This is it - the beginning of the end. Two weeks. Enjoy!
Scottish word of the week: Braw: n. fine. Tis a braw day for sport!
Picture of the week:
The Plaza de Espana in Seville.
What I've been up to - in bullet points
Monday
- Turning in the MB3005 essay
- Transcribing lectures from MB3005 for 8 hours
- Transcribing lectures from MB3005 for 10.5 hours
- Getting packed for Spain!
- Transcribing lectures from MB3005 for 2 hours
- Enjoying my third to last train ride of the semester
- Studying in the airport
- Waiting at La Estacion del Sur in Spain for my 1 a.m. bus to Seville
- Feasting on a ham and cheese bocadillo (sandwich) at 3 a.m.
- Meeting up with my friend from Hope, Katherine Garcia!
- Drinking Cafe con Leche as a substitute for sleep
- Walking through the streets of Seville
- Admiring the geometry of Muslim architecture in la Alcazar, a palace
- Gazing up at the ceiling of the world's 3rd largest cathedral
- Eating Tapas!
- Listening and watching flamenco in a nearly impossible to find restaurant
- Riding on my second 1 a.m. bus in two nights
- Sleeping better on the bus due to the fact that Katherine had an extra pair of ear plugs
- Sleeping on the bus to Toledo
- Tagging along with a guided tour of Toledo's cathedral
- Seeing paintings by El Greco, a famous artist who lived in Toledo hundreds of years ago
- Walking along the trail of Don Quixote to get a view of the city from across the river
- Eating sausage and mash in the hostel
- Strolling through El Puerto de Sol and La Plaza Mayor
- Pondering a single brushstroke on a white page at La Reina Sofia
- Reflecting on yet more art in El Prado
- Striding down the streets of Madrid
- Cheering for Real Madrid!
- Eating Tortilla Espanola for breakfast
- Walking through the Campo del Moro and El Retiro with Spanish families
- Running through the airport to catch my flight
- Having a safe return to 68E!
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK - SATURDAY IN SPAIN!
I can recall only a few days where nearly everything has gone right. Saturday happened to be one of those days.
It started with a hearty breakfast in the Hostel, and continued with sunshine and warmer temperatures as I walked through Madrid. When wandering through art museums I actually felt like I was communicated ideas rather than feeling like I was aimlessly gazing at colors on a canvas.
In the botanical gardens there were countless varieties of roses and the tallest cacti that I have ever seen. I've decided that I'm going to have a small but well-tended garden today. In a restaurant I had a taste of my first ever calamari sandwich. I decided that I might have to have another if I get the chance. In the streets of Madrid I saw an Aston Martin. I decided that I will never be able to afford such an automobile.
The Real Madrid match was perfect - exciting and high scoring. We sat next to the opposing fans who were the object of considerable heckling from all of the Real Fans. And Real Madrid won.
To top it off, I found 30 euro on the ground in El Prado.
What a wonderful day.
Random section of the week - On Football in Europe
Going to the match was quite an experience, in a number of different ways. First, the quality of the soccer was incredible. The speed of the game was lightning fast - the ball traveled back and forth like quicksilver. Watching the teams play was almost like watching a skilled pianist. Play jumped back and forth with speed and precision; the theme of patient attack was repeated over and over again; and all of the different elements came together to produce a wonderful product. I am now able to see why they call football (soccer) the beautiful game.
However, what was not beautiful were the antics of some of the fans. I would also like to think that grown men don't shake their fists and shout at those they disagree with. I would like to think that young children don't resolve problems by flicking off the other person, or that they don't yell what I'm guessing are obscenities in Spanish at someone that they dislike. I would like to think that people are able to realize how ridiculous they are at times.
Yet if I'm honest with myself, I share the same problem. When competing I am often get carried away. After playing (and losing) several (or was it twelve) games of Settlers of Catan against my little brother Mark I flipped the board over angrily, scattering the pieces of the game all over the floor. My Uncle Kevin Holleman, a doctor, also happened to be there and said to me - "You shouldn't be so upset about a game. I had to tell someone in my office today that they had cancer this week."
Competition is a funny thing. It brings out the best and the worst. But after the buzzer has rang (and during the game too, for that matter) things need to be put into perspective.
A game, after all, is just a game.
The difficult part is remembering that fact.
Anyways, that's all for now.
Cheers!
Hello, dearest Johnny,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you had a nearly perfect day! How wonderful! I'm also glad that your nearly perfect day was partially spent in a garden. Someday in the far future your garden will be a place of delight and you can close your eyes and remember your day in Spain. Isn't life good???
Loved your thoughts on competition. You got it from both of your parents. I remember playing games with your mom when I was just a wee lassie (does that have a Dutch/Scottish ring to it??!). Your mother would be frantic to win, and I would intentionally lose and not let her know my scheme. This was particularly effective in Monopoly (Settlers wasn't invented yet). If you study psychology in medical school you can tell me the underlying psychological issues here!! Ha ha.
Winter's stormy blast supposidly arrived here at 1:00p.m. The weather forecasts have us bracing for a blast of winter. Uncle Kev and I have had lots of laughs over the hoopla. We'll see if those meteorologists will be right! So far our "snow day" hasn't seen too much snow. I'm NOT complaining.
Your mom has shared you have big exams going on in the next bit. You'll ace them! No doubt!
YOU'LL BE HOME IN TWO WEEKS!!!!! WE CAN HARDLY WAIT TO SEE YOU!!!
Lots of love & prayers,
aunt patricia