My lungs are burning...

You know what I will no longer take for granted? No smoking inside of public places. Like restaurants. And bars. Wow. I woke up this morning thinking my allergies were terrible. After I squeeked a response to my cousin who poked his head in to ask if I wanted coffee, he commented on how his throat was killing him too. And how he forgot that smokey places do that to him.  And then, I realized, my lungs were burning. But maybe it was just in my head.

                     Love these chicas!

What gets me really frustrated about languages is my inability to speak my mind whenever I want. Tonight, I went to a get-together with some peeps I met from church. yay! Ate some good food. Drank FANTA naranja. It's just different here. Less artificial coloring, or something like that.  Anyways, I spend a lot more time thinking about things in my head and I make an executive decision to either share it out loud or keep it inside. Sometimes I just think things are too complicated for me to explain and it loses the funniness or whatever. And I'm sad.

Learning a new language is learning a new culture and is learning a new piece of yourself. We talked a lot about that in my language ed. classes.  Sigh.  Language and culture are parts of your identity. And so when I speak Spanish, I take on a new identity. Sometimes I feel more complete. I can express things in a richer way. Some things just come out naturally in Spanish for me. And then there's the part of my identity I lose because I can't fully express it. Or it doesn't translate exactly. And I just want to be a part of it all.

I've noticed that about myself, and people, too. We want to be a part of something. With me, sometimes I find myself wearing certain things to look more European. I speak with a Spanish accent here, rather than the South American accent I'm used to using in the States. I walk my cousins' dog, thinking that people must think I'm a local. Guiris don't bring their dogs with them!  (Culture lesson: Guiris- pronounced GEE-ree.  "g" as in girl... A guiri is a non-local, a foreigner. when i say guiri, think Benny. they are shown the same love and affection <3)   

                                       my black sneakers that make me feel cool here.

Tonight I sat on a terrace, watching people salsa dance in one room and listening to the cheers for FB Barça.  It was one of those "What am I doing here" moments, because seriously, how random is life.

 

http://laaficion.milenio.com/noticias/25218-el-barcelona-gan-gole-y-gust 

5-2 victory over Atlético de Madrid. Can't wait to get to a game. :) 

Vale. Buenas noches amigos.