Prague: The Eternal Charm of Bohemia

One of the most impressive trips in my life. Not only because the places were visually spectacular with the most romantic atmosphere, but I also had a great travel companion; my japanese friend Takeshi!

If you are looking for places where you can spend some unforgettable romantic time with the love of your life (or even lover!), this is the place for you!

Although overly crowded and very touristic, Prague still maintains its mystic charm and constantly put those who have crossed its threshold under its enchanting spell of old age.

Nostalgic, ancient and artistically beautiful, Prague will immediately take you to the glorious past of Holy Roman Empire and Bohemia Dynasty. While strolling along the streets in the old town, I couldn't help imagining what the lives of the czechs had been like in these exact same streets hundreds of years ago.

Autumn is, in my opinion, the best time for such romantic visit as you won't miss a view of Prague covered under the misty morning veil. Among the fascinating features you'll find nice people with their hearty smiles, traditional czech dishes that will satisfy all needs and palates, shining bohemian crystal arts, classical concerts in medieval churches and marrionette theatres. Truly impressive.

Here are some of the touristic, yet charming, sites we visited.



Old Town Square; this one of the most beautiful spots in the city is situated in a labyrantine part of the old city. Just follow other tourists to get there :)



The famous ever-crowded Charles Bridge.



Bridges of Prague under the shroud of morning mist. This photo was taken on the belfry of St.Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle; after climbing 284 steps, nothing was better than losing yourself in the panoramic view of Prague.



A view of Prague Castle and St.Vitus Cathedral from the other side of Vltava river. How come it was defined as a castle, I hardly have no idea, but it didn't seem to me in any way like a fort or castle at all.



Wenceslas Square; not so much a square as a boulevard running through the heart of the city. From this point on, you can find almost everything to satisfy your shopaholic need and materialist impulses, be it clothes, food, drinks, fashion accessories or adult entertainment.

Nevertheless, Prague is unfortunately not blessed with the kind of endless night life you can find in Madrid. Don't expect hundred of people roaming the nocturnal streets here in Prague. Every bar and club opens as VERY early as it closes.

After spending some good time in a (literally) underground gay bar, we made ourselves scarce at around 2 o'clock (yep, very early) since there was hardly anyone there! We then spent about an hour searching for other interesting places, but nothing. We got so desperate that we decided to take a look at an erotic bar, which was not at all of our taste. A sign read "Body painting, oil massage, striptease, blah blah bla, ring the bell if you want to enter" let us know that was not absolutely a place for us.

We were hesitantly discussing whether to enter...but not for long. Suddenly the bell burst out ringing and the gate was automatically opened welcoming us in! Surprised by the fact that we were being observed from a CCTV hidden in the area, we broke into a run!!! Takeshi first, followed by me at a lightning speed. In less than 5 seconds, we were two blocks away from that place! I roared with laughter! I didn't know why we had just bolted away like that! It was purely instictive. I was damn surprised by that bloody bell. And realising that the guy who was watching us through the camera must be killing himself laughing even made it harder for me to suppress my delirious laughter.

After the runaway, we spent more or less half an hour more roaming the streets in hope of finding some good warm place to fit in. No luck. Just some seemingly ordinary bars and cafés. That was when we decided to go back to the hostel to take a rest. Strangely, we were the first ones who got to the room, other four roommates were still out there, enjoying the amazing night life of Prague. Well, they were lucky, at least they had a place to enjoy. I made a promise to myself that from then on, I would make a very good preparation in the next trip if I wanted to lounge around some nice places (with some nice guys, if possible). :)

We also had a chance to go on an excursion to Cesky Krumlov, an EXTREMELY beautiful small town in the south. The town itself was worth seeing. The castle and the baroque theatre were totally impressive and well-preserved. Describing it here would only be an insult to its beauty since my narrative ability is not competent enough to convey all the breath-taking beauty of the town. That's why I will leave it to you to see it for yourself. Just go.

All in all, Czech Republic is a place that you can't miss. Although much less visited than Vienna, Munich or Paris, it isn't in any way less charming than any other european cities. Add it into your list, and you will never regret.

Life is a Roller Coaster

Sometimes (and somehow) your life just gets unexpectedly out of control. It suddenly decides to kick you out and take the rein itself, whether for the better or the worse.

Recently mine has just taken its authority over my well-planned lifestyle. The results were simple; everything was screwed up.

From time to time, I ponder on the seemingly predetermined pattern of life and still marvel at how it works.

One fine day it gets so high that you feel reaching for a star is more than possible, then, unexpectedly and without warning, the sky abruptly comes falling down over you and the earth is torn apart as if to swallow you down its bowels. While in such a never-ending torment, out of chaos comes a promising sunshine that will wash away all the menacing darkness and light up your day once more. And life gets into its normal track and goes on as if nothing had happened before.

Such was my life two weeks ago.

After spending days and nights worrying about the renewal process of my resident's card and putting my future tasks into their priority, I got inevitably stressed without knowing that my physical condition was worsening. I could sleep only 6 hours a night during the whole 2 weeks, which totally drained me out. It was topped off by the great labor of the removal and installment stuff.

Then my poor abused body couldn't stand it anymore and decided to manifest its chemical rebellion. Rashes began to pop up on my ankles and made their way up to my thighs, my arms, my hands, my neck, my ears and finally around my lips!

It was hives, or officially named Urticaria. It is supposed to appear as an allergic reaction to some chemical or biological substances such as pills, food or even drinks. However, in my case, it was probably because of the stress itself.

That was what I was informed of after waiting in an emergency unit for 3 hours. Ironically, the waiting room was called "Box rápido" which was not, in any bloody way, fast at all. Three bloody hours of waiting! With that itchy feeling all over your body! Can you imagine that? That was (and still is) how thing works here in Spain. If you don't drop dead or stop breathing right there at the feet of a doctor, just queue up and wait for your damn turn, as you usually do in the bank!

I had to strictly take anti-histamine pills which caused drowsiness for over two weeks; the greatest of all torments. I could hardly concentrate on anything and spent all day yawning and dozing, be it at work or in metro.

To make matters worse, I had a paid translation to finish in only 3 days, of course, under the effects of the pills. Besides the natural linguistic difficulties of the text itself, my project was hampered by a night-time gran fiesta that an apartment mate of mine threw on Saturday. So I had to put up with the loud music, thunderous laughs and boisterous conversation and resisted all the urge to pull my hair and let out a big scream and jump out of the window.

But precisely that night, I finished that damn traslation. As soon as I lay down, I hardly noticed anything around me and fell asleep so fast like I had never done before.

It was the best sleep I could ever get during that period.

From then on, everything seemed to get back to its normal course. I had renewed my card. The symtoms were gone. I began to take pills less frequently and had more time to finish any pending minor tasks that had been set aside, or even to prepare myself for the upcoming trip to Prague!

That was when I started thinking about how mysterious life can be. It sure is a roller coaster. Some times you reach the peak and stay there for a long long time, the others you go down (or are pushed down) nosedive to the bottomless void. It is always like this; up and down alternately, contrary to my previous pessimistic perception (Yeah, I used to think that these bloody series of unfortunate events would never end. What a shame, wasn't it?).

And so was the enlightening lesson I got.

Until next time, hold on to the optimistic side of yours and never let it go away.

Out of Africa

After a long hard day of removal, nothing is better for me than sitting in my own empty room and writing my last tribute to my second home of Nuestra Señora de Africa...

Without the ear piercing rock music my stupid spanish neighbour is playing right now, I would surely have more imagination and concentration to summon the nostalgic sad feeling that may inspire memorable heart-breaking phrases like "I can't bear the thought of parting from my beloved Africa".

On the (extreme) contrary, I am so desperate to get out of this greenish student's residence.

Not that I don't bring any good memory during my stay with me, but the present is so unbearable that I just can't wait to try living a real life out there where people and things are different.

By the word "different" I mean...

- No more stupid spanish brats (oh yeah, I'm being a racist here, but mind you, it's not my fault!) who played music so loud as if their parents had never educated them before.

- No more itchy feeling while entering the Comedor. Lately when most of my friends have gone, I feel quite uneasy while walking through the canteen's door and most people turn their head to observe me (actually, they are observing whoever making the entrance, dramatic or not). I won't waste a paragraph to analyse the cause of my uneasiness here since it is obviously about unexplicable emotional thing.

- No more dealing with people that I don't get along well (at least for my part). Well, to tell you the truth, this problem never has a permanent solution. Everywhere you go, you are destined to bump into someone who has a different tune. But for me, the problem in Africa has at last come to an end. Phew!

- No more bloody rules that sometimes make things more complicated and turn the residence into a prison.

- No more dealing with the brain-dead Residence's Management Team. Bye bye Fabien!!! Hope you get lots of praises from future students!

You may think that I'm being so damn negative here (as always). To counterbalance all the cons above, I have squeezed my brain (till the last drop, of course) for some good things about Africa as well!!!

Here are what I have found out...

- I have had chances to meet interesting (and not so interesting) people who gave me their friendship and the opportunity to widen my perspective and taught me about tolerance. Thanks guys! You really teach me a lot, though unconsciously. If you spent time with me here in Africa and are reading this, there's no doubt that the message is for you :)

- Africa has become a crucial turing point in the road of learning for me. Thanks to everybody who was, has been and is part of it and has accompanied me along the way.

- My spanish has improved dramatically since I arrived because of the conversations in the Comedor and the cafes. Living here did help me master my language in various topics and fields.

- I can now say that I have eaten (almost) all the possible traditional spanish food. It's like a one-stop eatting experience; stay here for one year and you will taste it all! (ahem, I'm not talking about the food quality though, just want to keep things nice).

- The staff such as cleaning ladies, Carmen and Luisa in the laundry, Felipe and Juani (and Jimbo the dog) at the reception and José the tecnician are all very nice. Hate to say goodbye to them.

- Swimming time in summer! Ooooh, I really LOVE that. And it's free! (Beware! The water is so damn cold that you may get cramp easily within minutes).

- My ears have never had a rest here due to the constant gossips that fly here and there through out the building (but I has always been the last one to know about the most interesting gossips! I don't understand why!)

- If you are a dude, you have quite a chance to enjoy pretty pleasurable sights ( which I didn't) provided that there are so many girls here. Beautiful, cute, model-style, fashion conscious, conservative, liberal, humourous, talkative, showy, bitchy, sensual...You've got it all for you.

- But since I'm not in for girl watching (or hunting), I have to talk about guys instead, heheh. The point is that there are (and were) quite a few attractive guys here, so I can't say much about that; Not that they are unattractive, but the type I like can not be found here... until recently :) when new (and young!) spanish students came. That's really a pity for me to leave Africa. I can even see that some of 'em are gay and can be good prospects for a "my partner" position. Heheheh. Anyone interested?

Well, I think that's all I can think of. Too bad that I can't make it more sensational so that it can jerk some tear out of you.

After this incredible two full years which have passed so fast, it is finally a time to say goodbye to Africa which is and will be one of the most impressive memories in my life.

As everyone says "Life goes on", mine also does the same, although I don't even know exactly where I am heading. But surely at some point and some time in the future, along the road, I will look back and think of you and the good time we all spent in Africa. And in this way, I will be able to smile and keep going on again until I reach my destination.

Bye bye Africa.

Telón.

Chronicles of Mod : Invading Edinburgh

I loved Edinburgh! Even more than London, I can say. It was in no way as vibrant as glamourous London but it was so enchanting that I promised myself that someday I would go back. A scottish friend of Now's told us that we were partly right; all the year round Edinburgh was normally covered with sheet of rain, fog, and even snow. We were too lucky to experience sunny Edinburgh amidst the hightlights of "Fringe" Music and Shows Festival, celebrated annually in summer.

Tourists from all over the world gathered there to witness the scottish summer liveliness. Shows, theatres, street cultural presentaions were available all day long. We didn't have a chance to get to see any except those in the streets though.

One thing I liked here was that, according to the laws, nobody was allowed to smoke inside the building, be it pubs or clubs. Well, that might sound a bit pathetic for someone, especially for the spaniards, but I loved that!

I "point-and-shoot" the above scene while strolling along The Royal Mile, the long main street in the Old Town which led from the Castle Hill to the Holyrood Palace down below. Most of the activities were taken place here.



This photo was taken at the new town of Edinburgh. The old one was situated on the hill, from which we could see all the new town and the sea beyond. From here, the new neighbourhood, we wormed our way to a bar&restaurant on the top floor of a building from which we were able to admire the majestic beauty of the Castle bathed in the topaz light of sunset while sipping coffee. :) One of the best moment of the trip.



A view from the terrace where we had coffee with Lucy, Now's friend.



To end the trip, we walked down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Park. Unfortunately, we didn't reach the Holyrood Palace in time, it was closed then when we arrived. We walked up (and around) a giant rock mountain till sunset.



Edinburgh from afar.

Despite all the fuss about security threat in airports, 3-hour delayed flight, hair-raising takeoffs and landings from EasyJet, lost baggage (Now's baggage, with my nutcracker inside), immigration problem (In Barajas, Madrid: The officer told me that I didn't look like the photo in MY passport and didn't want to let me pass, SOB!) and etc., this trip had taken its top position on my list already. One of the most impressive and unforgettable trip ever!

All of this would never have happened without the great travel companion like Now :)

Chronicles of Mod : Invading London II

After satisfying our curiosity over the legendary Tower of London and admiring the Coronation Crown and the Sceptre, embedded with the grand diamonds Cullinan I and II, and the rest of the priceless Royal Jewelry, we wormed our way passing the turrets and towers out to the bank of the Thames.



Changing of the guards. It was, for me, the same as other changing of guards in any cities (e.g. Coppenhagen or Athens). The only differece was that lovely (yet wierd) red outfits with furry black hat (or something alike, I don't know what it's called). The Changing here was a lil' more fancifully and musically performed than any other places. It would have been more impressive if less crowded and we didn't have to wait an hour before "the show" begun.



Hyde Park. Surprisingly one of the place I like most. I parted from Now after visiting Buckingham Palace to take a walk in this enormous public park. The day was gloomy, but I felt at ease and relaxed while walking along the serene lake Serpentine, habitat and sanctuary of dozen of species of birds and fish.



Portobello Market is a crowded open-air market in which you can lose yourself through thousand pieces of antiques and trinkets or even street gastronomy. Be there early on Saturday's morning to make the most out of it. A place for tourists and local people alike. By the way, Now found the same skirt she bought in Bangkok at a shop here, priced at 30 pounds. The one sold in Bkk cost her like 3 pounds though. Heheh.



Sincerely another destination that I felt obliged to visit. I like museums in general, despite of their size. But I have a real phobia for overcrowded museums ablaze with camera flash, in which all you have to do is make your way through tourist-turned-photographers to get a glimpse of relics. As chaotic as Le Louvre, British Museum is really a great place to explore the history of mankind, if you have lots of time, of course. The Asian Collection is the mutt's nut! Don't miss it. :)

Chronicles of Mod : Invading London I

From August 9th till 16th, Now and I had a fascinating and exciting trip to London and Edinburgh.

The weather was moderately cool and partly sunny. Thanks to the BBC's weather forecast that helped me in preparing a suitable collection of clothes :)

For someone who has grown up in an urban environment like me, I fell in love immediately with the Metropolitan as we walked through streets from St.Paul to Covent Garden (Whoops, that was quite a long long way!). Trees and flowers were everywhere and this was what we couldn't find in Madrid. At first I couldn't imagine why so many people wanted to live in London, but then and there the same desire and impression were developing inside me.

Too bad, I couldn't see a picture of me living there. Everything looked (and was) expensive, but the quality was equally high as well (At this, I give a standing ovation to the packaged food in supermarkets like Marks & Spencer or cafes like E.A.T. and Vita. I have never found any food so fancifully decorated and packaged like here! Once there, I felt the urge to buy and eat them all. Yummy).

Here are some of the places we visited during our first four days of the trip before heading to Edinburgh, Scotland.

Standing on Millennium Bridge, overlooking Thames and series of bridges along the grand river. Our hostel is only five minutes away from this spot.


St.Paul Cathedral has the second largest dome in the world, after St.Peter in Vatican City. We stayed in a hostel near by, feeling closer to the Celestial Being than ever! Imagine the chimes eminating from the belfry every morning and evening, isn't that cool?!? :)



Westminster Abbey, crowded as always. Impressive in its majestic grandiosity and numerous tombs of the fallen British personages, including Elizabeth I, her sister Mary, Shakespear and Churchill.



Chinatown...I LOVE this place! A Mecca for food lovers (mostly with low budget). We went there almost every day to fill our starving belly with all the fanciful ranges of oriental and international selection. Yummy.

We felt at ease here in London. Being able to witness the multicultural intergrity of the Metropolitan was quite comforting. Racism was notably less practised and observed there. It is something that Madrid is still lack of.


Walking from the Abbey to the Parliament, we stopped for a serie of photos of Big Ben and then continued along the street to the Westminster Bridge which led us to the other side of the bank. From there the view was spectacular. Before riding the Millenium Wheel, I felt obliged to take a typical photo with this beautiful gothic parliament :)

More photos and stories are still coming. So, stay tuned!

To Stay or Not to Stay

There's only 1 month left and my happy-time scholarship will automatically cease its life cycle, which means...

No more 600E per month.
No more super shopping experience in H&M, SPF, Zara, Principe Pio, etc.
No more european trips every now and then.
No more Colegio de Nuestra Senora de Africa (And with this, no more badly-cooked and hardly edible food in the Comedor as well! Yeah! Finally!!!)
No more first quality health insurance from DKV
Etc.

Soon my student/resident card will expire and I'm bound to head home to start my life anew there.

I DON'T WANNA GO HOME!!!

Well, not yet, at the moment.

Come on, I don't plan to stick here forever with the bulls and the flamenco dancers (spanish dudes are an exception, of course!)

Despite lots of things to take into consideration, I've finally come to a well-thought conclusion (Which means...even my family can't change my mind, heheh)

For the moment, I'm gonna stay in Madrid till April, guyssssssssssss!!! Hurraaaahh, good news for those who reside in Madrid, or even in Barcelona (I don't forget u Evans y Bong!) and supposedly bad news for my buddies in Bangkok (Don't cry! I'll be there in the end, my whole life is on that track, not here).

Let's see if I can make it through until April (or even further). Becuz I don't really know when my company will kick me out, in case their well-planned million-euro project fail (Ojala no!).

And here come the time and opportunity to...

Live in a shared apartment with my lovely austrian lost love Trixi :P and the gang.
Work, work & work (I don't complain about this though. Actually I appreciate that I've GOT one).
Cook what I really wanna eat (and learn how to!!!) :D
Do the cleaning.
Do the laundry.
Hang out with friends freely whenever I WANT without having to go back to the Colegio in time for a meal.
And much more....

It's about time to live a real life here. Despite the two years that I have been here, I feel like I'm as inexperienced as those who have just arrive yesterday in term of living on one's own. It's like I have not really been living in Madrid (like all others) at all because things in Africa is too systematically prepared and organized. Everything is too easy. I can get (almost) everything without efforts here.

As for those who are in Bangkok, they can surely wait for me. Hey! I'm not taking u guys for granted, but I'm just trying to say it's just 6 months or a year more! And we'll have quite plenty of time to hang out together! (Including u, Patto!)

Until next time, plan your life well and tell me about it!

Measures to take when confronting an emotionally devastating individual.

One of the highlights of this year: I had a chance to know a person (anonimously reffered to as "Person" in the following) who at first seemed energetically active and optimistic, but it was not that way when time proved the underlying true nature within Person.

Have you ever felt extremely depressed when having a supposedly light chit-chat with someone?

Have you ever felt degraded when listening to somebody's comments or stories?

Have you ever felt meticulously, though subtly, interrogated in such conversation?

Have you ever got bored of listening to the same repeated stories that along the way have been losing its charm and interest?

And...have you ever felt being compared with by your interlocutor?

All these sensations came in a form of an emotionally disturbing conversation with Person, one of a few individuals who are capable of emitting a destructive energy towards me.

All in all, Person is the one who has power to obliterate (unintentionally though it might be)your morale and courage if you stand in his/her way.

I am sure that Person is not the only one of its kind. Person is everywhere and in every society, though a rare chance to meet someone like Person is so thin that we think they don't even exist. But the truth is... they are around us.

Person would start the conversation by mentioning his suffering-but-worth-it past that Person had had in this you-know-where country years ago and then would fill you up with all the minor details that Person could ever think of. At first, all of this seemed super-interesting and I was really attentive. Days and months went by, the conversations though followed the exactly repetitive same pattern and, of course, old content.

When Person began to brag about his/her successful professional life, his/her fight against enemies, his/her connections with other people and how hard his/her life had been, you started to realize how boring this could be. Especially, when it was time that Person asked, for TWENTIETH time, such annoying questions that you had never thought you would hear from someone so "successful" like Person: How is your academic life? Where have you been travelling? How is your work? How much you get paid? How much money do you have in your bank account? (This one, though, Person wouldn't ask directly but instead would tell you the digits in his own account and look at you, waiting for you to do the same).

The questioning would end with an expected serie of unsurprising, yet annoying, comments: Why don't I have as much money as you do? Why haven't I ever travelled as much? Why haven't I ever experienced such romantic love like you do? Why, why, why... Every "Why" only concerned Person, no one else. Just Person.

Person always compared himself (or herself) with everybody, only to feel more motivated to dedicate himself (or herself) harder to become better (or superior) in any way than you.

Person would tactically slow the pace of his (or her) competitor by describing in detail the hard labours Person was up to at the moment and showing you how dedicated he was to get to his goal, all of which would make you feel like a lazy idiot who had hardly done anything in specific. The impact would finally discourage you and put you to a mentally-coma state.

You would end up feeling totally discouraged by the negative power Person had given you.

You would take days to recover from this effect.

Possible solution for a faster recovery: alleviate the destructive energy from Person seeded in yourself by sharing it to someone else; talk to your best friends and vent about what you have been through. That helps a lot... at least for me.

These are only few examples of what Person is capable of doing. There are much more courage-draining behaviours one could ever think of.

Until next time, just keep away from Person, who could be anyone around you, if you really care about your mental health.

Remember, Person is everywhere.

13.23
Sunday 16th, July, 2006

1-year break... Whoops! That was more than enough!

It's been more than one full year that I haven't updated my blog.

All the reasons that I can come up with can be extracted into one reasonable excuse; I didn't have time.

Last September, I decided to embark on a grand certificate-hunting mission by enrolling in a course of Hispanic Studies as a Diploma which would take away all of my precious spare time I had always had in the first year.

My routine activities were no more than waking up, going to class, coming back for lunch, doing homeworks, going to another class, coming back for dinner, doing more homeworks and going to bed.

Not that I didn't have any chance to get relaxed by going somewhere else, but I just couldn't travel as much as I had done the year before. And that was excruciatingly boring.

However, I tried to make the most out of the little time I had to see the world. Italy, Greece and Valencia the main destinations I travelled to during this academic year, not to mention another trip to Barcelona and Paris with my family :)

Well, as summer approches, now I eagerly await for my next well-planned trip to London and Edinburgh with my best thai friend, Manao. I'm so sure that it's going to be one of the most expensive and least comfortable trip that I have ever taken, taking in to account the ridiculously high cost of living of this british metropolitan. Anyway, we'll enjoy it, I'm sure of that.

Actually I have loads of interesting stories in my mind waiting for their turn to be told, but I hardly have organized what to write first and later. That's why I decided to begin first with this introduction before I really come up with the reviews of what you guys have missed during this period!

So... see ya on the next post! :)

Africa, la segunda temporada.

Just let it be… Just let it will be… Oh…just let it be…

Although this ear-pleasing new song of my sister (aunt, to be more precise) Madonna that I was listening while writing this message seemed grammatically disastrous, I still enjoyed it anyway.

Well, actually, the fact was that I would be happy to listen to any music that I myself chose to play, but… definitely not the one my generous neighbors kindly shared to me every weekend’s night.

Laughter, conversations, guitar melodies and, of course, techno/electro music burst out in unison from the room next door every Friday’s and Saturday’s night. Here came the end of peaceful era…

At first, I was glad to have a cute Spanish university student who was full of great interpersonal skill, considering from the fiestas he threw every weekend, living next to my room. Not only that I was desperately in need to get to know him (and, well, a whole lot of his friends) due to the fact that last year, Africa was full of the (mostly) middle-aged (and unattractive) latinos, but also I expected another year full of peace in my neighborhood on the 7th floor (that I exclusively had chosen and moved in before the influx of the new incoming students in hope of a better living condition).

New Spanish friends, new becarios, new room with better view, new neighbors and new courses…Wow..Africa… the future Utopia for my second year!

Yeah, that was all my dream, and dream it still is today.

As the second year of the scholarship started, all of my best friends had already moved to their own lovely apartments, pursuing their academic or professional goals, leaving me alone with the fear of having to face the whole new life in Africa alone. It didn’t seem so bad at all, frankly spoken. I only had to armed myself with a Miss Congeneality smile and fired basic questions to any newcomers who unluckily came within range. The best opportunity to get as much information (and friendship) as I could was when we had meal in the canteen. I quickly made acquaintance with the new becarios without any problems thanks to my unique (but stunningly beautiful) oriental appearance. As I was the only so-called chinito in the dorm, every one had no problem recognizing me. Sometimes, I even didn’t know the name of those who said hello to me when we met in metro!

The first phase went by without requiring me too much effort. I had made a few best friends who were both newcomers and those who had made a (wrong) decision to stay here one more year.

Then the exodus of the university students hit the dorm. Like a terrifying wave of Tsunami that could leave thousands of property and people devastated and with suffering, these energetic Spanish youngsters full of creativity, joy, happiness and destructive power who sought a better future through a process of academic maturation, financially supported and spoilt by their wealthy parents, roamed every corner and corridor of Africa.

They came, they saw and they conquered. Literally it was this way.

It had been three months since the departure of the oldies and the arrival of the Spanish newbies, which had changed the major aspects and conditions of the dorm; a door left broken, toilets left without being flushed, tissue papers all over the bathroom’s floor. These rowdy teenagers didn’t only throw fiestas in their rooms on Friday’s nights, filling the entire floor with more-than-90-decibel techno and rock music, they also ran stomping through the corridor regardless of the time. Sometimes they even made a reunion to enjoy their home cinema with a full range of hi-fi sets at midnight while leaving the door open.

I had no idea how they had managed to completely eradicate the innate common sense, supposedly inculcated by their parents and the Nature itself in their childhood, from their brains. They never stopped to think about how other people would feel about the disturbance of peace that they had made. The people incapable of thinking logically on their own. And that was what irritated me the most.

As for Africa itself, the food could never be worse. The becarios were much more open-minded than those of the last year. Apart from this, everything was supposed to be fine if it hadn’t been for the robbery that took place twice within a month.

And one of the victims was me. I could blame no one but myself for trusting too much in the security of the colegio. Last year, not a single robbery taken place in a resident’s room was reported. How did I become a poor victim of such a heinous crime? Well, as I said, it was all my faults. I sometimes left the door unlocked during a couple of minutes when I went to the bathroom. Apart from the fact that a houskeeper could enter my room to do her duty every other day, it was left to no doubt that someone, in a blink of an eye, sneaked into my chamber and snatched away the unguarded treasure.

During the first stage of mental trauma when I realized about the disappearance of my mobile phone, I came up with hundreds of possible hypothesis. Logically, I first suspected the maid who regularly did the housekeeping, but, in the end I came to the conclusion that it could be anyone passing by, discreetly observing from a corner of the corridor waiting for a good opportunity to strike. It could even be those little disgraceful Spanish kids who came as usual to the party next door.

All I could do in retaliation for this shameless action is to post a well-written condemnation message, wishing all the worst in the world to the thief and his/her family, so that the public would know that we had a villain living amongst us.

As soon as I recovered from the shock of the robbery, another odd event mercilessly stroke Africa without warning, a mentally-ill SOB randomly made obscene internal phone call to the residents. As expected, I was included in the list of the unfortunates. One fine day while I was doing my translation homework, the phone rang, so I picked it up, only just to listen to faint breathing on the other end of the line during 5 seconds before it was disconnected. A couple of days later I got another call, it was exactly the same, except that the panting was clearer, louder and seemingly more aroused and then he hung up. Later on I was bothered by this phone call for a couple of times before the culprit got bored of stalking me. As writing this diary, I had no idea if he still went on with his telephonic sexual pleasure project. I only hoped that all this freak would come to and end very soon so that I could return to normal life.

Well, that’s all about my life in Africa at the beginning of the second year. Since recently I have been spending most of the time locking myself in the room, in order to recover from the incision that had opened again almost a month ago, I can’t find any more interesting anecdotes than what I have written here. After the Xmas vacations I would surely come up with something new. Until then, I would keep praying and hoping that my beloved little neighbor would reunite with his clan very soon for the celebration and leave a chinito like me in peace for once!

Operación Triunfo

It's not a popular Academy Contest Program widely broadcast throughout Spain. Neither it is a mysterious mission that I've been in charge. Well...not likely...at least :P

It appeared that I was wrong about the summary of my last post. The worst was still there haunting me like a sadistic ghost during the night that followed. What happened then?

I was operated on Monday's morning at 9.00 a.m. for Appendicitis.

Yeah, that was what it all about...baby

I ate, I swam and I suffered.

Should I go to see the doctor earlier, I wouldn't have had to suffer all that scary experience, because they would have me operated anyway sooner or later. Hmm, let bygones be bygones.

6.00 am, Sunday : I was suddenly drawn from my slumber into reality by a sharp pain in my abdomen. I went down to the Consejería and asked the security guard Josefa to call for a taxi which later on took me at a slow pace to the hospital.

Curious is the way "they" work and coordinate here. The emergency service and quick response were to be expected just like in Bangkok; male nurses were supposed to be promted to attend any incoming serious patient. No one was at the Emergency Unit and I was told through an intercom to use the main entrance, 10 - 15 meters away, which was considerably far for my condition. It took something like 15 minutes to put me in a room waiting for analysis and another 20 minutes or so for a night-shift doctor to do the paper work and analyze my symptom. Everything was incredibly slow :(

And then there came the most generous "médica" I had encountered ever. With serious face and unfriendly look, she asked me questions and questions about my personal information and what I had done before. Normal paper work and analysis basics. For me it wasn't so, I have to admit that my so-called perfect Spanish level had drastically dropped to subzero. I hardly caught a word and had to ask her to repeat many times.

This didn't seem to please this "I am the only one in the world who works hard" doctor. Her face became even more irritated and her voice rose higher than the level I call "annoying". Everything she did to me, for me at least, seemed that way.

But who cares?!?!? Just have it analyzed and do something!!! As long as she could cure me, I didn't care what she said.

I might be subjective on this matter but have to say that I felt mentally disturbed then. The following day my case was transferred to a new doctor; more amiable, friendly and confident. It was then I realised that I wasn't being subjective! She could treat me civilly as this kind doctor but she did not.

I thank all the divinity that exists in the Heavenly Abode for getting rid of that foul witch for me :D

This is the most impressive experience during my stay in the hospital. Even the operation itself can't beat it. The tormenting post-operation days were annoying but promising. The visit of my beloved friends yielded me lots of will to talk and move. The kind nurses were as attentive, caring and hard-working as they could possibly be (However, I had no idea how they managed to fit their "girl fight activity" in their busy timetable when I heard them blaming each other "for not having responsibilities" in the corridor in front of my room).

Now I'm safe and sound in my beloved Africa again. The day looks gloomily yellow with autumn rain sprinkling lazily all over Madrid which is perfect for locking myself in the room writing blogs and keeping up on what I have missed during my convalescence.

Until next time when I come up with something new, just don't go jumping or doing sports after having meal!!

True Fear

Today I cooped up in the room all day long. Not that I didn't wanna go out, but I recently developed an intestinal intoxication last night (as I always did in the past few years). Although the pain wasn't as intense as it should have been, it left me devasted in the bed.

I lay on my side, shifting position every minute. Once the pain attacks the abdomen, you can be sure that you will never rest peacefully that night. It was annoying but not striking this time. I kept telling myself that it would all be over soon. Suddenly, I felt a piercing cold claiming its territory over every inch of my body. My legs and arms started shaking like mad, then my jaws and the whole body. It was penetrating as if the temperature had suddenly dropped to zero. After tolerating such chilling pain for five minutes, I decidedly stumbled to the wardrobe to get two thick blanket and sweaters to put on. Every effort that I spent on this task seemed impossible with my legs and arms trembling, making me unable to hold on to anything.

Despite of a great quantity of clothes and blankets, I didn't feel any warmer. My whole body kept shaking, disobeying my attempt to stop this crazy physical rebellion. My muscles tensed and the urge of flexing my limbs came over me. I tried to fold and stretch my legs but then they shook harder than before so that I had to get back into the position that I had been. The fever must have been high. I felt desperate and, more startling, the first true fear of death in my life.

Never before in my life I felt such tremendous fear. I thought of my family and friends in Thailand, my Patto who would be working on a night shift in a restaurant in San Francisco. I thought of my beloved friends who had been here for me in Africa. Only if they had been there with me, I would have called them to take me to the hospital. Nothing is scarrier than having no one beside you while suffering that kind of pain.

As the thought of calling for help stroke me, I tried to sit up and reach the phone unsuccessfully. I fell on the bed one more time, curled up like a baby, telling myself to rest for a few minutes in order to gather the last effort to reach the phone; and that was when the tiredness and dream victoriously overcame me.

I fell asleep until the golden shining ray of sunlight slipped through the iron curtain of my room. Alone, tired, suffered and desperate, I woke up and fell back to sleep for five or six time. In one of these phase-in-phase-out progress, I remembered trying to vomit in the basin but nothing came out. Torturing it was I can say. My head ached, my teeth gritted while a variety of unrealistic events came into my slumber.

At 4 p.m. I woke up refreshed. The agonizing pain lessened and body vibration had stopped. I gathered myself to remember what had happened last night. It was a nightmare but real. I was glad to be there again, concious and bettter.

The worst gone. Fear repelled. And I...relieved.

However, the horror of that night had already been imprinted on my memory and... forgotten it won't be.

It's just the beginning!

09/06/05
2.21 am

I've just come back from having a drink around Cava Baja street with my classmates. I was there once when I got here in the first month (that would be in October). I hardly knew Madrid then and the world was damn cruel to me. Just imagine an oriental little boy with his green backpack and a useless city map walking, lost and confused, along the old narrow streets full of bars and cafes while raining! I can't remember how many (thai) bad words had slipped out of my mouth, cursing the place and Madrid, that day.

And there I was again. Same place, different time. Although I got lost (again!) in the small streets, I finally got to a bar where my friends had gathered. There they were! Mercedes, Inés, Monica, Alix and Steijn. They had been chatting for quite a while before I reached the place. After saying goodbye to Alix, we then decided to move to another cool bar named "ENE" recommended exclusively by our Madrid guru, Mercedes (compared to Inés, of course) :D

The bar had good vibes and the belga (fluid) chocolate cake was superb (especially in that Sopa de Naranja, as indicated in the menu!). I had to say that I really enjoyed the moment. I just can't believe that after almost 9 months in Madrid, everything would be so different for me.

The streets aren't the same as when I first arrived. I know more about them. I know that around the corner of Cava Baja there's a bar with cool decoration in which I can spend a good time with my friends. I know that some particular streets would be packed with the Spanish during the night even though it's weekday. I know how to get to the nearest metro without using the city map. And I know how my friends are so different from what I had imagined them to be before the beginning of the class.

Tomorrow Monica will be flying to Mallorca with her aunt and uncle before heading to USA in July. Inés would be busy with her practice in a translation company. Mercedes would be preparing herself for a trip to Canada. Steijn would be going back to "reality" in Holland the end of the month. Everybody seems to have their own plans and destiny for this approaching beautiful, yet scorching, summer. Yeah, our ways might come across again some days during the vacations, but I just can't help being sad about the fact that I won't be seeing some of them for whole 5 months. That's a long time!

While each has his/her own mission, I'd be in charge of mine, too. Planning summer trips and making a good use of the vacations I have as to experience what Europe has to offer!

Let the summer begin!

La estrena!

Por fin...

I have my own blog! I don't like expressing myself through the internet page actually. The thought of having my own blog came across my mind the day I read one of my friend's blog which was pretty well written (Umm, actually it was BRILLIANT!).

So it occurred to me that it might be great to share my experience with anyone who bumps into this page and... I won't have to compose news letter emails for eveybody I know every single week! :P