A person may develop a cold

Last night we found out that Gabriel has bronchitis.
And I'm a coughing, sneezing, stuffed-up, running nose mess. Life is delightful. I think I have a head cold. I don't think it's a result of waiting around for Nathan Detroit for the past fourteen years; I'm pretty sure I didn't know who he was when I was six. But I could use some sweet and sour soup to clear the congestion.
Last night, Jessica and I were talking about Christina Rosetti and her poem "Goblin Market" which we read in Brit Lit II last semester. And Francisco was stunned we knew who Christina was.
So Thanksgiving Day: I have a presentation and a paper due. And the day before I have a paper due as well. I think I might climb out the windows that day.

Okay, I feel like crapt! I think that I should try sleeping more. But I got like nine hours of sleep last night so that can't be my problem. I don't know what's going on anymore.

But I'm going to Rome in nine days!

A Bloody Mess

Well, it's Tuesday. And it's raining.

So over the weekend, my host family got their knives sharpened and forgot to tell me about it. Then yesterday after "la comida" I was cutting my daily apple when I got a little confused and sliced my thumb. And it was one bloody mess. I couldn't get Carol to understand that I needed something to cut off the circulation as well as something to staunch the blood for a while. So blood just poured everywhere. Eventually we got everything cleaned up and settled. But now I have a lovely cut on my left thumb. I just discovered that my host family does not own band-aids. But I should be fine.

Not much else is going on these days. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I enJOYed Austria

I loved Austria. I always loved Katie but now I love John, Lisa, and Maria as well. It was a very blessed trip.
They gave me TWO peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And I got to talk to them about theology and politics and economics. It was lovely. Maria is adorable and the rest of them are just good.
They loaned me a book "The Last Crusade" about the Catholic martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, which I'm really looking forward to reading. I also want to read "The Cypresses Believe in God" which is about the same thing.
They also introduced me to two beers: Czech Budweiser and the beer that they brew there at the Kartause (sp?). Both beers were good. The Czech Bud was bitter but the Dunkel was sweeter and I liked it more.

And on my way home, I had Starbucks in the Vienna airport. And now I'm going to explain why I love Starbucks. They use soy milk. I'm lactose intolerant and most Spaniards don't understand that or know what soy milk is. But Starbucks has an international company policy to use soy milk upon request. Therefore, this was the first time I could drink coffee AND enjoy it in months.

I'm back in Bilbao for 11 days before shooting off to Rome. Paris has been cancelled since I can't find someone to go with me.
But I'll be back stateside in 35 days or 5 weeks.

Vienna (and Gaming) wait for me

Tonight I'm off for Vienna. And I can't wait.

"But it is His work. I think God wants to show His greatness by using nothingness."
-Mother Teresa

I was looking for another quotation and I found this one. I think this will now be my motto. I want to show His greatness by my nothingness.

This isn't exactly the quotation for which I was looking but it has the same spirit. And I think this is a good reminder for us right now.

"Time: You and John Paul II, among other Church leaders, have spoken out against certain lifestyles in the West, against materialism and abortion. How alarmed are you?

Mother Teresa: I always say one thing: If a mother can kill her own child, then what is left of the West to be destroyed? It is difficult to explain , but it is just that.

Time: When you spoke at Harvard University a few years ago, you said abortion was a great evil and people booed. What did you think when people booed you?

Mother Teresa: I offered it to our Lord. It’s all for Him, no? I let Him say what He wants.

Time: But these people who booed you would say that they also only want the best for women?

Mother Teresa: That may be. But we must tell the truth.

Time: And that is?

Mother Teresa: We have no right to kill. Thou shalt not kill, a commandment of God. And still should we kill the helpless one, the little one? You see we get so excited because people are throwing bombs and so many are being killed. For the grown ups, there is so much excitement in the world. But that little one in the womb, not even a sound? He cannot even escape. That child is the poorest of the poor."

In REALLY exciting news, I emailed Heidi Keiser yesterday to ask her if I could use their towels whilest in Austria. And while thinking about this visit, I realized that I'd be there on November 22, the Feast of St. Cecilia (and C.S. Lewis who would totally be a saint if he were officially Catholic) so I asked Heidi if we could do something about this. And she replied that they'd already realized that I would be in Rome on the feast of my patroness and they were already planning on taking me to the Basilica of St. Cecilia that day. I'm psyched! Not only do I get to go to the Basilica of my patroness but I get to do it on her feast day. This will really be amazing. Oh and the Keisers have towels I can use. I'll be there in about two weeks. And I'll be in Vienna around 4:30pm tomorrow and Gaming around 8pm. I'm so excited.

And my reading assignment for myself right now is Humanae Vitae. I've never read it and I think I need to do so now more than ever. I'm also planning to read Evangelium Vitae. I really miss the free printing at GVSU. Here it's 8 euro cents/page. I think I'll save these on my computer and read them here. And then we'll print them off later. And for those of you who are interested, the Vatican's website has a wealth of encyclicals from most of the past several popes.

May God bless us and have mercy on us. We need Him now more than ever.
I'll be home in 39 days; I can't believe it.
May the peace of Christ be with you.

A Grief Observed

Okay it's not really as bad as Joy Lewis dying. But I am very sad. My Spanish culture professor offered me her sympathies and shook my hand because I was the only person in the class who voted for McCain.
Last night, I was praying and I had two thoughts.
1) "The one who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' Then he said, 'Write these words down for they are trustworthy and true.'" -Revelations 21:5
Christ makes all things new. And whatever happens politically, if we cling to him, we're going to make it out alive...in one way or another.
2) "Healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again." It's from "Every New Day," a song by Five Iron Frenzy and I think that mercy and grace are all we have right now.

Life in Spain is going well. Zapatero (Spain's Prime Minister) and Europe rejoice at Obama's election.
I'm going to Austria to see the joys in a few short days. Tomorrow night, I'm taking a night bus to Barcelona and then Friday I'm flying (via Austrian Airlines) to Vienna and then taking a train to Gaming where Katie and Company will be waiting for me. Sunday morning, at 10am I'm flying back to Barcelona and then taking a bus back to Bilbao. It's a short trip but it should be good.
And then Rome (and Heidi and Kevin) is about two weeks away.
I finsihed three essays this week as well as "San Manuel Bueno Martir" by Miguel de Unamuno. And now I need to finish reading "Sin Rumbo" by Eugenio Cambaceres. So my life is never dull.
Last night, Gabriel was running around in my boots again; he likes to play "El Gato en las Botas" with my rubber rain boots. His mom doesn't like this game because she doesn't like him wearing shoes in the house.
Oh well...well, until tomorrow! And I'll be sure to take pictures in Austria.

Potatoes and other tales....or an Election Day 2008 Post about Spanish food and drink

"It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes."
-Douglas Adams

I think we can all agree that I really enjoy Douglas Adams. I also think we can all agree that I really like Peter Kreeft. So where, you might ask, does this leave us? Well, most of you are in the United States of America. AndI am in Spain. So I think we're all ina delightful place gramatically.

So recently people have been remarking about how I shouldn't be missing pumpkin pie and other fall delights of my home country because I'm in Spain. I'll be sure to invite you all over the next time someone feeds me anchovies. Do you think I'm kidding? Oh, no...I've been fed those little disgusting things about five times during my stay in Spain. And then there was the seafood thing that had tentacles and suckers; it wasn't octopus but I don't know what it was. Okay, I don't know it's name. I gave it a very fair chance but it was disgusting.
The rest of the food here is pretty bland; they don't use a lot of spices. We do eat a lot of potatoes and you really cannot save the world with potatoes. Umm, we eat a lot of local fish. We have spaghetti every week or so. We have chicken once a week. It's all pretty bland and regular except for empanadillas which are fabulous. Other people I know have host moms who are great cooks. But at my place, it's all pretty bland and regular. I get fried eggs with chorizo some times. Eggs are good; chorizo, meh, not so much...
So yes, I do feel entitled to miss pumpkin pie.

Election fever is on in Spain. They're covering our elections on their TV news; it's all very strange. And they're all eager to know who will "ganar" or win. Will it be McCain or Obama? Angel asked me about it at dinner the other night and I told him that my guess was that it would be Obama but only "por un poco" or by a little. He told me that he agreed. At this point, Miss Daniela felt very left out and announced that she thought that "McCama" would win. I don't think she was trying to be funny; I think she was confused by the names and really thought that one of them was name "McCama." Kids these days....
And my classmates are all discussing it. I'm thinking about both Proposal 2 in Michigan and the election and very worried about the future of life in our country. Our Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." NowI know that our Founding Fathers were mostly Deists, not Christians. But they still valued life. Why don't we?

And just to conclude...as a reminder of what I said about a week ago...
"It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it... anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. "
-Douglas Adams

And in honor of the election, I'll throw in some Marx for you...Groucho Marx that is.
"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies."

But in all seriousness, I am praying for my nation and asking the intercession of St. Gianna Molla as well as the patron of the U.S., Mary conceived immaculately.
May God help and bless us all.

Uh-huh...sure....

Friday, Brittany and I went to the mall. And there we met a woman who wants us to come over to her house for an hour a week to speak English with her kids. She'll pay us 6 or 7 euros. So we said yes. More details to follow...
And then that night, we (about 11 girls) were hanging out at my apartment since I was home alone. We got talking about our essay for Intro to Lit that's due on Wednesday. I'm done with mine since I also have to write on for Panorama of Lit. And Natalie looks at me and says, "If you write my essay for me, I'll make you balloon animals." I refused. And about two hours later, I found out that was a really good thing when she informed me that she doesn't know how to make balloon animals."

This weekend, I met two more Rioja wines. I'm really liking them. Brittany and I are talking about heading down to the Rioja on the 15th for the day.

Last night at dinner, it came up that I'm going to Austria this weekend and Dani wanted to know why I got to travel all the time. Her dad told her that I behave myself and work hard and study hard so I get to travel as my reward. She protested that she behaves and studies hard too. So then Angel told her that she was too young.
Big sister laughs....

42 days to home! I'll see y'all soon!
But first...Vienna, Rome, and Paris...