getting by

On the train to Barcelona now. I am officially homeless. I’ve moved out all my things from my apartment, dropped them off with a friend, and taken to the road with my backpack. As thrilling as it is to start the next part of my trip here, it was really sad to leave my keys on the table and leave Madrid today.* The last 2 weeks have been so hectic- it’s made it hard to be nostalgic. When the world is spinning so quickly around you,** you can’t even see endings and beginnings and actually take note that you won’t be seeing the people around you again.

A few moments I did catch:

The Final Dinner
(not to be confused with the Last Supper which I’ll be seeing in Italy soon)

Everyone ran around- all dressed up for our dinner at an expensive Basque restaurant. It reminded me of prom with all the sappy group pictures being taken. All that was missing were the yearbooks to sign with cheesy goodbye messages. No one could sit still at their table. Well, that it, no one but the people at my table. We were the only table of people not eager to spread the cheese, if you will. And as the majority of us go to Berkeley, there were no “I’m going to miss you so much” moments because we’ll all be back together by August. Somehow everyone followed us to Malasaña where we drank beer in the Plaza de Dos de Mayo and played on the swing set in the dark.

Finals week
(and the weekend before it)

Apparently Carlos III doesn’t believe in dead week so we all had to spend our 2nd to last weekend in Madrid studying and writing papers. I quickly became a regular at a café in Malasaña near my apartment, as I was incapable of doing any work at home. I didn’t leave my apartment all day on Saturday, except for the 3 hours I spent at the café writing my paper until my computer battery died, so I treated myself to a night out with Anh. Bored with Supersonic, we tried out Club Nasty, a club in Sala Nasty in Malasaña that I’d been told about by Shawn*** and Beltran the second****. We were both feeling pretty down due to studying and sensing the end near. The only cure for our mood was lots of kitschy 80s and 90s music at one of the hippest clubs in Madrid. That’s right- I danced my worries away to “I’m so excited” and “She Bop” and “Black or White” and anything else the guest dj’s***** decided to play. Good times were had by all.

Finals:

I only remember them because they were so bad. My colloquial exam was the worst. How was I supposed to know the colloquial term for heavy schoolbook?!

Copa de Despedida:

Free drinks as provided by the university. Kate arrived the day before and so I dragged her out to Getafe to see a bit of my life here. We continued the goodbye drinks at the Biblioteca, a local bar right off campus. Then it was back to Madrid to enjoy a delectable bacadillo for Franky’s birthday. That party moved onto Dubliner’s, an Irish pub in Sol, where people got belligerent and all the going away stress turned into tears and harsh words which were all taken back the next day.

Barbarela Pop Club:

Steph, Kate and I donned our hippest attire*x6 and hit up Sala Nasty again. On Friday nights its Barbarela Pop club and is haunted by kids dressed in mod clothing who stand around drinking their Budweiser beer for bottles and sing along to British invasion songs and do their funny little hipster dances. Not quite Kate’s scene*x7 but I made her stay put as I was having fun attempting to dance like the rest of the kids. Zarlashta and Emma showed up later to join in the fun, followed later by Marco who proceeded to introduce me to just about everyone in the club. The djs, the bouncer, the bartender, his friend Nacho who’s the lead singer of an indie band in Madrid, and a bunch of people whose names I’ve forgotten. Then my other Argentinean friend put red lipstick on Marco and myself (as she had at supersonic the night before) and introduced me to more people Marco had missed. I was asked if I was Spanish and complimented on my language skills- one of the highlights of the night. We danced like crazy and then at 5:50, 2 kisses were exchanged with everyone, hugs for the ones I might not see again, and then Kate finally dragged me out of the club and home.

Which brings me to today. We spent a few hours waiting in the train station. Steph brough us lunch and dragged out our goodbye even longer- making it 3 times we’ve officially said “hasta pronto.”

Sitting on a train now with clothing enough for a week, my computer, and my Primavera Sound Festival abono. I’m going to be a tourist and maybe meet up with Marco and Jason before my Berkeley crew gets here*x8. I can’t feel too sad about leaving Madird because I’ll be back soon.







*Granted, I will be coming back whenever I can over the course of the summer
**As it was yesterday at Movie Land- a brand new Warner Brothers theme park in Madrid. What fun we had pretending like we were in southern California and posing with statues of daffy duck and tweedy bird (not tweedy pie as the brits insisted)
***the guitar tech in the bottom left hand corner of the picture.
****Not to be confused with the first who I ran into again who professed his love to me again.
*****The Donnas. Don’t like them as a band but as dj’s they’re ace!
*x6 That is to say, the hippest clothing I hadn’t packed up yet. And not so hip for Kate. She’s a top 40’s kinda gal.
*x7 She’s a top 40’s kinda gal
*x8 Although there is quite a larger Cal crew on the train ahead of me. 8 guys who just graduated and are off to find themselves in Europe through the help of a eurorail pass.

Counting Down

Exactly one week left of university left here in Madrid. I’m still not sure what to think of it all. My sister gets here in 7 days. And then Berkeley comes to me a few days later.

The weather here has been hot and dry. During the days its best to stay in the shade or inside airconditioned buildings. Moving around the city is unbearable on the metro and busses. So its best to find a cool spot and stay there. And the public pools have yet to be open for the summer. But while the days are unbearable, the nights are amazing. Every plaza has sprung to life with impromptu cafes exploding wherever there is space. Last night I went for a stroll at 12:30 and discovered heaps of Madrileños doing the same. I sat myself down at a table in my summer dress and enjoyed a caña, just enjoying Madrid. Nights like last night keep making me want to cut down my traveling for the summer and just stay here in Madrid. Forget Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, and Istanbul. I’m happy here with Madrid and my friends here.

That being said, I took a trip with Adriana to Lisbon last weekend. Just half-hour after landing she had the unfortunate luck of tripping over a jagged piece of metal sticking out of the cobblestone sidewalk. This resulted in a slower pace for the weekend, which was quite all right with me. I went to Portugal with no expectations or plans so there was no rush. What I found in Lisbon was the ancient version of San Francisco. Streets traversing up and down steep hill. Views of the bay coming in and out of view as streetcars help people climb upwards. They even had their own version of the Golden Gate Bridge.





The first night I explored the Bario Alto with an Australian girl from the hostel. We wandered the packed streets for a couple hours, stopping occasionally in bars with good music (including a Brazilian bar featuring a guy playing bossanova songs on an acoustic guitar). Tired, we made our way back to the hostel with a new friend- a stole 20 ml beer glass.

The next day Adriana and Katherine (the Australian) and I headed out to Sintra to see the fairy tale castles and do some general exploring. It was just beautiful. If you don’t believe me, just look at the pictures.



Our last day in Portugal was spent in Belen with a couple more hostel kids (a hipster from Italy who I talked about Elliott Smith and Xiu Xiu and lab technician/high-jump coach from Finland). Adriana and I had just enough time to check out a Frida Kahlo exhibition at the design museum, bid farewell to our new friends and catch our short flight back to Madrid. Aside from the toe-injury and a tiny airport mix-up, the weekend was spectacular. But I was glad to return to a country whose language I could speak. I really do love listening to and speaking Spanish.


And now back to writing papers and studying for finals.

Oh yes, if you have the chance to get your hands on the IAS Spring journal, check out my article on page 8!

FAQs

Q)Megan, when do you leave Spain?

A)Right now I'm trying to figure out were I'll be and when. Its a lot of fun as I have to coordinate with friends and family back in the States. As of now, I'll be in Madrid until May 27th when my sister comes to visit and we run off to Barcelona for a week where my roommate and company from Berkeley are meeting me for a few days and a music festival after which we'll return to Madrid for a few more days (somewhere around June 5th) and after being treated to home-cooked Italian food in Italy with my sister and her former flat-mate for a week, I have no idea where I will be or what I'll be doing until I meet my parents in Brussels on July 1st when they spoil me rotten because they haven't seen me in sooooo looong. And as we drive across France and Austria in a small car and my 13 year old brother (who has just entered puberty) and I start to argue constantly in the back seat, they'll want to get rid of me as soon as they can- which will be July 24th when they leave Europe and I'm left alone to wander more until I am completely broke and/or I have to return to Berkeley for the first day of class.



Q)Where will you go?

A)See above. Especially the part about being stuck in a car with the younger sibling. I'll be going to Crazy Town, that's where I'll be going.



Q)Are there better places??

A) Thats what I'm aiming to find out. If there aren't, I'll be coming back to Spain. Or maybe living on my friend's couch in London.



Q)Will I see you again??

A*)Where will you be and when?




Q)Will I cope??

A)Its a possibility. You might need to consult your doctor or pharmacist for support though.






Sincerely,
Megan R. Costello



*it really wasn't an A(nswer) but another Q(uestion) but I thought that writing Q(uestion)** again would be confusing. I appologise for any misunderstandings.

**what it really was. Note the question mark at the end of the sentence. The question mark denotates that the sentence is meant to be read aloud with an inquisitive tone, were you to read it aloud.

I'm Gonna Wait Right Here While Everything is Adding Up

With deadlines starting to near, I’m feeling the beginnings of separation anxiety with Madrid. I can’t believe I’ve been here so long. It seems like only yesterday I was proudly making it through my first week of living in Spain or just learning my way around the city. Now I’m worrying about packing all my life back into my suitcase and getting it all home. I’ve really moved into my little room here.

(then)

(now)

(then)

(now)

(all this and more must fit into my suitcase. i am awesome)

And with the end looming I can’t help but think about the end in a year. Coming to Spain was part of my quarter-life crisis (well, not originally, but it’s fit into the plan well and I’ve played the part of the identity/future crisis-stricken angsty 20-year-old fairly well, if I do say so myself). And now that it’s just about over, I’m thinking about going back to CAL and locking myself in Wurster again. Why did I think that signing up for 101 would be fun? Does it mean that I’ve decided to return to architecture and that I’m not giving up on it anymore? AH!
Soo many question marks!

And by all this rambling I mean that I want to go home but I don’t want to leave. Take it as you will. Catch as catch can. Lo que sea. Whatever. Me da igual. And the rest of those passive terms that mean absolutely nothing.

Inconcievable

In my high school Spanish 3 class we were assigned penpals from Spain. My penpal was from San Sebastian, a city on the France/Spain border. And while the penpal didn’t last longer than a semester, my interest in visiting San Sebastian has continued through high school and university. And finally, after a six-hour bus ride to the north, I made it to see the bay and beaches firsthand. It was amazingly beautiful, and the city lived up to the images I’ve forever seen on posters and postcards. It didn't feel like I was in Spain anymore- afterall, San Sebastian is only 9 km away from France. And while it was beautiful in San Sebastian, there was something about the vibe of the city that bothered me. Maybe it was the huge crowds of well dressed people flocking all over the beach. Maybe it was the pretentiousness dripping from every bar and hotel along the water front. I'm not sure.



The trip, while imagined in my head for years, was a last minute affair with Jed (a Carlos III kid) and Melissa (Eugine Oregon from my adventure in Santorini). We had no plans other than to hit the beach and feast upon the famed food of Pais Vasco.

Which is exactly what we did after checking into our pension, run by a friendly Australian who made us speak to him in Spanish. We wandered around the old part of the city to a few tapas bars and then along the waterfront, which looked like a Disney resort. In between feasts of pinxos, we had hotdogs at a beachfront café. It was like being back in California.


As night fell on our first evening in San Sebastian we hike partway up one of the 2 hills on the edges of the beach to get a sunset view of the city. It was a bit too late for that, but what we found instead was just as nice. Old ruins and stonewalls lined the walk up. We had a swordfight as the surrounds looked like something out of The Princess Bride and then stood very close to the edge of the Cliffs of Insanity. On the way back down, we listened to a live band playing in a bar in the hillside as it bounced off an old church across from it. The acoustics were incredible.

The next morning we hiked up the hill again, this time to the top, where we discovered more ruins and a giant statue of Christ. The views of the bay were amazing from the top. And as we made our sweaty descent, we decided to hit up the surfing beach (the least crowded of all) for a swim and a rest. At the beach we encountered many a topless sunbathers as well as a completely nude man (except for his goggles and swim cap, that is). We were the only people on the beach to appear phased by the nudity. It truly is another culture.

For the second sunset we were to experience in San Sebastian, we decided to get an earlier start and made way to the other end of the bay while the sun was still high in the sky. We missed the road up the hill and ended up in an odd park with old and young people alike just loitering around. We loitered awhile with them before finding the road we needed to get up the hill, passing huge estates on the way up the hillside.

(look at the sun- its setting?!)

Nearing the top of the hill, we discovered that we were on a lovers’ lane of sorts as we passed by couples pulled over in their cars watching the sunset. And as the sky went dark, the cars stayed parked on the side of the road as we hiked past to the very top of the hill.

Somehow, we had gone from lovers’ lane to Scooby-Doo set- an abandoned amusement park. We just kept waiting for the disgruntled grounds keeper to walk out from the ticket booth asking us to get rid of the Wolf-man haunting the place. And as I walked past a spooky old tent, I stepped on one of those little popper things, creeping us all out even more. Scooby-Doo chase sequence over, we returned home for the night.




Another long bus ride, and I’m back in Madrid.

About a half-hour after getting home I left my apartment to go see Volver with Chris. I’m always impressed when I can watch movies in Spanish and get everything- I feel like I’m actually accomplishing something over here. I’ve less than a month left of class here and then I’m off to do some serious traveling. Its gone by so fast.