Melanie´s Mass Mailings: En Espanol, Living La Vida Loca

date: Sep 5, 2006 11:30 AM
subject: Melanie´s Mass Mailings: En Espanol, Living La Vida Loca

Hola Friends, Family, and Frisbees,

Saludos desde Espana, hope all is going well on the home front. I am currently in Sevilla, living the dream of daily siestas, spanish tortillas, and bull fights on Sundays. To those of you starting new school years, or your last year of school, best of luck in the semester. I will be studying at the University of Murcia in Murcia, Spain for my fall semester. I'm excited and a little overwhelmed to be coming and going from country to country but I'm happy to be on another adventure, continuing my wandering around the world. Hi, Mel, this is your brain on culture shock.

The past few weeks have been quite a whirlwind, hence the fact that I haven't written another e-mail. I came home from Israel, cheered for the Israeli Youth Frisbee team at Frisbee Worlds (they did great and came in eighth… out of eight), got my wisdom teeth out, visited grandparents and uncles and aunts and Mike's mom in Philly, attempted to get a tan on Cape Cod, tried my hand at surfing with friends from Maryland who visited (I'm really good at sitting on the surfboard and looking cool not much else), ate lots of Anna's Taqueria, and packed my bags again.

I tried a few times to write an e-mail summing up my experiences in Israel but I stopped each time. Partly because I don't have words, and partly because it's hard to think about and here, outside of Israel , it barely feels real. Despite everything, I am still so glad I was in Israel this summer. I cannot imagine getting that news while being in the states.

What a summer this was—the bundle of contradictions that Israel always is, plus euphoric holy land highs and this time, more pain and hurt than I knew what to do with. Thank you again for all the support and e-mails all of you wrote back—it was amazing knowing there were people on all corners of the world pulling for me and worrying about me. And thanks, mom, dad, grandparents, for understanding that I was not going to come home and being supportive of my decision to stay when I needed it most.

My last day in Tel Aviv, just a day before the cease-fire was signed, I saw some amazing grafitti. "Know hope in limbo" someone had scribbled on a telephone pole, and all down the street was written "know hope" "know hope" "know hope" echoing down the block. As we start new years and new adventures and happier times, may we also know hope.
Chazak, chazak, v'nitchazek (strength, strength, and may you be strengthened).

I'll sign off here, getting ready to start my next adventure on a happier note, with another bumpy beginning, as my suitcases have been a little "tarde" (late) in arriving and I am still without most of my clothes after a week and a half of wearing the same thing every day (the upside of that was everyone learned my name very quickly because I always wore the same thing—thanks for that, US Airways). Sevilla is a gorgeous city—I am here for three weeks for orientation before I go to Murcia to begin my semester. This is the first year for my program, ISA Direct, which enrolls students directly as Spanish students in uni. There are only four students doing my program and I'm the only one going to Murcia. So life, as always, should stay interesting. Good luck to everyone and as always take advantage of every moment...


Love and tapas and sangria,
Meli (because Spanish people can't say Melanie, I've been rechristened with a new name)

P.S. You want to hear a logistical nightmare? Try building a subway in a 700 year old city and you´ve got Sevilla. Big Dig, you got nothing on this.

P.P.S. Melanie´s Mass Mailings first-ever contest: be the first to come up with the reason why so many Spanish guys are sporting mullets. Yes, that´s right, the mullets have taken to the streets and are returning from backcountry America with a vengeance. A VENGEANCE! Why, I ask, why?