'57 CHEVY

These were the good old days. I wish I could go back...
Turn on your sound and remember. . . . You'll enjoy this one.

REMEMBER....

When the worst thing you could do at school was smoke in the bathrooms, flunk
a test or chew gum. And the banquets were in the cafeteria and we danced to a
juke box later, and all the girls wore fluffy pastel gowns and the boys wore
suits for the first time and we were allowed to stay out till 12 p.m.

When a '57 Chevy was everyone's dream car. . . to cruise, peel out, lay
rubber and watch drag races, and people went steady and girls wore a class
ring with an inch of wrapped dental floss or yarn coated with pastel frost
nail polish so it would fit her finger.

And no one ever asked where the car keys were 'cause they were always in the
car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked. And you got in big
trouble if you accidentally locked the doors at home, since no one ever had a
key.

Remember lying on your back on the grass with your friends and saying things l
ike "That cloud looks like a..."

And playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game.
Back then, baseball was not a psychological group learning experience-it was
a game.

Remember when stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic
seals 'cause no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger.

And...with all our progress...don't you just wish...just once...you could
slip back in time and savor the slower pace...and share it with the children
of the 80's and 90's .....

So send this on to someone who can still remember Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys,
Laurel & Hardy, Howdy Doody and The Peanut Gallery, The Lone Ranger, The
Shadow Knows, Nellie Belle, Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk as well as
the sound of a real mower on Saturday morning, and summers filled with bike
rides, playing in cowboy land, baseball games, bowling and visits to the
pool...and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar.

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate
that awaited a misbehaving student at home.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive by
shootings,drugs, gangs,etc.

Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat!  But we all survived
because their love was greater than the threat.

Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!

And was it really that long ago?
 
 

TRIBUTE TO THE UNITED STATES

> > >>  This, from a Canadian newspaper, is worth sharing.
> > >>  America: The Good Neighbor.
> > >>
> > >>  Widespread but only partial news coverage was given
> > >>  recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from
> > >>  Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television
> > >>  commentator. What follows is the full text of his
> > >>  trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional
> > >>
> > >> Record:
> > >>  "This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for
> > >> the
> > >>  Americans as the most generous and possibly the
> > >> least
> > >>  appreciated people on all the earth.
> > >>
> > >> Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and
> > >> Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the
> > >> Americans who poured in billions of dollars and
> > >> forgave other billions in debts. None of these
> > >> countries is today paying even the interest on its
> > >> remaining debts to the United States.
> > >>
> > >> When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956,
> > >> it was the Americans who propped it up, and their
> > >> reward was to be insulted and swindled on the
> > >> streets
> > >> of Paris. I was there. I saw it.
> > >>
> > >> When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the
> > >> United States that hurries in to help. This spring,
> > >> 59
> > >> American communities were flattened by tornadoes.
> > >> Nobody helped.
> > >>
> > >> The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped
> > >> billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now
> > >> newspapers in those countries are writing about the
> > >> decadent, warmongering Americans.
> > >>
> > >>  I'd like to see just one of those countries that
> > >> is gloating over the erosion of the United States
> > >> dollar build its own airplane. Does any other
> > >> country
> > >> in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo
> > >> Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10?
> > >> If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the
> > >> International lines except Russia fly American
> > >> Planes?
> > >>
> > >> Why does no other land on earth even consider
> > >> putting
> > >> a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese
> > >> technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about
> > >> German
> > >> technocracy, and you get automobiles.
> > >> You talk about American technocracy, and you find
> > >> men on the moon - not once, but several times -
> > >> and safely home again.
> > >>
> > >> You talk about scandals, and the Americans put
> > >> theirs
> > >> right in the store window for everybody to look at .
> > >> Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and
> > >> hounded.
> > >> They are here on our streets, and most of them,
> > >> unless
> > >> they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting
> > >> American
> > >> dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.
> > >>
> > >> When the railways of France, Germany and India
> > >> were breaking down through age, it was the Americans
> > >> who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and
> > >> the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them
> > >> an
> > >> old caboose.  Both are still broke.
> > >>
> > >> I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced
> > >> to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name
> > >> me even one time when someone else raced to the
> > >> Americans in trouble?  I don't think there was>
> > >> outside
> > >> help even during the San Francisco earthquake.
> > >>
> > >> Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one
> > >> Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get
> > >> kicked around. They will come out of this thing with
> > >> their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled
> > >> to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating
> > >> over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not
> > >> one of
> > >>  those."
> > >>
> > >>  Stand proud, America!
> > >>  Wear it proudly!!
> > >>
 
 
 
 
 

Howard Lawrence Fraser...7 lbs. 11 oz.  20 1/2 inches long...arrived Sunday,
May 27, 2001 @2:00 am.  Blonde hair...blue eyes and a charmer already.
Everyone is fine.

 The Family Trip to Spain Report (Click Here)
 

 The Diana Chronicles (in reverse chronological order)
 

11-Apr-01

Sorry I haven't updated you in quite a while. Amy has returned safe and sound
and I'm trying to get her to write up a trip report. Diana is now in Italy for spring break!
Word is that she was within a few feet of the Pope today! More on that later!
She returns to Spain on friday and hits the coast for a long weekend. party on.
 

25-Mar-01

Amy has arrived in Spain. Word is out that they attended a bullfight today.
Gee, I wonder if the bull won? Did the bull have health insurance? Will it
wind up in some caring family's home (like a retired greyhound)? So many deep
questions! Anyway, Amy is heading south to the Valencia on the Mediteranean
for a few days, then back to Madrid. Di's roomie, Cheryl has returned from
Barcelona today.

16-Mar-01

Di is off to Valencia for a festival for a long 4 day weekend. By the way, she met an old friend from Natick in Madrid - Christine Walker who she hasn't seen in years.
 

14-mar-01 Fun facts just in!!!!!
 

FUN FACTS 7
newfound treats...since we are always searching for ways to improve our
diets. so besides the heavenly chocolate croissants that we devour on a
regular basis, we have discovered the most delicious treat....mr. gofre.
they make these warm, scrumptious, sugar coated waffles and then put hot
chocolate sauce and whipped cream on top! it is amazing! we also learned
that soft serve ice cream cones are only 50 pesetas at mcdonald´s...that´s
about 32 cents! so we can´t resist, especially now that we gave up chocolate

for lent (what were we thinking?)...so vanilla softserve will have to do.

isn´t it ironic?...most people immediately stare at us since we speak
english in public and obviously appear to be americans....though i´ve been
asked if i am spanish, french, and german. so i guess the spanish are very
observant...i´m actually none of the above...more so irish/italian.

yeah ask the foreigners, they´ll know!...we must have 'ASK ME DIRECTIONS'
written all over our bodies. so most people immediately recognize that we
are not spanish...so why is it that they approach us first to ask for
directions! probably about once a day someone asks us for directions...we
used to get frustrated and say 'no sé' every time someone talked to us but
lately we´ve been pretty helpful...yeah we know what´s up!

so let´s just get this straight...tirar means 'to pull' and empujar means
'to push'....so why is it that the handles on all the doors are reversed. it

only took me a month to figure out that a pull handle means to push and push

means to pull....since that makes soo much sense. so for the first month i
was here i was the stupid idiot trying and trying to pull open the doors
with all the strength i had while people passed by me simply pushing the
doors to get through.....yeah i´m wicked smaaht.

so maybe i´m not that smaaht...i went to the prado art museum with michelle
last weekend (first stupid move). it was the worst day to go since there
were masses of people outside and we couldn´t even move to cross the street
to get to the prado (second stupid move). so i was explaining to michelle
how there must be a soccer game goin on cuz everyone was chanting, carrying
signs and flags (third stupid move). so when i decided to actually pay
attention and read the signs, i learned that it was really a huge protesta
with hundreds of people. they were protesting for different reasons...one
was something about clean water. it was insane, but don´t worry, i was
classy enough to take a picture!...wicked smaaht!

i am so smart....s-m-r-t! speaking of homer simpson....homie would love
spain! beer and donuts with the simple press of a button. the vending
machine convenience factor here is a lil outta control. yup it´s true...we
have vending machines that sell pizza, beer, donuts, etc! now that´s quality

and convenience! no waiting in line behind a bunch of cops for a donut...no
need to worry about tipping the pizza delivery guy...and for the 12 year
olds, don´t worry, the machines don't check IDs for beer!...not that the
bars here do either.

if you can´t seem to find a cerveza vending machine in the area, don't fret.

you can get a beer anywhere....grocery stores, convenient stores,
restaurants.....mcdonalds, etc! and if u need a lil more of a morning boost
than a simple cup of coffee, you can just grab a beer at dunkin donuts!

brew breaks...and instead of grabbing a coffee on your work break, why not
grab a cerveza! when in spain, do what the spanish do. a lil after 2 am one
night last week, we walked into a small bar to find 20 limpieza men...in
uniform (yellow neon, of course)...relaxing with brews. now let me remind
you that these limpieza men clean the streets at night (so this is on the
job)....they operate heavy machinery, such as pooper vaccuums for the dog,
fire hoses, street cleaner trucks, and tank trucks full of water. so yeah,
let´s all get drunk.....vacuum up some perros, have a water fight, play
bumper street cleaners, and see who can hit the most street signs with the
water tankers.

why don´t you just cry about it?!? so to complete a night on the town in
madrid...after getting hit by a limpieza truck, why not bawl our eyes
out?...not so much from the injury but more so from the tear gas. so tear
gas is most commonly used as a defense weapon...like by cops to break up a
riot...but i guess in spain tear gas is used for fun! no, we didn´t have to
evacuate the 7th grade dance because of a stink bomb...we had to evacuate a
bar because of tear gas. and to top that off, we had just bought a round of
drinks and had to leave em at the bar!

cucarachas en mi cama! so i´ve heard horror stories about hostels with
cockroaches but i never thought that i would have to share a bed with them.
we went to sevilla last week and stayed in what seemed like a cute lil
hostel...until the cucarachas came out to play. one scurried across keri's
bed the first night so she and diana slept in the same bed...on top of the
sheets with towels for blankets. the second night, after making the guy
spray our entire room with cucaracha killer and then sweep up the cucaracha
carcuses, we came home to still find cucarachas all over the floor and a
cute lil dead one on my bed. but don't worry...'no pasa nada' as the nasally

lil guy kept telling us...cockroaches don't bite. we were actually tried to
be persuaded that they make great sandwiches too!...and they dont get soggy
in milk...try some cucaracha crunch cereal today!

aw yes, spanish sanitation....so cucarachas are just an everyday thing for
spaniards...no pasa nada! so as they crawl around the house, the spaniards
leave food out all over the counters...unwrapped, of course. there is so
such thing as zip lock bags here. our señora is notorious for cooking
something on the stove then just leaving it there for days....ya know, til
whenever someone´s ready to eat it. joe went into his kitchen to find a
'gran pulpo' (huge octopus) chillin in a pot on the stove. he went to touch
it and the tenticles still suctioned to his fingers. put a lid on that crap!

leftovers, etc....everything is left out in the open, especially
deserts...good thing cucarachas don't have much of sweet tooth.

babies in plastic!...so it´s unusual for a spaniard to wrap food in plastic
to ensure freshness...sin cucarachas...yet it´s common occurance to see
babies wrapped in plastic. since it never rains in madrid...it´s likely that

you´ll see baby strollers covered in a plastic cover. supposedly this
plastic cover prevents exposure to rain....yet wouldn´t it also prevent
exposure to air supply? so which is more important...a dry baby or a
breathing baby?

along with the babies, spaniards also feel the need to wrap their muletas
(suitcases) in plastic in the rain, unless of course it´s a piece of quality

burberry luggage. i guess it´s important to protect their clothes from the
rain...just as they hang plastic covers over their clotheslines. instead of
opting for a more logical solution such as investing in a clothes dryer or
hanging laundry inside the house...spaniards have intelligently hung plastic

over the clothes hanging outside their apartments to protect from the rain.
now why didn´t we think of that?

muchillos on wheels!...so it´s bad enough that the lil old ladies take lil
rolling carts to the grocery stores to carry their groceries back. instead
of simply carrying backpacks around, people have lil suitcases or backpacks
on wheels...now that´s lazy. ester and koosh´s favorite joke is to
ask...'where´s the airport? i didn´t know the airport was so close by...why
is everyone wheeling their suitcases around?....oh, they´re all just going
to school and work!' lil kids walk to catch the bus with their muchillos on
wheels...then when the bus comes, the luggage storage compartment under the
bus opens up and everyone piles their backpacks on wheels in there, since it

might be too strenuous to carry the muchillos up the four stairs of the bus.

drive up gas stations...to continue complaining about the overall laziness
of spaniards. i thought it was lazy to have full serve gas stations!...but
here you don´t even have to stress about turning the steering wheel to pull
into a gas station...all ya have to do is pull over to your very own drive
up gas station located on the edge of the sidewalk for your convenience! i
wonder if gas online ordering and delivery will be available soon.
 

5-Mar-01

Diana's roomates have arrived in Madrid! Poor kids missed their connection
in Brussels, and had to hang around the airport for 8 hours! Ug, air travel
is such fun! Anyway, they are settled into a nice hostel and were going to go to Diana's
dance class today. More news as it happens!

27-Feb-01

We're back! We had a blast! I'll file a full trip
report within a couple of weeks...meanwhile here
are more fun facts......
 
 

FUN FACTS 6
secret revealed...i never mentioned before the full story of the nightmare
of our original host family. our señora Patricia was always a mystery to us.

we quickly learned that she was only interested in running a business, not a
family. when we decided to move out she tried to convince us to stay...she
suggested that we consider staying in her second apartment, where she also
housed students. (i have a couple apartments too, but i raise camels, not
students) she was also nice enough to make her dental clinic available to
us. ('oh no i dont live in the dorms...or an apartment...or with a host
family...i live in a dentist´s office.' i still regret not taking advantage
of such a great opportunity, i could rinse with flouride everyday!) so when
we declined, she suggested that we take her bedroom (which was also a
mystery since the door was always always closed). so if that wasn´t weird
enough, before we left for good, diana & i decided to peak into her room
while she was out...just out of curiousity. so we opened the
door...expecting a huge elaborate bedroom...to find a small room with toys
sprawled on the floor and the head board of a bed leaning against the wall.
no dresser, no bed, no mattress... nope...she doesn´t live there! we came to
the conclusion that she must live with her boyfriend, who was one of the
many random people...who we were never introduced to...who used to show up
at the apartment and just smoke cigarettes for hours.

so i thought we had it bad... so our friend raphelle has been updating us on
her señora situation. apparently her señora is borderline schizo since she
had a sudden outburst last week and screamed at the girls, lecturing them on
how they eat too much cereal and use too much toilet paper. 'oh i´m so
sorry, i´ll try to conserve TP. toilet paper isn´t really a necessity.'

last week our señora was telling us some horror stories that previous
students had told her about other host families. i guess it´s not uncommon
for señoras to actually put locks on the phone, cabinets and refridgerator
so students don´t use them. what they don´t know is that if i´m that hungry,

i´ll eat right through the locks to get to my destination...and it´s
probably more expensive to replace a lock than a cookie.

but i´d probably rather a hostile environment with locks than a 'too
comfortable' climate. up close and personal...evidently one señora used to
just walk around the house naked. but what college girl wouldn´t wanna see a
saggy 65 year old woman in the nude?

speaking of neked...spanish showers. so our señora and her daughter take
record time showers. so it´s a mystery to us if they even hit the water. so
they must not wash their hair daily...fine, every other day will do. but at
least we have physically seen bottles of shampoo in the shower. as for soap,
razors, etc. we don´t think they´ve even heard of em... they just have a
basket full of old scruffy sponges, that´s clean.

we had a lovely stroll in the park this weekend. we went to the zoo with
diana´s family on saturday but we got off at the wrong bus stop. soooo...we
had to walk just 2 or 3 miles through a sketchy 'campo.' we were also lucky
enough to pass by about 11 prostitutas dressed in short skirts and white
thigh high platform boots on the street...with the fam, remember!

but atleast we are reassured by true love... update! to top the public
displays of affection of picking a loved one´s nose or eye boogers, the
other night on the metro, we witnessed a woman actually squeezing healthy
puss from her husbands acne. who wants to see that?

diary of diarrhea. isn´t it ironic? so my friend joe who asked for diarrhea
instead of a diary at the bookstore last week...yeah i guess he got what he
asked for...the runs specifically. for a consecutive 8 days, the poor lil
bugga has been deathly ill with the runs...and it all started with a run in
the park last week (no pun intended).

so i understand a lil spanish but i´m sure you´re all unaware of the fact
that i´m fluent in chinese. for anyone who goes to the movies in a foreign
country let´s not forget that 'versión original' does not always guarantee
that you´re gonna see a movie in english. usually we go see american movies
in versión original...in english with spanish subtitles. so why would 'tigre
y dragón' be any different?...i dunno, probably because it´s a CHINESE
movie! so yeah, we watched a movie in chinese with spanish
subtitles...thank´s jim!

what is the obsession with the 80´s? remember when it was cool for girls to
wear those one piece skirt plus stretch pants deals? well the skirt/pants
combo is back...trendy spaniards are wearing skirts over their jeans. i just
don´t get it, that´s not fair...when i wore underwear over my jeans everyone
gave me weird looks.

new on the WB...an update on the brown shoes, black pants phenomenon. so i
forgot to mention the workboots tragedy. spaniards, guys and girls, seem to
think that it´s fashionable to wear workboots on a daily basis, with dress
pants, jeans, or skirts...and these aren´t thug life 'timberlands,' these
are light tan trucker 'catepillar' boots. these sad excuses for shoes are
called workboots for a reason...they are designed specifically for working
(construction for instance) and not for daily dress up fun...and we all know
we don´t mix business with pleasure.

how bout those cucharachas? well jim & joe have been tallying a cucharacha
count. diana and i have only seen 2 cochroaches in the city...but i guess
the boys have a cucharacha camp goin on in their apartment...in the kitchen,

the bathroom, etc. supposedly joe found 2 just in his sock the other
day...but that´s not gross.
 
 

FUN FACTS 4 + 5

this just in...i know you´ve all been waiting in anticipation for an
exciting update on the clothespin incidents. earlier in the semester we were
confused by the fact that clothespins were falling randomly from the sky
into our window, directly hitting diana off the head. the great mystery has
been solved!...our señora decided that now would be a good time to warn us
about 'Nacho,' who she described in english as 'naughty.' he´s a 13 year old
who has been wanting to practice his english with us cool american chicas. i
guess he lives in the apartment directly across from our bedroom window.

speaking of nachos, i never understood why we say 'cheese' when taking a
picture in the U.S. but to me it sounds even more awkward when spaniards
smile and say 'whiskey!' or 'patata!' (potato).

más jamón updates...first of all, i felt rude if i didn´t try the jamón
serrano, the kind that is straight off the pig´s leg, when my señora made us
a big dinner since diana´s parents came to visit. i´m proud of the fact that
i managed to swallow it without a coughing and gagging fit. ususally i can´t
even stand the sight or smell. and there have been a couple random mornings
when we have just woken up to the smell of a nice slab of fresh jamón.
sometimes its just randomly smells like jamón outside our apartment
windows...not the pleasant scent of spring air or fresh flowers...jamón!
what more could a girl want?

and i can´t believe i forgot to mention before...in addition to the
well-known art museums, Madrid offers the even more popular 'museos de
jamón.' they actually have ham museums all over the city...just ham, the
ceiling packed with hanging pig legs. we also have a restaurant nearby
called the 'restaurant bar más jamón.' apparently the restaurant offers even
better selections of hanging pig legs in greater quantities! mmm, makes my
mouth water!

i´d actually rather the fresh scent of jamón instead of the stench that we
walk through everyday on the way to the metro. besides the always
overflowing garbage cans, the trash thrown in the lil plant areas on the
street start to decay, creating a raunchy odor. we pinpointed the
smell....'dirty farm animals with overflowing bedpans in an overcrowded
nursing home!' now that´s tasty!

so besides the fact that my lifelong dream of having my own personal bidet
in my bathroom came true when i came to madrid, the toilets are a lil freaky
too. first of all, you have to pull a handle up from the top of the
toilet...that means that i can´t kick the lever in public restrooms, i have
to actually touch the thing with my lil bare hands...so i frantically run to
scrub my hands immediately. but worse...there is no water visible when you
go to sit down...but then after you´ve finished your business and go to
flush, an actual geizer of water explodes out of the bowl!

to stay on the topic of stomach turning bodily functions, here is another
language barrier story. my friend joe went into a lil bookstore to get a
diary/journal but instead of asking the sales clerk where he could find a
'diario,' he should have just asked for the 'baño' since, by his choice of
words, he was looking for 'diarrhea' anyways.

as for my language skills, i´ve come to the conclusion that i´m never gonna
learn spanish since the only times i speak it are when i´m ordering a 'tapa'

(like appetizers) at the bar or contributing to the fat fund with an ice
cream. diana has gotten a lil practice going on, talking it up with the cab
drivers though. as soon as she gets into the cab, she´s like a native
spaniard...it´s amazing!

otherwise, we usually choose not to interact with the spaniards here,
especially the men. i´m beginning to appreciate the cheezy pick-up lines
we´re used to from guys in the states...oh wait, no one hits on me... but
anyways, now we have to deal with whistling, hissing, and smooching noises
if spanish guys want to get our attention. and why wouldn´t i react
positively to such flattery?

denim WHAT? (joe, pay close attention!) for all of you who have revisited
the 80´s by sporting denim jackets, i pray for your poor souls! denim is
back in full effect, especially in spain. spanish guys have been struttin
their stuff in their trendy light denim jackets...only these sexy jackets
are designed with a special collar covered in what appears to be lamb's wool
to the naked eye but is actually cotton. the trend is spreading to women
also, young girls especially. so both spanish men & women are proudly
sporting the ever popular 80´s attire only now with the addition of a full
grown sheep on their shoulders.

yet another fashion faux paux (speaking of social blunders...i think i just
spelled that wrong)...whoever is in charge of educating the spanish on the
mismatch color 'fashion don´ts' should be immediately fired! if europeans
are supposedly sooo fashion conscious then why is it that they neglect the
obvious clashing of colors rules. we don´t wear pink with red....we never
ever wear brown with black...and we especially are not permited to mix navy
with black. the other day on the metro i saw a woman with a black sweater
with pink and white stripes...worn with navy pants and black shoes. then
spanish women insist on wearing brown shoes with their black pants! in the
famous words of nancy kerrigan...WHY? WHY?

not intended for midgets...so i´ve been shopping, trying to find some
pantalones that fit me here. first of all, the pants here are so tight that
i can´t fit my ghetto bootay in anything! and then once i do manage to fit
into some, they´re literally 12 inches too long! apparently in spain they
design the pants for ginormous ethernopians...not short fat midgets like me.

so i guess everyone in spain hems their pants. i was noticing on the metro
the other day that about 4 outta 5 people hem their pants....but don't worry

the spaniards still manage to hem their pants enough to...well, let´s just
say...it rains a lot here...but not enough for a flood!
 
 

so to take care of business such as doggy doo doo, in madrid they have guys
whose actual job is to drive around during the middle of the night with big
tankers full of water, which are supposed to "clean" the streets off. first
of all, what kind of men aspire to have such a profession? and more thoughts
on the matter...it is a horrible waste of time, man power, and water. all it
does is make it more slippery while getting the homeless guys that live on
the streets wet.

the streets of madrid are pretty risky in general. besides the dog poop all
over the sidewalks, the sidewalks themselves can pose a threat. everyday
walking to and from the metro, i fear twisting my ankle and falling face
first on the sidewalk, only to then be trampled by swarms of spaniards
dressed in only purple or burberry attire who are furiously walking to their
destinations. the sidewalks are made of individual tiles. apparently there
must have been some kind of massive earthquake that only affected the
sidewalks because there is not a single tile that is actually connected to
the earth itself. the tiles are all broken and disconnected so everytime you
step on one it either automatically ejects your entire body into the air or
causes you to sink into the ground and twist an ankle. so either way you´re
screwed.

so the siesta thing....overrated! 'mediahora'....the time from about 2 to 4
pm designated for lunch and a nap has only posed to be such an
inconvenience. everything is closed!...except for el corte inglés, of
course....which is also overrated. it´s even worse on sundays cuz everything
is closed....and if any stores are open at all during sunday they´re only
open til 2 at best. so that´s really convenient since i wake up at 2 on
sundays!

so it´s really deceiving to see people dressed in clothes with US colors or
the american flag...one would assume that these people would actually be
american and it would be safe to speak english to them but NOO...they only
deceive us. why is it that foreigners are obsessed with wearing american
flag sweaters, etc? I don´t even own american flag accessories. well...i
guess i do sport my czech republic flag sweatshirt at least twice a week but
still...

another deceiving fact about madrid...the 24 hrs thing. one would think that
a sign on a convenient store that says 'abierto 24 hrs' would translate to
'open 24 hours a day'...all day long. however, we are once again being
blatently lied to....24 hrs only means open til the 24th hour...which is 12
midnight. so there is actually no such thing as 24 hour convenient stores,
etc. most stores close by 8 pm!

so diana has this 'favorite friend' in the computer lab who always manages
to find a seat near her and then listens to the radio through the internet
from his headphones. this would be a completely normal behavior if he didn´t
proceed to sing out the DMX lyrics as he listens....it grows quite
irritating.

even worse....groups of 5 or 6 foreign guys...with extreme B.O. of
course....will crowd around a single computer and watch each other on the
internet! now these computer labs aren´t too roomy so when this occurs....if
you happen to be lucky enough to sit next to this rowdy bunch you basically
have to manually move your computer and stand to reach the keyboard...since
they aren´t too accomodating. this situation is currently in effect as i
type and diana is lucky enough to be that computer neighbor.

speaking of unbearable odors....more jamón updates. besides the pigs legs
hanging from bar/store windows, recently we have been noticing entire pig
corpses hanging from windows, which is quite an appealing sight. in portugal
we walked by a store window to see a full cooked pig corpse, apple in the
mouth and all!

and to continue the discussion of jamón....since they have jamón
everything....i have a new favorite lays potato chip flavor. naturally, it´s
called 'jamón jamón.' diana and i translate that as 'hammy ham' chips. who
wants ham flavored potato chips? that´s where i draw the line!

pastelerias....they are the devil! pastelerias are bakeries that are all
over the city. just walking by the bakery window is torture. we literally
start salivating like dogs at the sight of the endless supply of delicious
treeaats like pastries such as chocolate filled croissants, our favorite. so
whoever told me i was gonna lose weight in spain is a dirty dirty liar!

then there´s the problem with the heladerias....ice cream parlors. sometimes
to elevate the torture and make us choose between treats they have
heladerias and pastelerias in one! we eat ice cream just about every
day...hey, it´s calcium!

speaking of 'does a body good', censorship definitely does not exist
here....all i have to say is that i wouldn´t want my kids watching european
tv without adult supervision!
 

14-Feb-01 Wednesday

  ok so here is a brief account of my trip to lisbon
 we arrived at the airport early to make sure we knew what we were doing.
our flight was at 720, and we got there around 530.  we waited for them to
call our flight and when they did they said it was going to be delayed
because of mechanical problems. then they swithed us to another gate. as we
were walking to the other gate they switched us back to the original gate
and sent us on the plane with mechanical problems. needless to say i was
freaking out on the plane. but thank god we landed safely. i actually ate
some airplane food. it was actually edible! the iberia staff was much more
friendly than the staff i met on the way here. i guess they assume we are
from spain if we are taking a plane out of there. anyways... so we take a
cab to our hostel where a creepy old man tells us that we cant stay there
even though we made a reservation on the phone. he uttered some portugese
and we decided to get out of there. it was weird. so we were wandering the
streets of portugal with no where to go. we finally stumbled on residencia
roma which was nice and cheap. we stayed there both nights and we got to
watch tv for probably the first time since i left home. i had my own little
room with a big bed. i got the best sleep since got here. friday night we
went exploring and saw where we were going to spend the next day. we went to
the outback steakhouse and got an appetizer then we went home to sleep. the
next day we were lazy and slept till probably 11. we then ventured out into
lisbon again, and we took a tourbus around the whole city. it was the most
beautiful day, the sun was shining, and we were sitting on the roof of the
bus so we got to enjoy the day. after the tour which took about 2 hours we
went to visit a castle and a church. then we bought some groceries to save
money and fell asleep. we were planning on going out at night but we were so
exhausted that we stayed in and wtched the greg louganis story in english!
sunday we got up and made it to the breakfast we paid for.. coffee and
bread..yum...then we checked out and went to bario alto. this is a little
section of town that is really high up and you have to take a trolley to get
up there becasue the roads are so steep. we went to a botanical garden which
was absolutely amazing and it was again another beauoitufl day. we wished we
were in shorts!!  after a long stay in the garden, we walked back to the
trolley and then walked around a little bit. we got ice cream and sat in
the sun until it was time to take a cab back to the airport. we got on the
plane, and before we knew it we were back in madrid. it was an amazing city, i
cant even describe it. hopefully the pictures will speak for themselves....
 

Wednesday, Feb 7, 2001

FUN FACTS 3
the spanish have given a new meaning to parallel parking. i don´t know how
they possibly maneuver themselves into those spaces! they literally park
bumper to bumper, in crosswalks, on the corner, on the curb, etc. we´ve
actually seen cars parked with their bumpers on top of the bumpers of the
surrounding cars. a couple of my friends had to actually help a spaniard
manually lift his car to get it out of the parking space.

then spaniards just double park like it´s their job, entirely blocking the
road, of course...then when the inside car needs to get out, that driver
will just open his door and lean on the horn continuously until the other
driver comes out to move his car....since that´s not annoying.

my caaah´s wicked smaaht...so about the small ugly cars...the smaaaaht
caaaahs specifically...we were discussing car accidents...so in the words of
michelle 'if someone rearends you at 10 miles an hour you will be crushed
inside your car and need the jaws of life to get you out'...well, if ur
still alive i guess.
 

another update on that ugly ugly plaid that is haunting us...so, it is
called BURBERRY PLAID. they even have a line of clothes for dogs
apparently...we´ve seen two terriers decked out in matching burberry
sweaters. beware of the invasion...it´s reached los estados unidos! i guess
they have burberry stores in new york, dallas, and san francisco. hey...new
york isn´t that far guys! danielle has apparently done some research on the
phenomenon and reports that it is all over boston too...scarfs, umbrellas,
gloves, and she saw a coat the other day. my mom fears that we might even
have a sleeping bag with the famous plaid lining! BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID!

once....all over madrid they have lil booths that say 'once'....eleven. i
guess 11 is the lucky number in spain. so the lil booths sell lottery
tickets...it´s kinda cool. i learned in finance that in spain there is no
tax on lottery winnings and the winner receives the money in lump sum. how
good is that? so uh maybe i should stop at an once on my way home.

everyday on our way to and from school we see the same bum just walking down
the street...yeah he kinda looks like coach gaudino (otherwise known as the
caddy bum from happy gilmore) only with longer hair. the bums here sometimes
just chill outside stores with lottery tickets hanging from their coats...to
sell. other bums choose to sell tissues...especially on the metro. so a
couple of my friends are considering chillin in the metro stations and
getting into the business. i suggested being original and selling baby wipes
instead.

so the language barrier is definitely a problem for me but i haven´t had too
many embarassing mishaps...but my friends have some good stories. my friend
jim was talking to some spanish girls about his fam and tried to tell them
that his parents had been married for 25 years....so instead of saying
veinte cinco 'años', he said 'anos' which we now know means 'ass' and not
years.

i´ve officially come to terms with the fact that i absolutely stink at
speaking spanish. i was talking to two spanish guys in a bar this weekend
and one just felt completely comfortable telling me that i s*ck and there´s
no hope for me. yeah thanks. so the confidence is high!

it´s always fun to teach the spaniards some english terminology though... i
witnessed an absolutely ridiculous conversation between Ester and 3 spanish
guys last weekend...she taught them the phrase...'pop a squat'...only Ester!

so the staying out til 7am thing is just doing wonders for my health.
thursday morning til sunday night (a time span of 90 hours...we figured it
out on the busride home from sevilla) we got 7 hours of sleep! 7 hours! and
i wonder why i´m deathly ill right now.

and a tip to anyone who travels...pack light! diana and i actually did pack
pretty light for our trip this weekend...but it wasn´t light enough since on
sunday we walked for hours around the city knocking people over with our
luggage along the way....obviously we have to teach our friends jim and joe
a lil thang or two about packing since they brought hiking backpacks that
were big enough to carry both me and diana and maybe even the kitchen sink.

Diana's trip report on Sevilla:

so i had the most wonderful time in sevilla. it was beautiful. everywhere it was like
florida with the palm trees and the sun and the river and everything. sevilla is
the way i picture spain, little side
roads, cobblestone roads, beautiful buildings, like the ones you only see
in encyclopedias. the hostel was cute. the room was a good size, there were
4 beds and a bathroom. it was nice. it was cold in there though, like colder
than outside! we saw a beautiful park, the real alcazar, a castle, and the
cathedral of sevilla. its the third biggest in the world. it was beautiful.
the city itself is beautiful everywhere you look. i loved it. im so glad i went
there. it made me so happy to see ester and steve and koosh. so thats funny you
asked dad about the roads between sevilla and madrid. they are highways, but
its like there are all of these cities in spain, but then i swear to god there
is nothing but farmland and green grass and fields and mountains in between the
cities. i noticed that when we went to granada too. weird. we went to some
discottecas and i liked them much better than the ones in madrid. the people
were much nicer in sevilla, like when you ask strangers for directions, they
will take the time to walk you to where you are going if you need them
too. we ate food at places like subway and mcdonalds. so cultural.

Diana and Cheryl took a 6 hour bus ride to Sevilla to visit
friends (namely, Ester and Steve) from Assumption who is doing a
semster there). They went with some new friends from Nebraska.

I'll file a report when they return.

Diana has connected with Ana! Who is Ana? Well, she is a student
in Madrid that has spent some time in the US, right here in Natick
with friends (Nancy & co.) of ours. We did not know about Ana until recently. So
Nancy made the connection happen - thanx Nancy!

Wednesday, Jan 31, 2001

Just in! More fun facts about Madrid (better than the first!)
 

FUN FACTS 2

it never rains here in madrid....except sunday through saturday.

everyone smokes, everywhere...even on the metro where there are signs every
5 feet that say NO FUMAR.

there are soo many mopeds and motorcycles! and they don´t stop for
pedestrians either. 'telepizza' delivery guys ride mopeds to deliver the
pizza...and they wear huge helmets and bulky one piece outfits that look
like astronaut suits.

the cars here are all really small and just plan ugly. there is one car
called the SMART car (smaaaht caaah) by ford that really looks like a
midget mobile. i don´t know how anyone of normal size could fit in it. the
cars are all alot more practical i guess. unlike in the US, the spanish
don´t feel that´s it´s necessary to have many luxury cars, to impress
others and show their status. there are a decent amount of mercedes and
simm simma BMWs though.

our school is called ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY but everyone calls it 'SLU' not
S-L-U....sleeeeeeewwww, with a midwestern accent. it´s soo annoying. we
refuse to ever call it slu...unless we´re immitating someone of course.

the spanish talk with lisps. yeth, so i fit in nicely here. instead of
saying gracías....'grasías'...they say 'grathías.' so everyone sounds so
stupid. i just have to basically forget all the spanish speaking skills
i´ve learned...since i learned the mexican spanish....and why wouldn´t it
be totally different in spain?!?

they use VOSOTROS! for the verb form YOU PLURAL. how scary is that! that´s
just another thing i have to worry about, since we were told not to worry
about it, 'no one uses vosotros.' yeah great, no one except the spanish.
and of course we always hear it because diana and i are INSEPARABLE...so
we´re always YOU PLURAL when people are talking to us, especially our
señora.

yeah so we´re attached at the hip cuz we have no other friends, cuz we´re
big fat losers. this kid in my ethics class asked me if diana was gonna
start coming to my classes with me since we´re always together. but don´t
worry cuz we have spanish class together everyday but friday, and dance on
tuesdays and thursdays! and we walk and ride the metro to and from class
everyday.

the spaniards do the two kisses thing...when ya kiss each cheek when u see
or meet people (what´s more annoying is the americans who are cheezy enough
to do it to each other too).

the computers in the lab are sooo slow that it literally takes 4 minutes to
send an email...and that´s after waiting 20 minutes to get to a computer.
and all the kids who work at the computer 'LAB' wear lab coats, obviously!
cuz they might spill a dangerous chemical substance on themselves...or even
worse...a keyboard!

my 'university' (university usually implies that the school is larger and
is divided into individual schools) consists of less than 400 students...so
thats about 1/6 of assumption. i think i have already seen everyone on
campus who goes here.

we have two main buildings on campus (besides the small dorms...i think
there are about 3 of those)...one building is for all the classes. i think
there are about 16 classrooms, if that. oh and the snack bar and 'book
closet' are in the basement. they call it the book store but it´s more like
a drive up window...and they dont even have notebooks...just books and
videos. the other building has computer labs in the basement, offices on
the first floor...then theres the library upstairs which is 1/3 the size of
my high school library.

all of the stairs in the university building are outside. it was pretty
intelligent to make the stairs with marble so that when it rains they get
slippery. diana and i complained for two weeks about how slippery they are
until i finally fell down the last 6 steps onto my butt. why wouldn´t I be
the one to fall and make myself look like an idiot?!? but dont worry, i was
ok!

oh i tried sangría my first weekend. it was pretty good....tastes a lil
like red wine....but i don´t know what the big deal is about it.

the nut obsession...i´m not sure about it. when we walk down our street to
get to the metro there are all these stands with people cooking these huge
nuts over what looks like a big metal trash can. i´m not sure why they are
so popular since it smells like burned cucarachas(cockroches) or something.

the big department store here is 'el corte inglés.' there is one on our
street. i guess ours is one of the biggest....yeah we definitely got lost
the other day. anyways, it´s like a macy´s only with a walmart and grocery
store, etc. anything you need...el corte ingles has it! everywhere we go we
see people with corte ingles bags. and there are billboards
everywhere....they are all the same ad too...it says REBAJAS (sales) at the
top and it´s red and green with the same spanish dude (who we named
hector....and we decided he´s the most obnoxious man in spain) who says TÚ
GANAS (you win). but anyways, it´s convenient but overrated when it comes
to rebajas!

the tan plaid scarf count continues....we saw a long skirt in the same
print the other day! we still can´t figure out the phenomenon. we´ve
decided that it must signify something...like maybe 'i support my local
high school band.' our other theory is that they had a promo at el corte
inglés and they were giving them away with purchases or something.

oh and don't worry, christina aguilera represents in spain, thank god, i
dont know what i would do without hearing her voice....'ven conmigo' (come
on over). brittany, backstreet, nsync, etc. are also popular along with of
course...shake your bon bon himself...ricky martin. some spaniard at a club
told one of my friends that his name was ricky.....ricky
martin.....riiiiiiite.

we ARE stupid americans....sorry, i´m only contributing to that stereotype,
hah.

at the movie theater the bathrooms are in the individual theaters and there
are absolutely NO previews before the movie. the movie actually starts on
time! ...and it´s only about $6 on the weekends.

PDAs all over the place. people just randomly make out on the streets and
in public...gross!

the water in our apartment is powered by a blue flame in a box hanging on
the kitchen wall. seems really reliable...hmmmm.

the no clothes dryer thing is really getting to us. our clothes are all
stiff and crusty. i almost dropped my jeans about 4 stories down when i was
hanging them out the window. at least no one threw any clothes pins at me
in the process.

when we were coming home last weekend....there is no doorknob, just a lock
and u push the door open i couldn´t get the key in the door to work so we
caused alot of ruckus outside our apartment door. but then the next night i
tried to turn on the light switch next to the door but that ended up being
the doorbell instead....oops

even better, this weekend we came home early on friday night and we locked
the door after us. so i guess we locked out Beatriz, the daughter, who is
apparently a hard core partier (yet shes like 40) and she had to bang on
the door till her mom woke up and let her in...oops.

the streets of madrid get so dirty that men in yellow LIMPIEZA uniforms
hose down the streets every day, early in the morn

update on the dog crap...before the limpieza dudes hose down the street,
there´s a designated limpieza man who rides on a moped with a vaccuum and
sucks up the many piles of dog pooooo. i haven´t seen it yet for myself but
my friend said that the process is just amazing! hah

and this just in...the deal with the tan plaid pattern. the pattern is huge
in london...it´s the new style. so i guess the spaniards are just a bunch
of sheep.
 

Diana reports on her weekend - Went to see the new Brad Pitt flick
(in english) - Movie started at 1:00 AM!

They also went to Segovia, northwest of Madrid. They saw the cathedral and
the Roman aqueduct and other things (sorry, can't remember the other things).
On the bus ride there, Cheryl struck up a conversation with the girl next to her.
The girl said she went to school in Boston, then said, actually it was in a place
west of the city called Worcester! Di and Cheryl flipped out and told her
they went to school in Worcester too. The girl actually went to Clark. Then
someone a few rows up who heard the conversation yelled down if they knew
Steve so and so. And, of course, they did. It was the Steve that Diana knows from
getting her Visa in Boston. Talk about a small world.

Anyway, Di was heading to watch the super bowl at a TG Fridays (starts at midnite,
Spain time).

Thursday, 25-Jan-01

Here's an update from a student in Madrid (who we wont
identify!)

i live with a host fam...in the nuevos ministerios area of madrid. it´s a
15 min walk to the metro, that stinks. it´s a nice area with lots of
shopping though. our old street is actually the next big street over. we
live with our señora, and her daughter who is maybe
30ish.

time difference - madrid is 6 hours ahead of new england

the weather is warmer, no snow or anything...but everyone bundles up like
it´s new england or somthing...they dont even know...it´s really rainy
lately though...which is supposedly not typical of madrid...but i think
they´re all liars.

the guys here are stuck in the 80s. someone really needs to tell them that
light stone washed skin tight tapered jeans and tan work boots are really
not flattering.

everyone wears purple! purple everything...pants, nylons, leather jackets,
hats, scarves, sweaters, coats, etc....even some guys! i´m gonna get some
purple pants.

we´ve discovered that everyone wears the same scarf too. it´s this ugly tan
colored scarf with red and black plaid. we´ve also seen bags, coat lining,
umbrellas, hats, etc. it´s so ugly too. we counted 16 scarves on the way to
school today, not counting the many variations...grey colors....and bags,
umbrellas etc.

guys dont wear deodorant and everyone smells like BO...our spanish
profesora constantly has sweat stains!

our beds pull down from out of the wall....so they´re sooo
uncomforable...i´m definitely gonna need some serious chiropractic action
when i get home...between  my  mattress problem and walkin all day with a
34 lb backpack

we have no screens in our window so we could just fall out and die i
guess...and someone threw a clothespin at diana when she was sitting on her
bed the other day cuz we are surrounded by other apartments outside

they have midget size washer machines and no dryers so we get to hang our
'unmentionables' in the kitchen

we have to literally light the stove

the entire city smells

there are millions of midget dogs wandering without leashes and they poop
all over the sidewalk so we have to look down and dodge the crap when we
walk around the city

i take the 'metro' to school in the morn, it takes 5 min on the train but
35 minutes in total cuz it´s such a hike to each metro stop

everyone stares at us....everyone...though we try not to make it obvious
that we are americans.....so we just yell WHAT?!? and stare back

a popular spanish drink is coca cola y vino tinto (coke and red wine) it
tastes kinda like cherry coke

jamón jamón y más jamón. all they eat is ham. it´s everywhere! there are
randomly legs of ham with the hooves still on them hanging from the ceiling
in restaurants.....who does that???

they have nestle chocolate and mars but no hershey

we got golden grahams at the grocery store the other day!

mcdonalds and burger king are here too, obviously, they´re
everywhere...along with coca cola and pepsi of course. they dont have diet
though...just light so it tastes different.

my señora made a tortilla española (spanish omlette) the other day that we
tried but other than that i try to stay away from the food here

vacas locas! mad cow disease is back in effect.....it´s all over the news,
nasty footage of all these slaughtered cows being taken away on cranes.
definitely takin a toll on mcdonalds business...we talked about that in
finance the other day!

so ya know how in high school spanish they used to say how their hot
chocolate is thick, etc. well it´s like hot pudding. churros y
chocolate.....mmmmmm.

the supermercados are kinda different too. they just have all their fresh
fish just sitting in the open...diana was horrified by the octopus! so we
always joke about how seafood is our favorite

all i want is a bagel and they dont have em....they do have a few dunkin
donuts though

they do serve their milk warm

i learned in marketing that besides germany and italy, spain consumes the
most alcohol in the world (but they drink red wine with dinner, etc so it´s
more part of the culture

obsession with south park (we watched it in spanish one of the first
nights) and the simpsons (we saw a fuzzy maggie purse on the metro
yesterday) and i guess they have a huge simpsons world store in 'sol' which
is like the center of madrid...it´s beautiful, reminds me of fanuel hall
kinda...only huge.

everyone has cell phones and its so annoying cuz they all have obnoxious
lil songs that play when they ring....but i guess it´s cool to be able to
say 'digame' when someone calls ya

the official sport is fútbol...soccer. it´s weird to see so much soccer and
tennis on tv instead of football, etc in the US. we did go see a nice
american football game at a lil irish bar during our orientation trip
though.
Di has also contacted Ester from Assumption who has arrived in Seville. And the Steve
mentioned above has also called from Seville.

Sunday, 21-Jan-01

Di and Cheryll went for a jog and long walk. They checked out some hotels
in the area for us. Di says that everyone has dogs. They pretty much run loose
and, um, relieve themselves all over the sidewalk. Gotta watch where you step!
Now, nothing personal against anyone from Madrid who happens to read this, but,
what's the deal with that?

Wednesday, 17-Jan-01:

Di's walking to the grocery store and her cell phone rings. It's Grammy!

Friday, 19-Jan-01

Di and Cheryll have moved to a new residence. Their first place was too
small. (Wierd mirrors on the ceiling) She likes her new place very much.
They are closer to school too.

Tuesday, 16-Jan-01:

First day of classes - things went pretty well. Homework, even.
Dinner at Burger King!

Thursday, 11-Jan-01:

Di and Cheryl went to the school via the T and picked up cell phones. I guess the
phones are useable anyplace in Spain (no stupid roaming charges like here).

Off to orientation trip in Granada - a short 6 hour bus ride. Di described the mountains
as beautiful. She was able to see green pools of the Mediterranean and actually looked
down on a rainbow. Di found an internet cafe and sent us some email.

Wednesday, 10-Jan-01:

They were picked up OK (luggage did not make it, of course) and taken to
St. Louis University in Madrid. Di and Cheryl hooked up with their host family
and went to the apartment.

Tuesday 9-Jan-01:

We all took Diana to the airport. Amy, Meri, Carol, Mike and I. So this
meant we had to take the rust bucket van. I prayed it wouldn't croak. We
met up with Diana's travelling companion, Cheryl, who told us their flight,
to JFK was canceled, of course. So they booked onto another one as standby
passengers. They did get on it ok, and were a little late getting to JFK for their
conecting flight for Madrid. Diana saw Pedro Martinez in JFK! The flight was 7
hours, 10 minutes! Delightful!

    Hello all!

     Announcing the arrival of Baby Shaylyn  Elizabeth Ross!!!!!!!
     Born 1-11-01 on her Dad' s Birthday.

     She weighs in at 7lbs 14 ozs.
     Mom, Dad, and baby are all doing great!!!!

     Love to all
     Pete and Kathi