A little white lie for Liz… (I'm home!)

OK, so I lied to everyone. I told you I would be home in early July. The truth is, I got back on Friday… Antonia met me at the airport with a plan for Ethiopian dinner and volunteer work at the street festival the next day (where, naturally, I ran into people I knew). Welcome back to the Toronto rhythm, Marijke… *grin*

But why the lie? Well, it was all for Liz. This weekend was my girl’s bachelorette party and bridal shower. Since I’ve been the Bridesmaid-at-Large for the last few months, I was looking for a way to make up for my long-distance negligence.

Surprising Lizifer at her bachelorette party was the perfect way to do it.

So my apologies to everyone for the little lie I had to tell – Liz is actually a follower of my blog – to keep the surprise alive. If you had seen Liz’s face when I walked in the door last night, you’d know that it was all worthwhile.

Pictures and tales of the Sweden-Denmark-Germany portion of my travels coming soon.

It's not a family tree, it's a family bush

If you know me, you know that my family is... erm... complex. When asked the common icebreaker question, "Do you have any brothers and sisters?" I just shake my head and laugh. Kirsten likes to say that we don't have a family tree, we have a family bush. Really, even I get confused sometimes. It may require a map to understand, but they're all my family, and I love them. The problem is, we don't see each other nearly enough...

The last few days in Barcelona were sandwiched around a trip into the French Pyrenees for a family reunion (or as close as my family can get to that). As hard as it is to believe, France was actually the most convenient place to meet -- siblings came from Spain (me and Laura), Argentina (Diego) and California (Kirsten), and the parental generation (Laurence and Rosa) came from Canada.



It was the first time in 5 or 6 years that we had all been together, and we spent a few days enjoying good food, good wine and a whole lot of laughter. As much as I joke about my crazy, dispersed siblings, and as proud as I am that we all have such adventurous spirits, it's hard not to have a consolidated family unit that you see regularly. Despite logistical problems to get us all in the same place, we really do have a great time when we are together.

Granted, this is only one side of my family. With a little luck, we'll manage to coordinate the same thing on the other side of the family (that's you, mommas and Andres!) sometime in the summer or fall....



As an added bonus, I got to see my cousin Jay and and his wife Isabella, who happened to be in Barcelona the same days I was. And Diego and Laura and I had some quality BCN-drinkin' time. And to top it off, Laura and I spent my last night in the city at a Feist concert (an amazing show), where we even got to sing the Canadian national anthem at the top of our lungs -- oh the pride.

Pictures of Barcelona and France are here.

I arrived in Sweden yesterday, and am reconsidering some of my travel plans (Iceland may not be in the cards after all). Either way, it'll be an adventure....

Parting Is Such Sweet(water) Sorrow

It happens every time: I start to feel at home in a place just when it's time to leave... It's always in the last week that I find that great bar, that cute boy or that great group of friends... and this time was no different.

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of goodbye parties and sentimental moments. I don't deal well with goodbyes in general. I usually like to have a going-away party a few days ahead of time, and then slip away when no one is around. It didn't quite work that way this time.

In the end, the experience in Aguadulce was a good one. My original goals had been to gain teaching experience and travel around Andalucia, and I met (and surpassed) both of those goals. True, I wasn't in love with the town itself, and it lacked a certain social and cultural excitement. But I had great luck in terms of the school I was assigned to, which made the entire year enjoyable.



At the end of the day, the experience is about the people you meet. And I was lucky on that front, too. I met some amazing teachers -- people who taught me about teaching, inspired and encouraged me, and who were (and will continue to be) great friends. These people put the "sweet" in Sweetwater, and they are the main reason that I will miss the place.



And the kids.... Oh, the kids. How to describe how much I adored them? Saying goodbye to them was harder than I expected. My 1o ESO class (roughly Grade 7) cried their way through the last hour of class, sang songs, and gave me presents and sweet cards. The 2o ESO class (Grade 8) demanded one last sing-along to "Molly Malone", which I caught on video (they've learned all the words!). And the 2o BACH class (Grade 12/13) invited me to their graduation dinner, where there was much revelry and picture taking.

Pictures of all the great people I met are here.

And on to the next....

From here, it's a crazy ride that takes me through 5 countries (the main goals are a family reunion in France and a return to the Viking Festival in Iceland) before I land back in Canada in early July.

What's my next step? I'll let you know when I know....

Yet another birthday (or: "Oh my god, you're old!")

Yup, it's yet another birthday... the big 3-1. Truthfully, I feel younger than I have in years -- something about the travelling lifestyle (despite all its stresses) seems to agree with me.

Naturally, I find myself reflecting on yet another year gone by. So here, without ado, is a listy-type recap thing.

Best moments of today:
- My class of thirty 13-year-olds surprising me by breaking into "Happy Birthday" (coached by the music teacher)
- One of my 18-year-olds asking me for proof when I told her my age, and then exclaiming (in what I can only take as a complimentary way) "oh my god, you're old!"
- The hand-painted T-shirt my student made for me.
- Having my sister here to celebrate with me.
- The long leisurely lunch with some of my favourite teachers (and a gift of books -- the ultimate way to my heart)
- Spending an hour at the beach in the middle of the day.

Best moments of the past year:
- The viking festival, volunteerism, and the hike in Iceland
- The sunlight of Almeria
- New Year's Eve in Cadiz
- My students -- even on bad days, I have so much fun with them.
- Alex and Mike's visit, and my dad's visit.
- Finally getting the turtle I've always wanted.
- When Liz asked me to be her bridesmaid.
- Visiting my mom in Oregon
- Every glass I've raised with a friend...

Best moments of the year to come:
Erm... I'll get back to you on that one... But I think it's gonna' be a good one.

PEHDTSCKJMBA! (or why I love Tom Waits)

OK, so I know that this blog is usually about me, and my travels. But if you've know me for, oh I don't know, an hour or so, you'll know how much I love Tom Waits. Seriously. When I was 7 years old, I knew all the words to "Frank's Wild Years" (admittedly, not the most appropriate song for a kid that age).

So this is a quick interstitial entry about Tom. It's my lifelong dream to see Tom in concert, so I get very excited every time he announces a tour (which is actually fairly rare). Problem is, he's always going to the most random places, and I haven't managed to coincide with any of them yet.

And now, he's announced dates for his new Glitter and Doom Tour, along with its rallying cry: Pehdtsckjmba! Watch the press conference for an explanation:



So, if anyone is stuck on what to get me for my upcoming birthday (it's less than a week away, after all), may I suggest a concert ticket and road trip to some fine city in the Central or Southern US in July....

Seriously, I'd love you forever.

UPDATE: The tickets go on sale Friday May 16th. If anyone is honestly interested in taking in one of these concerts with me, let me know. I just might try to get a couple tix (though they usually sell out in minutes).

The Week of the Bocadillo

Alex and Mike came to visit last week. I'd been looking forward to their visit all year, and it was every bit as good as I hoped. We laughed, talked, ate and drank our way through a week of fun and sun.

We started the week out in Barcelona, wandering around the city and seeing the sights. We went up the tower of Sagrada Familia and (more importantly) back down the frighteningly winding staircase. We had beers on patios in my old neighbourhood of Gracia (with my old flatmate Luca) and visited Laura at work. We shopped at the waterfront, visited the Picasso Museum and Parc Guell, and even found Space Invaders around the MACBA. After a few days of big-city tourism, we hopped an early morning flight down to good ol' Aguadulce.

The rest of the week was spent on the beach (the weather cooperated wonderfully), reading, talking and soaking up the sun. We ate an amazing quantity of bocadillos, laughed a lot, and generally relaxed.

The week was a vacation for Alex and Mike, but it was also a mini-vacation for me. Spending time with close friends -- with an intimate and implicit understanding of one another -- is something that I have been really missing. Their visit allowed me to recharge my batteries to face the last leg of my journey here. Of course, it also made me excited to come home for a while and spend quality time with the people I love.

Alex and Mike, thank you so much for coming all the way over here to hang out with me. I loved having you here, and can't wait to see you both again sooooooon.

Photos of the week are here.

Semana Sistah'

If you ask me to name some of my favourite things in life, my little sister would be pretty high on that list. So would Barcelona, travel, live music, and beer. Interesting rock formations might make it on there, too, as well as Picasso, meeting new people, and catching up with old friends.

This past week (my Semana Santa vacation) included all of the above -- how could it not approach greatness?

Live music: The week started with an odyssey out to the town of Salt for the Rude Cat music festival. The bands were mostly reggae and ska (fortunately more ska than reggae), and our main goal was to see The Slackers, a NYC ska band that Laura really likes. And boy, did they put on a show! The place was jumping, and we were right up front, takin' it all in.

New people: Laura's new job is at a hostel near Ave. Parallel, and it seems pretty sweet. The place is nice, and the staff were cool people. They've accepted Laura into the fold -- no surprise there, that girl can make friends anywhere! I've always liked the hostel vibe (I'm good with transient people, I suppose), and had some fiction-worthy moments in the evenings we spent there.

Old friends: Over the course of the week, I got a chance to catch up with Luca, Carmen, Patricia, and Gaspar. The general consensus was that I need to come back to Barcelona. I second that. We also got a chance to hang out with Laura's uncle and cousin, who were in town for a few days.

Rock formations: A day trip to Montserrat satisfied a certain touristic need. The mountain is beautiful and peaceful, and has a monastery at the base, where we heard an all-boys choir sing their little hearts out.

Picasso: We spent an overcast afternoon wandering through the Picasso museum. I could truly spend a lifetime admiring his work.

Barcelona: Yes, I still love the city. I saw new parts of it, walked new streets, and learned new things. My love affair has not ended.

And most importantly, Laura: I am so lucky to have this girl as a sister. She understands me like no one else, supports me when I need it, and calls me on my shit when she has to. I hope I manage to give her even a fraction of the good she gives me. Laura, I love you to bits.

The memories: Wanna' see photos? They're here.