job with no other in sight, tell your parents and friends that you have decided to pack up your entire life and move across the world, and then leave. How many people’s parents would have freaked out? I bet that many people thought I was just joking that I was going to come here to Spain, but not my family. My parents have been behind me my entire life and this time was no different. One day I was thinking about buying a car and looking at bigger apartments and the next all of my things were boxed up in my rents’ basement and I was flying to BCN to start another NEW life. When I told my mom that I was quitting IU it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do and she stood behind me. Telling her I quit my first “real job” was the second hardest thing because I thought she would be disappointed (maybe she was but she never let it show). Dad and Lulu were there the entire time too. The day I quit IU grandma came through with a UC charm that she got when she went to UC for graduate school (I never knew till after I got it) and dad bought Bearcat gear and gave the IU shit away. Living here in Spain has taught me a lot so far and I know I will only learn more in the coming months, but one thing I’ve definitely learned is that I couldn’t ask for a better family! My poor family has had to live with my eccentric life choices, my ever changing mind, my inability to stay in one place too long! I just want to give a shot out to the people who mean the most and don’t get the recognition or thanks that they should; my family.

Vogue

2008-01-18T00:26:00.001-05:00

So, the first days Kate, Annie and I were in Spain we saw all these women wearing skinny jeans! We all proclaimed that we would NEVER be caught dead in such a European style…you know we’re rocking em! Kate was like Hell I’ll try em on just to make sure I really hate them! Minutes later she owned like 2 pairs and you know my ass has like 3 pairs! When asked about why she had changed her jean style Kate replied, “Yeah well, I look good in em!” The European style can be categorized in different groups; EuroChic (the wealthy), EuroRastaFucked (dreads, big ball pants, hemp) EuroTrash (mullets, spiky bald shaved curled hair, anything GStar Raw) LostintimeEuro (polyester, plaid pants, chains). The first group EuroChic are the people I see when heading to my night classes and are on the Metro leaving work in their suits, leather boots, scarves, and amazing coats. They are always put together with all the accessories in the right order. They shop at all the great boutiques found here in Spain and the more expensive shops that I window shop from. All of my kid’s moms are super cute and trendy and definitely fit into this group. The second group EuroRastaFucked wear these pants that we have dubbed the “big ball pants” because the crotch hangs almost to the ground. There are also jeans that are made in this big ball style and are the nastiest trend ever made. They remind me of McHammer pants but not tiger print. The people in this group wear their hair in dreads or some part of the head is shaved and the other is in dreads. They always have hemp on whether it’s a necklace or a huge bag with a dog in it. EuroTrash has many people in it! Anyone with a mullet is in this group no questions asked. You may be asking yourself really Erin do that many people actually have mullets…well the answer is YES they do. There are many with proper mullets with the business in the front and the party in the back and other mullets that have their own spin. Kate has names for most of them; the cock’s crow, the feathermess, the 27 textured creation and so on. This section will have to be accompanied with photos or NO ONE will believe our asses. The 27 textures is very popular with it’s straight bangs, shaved on the sides, the back is long and curly, and on top there is this lil spot that the chic spikes with gel…it’s a creation only to marvel at! The last group is the younger crowd who hasn’t really discovered who they are and what they want to wear so they just wear anything. Goth and chains are a must and the layering look is really popular. Some of them look like fake ghetto hoodlums and the others look like fake rockers…all and all not good. I sit in the subway and think to myself, “Do these people really get up in the morning, look in the mirror, fix themselves up and really feel like they look fly?” The fashion here is so different from the states and London and anywhere I’ve been. I guess you either like it or hate it.

Catalans

2008-01-18T00:25:00.000-05:00

People from home have asked me what the differences in people from here and from the states are. I can only answer this question half way because living in BCN is different from living in other places in Spain. The Catalan people are a very proud people. They believe (not all) that because they have their own language and culture that they should be an independent country from Spain. There are many t-shirts, flags, and bumper stickers proclaiming the want to be considered separate from Spain. I have seen t-shirts saying I’m from Barcelona not Spain. Every Catalan family in our hood has a flag, donkey sticker, or something to let people know where they are from. Just recently the schools have been reformed to teach Spanish, Catalan, and English. Back a few years ago some schools only taught one or the other and it was big drama. There is still drama where this issue is concerned because some families only speak Catalan and then their children are sent to school and learn Spanish. The children who speak both Catalan and Spanish have to go with their parents or grandparents to the doctors to be able to communicate. It’s weird. I have a mother, Josephina who isn’t Catalan who has told me that many people in Spain have a negative attitude toward the Catalans. She told me that in Madrid some people dislike the Catalans because they are hard headed (or so she tells me) and the Catalans have some of the same feelings towards the Madrid people. I only have seen real beef from these countries through futbol! My Catalan lil boys don’t like Madrid’s futbol team or their players. To me people are people and no matter what country or color or what language you speak, they are the same. I have met stubborn, nice, quiet, bitchy, goal-oriented, bratty, sympathetic, and wonderful people here in Spain. Mostly people have asked me about the men here, but again I can only speak from my experiences. Men are men point blank. I guess you could say overall the guys are more forward here. When we walk down the streets they hisss at us and mooo (the hissing is to get our attention and the mooing is something to do with the fact that we have boobs). Kate and I realized when on the Tranny beach this summer that someone LIED to us that French men are ugly! We saw Luke’s twin (hot) and his gang of gay friends all in their tighty lil swim shorts. Kate also found a hottie named Antonie and he’s French. French dudes are Hot as Hell and if you disagree with me than your blind as a bat! But back to the men here in Spain…the ones I’ve met are nice, proud to be from here, and smooth talkers for sure. I’m sure if anyone visits me they’ll find that they’re plenty of men from around the world to choose from here in BCN!

TEFL Teaching

2008-01-18T00:24:00.000-05:00

Just so I don’t leave out any of the embarrassing things the other teachers did during the weeks of us teaching here they are:
Kate taught a lesson on the difference between zoo animals and pets. Her lesson was good with pictures and then she started talking about her pet bird, Bill the Bird, that her mother accidentally killed. Kevin said he almost fell out of his chair and wrote her a funny message on her observation paper! She also tried to explain what a squirrel was and what a deer was. No one knew what a “lil miniature horse” was and they all started freaking out about this so called lil horse! I was so nervous the first time I was up in front of the class that I almost puked! All of my observers said I was white as a ghost and had this Nazi like approach when I called on a student! It was horrible! Steve Allen was the “okay” king of the world and once Annie counted on her paper how many times he said okay and it was absurd! Eventually he stopped saying okay and all was good in the world, but that didn’t stop him from running around the classroom smacking the floor and shouting FLOOR and the same for door and window…it was freaking amazing! Kris was teaching us Americans and he had this whole thing planned on his laptop and when he reached for it he dropped the MAC right on the floor and everyone gasped! The laptop made it thank God, but Kris was so worked up he was like F it. Sam was teaching a lesson on materialism and we had a student who owned her own studio and is a fashion designer, Laura. Sam was asking her some names famous designers like Fendi and he was writing the names on the dry erase board and spelling them completely ass backward and wrong! I was dying. Then he hummed Madonna’s Living in a Material World and we lost it! Oh shit another poke on me…I was teaching a lesson on Love and on the top of the worksheet is asked the question Are you a good Lover? There were questions asking the students to say if they would cheat, only have one partner, ect. Jordi (hate) decided to ask me in front of the entire class, “What do they mean by lover? Do they mean sex?” I just stood there and answered the question, “No Jordi they want to know about you ethics concerning relationships.” Meanwhile in the back of the class Steve A, Sam, and Kevin were losing it. Kevin dropped his papers and was laughing so loud I thought I was going to lose it. Sam had tears down his face and Steve wouldn’t stop either. I had to turn and face the whiteboard to compose myself and teach the rest of the lesson. It was a mess! Annie taught an entire lesson with her fly down and Steve and I pissed ourselves the entire time! I’m not nice…duh! Steve S would walk in to every class and say, “Hello class my name is Stephen. You can call me Stephen. Not only am I going to be your teacher I’m going to be your friend.” No joke. Kate said she peed her pants every time he said it and it sounded creepy each and every time he did it. Kate also taught a lesson on night life and parties. After class Ramses walked up to her and was like, “You like to party?” Kate told him that she did and then he gave her a piece of paper with a website on it and told her to check it out. Later we realized the website was a Furries website (people dressing up like furry animals and having pretend sex) and almost died! Kate said she could never look at Ramses in the eyes again.
So, all in all it was a success and I got to meet a lot of people through the classes such as Marc my new friend and intercambio.

Danny

2008-01-18T00:23:00.002-05:00

Did you know that we have the only “naturally hydrated” friend in the entire world? Well, we do and his name is Danny Rosenberg. The shit that comes out of this boy’s mouth is the MAIN reason I’m allowing him to have an entire section in my blog. He told me once that I was an idiot because my top ingredients in a stir-fry didn’t include broccoli! “Slay some tail” is his number one phrase and if you hang out with him for more than a couple of minutes you’ll hear it! Slaying Tail is in fact having sexual intercourse with a female. Whether Danny can actually “pull some tail” is still to be found out. Ha joke Dan I know you’re a pimp. During the TEFL course we had to teach adults English lessons every day. Danny had a lesson on adjectives and he was using people to help get his point across. The people were short, tall, fat, thin, and pasty. Yeah, he taught the adults pasty and he was pointing to his skin saying that he was pasty and other people in the room that were tan weren’t pasty…the other teachers observing almost fell out of our sets with laughter! When we first started teaching ever teacher was REALLY nervous and everyone had to get use to being in front of grown adults teaching something that we take for granted, English. Danny was nervous one day and all the adults were in groups working on their assignment and he said, “Okay class lets reconvene.” The observers about died because no one knew what he wanted and there was mass confusion. Having the teachers in the background laughing didn’t make matters any better for poor Dan. We said let’s reconvene almost every day in the course after that! Kevin especially loved the class that day! Another catch phrase Danny is heard saying most often is, “You wanna smoke a heater?” What the definition is I’ll leave up to your imagination. Danny is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met and I’m sure I’ll add on to this section as time goes by!

Sub Rosa

2008-01-18T00:23:00.001-05:00

So, Sub Rosa is the bar that we frequent most nights here in BCN. It’s located in the crazy mazelike alleyways of the Gothic. The bar is a hole in the wall and kind of seedy, but we love it. The place is always dark and smoky and the music is always some sort of techno remix of the Beatles or someone from that era. The bartenders are all very nice and hook us up with crazy cocktails (always happy hour price) and free shots! The cocktails…damn where do I even start? They have the drinks scribbled on the wall with chalk; Mojitos that will knock your socks off, Bellini Sours that are made with cava and vodka, the most amazing Sex on the Beaches, Pina Coladas that are creamy copulation of delight, and Caiprhanas that if you digest you might as well call it a night! We have a joke that Paul the bartender spikes the drinks with some sort of drugs because no matter how sober we are when we arrive we can’t seem to make it out if there with any sense! One night the whole crew rolled in (along with Martin’s dad) and Kate found here boy lover and I ended up making out with my intercambio by accident. Later I explained to Marc what “beer goggles” were and that I had them on that night!! Oh and Bob I have an amazing picture of the girls bathroom for you!

The Start of Something Great:

2008-01-18T00:22:00.001-05:00

We arrived to BCN airport exhausted after a car ride from Cincinnati to Chicago, a 14 hour plane ride, and a 10 hour layover in the most God awful airport. We hailed a cab with all of our belongings and headed to Las Ramblas where we believed our hostel was located. The cabby took us to the middle of Ramblas and told us our hostel would be very close. We got out of the cab looked around and decided we were already lost. We started walking with our suitcases, rut sacks, pillows, and everything else we had around the catacombs of the Barri Gothic (streets that all look the same with no names and no numbers). We must have passed our hostel’s reception 5 times because it is not a door but an opening in a wall! Finally, we realize there is a door there and go in only to find out the hostel gave our rooms to someone else. We waited in the streets for them to find us a place to sleep that night. Today in BCN was the hottest day they had had all summer. Finally, the hostel found us a place to stay for a night. The girl said “Follow me” so we followed. I thought we were going down the street or up the many stairs there in the Gothic, but NO we weren’t. Lucky for us the hostel had the farthest room opens for us. We got to ride the metro for the first time with all of our belongings and tug our bags up and down numerous stairs. After walking for what seemed like 25 minutes we finally stopped and she said “We’re here!” Next, we carried all of our things up more steps because there was no lift and found our interior room. We all decided we were too tired to do anything but shower because we had all lost at least 10 lbs. on the way there. Annie was like, “hey there’s a window here, let’s open it.” She opened it to another person’s room! The room resembled a hallway with three beds and hangers on the wall for coats and wet stuff. We slept and the next day did it all over again because we weren’t at the correct hostel we booked months prior on the net. The next hostel was in a much better location and our roommates were cool travelers from different countries. We partied like rockstars for the first week, went on pubcrawls, went shopping, spent loads of money, and had a great time. Our hostel guests changed daily and some we made friendships with others just came and went. The hostel was airy and clean and had internet so we were happy. We were all in school for around 8-10 hours a day so we didn’t really stay in the hostel until we slept. One night Kate and I decided it would be a great idea to do laundry in the kitchen. Above the washer was a sign that read: For linens only, Not for Personal Use. We decided that everyone would be asleep really late so we’d do it then and get up super early to get it out. Now it was a good idea except the washer broke since we put 500lbs of crap in it. The next morning we wake up and Kate walks to the kitchen and I hear her swear so I’m like oh no someone stole our shit…no worse water EVERYWHERE in the kitchen! Kate and I are grabbing drenched clothes out of the washer and ringing them out in the sink and trying to not laugh because it’s just our luck! We had to get the clothes out of the washer fast because the cleaning lady came early to clean the sheets for the next guests and we had to be at school. We were working in like an assembly line grabbing the soaked clothes, ringing, sopping up the floor, putting in a pile and doing all over again! I was peeing my pants because there is no way this would happen to anyone else in a million years! Kate was getting more and more pissed by the second when I asked, “Where we gonna put these?” So, now we have the wettest possible clothing you’ve ever felt in a huge soaking pile in the kitchen and nowhere to hang em! Then I remembered the bungee clothes line Luke lent me before I set off. I got the cord out and strung it from my bunk to Kate’s bed. We started hanging the wet mess on the line until it bent all the way to the ground and had to resort to hanging the rest on the chairs and lamps! When we left the room looked like a bomb had gone off. We made it to class and our clothes were at least clean! When we got back everything was hung outside on the sheets line by the cleaning lady, bless her heart! After that night we decided we needed some sleep so we went to bed early. I was awoken by a loud crash and saw a lamp that was near the door all the way across the room by the window! I was like “WTF!” Kate goes, “Erin you hear that?” Then we see the two crazy ass German boys staying with us stumble in and puke on the floor! The one boy is hanging out the window while the other is kicking in all the metal lockers located outside our room. Kate says, “I’m putting on my gym shoes because if they come near me I’m kicking as hard as I can!” I say, “Yep!” So, were lying in our beds hearing the commotion but not able to see anything because the light is shattered on the floor. I was so anxious that entire night and Kate was swearing at the Germans and no one slept a wink that night. Knowing Kate and myself the next morning we reported the boys and they were kicked out! After the nightmare, Punk Paul and Not so Silent Jim, our British friends moved in and all was good with the world. We were with the Brits for a night and then found our wonderful flat in the clouds and moved in!

Smell this:

2008-01-18T00:21:00.001-05:00

You know when you smell something horrible or taste a bad piece of cheese you always make a face, say gross, yuck and then ask someone else to smell or taste it! Right? It’s just like the sophomoric humor of Saved By the Bell when AC Slater smells his gym shorts and makes a face and asks Screech to smell em and he does. Well, this exact thing happened at the god awful airport we were stranded at for like ten hours before we flew to BCN. There was nothing in the airport open, period. We boarded the plane during the day and the flight crew decided it was time to sleep so they killed all the lights in the entire plane. We weren’t tired so we sat there in the dark. The food came around and we looked at it and decided it wasn’t worth eating so we just sat until we got to Italy. As I said the airport was awful. It’s the 21st century and I believe that every airport should have a food court open at all times or at least one restaurant open 24/7. It’s not that much to ask. We had to wait for hours until this one place decided to open and everyone in the entire airport rushed in because everyone was starving. We ordered cafeteria style and got slices of pizza and I ordered a Fanta. The Fanta was the color of purple so I thought it was grape, which is my favorite kind of sugary soda pop. I ate my nasty pizza and opened my soda. I lifted the bottle to my face and just before the liquid hit my tongue I smelled something out of the ordinary. It was too late I already put the bottle to my mouth and took a huge swig! The world stopped! I looked left and right to see if there was anywhere to spit the liquid out, but no it had to go down. After I realized what happened I exclaimed that it was the worst thing I had ever tasted and offered it to Kate! She took a drink and also concurred that it was disgusting. We took the pop to one of the workers in the terminal and asked what the flavor was. I about died when he said it was GINGER flavored. Seriously folks the worst thing I’ve ever smelt or tasted. Someone should be killed for thinking it was a good idea and then someone else agreeing.

Albania

2008-01-18T00:19:00.003-05:00

Add one stamp to the passport:
It all starts years ago when Kate was in college where she befriended Chris. They hung out, graduated, and eventually fell out of touch…that is until she moved to Spain and Chris to Albania. Albania? Yes. Albania. Get out a map now because I know you don’t know where it is not unlike Kate and me. We thought it was in God forsaken spot on the globe like Russia! So, this is where the story gets good. Chris facebooks Kate and asks her to a Marine Ball in December. She tells me and we laugh because number one it’s way too random, Chris isn’t in the Marines, and where the Hell is Albania? After figuring out on the map that Albania is near Spain and right next to Greece Kate changes her tune and decides to give it a go, but not without telling Chris that she has a cool ass roommate (me duh). The next thing you know we’re on a plane headed to Germany and then on to Albania. The flight was good we ate two bocadillos (cheese and bread) and then we were exiting the plane and heading to Albania’s customs. The lady informed us that we had to pay 10 Euros to get into the country…seriously never heard this kind of shit in my life! Chris was waiting for us at the airport along with his driver, Cody and his girlfriend Tori, and two other Marines. We headed off to the Castle in Albania to do some sightseeing before lunch. While driving we met everyone and they explained that Albania was a communist country until recently and that was why there were no fences or walls (because everyone shared land) and why there were pill boxes (igloo type concrete buildings with a hole for a gun to shoot enemies) everywhere! Albania is the poorest European country and the least visited by tourists. The landscape was green and the houses were either in disrepair or the type of house you’d find by the beach (not real sturdy but colorful and on stilts). We walked to the castle through all the tourist shops where they were selling everything from homemade clothes and shoes to tiger wall hangings (who dey!). I was super surprised to hear that EVERYONE spoke English! The castle was old and cool but there was trash everywhere on the grounds of the castle and leading up to it and everywhere. The people all seemed excited to see us. After the castle we went to lunch at the nicest restaurant in the whole of Albania where the Marines frequent. Dragoosh the owner had a feast waiting for us and when I say feast let me explain…first the boys tell us not to eat a lot of the appetizers because there is a lot more coming and then we see what they meant by more! The table was set with loads of bread, salads, veggie trays, cheese and tomatoes, a spinach dish, and goat cheese. After I had to try each thing to make sure it was ok for everyone else to eat (you know that I would be the one to die instead of my fellow man) the waiters brought out fries, more cheese, some yogurt sauce( Kate was inhaling it), and so much else I can’t even remember (maybe because I sampled the Tirana beer and Christmas Vino made only in Albania from berries only grown there). We tried to tell the waiters no more but they wouldn’t stop! Next was the meat. There was this hamburger looking thing with cheese in the middle, a lamb cabob, and a lamb steak along with fixings. They said there were more courses but we insisted we couldn’t waste anymore food! Walking there and looking at all the poor people and thinking about how much food was going to be thrown away made me sick or maybe it was all the wine. This restaurant was the type of place where if you finished something then you got another no questions asked so if you didn’t want more then you didn’t finish it. That’s when Kate looked at me and said if she finished her glass of wine (who knows what number it was) that she would in fact fall down the damn steps. After Dragoosh and his translator (which he really didn’t need) finished their drinks and smoked their cigars they informed us that we were having coffee downstairs in another part of the restaurant. We walk downstairs and luckily Kate made it with no broken bones and walked through the doors to this buffet of a dessert table. I was like Hell no! We HAD to try all the dessert because it was a custom and it was traditional Albanian food and it was amazing. More wine, banana custard type heaven with chocolate, fruit with cinnamon, and the traditional dessert that was rice, cinnamon, sugar, some sort of meat, and fruit (it tasted like a Christmas candle smells). After coffee the disco balls were turned on and the music was blaring and the driver started to karaoke Hotel California! Then we left so stuffed and buzzzzzed and rode off about 20 minutes to the Sheraton hotel.
The car that we were riding around in was a SUV armored bullet proof vehicle that weighs over 8 tons. The Sheraton Tirana Hotel & Towers is by far the nicest building in the capital city. Kate and I ran up to our room took one good look at the 5 star hotel room and dove in the amazing beds with mass pillows and a comfy squishy down comforter! Then it was lights out for a lil siesta before the marines could show us what Albania had to offer as night life. So, I just have to say that the night before we left Kate was on crack and was walking through our apt singing and griping that she had no one to play with at 2am in the morning (our flight was at 6 and we had to leave at 4 so I got up at 3) because I went to bed and Martin wouldn’t talk to her anymore! When I saw that fluffy, wonderful, big, pillow filled, dream come true bed it was OVER. I didn’t even undress just jumped in and let the coma commence!
Later, Chris came in and woke us up and let us know that the night was crammed full of exciting places for us to go and that him and his boys haven’t been out in forever so it was time to get crazy. The marines are in Albania protecting the American Embassy and they are in a certain program for 4 years. Marcus (my date from Texas...he would freak out if I didn’t mention that) has been to Iraq and Iberia and the other marines have been other places protecting other consulates. They work all different times of the day and all six live together in this house that reminded me of a frat house but much cleaner. They have a pool table, flat screen, Xbox, a bar, sweet gym, and a cook. Chris said they mostly watch movies, read magazines, and play Xbox (Halo3). Cody said that they don’t go out because there aren’t many places to go and they have stuff to do early in the morning like running 3 miles (no big deal I told them). We started the night in the hotel lobby and then went to the bar that they go to most often. Andy, the bar owner, knows everyone by name and had an awesome banner printed up that said Happy Birthday Victoria (Tori Cody’s girlfriend from Cape Town, South Africa). We sat upstairs in our own private stop in the bar and Andy brought us Tirana beer, shots, and munchies all night long. More marines showed up and another couch had to be moved upstairs to accompany all of our asses and then they ran out of Tirana beer and Heineken and then ran out of whatever else we were drinking so we decided to dance party it for a minute with the kid in the bar and go on to the only karaoke bar in Albania. We walk in and this place was packed! Chris and Marcus wasted no time putting their names on the list to sing Oasis, Sweet Home Alabama, and whatever the only other song Marcus knew (we tried to get him to sing like 50 songs but because hes never heard of the Beatles or Steve Miller or any band that counts we had to let him choose the songs). Oh yeah Marcus raps! “Mirror Mirror on da wall who is da freshest of dem all?” “She’s sliding down that pole…Girl don’t be so cruel.” Marcus had to work when everyone else got to meet us so he didn’t know how amazing Kate and I were until Andy’s bar. When he walked in I was like mirror mirror and Kate was like Marcus don’t be so cruel…and then he knew he would luv us! After we sang too many songs we headed to a club that Marcus (being who he was and all) ensured us was bangin…and we were the only people there! You know that didn’t stop Tori and I from jumping up on stage and Tori busted out her pole dancing skills. By the end of the night Marcus and I were rappin TuPac, Tori was still on that damn pole, Kate and Chris were spinning each other, and Fredo (the driver) was chilling watching us fools be drunks. We all piled in the armored SUV and made it back to the hotel in one piece. Kate dared the hotel to have food for her drunk ass and I about pissed myself when she said, “I dare the hotel to have a dang bocadilla!” The marines have these things called rules which I don’t even get at all but they had to be home at a certain time for this unknown thing called curfew. Good thing we started early and cleaned out all the bars in Albania of their bruskeys.
We didn’t wake up until around 12 and the only reason we got out of bed was because the damn cleaning lady kept bothering us. We ordered room service (duh) and then called Tori to go out and see Tirana. About 6 minutes later we were back in the hotel looking from something to do while we killed time before the ball. The boys were busy practicing some gun thing for the ceremony that night. Kate asked the receptionist if we could go see the futbol game that we could see from our window. She “advised” us not to go because we were female and women don’t go to sporting events in Albania (yea Kate was pissed not because of the match but because of the no women in sports thing). In Albania their currency is the Leke and it is stronger than the US dollar. NO ONE can make me understand the whole currency rate/exchange crap. I’ve asked many souls what’s up with the dollar being shit because I thought America was all big and bad and that would mean our money was good right...no. We gave the receptionist 40 Euros and she in turn gave us around 4800 Leke and we didn’t have to get anymore the entire trip. Kate said, “Damn I feel rich,” to the receptionist as she was exchanging her money and the lady replied, “You are.” So, we killed time by visiting the boy’s house and playing video games. Have to put this in writing Kate is the WORST car racing game player in the world! She was like a drunk Huggins swerving all over the road and hitting shit left and right. She messed up her car so bad in the first few minutes it wouldn’t even drive straight! We got to drink a root beer so I was happy. After that we got ready and went to the ball. Kate yells, “Erin Erin,” I run in the bathroom and she’s sitting there in the tub with bubbles past her neck!
So, the ball started off with photos and cocktail hour. Kate, Tori, and I people watched and commented on at least 97.9% of the chic’s outfits. Chris’ gunnery sergeant asked him if we knew what “appropriate was” because we lived in Spain and were American. My God I should have taken pics of these grown women and their “dresses.” Anyways, we looked amazing (of course) and stole the show when the three of us pranced in through the metal detector. The Albanian CIA (of whatever they are called) were definitely talking on their walkie-talkies about us! There was a ceremony with guns and the cutting of a huge cake with a sword. The Albanian ambassador (the smartest man I’ve probable ever met) gave his speech, we watched a short film about the Marines, and then dinner was served. Marcus looked at his appetizer plate and was like, “yum egg and what is all this,” while pointing at the rest of his plate. I informed him that they were called vegetables and that you can eat them. During dinner (I was sitting across from the ambassador and Kate was across from the Albanian main security big wig) Kate and I played let’s not get thrown in Albanian jail for running our mouths. Of course we were at the head table in front of the entire ball of around 250 people! After dinner we danced, drank, and got ugly! Kate was sitting at the head table drinking the Crown Royal we smuggled in when she professed, “I wish I was crippled because I would just chair dance all night!” We had thought about staying at the ball until like 11pm and then going to the bars, but you know we closed that bitch down! All the staff was like okay you can leave now you American fools! After we left we went to our room and Kate was laying on the bed bitching about her feet and said, “I would rather give birth than have my feet feel like this!” Then shit hit the fan! Everyone decided the night was NOT over and brought the party to our room. I’m so glad that we were the only ones in that hotel or we so would have been kicked out! Kate was wrestling Marcus, Cody was showing his ass (literally and figuratively), Tori was watching her boy turn into Mr. Out-of-control, I was wearing a Marine hat, Marcus was drunk, and Chris was, “having a good time.” You’ll have to check out the pics to see how the entire night played out! “For some reason I want to tackle Kate and like really hurt her like spear her,” says Cody. “I dare you,” I answer knowing full well that Kate would knock him the Hell out! Just then it dawns on me that I would love to throw Cody on the ground so I jump up (he’s tall) and pull his head to his knees (this is where he buckles) and then I do it again and again until he grabs my feet and pulls me down too. Remember it’s like around 3am and we’re in the hall of the hotel and I still don’t know why! Finally we had enough of being drunk and crazy and decide to head to our room. Kate leaves and knocks minutes later where she emerges dressed in blues (Marine dress uniform)! One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my life; Kate saluting, wearing the uniform, and being drunk as Hell. I pass out in like one second and wake up to Marcus laughing and telling me to lick my lips. I was not thinking correctly so I did and that’s when I tasted sour cream and onion (yuck ewww nasty). “I put Pringles in your mouth as a wake-up call because I was talking and you just fell asleep,” said Marcus. Kate is now peeing her blues or Marcus’ blues! Sleep. Then we leave the country without getting arrested, shot, of blown up by a land mine!
On the way home we get two more bocadillas, rubbed our stumps (they were our feet before we wore heels for 18 hours) and got to see the lady next to us digging for gold (ask Kate). I asked Kate if she knew that gold prices were down! So, all in all we had such a great time getting away for the weekend, seeing Chris and meeting the other guys, and dancing the night away with Albanians! I’ll post the pics on Kate’s webshots so definitely check them out. www.webshots.com/katehopsEmail me with any burning questions about the trip and if there are inside jokes you don’t get…tough.

One Sunny December Day:

2008-01-18T00:19:00.002-05:00

Remember when it was December 8th and we were having a picnic in the park…well that was today! I talked to mom the other day and she said Lakota had a snow day and everyone from home has been facebooking me about the cold weather! I still think it gets too cold here for my tastes but it is “temperate” and I haven’t seen a single flake of snow so I guess it’s alright. Kate and I met up with a lot of other TEFL teachers and friends at Parc De la Ciutadella and had lunch and cava. Parc De La Ciutadella has the Arc de Triomf, the Catalan Parliament building, museums, and a botanical garden. That night everyone met out for drinks for Steve Allen’s birthday and Kate, Danny, Steve and I had sushi at a really cool neighborhood near our hood. I am definitely going to take people to this stretch of bars and restaurants because there is such a wide variety and every place is cool in its own way. I do believe I made an ass of myself after drinking wine to pregame, sake and vino at dinner, vodka at the first bar, going to Sub Rosa (I already explained this place puts drugs in their drinks), and whatever else I drank at the other 50 bars and clubs we ended up in! Thanks Kris for taking care of me!!

Back in BCN

2008-01-18T00:17:00.000-05:00

So, now I’m back in BCN. John Perrette will be here in two weeks so I’m looking forward to that. Also, Carnival will be talking place while he’s here visiting and I’m going to guarantee some CRAZY pics from that debacle! I have decided to give my Monday and Wed private classes to other TEFL teachers and pick up classes at a school my friend Kris works for. Hopefully everything will work out and all these new classes will pay my ass enough to stay here in lovely Spain! Anne Ryan and her boyfriend are coming to visit after John for my Birthday so I’m super excited about that too. The BIG 25 baby! What better way to celebrate being 25 years young then in Spain with friends from Cincy! I’m also Very happy about Ohio State losing. Kate now has a tear forming! Bob I saw Munchchis in Amsterdam and I got pics! I hope everyone is doing good back at home. I have heard from some of you about New Years and skiing, school, cheering, and rehab. Kate and I are glad the Holidays are over so now we can get into a routine again, but are sad to see everyone leave BCN. Leslie I hope you had fun and Kate’s parents I hope the neighbors didn’t scare you and the house wasn’t too small!
Friday I had a great day here in BCN. The weather was SO nice that Steve and I rented bikes and rode all around Barcelona. We ate at a crepes joint (I can’t get enough of em) and drank cheap red wine (I almost had an accident after drinking and getting back on that bike). I really cannot remember the last time my ass was on a bike! Then crazy 80’s Steve ended up singing 80’s songs all night while we got drunk the broke people way (at home). Since I’ve picked up new classes I am now an early riser! I can’t believe it but it’s necessary if I want to live like a rock star again here in BCN! Remember if you want to come visit let me know and I’ll put you on the list…better hurry and make a decision bc people are sucking up the dates quicker than I Lil Tommed it home from Sub Rosa on Sunday when I was a bit under the influence (that means fast)!
People don’t forget about me and email me! If you have anything you need to send to me call John and he’ll bring it. Someday when I get some time I’ll post pics so keep an eye out and I’ll update the blog. Love you all. Miss you. Besos, E

Update on Devil child:

2007-12-04T19:13:00.005-05:00

So, Tony aka Antoni was again a problem for me on Monday! He said shit 3 times and I had to threaten to tell his mom and dad! We were learning the human body and I had this fun assignment where we rolled out a roll of wrapping paper and drew an outline of one of the kids who laid on the paper and the other traced (NO way in HELL I was giving Tony a marker while his kid sister was laying on the ground). So, Tony was the kid we traced and Imma and I helped him label the parts of the body. Mind you this worked for every other students that I had in the weeks previous but not this time! Tony only wanted to roll around on the ground, open and close the fridge door about 1000 times, and ask me questions in Spanish. He wanted to know how many kids I had and when I explained I didn’t have any he was then obsessed with knowing about my personal life. “Quien es tu novio?” (Who is your boyfriend) I knew he hated Iker Casillas (the number one goalie who is ubbber hot) so of course I said Iker was my boyfriend and then shit hit the fan! He went nuts speaking so fast there was no way in Hell I could figure out what he was saying so he runs in to his dad’s office and asks him how to ask me questions in English! “How do you know Iker and why do you like him?” was what Tony asked me. I had to laugh and tell him I was joking but he was pissed! He then asked his 5 year old sister to ask me what boobs were called in English and he pulled my pants down and I threatened to knock out the rest of his front teeth with my fist (I said what’s this…a hand. And what are these…fingers. What is it called when I close them like this…a fist.) Just as his mother walks in the room Tony grabs the marker out of my hand and gives our human body a penis and vagina! God bless his lil devil soul.

Guess which one Tony is in the school picture!!

Motor vehicles:

2007-12-04T19:13:00.004-05:00

Here in Barcelona you may own and drive whatever your lil heart desires as long as you wear a helmet. You have a moped that puts out black smog..go ahead and ride that bad boy. You have a dirt bike that sounds like a umm dirt bike and you wanna ride your girl on the back…Hell why not. Oh, you have a four wheeler that you wanna weld a frame to so your groceries are safe and sound…that amazing just wear a helmet and you’re good to go! Every single motor vehicle that you can think of drives around here on the sidewalks and roads and is perfectly legal. There are also no speed limits so you better not be blind, deaf, in a hurry, slow, in a wheelchair, or not paying attention because you will die. Kate and I have this inside joke about this very situation we call it Mother duck and her ducklings. Kate is almost always Mother Duck and she crosses the busy roads only thinking about herself and not the many ducklings that are trailing not far behind her! I always yell across the street to her “Damn you mother Duck always leaving us!” She is either fearless or stupid because sometimes I think to myself there is no way she’s going to make it and then the motorcyclists revs his engine and flies right past her!

Flatmate:

2007-12-04T19:13:00.003-05:00

When Annie decided to pack up and brave the States once again we were stuck with an open room and needed someone to fill it to help with the bills. For 2 weeks Evita, a chic from Cyprus, moved in. She was really cool and she helped Kate and I out when we needed to know if Albania was close to Russia like we thought or if it was by Iran or where ever the Hell it was before we jetted off there. She pulls out the huge map in Greek and I looked at it and said the dumbest thing possible, “Shit it looks Greek!” She really didn’t think it was that stupid. She said they say in Greece it looks Chinese to me instead of Greek! When she moved out we got a new roommate (flatmate here because roommate has something to do with sexual preference) Martin from the Czech Republic! Martin worked at Travel Bar with Jim and Paul and the lot. We met him at our new hangout called Sub Rosa. The bartender, Paul, is really cool and hooks us up with happy hour prices whenever we roll in and also free shots! So, we met him and he was like I need a house and you have a house so can I move in say in a week…and that was it. Martin’s dad came into town for a week and we had the pleasure of partying with the crazy fool! The man speaks not one word of English or Spanish, but had entire conversations with everyone at the bar! I don’t know if you’ve ever heard or seen Czech but it’s crazy to my ears and eyes! He was telling me that he played futbol for the Czech team when he was younger and drinking about 12 different cocktails at once! Martin ended up being carried out by his twasted dad that night! Luv Sub Rosa!

The Scotts:

2007-12-04T19:12:00.001-05:00

So, the night of Jim’s Birthday celebrations the gang decided to start at travel bar and try to do some sort of bar crawl. I was being a brat and was sitting in the house for like 5 mins when I started laughing (mind you I was by myself so this was a lil weird) anyways I then texted Kate as said I was going to stop acting like Annie and I’d be at the bar in mins. As I walked in Travel Bar I was accosted by a huge group of men who were crazy drunk and had accents! I proceeded to find the group, mainly Kate, and tell her what happened as I walked in! Then a brilliant idea occurred to me. “Hey Kate you wanna play a lil game with the Scotts? It’s called how many free drinks and shots can we get before we move on to the next bar!” She was like well duh! So, I pranced up to the bar in the middle of the Scottish men’s group wearing a lil pink dress with black hoes and heels. All we had to do was stand there for about 2 seconds when three of the older men came over and asked what we were drinking. I explained that it was my 22nd Birthday and Kate (my big sister…she came up with that part) and I were celebrating! Shots and beers and drinks later one of the men said that I shouldn’t be talking to the “old farts” and meet his son. Let me see what do I say about the son other than he is a personal trainer and smoking hot! So he came over to me and asked if I was a stagatrious (or that’s the sound that I thought was coming out of his mouth) and I was like what??? He meant Sagittarius. Then I was busted because I forgot I WAS a Sagittarius and not an Aquarius because it was my birthday today in November. I told hottie it wasn’t my birthday and that his dad must have thought I said that because it was my boys b-day who was in the back of the bar! Anyways, I love not paying for drinks and having the crazy Scotts pay for em! Hey learned form the best, thanks Nik! So, why you ask were there 5,000,000 Scottish men in BCN?? Well, the Scotts and BCN played futbol that night and BCN was overrun by the drunken Scottish futbol fans. It was all over the news and Las Ramblas was like a crowed club full of moshers. The stores ran out of beer because the Scotts kept buying it, drinking it, throwing the trash in huge piles, and doing it all over again! I made the mistake of taking the Metro near Ramblas at Catalunya. In the underground there was a drunk gang singing and chanting and they were surrounding me…I kept thinking God I hope you mess with me because I can totally cuss you out and you’ll know exactly what I’m saying unlike the Spanish people they were messing with! Luckly I got out there with no problem but the news reported many disturbing things that the men did while staying in BCN. This is just a taste of European futbol fans and I’ll tell more stories I’ve heard from the Brits later.

Our Hood:

2007-12-04T19:11:00.003-05:00

We live in Poble Sec which we have dubbed Lil India because everyone that resides here is from East India, Pakistan, Morocco, or The Dominican Republic. We are not just the only blond hair blue eyed humans in our area but we are also the ONLY white people in our area. We walk down the street and everyone just stares. I mean I’m used to it because I’m cute as Hell but damn it’s everyday and every person here! There are a lot of families who live around us and many old half dead souls. Someone told me that near Montjuic is where a lot of old families live. These families have been in this area for centuries and since people don’t die they are still kicking in their flats. Montjuic is this awesome park that covers almost as much land as the rest of the city. There is an old fort that was used for shooting enemies who came by sea, hundreds of gardens, museums, a hotel, clubs, and spectacular city view. The Olympic village is also located in Montjuic. Kate and I were walking through Montjuic toward Placa Espanya when we saw a dude wearing an Ohio State Buckeye ball cap petting the grass near the museum! We talked to him and found out that college was too hard for him and he didn’t go, but that he was a fan of the Buckeyes probably because they win and he’s an asshole fair weather fan. His posse was touching the grass to see if it was real…yeah there’s gonna be fake grass in this million year old park next to a couple decades old fountain! Smart.

Big City Living:

2007-12-04T19:11:00.002-05:00

So, as everyone knows I grew up in Greendale IN population: everyone knows everyone and their mother, brother, and who their dating. Moving across the world I must admit is a little overwhelming, but nothing compares to the differences in living in Cincinnati/Greendale and living here in BCN! This city never sleeps, well it sleeps during the day when I’m out and about trying to run errands, but I’m not counting that because it’s only a catnap not real sleep! As I’ve told most of you people get up late, work a couple of hours, eat and nap, go home, eat again around 11pm and then stay out all night drinking and socializing. It was so weird to Kate and me when we first moved in our apartment because at 9-11pm when we were tired and wanted to relax and sleep the city comes to life! The cars start whizzing by, the motorcycles and dirt bikes start their engines, people from every crevice crawl out from their nap and party. The night is blocked out by all the lights from the houses, restaurants, bars, and dance clubs. There are children running up and down the streets playing and screaming at 12am!
There are so many people here in BCN. Someday I’ll have internet and I can quote the correct amount of fools living here but let’s just say it’s a Hell of a lot! There are people everywhere at all times of the day and night. When Kate and I are strolling in around 4am there are people. When Kate has to teach on Fridays at 8 in the morning there are mass amounts of people. Some people live here and work here but there are tons of people that are just here for whatever reason taking up sidewalk space! I’ve never been to a really huge city before such as New York and I imagine it’s the same way there but its nuts. Las Ramblas is the clusterfuck of the world and there is no nicer way to put it. All Ramblas is is a huge street with mass bodies, restaurants, street performer freaks, more tourists, and people selling crap. At first we were like this street is crazy and cool but after living here I know better than to walk down it if I can help it. I would suggest that everyone see Las Ramblas because I telling you stories can’t compare to the real experience. I was told that “tourist season” was over after the first month we lived here and that everywhere would calm down and clear out…mentrosas (liars).
Another aspect of Big City Living I’m never going to get used to is the smell of a Big city! Having 5 bazillion people in one city, 70 bazillion dogs, no trees or grass, and mass amounts of garbage makes this place reek to high heaven! Every time I leave my casa I walk outside and immediately hold my breath. We have one small twig like tree that is planted right outside our door that is known as the piss tree for every animal in a 100 foot radius. What I would give for some concrete to fill in the hole so that NO dog could call it their personal urinal! Next, I walk across the street and every so often I hold my breath as I walk past the many garbage bins and recycling bins. I’ve gotten so good at holding my breath that now I challenge myself everyday to see how many thousand bins I can walk past without taking a breath. I do believe I would be a much better swimmer now than I ever was because I can now hold my breath for like a min! Sara can appreciate where I’m coming from on this part because she has a smeller like mine. I was blessed with the most sensitive sense of smell, touch, hearing… and because of this I can’t eat spicy foods, I smell everything and sometimes it makes me ill, I remember everything by the way it smells, can’t get deep tissue massages and can ease drop from far away. The only problem I have with these super senses here in BCN is the smell sense (I can’t ease drop cause I can’t speak Catalan!) Rotting garbage, animal smells, seafood, garlic, saltwater, body odor, exhaust, and KFC are all the smells of the Big City that I can’t live with.
I have decided that I do really love Europe and like Spain, but cannot live in BCN for longer than a year. I feel as if I’m being slowly poisoned by some unknown gas (thanks Kate for the idea) and that’s the reason everyone from the states is getting sick here and why I feel like shit all the time. At first I thought I was getting poisoned from our stove in our apt. or from another apt. near us, but now I believe that it’s the Metro that’s getting me. The Metro is what other places call the subway, an underground tunnel way for trains and people to get around the city. There is no fresh air in these poison filled underground tunnels and there are so many people with sniffley noses and death coughs that I am SURE that I am getting germs, diseases, and poisoned from these tunnels. There was an entire week that I couldn’t fully wake up. I had my eyes open and I was walking around awake, but I wasn’t fully awake. I felt like I was on drugs like that time I had my teeth out and was on Codine (the devil’s drug) and couldn’t function, was tired, couldn’t focus, and just felt like shit. After that week I started airing out my room daily no matter what the temp was outside and practicing my breath holding techniques in the Metro too!

Fountain of Youth with many wrinkles:

2007-12-04T19:10:00.002-05:00

So, as I said earlier people here don’t freaking die they just rot away in their skin until their skin becomes one with the concrete that we have to walk on every day which is why we freak out when we get “dead people”on us (what we call dirt or any substance that gets on us when we’re outside). Kate seems to get tortured by the “squirting stones” every day. Since every sidewalk and street here is made of cobblestones or bricks that are irregularly laid out, water and dead people collect under the stones and if you’re a lucky bitch, you step on the stone and it juices your leg. On the other hand, if you don’t get squirted by a stone you could always be dripped on from above. I say its people’s laundry dripping dry but we’re not sure, and it always seems to drip on Kate’s face. Our neighbors, old man winter and his wife scraggly throat and the questionable third voice we sometimes hear are prime examples of death walking. Old Man Winter takes his daily stair climb to go to the market in the morning, and we usually are lucky enough to get stuck in the stairwell with him during his climb back up (which takes a minimum of 2 hours). Finally, when he gets to the top we have to listen to old black lungs hack and spit and die a little until he eventually has enough strength to eek out “hola, bon dia” to us. His wife, Scraggly Throat, rarely faces the stair climb but is quick to scurry out to the balcony we share if she hears one sniffle from Kate or me as we hang our laundry. She then proceeds to ramble in Catalan even though she KNOWS we only speak English. So far, from what we’ve gathered from her soliloquies she thinks there are a lot of stairs in our building, she covers our hanging laundry with plastic when it rains (bless her old carcass for that), and her single dead flower needs to be watered “thiiiis much” (in Catalan of course) every day. Old Man Winter is a tiny skeleton of a man with a semi-youthful looking face. He smokes like ten packs of cigs a day and hacks, snores, spits and any other nastyass dying sound effect a human can possible make. I of course am on the same schedule as OMW when it comes to using the bathroom. I get to have the pleasure of looking in his saggy face every time I walk into MY bathroom because our windows look into each other. This reminds me of a crazy true story that happened while I was hanging out with Ed in Ohio. He had this apt and this cat. One week or maybe two he left the cat and I was sort of cat sitting for him. When he got back he said he walked in his apt. and the cat was nowhere to be found! I knew I had fed the damn thing and saw it so I knew it was there the last time I was in the apt but Ed couldn’t find her. Later he tells me the crazy story about how his neighbor crawled through the laundry shoot that was between their apts. And stole the cat (because it was crying) and how she looked after the cat at nights and forgot to bring her back that day before he got there! I almost freaked the Hell out when I heard this and had to see this laundry shoot for myself ! This shoot was literally a hole to the basement but I guess she put a board across it and shimmied into his apt. The reason I recall this amazing tale is because I have nightmares of OMW sliding a board across our windows and crawling in my bathroom!! Ewww.
Mrs. Scraggly throat could be over a hundred years old and loves to dye her hair a wonderful shade of red and let her gray roots shine through. She can’t stand completely upright because her skin and skeleton don’t align anymore and because her daily activity consists of sprinting out her door once a day to scream Catalan to us. Last week Kate got to witness a seriously disturbing sight…OMW and Mrs. Scraggly throat in the shower together! All I heard was “Vale Vale Vale Vale.” (Pronounced ball-eh) So, we’re guessing Mrs. Scraggly throat is Vale. Every time I walk down the streets of Poble Sec I have to dodge left and right to miss all the dying souls that live near us and are venturing out to buy fruits and veggies. The sidewalks here are slanted, cobblestone, and downright skinny lil places to walk. In the states if someone is walking towards you on the sidewalk or on the street you see them, move out of their way, and then continue on your way…oh no not here! I am the freaking invisible woman here in BCN. I walk down the streets and people just run me over, knock me down, and all together don’t see me. I decided that I was going to yell something sarcastically at them like “DO you see me?’ But, then I remembered they probably won’t speak English so I learned the phrase “No Me Ves??” It literally means do you see me in Spanish and it doesn’t exactly translate but Javier said they would know EXACTLY why I was saying it so I’m excited to use it. Wait, I’m about to go to school so I’ll get to use it today! Oh, one more old person story. There is a blind man who has a cane and he walks around every day and I have so much respect for him because I can’t believe he’s lived this long with all the crazy driving, messed up streets, and the people who can’t seem to see other people.
Kate wrote some of this, if it doesn't sound like I did..I prob didn't!

Stories from the first month:

2007-12-04T19:09:00.000-05:00

The first day Kate, Annie, and I try to find school we get lost…duh. The directions said the school was off Rambla and since we had been in BCN for a week and thought we were hot shit and knew this city like the backs of our hands we waited til the last second to leave the hostel. Of course, the “Ohio girls” were on the wrong street, wrong area, and already late for the first day of school. We were walking down Las Ramblas where all the street performers are and all the hustle and bustle is. So, we finally realize we’re in the wrong place and need to move it so we don’t walk into school an hour late when we see him, the man of my dreams! Walking down the street is a man around 67 years’ old buckass naked sporting only his tattoo covered skin and his penis piercing. His penis was so long and so tattied up that I didn’t even know what I was staring at. Seriously, BCN has no rules especially on Las Ramblas. Needless to say we were about an hour late to our first school of TEFL training…classic “Ohio girls.”

More where this comes from...

My kids:

2007-12-04T19:08:00.001-05:00

So, I talked about the cuties I teach my private lessons to but I need a lil section to fully let you comprehend what I’ve been up to! Mondays I have Ramon, 10 and Marce, 8 for an hour. Both kids have the best behavior and have a good understanding of the English language. We do a lesson every week and play some games also. After I teach them I walk to their cousin’s house to teach Imma the genius, 5 and her crazy brother Antonio, 7. Tony is my only problem child. He is so full of energy that he has to sing (in Spanish) during every activity we do. I don’t’ mean like oh I’ll hum a lil tune…no he’s screaming this Spanish crap song and his mom is in the other room like what the Hell is Erin doing! Also, he is king of finding anything I bring with me or in the room that he can throw. Last week it was a bouncy ball that he repeatedly bounced off the wall above my head until it hit me , the week before it was my text book that he kept stealing and trying to color in even though I told him not to like 1000 times. This week Tony decided to fight with his sister, cry, throw her on the ground, yell Mierda (shit), and not learn one single thing…god I love him! So, being me I decided to mess with him because he’s a lost cause. When he messes around I stick my tongue out at him, I steal anything that he gets his grubby lil hands on, and I poke him. I give every kid a sticker after they finish their class and I always threaten him that he won’t get one if he doesn’t sit down and stop chucking pencils, rubbers (erasers), and my broken crayons that he broke 5 mins before. My favorite part is that I teach their father later in the evening and he asked me about the kids and I was going on and on about Imma saying how smart she is and he was like “She does amazing in school but Tony is just…Tony,” and I was like yeah. Tuesday I have Gabi, 9 and Guillermo, 7 who are the cutest lil boys with curly hair. They give me no headaches. Guillermo calls spiders speedermans and I die laughing everytime and can't correct him! Wed. I have Josefina the mother and her kids Albert and Sandra. They are a great family and learn very quickly. Thurdays I have the 5 and 7 year old I spoke about earlier. Critina and Mireia are so much fun! I practically just babysit them for two hours and throw in some English when they feel like it. If someone would have said Erin next year you will be crawling around on the floor barking like a dog, singing High School Musical and the ABC’s, drawing silly faces to describe emotions, and buying stickers by the bulk I would have laughed…but I’m doing it and loving every minute of it! Mireia is allergic to gluton so she can’t eat anything really…no bread, no cookies, nothing with gluton!

Progression of “our bum”:

2007-12-04T19:07:00.000-05:00

The first time we encountered our bum was outside the KFC that is off of the Parallel Metro stop where we live. He stands about 6 foot tall and has long wavy hair that has been dyed, but not recent enough to not have black roots. Yeah, a bum that gets his hair dyed. There are so many questions right there such as where does he get the money for the dye, what possessed him to dye it that wonderful shade of orange, and what sink did he rinse in??? He sports a black leather jacket with fringe, chains, black jeans and rocks the Outsiders/50’s gang style. Back to KFC. So, he stands outside KFC begging for my hard earned money while he’s drinking a coffee and eating 15 Euros worth of KFC! No bueno I say. Next, we’re in line at the grocery and he cuts in front of us and pays for loads of dog food. Dog food you ask…yes he has a huge German shepherd type huge dog that eats dog food that our bum buys from the grocery. Next, I’m walking along ignoring him as much as I can when I hear this noise coming from the dog or bum. I stopped and looked to see what could possibly be making that sound when I see it…a radio! Yes, now our bum has a radio with batteries and he jams with his dog while sipping coffee and eating drumsticks. Kate witnessed someone throwing away a single bed and he came and swooped it up with a quickness. She said he was carrying it around on his head to be like “Hey look at me I have a freaking bed now!” So, he was sleeping rather comfortably or at least that’s what I thought until the following week he had sheets and a red decorative pillow. Every morning before he has his morning brew he gets up stows his suitcase and other belongings in the locker/side of the wall and makes his bed, pillow and all. I honestly thought the progression was going to have to stop there because Hell hes got all he needs, but no our bum needed more. As I turn the corner to get to my place I happen to look over to the hidey hole our bum calls home and what do I see but a freaking double bed! People, no one in BCN has a double bed! I sleep on a rock that my landlord Ester calls a bed that is the size of me and if you know me, which I would hope you do because your reading this, you know how not big I am. Our bum is now sleeping more comfortably than I am because he has a bigger, softer, nicer bed than I and it’s warmer outside then in a BCN home. Seriously this town is fucked up!

Working in BCN:

2007-12-04T19:06:00.000-05:00

Well, where do I start about working in BCN? I’ll start with the FACT that no one in BCN works. People get up later than Americans by far and then they have this two hours siesta/nap/long ass lunch thing every day that they do decide to actually go into to work. I start my work day at 2pm in the afternoon at a business called Kone. I believe they make and sell elevators or something like that. Side blip: Marc told me that in the near future like say 10-15 years every household and business will have to have a lift/elevator and the city is fronting the bill. This is a huge deal here because old people don’t die (I’ll get into that later) and the buildings are so old and tall and it’s going to be quite a feat to equip every business. Back to it. Mondays and Wednesday I have 3-4 women who are pre-intermediate which means nothing but they know some vocab, some grammar, and cannot speak to me conversationally. The women are nice but this is their break/siesta time and they much rather talk in Spanish or Catalan then listen to me rattle on about countable and uncountable nouns. On Tuesday s and Thursdays I have pre-beginner which means they said in their own Spanglish way “we are on level zero but below.” Actually they were saying zero in Spanish and pointing below the table and pointing to themselves. One of my first lessons I was assessing their level and I played the game I Like…, I don’t Like… and the one older gentleman said he liked mas mas mas mas mas woman. I corrected him and said if he liked that many chicas then they were called women not woman! He also let me know that he didn’t like men. That class went well. Next class we we’re practicing adjectives and the word pretty was taught during the lesson. Another older man in the class looked at me and said como se dice professor en Ingles…I said teacher. He went on to tell the class and myself that “The teacher of English is pretty.” It was funny the first ten times but when him and fathertime kept at it I was about to lose it…then the class was over! Adios. My classes are only an hour and the people are usually late because time in BCN doesn’t exist (again later discussion) so even if I have a shit class it’s over before I know it. At night I go to people’s homes and teach their children and some of the parents. Mom asked me, “Don’t you feel weird going in to someone’s house and teaching and then walking out with money?” At first I was like this is sort of weird but as soon as those Euros hit my lil fingers it was no longer weird! The kids I have all differ in ability but are around the same age s; age 5-11. I swear I have a 5 year old genius girl Imma (pronounced EEEEmmma). She was doing her colors and reading and writing when her mom came in the kitchen and informed me that her daughter cannot read yet…but she was reading and writing for me. Anyways, the kids are all angels and they are so cute I could eat them with a spoon. The parents are all very nice and the ones I teach really want to learn which is refreshing and rewarding. Having that horrible 8-6 job at home was so daunting with no rewards and I definitely think this is more rewarding, but hell it’s a lot of work. Lesson plans don’t write themselves and pictures of all the Barca football players don’t cut themselves out of newspapers and magazines. I always knew my parents had hard jobs being teachers but you can’t really understand until you’ve done it. Tomorrow I start with a new family of two girls one 5 and one 7 who speak not one word of English so I bet I’ll add another section tomorrow night entitled something like oh shit, kill me, I hate kids, or what the Hell is high school musical??!!

October 17, 2007

2007-12-04T19:04:00.000-05:00

So, I’m sitting in my bed wearing pants and an España zip-up and covered with three blankets because Spain at night is like Indiana in the winter. The weather here is very nice but something I never thought about until now is that the casa I’m living in is about a couple hundred years old and has not one single square inch (or whatever conversion they use here) of insulation. I have heard that someone from the states said their coldest winter on record was here in Spain because of how cold the insides of buildings get. Also, Roger informed me that people open their windows to let the cold air out during the winter!
I’ve decided that just because I don’t have internet doesn’t mean that I will not have a working diary/blog for my time here in Spain. Someday I will hopefully post this for all to view. Here it is..