i made it...

I'm officially back in san francisco. despite my 3:30 am insomnia/jetlag combo, it
...SCRATCH THAT...
that was from a couple days ago when my sleep deprived brain couldn't fit together more than two sentences, let alone elaborate on my feelings in any detailed manner beyond "food" or "shower". or press save now instead of publish post, which apparently i did by accident.

it's true, i'm back and it feels great. although i very much miss my little pueblo of granada. in comparison, san francisco is loud, dirty and full of people (ironically a TON of europeans). made the mistake of trying to run an errand downtown (had john drop me at union square) and talk about your "welcome to america" clusterf**k. and yes, i totally forgot about the homeless problem (and here i was thinking that the shoeless hippies and street performers were an irritation). oh it was awful, and loud, and pushy. i ducked into my fav union square hangout, urban outfitters, for a brief moment of zen, only to find it equally as foreign, loud complete with headsplitting techno soundtrack. distraught, i hurriedly found my way to the muni (of course, my fav n line) and realized that compared to my lovely microbuses of the albaicin, the muni is slow, inefficient and downright gross (insert horrifying memories of being puked on two years ago, what was i thinking?).

suffice it to say, the transition is not going as smoothly as planned. although i can freely admit that i am eating EVERYTHING delicious under the sun. and yes, yes i did have my burrito. it was good, but in my granadinian naivete i thought to walk up twin peaks to john's house with my (super chicken with two types of salsa) burrito before enjoying it (and hills here have become mountains in my absence...of course in granada i lived on a mountain that they called a hill, so i'm thinking it's only a matter of perspective that will revert back to normal in a few days). upon my arrival it was no longer melty delicious, although who can really complain about a glorious mission burrito after weeks and weeks of mexicanless suffering? not i. am also steadfastly finishing off leftovers from the life-altering pork posole john whipped up upon my arrival. all that's missing is a round table pizza then i will be BACK (culinarily speaking, of not wholly otherwise).

my only other complaint is that my beautifully fluid spanish sounds like gibberish to everyone here. john continually asks me to repeat what i'm saying because the spanish words don't translate (granted he speaks country bumpkin mexican so he shouldn't throw stones), but still, i find it immensely frustrating. alas, who am i to complain, as i have spent the last few days wandering around this strange city, eating, and soaking up that good old fashioned american television. three more days of adjustment before i am thrown back into the real world of job searches, interviews, doctor's appointments, haircuts, nyu advisor appointments, class registration, and general responsibilities. until then i am on vacation and i feel no shame sitting in my fuzzy robe until the late afternoon. it's the only way i can figure out how to let go of my spanish zen (which took me months to get really practiced) and revert back to my busy, need-to-have-something-to-do self. although i did take an old balsamic vinegar bottle i found in the apartment and use some of my spanish olive oil to make spicy pepper olive oil (for my round table, obvs). that's a project right?...let's just leave it at, i'm coming back, slowly but surely...

Domingo de Ramos

sad to say goodbye to granada and my little piso but not nearly as sad as i thought. and of course had a great last day of school...jamie and i made surprise guacamole from our class, then we had our culture class at my fav, horno de paquito, so not only did i get a last go at my papas bravas but i also got to say goodbye to the silverfox of a waiter, alfredo.

first step to home: sevilla. more beautiful than i would've expected, and remember how i keep saying i haven't found the spanish men to my liking? well, that's because i hadn't been to sevilla. wow, they are tan, they are manly and beautiful, they make eye contact. it's working for me. am having so much fun eating my way through sevilla: of course fried gambas etc in paper cones, espinacas garbanzo, boquerones en vinaigre, tortillitas de camarones, rabo de toro...you name it i've eaten it.

so today is domingo de ramos (our palm sunday but hear they use olive branches instead of palm fronds), the first official day of semana santa. you know what that means: processionals in the streets, day and night, incense, huge gold floats of the resurrection of christ, etc etc. not to mention the hooded kkk figures. i have yet to verify this fact but i cannot believe that they kkk and the nazarenos of semana santa just happen to have the same pointy hoods and robes without having some sort of connection. my theory is that the kkk used this idea (which represents penitence in semana santa) because it is a religious symbol, to exemplify their religious purity (whilst practicing racist atrocities--ah, the things that are done in the name of god)...but that's just what i think. so yes, the hood thing is creepy. and honestly the whole procession thing is a little dull. its very slow, there's usually a band (the music i'll admit is awesome and religious and intense) and then a bunch of hooded figures (black, white, green, blue, purple), some with shoes some without. they walk this huge parade route and each church brotherhood has two or three floats and they carry on this walk. the procession for each church takes about 4-5 hours and you can imagine the logistical mess this is for anybody wanting to explore the city on foot....half the streets are blockaded...and the entire world is out spectating.
but the best part, at least so far, is that EVERYBODY is done up in their sunday "go-to-meeting" clothes. it's so fabulous. men in suits and ties, women in dresses and heels...even the little kids: little boys in knee socks, shorts with suspenders over collared shirts, and little girls with dresses and baby baleros with bows in their hair. adorable. cant get enough.
and although i'm exhausted from walking all over today, lucky for me there is live coverage of the procession from key points...on five tv channels so it's pretty hard to miss...even while i'm taking my siesta.

interesting cultural moment to be sure, but this is supposed to be the slowest day of the week...glad we are headed to madrid tomorrow, not sure i could handle a whole week of this type of catholic intensity...wednesday the processions go all night. luckily by wednesday i will be eating burritos and enjoying the sf skyline from the couch....