Our apartment sits on the outskirts of Madrid, much closer in proximity to the town of Alacala de Henares. Our nightly routine usually consists of wandering to downtown Alcala, purchasing an hour at the Internet cafe, then aimlessly perusing the streets like lost children, searching for people who speak English.
For everybody else, this nightly journey is usually embellished by the consumption of alcohol, which results in moments like this.
These two young men got distracted by the opportunity of arson, and thus a temporary schism formed in the group, as Brock, Glenn, and myself continued into town without hesitation. It was later than usual and the Internet cafe wasn't an option so we sat in the plaza as the brisk nightly quickly grew stale.
We soon decided to return home, but only a few minutes after our departure we were reunited with Joel and Adam, which seemed to inject some hope into what previously looked to be a desperate evening. Glenn sat on a bench talking to a statue of Sancho Panza (Cervantes was born in Alcala) and we kept our fingers crossed that some Americans would walk by.
They did.
The utterance of a frustrated "Goddammit!" from amidst a small group of girls was all it took and we instantly hurled proof of our native language in their general direction, hoping that they were as bored as us, or at least interested in talking. They were, and we lamented about only things Americans in Spain can-ham isn't that good, mullets are ridiculous, mopeds are annoying etc. The girls were students here in Alcala, and they were headed off to a club, we followed them, trying our damnedest to pull Joel and Adam away from their new friends who spoke a little English and knew a catchy song about communism.
The club was decent enough but for whatever reason I didn't really enjoy myself. When 4 AM rolled around I finally did what I had been wanting to do for the past couple of hours and walked home.
There were no stars in the sky, a frustrated Spaniard was enveloped in the hood of his broken down car, squealing horns blasting out of his speakers, hopefully warming his heart but surely doing nothing to combat the unforgiving morning. I turned down my street, ignoring the hookers' heckle from across the corner.
I was the first one home, so I sat up waiting as the rest trickled in. We evaluated the night, and soon slipped into reminiscing mode. The echo of the "old days" came back around again for some reason. I don't know what time we went to bed.
Of course all of this was done in celebration of Danny Roop's birthday which was on Friday. So everyone send him some money for his birthday so he can afford to buy me something nice for Christmas.
I am thinking about doing some more retroactive posting about France. Does anyone object to this practice or does our readership not find the sweet nectar of continuity as sacred as I do?
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39 comments:
i like how adam sounds like scooby doo when he says "bailar" and how he stutters over the word "day". that was so fucking intense when you lit that shit on fire. what kind of plant was that? Danny, dont forget brendan's christmas present, apparently its pretty damn important.
damn I wanted to be first comment.
"lets fucking run now okay? should we run?"
hahaha
I like the sweet nectar, so please give me more.
you went to europe seeking novelty, and perhaps you've exhausted it. try not to get too bored before march, because there'd better be a party when I get to madrid. by the way, i've been reading all the posts, just haven't been commenting - good stuff! feel free to write more of france
Hey quick note, you're a fucking idiot for lighting the plant on fire. Way not propagate the stereotype of Americans being really fucking stupid. Honestly, you're in a foreign country, so you're routine now is to complain about having to ride an hour to a job that you got within a month of being there? Could you be any less gracious of the opportunity you have? Also, praying for people who speak English, hanging out in internet cafes, reminiscing about the good ole days, sounds like you're all ready to come home.
wow, there is some anger in "spain's" comment...
jesus, what'd you do to piss spain off? i didnt think you were that terrible. she fucking hates you.
hahaha beautiful. all of it. i got pretty toasted with some people who were old enough to be my parents outside of a bar in downtown boise this weekend. i thought it was sweet until i saw this and realized that i didnt light any plants on fire in the middle of a city. you guys are kings. damn kings. glad to hear all is well. i was going to mail you guys steak until i went to UPS and found out that it would cost me around 40.82 euros to send it since it is perishable. i hope to still send you something else though asap. adios.
adam, Bailar?! ha I knew spanish would come in handy.
haha i love danny. wish i could have been there
Sounds like spain is pretty bitter, and yet decides to remain anonynous. Sounds like a coward to me.
No, it sounds like none of you are thinking. You're just acting in the same way you always have, with an incredibly insular view of the world. So insular that you'll ignore this and other comments by other countries and the residents of those countries like a badass, and be very satisfied by the image you're showing everyone. You won't think about it. You'll drink more. Maybe set something else on fire and endanger someone else's life. You're in a prime position to change all this, but so far nothing indicates a desire to do so. Good luck with that. Time will tell.
To Brendan, Adam & company (I don't really know the rest of you). Good luck on starting WW3, it looks like you're doing well so far. Just stay out of Germany, that could complicate things.
Oh yeah, and in response to mamakelly, that looked like an ornamental grass of the genus Calamagrostis. Tough to determine species from a few second clip taken in a foreign country, but it's pretty likely some Calamagrostis. And you threatened it's life. You monster. See you all soon.
Joel you are an idiot but that was hilarious and necessary. Why are these "france" and "spain" people bothering to look at the blog if they are just going to shit their pants over what they see? Find something better to do.
Im pretty sure the france and spain comments are from hannah
i dunno about that nate... i dont know who it is but i dont think that its her.
maybe it's members of the U.N. That'd be sweet.
This made my night... thanks boys. I'll go try and find something to burn down in NZ before i leave.
Just to let all of you know.. I think I approached a new level of inebriation on Friday night. It was unlike anything you guys have ever seen.. except maybe the night down here when you drew penises all over my face. Thanks for the post guys.
Oh and by the way, if you could delete Autry's post and mine and this one after you guys get a chance to read them that would be awesome. I'd just feel safer not having my drunken antics displayed on the internet like this.
Autry, you sure do know how to save people drowning in their own puke. Danny, are you sure you want that deleted? Why does every country that we have visited hate us. England is the only country to have not complained about us so far.
Yes I would like that deleted. It's too easy for parents and other such people to see it. And they probably hate you because you're assholes.
This is in response to Spain and France. Spain, you´re right about lighting the plant on fire... it was stupid. But what the fuck, who hasn´t done something stupid in their lives. France, it didn't risk anyone's life and I´m not going to burn down anything besides shitty plants. So settle down, don't be so dramatic.
Complaing about the bus. We don't really complain, that was just a drunken statement. We make statements like," I hate you asshole, to our friends, or I can´t fucking stand, or I am going to die." But it isn't true... it's just a statement.
Here's a little fact for both Spain and France, if in fact they are different people. You don't know us. Even if you are some person who knows who were are (which we don't know because you are too much of a coward to post your name) You don't know us. We talk shit. So settle down. Also, every person that we have had contact in each country has liked us a lot, and we have hung out with them. We are very nice, polite people... You just saw a video of one stupid thing that I have done, that a few Spaniards saw, and it may have made some of them a little mad, some of them may have laughed, we don't know. But what we do know, is that it was one stupid thing. I would assume that some person in Spain or in France has done something stupid. Just a guess, but I would think that I'm probably correct.
As for not being greatful of the opportunity we have, that is bullshit. We are extremely greatful, and if you knew anything about us, which you obviously don't, you would know that. So don't say that we aren´t gracious of the opportunity we have, I say again that is COMPLETE bullshit. We are still in awe that something this great could have happend to us.
About the "praying for people that speak English" Again, it's not a completely true statement. We don't get on our knees and pray that we will have contact with someone that speaks English, or even hope a great deal. It is just nice to be able to hold a conversation with someone that speaks the same language. We have hung out with people that speak a few words of English but mainly spoke French or Spanish and it was fantastic and mutually liked.
As for "hanging out in internet cafes" That is because we have friends and family that we are very close to. I miss a lot of people dearly. And it is enjoyable to talk to the people that I care about, via the internet because I don't have much money. And "reminiscing about the good ole days" is basically the same scenario. We love our friends and we had a lot of great times with them. So we think about it and talk about it. There is nothing wrong with that, and does not detract from our experience here.
In conclusion, this blog was made for our friends, we don't expect people that don't know us to read it, but I'm sure there are some that do that think we are complete assholes. Which they are entitled to by some of the things on this blog. But again, they do not know us. If people sterotype Americans because of what they see on here, I am sorry. But not that sorry. If they create such a ridiculous stereotype from a few actions of a few people that happen to have been born in America, they are ignorant. So settle down. If you don't like the blog, don't look at it. You don't know us, you only see an extremely brief glimpse of our lives and our thoughts on this site, so you can't say that we think we are badasses because I know I don't. I don't walk around pushing people being a jackass singing "America, FUCK YEAH" The majority of people that I see probably have no idea that I am American, and they probably think I'm an alright person, because I am.
word to joel. i think you are upstanding young gentlemen. haha. your friends know how you are, dont even worry.
word to your mother france/spain
I with joel. People do dumb shit, and often it is rewarded. Part of american culture is being a dumb ass male, it has a huge part in our culture in movies and such. So they're are just bringing some of our culture to the world, it's a learning experience. also the things we do do not define who we are. Rock on boys, I miss you guys.
Rocked
You apologized way too much in that comment dude. There is absolutely nothing wrong with either this post or your actions in the various countries you've visited.
m-monsters...
If I was to truly ignored your comment like you predicted, which I should have, it would have been because you are anononymous jackass who is obviously starved for attention. Unfortunately you have dragged me in to this.
It is incredible to me that you would make these comments, which appear to be in the vain of teaching us something, without presenting your true identity. In doing this you can sit back on an invisible throne and cast stones, acting as some deity who is doing something incredible with their life and also has the power to tell the future.
You reference "endangering someone else's life", but I have no idea who you are talking about whose life we have endangered thus far. You say that we are going to drink more, which I guess makes a tiny bit of senseseeing as how I couldn't possibly drink less.
The only image that we can hope to show anyone is the image of how we really are. I am surely not going to contort my thoughts and writings to match the paranoid delusions of someone who is incredibly worried about being considered a stupid American. As far as I can tell, you are really fucking stupid, and you are an American, so you already lost with that one.
If we were not spending time in Internet cafes, which I am doing right now (gasp!), then would wouldn't be able to publish this blog which you apparently read. If you do don't enjoy reading said blog, then stop doing so, nobody is begging for your presence or retarded comments.
On top of all of this you accuse us of being ready to come home. This leads me to belive that you are some disgruntled asshole who wants us to fail. Or maybe we just do not compare to the incredible things that you have with your life. Honestly, if we were ready to come home would we really have signed a two month housing contract?
If you were actually someone who knew us, or you were genuinely concerned, you would have done this in a much more civil way and talked to us directly. Sadly, this is not the case. You have decided to beg for attention in this forum, and you have now received it. Please don't ever be fooled into thinking that you are acquainted with us well enough to make sweeping judgements about the way we have always acted, what we should be doing with our lives as decided by you, and the way we are being received. You know very little about all of these things. If you want some true insight, or really want to save my life and set me on the correct path, get in touch. Otherwise, do us all a favor and kill yourself.
Sorry, about complaining about the bus. What i meant to say was... ¨There´s the fun bus! I love riding it because i get to sit on it for an hour next to sick coughing people and try to get past a large line of people standing in the aisle so that i dont miss my stop. God, i love that big green bitch over all other forms of transport.¨
damn...theres the brendan i expected to respond to hannah.
conflict is such good enertainment.
Goodness! I didn't realize how much I missed you guys lol :) I am back in Sandpoint and I always gaze fondly at the fountain in remembrance :) love you guys and don't hurt yourselves too bad...
Manda K
I think my spot has been taken... no need for two people to say who's been rocked.
At least you guys are talking about something real and observing how your actions affect others and how you are being affected by these unfamiliar surroundings and ways.
It is a little isolating not being able to communicate with others. You stick with your own kind and take low-paying jobs. You travel by public transportation. You adopt an outsider mentality. You are now MEXICANS.
Thanks for the vicarious thrills.
Remember, booze doesn't make you more attractive. Just less scared.
KV Been There
Whoah Kevin, don´t even get to thinking that the thrills are over.
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