How funny the word Blood can sound

I don't mean to be on a funny baby kick, but as of late I've found so many cute videos. Anyway, this is the last one for awhile, I promise.






C.M.

Something I must share

I must to show you the most amazing 9 month old baby EVER. Despite being a cute video, it's his story that's the most amazing. After watching the video please read his story and you will realize how amazing this little man is. Remember, he is 9 months old and still in diapers!



Hero was born in Korea in September 2003. He has Beatles mania.
His full Korean name is Ha,YoungWoong;
Family name is Ha / Given name is YoungWoong (from Chinese) which means "Hero" in English. Self-motivation is what differentiates Hero from other child musicians like Michael Jackson who was forced to practice as a child.

Starting at the end of 2005, Hero began to sing by himself and now he can sing about 40 of The Beatles songs and forty other old pop songs.
Hero has not been trained in English or Music and has yet to live in or even visit any English-speaking countries. He just learned the songs by ear by himself and for his own amusement and after two months he finally managed to sing all 27 songs on The Beatles "1", though his pronunciation as a non-English speaker is a bit poor!!!

Hero has been dying to learn the guitar, but regretfully, he is too short and weak to get a tight grip on it with his fingers since he was only 90cm in 2007, last year and is still only 100cm now.

For your reference Hero's Korean is quite advanced for his age and he has yet to receive any formal training. Korea masscom regards him as a language prodigy; He was also featured in a Special Edition of BEST BABY in February 2008 (the most influential monthly parenting magazine in Korea)

Motorbike Sundays

After a wonderful lunch at Joan's parents, Joan and I took out the motorbike to cruise along the beach. There is really nothing better than feeling the cool wind on your face, the warm sun beating down and the sounds of tourists and locals enjoying the day.

We parked and sat on the beach, letting the waves reach the very tip of our toes before sliding back into the ocean. As I sat, gazing out at Lloret and the children playing. I spotted my first topless woman here in Spain. I always wondered when that would be, and it was this afternoon. She was probably in her 60s or early 70s. I was speechless. With all the children around? Of course Joan said, "It's Spain." his excuse for everything I see or hear and don't understand. Perhaps one day I might let my guard down and try topless sunbathing....or perhaps no. It is a way of life here, part of the culture. Are Americans really more modest than their European counterparts? I guess so. Oh well, I'll chalk it up on the list as one more thing to get used to.

Quote of the day from Sergi to his sister Arianna:

Ari:(showing Sergi her coffee) It's black, I wanted it with milk.
Sergi: You're racist.

Earth Hour

Today, March 29th, at 8pm millions of people around the world will turn off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour - symbolizing the need to take action on climate change.





Hope you participate.

I need a Spanish stomach to hold all this food

After Spanish class (which went very well) I made my way to the city center as I do almost everyday. However life had a few surprises in store for me today. For example, one woman and one man stopped me and asked me (in Catalan) if I knew where something was. I love when people think I am a local and Spanish. It makes my day.

After that incident, I was filled with a new found appreciation for this town and myself so I went to a bakery to order a coffee and some breakfast. The shopkeeper, a lovely Spanish woman, commented on the weather, my zapatos and she gave me an extra euro in change which I gave back of course. But the wonderful thing is I understood everything she said which was quite refreshing.

I was prepared to walk by home at 1 with Pepi but Maribel had "a plan" and when she has a plan, I know it is going to be fun. Instead of us going our separate ways for lunch, Maribel wanted us to go have paella. I've been enjoying a lot of paella recently, and I love it.
We had a wonderful time with vino, calamari and of course café con leche after. After, even as full as we were, Pepi wanted chocolate. We went to this great place to have Chocolaté caliente with some delicious pastries. The baker was a young man from Argentina and hand made everything himself. Heavenly. Needless to say, I'm skipping dinner tonight and quite possibly breakfast tomorrow.

The following photos are a collection from the last few days.

C.M.

Charlie!

Enjoy.

English Lessons Day 1

Today was the first day I went to Girona to teach English to the woman Joan found through the receptionist at work. I didn't do much to prepare because I never taught anyone English before, I'm definetly not a teacher so I thought the best thing to do was just meet her and see what her level was. However I didn't know the meeting was going to be nearly 2 hours long. Luckily I had brought a few books and such so I wasn't totally unprepared.

I had a café con leche with Joan while waiting for her and honestly I expected someone different that the woman who I met a few moments later. For some reason, I thought she would be short, mid 40s but showing it,maybe a bit frumpy or completely serious-you know the professor sort. She ended up being an older version of this:
Yes, that is Natalie Imbruglia. That is exactly the person who came to mind when i saw her. She was tall, looked quite good for her age of 42 and entered into the coffee shop like she owned the joint. Joan left and we made our way to her office. Her English was okay, she could say complete sentences, understood what I said etc. We talked a bit and I found out a few things about Ms.Rosa. She goes to a Yoga class at 7 a.m. every morning. She is a professor of Public Relations (my major) and she wanted to learn English so that she could (potentially) get this job where she would travel to different countries and English would be a necessity. So basically, I need to do a really good job.

In other matters, I took the bus back from Girona to Lloret and it wasn't so bad. The 20 minute walk was killer though. To many mini, futbol playing,ball bouncing 10 year olds exiting their hotels at the exact time I am walking uphill to my flat so I end up being pushed into the bushes and waiting unable to pass until about 50 of them walk past. I didn't even try to open the door, I just rang the neighbors and after a minute they were able to get the damned thing open. There really was no point since I am incapable of this daunting task and they were just going to hear me struggling and come to my rescue anyway. Might as well save the time, right?

C.M.

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind

Ah Parí, the city of lights! I am going next month, however will just be there for one night. Joan and I are planning to do as much as we can in 24 hours even if it means not sleeping. It has always been my dream (as well as millions of others) to go to Paris and experience it to the fullest. I plan to go back again this summer,hopefully with more time (and money) to spend. Since I will only be there for one day, do my readers have any suggestions on what I should do first and where I should go? Obviously Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower are going to be seen, but what else should I do to get the feel of the true Parisian? I plan to take hundreds of photos while I am there to share with you all. If you think this is a daunting task then here is my next question.
In two weeks or so, Joan and I are going to London. Here's where it gets hard, I'll only be in the city center for 2 hours. Yes, 120 minutes approximately. I am not so naive as I do know it is impossible to see much of anything in that time period but I am willing to meet the challenge. You see, Joan has to go for work, he found tickets with Ryanair for 20 €uros so he got me a flight as well. I am very grateful to even be setting foot on London soil however I know I will be deeply depressed when my time is up. What should I do in two hours? Grab a quick bite of fish and chips,snaps some photos,pick up a British Mag and head out the door? Probably all I will have time for, but if you have any suggestions do let me know.

Next week, Joan and I are going to Oporto again, for those of you who read my post about Oporto before,you know how well that went. This time, we are staying one night. He had to be there two days consecutively so his boss, Montse was kind enough to suggest he bring me and we make a trip of it. As much as I wish this overnight trip was in London, beggars can't be choosers. So, anyone have any ideas about where to go and what to see in Oporto? Research on the Internet only gets me so far. I am excited that we are staying at the same hotel we worked at before, (the very luxurious one where I had the great lunch) and we found out it has a spa on the top floor with infinity pools and saunas for under 10 €uros, so Joan and I will make use of that. As you can see I will be adding to my frequent flyer miles, even if it is with Ryanair.

Joan just left for London, he will home tonight though which is always nice. I hate when he is away overnight, I can never sleep. As usual I have a lot I need to do but even more I want to do. Like check out blogs such as this one and this one.

Enjoy your day wherever you may be.

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.
Aldous Huxley



C.M.

Mas Photos

Monday Excursions

This is a video of Joan and I at Cala Montgoda in Lloret de Mar.
We wanted to go exploring today and this is what we found.

Monday has been good to us, good weather, great paella and excursions like this one.

C.M.

Socorro!

Something happened a few minutes ago that was equally hilarious and scary. I was outside on our balcony looking at the views when I spotted an older woman coming out onto her balcony on a house nearby. Now, to give you some background information:
When I'm home during the day I sometimes spy on the neighbors. I don't have binoculars or anything but when I'm out on the terrace reading or enjoying the scenery I might happen to watch my neighbors from time to time which is completely normal.

Back to the situation. The older woman coming out onto her balcony, I had never seen her before. To my knowledge a couple lives there, in their 40s or 50s, both well dressed and they have a small dog, what looks to be a poodle of somesort. Anyway, this olderwoman had to be in her 80s. She started yelling, "Socorro!" "Socorro!" not in any particular tone, just somewhat loud. She yelled this as she leaned on the balcony and tapped her fingers on the edge. I went inside and Joan was on the computer and I chuckled and said, "I think some old woman lost her dog or something..she's yelling for Socorro..." "What?" Joan asked, "Where?" "Oh, uh...outside on her balcony" "He rushed to our terrace, the woman had stopped and was making her way back inside. "What's going on Joan?" "Socorro means help" he said. "Oh."

We watched the old woman sit down in her chair. No other lights were on in the house at the time. Then, a small window lit up in what looked to be a kitchen. The older man then came into the older womans room, opened the door to the balcony and let out the poodle. He didn't act as if anything was wrong, just looked up at us on our balcony,called for the dog and went back inside.

What just happend? Is she senile? Are the well dressed man and woman holding an old woman hostage for her fortune? Did they kidnap her because they wanted a grandmother?

I'll never know.

However, I'm glad I learned the word for help today.

Happy Easter

This morning Joan and I went to church in Lloret. We missed the multi-lingual mass at 10:30 so we went to the one at 11. It was all in Catalan, but being Catholic, the Easter readings and the prayers in general have been engraved into my brain forever so I managed to follow along fairly easily. I took some pictures which I will have to add later. Joan's computer crashed and died this morning,luckily he had brought this laptop home (the one from work) so I will not go through withhdrawls from the internet. We just got home from lunch with his parents which is always fun and tomorrow we're having paella with his family which I am really looking forward to.

Also this morning, I recieved an email from my uncle concerning my bills...apparently the loans recieved notice that I am no longer enrolled at this time and so they want me to start paying, however I am entitled to 6 months before I have to start...I have about 3 left so why the rush?
Not to mention my phone bill (I definetly paid before leaving the states) they say I have to pay. I really despise being poor.

Joan and I have already bought our tickets to Paris and Portugal so we will just have to get by on less wine and maybe no dinner? It's sad but I did come here to save money and pay off the $2000 I owe my university. We decided if we live with just what we need, in two months we will be fine. He will be making over 1000 €uros a month and soon my work visa will go through and I will be able to bring in some money as well. With luck, my English classes will be popular and I can teach more than 1 person a week. He's decided to bartend on the weekends which is really good here since the tourists are all visiting Lloret now.
I am fairly confident we can get through this, I don't want to complain so I won't....I know how fortunate I am to be here.
Joan is now busy setting up our radio and hooking up the speakers he brought from his parents home to ours. I need to do some much needed cleaning. Tomorrow he is off work for Semana Santa so we want the day free to walk around Lloret and maybe come up with some plans for making some extra money.

Hope all is finacially stable in your neck of the woods

Ciao Bellas
C.M.

Recap

Joan wants us to go to a monastery this weekend, I am all for it. Sakya Tashi Ling is a monastery belonging to one of four Buddhist schools from Tibet, the Sakyapa tradition. Ten years after its foundation, in July,1996,the community moved into the Plana Novella palace, deep inside the Garaf Natrual Park, 40 minutes away from Barcelona, becoming the first Buddhist monastery in Cataluña.

We plan to stay from Saturday to Monday since Joan has off from work. There we can practice meditation techniques, tai-chi and other relaxing, spiritually awakening activities.

Now we are sitting side by side blogging. He rented movies for tonight but we are addicted to the internet for some reason this evening. He was researching Buddhism, Entrepreneurship and pilot training and I have been talking with Heather about weddings,locations, bungalows in Thailand and grad schools in Europe;so all very important matters.

I was a bit under the weather today but I'm hoping tomorrow is better. I have a long list of things I want to do but who knows if that will happen. Right now I'm concerned with researching the Island of Malta for vacation and things to do in Paris for our trip next month.

Also, if you readers have any suggestions about where I should go for grad school please let me know....I'm thinking somewhere in London but the decision has yet to be made.

Ciao Bellas

C.M.

St.Patrick's Day with the Spaniards

Joan got home from Portugal at 11:45 so we met Shabir and Ana at Vives where they were having dinner. We decided to not go to Meeting Point and go to Carmen's to have a couple drinks. This place was mostly locals but there was a lively group of Germans that came in to celebrate their Irish heritage as well.

The singing started when the leader of the boy band began his rendition of "For dee longest tyme"it was pure hilarity and soon Ana, Joan and I were singing in as well. This bar had a flat screen hooked up to their laptop and were playing music from YouTube. So for the rest of the night Ana and I were running to the bar requesting songs where we typed them in ourselves and searched for what we wanted. Some hits of the evening included;
"Don't Stop Believing" "Sexual Healing" "Lemon Tree" and the favorite that got the whole bar singing was "Satisfaction" Spanish people really know their American songs. It really was a great time everyone singing, we were dancing at our table, Joan was highly intoxicated and singing very loudly which everyone actually seemed to enjoy. We arrived home at 3 and I somehow remembered to take an ibuprofen and a glass of water to bed with me, something that has definetly given me the ability to write this por la manana.

Today I'm supposed to meet Ana although I have no idea when she is calling me and how much notice I will have before I have to meet her so I better get ready just in case.

Hope your St.Patrick's Day was amazing as well!

Best Regards,

C.M.

How do you say lame in Portugese?

So today was another day exploring Lloret. All the Portuguese tweens are still here, dressed terribly and louder than ever. At noon I met with Joan's mom (story of my life now) and we ended up having tapas for lunch. I am up for trying new things, it's hard for me to do but I'm working on it; however I was not excited about the food she ordered for me. I cannot even tell you the names of what I ate (or tried to eat) but I know one of them was called a croquette or something. It was chicken in a fried dough, although this chicken was put through a blender and then coated. It was like eating something a bird regurgitated to feed its babies. Next was a mix of pureed vegetables with a very strong Gorgonzola cheese, to potent for my taste. I was the typical American and had patatas with this very good garlic dipping sauce. I think I'll stick to what I know for now.

When Maribel had to go to her English class, I decided to try and walk around town. I felt adventurous and took it upon myself to try and explore more of Lloret. I found a great shop with rings made of seashells and African masks not to mention the millions of little witch statues that are around, why are so many stores obsessed with witches? Anyway I got some more incense (that I later found out smells way to strongly of spices and Moroccan salesman) and a great seashell ring that probably wasn't even made in Spain.

On my way to la playa, I was stopped by a tourist who began asking me directions to somewhere,
"Pardona Guapa" was the start, the rest I can't even remember and by the time I realized what was happening I managed to spit out, "No español" how lame. At least he thought I was a local or at least spanish. That made my day.

I made it to the beach but with the Portuguese people here now on holiday it is almost impossible to find a place to sit on the beach. They are having some kind of futból tournament and block off the beach for about a mile. Once I pass all that there is always a plethora of kids either playing ball or unsuccessfully trying to build a pyrmaid of themselves on the beach. I finally found a nice spot, laid out my towel, got out mi libro and started to read when BAM! Sand all over me,my book was out of my hands and my sunglasses hanging off my face in a very unattractive fashion. Some quios ball was in my lap.

After many "lo sientos chica" I managed to say a very bland "está be" "parlu catalá?" "un poco" I say, in spanish. I always mix up the languages and really don't want to talk to him so I didn't say anything else. "Vale....lo siento....(other mumbled catalan..something guapa) and he ran his little quio self away. Two incidents today where I failed at speaking much of anything. I hate that when a moment comes and I need to speak Spanish I blank out. I need to study more. However I did manage to get a nice video of the ocean out of it.

Joan is still in Portugal for work and won't get in until 11:30 esta noche. He wants to go out for a Guinness to celebrate St.Patrick's Day because he feels bad we didn't get to go to Dublin like I wanted. It's a nice idea but we won't be going out until midnight, it's almost 9 and I am well into the end of the 1st season of Prison Break and really don't feel like getting off the sofá to shower.

Whatever, maybe we'll see Shabir and Ana and we can make plans.

Weekend Madness

Last night Jordi was in town and this time he brought a girl. Jordi never talks to much about his love life so we were very curious on who this girl was. Around 9 he came over with some tapas his parents had made and his "amiga". She is from Portugal and speaks perfect English. Turns out, in Portugal ALL the movies and television are in English, so that, paired with English classes, she learned very well. So, we had dinner, drank the wine we bought in France and then went to Cala Banys. It was a beautiful night and I had an amazing Daquiri. It had better be amazing because it was 8 €uros. It ended up being a good night out.

This morning, I slept in very late and got up in time to get ready and finish cleaning before Joan's family came over. Preparing lunch was stressful as usual and It wasn't as good as I had planned, well it was good food but I was rushed and well, basically I'm a perfectionist so whatever.

They stayed a bit, played with Barney and left. The day was still sunny and gorgeous at 5:30 so Joan and I went to Cala Banys again. He hadn't seen it in the daylight so I wanted him to get the full experience, to see my favorite place. We had a coffee and then he took me to the castle in Lloret, the one he stayed the night at when he was a teenager. No one can go in because it is privately owned but there is a long path and anyone is welcome to walk there. It is another favorite place of mine. Joan showed me the rocks he and his friends jump off of in summer. It is HUGE and something I could never do.

We had parked in the parking lot near the castle, for the first hour it was free and after that we had to pay. So, when we had 20 minutes left, we took the car out, went around the block and came back in. Way to beat the system, right?


So with another hour of free parking we walked along the beach. Now that all the tourists are here, I hardly recognize Lloret. In a way, it is better because more clubs, bars and restaurants open; they put a few bars and ice cream shops on the beach;paddle boats are now for rent to take into the sea; and shops are open later.

However, I hate the crowded streets,waiting in line,tourists singing into the night. Lloret brings this upon themselves. It advertises this town as "Do anything you want party town" tourists can shout, drink,sing, act like idiots because Lloret sells that image. It is ok for me because I live up on the mountain. Joan and I are away from the noise. The only time we hear anyone is if the wind carries the sound up; then sometimes we get a glimpse of what it must be like for people that live in the center. Walking in the street is like being in a constant party. People playing volleyball on the beach, dancing on the sidewalks, sipping coffee in sidewalk cafés,talking,laughing,shopping.

Tomorrow I may try to lay out on the beach again if weather permits. Ana is in Lloret all week with Shabir so perhaps her and I will get together. Shabir will be at the office and it is better if Ana is out and about rather than in his room all day. Besides, it would be nice to have some girl time and it's important I get to know Ana better. I have a break from spanish classes because my teacher is on vacation, not so bad for me, I need to keep studying though.

Well, I have to get the house back in order after this afternoons festivities. Then I am really hoping our DVD player decides to cooperate so I can watch Prison Break without it stopping and starting.

Hope all is well in the states

Be safe Be well Be happy

C.M.

P.S. Click on the ads si us plau!

Where Is My Sunshine?

I had planned to allocate a significant portion of my day at the beach.

However, due to cumulus clouds and fog, looks like I won't be doing that. How is it not sunny in España? Tomorrow, they say it's "supposed" to be warm and beautiful, but that's what the liars said about today.

Joan should be coming home soon from working with his dad and he is going to ask me what I want to do.

Go to Barcelona?
Go to Blanes?
Walk around Lloret?

I have no idea. We shouldn't spend money so going out of town probably isn't the smartest thing. I have been wanting to go to Mango and try on some dresses for the So Happy In Paris? party coming up this month. That means wanting to spend money....ick, I need to start working!
Damn work visa.

Ciao Bellas

C.M.

Me Encanta Raffel Pagés and Trash Magazines

Joan arrived from London tonight and with him he brought Magazines en Ingles. This time he chose, Star, a wonderfully trashy British gossip magazine and O Magazine. He remembered how addicted I was to tuning into The Oprah Show at 4 p.m. each day in the states, being here I can't watch anymore. What a thoughtful boyfriend.

I'm not to into self-help articles but I came across one in O called, This is Your Brain On Happiness, part of the article listed 5 things happy people do, so let's see how happy you are.

1.They Find Their Most Golden State
"Picture Happiness, eudaimonia well being means striving toward excellence based on one's unique talents and potential-Aristotle considered it to be the noblest goal in life...."

2.They Design Their Lives To Bring In Joy
"If you transfer even an hour of activity from something you hate doing (cleaning the bathroom for example) to one you like, such as reading or spending time with friends,you should see a significant improvement in your life...."

3.They Avoid "If Only" Fantasies
"If only I get a better job, if only I find a boyfriend,if I lost weight..life would be perfect. People are surprisingly bad at predicting what they want, only to find when they get it they want more or they didn't achieve the euphoric happiness they thought they would. Happy people are wise to this and keep their lives full of novelty, even if it is just trying a new activity now and again.

4.They Put Their Best Friends First
"One of the simplest pleasures is just hanging out. Don't dash around wasting time with acquaintances, make sure your best friends surround you and just enjoy time together."

5.They Allow Themselves To Be Happy
"The Dalai Lama believes you should pursue both simultaneously, help others and help yourself. There is clear research proving that happy people want to help others. In one famous study, nuns whose autobiographies expressed positive emotions, such as gratitude and optimism, lived ten and a half years longer than other nuns."

So there you have it, from Oprah's mouth to your eyes, 5 things you can do to achieve happiness. I feel like I am there, it takes work but is well worth it if the end result is sheer unadulterated happiness.

Speaking of which, I had a wonderful day today, again, with Joan's mom. After Joan left for London I walked to the meatshop and we went to Blanes. Judith did an amazing job on my hair once again. I love Raffel Pagés. I also managed to read Hola! en español obviously, very easily! Perhaps I am better than I think.

After, we had coffee and a pastry at a very nice shop by the sea. We went shopping a bit, she bought Joan and I some very chic glass plates and groceries for Sunday lunch. I decided to try and make some more classic American dishes like Coconut Shrimp, Jack Daniel's grill glazed Chicken over pasta and the famous Sonic Cherry Limeade. Hopefully it will all go well.

I managed to get the house cleaned up a bit before Joan arrived so tomorrow all I have to do is get up and go to the beach, I am praying to God that it is sunny and beautiful tomorrow. I despretly want a tan.

All for now, I hope to talk to you all in the states soon-
except those of you who have neglected to comment on my blog. :( jaja

Ciao,
C.M.

I am so curious

Who reads my blog?

Anyone read it daily?

I would really like to know.

Please leave comments and tell me how much you love me!

Muchas gracias.

C.M.

Paella with a side of Chanel por favor

Mes Paella si us plau!

Today was a great day. Joan sent me some work around 11 when I woke up, I finished in less than thirty minutes and was out the door by 12:00. I met Joan's mom at the meatshop and visited with her a bit, I had planned on laying out on the beach all day but the clouds decided to ruin that idea. It turned out to be a good thing though because Joan's mom asked me around 1, "Do you have any plans for the day?"
"No...the beach is out, so I'm free."
"ok, I make a plan then"

After a phone call and me anxiously waiting to see what we would do, she finally told me we were going to have paella. I love paella. It is something we have on certain occasions. The first, was when Pepi and Benhar took me out when I first moved into the flat. The second time was a couple weeks ago when Joan took me to this wonderful restaurant by the beach when he had taken a day off work and then today. I really do love spending time with Joan's mom and it isn't because I haven't any other friends, haha she really is so fun and we get along really well. We always do something fun whether it be shopping in a city nearby,going for a coffee at a quaint shop, walking along the beach and having paella for lunch.

After eating SO much, we went for a walk and had a café con leche by the sea, and layed out in the sun for about twenty minutes.

When she went back to open the shop again, I went to the beach and read. There is nothing more relaxing to me than sitting in the sand,in the warm sun, listening to the waves and contemplating life. I never mean to think about life so much when I'm at the beach but my mind wanders and muchas preguntas appear in my mind. Està be, I enjoy being a philosopher when it comes to my life.

When Joan came to the meatshop to pick me up, we decided to take a walk around town.
I picked up some sweet postcards to send to my friends and Joan bargained with a Moroccan guy to get me a Chanel bag, I love it. The guy told Joan he was "hard to negotiate with" He was annoying though, he kept telling me to look in the mirror at myself with the bag, I half-heartedly did it once and upon persistence I said, "thank you but I know it looks good", that shut him up.

Eventually we got the bag for 20 €uros instead of the 40 he was asking for. When he handed me the bag, he said, "Hope you're happy, enjoy."



Si Mr.Moroccan salesman, I am happy.

:D


Joan and I are home now, we are probably going to watch Lord Of War and then I will clean nuestra casa. Tomorrow I have spanish class, Joan and I will have a coffee, he has to go to London and I will go to Blanes with his mom and we will go to the hair salon! I am so excited to see Judith! I cannot wait for a fresh haircut and when she gives me a head massage after washing my hair..pure heaven .


Ciao Bellas.

C.M.

Photographic Reasons Of Why I Love Lloret

These were taken in Calla Baya when I was with Joan's mom the other day. This last one is the view from my balcony last night. Amazing.

Working Out in France and so much more

I haven't updated in so long, I am itching to write and tell you about everything that's been happening.

Sunday, Joan and I took a roadtrip to France with his parents and brother. It was my first time there and I'm not ashamed to say that I hoped my first time in France would be in Paris. However, it was in a small village called VilleFrench. It was there that I climbed my first mountain. 25 minutes to reach the top and 1000 steps later we were at Fort Liberia Castle. Three bottles of water later I ended up finding a tunnel in the castle and did my business while Joan and his family went on ahead. Trust me when I say I wouldn't have made it to the bathroom. To go into the "city" of Villefrench we had to take 832 stairs down in a tunnel under the mountain. The lights weren't working in the tunnel so we went down medieval style with our mobiles guiding the way.

Completley starved we found a restaraunt, the only one open in the village. Our waiter was the absolute cliche´of a French waiter. Young, left ear pierced with a 2 euro hoop and an attitude recognizable in any language. While taking our order, a little girl, about three was shouting etc and our waiter went up to her and scolded her and basically said "shut up" the parents didn't do a thing about it. Guess that's the French way. Our food was good and actually, French coca-cola is delicious. I don't know how it is different but there is a sweeter taste to it. Since we were in the south, they are very Catalan proud as that part of France used to be Spain back in the 1700s or so. I spoke a mixture of French and Catalan during the trip, cracking up Joan and allowing Sergi to crack jokes at my expense.

Now I'm back in Lloret and loving it so much more now that the weather is warming up. Yesterday I went to visit Joan's mom at her meatshop and when it was time for the daily siesta, we had a light lunch and went walking around instead. She took me up to the castle by the sea and there is a awesome bar there, sand on the ground, wicker chairs everywhere. It is by a calla or what we know as a cove. The water splashing against the rocks, tropical jazz music if that makes sense, was playing overhead. The cool breeze drifting over us as the warm sun shone on the sea. A perfect place. We had a coffee and i really learned a lot about Joans mom, her life in BCN before moving to Lloret, stories of when Joan and Arianna were young, it was really nice. After we walked along the beach and some brits asked us if "we would be up for a game of volleyball tomorrow" Maribel then said, "When I'm alone I am invisible but when I walk around with you, everyone talks to us" Guess thats part of why young men go on vacation, to find a girl to "spend time with" but the locals are sometimes worse and hit on you regardless.

The men that sell tourist crap along the street always try and talk to me. "Hola" "Bonjour" "Hello" guessing what language I speak because I always ignore them. :P Slightly creepy but life goes on.

I had spanish class this morning with Clara. Only two classes left, not sure if I will take many more. I feel like I have learned a lot, I just need to practice. I find Catalan much easier for me, I know a bit of both so I need to choose one to master first. :P

Also found out that my friends, Eryn and Nikki are coming to visit me in August. They bought their tickets last night so it is official. They will be here from the 12th to the 23rd so I will have to plan a great party since they will be here for my birthday! It's a bit depressing I still haven't made any friends yet. Joans friends are my friends of course but they are all guys and I do miss the girl time. Alison will be here soon and things will be much better. Maybe when the tourists start to come I'll meet some people. Now it's all older people, maybe I'm not looking in the right places...? Yo no se.

I decided not to go to Girona tonight and meet Joan for tapas with people from work. Maybe tonight we'll order pizza, watch a movie and take a walk around town. Sounds good to me.

Hope all is well in your corners of the world. I have a lot of free time today so if I am inspired there may be another blog. :P

Ciao
C.M.

FlipVideo

I love capturing moments, but I often mind myself to lazy to drag out my expensive Sony camcorder with all the gadgets and features because it is big bulky and makes me feel like a tourist.

Something new and innovative has hit the market and is a solution to that problem and many more. The new Flip Video has all the basics and more. Video lens,earphone for perfect sound quality,tripod mount,it takes AA batteries,TV playback and even has a USB arm to fit right into your computer. Best yet, it is pocket size.

The Flip Video series starts at a cool $119.99 and goes up to $179.99 depending on the color and recording time that you want.

If you want to get your hands on one of the latest gadgets to come to home entertainment, than check out http://www.theflip.com/index_flip.shtml

The only drawback is that they do not ship internationally at this time, so if I want one I need to find a friend in the states to get it for me.

I will be finding more cool gadgets to bring to you on the next upcoming posts.

Ciao
C.M.

Don't sit on your culo get up and do something!

I've been a bit busy and haven't written in awhile. I can happily say things are much more relaxed than the last post. Yesterday I went shopping with Pepi and Maribel and scored some amazing deals. Shop therapy helps, I don't care what any man says. Anyway, that was a nice change to being home all day. This morning I had class and Joan didn't have to be at work until 3 so we had the afternoon together. We had a coffee, something I have grown very fond of, I saw Carmen which was nice-no massage;hopefully I'll have another appointment soon. After we walked along the beach and I have never seen an ocean so blue. Today is exceptionally windy but the sun is shining and I can't ask for more.

There is something about the ocean, the beach that clarifies my thoughts and simplifies a life. Any worries I have, I forget about them immediately upon the smell of the salty sea air reaching my nose and filling me with thoughts of sailboats and cool water. The sand, was the perfect shade of brown if there is such a thing and the vibrant green of the palms against the backdrop of the sky, such a light blue that it faded into the sea.

I've had lots of decisions to make recently, some are still undecided but its times like these that slap me in the face and realize life could be worse.

Lots of things are happening though, my Spanish classes are going very well and while I don't feel confident enough to write in Spanish I know I am getting better. I have found a dance studio and am considering getting back into that as well. The receptionist at Cavok, Pilar, has a friend who is a professor at a university in Girona and wants to improve her English. She asked Pilar if she knew anyone who spoke English and had time to help her out. She asked Joan about me and now I have a meeting with her sometime soon to get started. Four hours a week, with pay, just talking with this woman and improving her vocabulary. This could be fun.


My friends, Nikki and Eryn are coming to visit in August. They are buying their tickets within the next couple days so I am completely stoked.Sigma Kappa reunion! Also, my friend Alison, David's girlfriend , will be here sooner than I thought as well, this month in fact. march 28th until April 6th so I hope to be able to see her a few times while she is here.

It is already March and there is so much I haven't done! Maybe tomorrow I will spend all day at the beach, if the weather permits. The house is shaking now it is so windy, being on the 5th floor we get the brunt of it before people on the ground feel it so that's interesting.

Lastly, I'm still holding out Heather will visit, I really hope so. That would make my year! If only I could find her a money tree...

Music of the Moment: Ayo, "And it's supposed to be love"

Kind Regards

Ciao
C.M.