Fall Break

Wow, what a week. I honestly don’t know if I can properly give an account of all my most recent adventures, but I will do my best.

As I mentioned before, this week was fall break so I had about 10 days off. I left a week ago last Friday to fly to Madrid. I got in to Madrid kind of late so I just crashed at my hostel and then woke up to explore the city for a day. I walked around a bit while waiting for my friend Rebecca to get in to Madrid from Córdoba to explore with me. Once I found Rebecca we went to the Prado together. 

The Prado is the Met of Spain according to Rebecca. We saw so much art, the most notable of which were the works of Goya and Velazquez. It was fun to finally see some of the works I’ve studied in the past and to laugh at some of the hilarious Marion art the church has created over the years (seriously, Jesus feeding from a shoulder boob never stops being hilarious). After the Prado we went to the botanical gardens before going to a tapas restaurant for lunch. That restaurant was the beginning of my love affair with Spanish food which is actually so good. At lunch we ate a lot of ham, cheese, and a delicious goat cheese and pear salad. After lunch we went to see the palace. I’m surprised I still have a jaw after walking around a building so immaculate. The frescos in the palace in Madrid were incredible. I am still shocked people were able to carefully create so many detailed rooms. People even died creating the fresco in the cathedral which is crazy. After the palace we went to grab my bag and head to the train station to catch a train to Córdoba where Rebecca studies. 

Córdoba is such a cute and fascinating city. The coolest landmark is probably the Mezquita which is an old Mosque that got converted into a cathedral when the Catholics took over the town. The city was also made like a maze with little tiny streets that cars could barely pass through. Naturally we walked everywhere. It was fun to wonder around and see some place so different from anywhere I’ve ever been. The streets were a little annoying since they were made of tiny rocks that kind of hurt your feet, but you got used to it after a while. 

Whilst in Córdoba I ate tons more Spanish food the most notable of which was eggplant fries with goat cheese and honey, fried ham wrapped in ham (I think), and Salmorejo (probably spelled wrong). The eggplant fries were a more delicious version of what my nana calls “green french fries” (fried zucchini). The fried ham stuff is hard to explain, but it was delicious. Salmorejo is the most interesting thing I ate. I thought it was cheese dip at first since it kinda tastes like cold queso; but, it’s actually like a  processed tomato and bread mixture that they put chucks of boiled egg and bacon bits in. This sounds disgusting, but it’s actually kind of delicious and you should try it if you ever go to Spain. 

I also saw the Inquisition Museum, the Zoo, an old Synagogue and a light show in Córdoba. The Inquisition Museum was just filled with instruments used to kill Jewish people during the Inquisition so it was kind of horrible and terrifying, but educational I guess. All I can say is I’m happy I wasn’t ever alive to see the world use such insane torture instruments. The zoo was a blast and I saw goats which we all know are basically my favorite thing. The Synagogue was fascinating because it was just a small square room that didn’t seem big enough to hold more than 50 people comfortably, and after the Catholics took over the town it became a hospital. I’m really not sure how that worked out. The light show was so cool! It was in a garden where we learned a little about the different ages of Córdoba, and then saw different light/water shows at the fountains around the garden. 

After a few days in Córdoba I headed back to Madrid for a night before catching a plane to Copenhagen. In Copenhagen I stayed with Maddie and her Danish host family. Her family is so nice and it was so neat to get to meet Danes and talk to them about what I should see around Copenhagen. On my first day in the city I went to Holsingor to visit Hamelt’s Castle. It’s in a really pretty spot and I liked getting to think about how the play would have happened within the castle as I explored. After the castle I went to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art which may be my favorite place I went. They had a big Yayoi Kusama exhibit that was incredibly cool. Yayoi is a Japanese artist who made a lot of art in NYC. She’s gone through many phases, but seems to like creating crazy rooms filled with loud colors and objects like balloons or mirrors. I took a few pictures, but you should look her up because she’s just so cool. 

The next day in Copenhagen I went in to the city to explore the botanical gardens, see the Rosenberg Palace, and the Round Tower. Then Maddie got out of class and we went to the aquarium together. The aquarium was really fun except we really wanted to know what type a fish we saw was and couldn’t find it despite searching forever. We did get to see some otters get fed and do a few tricks which was insanely cute. On Saturday we slept in a bit and then went in to town to see the Ameliaborg Palace where the royal family of Denmark actually still lives. We toured a few floors and got to learn about the royal family over the last century and a half. Then we went to lunch at a burger restaurant called “Hot Buns” because Maddie really wanted some french fries. It was good, but we found out later it’s the Danish equivalent to Hooters which is actually pretty funny because I wouldn’t be caught dead in Hooters in the states…

On Sunday Maddie and I went to the National Museum of Denmark and learned all about Danish history. It was a huge museum that we probably only saw half of, but it was amazing. The most notable exhibit we saw was about the White Buses from WWII. Denmark was occupied by the Nazis during the war and many Danes were deported to concentration camps. The Danish government negotiated to send packages of food and goods to the camps so that the Danish people would not starve to death. And then near the end of the war the Danish and Swedish government sent white buses with doctors and nurses to the camps to rescue the Danish people and anyone else they could help. It was a piece of history I hadn’t heard of before, and it was interesting to learn about. Naturally all the horrible parts of the war and concentration camps were included in the exhibit which is hard to read even if you’ve heard it before. Genocide is such a horrible thing and it’s kind of heartbreaking that so much of Europe’s history is wrapped up in it now. I guess my break sounds kind of gloomy when I think about how I went to an Inquisition museum and an exhibit about the Holocaust, but there were some fun sites mixed in too!

On Monday I left Copehagen to head back to good old Budapest, but first I had a 7 hour layover in Brussels. Since I was in the city for so long I went in to town, walked by the Mannequin Pis, ate a belgian waffle, and grabbed a late lunch. It was a brief, but good introduction to the city. 

GUYS, I think all the alcohol I’ve consumed is catching up to me and I’m losing brain cells. I slept with a practical stranger my last night in Madrid, and I didn’t even really want to. He just kept shamelessly hitting on me and I let it happen. Seriously, stupid. I wrote a poem about it. I read an article (http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/10/why-consensual-sex-can-still-be-bad.html) recently about how hook up culture is supposed to be liberating but then women just end up sleeping with people because they think it’s the feminist’s way even if that’s not what they want. I realized I’m that way too. Being a yes girl is not all that great and I really hope that I start sleeping with only people I really like or at least really want to sleep with. I need to get out of the vicious hook up cycle soon or it’s gonna consume me.

In other “Cali is turning into a dummy” news I am not confident in my ability to complete my Quantum midterm. I keep emailing my professor what I’m afraid are stupid questions, I’ve read my notes a million times, no one in the class seems to want to help me, and it all has started to seem like a rushing river I’m bound to drown in. It’s really scary, but I’m trying really hard to swim and work hard and find happy. I’m trying to remember that I’m a really smart, capable girl and that I can do this. But, if you feel like you know anything about Quantum probability and logic or have any kind words for me it’s all more than welcome these days.

On study abroad depression: I’ve been kind of sad a lot, but I’ve got a plan to keep myself busy, throw myself into my work, do more yoga, breath, breath some more, and to smile until I don’t remember how to even spell sad. 

Know that I’m doing ok and that I’m still planning to account any silly funny drunken Cali nights I happen upon. I think the funniest thing I’ve done whilst intoxicated these days was probably almost two weeks ago when I showed up to a date already drunk. The date even went well, so we can safely assume that my game works too well. 

Poem: 

He kissed your hand and said,

“You’re so beautiful!”

You smile and say, “thank you.”

Flattered of course, but uneasy.

What is easy

Is to just let him kiss your hand 

Let him kiss your cheek

It’s not that you don’t want this

But, you’re not exactly asking for it

Uneasy.

I woke up and felt like a floozy.

People don’t use that word anymore

But, it’s how a yes girl feels the next day

Yes is easy

There’s no fight

So what if it usually kind of hurts

And these strange men usually don’t care about your mind

You’ve been objectified so many times you’ve started to think

You want it

The wandering eyes of men and their flowery words are flattering

You say yes

You wake up uneasy

Add one more to the tally

Pretend you’re hunting 

Just like they are

Uneasy

So, just eat something greasy

And wash your hangover down

Along with the feeling you’ve committed some sort of act against

Humanity

As you perpetuate gender roles and add one more lock

To the cage women find themselves in the next day when they wake up

Uneasy

Am I allowed to be angry and think these men

Sleazy?

I didn’t say no, but I didn’t ask for anything either.

Since when do kind words and a free drink amount to a kiss, a touch,

and a night together?

Sleazy.

I didn’t say no, but I was afraid of how scared I’d be after the no passed

my lips. Isn’t it better to say yes and

Feel like you have an active voice and 

contribution to the situation instead

of saying no and realizing he’s going to sleep with you anyway.

Hunters either kill their prey softly or brutally and I suppose people think

It’s up to the hunted to choose their inevitable fate.

Sleazy.

Uneasy

I realize I’m afraid of the lack of power in “no” and complacent in the false

Liberation of “yes”.

How to break the cycle? How to convince men in this world

To stop hunting?

Women aren’t your prize or your prey.

Sleazy.

Stop leaving us uneasy.

I want real liberation.

I’m all done with your kisses and sweet words.

I’m not an ornament.

Goodbye. NO. Goodbye.

It feels so powerful the next day

Once I’m far away…