Sol En Mi Mente

I turned 22 in Spain! My day started with a trip to the modern art museum, Es Baluard. The afternoon was spent at the beach, and we went out for dinner! This morning I walked to Es Baluard, a modern art museum here in Palma. It's built into a 16th century building very near the coast. The museum is made up of three floors, each with different exhibits. The basement housed some really creepy, dark, cinematic art. It was fascinating but unnerving. The kind of thing you can't look away from even though you'd like to. Both the first and second floors held a mixture of old and new art. I saw paintings and sketches from as far back at the late 1800s. And mixed right in with them were pieces ranging from the early 1900s to present day. There was pottery made by Pablo Picasso. A famous Spanish artist, Joan Miró had lots of art hanging in the museum. I saw videos, movies, mixed media sculptures, paintings, sketches, comics, you name it! My favorite piece was a large paint br...

I went to a barbeque at my cousin's friend's house last night! I tried some new snacks, learned Spanish curse words, and met an adorable pug named Leo. As soon as we walked up to the home, everybody came out to greet us. I was immediately asked if I wanted a Bloody Mary, and, of course, my answer was yes. We headed to the back patio to start a fire, and without starter fluid, that was an interesting ordeal. It may or may not have been started with the help of a hair dryer. With the fire started, the barbacoa was laid on the barbecue pit, and we focused on snacks as we waited for the meat to be done. Here on the island, people eat a lot of seafood, so one of the snacks offered was canned muscles. They were not very appealing to the eye, but they were delicious! Especially when eaten on a potato chip. Olives, pickles, sausage, cheese and crackers were among the other snacks offered. While we waited for the main course to get done, I was introduced to Leo, an ol...

I stepped back in time today. I went on a solo adventure to the Banys Arabs (Arab Baths) and was back in the 10th century for a moment. The walk to the Arab Baths is about thirty minutes long. I made a few wrong turns, but I found them! A blue "Banys Arabs" sign pointed to the door to the baths. The door led into a stone hallway where the ticket office was located. I awkwardly asked for a ticket in the best Spanish I could muster up and €2.50 later, I was headed up the stairs to the baths. Stone steps guided me to a courtyard filled with tropical plants. Green leaves spilled out of clay pots. Trees and ferns stood high above the bushes. Red and pink flowers were hiding within all the green. To my left was a stone building with a door cut out of it. I walked into the dark stone building that houses the baths. Once inside, I could see the ancient, worn stones that the floors, walls, and ceilings were made of. Twelve columns held up a dome ceiling with a bunch of ...

Last night, I got exposed to A LOT of Spanish culture, conversation, body language etc. My cousin, Heather and I went out with some of her friends for a drink last night. Then we went to the beach for another friend's birthday party. We went down by the sea to an old fishermen's bar to meet with a couple of Heather's close friends. The bar faces a small port that was full of boats. The ocean just went on and on until it met the sky at the horizon. Just outside is a very popular walking/biking trail, so people-watching was quite entertaining. In the summer, all kinds of people are on the island for vacation, not just Spaniards. I tried Tinto de Verano, a traditional drink from the island consisting of wine and a fizzy, sprite-like soda. It's very good but the way. Even though I couldn't understand most of the conversations, I could sort of follow along with context clues and pick up a word here and there. We had drinks and ate peanuts on the front po...

I've successfully gone to the supermarket twice so far and learned a lot about buying groceries on the island. There is a supermarket not far from the apartment, and it's quite different from grocery stores you typically see in America. The shopping carts are very small. It's like an American cart cut in half, so it's a lot shorter. But that's all you need because you're going to be carrying it home and up the stairs to the apartment anyhow. The fruits, vegetables and cuts of meat are very fresh. There is a deli in this supermarket as well that will slice meat right off the bone for you. A lot of the options are much healthier than in the states, but there's junk food too of course. The Spanish have potato chips of all sorts of flavors: fried egg, ketchup, you name it. They also sell sliced bread with the crusts cut off which I found comical. A big difference between American and Spanish grocery stores is that in Spain, they primarily sell shelf stable...

On my first full day back in Mallorca, I swam in the Mediterranean Sea (this time it wasn't ice cold!). We drove to a small town down the coast from Palma and gathered salt! The drive to S'estanyol was outlined by the loose, handmade, rock walls that line the road. As we got to our destination, we parked up the beach and began our trek to find some salt. The beach is a mixture of rock and sand. The very edge of the coast where the water meets the sand is covered with sea grass (posidonia) that was pushed up on the shore by the waves. This pile of grass helps prevent erosion, so it is left where it washes up. As you move inland on the beach, it becomes rocky. And there are lots of plants and trees living on the coast. We hiked along the coastline until we found a decent place to hop in the water. The water this time of the year is warm but not hot. Just the perfect temperature that doesn't require any "getting used to" before you can completely submerge you...

Traveling the world has always been a dream of mine.  Seeing how other people live and what their world looks like is fascinating to me!  Until May of this year, I had never been out of North America, but that is quickly changing! I'm back in Mallorca, and I'm going to be here for at least three months this time! Here's to the adventure of a lifetime. After an exhausting trip through Nashville, Boston, and Paris, I made it to Palma Thursday, July 18th. I'm staying with my cousin and her wife (and their two dogs) in their apartment here in the city.  In nine days, I'll start Spanish school and sailing courses, and I can't wait!  Fingers crossed that I meet at least one person who speaks English. I'm going way out of my comfort zone with all this, but I think that's where the best things in life happen -- outside your comfort zone.  Adjusting to city life and learning a new language won't be easy but I'm up for the challenge. Blogging is all ...