I always think about making fresh conclusions about going home but I never end up doing it. A month later still counts though, right? I had a lovely time in the U.S. but I am happy to be back. On my flight there, I watched The Policeman with Harry Styles. It was a bit slow for me and quite sad. The middle seat was free (I had the window) so my older seating companion and I enjoyed that luxury. I booked a direct flight but American Airlines decided to make some changes so I had a layover in Charlotte North Carolina for just 3 hours. I (as well as many of my fellow passengers) was quite worried. We had to go through customs and the line was over a hundred people, no exceptions. I was sweating, almost accepting my fate. I ran a bit but I made it just fine. I've noticed American airports do have a chaotic quality about them unmatched elsewhere. Given Philadelphia's air quality on the 8th I kept my mask on, but my bag didn't come. Not very important to me, I had the opportunity to travel light on my way to get my habitual sushi. I got to see my beloved "cousin,'' who's actually my godsister. She treated me to coffee in the morning and we ran errands. I try very hard to keep in contact despite any difficulties from either party. We got burritos, walked around the local market, did a puzzle together, and went downtown to get drinks with friends. (She was a great DD and I feel blessed to have gotten to spend some time with her.) Sometimes when your parents end up more or less choosing your "friends'' it doesn't work out as well as it did for us. She’s freshly engaged and I’m very happy for her.
The day after that I went to a Sommerfest at my parents' German club in Lancaster, Liederkranz. I drank beer and ate potato pancakes and pretzels. It was nice to be somewhere my parents’ enjoy with them. I can't say I slept great for various reasons, jetlag, drinking, or general restlessness, it unfortunately became quite the pattern. The next day we went to Gettysburg to get lunch with my sister. I had crab fries and a crab cake sandwich, clearly you can tell what I was missing abroad. (They usually eat just whole crab in Spain.) Then I went with Devin to see my lovely nephews, the cats Pancake and Porkchop. We went to Berkeley Springs in West Virginia. We stayed at the Country Inn, sat in a jacuzzi, got a massage and pedicures while it rained outside. We got room service and I got some of the foods I had been missing (eggs benedict) and tried some new foods as well. We went shopping locally to some cool shops and an antique store. Smoothies are quite sad in Spain in my humble opinion. "Batidos'' are milky and lack the desired texture for me. We got smoothies at a place called The Beehive. We went to an amazing cat cafe with over 50 cats! I had an amazing time and I finally slept well. I love the water and it was a beautiful place, I highly recommend it, it exceeded my expectations. I'm grateful to my lovely sister for that quality time. She really knows how to show a girl a good time.
Back in York, I met my mom's coworkers at White Clover farm. We made candles and saw all the animals (pigs, cows, goats, a dog.) I made an exquisite blend of sugar cookie, vanilla, honeysuckle and mahogany and I'm quite proud of it. It was a bit awkward but no interaction in English intimidates me currently. The next day I saw another dear friend and we got more smoothies and did some crafts together out on the porch. Being creative with friends is really special to me and reminds me how much I love making art. I went to another friend's house until another friend got off work, that’s just the amount of busy I chose to be. I went down the street to my school friend’s house and hung out with her family. It was a lovely time. And then my other friend and I got Chipotle, it had been a good couple years. The next day I went over to a family friend's to meet their new puppy and play Banana Grams. I think I only won one round but that’s okay I was just warming up. I went out for lunch at Massimo (an Italian place) in South York and had half the risotto–it was huge, and eggplant bruschetta as an appetizer. Then, I had a wholesome ‘cousins night’ with my real cousins.
The next day was my mother's graduation party at Moon Dancer winery, if you weren't there, you missed out. I brought my dear friend Yogi from Philadelphia and it was a beautiful day. I really enjoy it there, we drank sangria and ate pizza and I played more Banana Grams. On father's day we got crabs and shrimp and corn and asparagus (and carrot cake) and we played cards. On Monday, I went out for breakfast at Park City diner with an old work friend. I heavily recommend it as one of the best diners around and then got a quick haircut. I got some Rita's ‘italian’ ice and then I went to the dentist. I got a little work done but I love my dentist, Depasquale. I went swimming in my pool at home with another school friend and met their new kittens. And then I had sushi one last time with more friends.
Just like that it was my last day. I slept in and then went to my Nana's house for breakfast. I brought some cereal I had been missing (Cinnamon Toast Crunch) and apple cider and biscuits. We went out for lunch at Rocoto, (which is a Peruvian pepper) a peruvian/Mexican restaurant in Red Lion as a family which I heavily recommend, it was fresh and authentic. As you can see there's never a dull moment for me so if you didn't catch me do try harder next time and take initiative. I’ll be home for Christmas. On my flight back I had 0 issues, no one in the middle seat again and an older lady seat companion that gave me a breakfast bar. Any time strangers feed me I’m deeply touched, I wish it was more common, you don’t know who’s hungry. I finished ‘The Fabelmans' from my last flight, it was about a Jewish boy who loved making movies and I thought it was decent. I also watched ‘A Man Called Otto' with Tom Hanks as per my parents recommendation, it was quite good. I listened to a podcast and ate snacks. Obviously with all those activities I didn’t get much rest but that’s pretty common for me on flights. I had a little trouble finding my ride but that's just the language barrier at a gigantic airport.
When I got back I took a good 2 hour nap while everyone else was working. I unpacked, surprisingly that same day and we got Indian food delivered for dinner. The next night, I met my girlfriend's family's new puppies, they’re very cute and energetic. Then I was off to the beach in Andalusia, southern Spain, more specifically Malaga. We went to one of my favorite cities, Frigiliana, the white houses on a hill in the mountains. We got chocolate and smoothies and walked around, it was very hot. We went to the place where I’ve had the best nachos in my life and they lived up to their reputation once again. Being there in the summer is much different, there are tons of Brits and Germans. We went to the beach of course and I saw 0 jellyfish which is the ideal amount. The pool is delightful too, huge and often vacant with no fears of lingering fish. We went to a bar called the Butterfly and heard some live music while petting a dog. It was just a 4 day long weekend situation but it was everything I needed.
When I got back to Madrid I went to my first Spanish pride. It takes place at the end of June and into July as a long weekend type thing. It was very crowded, there were some men dressed as firefighters and lots of people spraying people with water guns, so apparently that’s socially acceptable in the heat. The parade was a bit anticlimactic for me as it didn’t seem to go according to plan. But on the bright side we got some drinks and made a new friend and my girlfriend met some politicians that she likes. We went out to one of my favorite restaurants, it's a Salvadorian ‘pupuseria.’ If you haven’t had pupusas you need to try some. My days of enjoying a giant street fair party may be a bit past me but I’ll try again next year.
Lately I’ve been cat sitting. The cats are my girlfriend’s aunt’s cats, a gray one named Madi and a white one with two different colored eyes named Leon. I learned recently that many white cats are blind of deaf because they’re genetically weaker than the strongest, black cats. As you may know, my kitten nephews are two gorgeous black cats named Pancake and Porkchop. I’m not saying they’re better because of their genetics, but they are. As I may have complained before one of the cats has a habit of waking me up, very loudly with some frequency. By the time we reach a better understanding the cat sitting is over and we start all over next time. It wasn’t so bad this time around but I also generally dislike the bed, it’s too soft. It sucks you in and holds you in which is not my preference especially with the heat. There was a heatwave here too and I’m completely used to it being 85º F at all times. It’s common knowledge that Europeans don’t use air conditioning most of the time, but sometimes when it’s especially hot at night and even then it's 78º F which is hotter than most people's homes in the States. Another hack is only going outside on purpose in the mornings and the late evenings. I try to take my daily walk before 11. The hottest part of the day is like 4pm which is much different than where I’m from. Also there’s almost always a fan everywhere and I’ve come to love fans quite deeply. The heat really doesn’t bother me all that much. The best part about the cat sitting is that the apartment complex has a pool! It’s a fairly large size, used by everyone in the building. There are cats in the courtyard which I enjoy seeing and also a nice tennis court. I tried my hand at tennis this week. I definitely lack some of the critical skills for the sport such as wrist strength, it’s harder than you think.
This weekend is my girlfriend’s mom’s birthday. I got her some wine. She’ll be 62, which I can say because she won’t read this. These past couple weeks she’s been on vacation. Many Spaniards take an extended vacation over the summer. Hers is 4.5 weeks. She’s been at their retirement/weekend house in Villa del Prado, an hour outside of Madrid. Recently as I said before they got 2 puppies which are quite entertaining and they have a pool and a garden. That’s how we acquired like 30 tomatoes. In the coming weeks there will be some family gatherings. My girlfriend’s sister has been in The Gambia the last 2 weeks. They pet monkeys and rode in boats and went on hikes, things like that. I’m excited to hear about her travels.
Generally I’m doing very well. There is a little summertime boredom but I’ve been writing and exercising and trying to make more friends. I do love my Spanish life. Also, I did the summertime paperwork I had to do (with a lot of help) and I got my school assignment at the beginning of the month. I almost forgot to tell you guys. It’s a bit far away, 40 minutes best case scenario with a ride to the train station. But to live in Madrid is to commute.It’s a bit odd of a school. I had a webinar about the ‘opportunity.’ Basically, it’s a field trip school, where kids can even stay in dorms on a campus outside the city with a duck pond for both primary and secondary students. They would supposedly pay for my transportation to 2 out of the 10 schools that don’t have bilingual programs. A bilingual school is one that teaches in Spanish and English (or French or Portuguese or whatever.) They’re very common in Spain, and with a bilingual school comes a language assistant, like me the last 2 years. But this is a pilot program, to use one language assistant for many schools, giving classes a couple times a week in various subjects such as STEM, art, etc. Half the week would be planning and the other with a partner teaching this. I agreed to this trusting it’ll work out and be really cool. After 2 years of a different version of the same thing I am willing to try something new. It is better than doing someone else’s job or asking 50 kids what their favorite color is. Honestly my plan is not to think about it too hard, as I have a habit of overthinking. The future will come and I will deal with it then; there’s not much I can do to prepare. I’m optimistic. But right now I’m focused on having a great summer and relaxing
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