Six Months as a Spaniard

"To go to Spain, what a dream!" --Henry Miller

On the advice of many brilliant expatriate writers of yore I am off to Barcelona for the next six months to learn Spanish, explore the rich culture, and teach English to any who care to learn. In part this trip is an escape from the rainy winter of Northwest Washington. In part this is a shallow, practical ploy to appear more worldly as I apply to graduate school for English Literature. But mostly this is a dream come true. Since I read Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, and others who left the United States during politically laughable times for artists and open-minded citizens for more cultured shores I have wanted to disappear to Spain or France or Italy to see what drew so many of my literary idols away from the capitalist squeeze of conservatism to a place where all are cared for and idealism was not so hard to comprehend. Perhaps this is overly romantic from the get go, but what I know is that my own country, while not without its positive points, has a great deal of growing up to do before it will know the lifestyle of our European ancestors who fought these same battles and overcame these same cultural growth spurts and power struggles before relaxing into the comfortable progressive adulthood they live now. I cannot wait to see for myself. I want to drink wine and listen to Spanish guitar and take siestas on the sunny beaches. I want to work to live instead of living to work and enjoy life for awhile.

So this will be my new blog for this adventure. My other blog, as some of you might know, has become rather political during the election process, so I will try to keep this one solely dedicated to my thoughts and travels while in Europe (although I can't promise I won't compare and contrast what I'm seeing there to what we experience here). Please feel free to follow along with me. I would love to hear from anyone and everyone. Thank you to my wonderful wife Allison who is letting me go for half a year to have a personal enriching experience that will last a lifetime. You are my roots and wings always! Thank you also to all of my wonderful friends wherever you are who have been so supportive in the planning of this trip. I can't wait to see you all again and if anyone can get away for a week or six during the upcoming months, I would love to have a travel partner for awhile. To everyone else, don't forget to put aside your price lists from time to time and explore your curiosity and passion. Try not to kill each other during the upcoming election, and, uh...hopefully I won't come home to the next dust bowl. Take care and hasta luego mis amigos!