A fantastic day

Days lately have been pretty good.

I've been much more optimistic, happier even, and upbeat lately. I think it's due to the beautiful weather Madrid has been experiencing lately. It's been in the 50s (F) with really sunny, cloudless days. All I've wanted to do is eat ice cream at the park.

This weekend was the big weekend before Carnaval. Most Spaniards who are really into Carnaval travel to Cadiz, in southern Spain, where the biggest celebrations in the country take place. Those who are not such great planners (like myself) opted for a quiet weekend in the city. I attended a parade and attempted to go to a costume ball, but things didn't really go according to plan (as usual). But I still had an enjoyable weekend getting much more dressed up than usual, and exploring Madrid a bit. Plus, the weekend ended with a fantastic evening of watching great films (who can argue with the greatness that is Step Up 2: The Streets?) with my best mates here. And, of course, eating lots of junk food, which will certainly be ending starting on Wednesday, when Cuaresma (Lent) begins. This year, I'll be making an attempt to give up something I've sort of become addicted to unknowingly: processed sugar.

Yes, from the Oreos and Chips Ahoy that I crave to the delicious pastries covered in sugar that I'm served at school, to sugar in my coffee and tea, it's all going adios for the next 40 days. Lent is supposed to be about determination and self-sacrifice, and I'm going to give it my best shot. Wish me luck -- I don't know if I'll have the will to say no to those scrumptious cakes they place at the table during lunchtime.

Also, after a minor technological/viral scare, I'm going to cut back on the downloads for the next 40 days. I'd rather not have another Trojan virus and think I'm about to lose all of my music and photos, not to mention having to take my computer to a Spanish tech guy to fix it (ni lo mande Dios). So I'm going to give La Negra some time to get healthy again, and I'm giving her a break from too much exposure to the crap that's floating online. I've got Season 1 of 30 Rock and Meagan's DVD collection to get me through. And I can stream stuff online as well.

Wish me luck as I embark on what will inevitably be one of the hardest Lents I will endure. Seriously, you've got no idea how addicted I am to sugar.

At least I realize it

I traveled to Berlin this weekend, and had this fantastic realization: I am so incredibly lucky. For whatever reason, exploring Berlin really made me realize how truly fortunate and blessed I am -- despite any grievances and complaints I may have. I've been fortunate to have the opportunity to visit fantastic places, to see different parts of the world, to meet amazing people who have become my friends and who constantly challenge me to see things in a different light, even if I disagree with it. I can't even begin to realize just how good I've got it. Not everyone has this opportunity in life, and I have to remind myself of that during the rough patches.

Twist & Shout

As most of you know, I have a deep passion for dancing, and wish to all goodness that my parents had enrolled me in dance classes as a child. Maybe then I would have been able to fulfill my now-impossible dreams of being a dancer.

But I haven't found the key to time-travel, and for the moment I'll leave you with this sweet video I stumbled upon. This lady is my new dancing icon -- no one can get down in those 2-inch heels quite like she can.

anarchists across the world

Stumbled upon this on a semi-posh street in my 'hood, next to the Starbucks.

yeah boi...

holy hell yes!

ed. note: After the original video I was posted was deleted due to copyright violations, I have re-posted the best thing I could find.

The original video was from Radiohead's performance of "15 Step" at the Grammys. Now, the video is a series of screen shots with the sound dubbed over. It does no justice to the performance, but when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right?

My first visit to the African continent

It has been one of my goals since finding myself living in Madrid to make it to Morocco. After this past weekend, I am able to cross off another country from my "Places to Visit" list.

In addition to the usual suspects (Meagan and Amy), another friend of ours took a break from her studies this quarter in London to join us for our two-day Moroccan extravaganza in Casablanca and Marrakesh. While it was rather short, it was well-worthwhile.

I have to admit that I was way more paranoid and nervous than I need have been to visit. People are much more friendly than I'm used to here in Madrid (whether it's because they're not Spanish or not city people I'm still unsure), but they are generally harmless. Getting lost in Moroccan markets was pretty awesome, and it was really funny to be confused for so many ethnicities. I mean, I was asked a number of times if I was Moroccan -- my Mom got quite a kick out of that when I told her.

One of the define highlights of the trip was drinking Moroccan tea -- or mint tea, as they call it. It's the greatest thing to come from mankind since chocolate, I think. It's actually quite simple -- green tea, mint leaves, and sugar. Moroccans have a particular method for mixing the tea, which I learned from my awesome new Moroccan best friend Hakeem (I'm only 90 percent sure that is actually his name). In any case, this new tea is my new favorite beverage. For the realz...

PLUS, I bought a sweet-ass leather purse (I think it's made from camel leather!) for 7 euros after I haggled it down from 100 or so. I'm usually terrible at haggling, so this is quite a feat for me. And I did trade a $5 Wal-Mart watch for a henna tattoo I really didn't want...but these things happen, right?

I didn't take nearly as many photos as I would have liked, but getting lost in the Marrakesh sooks for 4 hours really limited what I could photograph. Spices, carpenters, mosques and leather goods are only interesting for so long. This just means that I'll have to save my pennies and come back for an extended trip to Morocco -- maybe next time I'll be armed with better French or even some Arabic -- and I'll do a better job of fitting in with the locals.

Below are some photos. Hopefully, I'll take the time this weekend to really write some more about the sights and sounds of Morocco.


Looking out onto the streets of Casablanca from a restaurant with the best falafel.


The port in Casablanca.


The spectacular Moroccan countryside, viewed from our Casablanca-Marrakesh train.


The Royal Theater in Marrakesh.


Meagan at Djemaa El Fna, Marrakesh's main plaza.


Marrakesh's biggest mosque, Koutoubia.