Brother Blue

I was told that I am crazy like an Austrailian. I am not sure how to take that.
People So far in the first week, I have meet about 30 other students. (Definition of met in this context is know their name, where they are from, why they are here, and how it is posible for them to take of a chunck of time to be here). Obviously I know some folks better than other. With each person I get to know a little better, the more I am amzed at the briliant (in the English not the American sense) people in the world. There are so many azaming stories here. Triumph, glory, stroggle, searching, starting over, and not know where to start. All of this get intisenfied when you are away from home, as an estranjaro. None of us have suport systems, and we are all a bit lost. We get tossed into this big international mix. In this we are given new eyes and perspective on our lives, as well as the comfort to be honest with folks, who more than likely we will never ever see again. For some reason you feel you can ask (or be asked) anything. With out hesitation answers are provided, to a degree of honesty that even surpises the speaker.

Last noight we found ourselves in a little bar for a flamenco show. We were the only extranjeros(forieners) in the place, which as packed. There were two guitaristas and one contante. As they played, all over the bar people calped compas (a rythem spicific to flemanco) and in between the tables of an overly packed bar some danced flamenco. Most folks were between 25-35 in age. It as the most real Spain I have felt so far. It was neat to think that flamenco isn´t some antiquted part of culture that is pulled out for the turistos, but is really part of life in souther spain.
MisaWent to mass this morning with my friend form Mexico. It was very simple and nice. After the gospel the priest invited all the kids up to kiss the book as well. When it came time for the colection, four kids just sprung up. Two passed the baskets and two brought forard the gifts.
bout to run out of time in internet cafe must go.

Last night we went to a Flamenco sectaula. It was hosted at on of the peña here is town. Peña is a private flemanco club and bar. On Thurdsay nioghts they open to the public for a fee (about $8). At 10 a talk on culture starts and then singing, guitar, and dancing follows. The talk is about 30 min long and in Spanish. Most of the forieners don´t wantto hear the talk and just want the flemanco. The poor speaker was having all sorts of problems with the slide projector. Many forieners talked through much of the talk and some clapped when the slide project stuck, in hopes of making it be the end of the talk. The rude folks were “shhh”ed many times. I am sure the Spaniards were thinking “What a bunch of rude American tourist.” The only thing was the folks who were rude at my table weren´t americans.
Minus a few rude people the night was awesome. The two gitaristas were amazing. I was just blown away. The dancing was really nice. I don´t know enough about flamenco to tell good from bad, so asked one of my friends who is a dancer at intermition, “So, was she any good?” I don´t know. The singing was ok, but I could take it or leave it. It had nothing to do with the singer himself, it is just they type of singing. It sound like yelling in tune.
Unspectacular suckiness One of the other students comment on how she thought that after class the teachers must get together and talk about how bad we are. Upon reflection I conculded this can´t be the case because our inabiblity to speak the lauguage or dance the dance is unremarkable. Every two weeks a new group of people show up who are just as bad as us.
It is a differnt language I am having to learn a new language, and I am not talking about Spanish. I am having to learn Spanish of Spain, not the Spanish of South America I have a small grasp on. It is like the differnece between speaking English and speaking American. Not only are mnay of the words differnet the pronucation is completely differnt. For example hace (you have) in Ecuador would be pronounced “ha – say” while here it is pronounced “ah – thay”. They don´t use the 3rd person her much, while in Ecuador they almost always used the 3rd, but never the 2nd. It is a new laugage. In the end I will speak nothing well (not even english).
Laundry I did laundery yesterday on the rooftop tarest of our flat. I was very disipointed when I went to move my cloths from the washer to the drive and noticed it was not a drier, but another washing machine. It was raining so line drying was not an opption. My room became the laundry room.
Class I have moved up to level 2 in the classes, which was a good move. I have much fewer words than everyone else, but I am learning new stuff. Today I started to finally get my barings and talked quite a bit in class. In practicing one of our verb tenses we did the game were we could only ask yes no question. The situation was this. A man wakes up in a panic, runs up stairs, looks out the window and comitts suicide. Why? Not only did I figure it out. I was able to ask the right questions. I am getting there slowly.
Others need the computer here at school. PAX!

Last night I faced a question of concious last at 12:15. I am in a bar with a group of folks from all over the world, and we are having a good time. They are all getting ready to go to a sala club which was just about to open (at 12:30). My thought was, “what is more valueable? Meeting new different people or learning the laungage.” I wondered off the bed (they stayed out till 4, which I wouldn´t have been able to make). Then they all made it to class. I have a hard enough time concentrating for three hours in the morning, much less with out sleep. The second two weeks, will be easier, with out three hours of dance in the afternoon (to nap and study). I want to learn the lanugage, but also don´t want to miss where I am.
If this is the greatest challenge I face here, I will be blessed.

(Becuase I can!)
Last night was quite amazing. A group of us set out to see the city at night. Like most times when you are trying to move a large group of people around it is hard. Making desicions are even hards. It got complicated when the spot I had chosen for the night was not open (as in every place in the plaza). A indecision set in those where were tried gave up and headed home. Thne the groupl splinterd. Finally 5 of us were standing down town, trying to decided which bar to walk into. No one wanted to make a choice. Finally we made our way into one. As luck would have it we ran in to another group of students at teh school. Finally the table next to them cleared out and we joined them. Going from my left around the table there was a Dane(female), Mexican (f), American(f), Enligh(m), Savinian, (m), Janpanees(f), French(f), Dane(f), Norwegan(m), and Gernan(f). It was an odd mix of conversaion in atleast four languages. More Spanish and English and thay thing else. We ate and drank and laughed at each other and the world.
At one point, (in spaish) the Graman to my left asked why I was taking the flamenco classes. Before I could answer (in very clear english) Betty, the Mexican, said, “because I can.” She had asked the question early and loved the answer. I as a group of us were walking home I asked Betty what she was going to do after her year wondering. You see, she had a desk job, saved her money and set off. She said that when she gets home she will have no money, and no job, but a wonderful year of travel, with new experiances and new friends. She said she had no idea what she was going to do when she got home. She was out on the road, “¡Por que yo Puedo!”
The Art of one downs-man-ship I am now quite certain that I have cecured the spot as the worst dancer in the my class. No question about it. Ther are a few of us with no dance training and I suck the big chalupa. I told this to another student (who is a realy dancer) and she said, “You can´t be, because then I can´t be the worst.” What is that makes us want to put ourself at the bottom. We either brag as the best, or brag as the worse. David Brooks coined the term “one downs manship”. In the context he used it, it was a way of bragging. To say, “I went to Harvard.” Saying it as if “have you ever hear do of harvberd?” knowing full well they have. IN this case it is a little differnt. For some reason we feel more secure knowing are the worest, or at least believing we are the word. But know I am the worst.

The air kiss So they are really big on two kissed on the cheek here. Not a bad thing. I was walking around downtown last night in the the quest for a towel (which I am still looking for). In one of the plazas (which are everywhere) there was a woman who walked up to a group of frineds. She was working her way around the circle kissing each of them on the cheek. So I just got in line. Pointed to my cheek and got two kisses (a long with a few laughs). Then I just walked on with out saying a word. It is so much fun being the outsider.
The nod Europians don´t get the nod. That is what two men do as they are approching each other on the street, but don´t know each other. When the make eye contact, the stare for a moment, the give each other an approving nod. It can also happen car to car. I am not sure what part of the male psychy requires it. It is really the hightest compliment a jr high male can pay someone (being they don´t know how to socailize at all). After a performance a jr high student will walk up to Brad or I, pause, not say a word, give the nod, and move on. A large part of the indy film “Grove” was dedicated to ´the nod´. I have found it as an easy way to move through rougher neighborhood. Act like you belong, look everyone in the eye, and give the nod. They just don´t get teh nod any where in Europe. When I look folks in the eye, and give the nod and it isn´t returned I feel thretened, or at least uncomforatble. It is odd.
Random Though When I was walking last night I had the weirdest thought enter my head. I rermembered a comercial for a video that thaught you have to lip synce. It taught you the technique sing right, and how to make it look like you were really play the guitar in time. I can´t remember the word bogadilla (a awesome sandwich) from one minute to the next, but I rememeber this other junk.
twist my arm So I am in bed last night after my shower (I dryied off with a t-shirt) and I clim into bed. My room isn´t the greatest because it isn´t really a bedroom, but the sitting room off the kitchen convered into a bed room. It is smaller than most, which is fine. The problem is the doors have frosted glass in them, so when the light is turned on the in kitchen it fills my room as well. As I was laying in bed the light came on. I went out to investigate. Eric (the norwegen) and one of his friends were going to have a drink. They asked if I wanted to join. First thought, I am exhasted and need sleep. Second thought, when I am going to get a chance to have a drink in a local bar (and I mean really local) with a Norweegen and a Slovinian? (Okay other than tonight)
It is time to go dance (or do what ever semlance of dancing I do)

It is hard to believe it was just yesterday that I wrote. New people, places, and exeriances seem to make time more full.
Woke up this morning and did the long walk up the hill to the school. It took about 20 min. along the side of the Alahambra (old moorish castle, mcuh more on this later). The streets of Granada (at least the part I am living in) remind me a great deal of Venice. If the “streets” are really nothing more than glorified alleys that maybe one car could fit through. All cobel stone, and lots of steps.
We had oreintation at the school for about an hour. There are about 20 students starting this week (and I would guess 20 more at the school). It is a little more than half from Euorpe, a few from Japan, and the rest from North America. So are taking laugage, some dance/guitar, and some both.
Clase: I have been placed in the beginers class, which I think is a misplacement. There are three others students and I know by far the most spanish. Though it may not be a bad thing. At this point I don´t really need the gramer stuff, I just need lots of practice talking(I need the gramer , I just vocabulary more). I can already feel my grip of English slipping as I am compled to use any spanish word I know, even when I am talking in English. I have 1 1/2 hours of Gramer and 1 1/2 hours of conversation a day. It didn´t seem so long today as some of the days in Quito did. I think it is because I am having to try much less hard to understand what is going on. Durring orintation I understood everything that was said (or at least I think I did).
mi casa After class I got my aptm. key and walked over to it. It is about 10 minutes from school. Some how even with the school being on top of the hill, my aptm. is still up hill from there. (Not complaining, all the walking will be good for me). I am in flat that has four bed rooms. a kitchen and a bathroom. Eric is from Norway and has one week left. Junko is from Japan and speaks no English at all, so we have chatted little. I was impressed I knew enought o ask her to write her name down so I really knew what is was. The third flat mate is Mary Beth or Mary Ellen. She is from NC. I met her breifly as I was dashing through the place after class on my way to dinner. She became very uninterested in my as I didn´t have a smoke for her. I guess she was distacted. She also just moved in today. Our washer and dryer is on the roof top patio that over looks the whole city. It is amazing.
Flamenco So my intial thought was the dancing was going to be fun and because of my lack of skill I would end up being comic relief. I was so wrong. Don´t get me wrong, I am sooooo white and look like a clumsy fool in the mirror, but there is no time to be comic relief. I have two dance classes. For one hour I have a techneich class. We work on how to move our hands, arms, and rythms to stomp too. Then I have a 2 our Dance class in which we are learning an actual dance (which the teacher is making up as we go). The two classes are tought by differnt women. Niether speak engish and are moving quickly. There are about 15 of us in each class and I am definately in the lower third of ability and experiance.
Before class I got on my snazy new flemanco boots. Which I must say look very cool. I am having a little problem with the 2 inch heals. Not just because I am clumsy, but beucase of the low ceiling there are only a few places I can stand in the classroom with out hitting my hands on the ceiling.
The dance it self is so cool to watch. The music is amazing. In the second class we have a live guitarist to play for us to dance to. The two women who teach the classes are just amazing. I was mesmorized in the first class just watching Isis (the instructor) hands. Just amazing. (Did I use the word amazing enough times there?)
Right now my feet are killing me. No surprise when you are wearing slightly too small boots, with nails driving into the soul to make sound (and not suport your feet) and stomping for three hours. With that being said, it was so much fun. I am getting things slowly. I can´t move my arms and feet at the same time, but I love it. It is also a very nice mental deversion from fighting with the launguage.
After dancing an Engishman, to women from FL, a Kintergarder techer from Switzerland went for a beverage to laugh at each others lack of dancing ability and to rest our mentally spent minds.
Then I went looking for a towle to buy. to no avail. so I am just going to have to shake my self dry tonigh.
I am beat and off to bed

(What time is it?) So yesterday (Saturday). The plan was to plow through as much of the days as posible before going to bed in hopes of turning my system around as fast as posible, though it didn´t work out quite like I had thought.
I tried to stay on my feel all day in Madrid. I walked a lot, held off on eating until later in hopes of giving myself another burst of energy. So at 6PM, after not sleeping for about 40 hours my body was ready for bed. So I headed back to the hotel. I ended up walking through some sort of ‘pro pot’ protest. Not that my spanish is good enough to figure that out. I reconized the international sign for pot (and the smell in the air). When I got back to my room, I thought it would be kinda fun to see what they were up to. It was by far the funkiest group of people I had seen so far. After some thought, I knew I didn´t want to end up in jail, so I took a pass and went to sleep.
I woke up at 1AM (7PM Eastern time). Wide awake. So in two days I had done it. I had turned my system completly around, but instead of being on Spainish time, I was getting up for breakfast in India. You think TV is bad at 1AM, you should try it in a lauguage you don´t speak. I even saw the Chuck Noris/Chirsty Brinkly work-out machine infomercial dubbed in spanish. The only thing I learned from my night of TV is Simply Red is making come back. I know I can sleep sounder knowing that.
el autobús I took the bus from Madrid to Granada today. It was completely uneventful. It was clean and safe. In the five hours, two movies were shown. The bus ran on time and eveyone had a seat. What kinda of fun is that? I think this Western Europe thing is over rated. Not much adventure.
Granada I sure as time passes I will have much more to write about this city. My two first impression are great. 1) I picked up a map at the Turoist Info stand at the bus station and asked ¿Donde estamos? )(Where are we?) “Europe, European Union, Spain, Granada, the bus station.” A sense of humor, that is good. 2) Madid was a city of 3million people, and it felt like a big city. Granda is a college town and it also feels it. Lots of hippie kids selling hand made stuff on the street, buskers (street performers) and the like.
Two notes from yesterday: I forgot to add two things in yesterdays entery.
1) Monk On the flight over, I had a TV in which I could choose my own programing. So I watched 3 episodes of Monk back to back. Talk about a great show. I (not having a TV) had never seen it before. Sure the mysteries where no more complicated than your average Murder She Wrote, but he is such a great character. An OCD PI.
I understand On the subway yesterday in Madrid I was zoning out. All of a sudden I was struck by the fact that simply by tone of voice I could tell what was being said in the coversation next to me. Then I realized, no I was acctuatlly understanding what they were saying. My Spanish must be better than I thought. Then I realized I could understand what they were saying, because they were speaking in English.

I just love international travel. New sights and smells. People pushing right past you as if they had never seen a line before. Lots of languages you don´t understand. A new sense of all the energy that is around and the excitment, and all of that is just in the Newark airport.
We ended up leaving Newark about three hours late last night. Because of a weather system there was grid lock on the run way, and our plane was so large that it could not be moved from the hanger. The plane was a beautiful brand new 777. I cashed in miles for this trip so I got myself a business class seat. Other than the man who sat next me and scolled me for sneezing (”Do you mind?”). It was an awesome trip over. A seat that reclined almost to flat. Two meals (dinner had four courses). We were even given little travel kits when we got on the plane that had tooth brush, tick tack, a brush, blind fold and socks. The socks were to put over your regular socks, so you could take your shoes off, but not get your socks dirty. They bearly got over my heel. We left Newark after midnight and I didn´t sleep at all on the flight over. Not on purpose, that is just the way it worked out. So I am trying to plow through today, so I can get moved over to local time as fast as posible.
My Spanish Okay, so it is pretty rusty. Meaning I don´t rememeber much. I was able to get to about two in the afternoon before I used any Engilsh at all. In that time I was able to figure out how to get downtown and check with five hostels before I found a room. Which might sound good, but I think I have uttered about 9 words so far.
Home (for tonight) I am staying in a very small hostel tonight. It is really, just and extra bed room in someones house. They have three guest rooms. When I checked in I needed help finding where to pick up my boots and the son of the family helped me. He came out of the kitchen where he was making his lunch. He was in a bathrobe and slippers that looked like Chuck Taylors, with the toes breaking through the tips. Very odd.
The boots So this was my hope. I was going to find some small shop where my boots had been hand crafted. I could see the process. I would take pictures. We would laugh together and become life long friends. So the guy I bought my shoes from is really a reseller for international export. When he sent me directions to pick up the shoes, he sent me to the people he buys the shoes from. They had no idea I was coming and it wasn´t some small shop. The best way I could describe its Lue Talber Ranch Outfitters for Flamenco. It was three stores of flamenco wackiness. Fans and dresses and shoes and boots and shalls. It was out of controle. There was a teenager who easily weight three bills who was trying on a dress shirt right in the middle of the store. This is when the only Spanish ended. It took us a while to sort out what was going on. The guy I had bought the shoes from had not contacted the store. Luckly one of the ladys spoke English.
¿Come se dice ‘find a room’? On the subways there is an amazing amout of PDA. And I am not just talking about 15 year olds who don´t have rooms to goto, but folks of all ages. It is not just sneaking a peck here and there. They are full on groping each other. Folks of all ages.
Subway I spent sometime on the subway today to find the bus station for my trip tommorow to Granada. I have realized that I have done so little plannign for this trip. I had no idea what Madrid was like, how to get from the airport, where I was going to stay, or anything else until I was on the plane over.
Other oddities I have only seen one set of leg warmers, so hopefully there return has died before it started. I was offered a Tokyo massage today. There were three women with babys on thier hips out begging to gether. All three of them were eating icecream.
Tommorow is simple. Mass here (somewhere) and a bus trip to Granada.

Sorry I have been out of touch after your request for information about the Pilgrimage to Mexico. The main reason you haven’t heard from me is we haven’t had any new details. Here is a bunch of information. If you have questions please drop me a note.
1) Dates: The dates are firm. August 12th -21st You should arrive sometime on the 12th and plan to leave sometime on the 21st.
2) Transportation: Because people are coming from so many different places, you are responsible for your own transportation. Jerry and I will arrive on 11th to make sure everything is ready for arrival. You would need to arrive into the Mexico City airport sometime on the 12th. We are planning on being back in Mexico City the night of the 20th. You are then free to leave anytime you would like. Most people will be heading home on the 21st. Make the travel plans the make the most sense for you.
3) Cost: All of your expenses in Mexico will be less than $500 (and we still think this is a very high estimate that also includes donation). This estimate does include food, but does not include souvenirs or libations. More exact numbers will come in the next two weeks.
4) Ground transportation: At this point we are planning to take public transportation (such as busses from city to city). If the group is large enough we will rent a van. Jerry is looking in to rentals as we speak.
5) Language: Yes we will be traveling with people who do speak Spanish. It is not a requirement that you speak Spanish.
6) Places of visit: Everywhere we are going Jerry has been to in the past.
What is the next step? We need to have an idea of who is coming, so we can make arrangements. Drop me a note with your level of interest at this point. Also please pass the word to others who might want to come.