Bright colors
Mix and match
Art
Amélie
Preparations for Christmas
Bread with oil and salt
Toasty cheeks
Reality
What's irking me:
Conjugating verbs
Flash on cameras
Short fingernails
Unnecessary use of highlighters in class
The twitch in my right eye
People hocking loogies
Profs who lectures too long
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So, I really miss Mexican food. I don't even eat it that often in Texas. It always seems so heavy; I don't ever crave it much. There's a Mexican place here but it's gotten mixed reviews. I don't want to waste my time. I also miss pasta. Yesterday I went out to lunch with friends and all I wanted was a big bowl of pasta. I ordered one, but it didn't hit the spot. I'm waiting to eat a huge plate at my dad's when I get back.
Going back home...it's coming up so fast. I think about it every day. I definitely want to be back, but not for too long. I want to see the people I miss and then return to Barcelona, but I know it doesn't work like that. I think the first month back will be nice and then I'll start missing what I have known here. On the other hand, it's possible that I just want to return to a normal style of living. I feel like here I know what I'm doing is temporary. It's been harder to really form true bonds with people for fear of saying goodbye at a predetermined date. I did the same thing, in a way, in Texas before I came here because I knew I'd be gone for a decent amount of time. It's all to protect myself, but sometimes I feel like it's not getting me anywhere. I look forward to having my own place again, being with friends again, living in a place where I speak the language fluently, having days where I don't feel guilty for laying around doing nothing, being able to drive home to see my family and focusing on my career after graduation. Even the simple things...sometimes I miss walking down Guadalupe, grocery shopping and cooking a meal, going downtown in Austin, running into people I know with some frequency...I don't have to miss it for much longer. The best way to look at it: at least I'm not going to be immediately depressed upon my arrival to Texas. I'm going to have to return to living with the future in mind. Living here is only about the present.
This week since I've been back I've been trying to experience Barcelona more. Tuesday I ventured up Montjuïc to go to Fundació Joan Miró. Miró was an abstract/surreal/Dada artist from the 20th century. He was from Cataluña/Islas Baleares. His museum houses much of his work plus special exhibitions. Even before I came to Europe, and especially since I've been here, I really like paintings of nudes. I've thought about starting some kind of collection, but I'm generally too poor to buy a bunch of art and I don't exactly have the space to collect many things at this point in my life. Anyway, the special exhibition was called "Un cos sense límits" which translates to "The body without limits". It was mostly an exhibition of nudes with art by Picasso, Matisse, Miró, Basquiat, Braque and Magritte, plus a bunch more I didn't recognize as much. My favorite was a piece by Egon Schiele, but I can't find a reproduction of it anywhere. It was really interesting to look at two pieces side by side, one might be really abstract, like a Picasso, and another might be totally realistic. I try to imagine how these artists interpret the bodies they're recreating and how the bodies would look in real life.
The rest of the museum was cool, too. Miró's work is a bit too abstract for my personal tastes, though I enjoyed looking at it. My favorite was called "May 1968" just because of the feeling I got from it.
Later that night I went to a concert with Megumi and her Swiss friend from class. He'd met the performers at a party the previous weekend. First it was a Japanese woman who sang with a keyboard...though we missed most of it. Then there were two guys who were like DJs except their music was really calm. It was mostly all electronic and made with their Macs. Then there was a projector with distorted video clips from Japan. It was hip to the max. I really liked the way the club looked inside. After the concert we went out with another Swiss and some Germans.
Another day I saw Sagrada Familia for the first time. I'd seen the spires from a distance, but I'd never been close enough to see the whole thing. It was impressive, but I want to return later to go inside to the top. The batteries in my camera were dead anyway.
I've been trying to go out more at night since I'm less tired and not traveling as much. I still can't say I know what my favorite bars or clubs are. I suppose I have preferences, but there are so many of them here it's impossible to know what might really be the best. What a horrible task...visiting all these bars and clubs! :)
Full steam ahead.
