LAST FULL DAY IN MADRID AND

  • I realized I haven’t packed yet. 
  • I have no money for the extra baggage I’ll be sending through air freight. 
  • I have a test (for which I haven’t studied yet) 
  • and furthermore, I’m meeting different sets of friends all throughout the day and night 
  • two of these are supposed to happen simultaneously 
  • and here I am, just dancing to Mariah Carey and Soraya (a former contestant of Spain’s Operation Triunfo - a singing competition kinda like American Idol)

  • January 31
  • , 2011
DEJEN SALIR ANTES DE ENTRAR (SUBTITLED “BITTER BECAUSE SHE’S LEAVING AND ANOTHER GIRL IS GONNA TAKE HER PLACE”; skip post or risk getting irritated by my shallow greedy childishness) So, yeah, I’ll be the one giving the talk for those interested to spend one semester in Spain. I’m currently halfway through my Powerpoint. I have to say, I feel a tinge of bitterness inside thinking about me giving a sales talk to the lower batch in my home university to convince them of going to the Universidad de Alcala for their junior term abroad.  I can still remember clearly how I arrived late for the very same talk held last year. The uppper batch were the ones who gave the talk while us, the sophomores, listened to the representatives of each of the schools we could go to in Europe. I don’t remember anymore why I was late, but I can still remember vividly how, as soon as I parted the curtains at the back of Leong Hall right during the middle of the talk, the very slide that flashed on the big-ass projector was that for Spain. And right then and there, I had decided.  Even when I knew there was only one slot and there were ninety-nine other people who were supposed to pick before me (we were ranked and I was top 100 hahahahaha) and even when I was late because of the horrible Katipunan traffic and the Dean of the School of Management almost did not let me pick a school anymore, it seemed like Spain had also decided on me.  And now, I’m giving the very same talk to another set of new faces. A part of me is excited to showcase how bad-ass Spain is. But another part of me, the selfish greedy childish part of me, is bitter because, now, it’s over for me and it’s just about to start for another unknowing bastard out there. I probably will get over it eventually. I hope I do.  DEJEN SALIR ANTES DE ENTRAR is the sign that flashes above the trains of the Madrid Metro every time a train enters the platform. It means to let the passengers out of the train first before the incoming passengers can enter. On some level, I can see how first I need to be able to accept the fact that the ride’s over for me and in order to let other people in, I have to be able to let go and get off at my station. 

DEJEN SALIR ANTES DE ENTRAR

(SUBTITLED “BITTER BECAUSE SHE’S LEAVING AND ANOTHER GIRL IS GONNA TAKE HER PLACE”; skip post or risk getting irritated by my shallow greedy childishness)

So, yeah, I’ll be the one giving the talk for those interested to spend one semester in Spain.

I’m currently halfway through my Powerpoint. I have to say, I feel a tinge of bitterness inside thinking about me giving a sales talk to the lower batch in my home university to convince them of going to the Universidad de Alcala for their junior term abroad. 

I can still remember clearly how I arrived late for the very same talk held last year. The uppper batch were the ones who gave the talk while us, the sophomores, listened to the representatives of each of the schools we could go to in Europe. I don’t remember anymore why I was late, but I can still remember vividly how, as soon as I parted the curtains at the back of Leong Hall right during the middle of the talk, the very slide that flashed on the big-ass projector was that for Spain. And right then and there, I had decided. 

Even when I knew there was only one slot and there were ninety-nine other people who were supposed to pick before me (we were ranked and I was top 100 hahahahaha) and even when I was late because of the horrible Katipunan traffic and the Dean of the School of Management almost did not let me pick a school anymore, it seemed like Spain had also decided on me. 

And now, I’m giving the very same talk to another set of new faces. A part of me is excited to showcase how bad-ass Spain is. But another part of me, the selfish greedy childish part of me, is bitter because, now, it’s over for me and it’s just about to start for another unknowing bastard out there. I probably will get over it eventually. I hope I do. 

DEJEN SALIR ANTES DE ENTRAR is the sign that flashes above the trains of the Madrid Metro every time a train enters the platform. It means to let the passengers out of the train first before the incoming passengers can enter. On some level, I can see how first I need to be able to accept the fact that the ride’s over for me and in order to let other people in, I have to be able to let go and get off at my station. 

  • January 25
  • , 2011
Asi se puede estudiar mejor en la casa - January 24, 2010  This be my flatmate’s brilliant solution while she studies for her French exam. 

Asi se puede estudiar mejor en la casa - January 24, 2010 

This be my flatmate’s brilliant solution while she studies for her French exam. 

  • January 24
  • , 2011

9 Days

I’ve got nine days left and I’m only meeting you now. Que lastima. 

  • January 23
  • , 2011

LAST 10 DAYS IN MADRID

Fuck, I don’t know what to say. Of course, I’m excited to see my family and friends and yet I still cannot stomach the thought that I’ll be leaving Madrid with no guarantee that I will ever see her again. I’ve lived my life a certain way all my life and I changed that when I came here. And now, there comes that all-too-familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me that I’ll have to change it again once I land in Manila. And that’s the part I’m most scared about. 

Either I resort back to my old ways or I just crank it up just a few notches higher and live like a badass mo-fo on the streets of Metro Manila. 

Either way, I promise to myself this will not be the last time Madrid will be hearing from me. Madrid will always have a place in my heart. Spain will always have a place in my heart.

After all, who forgets about their first love? 

  • January 22
  • , 2011
Avila, Spain - December 20, 2010 

Avila, Spain - December 20, 2010 

  • January 8
  • , 2011
Us Enjoying Autumn’s End (After Stuffing Ourselves in an American Diner) - December 3, 2010

Us Enjoying Autumn’s End (After Stuffing Ourselves in an American Diner) - December 3, 2010

  • January 8
  • , 2011
The Cathedral at Montserrat, Catalonia - December 6, 2010 … has arguably one of the best altars I’ve ever seen in my life (and I’ve seen quite a lot). 

The Cathedral at Montserrat, Catalonia - December 6, 2010

… has arguably one of the best altars I’ve ever seen in my life (and I’ve seen quite a lot). 

  • January 8
  • , 2011
The Black Swan(s) - December 27, 2010  Since going to the movies is too expensive of an option for me here in Spain and they probably won’t be showing “Black Swan” in Manila when I come back in February, I decided to settle for real black swans in Valencia. 

The Black Swan(s) - December 27, 2010 

Since going to the movies is too expensive of an option for me here in Spain and they probably won’t be showing “Black Swan” in Manila when I come back in February, I decided to settle for real black swans in Valencia. 

  • January 2
  • , 2011

Don’t get me wrong.

I’m here in Spain, I’m fully loving it here in Spain, I’m already imagining going back here and all that,

BUT WHY THE FUCK AM I FANTASIZING ABOUT LIVING IN PORTUGAL? Like, actually having a house near the beach and being friends with my neighbor and being a regular at the neighborhood bar. I don’t even speak Portuguese and I’ve never been (due to bad weather). 

Somebody please explain. And no, it’s not Cristiano Ronaldo. I am just confused by my urges is all. 

  • December 25
  • , 2010