Such a shit-keeper...

“You’re such a shit-keeper!” mi pana commented as I was thinking of putting some left-over dinner in the topper ware.

15 hours of flight and connection later, I finally arrived in my beloved Vancouver--been 15 months. Strange but nice to be back. It was cold, wet as usual, something that has not changed about the RainCity despite all the constructions for 2010.

Woke up at 5am due to the jet leg and went downstairs and looked for something to munch…The fridge was piled with topper ware, and every single compartment of the cupboards was stuffed with cans and jars. Looking around the living room as I was eating a bowl of cereal; the Christmas ornaments were accompanied by some classy yet not-so-colour-coordinated decorations. ”This is so my parents,” I thought, who have hard time throwing away things but enjoying buying things that they could use but they don’t need. I grinned. Realized why I am a shit-keeper...

Stereotype? But it's true!

Call it a stereotype: any cars with a French plate passing by the highways with huge tarp on the top and lots of things in the back… “ I bet that’s a morrocan”, said mi pana, “they are driving back to sell all the stuff.” I couldn't believe what I just heard, such a stereotypical comment, that I almost felt offended. Yet, tried to prove him wrong along the way, 9 of 10, it was true! Darn! Very stereotypical, but it’s true!

Real Spain?

Spent a few days driving down south and exploring Sevilla and Granada, the South. Stopped by Benidom for a night..the place was a deja vu of Tenerife: lots of high-rise hotels packed with seniour gille tourists..totally felt that we were out of place when we realized we were the ONLY people under 30 in the dining room.

Just glad that we (mi pana y yo) actually survived the trip without killing each other. Think we spent most of the time navigating than anything else as both cities are majorly under construction and ‘la puta de china’ (the name we gave to the damn GPS) was not at her best the whole time. Instead of directing us back to Granada, she led us to Huelva so we almost made it to Morroco ☺ Man, guess the bitch made in china was not so accustomed to the Spanish alleys. Besides all the drama on the road, I discovered that ‘customer service’ actually existed in Spain: people are much nicer in this part of the world, although sometimes they may be trying too had and ended up cracking they-think-it-is-funny-but-it-is-not-so-funny jokes ☺

Narrower, smaller, friendlier, older, and shorter…this is the South..as must as I complained about BCN, still like it better, perhaps it’s me, used to the rhythm in bcn, the place where I feel like my second home at the moment…

Festival de Gastronómico

(dated November 24, 2006)

Yum! Another Festival de Gastronónmico. I completely fell in love with central American food this time, especially the yummy postre ‘rellenito de guatemala’ made by my roommie: defried platano filled with frijoles, cinnamon, and sugar. It’s to die for. What a pity that the crazy Mexicans and Columbians topped the competition. Check my flickr for more photos on FOOD!

Color de Esperanza

What can be worst than realizing that you were wearing the opposite colour to the party you were supporting? Well, mi pana is an anti-chavista but I didn’t realize that I was wearing the chavista color until I arrived at the election office. December 3, a big day for all the Venezuelans. Although most of the azules know that Chavez is going to win, they are still trying their best. Any vote counts…

This is how it was described to me...imaging miles-long of 800,000 people gathered together for a manifestation against Chávez in Caracas, singing Color de Esperanza…

Se que hay en tus ojos con solo mirar
que estas cansado de andar y de andar
y caminar, girando siempre en un lugar

Se que las ventanas se pueden abrir
cambiar el aire depende de ti
te ayudar, vale la pena una vez mas

Saber que se puede, querer que se pueda
Quitarse los miedos, sacarlos afuera
pintarse la cara color esperanza
tentar al futuro con el corazon