¡Fiestas y Siestas!

En la caille de Barcelona.

Muchas rosetas por Santa Rita, Santa de Perdones Imposibles.

Con mi hermana, Amelia, en Barcelona. Estoy muy cansada.

Un bollo preñao por Martes de Campo en Oviedo. Me gusta.

Aventuras de Mis Días Primeras en España.

Me reuní con mi hermana en Barcelona. Nosotras caminamos en todos las calles. Vimos a plaza con mucha gente, todos tienen diez roja rosetas. Fueron hacer una oferta por Día de Santa Rita. Santa Rita es la Santa de Perdones Imposibles. (¿Cuales son tus perdones imposibles?) La plaza fue muy hermosa con todas las rosetas.

Al día siguiente, me perdí mi avión a Oviedo. Dormí en el suelo de mármol frío y perdó la partida. Muy estúpido! Tuve muchos problemas antes de llegar encontró a mi casa con María Antonia.

Ayer fue Martes de Campo en Oviedo. Yo fui con mi amiga, María Antonia, al parque por la fiesta. Comimos bollo preñao y escachamos mucha música. (Bollo preñao es un comida tradicional por este fiesta. La bebida típica es sidra o una botella de vino beber con tus amigos.) Después, tuvimos una siesta. Es un buena día cuando hay una fiesta y una siesta.

¡España manana!

I leave for Barcelona first thing tomorrow morning! All week long people have been asking me if I am excited and I have not known how to respond. (I never think something like this is really happening until it happens.)

But today, I reread Fredrico García Lorca's essay on the quality of duende in poetry. Within it, he explains "the magical quality of the poem consists in its being always possessed by the duende, so that whoever beholds it is baptized in dark water. Because with duende it is easier to love and to understand, and also one is certain to be loved and understood: and this struggle for communication of expression reaches at times, in poetry, the character of a fight to the death." This statement and everything else he says in this essay completely resonate with me. He describes the role of duende in dancing, singing, poetry, and bull-fighting.

What does this have to do with my trip to Spain? I'm not certain, but I am very excited to meet this country, to have this language in my mouth. I feel that I will find something essential to my life and expression on this trip. I am very excited! I am not feeling scared of anything. I know there will be many awkward moments when I won't be able to say what I want to say, but I feel ready to embrace the discomfort that will help me learn.

This is the opportunity of a lifetime. I know that I am extraordinarily fortunate to spend 5 weeks living in Spain and learning Spanish without the distractions of "real life." I will not any opportunity of this trip for granted. I will greet this adventure with passion and dedication.