Sorry I havn't blogged in a while...This weekend I went to Brussels and Amsterdam. I had a great time in both places despite the lousy weather. Brussels was definitely one of the more European-feeling cities I have been to this semester. The grand square in the center of the city looks like it is straight out of a movie: tall buildings, huge windows trimmed with gold, golden statues, a huge clock, pricy restaurants with tables outside, and more...On another note, I think I had the best beer in Belgium. We went to a bar famous for selling the most different types of beers in one venue....I cannot remember exactly. I wrote down several names of the beers I enjoyed most: Triple Karmeleiit, Duvel, Bons Voeur, Rulles, Westmalle, and of course Hoegarden. ( This does not mean I had all of these beers in 12oz bottles)
Dinner was so good. We had mussels in a bucket of garlic broth. It was so unbelievably delicious I took a picture of it....(picture to come).
Something cool: For the first time in my life, after being around Spanish for a healthy amount of time at this point, I dreamt in Spanish. Although it wasn't completely in Spanish, I remember vividly a significant portion of the dream where I thought and spoke in Spanish. I also find myself pronouncing english words in a spanish accent. The effect another language has on you in two months can be very drastic. Sometimes in English during transitional thoughts....if I said, "Well," or "Perhaps" I literally find myself saying out loud, "Vale," or "Entonces" or "Quizas."
The Van Gogh Museum was definitely worth the visit...the key is the buy a ticket online so you can skip the 1.5 hour wait and walk right in. Tey have the majority of his famous collections, missing a few in other parts of the world.
Sunday night we went to the Cirque du Solei show called, "The Evolution of Man." i enjoyed literally ever second of it. Some of the acrobatic tricks performed I didn't think were humanly possible.
Halloween night my friend Zach and I came back to the room to change clothes to get ready to go out at around 11 oclock. Suddenly, my phone rings and it's already six in the morning. We decided to get a full night's sleep. But, it was definitely comical thinking about both of us passing out at the same time and waking up 7 hours later completely disoriented.
The Red Light district is without a doubt the weirdest/strangest place I've ever been to. Women stand behind see-through doors in tiny rooms with a bed, some only just a chair, and a curtain. Hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of men and women of all ages walked around the narrow streets, I mean literally all ages...there appeared to lack an age ceiling.... I saw a man walk out of a room who was definitely approaching 90.....anyway, they walk around the narrow streets searching, laughing, and mocking the barely clothed prostitutes who stare at you with sexual expressions, luring you into their apparently rented chamber. Someone told me, and I cannot verify this, that each woman rents out her "room", aka glass door with a curtain, for around 500 euros a shift...prices vary upon location. Assuming the average price to be around 50 euros for each "session," this means in order to break even and bring home some bread to their...families?...ew...i dont know...at least 10 sexual experiences are required. To be honest, I feel bad for them. They are like animals in a zoo, trapped behind see-through cages. The sad part is, a lot of them of absolutely beautiful, like stunning. But, they are sucked into this lifestyle at age 18 because they have nowhere else to work, and this is the only way to make good money.
Currently, I'm back in Barcelona. It feels nice to be able to sleep in my bed and have some sort of routine again. I have my first college basketball game around 2 oclock, which is 8 oclock eastern time. When you wake up, cross your fingers and maybe I'll see some PT/score some points. Last night, I experienced the same dreams I had the nights before my high schools basketball games. I'm so fortunate to be able to remember those dreams and endure the same feelings of nervousness and excitement again.
I have two midterms this week, and mom and dad get in tomorrow! I'm so excited to see them. Hope all is well....until next time
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