More Pix!!!

New pics coming right out from the C2C’08, covering South Dakota, the land of (some) Great Plains, the Badlands, the Black Hills and the Mt. Rushmore. Enjoy yourselves!!!

[C2C]Great Plains+Badlands+Mt. Rushmore+Black Hills

Chicago coming right up!!!

So here’s the second upload of pictures. I’m sorry I’m dropping them this slowly, but these days I’m really busy setting up my new life here in Tempe, AZ (I’ll blog more about it when I get all set). This part covers the road from NYC to Chicago and a few shots of Chicago (not many though cuz my battery run out when in there). Enjoy them!!!

[C2C]On the Road+Chicago

First Pictures

So, finally I’ve started to upload pictures from the trip. I’ll start chronologically and continue uploading little by little, as it takes a while for the picx to go up to the web (sort of heavy). By now, here you have those from the big Apple, enjoy them! Ah, New York, New York…

[C2C]Up2NYC

Flash Back

Tonight I had a flash one year back in time: I waited for my friend Jesus (a mexican descendent yet Californian) to finish working, then we got on his car and drove downtown San Francisco; there we picked up Vivian (a Chinese girl emigrated a few years ago to San Francisco) and headed for dinner to a korean restaurant. There we enjoyed all the delices we learnt how to love one year ago when we met in Seoul (South Korea) while being part of the ISS’07 at the University of Seoul. I hadn’t been in touch with korean culture (food is just a part of it) since I left the country, and of course I hadn’t met any of them till today, which made the experience much more real and beautiful. For a few hours, we talked about the experience and flashed back to it as if it had taken place yesterday, and remembered how happy that made us. Personally, it also feels good to see how frienships you thought you’d never meet again come back, yesterday in Asia, today in America and who knows where tomorrow…

Road-trip End

So this morning, around 12:00 we’ve crossed the Golden Gate building and the road-trip has come to an end. It’s been two weeks and a half of joy, full of fun and where I’ve also learnt a lot about different things. Now it’s too early so as to throw any reflection, that will come later once I get “home” (so the pictures of the trip will come); but I just wanted to say I’m safe and sound, my friend Jesus has already picked me up and I’ll stay at his place today and tomorrow; on friday, I’ll get on a bus and, after 15 hours through the Californian coast and inwards, I hope I gett off in Phoenix, AZ. There my new housemate will pick me up and take me to what it’ll be my new “home” for 10 months in Tempe, AZ.
The new life is coming right up!!! Until then, let’s enjoy San Francisco

From the Rocky Mountains

I’m posting this from the couch of a cabin in the RMBL (Rocky Mountains Biology Lab), where we are spending today, refreshing from so many miles and roads. It’s such a great and amazing trip that I’m living right now. I haven’t really updated in english that much as most of the time I’ve devoted to let the world know about this experience has gone to the sLog’s which are in spanish. However, I’m living so much I don’t believe I won’t write about it, but that will be once it’s gone and I’m relaxed enough so to sit down in front of the editor and think a bit about such a rush of pictures, sounds, roads and experiences. So, to all of you who follow me around the world but do not speak spanish (if any), be patient as there’ll be hot stuff to come soon!

From the road,

d/

sLogs01&02

I’ve just uploaded the first and the second sLog from the trip, those covering the first days (NY, Chicago and the road in between). I know they are a bit long (about 10 minutes each), I’ll try to make them shorter so knowing about me don’t take you more than 3 or four minutes a day. Any problem found when trying to listen to them or feedback is big welcome (post it here). Enjoy them!

Acabo de subir las dos primeras grabaciones de los Sound Logs, las que cubren Nueva York, Chicago y toda la carretera que conlleva. Sé que son algo largos (unos diez minutos cada uno), intentaré hacerlos más cortos para que saber de mi no os lleve más de 3 o 4 minutos al día. Cualquier problema que tengais para escucharlos o comentario que os sugieran son bienvenidos. Espero que los disfruteis tanto como yo cuando los grabé.

d/

sLogs

After many problems, I’ve decided to set up a new site for the Sound Logs. From now on, I’ll upload them there so you can directly listen to them from the page (and subscribe to them if desired). However, I’ll keep on posting here whenever a new one is online so just by checking this blog you’ll stay tuned!!!

———————————————————————————————-

Después de ciertos problemas, he decidido crear una nueva página en la que subir los Sound Logs. Así que a partir de ahora, podeis escucharme directamente desde ahí. Sin embargo, cada vez que cuelgue uno nuevo, lo anunciaré aquí, por lo que consultando este blog podreis estar siempre al loro!!!

Running out of net+sLog’s

Posting this from my friend’s laptop just to say I’m having problems to get my laptop online for free (damn non-free WiFi’s) in the US. That’s why I cannot write mails, hardly even read them… However, today I’ve stared to record some audio pieces I’ll call sound logs (sLog’s) where i’ll talk a bit about the trip and i’ll upload as soon as posible. They’re intended to be in spanish as most of my family (grandpas specially) barely speak english, however, if you are interested in listening to me and are not spanish speakers, please leave a post in here and i’ll seriously consider that.

Apart from the internet problems, so far so good. NY was amazing, a day and a half of road (M80) and now in Chicago, which seems great. More to come, now I’m off to a jazz concert somewhere downtown…

Leavin’ home…

So here I am, 6:10 am (Spanish time yet), sit in front of the desk number 306 at Barajas Airport waiting for it to open and let me check-in. In a few hours I’ll be “hubbin’” in Zurich and, after a few more hours, landing at the JFK airport in New York. But before I jump into myself and dive through my feelings, let me do little bit of update: after a weird and feelings-mixed week in Santander, attending a course on history of economic thought at the summer university, I was driven directly to the Pyrenees mountains where, after a few adventures to finally get to the place, I enjoyed one of the most magic nights lately: a reggae concert by a lake, completely surrounded by nature and backed by my very close friends. Just the breath of fresh air I needed in the middle of this crazy time which started a couple of months ago and will finish when I finally settle in Tempe, AZ, by mid-August. After the concert I came back home for the last week, where the clock was not slow enough to let me fit within that time all the things, people and events I wanted to meet. However, I think I did all the paperwork I needed to, I met a good bunch of friends I won’t till Christmas and even got some uni-work done.

Back to the desk at the airport, it sounds like it should feel like Something starting or Something coming to an end; at least a break point. But actually it doesn’t. Unlike in Sweden, where I was expecting the take-off for a long time before it happened, these last days at home have been many things but waiting for something to come: I have tried to delay everything dealing with this trip till the last-minute (I started packing up 3 hours before leaving my room…) and tried to grab “home’s joys” while possible. this doesn’t imply I won’t miss my broad Family (I’m sure I will indeed) but just that I’ve tried to keep my mind busy so I can’t say I didn’t seized the moment. Personally, I I’d like to believe it’s a sign proving I’m “learning” how to travel and how to leave places where I’ve been happy: while two years ago I’d start missing places I’d enojyed before I’d left them, now I focus on enjoying them till there’s no more to enjoy. Easy to tell, getting easier to do… Yet I can’t say I’ve learned how to say goodbye (still hating them).