Last year I was bad at updating this blog because I was traveling all the time, going out, hanging out with friends/roommates and always intimidated by how much there was to write that I didn’t even want to start. Well, this year I have been thinking periodically about doing some new entries, but there’s nothing to say! I feel like I need to say all the interesting things I’ve been doing but in actuality there isn’t all that new much to report, but I’ll give it a go…

I guess I’ll start at Halloween, a holiday which every year gets more popular in Spain. I guess only within the last 10-15 years was it adopted here, and now it seems like most children celebrate it in some form, but it’s nothing like the party holiday it has become in the US. Our Halloween is a lot like Carnaval here where people dress up in funny costumes. I went to a friend’s Halloween party on the night before dressed up as an “old basketball player who doesn’t know when to retire” (due to my limited wardrobe) and I won a free drink from the owner of a bar for the best costume, but in all honesty nobody was dressed up on the 30th, even though it was a Friday. For the 31st I was a “Jipi” (hippy) and went out around the centro here.

A few days before Thanksgiving my friend David stopped by Malaga on his European tour and I tried to show him the sights for the limited time we had. Mostly we went around trying or cooking good food and doing loops around the centro. Then on Thanksgiving Day we went to Berlin together and stayed with his friend Maxine who had a nice big place right by the metro. I think this was my first Thanksgiving that I didn’t really celebrate, as we spent all day in transit and ended up eating sushi for Thanksgiving dinner since that was the only thing open by the time we got there. I have a couple friends from Malaga last year who live in Berlin so it was great hanging out with them and catching up a little with familiar faces. Plus, one works at a night club and we literally were VIP all night, with everything we wanted free all night at a pretty upper-class place.

I had spent a week in summer ’05 in Berlin with my cousin so I had already seen most of the major tourist sites, so this time we hit some spots a little off the beaten path. We went to a sweet outside Turkish market with a lot of good food and fresh produce/cheese/bread etc., to the part of the wall still intact as it was 20 years ago, complete with guard tower and “kill zone”, and to an old Stasi prison in the East. This is where all the revolutionaries, authors, musicians, and other “criminals” who were caught speaking against communism were taken. You could be sentenced to prison for telling a joke about communism, writing something privately about the party, or even KNOWING that someone had spoken about fleeing and not having turned the person in. The place was preserved exactly as it was, complete with physical torture devices used in the 50’s when the Soviets were running things. In the more modern sections what struck me most was not just the measures taken to monitor the prisoners, but that there were equal
amounts of supervision taken to keep the guards and other employees in check.
There was NO trust anywhere, and everyone in communist Germany was always sleeping with one eye open, knowing that at any moment they could be being watched. It was my first time leaving Malaga this year and even though I don’t really have the same travel bug as I did the year before, it was nice to get out and feel refreshed.

The next weekend was a 4 day weekend in Spain and I went with my roommate to his hometown called Valverde del Camino in the province of Huelva. We spent the first night in Sevilla with his sister and her boyfriend and went to a couple of flamenco bars that were surprisingly not touristy. The next day we drove to Valverde to his parents' house where all his 4 other siblings had arrived too, with significant others and children to boot. It was a full house, and they really made me feel like I was part of the family. Combined with meeting all Pablo's friends and the small town atmosphere, it was the closest thing to "home" I had felt in a long time. Mannn it made me miss home a lot, but at the same time I soaked up all the love they showed me like it was from my own family.

We went to a party the first night where I wouldn't be surprised if literally everyone between 16-30 in the town was there. Had some amazing home cooked meals, with Pablo's mom cooking for 10 every meal and somehow still whipping out masterpiece after masterpiece. Visited our friend Angus who lives in Ayamonte which is the south westernmost point in spain, so we crossed the river and went to Portugal for a few hours for some pastries and to see the xmas decorations. Went to church TWICE, each mass 1 1/2 - 2 hours where everyone knows each other always so I stood out. Went to "el campo" aka the countryside for Pablo's dad's bday on tuesday where we made a fire and cooked meat over it and had a meal everyone together. That was my favorite part. Going for walks out in the middle of nature with pine trees, animals, farms etc. Felt so much more like home compared to the insane density of where I live and the smells of construction and bus exhaust.

So that's been my life as of late. School is about the same, though the kids seem to behaving themselves worse and worse as the year goes on. I organized a charity drive for xmas with the other teachers. I bought a little xmas tree and made ornaments that had gift ideas on each one, so each teacher takes an ornament and brings in that gift, and then I'll most likely take it to the church next to my apartment to be donated. It was nice having a responsibilty... something to organize, execute, and complete, albeit something relatively small.

In the end, I won't be coming home for xmas break. Now more than ever I REALLY wish I could come home. When I first brought it up to my parents, they both reacted as though it wasn't really the best idea, which kind of turned me off to the idea at first. That, and the money, despite finding the cheapest ticket I had ever found for $580 round trip london-SF. I really wish I woulda just bought the ticket at the onset and not thought about the money or what others thought, because right now the thought of going home for a short visit I think would not only be fun, but actually beneficial to kind of refresh and reflect on how I'm going to approach the rest of this year. Now the tickets have gone up ridiculously, and my grandma in Germany is not doing so well, so I'm going to be going back to Germany again this year for the holidays. Have I ever told you how much I hate money???

So, I know I'm not very good at writing these, but if anyone has any questions, or suggestions, make my day and leave a comment! Oh and I made an album with full size images of some of my favorite pictures of my year here last year... check it out http://picasaweb.google.com/LSpurgeon/SpainAndTravels20082009# PAZ! btw my spanish is now officially on point! feels good...

Still here...

So, I’m back at it. Back in Spain once again… hard to believe. I guess I never exactly imagined myself coming back, and when I was faced with the decision last year, I obviously struggled with the choice, as you may be able to deduce from my final post of year 1. But I made it, and by now I’m pretty settled in.

I had a great summer which was actually a lot more productive than I expected. I worked a little, did a little volunteering, studied for and took the GRE test, caught up with almost everyone I had hoped to, and managed to squeeze in a short road trip to Arizona with Heidi and the Cali coast with Mama. I was just starting to feel VERY settled in at home when…

I got to Spain at the end of September. I had about 24hrs of travel time, solo this year, and it left me a lot of time to meditate on the forthcoming year. The more I thought about it the more I searched for the answer to WHY I was going back, looking for a concrete response but finding nothing satisfactory. I arrived in Malaga exhausted and with little fanfare, but I was hoping moving into my apartment and seeing my roommates would spark some excitement. Well, the apartment was mediocre at best, and while it was amazing seeing my old friends, I still was yearning for a sign that would validate my presence in Spain.

With no phone (I forgot my password to access it), no internet, few friends, and a lost passport (oh yeah, I somehow lost my password sometime between arriving in Malaga and realizing it was missing a few days later) I was rather underwhelmed with year 2 in Spain. It wasn’t that I disliked it, but it was kinda like meh… I guess I’m back now. It wasn’t nearly as new and exciting as it was arriving here last year, which is to be expected, but I couldn’t help thinking why not just be underwhelmed at home? Kinda stupid, but without many distractions I felt myself missing home a lot more than normal.

On top of that, the apartment left much to be desired, although my roommate Lucia who found it seemed to really like it. So my other roommate Pablo and I decided to look around last minute to try to find anything before signing the contract. When we weren’t out looking for places we were at home talking about our options, discussing the faults of our place, and everyone was getting a little frustrated with one another and the topic.

It wasn’t until my first real day of school about a week into my time here that I really found myself happy for the first time. I realized how much I really love my job, the other teachers, and especially the students who I had gotten pretty close to. It’s such a good job and I’ve gotten so much better at it since I first started, that I was truly happy to be there and excited about going back the next day. Work became the highlight of my day, strange as it may sound. With that bright spot in my life, everything else started to warm up a little. I started to get to know my neighborhood a little more, met a few new people, and after finally unpacking my stuff into my apartment (the same one) it seems a bit more livable than before.

My apartment is on a pretty big, busy street called Paseo de Los Tilos which ends at a big traffic circle called Cruz de Humilladero which is quite pretty with a big cross and fountain in the middle. My neighborhood is VERY dense and probably the most “average” neighborhood in Malaga. It has a bunch of supermarkets around, “chino” stores (kinda like dollar stores/liquor stores combined), and most things one would need for a normal life. There is a bus stop right outside my window (our apartment is on the first floor aka 2nd floor in America) and lots of really loud scooters/motorcycles that drive by 24-7 so it makes things a little loud coming from my ancient windows that don’t fully close. There is a big bingo/casino across the street where my roommate found a 50 euro bill on the ground so we walk by every now and then to check. This is also a neighborhood with a lot of immigrants, probably one of the most diverse in Spain, and there are a lot of Moroccans, Nigerians, and other Africans, with stores and restaurants that cater to them. It’s pretty interesting, though it inevitably makes it potentially a bit more dangerous, though I haven’t felt threatened or anything. It’s only about a 7-8 minute walk to the train that I take to work everyday which is nice, but about 25 to the center if we ever want to go out at night or take advantage of the cultural opportunities the center has to offer.

I’m still not exactly thrilled to be here, but I’m extremely comfortable and now that I’m more settled I’m looking for opportunities to keep myself busier ie. another job, sports team, volunteer opportunity. These things seem to always be harder to find about than in the States since we are all so well connected at home, especially on the internet, which it seems Spain is still figuring out slowly but surely.

At the moment I’m debating whether or not to come home for the holidays. I found a pretty cheap flight, but even that is quite a large chunk of money so I’m wondering if it’s worth it. I still miss home a lot and wish I was in better contact. My new phone card I bought has a nice international texting plan for about 12 euro cents per, so look out for a text now and then! Here’s the 411 to contact me:

Paseo de los Tilos 80, 1F, 29006 Malaga, Spain
Telephone: 011 (to dial out from US) 34 (country code) 633189597
E-mail: LSpurgeon@gmail.com
Skype: Liam.Spurgeon

Crossroads

So... The time has come for me to make a decision on whether I am coming back to Malaga next year to teach for another year, or if I am returning home to stay. I have been accepted to work the same position at the same school for 09-10, and have little time to make my decision whether or not I want to accept it. Either way I will be spending at least a couple months at home this summer, but whether or not I return to Spain remains the question. This choice has been eating me up inside for literally the past week straight as I have been desperately trying to make up my mind and I'm SO ready to just have my mind made up and move on to the next step.

I've been talking it out with a few people and it seems like I just keep saying the same arguments, but catch me on a certain day and one side's arguments sound great when the next day they may not be so attractive. In the beginning, I would talk with my buddy Cody and think "hell, why not do it another year? With the crisis and all, it's a pretty sweet job without tons of stress while you live in Spain." Most people I spoke to planned on reapplying at least out of 'security'. Turns out maybe about half of them did, and of those none of them seem like they are going to continue. I still had a very open mind about it, and I selected the options both to remain at my school or be reassigned, but when I received my placement of the same place, I'd say I was fairly disappointed. I wasn't sure if that disappointment was solely for the lack of excitement of somewhere new, or if it was actually for the school itself, so I tried to see if I could change schools. The email I received back was a fairly ambiguous response, essentially saying that I received my wish, which I interpreted as them assigning me a new school and I freaked out. I didn't want to change schools! Soon I learned it meant I received my wish to stay at the same school and it couldn't be changed, which has brought on the new debate.

After long talks with the family, last Monday I went out for a long walk, telling myself I would return with an answer. For hours I was at a stalemate, until on my way back I got some pangs of "what am I really doing here?" I guess I thought about it in terms of moving on in my life - looking for inspiration - which I haven't really been inundated with in the life I live here. I used that as my deciding factor and headed home to inform the parents, feeling only slightly more relieved. However hearing both of their reactions, though supportive, I could tell they weren't thrilled, and it led me to question myself some more. Not that I'm worried they won't accept my decision, but as two of the people who know me the best I trust their reactions and I figured it was worth a closer look.

Tuesday, being at school completely distracted with this decision looming, I began to really start imagining my life there if I continued in Malaga. I was picturing what school would be like and my living situation. I would be way ahead of the game as the year before... already familiar with the area, the job, the students/teachers, and just how things work. Plus, I was way better at Spanish than the year before, and knowing where things are and strategies for finding apartments would put me months ahead of the game compared to the year before. It would allow me to focus on my personal goals for the year such as possibly finding a second job/volunteer opportunity, be better prepared with my class lessons, and maybe even start some sort of hands-on community service program within the school which it greatly lacks. These, and a talk with one of my favorite teachers at school got me excited for the year to come and the possibilities/changes it might bring. In 24 short hours I went from almost decided staying at home to practically decided I was staying.

Boom! Wednesday hit me like a brick wall as I made the mistake of going on AIM (instant messenger) for the first time in forever and started talking with friends... not really for advice or anything, but as I elaborated on my plans to stay and heard about others' plans, the excitement of home came calling back: the whole "unknown" of searching for other jobs or programs at home, essentially searching for a new path and just being surrounded by like-minded individuals going through similar situations. Kind of like the end of college, when everyone around you is moving on to new and different things, and everyone is sending resumes, applying here and there, and sharing info and ideas to get things flowing. Basically, it just brought me down to earth, and here is where I stand now.

Both sides seem equally enticing but for much different reasons. Going home would essentially force me to get a move on with things... start looking for the next step, make calls, send out resumes, do research, etc. Staying in Spain would give me a chance to most importantly continue improving my Spanish which can always get better, while at the same time picking up where I left off at a job I like with good people and in a very enjoyable city, and try to take more advantage of my experience. I almost wish I didn't like it so much here which would make the decision so much easier...

I kind of hoped just writing it down would help make one side more obvious than the other, and here and now it doesn't really seem that way, but maybe to someone reading this they read it a different way. I know neither decision is a bad one, and one thing I do not lack is confidence- especially confidence that either way things will work out for the best. It's just a matter of choosing one side and being content with the decision. Oh maaaaan. I'm ready to start sleeping again.

Get ready for a novel...

Easily one of my favorite songs of all time.
I start these all the same way... but I really need to write here more often so it doesn't build up! I started the last entry with "Travel Update" because I meant to write another one about just life in Malaga, my thoughts and feelings, etc. but never got around to it for one reason or another. Basically, my January consisted of very little activity. Most of my friends from 2008 had left, and my apartment was relatively empty with only Jean Claude from Philadelphia (by way of Ivory Coast), and Angelo from Italy for two weeks. Therefore I found myself freezing in my apartment with not much to do, and ended up spending most of my time with my friends Taylor and Mareike. It was the coldest winter in decades here in Malaga (easily the coldest one I've ever lived in) and there was even a small tornado that destroyed the roof of the bus station, among other damages! No traveling, nothing special really... Went to a soccer game (Malaga, in their first year back in the first division has been the surprise team of the season, and my official favorite team!)

I also had some time to reflect on my time here, and life back at home. Stayed glued to my computer on the unfortunate killing of Oscar Grant, and the equally unfortunate violence that ensued. I was infuriated by the way the police and the powers-that-be handled this situation. In such an absolutely clear-cut violation of the law with indisputable evidence at their disposal, all it would have taken was for BART to release a statement denouncing the officer's actions, an apology or some explanation from the (former) officer, or a warrant for officer Mesehrle and a public image of the officer in handcuffs. He committed a crime and clearly is not a good representative of the police force, so if even one or two of the above had happened, I think a lot of the public outrage would have been squelched, therefore limiting the violent repercussions... not to condone the destruction that occurred, but I'm just saying it could have been preventable. I mean, wouldn't the police want to separate and disassociate themselves from such a person?

Also, watching the inauguration of President Obama was a special thing, even if the speech was dubbed. I knew a lot of people at the event and seeing all the joyous outpouring of support, posters, t-shirts, and art, it is something I will never forget, and possibly never experience again. The feeling of hope was passionately apparent. I remember when I studied abroad in Salamanca I sat next to a guy most days named Guionel from Gabon in Africa. He wore a watch and on the watch face was a picture of his country's president. I remember thinking that was the craziest thing to me, and asking him why on earth he would wear the face of his president on his watch. He explained to me that people loved him and believed in him so much that it wasn't a strange thing. This memory was probably the first thing that came back to me with all the "Obamamania" going around, and thinking about it then, I finally understood.


So finally in mid-Feb. I took a day trip with Taylor to Gibraltar (as in- the rock of...) and it was probably one of my favorite trips. People kind of talked it down as just a touristy destination with really nothing special, but I thought it was so cool! Crazy monkeys, caves, tunnels, and a BEAUTIFUL bay/port with multi colored water and ships waiting to dock. The old town was awesome too, and the people are a crazy mix of spanish and english, speaking both, as well as their own combination-language called "Gibraltarian" (where the word Gibberish comes from). Taylor managed to get her wallet stolen from her backpack by a rogue monkey, and after feeling rather helpless as it probed the contents for food, I finally snatched it back when it wasn't looking! We ate some hearty British pub-food, and got back in time to go out for the night! Not a bad way to spend the day...

Nexxxxt came Semana Blanca (white week holidays) where a group of 5 friends and I took off to Prague, Vienna, and Budapest for about 9 days. It was a pretty intense trip that included sleeping in an airport, train delays, sprinting to catch our bus to Vienna, and lots and lots of snow. Prague had been the city I most wanted to see that I had yet to visit, and it definitely did not disappoint. Already snowing upon arrival, it had a very medieval feel complete with a cramped old town with tall, blackened towers and cobblestone streets. The constant snow only added to the city's beauty, and it only seemed proper to view it blanketed in white as opposed to a warmer time of year. A couple quick highlights: We went to the gorgeous cathedral of St. Vitus on top of the hill in the oldest part of the city, with surrounding palace. This part of Prague dates back much over a thousand years and excavations of the site even revealed pre-historic artifacts, not to mention all the knights, saints, and other historical figures to walk its grounds. We also stopped by the John Lennon wall which during communist-era Prague was a beacon of free speech for a society that lacked a voice. The last day we took a train out to a nearby town that had a chapel completely adorned with the bones of 40,000 bodies buried on the grounds mainly from the Plague and the Hussite wars. Whatever twisted mind came up with the idea probably had some issues, but it was pretty ridiculous to see in person. Other than that we strolled around the main part of town, enjoying the old buildings, winding streets, and 24hour sausage carts. We also got to meet up with my friend Zuzana who I met in Malaga but is from Prague and she took us to a dope, multi-story artsy bar/club. Amazing city.

Next 3 of us continued on to Vienna while the others went straight to Budapest. Definitely did not regret the decision, and despite only spending one night in Austria, Vienna left a real impression. One of my neighbors from Malaga, Max, is from Vienna and took it upon himself to be our official guide for the entire day, and he took us all over!It's streets contrast from Prague in looking considerably more clean, colorful, and downright elegant. There's the palace of the Austro-Hungarian empire and outside is kind of the "national mall" of Austria with all the beautiful government buildings surrounding. In front of the Rathaus (city hall more or less I think) was a Winterfest complete with two ice rinks connected by a series of tracks which Cody and I of course had to try out. That night, Max took us to an AMAZING brewery, probably my favorite beer I've ever had, and some great authentic Austrian food (I had the goulash). That night he directed us towards this bar district that was underneath the metro line: within each small arch in the metro supports was a different bar. Overall really cool scene, and lots of fun in Austria!

Finally we arrived in Budapest, which turned out to be much bigger than I expected. I honestly didn't really do my homework on the city, because I found myself a bit overwhelmed at everything there was to see! We stayed in Pest, and walked to the Pest Castle, a disneyland-esque little castle beautifully decorated by the recent snowfall. From there we went to the bathhouse and lounged for hours in the outdoor baths in the same water where nobility used to bathe years ago (...ugh) We saw the Hungarian orchestra perform at the pretty opera house, went to a few spots to eat/drink with Cody's old roommate Dora who's from Budapest, and basically got the full Pest tour the first couple days. Then we crossed the Duna river over to Buda and explored the cathedral, palace, and even navigagted the old underground labyrinth by gaslamp beneath all of Buda's hillside monuments. Everywhere you turned was another breathtaking view, and the Parliament building on the eastern shore was a centerpiece for almost every photo. I don't know if Budapest was my favorite of the three cities, but definitely was the most impressive after coming in with basically no expectations.

TRAVEL UPDATE

TRAVEL UPDATE

Mannn... it's taken me so long to update this because just knowing how much there is to report is very daunting, so I will try to keep it semi-concise as I always end up writing too much once I actually sit down to it. The last 6 weeks of 2008 took me all over the place, half because I hadn't done as much traveling yet as I'd hoped, and half because there just wasn't much left around Malaga when my roommates left, so some friends and I took off!

Barcelona round two was another success (and no cameras got stolen, but probably because I didn't have one anymore...shit!) Max's dad Carlo was visiting him also, so since I know Carlo too we hung out a bit, doing a little exploring of the city including Parque Güell, easily the coolest park I've seen in Spain. After the first couple days Max got pretty sick, so most of my activity was spent with his roommates and one of Heidi's (my sister's) friends from home, Delphino, who had been living there for 2 years teaching and playing basketball. Despite never having met him before, he was super hospitable and invited me with him and his friends to all his "goodbye" events since he was leaving for home that weekend after 2 years. The night life is so dope too, and actually has real clubs, not these miniature bars with a 5'x5' dance floor like the "discotecas" in Malaga. I don't know what it is about the city, but I just love it there. It's a big city but doesn't have the impersonal feel of Madrid, and despite a truly international, metropolitan atmosphere, it still has a culture truly its own that meshes seamlessly with all the diverse neighborhoods and tourists. There are still a few things I would have liked to see while I was there, but since I just love being there so much, just kickin it and soaking in the city, it was still an incredible trip. The biggest highlight was easily all the amazing, diverse people I met. Who knows, there might be more Barca in my future........?

Next was Tanger, Morocco, where we were a group of 14! Two other Americans (Cody & Taylor), German friend Mareike, and then 10 Spanish people from
Sevilla/Huelva, two places with notoriously "strong" (aka bad) Spanish. It was really just as much of a cultural experience being with the 10 of them the whole time, trying to decipher what they were saying, amidst the combined syllables, absence of S's, and abundance of Andalucian slang. At night we didn't do anything but all gather in one room, which never took long for someone to take out the guitar and start to play. Ummm... everyone of them seemed to be a professional guitar player, jesus! They were soo good, especially one guy who knew a lot of gitano songs with a real spanish-guitar flavor of playing, and all 10 of them would sing along. Really cool experience.

We got there on a ferry from Algeciras to Tanger, which was a fun way to see both coastlines (but the way back we were delayed heavily and ended up having a bit of an adventure), and with the ferry round trip, two nights in the hotel, and transportation from the port to the hotel and back, it was only 65 euros! But we ended up doing a couple excursions which came out to be another 35 euros or so altogether, although everything was negotiable and we got "discounts" on everything we did. First day we explored Tanger, first taking a bus all along the outskirts, including the beach which was my favorite part. I mean, it looked like an awesome beach, very picturesque etc, but the part I loved best is it was so underdeveloped. Like, here in Spain along the coast we have beautiful beaches, but they are literally built up with apartment buildings and hotels until there could be no more. But in Tanger, the seeds of development look like they had just been planted. We then toured the old town, which in reality meant being dragged to the different stores of our guide's homies, trying to make herself a commission while we paid too much money for poor quality merchandise. The next day we went to Chefchaouen, a tiny town up in the mountains painted blue to ward off mosquitos...... and curses. It was a cute little town set on the hillside, and seemed to be pretty bustling. Our guide there was a hilarious little dwarf-looking man who would just yell out HABIBIIIIII!! (kind of like "dear" or "my love" in English) when ever someone got lost in the town's thin, winding streets. A little more of the friend-store tour like in Tanger, but we also had some freetime which was cool just to walk around and check out the city a little more. Last day we went to Asilah which was also pretty, but more little shops like the old parts of the other two, and nothing too notable. It was pretty tough at times trying to get around with so many people, but the little taste I got of the country was really intriguing and I am looking forward to being able to check out some new parts. *Oh and I forgot to mention, I got to ride a camel! But it was literally like 2 minutes around in a circle like a pony at a kids birthday party hahah. Oh well, it was 1 euro!

Finally, I got to go to Germany for two weeks during my Christmas vacation! It was so nice to finally see some familiar faces, and since I wasn't going to be going home, being with family was really comforting. I spent the first week with my uncle Bernhard in his small town of Waldshut-Tiengen, on the Swiss border. Such a nice old-school town with a small pedestrian center with some nice stores. For the two days that he had to work while I was there, I explored the town and shopped, then went to Basel, Switzerland by train. Basel was bbeeaauuttiiffuull, set right along the Rhein river. It was small enough to see in one day, and pretty relaxing to just stroll around, checking out the christmas decorations and old churches. The two pictures ---> are from Basel. Other than that, I had a (semi) white Christmas! It was freezing the whole time I was there, and while it hadn't snowed for a few days, there was still a little bit of snow on the ground, so I'll claim it was white! Basically the other days all we did were take GORGEOUS drives up into the black forest, the surrounding mountains, and various landmarks within Germany and Switzerland. It's too much to comment on, so I will just describe one. The end of our first road trip, it was close to getting dark, so we cut our trip short and went to an old church/monastery/insane asylum on a small island on the river. As dusk hit, we wandered behind the church where there was a tiny graveyard alongside a one-room chapel, sticking out on a point on the flat island. We walked along a small path along the side to the back, only to find two people saying a prayer and releasing a single floating candle into the still water. I mean, it sounds like I'm making this up but it was straight out of a poem... or at least a Bob Ross painting. But it was such a beautiful image. The sun had been down for a while and the sky was a dark blue, and we just stood there and watched the candle as it floated into the middle of the river, with thick, gray forest lining either side of the river all the way to the shore, their red leaves still covering the ground. I was standing there wishing I had a camera, but now I think I like it better as just a memory. As a traveler I feel the need to take a picture of everything, but I'm starting to figure out not everything needs to be remembered in a photograph. For me, this one was just as meaningful without.

So my fingers are starting to hurt, and I realize I get carried away with typing too much, so I need to wrap it up. Next I went to my grandma's (Nanna) in a small Bavarian town called Prien for the next few days. She lives in an old folks home and these days doesn't really get out much at all, so my time was spent soaking in as much family history as possible from her, and we had some truly meaningful conversations together about life in general. She has an amazing outlook on life, and still has a youthful mentality. Next, went to Heidelberg to hang out with my cousin Patrick. We basically didn't do anything. Uh. Watched dvds. That's about it hahaha. But it was actually really nice too, just to kick it, not be walking all day seeing sites, considering I had been there a bunch of times before. He's just a chill dude and we get along really well so it was so relaxing and great just to hang out with my cousin for once!!