Swim Reunion

June 24

Wow. I was not expecting that. Britain voted to leave the EU 52% to 48% and the pound plummeted by at least 8 points. I'm afraid this happened because of xenophobia and nativism because of the war in Syria and I really hope that as part of the compromise they have to arrive at within the next two years, they will agree to take on a significant number of refugees. I also sincerely hope the US steps up and starts accepting hundreds of thousands rather than just hundreds, but that's aside from the whole Brexit issue. 

Molli and Rick Steves and I spent the morning touring the Royal Palace (the palace part of the video starts at about 6:30, if you're interested), which was made more interesting by Molli reading out the guide as we toured the 20-something rooms. The tour has a really nice flow, and I enjoyed everything from the sculptures to the frescos to the throne room to the stradivarius set to the armory. Although the palace itself is enormous, the part you can tour is contained enough that it doesn't feel overwhelming, both in grandeur and in information. We tried to get gelato, but Rick Steves let us down as the Argentine gelato place was closed as if it had never even existed. Instead, we ended up meeting up with a former teammate of mine from college who I haven't seen in at least four years to get tapas at the San Martin mercado, and a bottle of verdejo wine as an excuse to escape the heat. Zac's traveling for a few months before starting law school, using a rail pass and adding in stops like Morocco and Iceland for the hell of it. Although we failed to get rooftop mojitos and nun cookies, we did introduce Molli to torrijas (like french toast, but so much more epic) before the ballet. One of the things I love about Spain is that as a person under 26, there are tons of discounts for everything from culture to transportation, and the ballet is no exception. The ballet was a mix of Spanish dances to honor the late choreographer and dancer Antonio Ruiz Soler, which was enjoyable and many styles I haven't seen before. I still think a lot of the traditional Georgian dancing is cooler, though. 

Post-ballet beers with Anna's co-workers turned into a failure to find food (this is becoming a trend for the day) which led to a stroll along the new graffiti in lavapies, and a mini apartment game night with bread and cheese. I'm not all that into museums, but I would happily explore every nook and cranny of a city looking for new street art. I like how it interacts with its surroundings, its transience, its commentary and its cultural influences. I like that it's not revered and can't be bought up and hoarded away. More than anything, I like that it isn't in a sterile, curated environment, so I associate many pieces of graffiti and street art with my own experiences and memories. There's graffiti, long gone now I'm sure, that I passed every day on my way home in Valparaiso, one of a cat by charquipunk on the curve of the hill that said "hola vecina," and one of a cracked woman turning into a rooster with a stream of music coming out of her neck that I always associate with the smell of baking bread that wafted up from the tiny window at street level that opened into a bakery. I remember internally saying "hola" back to the purple cat every time I walked up the hill to my house, and saying "hola" to all of the cats and dogs on the street too. There were three regulars on that walk up - a black and white border collie, a cinnamon-colored spaniel, and a grey cat that one halloween mysteriously showed with a bright purple tuft of fur like a little cravat. 

That memory unlocks a host of others: of weaving back and forth up the steep incline with sore legs after swim practice, of trudging up in the rain shooting video to add to a poetry project for one of my classes, of walking up slowly, full to bursting with food, with my host mom after another perfect sunday with her family and Anna. The graffiti of the little girl in red crouching beneath an umbrella to admire a flower will always remind me of appreciating good friends and new friends by just spending time together on a hot night inventing a silly "what is it?" guessing game and eating cheese. The multicolor bear with infinite eyes had "love wins" in the corner, and so soon after Orlando and LMM's speech saying "We rise and fall and light from dying embers/remembrances that hope and love lasts long/And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love/Cannot be killed or swept aside," those are inextricably linked in my mind. Thinking about that statement, "love wins," on the wall for all the world to see, and the creativity and thoughtfulness that accompanies it, is what I like. I know the artists in the museums are putting their own thoughts and feelings into their pieces (Well, sometimes. Sometimes it's on commission and they're just showing you want you wanted to see) and there's all this analysis of brush strokes and composition and technique, but my simple mind is happier in the hot streets at midnight with a group of friends in Spain glancing up at the colorful city that's trying to get me to stop and appreciate the moment.   

High: Meeting up with my swimmer friend Zac basically out of the blue after years of no contact. Welcome to the wonders of the digital age.

Low: I promised and promised, and still failed to make it on time to meet Molli even a single time. I suppose the fact that the Argentine ice cream place no longer exists and the mojito place is closed for the elections and the old people talked through a good portion of the ballet are my just desserts.

Glitter: I really do wish I liked to dance, and never more so than when Anna is rocking out solo, backpack on, dressed in far too practical clothes, at a bar at 4 am and loving it.