Reading Lolita in Madrid

I'm not reading Lolita in Madrid, but I keep thinking about Vladamir Nabokov.

At some point I heard that English was Nabokov's second language, after Russian, and that Lolita is supposed to be one of the best books written by someone in their non-native language. I've never really appreciated what that means. It's really hard. My thoughts in Spanish are super limited.

I've got some mad respect for Nabokov.

What a baller.

Blanquita strikes back

Since she seemed to be a fan favorite, here are some more pictures of my sister.

In the kitchen (allowed):

In the bathroom (not allowed):

In her dog bed (this is where she's supposed to be):

She doesn't really like having her picture taken.

English test

Check out this worksheet I made for the students in my English class:

I definitely screwed up on number 3, part 1:

3. George and Bill _____ tall.

a. am not

b. is not

c. not are

d. am not

Disaster averted

So, I did a really bad job of updating last week, because I had been really busy getting my stuff together. I was all ready on Friday when I managed to spill a cup of water on my keyboard. I left it out to dry all weekend, and prepared myself for having no computer (Oh, the horror). It appears, however, to be perfectly fine and dry and functioning normally.

I think my prayer really worked (Dear G0d, I know that there is a lot of war and hunger and injustice in the world, but if you could spare a second please fix my computer. Thank you.)

I have several exciting posts ready, so stay tuned. Also, I think I'm getting sick again. At least I'll have a use for my 6 packs of scented tissues.

Los deberes

I haven't done anything lately because I've been doing my homework (or, rather, sitting at my desk trying to get to doing my homework)

I thought I would give you a picture of the really exciting place I've been doing all of this exciting stuff. I'm just as neat in Spain as I am in the US.

Sidenote: They taught us in school that "estoy emocionada/o" means "I'm excited", so of course we've all been using it, because we're really excited to be here. Apparently, not only does no one really say "emocionado/a" but also there's no phrase that fits well. Castellano wants me to reign in my enthusiasm 10 notches.

Lo Monstre

Today was one of those beautiful cloudless days that makes you think of Stanford:

So I took advantage and walked about an hour to the Reina Sofia, which is free for students. I hung out with Picasso and Dalí and found what may be my favorite piece of art ever:It's called "Life: Curve N° 1 Ian Flemming" and I have no idea whats going on, but it's awesome.

A close up of the upper left hand corner:

Then I went to the free circus thing happening outside. It had a strange dinosaur monster that walked through the audience spitting smoke, water, and feathers:


There was also a low budget cirque-du-soleil like thing with acrobats that "cuestiona el abuso del poder" (questions the abuse of power):

(They're spinning in the air. I'm not sure that's clear)

Afterward Christiane and I went to my new favorite place in the entire world. Its about 3 blocks from my house and its called Formentor and its a pasteleria that makes, among other deliciousness, Tortel:
(image courtesy of the internet)

It's filled with what Wikipedia tells me is jam from Siam pumpkin. All I know is it's delicious. Think apple pie filling, but better. I have to figure out a way to get them in the states.

When I finished writing this, I went back through to edit and had to delete every time I used the word "awesome". I think it was 5 times.

An incomplete collection of things I have purchased in Madrid:

Top row, from the left: purse from MiSaKo, Vodafone, various beauty supplies.

Middle row, from the left: Flamenco shoes (shout out to my mother, who wouldn't let me get them in high school), flats from Sfera, books for school and fun, earrings from El Rastro (the huge flea market here), notebook staring Orlando Bloom.

Bottom: Flumil (was for my cold and did it's job well enough so that I still have tons) printed fragranced tissues (another cold relic) and hair straightener (don't look at me like that).

Obviously this picture excludes all things edible, which make up the vast majority of my purchases.