the rain has come to spain

You know the smell of rain in about late april-may, when all of th e trees and plants are in flower, and the rain makes the air smell vibrantly green? it's unmistakable. and that's what it smells like right now. I can't remember the last time it rained here, its probably been 2 months, and after the beautiful weather we've been having (already in the 70s the first week of april), everything is starting to flower, and i can already tell that when the skies clear the landscape is going to be neon green with life. i'm stoked.

The last month or so has been an interesting change - and i've been out of touch because once again i was without internet for a month. Because of that, and being now outside of the city, i've been feeling more isolated, and for the first time all year i really started to miss home...it was rough for a few weeks. I've also been taking stock in the friendships i have with people at home and here...in which ones matter most to me, and feeling a little bit less certain than i was before that i am going to find people here that will offer me the caliber of friendship that i expect, the kind that i've left behind - and mostly this is not because i can't find people to get along, but more that a particular quirk about spanish culture seems to be their stubborn and somewhat blind loyalty to the friendships they've grown up with, and it seems almost impossible to become a really truly close friend of anyone here; all those places are already taken b people they've known at the latest since elementary school (!). And I just ain't from around here, no matter what I do.

However, I think I'm still determined to push ahead, and give things more of a chance (probably at least a couple of years worth, so don't hold your breath over there...). Things in my apartment are going mostly well: my room IS much nicer and the house more comfortable, and not travelling an hour to work everyday is a blessing. However I feel like my roommate, excited as she was to have me move in at the beginning, is showing slight signs of annoyance at having another person always in the house - I think mostly because she'd been living alone for months, and she's adjusting to having osmeone else in her space, which is fine. She's also a neat freak, and as I am not, I think it bugs her that i don't always leave thing as neurotically immaculate as she does (though at least she recognizes her own obsession). I was hoping to be living with someone a little more enthusiastic to spend time accompanied, and instead it seems i'm cramping her style...

all things considered, though, I'm more satisfied with how things are going now, this last month has mostly been a transition, and as I already feel I'm moving through that, my guess is that things will change, and I'm hoping the move toward the better. Once the weather improves and its starts to be nice spring weather and all ervyone wants to do is spend time outside drinking beer on terraces and whatnot...that;s the best part of being in spain, man. I'm looking forward to it.

this week I head down to Sevilla for the famous Feria de Abril after 2 years of pleading my friend gloria to take me - think culmination of everything typical you think of when someone says ""spain" to you: flamenco dancing and music, dirnking and food all night long, followed by 2 days of recovery on the beach...i'll try to post pictures later.

big besos to all. Drop me a line if you havent heard from me. I miss you!

Muah