back in berlin, for now

weeeeeeell shoot, what the hell do i say now. i've been gone for a month and a half and haven't really written down anything. and honestly i'm not gonna try super hard. stockholm was a really incredible city. it was epic, beautiful. i was lucky enough to hook up with some cool people while i was there, with whom i spent the majority of my time. it might be a cliché, but it is pretty amazing how, traveling in europe, you meet people from all over the world at the drop of a hat. we walked around the city, drank coffee in old cellar cafés, went to museums, drank weak swedish beer. all in all a really good trip.

granada, as well, was incredibly beautiful. yes, i had major issues with my host family, but i got over it and enjoyed my time there immensely. you get the feeling that time has stood still there, not only from the architecture and streets and all that, but the people and how they live and how they spend their time. just being able to sit out in the sun on a plaza and listen to talented flamenco musicians playing because they love it, or grabbing my washboard and joining in for a couple of hours with some cats playing improvised reggae. i definitely couldn't live there - it's too slow for me - but for a short time it's a wonderful place to go. and i didn't really appreciate it until i got a little further away from the city, unfortunately on the last day, and just hiked by myself for a couple of hours in the mountains on the outskirts of town. something i don't do enough. very peaceful just to take in the breathtaking scenery, interspersed with little villages and all that. i think a problem i had with spain was that i kept expecting it to be latin america, and then it wasn't. haha i don't know what that means exactly. but i don't have to explain myself to you or anybody! so there. i also met a couple of lovely people with whom, i imagine, i will not lose contact any time soon. in summation, granada is gorgeous and i would recommend it to anyone visiting spain.

that all being said, i got pictures up (woohoo!). i am way over uploading on to facebook - it's way more trouble than it's worth - so i moved to picasa and i am LOVING it. so, here's the link to the albums for stockholm and granada (and a couple old trips as well): http://picasaweb.google.com/ballard.jw. hope you enjoy them; feel free to comment.

i'm off to poland on sunday, so i'm sure there will be lots more exciting shenanigans on which to report. until then, mach's gut und pass auf dich auf.

liebe grüße

Semesterpause

THINGS THAT DRIVE ME BANANA-SANDWICH ABOUT GRANADA:

1. my "host mom" yells ALL THE TIME. mostly at the dog and at her teenage son. the dog's name is serena and she's always like "serena! get down! stop barking! can't you see i'm working? you´re being very rude! what are you thinking!" as if the dog understood her. but seriously the woman has two settings, "pretty nice/helpful" and "screeching like a harpy." in fact, she's yelling as we speak. it's a super-negative environment, unfortunately. it's never directed at me, but even today she was like "james! i need to ask you something!" and i was like ohhh crap what did i do, and she was like, "did you not get enough to eat at lunch??" really larry? i swear, if i had to listen to it for more than two weeks i would jump off a cliff. as it stands, i'll survive it until i leave.


2. what the hell, why is every effing store in my neighborhood closed between the hours of 2pm and 5pm. and then why do some not reopen at 5pm? YOU'RE A BUTCHER AND YOU'RE ONLY OPEN BETWEEN THE HOURS OF NINE AND TWO?? unbelievable. of course i'm in class every day until two so...great, thanks spain.


3. on a similar note, the eating times here are the most bizarre and i just don't like them (they are also the cause of #2). breakfast is lame, like bread and jam, and then you eat the big meal of the day at like three freaking o'clock, how awkward is that. and THEN you eat a little meal at nine or ten o'clock. excuse me? that's actually incorrect, sorry, i'm gonna need a revision on my desk by monday.


4. this pleace is hillier than...i dunno, a hill factory. i swear to christ it's like climbing a mountain several times a day just to get to my house. my feet are dying.


5. the clubs here all cost 10€. by berlin standards that is most unacceptable.


6. The dog, serena, is sincerely out of control. at first i thought she was endearing but now i've come to conclude that she is, truly, a demon-child. in fact, serena is the most ironic and least-fitting name they could have possibly chosen.


7. the weather is, similarly, out of control. i leave my house at 9am and it's chilly and windy enough for a pretty decent sweatshirt. when im done with class at 2pm it's BOILING hot. then around 5pm it starts getting cool again, and at night you definitely need a jacket. wtf just please pick a temperature.

THINGS I REALLY LIKE ABOUT GRANADA:

1. my eleven-year-old "host sister", lola, is the cutest ever. she gave me a flamenco lesson tonight. it was very serious business.


2. when the temperature is at its nice place, it's absolutely gorgeous.


3. the view from my balcony and the balcony of the school are both breathtaking.


4. the windy, cobblestone streets of my barrio are beautiful to walk down, especially at night when there is literally no one and not a sound except for bats chirping and the occasional dog barking.


5. speaking of dogs, a stray dog literally walked me all the way home last night at like four in the morning. it was a twenty minute walk and she just trotted alongside me, sometimes anticipating my route, sometimes waiting for me when i got behind. i seriously think she was an animagus.


6. the archtiecture is really cool, a mix of spanish and moroccan.


7. going out for tapas is the BEST. in granada you pay 2€ for a glass of beer or "tinto de verano" (a wine punch thing they do here), which isn't terrible in its own right, but then you get FREE FOOD with it! you often get to choose, too. sandwiches, little burgers, mini pizzas. one place had like, calamari. serious business. so if you're going out for a drink anyway, you definitely don't need to eat diner beforehand.


8. it's slow going on the spanish, as with any language, but i think i've learned quite a bit even in one week. i'm DEFINITELY way more confident in speaking, even if my vocab hasn't improved a ton. it was a good decision though, for sure. the classes at the school are great, i really like the teachers and i like the students there as well.


9. okay i hate hippies on principle - they're pretentious and self-righteous and dirty and need to get a job and cut their hair - but i'll admit it's pretty awesome how people just hang out in the sunny plazas and juggle and dance and play music for the hell of it. okay a lot of the musicians aren't hippies, but anyway. like today i didn't feel like doing anything so i sat in the shade at one of the plazas by my house and listened to this guy playing amazing flamenco guitar, just because. i've jammed a bit too, with people, like these crazy african cats, which is always nice. simply a great atmosphere here all around.

oh and before getting here i went to stockholm or some shit. yeah i'll talk about that later, i'm tired now. (it was the hotness, by the way).

much love, liebe leute.