¡Vivimos en Avenue Q!

Translation of title: "We live on Avenue Q!"

For those of you who don't know what Avenue Q is (because I didn't until very, very recently), it's a Broadway musical which takes the puppet and musical stylings of Sesame Street and morphs it into a hilarious, slightly raunchy, entertaining-for-adults show.

Recently, Avenue Q expanded over to Spain and, in fact, above you can see the poster for the show here in Madrid. It says things such as "Warning! Contains full-frontal puppet nudity!" and "NOT for children!" Those things alone should give you some kind of an idea of what takes place here.

Anyway, Tom and Marcus are two other Americans that work at my school. We've all become pretty good friends over the past year after spending about a year and a half working together here in Spain. So a few weeks ago, Tom and Marcus started talking about how this show was opening up here in Madrid and how they both really, really wanted to go because it was hilarious. And, of course, I had never heard anything about it, so I agreed to go just to see what they were talking about.

So we each bought tickets and invited some other friends and went to see it. And oh man it was one of the best shows I've ever seen! I was laughing nearly the entire two hours of the show.

It was definitely a great time and a much-needed laugh in the middle of a busy week. And, as always, it made me glad to have such great friends to do things like this with here in Madrid. I have truly been blessed with some amazing people in my life.

Please Make This Happen

I already published this on my facebook, but I love it too much to not share once again.

Friends and family, please please please make this happen for me when I walk through the welcome gates back in America!

Seasons Greetings and Felices Fiestas!

Something I had been wanting to write about lately was the rapidly approaching holiday season. As you might guess, the holiday celebrations in Spain are juuuuust a bit different than they are back home. I had planned on writing out a comparison of the two before Halloween, but apparently I can only write on here in little spurts.

So it's after Halloween but.....oh well, I'm writing about it anyway!

Historically the image of Halloween that we Americans have (dressing in costumes, trick or treating, carving pumpkins, etc.) is more of an American thing. But Halloween is actually becoming more and more of a big holiday in Spain.

However, there is one main difference.

Here is an example of costumes that kids can wear in the US.

Adorable. Fun. Cute. The kids can be a pirate, or Minnie Mouse, or a reindeer or a caveman. Whatever the kid fancies, they can wear it as a costume.

But here are some prime examples of typical costumes in Spain.

Fun and whimsical, right?

Yeah, no. Not even slightly. In Spain the only acceptable costumes are full of blood and guts and gore. And I know that these are photos of adults, but trust me, the kids are pretty much the same. I have some pictures of my little kiddos in their Halloween costumes, but I would hate to post pictures of the kids on the Internet. But trust me, they are very similar to these.

And if you wear a costume that a Spaniard deems as "not scary," you receive a lot of ridicule because "if it's not bloody and terrifying, it's not a Halloween costume." Which is funny because Halloween is a holiday that Spain totally jacked from us.

To each their own, I suppose.

Now, typically after Halloween, we Americans immediately switch to Thanksgiving mode. Time to prepare for turkey, tons and tons of other food, and football. This is what I have in mind (and am totally craving at the moment):

But living in a foreign country is kind of a harsh reality when it comes to American holidays. Unfortunately, the Spanish just don't seem to care about our day of giving thanks. So this is the spread I have to look forward to this year:

And believe me, the thought of it is slightly depressing.

However, some friends and I are going to try and throw together a good old-fashioned American Thanksgiving dinner to show the Spaniards just what they're missing. We'll see how it turns out. Pictures to come, I'm sure.

And now on to my favorite of all the seasons....Christmas! Now I don't want to talk too much about the holiday because I'm sure a lot of time and writing will be devoted to writing about it later. But the great thing about living in a country where they don't celebrate Thanksgiving is that they skip right on to Christmas! So that means I get a whole extra month of this:

And the great thing about Madrid is that it really spares no expense when it comes to Christmas lights. Huge 30 foot trees everywhere. Lights hanging on every street. Elaborate Christmas displays in every store window. It's a beautiful thing.

So even though I don't get my family and a huge Thanksgiving meal on November 25th, at least I get a little extra Christmas to make up for it.

I Want My MTV!

Well, now that the lovely trip down memory lane is taken care of, I can move on to much more interesting things....like what I did this weekend!

Actually, the sad fact of the matter is that much of my weekend was spent sleeping. I find myself being tired a lot lately, but I know it's just because of the time change and the fact that I leave my apartment to go to work before the sun comes up and I get home after the sun is down. It'll take my body a while to get used to this winter rhythm, but I'm slowly but surely getting there.

So anyway, Friday night was spent with my fellow teachers. Last year we started a Friday tradition of going out for drinks immediately after school lets out for the weekend. This tradition started out fairly tame. We met at a bar close to the school, had a drink and talked about the week, and all went home. However, our Fridays have turned into quite the spectacle as Spaniards really don't know how to go without a party. So these Friday evenings with the other teachers have turned into an all evening, rack up a nice bar tab, get loud and rowdy kinda evenings. But it's a blast and I often tell myself that this is just one of the many things that only happens in Spain.

Saturday was fairly normal, met up with my friend Lupe and her roommates and we went out on the town.

Sunday, however, was the big MTV day here in Madrid. Every year a different European city hosts the MTV European Video Music Awards and it just so happened that Madrid was the host this year. This translated into good news for me because that meant a huge free concert right in the middle of the city.

Now normally when I hear the word "free" before anything, I automatically jump to the conclusion that it will be a cheap, watered-down, dollar store version of whatever the thing is. So upon first hearing of the concert, I thought it would be groups like "Johnny and the Peanut Butter Cups" or "The Bubonic Plagues" or some other random group that no one has ever heard of.

But no.

This concert was bringing in 30 Seconds to Mars, Katy Perry, and Linkin Park. Oh, and just a little surprise appearance by Kanye West. (who, although I think he is a HUGE douche, I was excited to see in person) So the set list was cool, the environment was cool (right next to a big famous Madrid monument, and the price was cool (€0).

Here are a few pictures taken from the concert:

This was taken during the 30 Seconds to Mars show. You can see the Puerta de Toledo, one of Madrid's famous landmarks, lit up as the backdrop to the stage. Very, very cool.

And here is a shot of the stage as Katy Perry was singing her new song "Firework."

And a little close-up shot of Katy on the screen while she was singing. Not a bad live performer, despite her trying to say a few simple phrases in Spanish and completely butchering them. I mean, I'm definitely not a fluent Spanish speaker, but hearing her pronounce the few things in Spanish made me cringe.

So definitely a good weekend.

Things Jordan Misses, Part 2

(Also titled: An Ode To Those Who Are Far Away)

Originally this post was going to be about the free concert MTV put on in Madrid yesterday because of the European Video Music Awards. And how I saw Kanye West, Katy Perry, Linkin Park and 30 Seconds to Mars. And how it was really awesome and how I love living in a city where things like that just happen on a regular basis.

However, after work today I found myself in a very nostalgic mood. Like, "sit around and listen to Enya and light some candles" kinda nostalgia. (Wait...am I the only one who does that?)

Aaaaaanyway.....I decided to change the route of this particular blog post and have another installment of "Things Jordan Misses." This one has a bit more of a serious tone to it than the 1st one, but I promise I'll try to keep it light. And Kanye and Katy will have to wait for another day.

So what am I missing at this point in time? Well, to be very blunt, I'm missing all of the people I have left behind back home. (Now Mom, before you freak out and call/text/skype/facebook/email me to make sure I'm okay, I promise you I'm fine. These moments happen to all of us occasionally.)

So this post will be my nod to all of the people I love and miss. A tip of the hat, if you will. We'll see how it goes.

1. The Familia

Well, let me just go ahead and throw out the obligatory "family" part. I mean, this kind of goes without saying, right? They're my family, of course I miss them. I hate being so far away, especially with the two newest members of the clan growing so fast. But I know that they're always waiting for me as I walk through that "Welcome to America" gate at the airport.

2. Erin

The next person I find myself missing on a daily basis is my best friend Erin. She and I met freshman year (or soon thereafter) and stayed extremely close throughout our entire 4 (and a half) years at OU. It broke my heart a little bit when she started medical school and I moved out of the country, but we've still stayed in touch constantly and I've seen her both times that I've been home over the last year. But I'm always looking forward to the times when I see her again.

3. Kayla

And here we have my good friend Kayla, who was my partner in crime here in Spain last year. This girl has also been a huge part of my life for several years now and I can't imagine my first year in Madrid without her....and daily wish she was still here with me. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I couldn't get her to stay here with me for another year, but this is another one I look forward to seeing when I go home.

4. Every one of these guys

It's actually kind of funny that I'm missing all the guys in this photo because all of them (with the exception of the girl in the photo) are European. From left to right there is Jorge from Spain, Marc from France, Dini (standing) from Spain, Guillaume from France, me, Rudolph from Germany, Nellie (a fellow American) and Jacek from Germany. However, despite them all being on my same continent, they're still all very far away, so it counts. It's hard to imagine a cooler group of guys or a better group of friends than this. They made my last year at OU amazing. (and they know it) Luckily, I've had a few reunions with them since living over here, so it's made me miss them just a bit less than I would have otherwise.

5. DrewSo Erin snuck in to another picture, but it's just because I was too lazy to search for a picture with just me and Drew. But Drew was in my fraternity at OU and one of my best friends from the beginning to the end. I got to hang out with him a bit this summer, but not enough, and I can't wait to get back and have a reunion with this guy.

6. ElizabethI was actually lucky enough to have Elizabeth come visit me last year, which was a blast, but once is never enough. Another one of my best friends from OU and my neighbor for two years when I lived in Phi Delt and she lived in Tri Delt. One of the most fun people I know. She'll be getting married soon, which blows my mind, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the date will be at a time when I'm in the US to see it happen.

7. BishopAnother one of my fraternity brothers and my roommate for my (1st) senior year at OU. Bishop is one of the most hilarious guys I've ever met in my entire life and I haven't seen him in way too long. This picture is from Homecoming '07 when the two of us were both selected to be on Homecoming Royalty Court.

8. Megan

Another good friend who came to visit me in Madrid, this picture is of me and Megan at a bar in Madrid. Megan is one of the most caring, accepting, kind individuals that I have ever met and always a good time to hang out with. She and I always seem to have a good time, whether is going and sitting by Lake Hefner and talking or bar-hopping around Madrid, Spain.

And of course, there are countless others I could include on here, but I'm getting lazy and this is all I really have the patience for. But I miss everyone that I've left back home and I constantly look forward to being reunited with them again. I don't lie when I say that I have NO idea what my future holds and where I'll be in a year's time, but the one thing I do know is that all of these people will be a part of my life, whether in Spain, America, China, the moon, or anywhere else.

And that is what Jordan is missing right now.

Más Feliz Que Una Perdiz

Translation: "Happier than a partridge." Similar to "Happy as a clam" in English. Who knows why partridges and clams are so happy?

Last weekend we had yet another 3 day weekend because Spain basically has an infinite number of holidays. It's easy to get used to the lifestyle here and at least once a month having a nice, long weekend. This 0ne was for El Día de Todos los Santos (All Saints Day), so the Monday after Halloween I didn't have to work.

So to take advantage of the mini-holiday, I hopped on a bus on Friday after work and went down to Sevilla in the south of Spain to visit my friend Martín. The beauty of traveling within Spain is that it is super easy to find a bus that goes anywhere in the country and it's really really cheap. For example, this trip only cost me 30 euros round trip. The bad part is that the bus ride was 6 and a half hours long. So that part was no fun. But it was definitely worth it once I got there.

First of all, it was really interesting to be in Sevilla after being in Kansas City only a couple of months ago. Sevilla and KC are sister cities, so you can find stuff scattered throughout either city about it's "sister." Here you can see a sign by the train station leading onto Kansas City street:

So anyway, Friday night I didn't arrive until almost midnight because of the long bus ride, so my friend Martín picked me up at the bus station and we went straight to the apartment of Fernando, one of Martín's friends, to have some drinks and to hang out. At that point, I didn't know any of his friends, so I was a bit nervous. In the south of Spain, the people speak a lot faster and have a pretty different accent than those in Madrid. So meeting them all and trying to understand everything that was going on was a bit difficult until I became more accustomed to the accent, and that only served to make me more nervous.

But of course, that is nothing that a couple of drinks and a few hours of hanging out can't fix.

So around 4 in the morning (typical Spanish time) we decided to call it a night and I went and slept. Overall it was a good first night because I met several of Martín's friends and had a good, relaxing time.

On Saturday we woke up and Martín and I went to grab some lunch and to walk around the city a bit. The food in the south of Spain is delicious, so that's always a guaranteed good time. However, on Saturday it was really rainy and cold so we postponed our tour of the city because we didn't want to be out in the nasty weather. Plus, I have already been to Sevilla before, so I had already seen all the main sites. So we went back and just kind of watched some movies and hung out indoors until the evening, when we went to grab some dinner and meet up with some friends again. Another pretty chill day/night, which was definitely fine by me.

On Sunday, Martín had a wedding in the morning, so I was on my own for a bit. So I slept in and then took some time to walk around the city and see some sights. And of course, eat as much food as I possibly could.

Here are a couple of pictures from walking around the city:

This is the Giralda, the famous tower in Sevilla. It was built hundreds of years ago and has switched hands from Catholics and Muslims various times throughout the centuries, but it's still standing strong. You can go up inside of it, which I did when I was in Sevilla years ago. But this time the line was too long and I didn't have the patience for it.

And as you can see, the weather was really nice that day.

Here is the huge Plaza de España that was just finished being renovated. It is gigantic and absolutely beautiful. The picture really doesn't do it justice.

So Sunday is when the real fun began. It was Halloween, so there were all kinds of parties and theme nights going on all over the city. However, Halloween is celebrated a bit different in Spain. It's not a night made for dressing up as cowboys or princesses or Sarah Palin. It's supposed to be a night of pure terror and the only costumes that are acceptable are vampires, witches, zombies, etc. Lots of blood and gore and dead things. In fact, here is a picture from inside one of the bars we went to that night:

Looks like something from the exorcist, right? So dead people everywhere and nothing whimsical and happy about it. But just like all other things, it's so cool to see how things are different from place to place.

So we spent the night hopping around to different bars and discotecas and grabbing drinks here and there. Altogether it was me, my friend Martín, and his friends Blanca, Fernando, and Javi. Here is a partial picture of the group:

From left to right: Martín, Blanca, me (incapable of making a normal face in pictures), and Fernando. This was such an incredibly fun group and I couldn't be happier that I spent Halloween with them. As you can see, we didn't get dressed up. That makes me kind of sad, because in the US I never miss an opportunity to dress up as something crazy. But costumes just aren't as popular here in Spain, so I suppose it's alright.

So here are a couple more pictures from the night:

Blanca and Fernando showing just how much the love me. And I am obviously very excited about that.

And I seemed to find a kindred spirit in Fernando because he's also completely incapable of making normal faces in pictures.

So Halloween night was really fun and I'm so glad I got to spend it in Sevilla with my new Spanish friends. :)

The next day I got to sleep in a bit and then had some lunch and hopped on the bus to come back home to Madrid. Spending another 6 and a half hours in the bus wasn't really the ideal way to end my trip, but I slept most of the way anyway, so I guess it wasn't so bad.

But it was a really fun trip and SO nice to get out of Madrid for awhile. I love this city but sometimes it's nice to have a break from the hustle and bustle.

So overall, Sevilla gets pretty high marks from me.