Slippage

Widener has turned out less well this week, but as always HoCo provides a bright spot. We've begun planning, and it seems that even though school is still 3 weeks away, the spark from last semester might still be there!

Living in Medford has been a blast, so much that even though I hate Boston winters (and probably will even more if I have to pay for heating oil), staying here after graduation is a top preference (maybe above New York, but not Spain). Of course, post-graduation plans require one thing, a job. And with this economy, who knows where that will show up.

And slippage, well, that refers to my confidence, which is slipping away after an unfruitful weekend in Provincetown (yes, I am that gay).

Almost Done

"The hours pass through my hands like grains in a sand-glass."
(I think that's from a poem I read, not sure.)

But yes, faithful readers, this chapter of my obviously thrilling life is sadly coming to a close. Barcelona has been enlightening, if not exactly a "blast." True, there were extremely fun moments, but those mostly happened in Madrid and Pamplona, not here. And there were valid reasons, financial limitations being a top one. Still, while this summer pales in 'collegiate' fun compared to Madrid last summer, I can say it was all worth it. Why? Because I can dream again, cheesy as that sounds. Harvard almost killed that in me. In high school, all I had were my dreams. Aspirations for my future, of college in the big East Coast city, of an actual gay community, real relationships. And those were all realized (except for the relationships). Plus, I met incredible people who I am so lucky to count as true friends.

But college isn't where life ends, and halfway through Harvard, I started losing my way, losing my dreams. I didn't know where to go from there; I didn't know what to do with my life and make of myself. But I rediscovered that in Barcelona. No, my internship was not perfect (there were a lot of days I had nothing to do). But 90% of my memories this summer are connected to my job. It was fun. I learned a lot: about Spanish politics, about living independently, and most importantly, I learned how to dream of my future again. I know I want to join the foreign service; I know I want to be a diplomat. And though I may demure when people ask me about my post-college plans (either because it remains only a possibility or because it may seem geeky), I am quite sure this is what I want to do. I can see a path now where before there were only abstract ideas (grad school! Capitol Hill! Wal-Mart!). So Barcelona will always be special to me, because it birthed a new me.

But, profound finding-myself moments can only last so long. So after walking out the consulate tomorrow evening for the last time, I will spend the weekend souvenir shopping, packing, and cleaning my room. Then Monday I catch the overnight train to Paris and from there its homeward bound. This summer has passed quickly, but it's not over yet.

Insert Witticism Here

So I noticed I hadn't blogged in a while and ultimately, I can't blame it on busyness, only laziness. How sad, but I do have some updates.

• I'm going to Madrid this weekend for their pride week finale. I hope I'm not too disappointed considering last year, Madrid was host of EuroPride and close to a million people showed up. This trip will also be my first one out of Barcelona and a chance to hang out with friends from last summer!
• Hopefully on this trip I'll be able to rein in my tendency towards getting fucked-up-drunk. Not to go into too many details, but I had an episode of drunkeness last week and ended up needing medical attention. But the bright side was I fell in love with socialized health-care.
  
• Tomorrow the consulate is celebrating the 4th of July and I'm getting paid 100 freakin' euros to serve pizza.
  
• Speaking of work, I recently moved to my new office; basically it's a big room divided between two sections by a wall of filing cabinets. The worst part, my chair sucks and hurts my bum. But my boss is leaving to NYC for two weeks soon and I'm getting some real responsibility. Not sure how I feel about it yet.
• ...And, my job comes with impressive perks. Like free tickets to a concert held in the Palau de la Música Catalana, the inside of which was breathtakingly beautiful. The music (an arrangement of military-themed pieces to celebrate a Spanish victory over Napoleon), not so much.

Oh, and of course, the Spanish are the champions of Europe.














My favorite pic is where they're throwing their coach (who's like 80) in the air.









And while I'm pretty much in love with all the team, my new goal in life is to get the goalie, Iker Casillas, to marry me (cuz it's legal in Spain).










Yes, Spain, the perennial under-achievers, defeated Germany and the country went nuts. The major squares in all the big cities became scenes of revelry on a Sunday night. In the Plaça Catalunya, there was mayhem, but it was very exciting, especially because the Catalans have tried for 300 years to forge an identity separate from Spain. The rivalry between Barça and Real Madrid has always been seen as an expression of this thirst for separateness. I like my Spain whole, so it was very heartening to see not one Catalan flag in my brief walk around the plaza.

But enough about politics. It was a joyous night that I was lucky to be part of, as could definitely be said about my entire time here.

Work Update!

Ok troops, good news and some bad news on the work front. Bad news first (because it's not really that bad); I'm going to have to give up my corner office because they're remodeling it into a storage room, boo. But I'll still get an office somewhere, it just won't be as big. Actually, it won't be that bad of a thing considering I had way more room than I knew what to do with.

Now for good news. I L-O-V-E this job. Seriously. I do. The free champagne at the Russian consulate was just the beginning. I really shouldn't have complained about the bitch work that was (is?) my report on the crazy radical party because... I get to have an interview with them! Me, a 2nd-week intern interviewing a major force in Catalan politics. I'm also invited to a really swanky concert at this gorgeous place (Palau de la Musica Catalana). I went when I was in Barca last summer, but all we saw was the outside and the lobby, and even that was amazing!

Really, the only thing that will make this job any better would be if I got to meet someone like Nancy Pelosi (which the previous intern got to do). I already have a pretty sweet schedule with Friday afternoons off. I get paid pretty well. This job is SWEET!

Now if I only could meet some peeps to brag to/be friends with....

God, I Love Football (eh, Soccer)

So, being in Europe for the Euro 2008 soccer championships (or EuroCopa, as they call it here in Espana), I am surrounded by futbol. Now, I can usually ignore what I see as the last vestiges of Neanderthalism that is sport. But, in trying to connect with my roommates yesterday, I forced myself to watch the match between the Netherlands and France.
And that's when I fell in love with Robin van Persie. Yum.




















But on to other news. Thursday, I got invited by my boss (yes, the eminent Consul-General of the United States in Barcelona) to a little fiesta at our Russian counter part for their National Day. Now I was a little hesitant, but I'm glad I did go, mostly because there was free booze. (Don't worry, I did restrain myself to just two glasses of cava (champagne). But chatting with middle-aged diplomats from all over the world (Mexico, Japan, Pakistan, Germany, etc.) was really exciting and not an opportunity many people have.

The point: I'm feeling more confident about joining the foreign service. Now there's just the little issue of passing the test, which I've heard can be a real bitch.

You go Norway!

Norway becomes the latest country to guarantee marriage equality! Here's to the USA getting on the train soon, especially since finally letting all the divas have their day will mean big bucks! After all, gay men are the pickiest species. Or we could all listen to the radical right, and continue denying equal rights to citizens, since gay marriage did kill the dinosaurs.



In work news, I got my first real assignment yesterday! I'm writing a report on recent elections for a leftist political party. One of the many reasons why I love Europe so much, the left here is way crazier than anything the Democrats could come up with. Even the conservative parties over here are sometimes to the left of the Dems. But, progess will come in time, especially if we get Obama elected. Anyway, I realize the assignment isn't all that exciting/groundbreaking, but it's a start.

Remember to fill me in and all the wonderful happenings in your corners of the world!

From my Corner Office

Yes, that's right. I have a corner office, all to myself. Of course, it's only because the Consulate is kind of understaffed in a pretty big building. Which leads me to the subject of my job. Being left to my own devices all day mostly means that I have time to, well, blog, check email, Facebook, etc. True, it's only my 3rd day here, so I guess I can't expect to become diplomat extraordinaire anytime soon. Instead, my first assignment is to read the local newspapers. So, for now, a pretty sweet gig.

In other news, truckers are striking to protest high gas prices. I'm a little worried because I need to go grocery shopping and all the supermarkets are saying they're going to start running out of food by tomorrow. On the plus side, I'm really glad I don't drive, since as part of the strike, trucks are blocking traffic, creating huge jams in all the big cities.

And of course, an update on my hero, Barack Obama. Or rather, an update on what out-of-touch, white, conservative TV pundits think of Obama. Namely, that he's a terrorist. Who makes "terrorist fist jabs" with his wife. Really Fox News? Really? I wonder how many athletes and young people are now classified as terrorists according to Fox News.