The Adventures of Merrick: Livin' la vida Espanola

January 25th 2013

Trains, planes, buses, boats. Doesn't matter the mode of transportation, it is tricky to plan. At least in terms of how to link them all together. I have been trying to plan trips all week long, stalking Skyscanner and seeing what discounts I can get with my Carne Joven. There is just so much to see here, and in such little time. And having class M-F definitely doesn't help in trying to make weekend trips either.

I have been a hermit all this week in terms of going out. I come home, do homework, eat, go climb, and then usually just relax until I zonk out at about 10pm. It's hard to go out when I know I have to be up at 6:30am. Oh well, on the flip side, I have been making friends with a lot of people at the rocodromo, and have plans to climb outside both Saturday (bouldering in Elche) and Sunday (sport in Sella).

The wind this week has been out of this world. Consistent and strong all day. I bundle up every day and look like I'm about to tackle Antarctica just to protect myself from the chills. The forecast is looking more promising with each passing day. Soon, the beach will be utilized.

As a side note, congratulations to my friends Mike and Mara on their two newest additions to the already incredible Syring family: Prana and Tesla :) I wish I was home to meet them with everyone; the pictures are great!

January 28th, 2013

I love being a climber. Less than one month in Spain and I have already been to a bunch of beautiful places because of climbing. It's hard for me to think of what I would do here if climbing wasn't so imperative to my existence.

I went to two different places this weekend: bouldering in Crevillent and sport climbing in Sella. It is definitely obvious in my climbing that I have been only bouldering for quite some time. While I sent a few climbs that translate to a V3-V4 grade, my sport climbing was more in the 5.10c range, and it was HARD. My endurance definitely needs work, but that's why I'm here!

I would like to now take some time to jot down some of the fun little differences I've noticed in terms of customs.

Climbing:

-Everyone keeps their harness inside the little bag that it comes in after purchase.
-Climbers bring a big bowl of pasta with additions like tuna, peppers, carrots, etc to feed 3-4 people on a climbing trip.
-Everyone and their mother uses a Gri-gri.

General:

-Crackers and coffee are as normal a breakfast as cereal is in the states.
-They weren't kidding about the excess of tapas and bread for meals here.
-It is impolite to take off your shoes in your own house.
-When receiving a compliment on clothes, shoes, etc, you are supposed to reply with "Oh this old thing? Nah." instead of "Thank you!"
-No one actually sleeps during the siesta. It is actually meant to be a 20 minute break on the sofa.
-There is no such thing as peanut butter here. But there is Nutella out the hoo-ha.
-The word "estupido" is actually much more vulgar than the English equivalent, "stupid," so don't use it lightly.

My brain was on overload the entire weekend from trying to comprehend all of the Spanish. I probably spoke and practiced more Spanish on Saturday alone than I do in the entire week during class. I can feel the mechanisms in my head come to a screeching halt when a sentence is over 8 words long. I am getting better, no doubt. It is just time at the point. But all the people I've met here have been very patient with me, so that helps a lot ^_^

Barcelona is booked, Fontainebleau is in the works, along with Croatia and Slovenia. More to come!

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