Geez, I realized how little I write in this. I want to write more often but it never seems to work out...
Last Friday I went on a road trip to the beach! We rented a car and drove 6 hours to Almeria, a coast area at the bottom of Spain. It was very hot and dry there, it's mostly desert for a while and then you arrive at the ocean.

I have a few pictures up at www.flickr.com/photos/carinny.

Everything went well except for a problem with our Hertz car that we messed up a bit when we were trying to turn around on a dirt road...Hertz is trying to charge us over 600 Euros for the damage, even though we had the maximum insurance package.

We've made some calls, sent a letter, etc. so we're still waiting to hear about how much we have to pay...

I can't believe I've been here a month! I realized if I want to go on other trips i better plan them soon. I might go away for a weekend with a designer I work with, Himi, and her roommate, Rie, who came to the beach with us. It's kind of sad, Himi is leaving at the end of the month, she is moving back to Peru (where she is from) to start a company with her friend. Rie is going home to Japan around the same time too.

The other day I bought an abanico, yay! That's a handheld fan, it's very common for women to walk around with wooden or chinese style fans here,it's really helpful when you're at a bar or walking around outside and there is no breeze...

I feel really far away from everyone in the states, it's like I have this other life here that I've started from scratch and college seems like a long time ago. But it has been nice keeping in touch with people online. I still have openings in my book for someone to come stay with me . =) (Vinny, are you coming??)

Ooohh I hope I meet up with Julia and Michael Cruz, they are in the Netherlands...we want to meet somewhere, maybe Barcelona??

World Cup Final tomorrow! France vs. Italy!!

Road to Guantanamo

Yesterday I saw the film Road to Guatánamo. It was a really good film, part documentary/part movie, I think it was just released a couple days ago in the US but has been out here for a while. It's a British film that tells the story of 3 young British muslims who get stuck in Pakistan and Afghanistan during fighting between the Taliban and US and get imprisoned there and eventually taken to Guantánamo Bay for about 2 years. I think the movie is causing/ or will cause a lot of controversy in the states. It's really graphic and scary how they show the way US and British troops treating the prisoners, most are not even formally charged with anything.

I hope people go see it...

aire fresca

Well, here I am, sitting high over my street, Jesus Del Valle on a tiny balcony that is barely deep enough for one chair to fit on. I can see into neighbor's apartments and watch every young, greasy-haired guy or old woman and dog or dressed up couple below me. The lady who's apartment I'm staying in, Encarna, told me to try coming out on her balcony to get internet reception. It's kind of strange though because the street is so narrow, I think I'm weirding the guy out in the bulding across who is putting away dishes and stuff while his windows are wide open.

Its 10:40 PM! I just ate dinner, I hear voices from the bars on each end of the street, music playing, and plenty of people are walking around doing normal things. I guess I've adjusted pretty quickly to the lifestyle difference here in Spain.

On a side note, the fruits and vegetables are really fresh and cheap here..there are tons of tiny stores within a 2 block radius that carry produce and fresh bread, etc... tonight I made a salad and put fresh fig on it and salty cheese...woo hooo.

Someone I work with asked me yesterday if Madrid is what I expected. I told her that I was surprised at how much it feels like I'm in old fashioned, traditional neighborhoods. I thought it would be much more modern and cosmopolitan but a lot of shops and bars have been operating the same way for decades...

On Sunday I walked for a while with Encarna and her dog (I think his name is something like Roz?). I didnt realize not far from here is a really nice park with beautiful views. The city is situated on top of a hill so from here you look below and see the forrested surrounding areas. That area reminded me a lot of Jerusalem, or other parks I've been to, like in San Francisco, but with no ocean in the distance.

There is also an Egyptian temple at the park(??) What the hell?
It's like a real deal little temple with drawings and hieroglyphics that you can tour. I was really confused but then I learned that Egypt gave the temple to Spain as a gift and they physically moved the whole thing here. How weird is that?

Hahaha a guy on a motorbike is delivering pizza hut below me! Wow that is a TINY box of pizza. Oh America.....

At work..

Wow, is it Thursday already? I've been meaning to write here for a while but it's hard to get access to the internet. Sure, I have internet here at work, but its pretty obvious if I'm sitting online instead of working since everyone's computers are next to eachother.

I moved into an apartment yesterday, its only 5 minutes away from the studio. This area, Malasaña, is really cool. It's like kind of young and funky and bohemian but also filled with old ladies walking their dogs around. It has more of a neighborhood feel and there are always kids and hip looking people and all sorts of other people outside. The work day here is VERY different. They come in here between 10-11 and then leave anywhere from 7 to 9 or later if they need to. I like that I can go across the street or around the corner to the bar for a really good cup of cafe con leche. The coffee is soo good here, and cheap too.

They constantly play music here over the speakers from Richars' computer, its like this ambient/electronic type radio station. The music is starting to drive me crazy, its very slow, soothing like Air but it puts me to sleep and all the songs sound the same. Sometimes we play something else, yesterday I played African World Music from my computer (HOLLA!), but usually it's this. I'm really tempted to change it now that Richars and Sergio went to the conference area (essentially the same room but separated by those clouded glass doors).

My apartment doesn't have internet so I can either use it here or right down the street from me i found a tiny place that only charges 1 euro per hour for the internet, and the have microphones and skype set up, etc...

SIGH i guess i'll get back to work...

Tonight is a party for a premiere of one of the movies they worked on...

Before I go to sleep..

I'm gonna be uploading photos periodically on my flickr page. www.flickr.com/photos/carinny

Yesterday (Saturday) was fun walking around and going in stores but kind of lonely being alone all day (especially in the evening).

Today was fun...I got lost on the way to meeting Richars but on the way found like 3 new plazas, there are so many here. They all have terrazas (outdoor cafes/bars) and some statue or something historical and swarms of people. Hmm what a nice way to describe them. We ate at a chinese restaurant (surprisingly really good). I guess it IS a good sign if you go to a Chinese restaurant and there are only Chinese people in there. We ate these noodles I've never seen before: they were shaped like wide ovals and only a couple inches long. Hello me and my food descriptions!

Ooh I saw the design studio today, it's cute: chic and minimal looking, quite small. There are only 6 or 7 other people that work there I think.

Richars and I spent some time at a cafe/bar where someone he knew was showing some art on the walls. Strangely it reminded me of Los Angeles because it was definitely Mexican looking, that stuff you see with colored rhinestones or beads and sometimes little figurines and mexican wrestling masks, etc. We drank mojitos and later met up with Sergio and his girlfriend. It was funny trying to talk with her because she has only been here for 10 months from Japan and speaks Spanish well but no English. (Tammy if you're reading this?? you have a tough time ahead of you!)

I'm going to bed, I start work tomorrow at 10 am.
It's still kind of weird getting used to writing in this thing, I'm afraid I will ramble on too much.

First Day

I'm riding on a weak signal I'm getting from my hostal. It's really cute, a tiny room with a tiny bathroom. This old lady runs it in this old building on a little street in the old area of central madrid. I'm surrounded by little bars that all advertise mojitos and caipirinhas and other drinks. This lady, as well as some other people I've met, don't speak english. I need to start studying my spanish. I feel shy trying to speak, hopefully it will start to come naturally after a while.

I got in yesterday afternoon and Air France lost one of my suitcases. Thankfully they dropped it off at my hostal and I got it this morning. The two partners from my design firm, Richars and Sergio, picked me up at the airport, they are pretty young and seem fun. After a nap, I went to this party they invited me to. It was such a great first night! This movie theater was celebrating its 20th anniversary and they rented out this old train station for the party. It was packed with people, some from the local film industry. I met a lot of Richars' friends and everyone gives you a smile then the kiss on each cheek thing, it was funny. There were snacks and an open bar and really good music. Ska Cubano, a group from London played, they are mostly Cubans playing fun salsa and other songs. We danced there amidst some crazy people wearing costumes and dancing dramatically.

I took a taxi back at around 1 am and the area around my hostal was swarming with people, and not just like college kids. Everyone stays out really late here, when I left the party last night there were a lot of older ladies still dancing crazy, I heard the party went until 4 am.

This internet signal isn't cutting it.