I am currently in Sevilla, sitting in a surprisingly nice hotel room. It is raining here and the rain is currently suiting my mood. I started to feel a little unsettled (I am going to blame it on the rapid change in environment… we were in Cordoba two hours ago) a few moments ago (my roommate left to go exercise and I don’t necessarily handle being alone too well {theinbetweentimesofkendraosburn.blogspot.com}so I decided to be proactive and write because writing reminds me of who I am and I HAVE NOT BLOGGED IN FOREVER!! My hair is still wet from the extra hot shower I took (it was SO nice to have a piping hot shower after a month of lukewarm ones) and classical music is playing on my computer {To Love Again by Alan Pasqua}. I have my notebook to my right where I have diligently been recording all of my adventures… So here goes. This one is going to be long ☺
I have to take you all the way back to TWO WEDNESDAYS ago (I know I am mortified, loyal followers, forgive me… which, speaking of forgiveness, we learned in World Religions that Buddhism [and other religions of course, we are just currently studying Buddhism] teaches “forgiveness” because “by forgiving we release anger and hurt.” I wrote that down on my To Remember page.). To be completely honest, I don’t remember Wednesday very well. However, Thursday, I left for Dublin, Ireland.
IRELAND
Thursday:
Thursday I took my second international flight alone. This was a fairly good experience until I could not find the gate for the flight to Dublin and tried in my best Spanish “Que es la puerta para el vuelo a Dublin?” and the man said “cual es.” That was not the answer to my question. Nope, that was him correcting me. I turned a violent shade of “rojo” and repeated “Cual es la puerta para el vuelo a Dublin?”
When I was finally on the plane I was just so exhausted that I fell right asleep in the middle of the book I was planning on putting a dent in {Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris}. Then I got off the plane and was in IRELAND!! Why Ireland? Besides the fact it is my grandparents favorite country, Ireland is where my best friend JULIE is studying abroad!!
After going through “customs” (it’s odd how other countries just trust people), I hoped into a cab after being shocked for a minute that the wheel was on the “wrong side” (Lesson Of The Day: It is not “wrong,” it is simply different from what I am used to. Lets keep in mind that they think we drive on the “wrong side” as well). The cab driver started chatting me up and by the end of the conversation he was on the phone with Julie laughing and clarifying directions. I tried to explain that the cab drivers in the U.S. were not quite so amicable… even though he spoke English, he did not quite understand.
Upon my arrival, I was greeted with something that looked very similar to the “LOOK, I have ELBOWS” scene in FRIENDS {season one, where Rachael’s old friends come visit her in the coffee shop- a Must See for addicts and non-addicts alike}. After many “I can’t believes” […we’re in a different country! …we’re together! …we’re so grown up] we went inside, cleaned up, ate dinner, chatted for a little bit and fell asleep.
The next morning we were lazy about getting ready until we realized that the breakfast place would be closing in less than 30 minutes. We hustled over and got a lovely egg and yogurt breakfast just in time. Over breakfast we shared friend gossip, two coffees and stories of our first weeks abroad.
After breakfast, we set off for the city. In the city we went shopping!! My boyfriend LOVES it when I tell him about everything I bought (kidding… he does not understand my need to do this at all) and I am sure you would too, but my outfits will soon be up on facebook and I won’t ruin the surprise. When we were done at the “City Center” we decided that it was time for dinner so we headed on over to the marked both craving soy sauce. We had...
Julie & Kendra’s Peek-A-Boo Tofu.
{Recipe: 1 block firm tofu, 1 bag/box microwaveable rice, 1 bag fresh/frozen veggies, soy sauce. Microwave the rice. Put the rice onto a plate and mash the raw tofu into it. Microwave the veggies. Spread the veggies on top. Add soy sauce to taste. Hands on Time: 2 minutes. Total Time: 6 minutes}
Then we went out.
You know the phrase “getting there is half the fun?” This particular night, that cliché was verified tenfold. A. I made new friends B. I learned a lot about myself and confirmed my political/religious/world views.
Let me elaborate on A. His name is David and he is from Munich. He is one of Julie’s new friends from the program (they met because they share a kitchen) and he is one of the more interesting characters in my adventure thus far. With longish blond hair, pale skin and a fondness for the phrase “that’s stupid,” initially, David is not the most inviting individual. However after a few chats from the bus station to the kitchen counter, I found out that David meant well but that a lot was lost in translation. For example:
Lost In Translation One:
It became evident during my third day in Ireland that David was struggling trying when having intellectual conversations with other people. He is highly intelligent and very knowledgeable, but, as I mentioned before, he has a liking for the phrase “that’s stupid.” I’m going to bust out my Communication credentials and say that after a few Human Comm. classes it became clear to me that saying “that’s stupid” to another individuals ideas is not usually the best conversation tactic (most likely, this individual probably thinks his/her ideas are not stupid and will be offended). So after this discussion, David and I were able to have a very nice conversation about semi-heated topics.
Lost In Translation Two:
David kept calling one of the other males (Jake) in the program a “faggot” almost like a nickname*. Jake and I tried to explain that in the United States that is not a very kind thing to call someone. David thought we were joking and asked, “you mean someone gay wouldn’t refer to themselves as a faggot?” We said no and he apologized profusely.
Lost In Translation Three:
In addition to using “faggot” and “that’s stupid,” David’s phrases were often littered with “fuck” as well. We tried to explain that while people in other countries might not think that “fuck” was that harsh of a word, used inappropriately, “fuck” could offend someone**. He asked, “Wait, so you’re saying that you couldn’t say “fuck” to your mother?” At this point Jake and I turned to each other and, grinning broadly, said “No. We would never say “fuck” to our mothers.” To which David responded, “I mean I don’t say “fuck” in the afternoon.” ……..? Still trying to work this one out.
My favorite David story is less funny, but it much more redeeming for him. On my last night in Ireland, Julie and I decided to make enchiladas (we are southern California Girls born and raised) and we ended up making extra. As David had spent the last few hours chatting with us in the kitchen and had gracefully gifted me some of his marmite (I have had a huge craving for marmite ever since, culminating in a dream that I had that I went to the store to buy marmite, but bought everything else and realized that I had no marmite as I was driving away. My mother is brining some to Madrid next week) we asked if he wanted an enchilada. He was so thrilled that he went around bragging to the other students. He must have told us 18 times how jealous everyone else was. Through the whole dinner he kept a running commentary of compliments. In the end, it was very clear that David’s heart was in the right place simply trapped by the wrong language.
*If you do happen to live in an area that “faggot” is a kind slang word, please forgive me. I am only speaking from my personal experience.
**If the inappropriate use of “fuck” does not offend you and you think I am rather prudish for bringing this up, I am sorry, I guess we are different. This explanation to David was a response to someone getting offended.
Now for B. I know I keep mentioning politics and saying I will talk about them later but realized that this is maybe not the best blog for political/religious commentary. I will be writing on this, but later, most likely in {theinbetweentimesofkendraosburn.blogspot.com}
Another highlight of my trip to Ireland (other than 62 straight hours of Julie!!) included a visit to the Guinness Factory. Julie and I both agreed that it was one of the best “museums” we had ever been to (and this is NOT because we got a free pint at the end… okay maybe this helped a little) because it involved all of your senses. We touched the barley, saw the hops (and attempted to take a jumping picture in front of it—get it, “hops!!”), heard the water (they had this HUGE waterfall inside), smelled the roasting and tasted the end product!! Jules and I were a teeny bit tipsy at 11 in the morning because of the “taste” portion. It was a great way to end very first “viaje” during my Semester Abroad!!
Julie and I with our Guinness Mustaches. Winning.
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