The Farewell Dinner - April 2002

Had a fantastic time last night at the dinner cooked by the New York chef. Pork Loin stuffed with almonds and apples and something else. Some kind of chutney that was fantastic with hidden essences of somethingor other. A lovely sauce for the pork. Grilled asparagus. Bread with roasted garlic and real butter. Cous-cous and homemade apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream. And we all (there were about 14 of us,including the wacky couple who owns her apartment building) and we dined on the rooftop terrace with blinking Christmas lights strung all around. It was fantastic. And there was a girl there from Houston. What I discovered once I got there was that two of my favorite people I have met in school (Deborah the chef and Betina from Austria) were housemates and didn'teven know each other because of different schedules and so many people moving in and out all the time. It was hilarious. So there we were all together, and I knew more about each of them than they knew about eachother. Too funny. In attendance: Ian, age 18, from Denmark, Emma, age 18, from LondonTom, from London, Sarah, 35, wine expert/buyer, from San Francisco, Jenny, ex-Enron girl, from Houston, Yost from the NetherlandsDavid from SwitzerlandDeborah, 38, from New YorkBetina, 32, from AustriaMe, 34, from Texas, Erna and Pedro, Dutch couple who live in Spain and own building, Dan, ex-Barnes and Noble guy, from San Francisco, Nancy from ?, Linda and Ingrid from Iceland -- they call them "TheTwins" because of their Nordic similiarities, but theyare not family, even though they always shared the same twin bed when they lived in the apartment together (?)You would have loved it. Dan is thebald, African American Richard F. too too too funny. He did hilarious impersonations of Erna, the landlady, after she left. Anyway, we sat on the roof, eating and having somelovely wine, until about 2:30 this morning. Needless to say, public transport was out of the question, andI was pretty far from a taxi stand. So they invited me to stay in one of the extra beds. I took them upon it. Deborah gave me a new toothbrush, and I shared Bettina's huge room with her. I went to sleep pretty easily, but then I woke, with my body flipping out a little from having had so much food in one sitting for the first time in two weeks. It was absolutely delicious, but my body was a little shocked. Anyway, I got up and walked around and went to the restroom and discovered that the toilet wasn't exactly bolted to the floor. Some of greatest adventures in my life have occurred in other people's bathrooms. Anyway, after some time, I felt like going back to bed and laid there, unable to fall asleep (allergies are raging) for a long time. Then I started hearing dogs frolicking in the streets through the open windows. Finally went to sleep and got comfortable and was awakened by a very persistent resident rooster crowing to bring up the sun at who knows what time. I did not look at a clock. Did not want to know how short my nap had been. Anyway, after the rooster took a rest, I went to sleep and woke up around 10 am. Did not go to class today. One of my teachers is sick anyway, soI did not feel bad. There is no punishment at this school, I will just be a little clueless in the other class on Friday. Oh well, it was worth it. So about the smoke allergy. Loving Europe on thisother account. Bettina and I were wandering around today, and she told me about a pharmacy she had gone to where they had been really kind and helpful. She took me there, and the pharmacist asked if he could help me. I said, "Busco un milagro" (I am looking for a miracle). He laughed and said, ¿"Un milagro, sí? So I explained that I have a smoke allergy and I had not brought anything with me from the States. He asked what I had been taking, and I told him Zyrtec. He said, "Of course we have that!" So I said that it was very expensive in the United States (Approx. $70 for a month's supply), and he said, "No. They are really cheap here. And you do not need a prescription." So, for 7,50€ (less than $7 U.S.), Ibought 20 Zyrtecs. My life has changed for the marvelous. Needless to say, I will be stocking up on these before I come back to the States with my no-health-insurance-having-self. WOW! So, all that to say if anyone was going to try andsend me those (which is probably illegal orsomething), forget it. I am in Zyrtec heaven. Anyhoo, I am checking email before lunch today, because I anticipate a tepid (by choice) shower and along siesta today. Hopefully. Here I go. Hope you are all having a great day and recognizing every little miracle. P.S. Bettina says I found the Zyrtec so cheaply because I had given a homeless guy the half that was left over of my fresh bottle of water from the grocery. The universe will provide.

Becoming Flamenco

last night i went to a flamenco concert. where one is able to see 8,000,000 kinds of talent all at once. the first part of the show had a female featured artist named Rosario Toledo, dancing in front of a row of five guys -- two singers, two guitar players and a percussionist. she was the picture of grace and art (gracia y arte). it was absolutely stunning. she was all muscle and clearly as strong as an ox, but yet every one of her moments were fluid, like she was a cloud of smoke drifting across the stage. the second part of the show featured a male artist named Alejandro Granados, and he was fiercely strong and animated. He was performing with three singers and a guitar player. Also stunning. At the end of his 'set', he called forward the players and each of them did their own little flamenco performance. It was three hours of WOW! not to be confused with those scary potato chips that Lay's started making that don't have anything natural in them. I just figured out that there is some little back room to this internet cafe. Hopefully not where the next world war is being plotted. Tonight is the night of the dinner cooked by the cheffrom New York. and i cannot wait. have only had dinner once since arriving here almost two weeks ago. hope i don't embarrass myself. i am probably safe there. Deborah, the chef, is living with several other people in an apartment, and several of them are finishing their school this weekend, so this is their farewell dinner. She was very kind to invite me. Selene went to the hospital today for allergy testing. Finally. I am sure they will find that most things they do and products they use are bad for her. Because they give me allergies too. Smelly lotion and shower gels and such. Not to mention all the chocolate and candies she eats. This could be a tragic lifestyle change for the little munchkin.

Transitional Thoughts

you would think these things would subside. but iguess if you are allergic to smoke and tobacco, youare just going to have to learn to accept limited breathing capacity or always be doped up. i am seeking some euphoria in the middle. at least. africa hot again today. and am wondering if when i go to morocco it will be the same or worse. hmmmm. hope to make that trip in a couple of weeks. partly because i have always wanted to go and partly becausei think it will be fun to take the ferry. hee hee. today i purchased a new hairdryer. mine was just notgoing to work with the adapter/converter scene. when i use it, it will be the very first time that i havedried my hair since april 10th. wow. not that it isn't evident. but this one thing could change the course of my european experience. don't you think? living with college kids preparing for exams andwriting papers is giving me a few second thoughts about my desire to go to graduate school. we shall see. have to be accepted first. and come up with the tuition second. achieveable. i suppose. am perpetually confounded by the college age boys living in my house with me. may i never have to be that young again. and without the wisdom of the past thirteen years.for the life of me, i will never understand the addiction of video games. or computer games. but ithink that is okay. i am going to take a siesta now, i think, even though i am supposed to go on a tour of La Catedral. don't much feel like it, and if i force myself, I am sure that i will not enjoy it. nappytime here i come. if Selene will be quiet. she pierces through the strongest earplugs. pobrecita. bye bye for now.

End of The Feria de Abril

first of all, to July and Bardo...muchas gracias forsending me an actual piece of paper mail. I got ittoday. what a lovely surprise. and so much appreciated. it is hot water boiling hot here today. i was taking a siesta after lunch, but Selene had a screaming fit about something ridiculous. luckily, her brother washere to reason with her so I did not have to listen toher fight with her mother for an hour. God save me if I ever had a kid like that. today, when I walked out of my house, a house painterworking on the house across the street made some comment, so I said, 'Hola' and as I went down the street, he shouted after me, 'beautiful!'. that was worth leaving the house for. it's much more customary here to tolerate that rather than get upset about it. i'll take the compliment. he was supermodel cute too,so that helps. today, i learned that the Sra. does our laundry as part of the deal. hmmmmm. that kind of freaks me out. but i guess i have to do it. she probably does not want random people messing with her Hoover washing machine. Megan, the fourth student in the house, is back from vacation with her parents. They have moved on to Portugal, and she appears to be happy. It is her first vacation with her Dad in ten years, and it is involving the first with her step mother ever which I think has been hard for her. We talked for a longtime last night, and I assured her that those kinks work themselves out if everyone can find the adult inside themselves and digest every change slowly and deliberately. Last night was the last night of the Freakin' Feria de Abril as I came to call it, not so much with love. It brought way too many people (millions) into my neighborhood. Some of them not so nice. Anyway, at midnight, they extinguished the lights that decorated the whole park and did a 30 minute fireworks show. As there had been other people staying in Megan's roomwhile she was gone, I thought that they had moved herbeds around. I thought I heard her moving around furniture around and went upstairs to see if she needed help. Turns out, through my earplugs, the gargantuan FIREWORKS only SOUNDED like furniture being moved. She was dead asleep and it sounded as if WorldWar XII was going on. I tried to see the show fromour upstairs terraza but I could not. So I went back to bed. I need my bottle of water I left at the film place. Bought a bus pass today so I can flit all over town without having to pay every time. Works well for me. No fumbling for change, and you save a lot of money. Did I mention that I ate an octopus in Cadiz. Not a whole one, but it surely was tasty. Did I mention that if you call me on your lunch break, it will be 7pm here in Sevilla? Did I mention that AT&T has some great international calling plan where you pay $2.95 a month and it onlycosts .14 cents to call Spain? Did I mention that I may go to Morocco May 10-12 if I feel comfortable paying the $180 it costs? AFRICA. just like I have always wanted to see. with guides who know what they are doing.

Pretending in Sevilla

Today at school we had to learn to use various Spanish phrases to express incredulity or surprise. The teacher, Gabriela, made us all write a 'title' of an embarrassing event in our lives and everyone in the class had to guess whose embarrassing event it was. Then the person whose moment it was had to tell the story in front of the class. Scott and Cyndi, can you guess what mine was? had to do with email at Balmur. eeeeeeeeeeeeeek. and Foghorn Leghorn, so to speak. anyhoo, when i got home from school today, Selene was hanging over the terrace, and she spoke to me while I was walking down the street. I went up to visit with her and use the restroom. She was playing with a crayon as if it was a cigarette, and she had her little doll in a stroller. I asked her if she was smoking and told her she never should. She informed me that she was playing and that even if she was smoking they make cigarettes that make smoke but don't have nicotine. good lord. So i sat down with her and she asked me if i wanted to play. So i said, 'sure'. She told me that I was her friend and that I had two kids, whom I could give personalities and names. I have a nine year old son and a two year old daughter. My name is Lucía. She took over and I never got to name my kids. I surprised her (as my play character, Lucía) and told her that I was 'expecting'. Her story. She was Melaní, and she has two kids too. Daughters. Diana and Alicia. She is thirty years old,and her husband has been coming in late. Like at 3 and 5 in the morning. She doesn´t have to live that way, and she believes that he has been messing around with his secretary. So she confronts him one day, andshe tells him that she is unhappy and that she knows that she does not have to live this way anymore. If her kids want to visit him on the weekends that is fine. If she needs money to do something, she will ask him, but she is throwing him out. She is happily single now, and she is going on with her life. When I asked Melaní if she didn´t have thoughts about finding a boyfriend or perhaps marrying again, she stated vehemently, 'No!' And followed with, 'Well, there is this guy that hangs out at the bar on the corner who kind of likes me, but I am not looking for anything like that. I am content with my life just the way it is. I do what I want, when I want. I maintain my home, take care of my children and I have a job. That is all I need.' I am not even lying to you that this really happened with Selene the ten year old. She was BLOWING my mind. And she said it all so fast...like it was really the truth. Met annoying girl from Los Angeles today named 'Summer'. She annoyed me from the first day, but we wound up in a small mob together by the espresso machine, and I soon found myself involved in a big conversation about how fast Southerners talk with some strikingly handsome gentleman from Germany whose name I can say but not spell. I was the first person he ever met from Texas. That is because I don't think most of us ever leave there. Wouldn't you know that one day after writing about how loud it is here, one of my teachers assigned us toread a newspaper article about a study done about noise and how much our bodies can healthily tolerate? Japan is the loudest country and Spain is a close second. Madrid being the loudest city. Which I think I can vouch for. This keyboard has been dipped in caramel candy I think. Sorry if i have missed any sticky finger mistakes so far. But i am not going back to check now. BUY the new Sheryl Crow CD. probably a frivolous way to spend money when living on a fixed income, but I will pass on some coffees to make up for it. i Love it. Love. Some groovy vocal guests, including one of my all time favorites, Doyle Bramhall II, on several. Listen with good headphones because there is some really interesting stuff going on in those mixes. I am such a geek. Am going to the fair tonight with Betina from Austria. Neither of us have deemed ourselves able to stay up all night and drink, so we figured we would do well together. That is at 8:30 pm. So I won't have to be there to not get fed tonight. I hope this is just a special week of no dinner because of the fair. I would rather not have my buttered untoasted bread in the mornings in exchange for supper. Cheaper to subsist on juice-coffee-donuts than to fake your way through dinner. Actually have not eaten an evening meal except once since I got here. Whoosh. Boobs disappearing.If anyone knows anybody whose name should be added to this list...I did some strange importation of a semi-accurate address book...please let me know, or have them e-mail me. Off to explore the public transit system. The bus is my friend. And it is cheaaaaaaaaaaaaaap. I will be out late tonight, so if you want to call me when you get home from work, you can. (Ref: Unca Jeff, you can buy me a beepah if you really want to)

Today at school we had to learn to use various Spanish phrases to express incredulity or surprise. The teacher, Gabriela, made us all write a 'title' of an embarrassing event in our lives and everyone in the class had to guess whose embarrassing event it was. Then the person whose moment it was had to tell the story in front of the class. Scott and Cyndi, can you guess what mine was? had to do with email at Balmur. eeeeeeeeeeeeeek. and Foghorn Leghorn, so to speak. anyhoo, when i got home from school today, Selene was hanging over the terrace, and she spoke to me while I was walking down the street. I went up to visit with her and use the restroom. She was playing with a crayon as if it was a cigarette, and she had her little doll in a stroller. I asked her if she was smoking and told her she never should. She informed me that she was playing and that even if she was smoking they make cigarettes that make smoke but don't have nicotine. good lord. So i sat down with her and she asked me if i wanted to play. So i said, 'sure'. She told me that I was her friend and that I had two kids, whom I could give personalities and names. I have a nine year old son and a two year old daughter. My name is Lucía. She took over and I never got to name my kids. I surprised her (as my play character, Lucía) and told her that I was 'expecting'. Her story. She was Melaní, and she has two kids too. Daughters. Diana and Alicia. She is thirty years old,and her husband has been coming in late. Like at 3 and 5 in the morning. She doesn´t have to live that way, and she believes that he has been messing around with his secretary. So she confronts him one day, andshe tells him that she is unhappy and that she knows that she does not have to live this way anymore. If her kids want to visit him on the weekends that is fine. If she needs money to do something, she will ask him, but she is throwing him out. She is happily single now, and she is going on with her life. When I asked Melaní if she didn´t have thoughts about finding a boyfriend or perhaps marrying again, she stated vehemently, 'No!' And followed with, 'Well, there is this guy that hangs out at the bar on the corner who kind of likes me, but I am not looking for anything like that. I am content with my life just the way it is. I do what I want, when I want. I maintain my home, take care of my children and I have a job. That is all I need.' I am not even lying to you that this really happened with Selene the ten year old. She was BLOWING my mind. And she said it all so fast...like it was really the truth. Met annoying girl from Los Angeles today named 'Summer'. She annoyed me from the first day, but we wound up in a small mob together by the espresso machine, and I soon found myself involved in a big conversation about how fast Southerners talk with some strikingly handsome gentleman from Germany whose name I can say but not spell. I was the first person he ever met from Texas. That is because I don't think most of us ever leave there. Wouldn't you know that one day after writing about how loud it is here, one of my teachers assigned us toread a newspaper article about a study done about noise and how much our bodies can healthily tolerate? Japan is the loudest country and Spain is a close second. Madrid being the loudest city. Which I think I can vouch for. This keyboard has been dipped in caramel candy I think. Sorry if i have missed any sticky finger mistakes so far. But i am not going back to check now. BUY the new Sheryl Crow CD. probably a frivolous way to spend money when living on a fixed income, but I will pass on some coffees to make up for it. i Love it. Love. Some groovy vocal guests, including one of my all time favorites, Doyle Bramhall II, on several. Listen with good headphones because there is some really interesting stuff going on in those mixes. I am such a geek. Am going to the fair tonight with Betina from Austria. Neither of us have deemed ourselves able to stay up all night and drink, so we figured we would do well together. That is at 8:30 pm. So I won't have to be there to not get fed tonight. I hope this is just a special week of no dinner because of the fair. I would rather not have my buttered untoasted bread in the mornings in exchange for supper. Cheaper to subsist on juice-coffee-donuts than to fake your way through dinner. Actually have not eaten an evening meal except once since I got here. Whoosh. Boobs disappearing.If anyone knows anybody whose name should be added to this list...I did some strange importation of a semi-accurate address book...please let me know, orhave them e-mail me. Off to explore the public transit system. The bus is my friend. And it is cheaaaaaaaaaaaaaap. I will be out late tonight, so if you want to call me when you get home from work, you can. (Ref: Unca Jeff, you can buy me a beepah if you really want to)

welllllllllllll. today was fun. in class, we had a dance lesson. yes, a dance lesson. to begin learning the 'sevillanas'. it is a simpler form of flamenco that they do here in Sevilla, just whenever they feel like it. like they will just be standing around and someone will start singing a song, and boom! they are in a circle doing the dance. it is fantastic. i did well in the class; unfortunately, Olaf from Germany was my partner most of the time, and let us just say that Grace is not his middle name. but it was fun. then i had to have as my partner the Swiss girl with everything pierces. de-light. i am dead dog tired. toured the Alcázar today. Once a fort. Then a royal palace. it is where King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia stay when they are in Sevilla. The school does all kinds of cool cultural stuff like that, and it is almost always free for us who are enrolled in classes. THAT is a deal. Saturday, I am travelling to Cadiz and Jaén, which should be fantastic. Also with the school. I think I am about to be late for dinner, but I am not sure the Sra. is really cooking this week, with the Feria going on and all. The past two nights there have been no dinners. Great lunches but no dinners. So today, I stopped at the market for some sneaky snacks to keep in my room should I get desperate. Did I mention that Antonio Banderas is the celebrity spokesperson for Lay's Potato Chips Here. Lay's Meditteraneo. That sort of ruins him for me. That would be like Anthony Hopkins pitching fava beans and chianti or something equally demeaning. oh, well. it's a living i suppose. After that horrible 'Original Sin', Lay's probably seems like a pretty bright spot on the resume for ol 'Tonio. anyhoo, no real new news today. Just have been consistent so far...look for that to end soon!

oh my goodness. just got back from nearly five hours at the Feria de Abril. lordy. these people truly shut down their lives for a week and just go out to this big gigantic party. i think i wrote about the Casetas yesterday. got to go into one with my host family. muy fun. Had an 80 cent beer. did you hear me? 80 cent beer. A gift from my host mother. nice. almost all of the women and little girls are dressed in FULL flamenco dresses and regalia. beautiful. there are horses and carriages everywhere. then men dressed in suits and ties to hang out in tents. They know how to do it right.i did notice one thing. went to ride some more rides with Selene. El Sapito Loco (one crazy frog ride) was wild. like these rides go harder, longer and faster than ANYTHING at Six Flags, Astroworld OR Disneyland. no lie. a real trip. but the curious thing is the 'carnies'. the people working the rides. no lie. Dressed in Ralph Lauren Polo shirts. so nice. Have all their teeth. just got distracted by this VERY handsome man sitting next to me in the internet café who keeps looking at me. okay. i'm back. yeah, almost all the guys working the fair rides are pretty dressed up. ahhhhhhhhhhh. yes. was passing by a caseta today, and this man started yelling 'cuidado, cuidado' at us. looked down and he was assisting his little boy (about two years old) in sticking his little winkie out through the slats of the iron railing to have a pee -- aimed outward toward the passersby. too funny. poor little boy has been exposed to half of Spain now, though. then there are the ultra modern flamenco girls. Who have on all the dress, mantilla, mantoncillos and flowers in their hair. wearing combat boots talking on cell phones. then there are the well dressed men. it isn't everywhere a macho man can get away with wearing a linen suit with a pink checked shirt and a sherbet green tie with little pastel flowers on it. nope. not just anywhere. that is where i will be when i am able to log on. gotta run. might miss dinner. after all it is ALMOST10 pm. p.s. there are a bunch of people who have not written me back. if you want to stay on this list please respond somehow by this coming Saturday the 20th of April. i don't want to bug people with these long ol' emails.

First Week In Sevilla

well hello again. here i am in an internet cafe in Sevilla, España. let me just say that for however confusing the Euro keyboard is, it´s nice to have this --Ñ-- at my disposal at all times without doing anything extrain the word processor. i arrive here last night (Saturday) and took thetaxi with the older gentleman whose map I had to read for him -- he told me 'eres muy guapa'. gracias. 'no gracias, es la verdad'. have moved into my host family's home. Sra. Puri (short for Purificación) has three other college students living with her who are hideous. They have been living here since January and barely speakSesame Street Spanish. i'd be a native by now, i think. oh, well. like i just wrote to my sister, whoever saidit spoke the truth: 'youth is wasted on the young'. que lástima. am going to the feria tonight with the Sra. and her daughter, Selene. who is a bundle of energy. 10 years old. allergies like a fiend. and all girl. only all TEENAGE girl in her way. a backtalker anda googly eyed teen idol watcher. we have bonded over same. look up somewhere on the internet 'Operación Triunfo' -- it appears to be a dancing/singingmusical group of 16 beautiful people who go around and do shows. Rosa, Veronica, Chenoa, Nuria, David Bisbal, David Bustamante, Gisela, etc. those are all the names I can remember from my orientation thismorning. we are going to see them in concert on may 23rd she says. okay. she asked me while i was showing her some of my photos, ¿eres famosa? no. no soy famosa. pero, conozco a unas personas famosas. ay, Dios. me voy. Que le vaya bien

Madrid To Sevilla

oh heavens. sorry if you just got a blank email from me. am trying to make new address list here on the run. think i erased my fun email i already typed soplease be satisfied with following: am in madrid, waiting to fly to sevilla. where I move in with my host family. have cell phone. call me anytime (well i am 7 hours later than Central time, so consider that but from all I have seen there is no sleeping over here). NOTE: calls incoming to me on my cell phone do not cost me anything, so do not worry about that. i am sure i will be missing telephone conversations calls muchly. must go now as have to take subway to the airport where i will then extract my luggage from locked storage and wait to get on the plane. woo hoo. come visit me. my classes end may 24 and i am looking for a reason already to stay longer. you just have to buy me a sangria if i look thirsty! time to go now. make this my default e-mail address in your address book as i have not much love for AOL, and this is easier to check on the road.

hard to believe that it's been six months since i left nashville. i've completed my work at the warehouse, which turnedout to be more purposeful than anticipated. there hadbeen no one doing my job before me, and by the time ileft, a whole department had been created, which i> was called upon to make staff recommendations. so idid. now six people -- including one guy with anelectrical engineering degree and his wife, who has amarketing degree -- have jobs that allow them to use their REAL skills. instead of just working on anassembly line putting boxes into other boxes forshipping. very very exciting. oh, and they all gotraises too!>> anyway, i do believe that i have made some newfriends -- almost all of them from Mexico and beyond-- and i gained a new perspective on the world that isfarther reaching than any I've ever had before now. the world does not start and end in MY world alone. there are so many ways in which we can be useful. andfeel good about it at the end of the day. and want todo that again tomorrow. that's what i am doing right> now. and it makes me happy. it's difficult forsome people to understand. but i've decided that forthe rest of my life, i am going to do what makes mehappy. and if the paycheck, the company i keep, the> commute or the way i feel at the end of every day isnot worth it, i am going to do something else. i hopethat each and every one of you strive for purpose inevery day that you have been given. it's worthfiguring out. now. meanwhile, back at the ranch, i amflying to spain on thursday april 11th.