'Tis the Season

So I know all of you have been like: Where is Bethalona? Why hasn't she been blogging? What is going on in wonderful Spain?

Well, to answer your question, I am in my apartment, there isn't much going on lately, and Spain is just getting colder and colder, so going outside isn't quite as enjoyable as it was earlier this year. That isn't to say that it's as cold as Canada, but it's cold even indoors here, so I'm bundled ALL THE TIME (for those of you who have lived with me, or know me well enough, you know that I prefer less clothing and free movement around my space. This is why I bought a space heater and slippers!)

Really I've just been spending alot of time with friends here. Yesterday three more of my very close Barcelona friends left Spain for a considerable amount of time. They are, in the near future, headed to Phuket, Thailand to discover what Thailand has to offer, swim, surf, rock climb, play futbol wherever they can and do whatever else they can possibly think of in that country. Oh yes, and they'll be teaching while they're there too. Another of my friends who was in town to visit has also left to go back to L.A. and then on to South Korea. My plans were going to be to go with her, however, given the new unpredictable leadership in North Korea, I am going to sit tight in Barcelona and see what the news brings of the young Mr. Kim. Something about a 20-year-old in power over a Stalinist country that hates Americans and South Koreans and has massive amounts of weapons, including Nuclear weapons, just doesn't really sit well with me.

So here I will stay for a time, looking for things to do, and hanging out with the other friends I know and will surely become more close to over time.

As for the Christmas season, it doesn't feel much like Christmas this year. Not many people hang lights, despite the fact that many streets in Barcelona are now shining and sparkling in the evenings with lights strung high over the heads of the people walking along. And Christmas music doesn't exist here the way it does in Canada. If I were to go shopping in Canada right now, I can guarantee you that 9 out of 10 stores I would walk into would have some sort of jolly tune playing and most of them would be playing what sounds like the exact same track, over and over again. Within an hour I would hear Jingle Bells twice, Silent Night at least four times and various versions of Do You Hear What I Hear. It is not the same here. Most stores are just continuing to play their regularly scheduled repititious tracks that they play all year long. The other thing that is missing from this Holiday Season is snow. Yes, I said it. I've said it before and I'll say it again: It is allowed to snow from December 22 to January 2 (roughly 2 weeks) and then the snow should go away again. Alas, I have opened my balcony door this morning and there is no snow. That's probably a good thing in Barcelona though, becuase the last time there was snow here was two years ago and it shut the city down. Yes, three centimeters of snow shut the city down. I laughed so hard when I heard that. I thought to myself: Canadians count their blessings when it's only three centimeters!!

Knowing ahead of time that my nearest and dearest in Spain were leaving, and that there wouldn't be any snow on the ground, I have made travel plans to see yet another country (Yes, I am aware that I still have not posted anything about the other countries. There is a reason for that which I will explain later). I am going to Budapest, Hungary this year for a few days to celebrate yet another successful year of life. I consider myself successful this year because despite the fact that I am back in debt more than I want to think about and I miss my family even more than that, I have been able to do things I only ever dreamed of this year. I made a plan, I followed it through. I got on a plane and changed my life. I looked at a path I was on and decided I didn't want to be on it. I trailblazed. I have been in Paris and sipped wine, I have been in Amsterdam and walked through the red-light district (shockingly disappointing if you ask me), and I have been in chilly Prague and seen the Lenin wall (it's now been even more defaced and is lacking in the meaningful messgages it once had spray painted across it because people have decided that their stupid slogans are funnier than the inspirations of many other people. Granted, they are right, stupid slogans are funnier than inspirations most of the time, but now the wall's meaning has been diminished in the eyes of most people. Sad, but true). I have made friends that will travel the globe and I may have opportunity to visit them again somewhere someday. And I have lived in Barcelona, Spain. I know now what it feels like to live in another country. I know what it feels like to not have all the comforts of home. Yes, we have running water, but in most places, you have to turn on the gas to have a hot shower. Stoves here are only gas, and there is no such thing as them lighting themselves. As I said earlier, everywhere you go, it's cold now. The walls are concrete and the floors are linolium so heat isn't even trapped when you do heat up a room. Slippers are a requirement. I know what it's like to miss the food at Little India on Queen Street, and to miss going for good Sushi that doesn't break the bank. I know what it's like to miss decent Peanut Butter, and to not have all the neccesary ingredients to make your favorite cookies. I know what its like to order Hot Chocolate at a restuarant and get a mug full of melted chooclate, meant for dipping your croissant or other pastry-like dessert into it. (Seriously, this happened). I know what it's like to use hand signals in almost every conversation with a non-English speaking person. I know what it's like to make fast friends and to lose them to other adventures in Turkey, Thailand, Korea, USA, China, and beyond. I know that feelings of loneliness do not last though, and as long as I am enjoying my time abroad, that is where I will be.

So I am off, in two days, to Budapest. I am meeting a friend from Canada there (someone I've worked with and wanted to get to know while we were in Canada, but it never really panned out that way). We had had plans to meet up in Paris, but circumstances didn't work out for us there. We're staying at the same hostel this time, so we'll definitely see each other this time! I am very excited to pass this holiday season in yet another country, and I will be back in Barcelona to ring in the New Year.

So to all my family and friends, near and far, I wish you the best of Holiday Seasons, a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and whatever other holidays you celebrate! Enjoy the time you spend with family, and don't take a second of it for granted! And eat some stuffing for me, I can't make any here!