Soulja Boy....

The next story: after our family vacation you'd think the stories couldn't get better....but they dooooo!

On Friday I went out to eat with my friends Katie and Alex. We decided to give our leftovers to the homeless man outside and agreed that we all wished we could help people like that out more often if we had money. So I came up the brilliant that we could MAKE money by dancing and singing in the Plaza Mayor of Spain. For the past 10 years, Katie and I have fed off of each other's ideas and this was no exception. Before you know it, there were three American girls singing and dancing to the likes of Soulja Boy, Britney Spears, and Queen in the plaza. The hightlight of it all was the group of black tourists walking past who broke into song while watching us dance at random for money in the #1 tourist spot in all of Spain....turns out they were the Harlem Gospel Choir here on tour. We made 5 Euro of small change in 45 minz, bought "hamburguesas" to give to the homeless people on the street, and made friends with the choir and their lead singer. By the end of the weekend we had been to both concerts of the Harlem Gospel Choir, were offically dubbed their groupies (aka the crazies from the plaza got dressed and came to the shows), and were friends with the band and Lois Giles (their lead)!


March 12-15 my friend Michael and I flew up to the northern part of Spain to a place called Asturias. We spent time exploring the area and then hiking in the mountains where were stayed for two nights (one down below and one at the top!) It was my favorite trip by FAR and I already can't wait for our next trip together to Santander in April. Instead of writing, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Tom Curtis' European Vacation

Hand down, best Spring Break….ever. Our Curtis family vacation put Chevy Chase to shame, no doubts there.

I don’t EVEN know where to start! It started with mountain climbing in the north before my fam got here... That is a story in itself so I will blog about that in a few days. For now let’s just focus on the top 10 moments of the family vacation.

(Disclaimer: I dearly love my father and without him I would not be where I am. That being said, he alone provided us with endless entertainment on the trip; thus, the following is not meant to hurt him in any way, just relive the funniest freaking family vacation EVER!)

1.I had the great idea to convince my dad driving in Italy would be a good idea. The good news is the rental car company can only take out $500 of his account after the accident (and that covers the parking ticket and forgetting to fill ‘er up with gas upon return, too!), no one was killed the first time he rode over the pedestrian plaza, no one was killed as he backed out of the plaza down a one way street, and the officials apparently didn’t see him swing a U-turn on the freeway when we got to the toll booth by mistake.

2a.We rent the car in Rome. Not only do we have NO idea where we are going but this is all in Italian. And let’s face it, even when we DID know where we were going that didn’t make much difference. At one point we LITERALLY drove in circles around Florence for two hours. At one point Callan was throwing the map on the floor in the front seat announcing he was now “quitting our freaking family and sitting on my lazy ass for the rest of this vacation!!!” , my dad was scolding “why don’t you shut the heck up?” and my mom was in the back telling the boys to stop fighting. Are we having fun yet?!?

3a. We were lucky enough to meet hundreds of wonderful Italians, a true cultural gem! However, this was really only because we were lost at every, sinnnnngle city we came to. Because of this, my dad developed a wonderful spirit of language study while in Italy. He told every person we saw “gracias” instead of “grazi” but said it with an Italian accent figuring that would do just fine….then when we finally got to Spain where he could ACTUALLY use the Spanish, he told people “gracias” when he meant to say “hola”…apparently he was randomly thanking these people for just being alive???

4a.The circus continued in the car at every new hotel. 5 people, 6 suitcases, 5 backpacks…….Kennedy, my mom, and I sat squished in the back of the little Euro car and eventually we got used to the loud thud at every bump. The sound was Kennedy’s head hitting the roof of the car.

5a.As we passed the town of Liverno, I had that feeling in my gut this was NOT a good idea to get off the freeway to eat here. This small piece of hell on Earth eventually saw me screaming: “Dad, this is a road for pedestrians!” In the end, as it replays in my head, I see three heads (Callan, Ken, and Mom) ducked and covered in their laps so as not to be identified later on. My dad has his hands in the air (both of them) and starts to scream “AM I DRIVING?!?! AM I DRIVING?!?!” The looks of terror on the faces as we shoot across the pedestrian plaza of Liverno interrupt the book sale going on in the plaza as we zigzag out of the way of people and tables. We eventually backed up a one-way street to get out and then circled three times trying to figure out how the h-e-double to get out of this town without being caught by the police.

6a. By the end of this adventure, having the drunken cabbie take us to the Milan airport seemed FAR safer than the Audi rental. As my dad threw the keys to the lady at the Eurocar desk, I believe the exact words were “oh thank God, I am so freaking sick of this damn thing!”

7. The first day in Spain was a little rough. Without the car, out laughs were gone…..so we thought. I took my family to Segovia and explained we would go see the Roman aqueducts. My dad, however, thought I meant “aqua duck” like the rides in the Wisconsin Dells. When he asked me if we would be riding on a river or lake, I knew the Spain fun was just beginning!

8. We returned and my pops wanted to do some quick snack shopping Jingles. After the 5 minutes it took me to figure out he was taking about the “corte INGLES” we headed over. The hotel was great; things were calming down for what would be out last day together in Madrid…that was until……

9. Kennedy wanted a fake Burberry wallet. I knew where the street vendors are in Madrid; a big row of them right near the Sol metro. We headed down there and I stepped up to do the haggling in Spanish. As soon as he handed me the wallet, someone yelled “policia” and the street vendors all grabbed their bags of goods and shot off running. Before we knew what happened they were gone, the police were there, and I was holding a boot-legged Burberry wallet in my hand….I slid it in to my pocket as fast as I could and took off while my family was still at the corner going “what’s happening, what just happened?!?!” All I could see was me being deported for buying this illegal wallet….just our luck! But in the end, it WAS our luck….I didn’t even buy the thing as the vendors were long gone. Basically, I stole from thieves….only our family.

10.I have lived in Madrid for 7 months and never had anything bad happen to me. My dad comes to Madrid for 2 days and gets robbed. We were on the packed metro and a gypsy opened up my dad’s fanny pack (that alone should be #11) and took out his wallet….all kinds of cash, credit cards, etc. on the last day of vacation. Too bad for that little gypsy b**** she messed with the wrong freakin’ family! My dad actually realized it was HER and started to yell….then he grabbed her so we knew this was for real! So in pops my mom and she starts stripping the girl trying to get her coat and scarf off!!! All of a sudden the wallet drops to the ground (a tag team as it had been passed off) and we get it back. I had by now made my way to them and realized what just happened. SNAPS for her that I speak Spanish so she picked the wrongggggg train that day! I spun her around and started screaming as loud as I could in Spanish that she just robbed my dad. Then I started yelling that we weren’t tourists, that I live there and know their gypsy tricks, team of thieves, etc…That caused a lot of commotion in the train now since people understood what I was saying. Well, that and the fact I may or may not have said some things about their mother and what I though of her, but I’ll keep this the PG rated version. It was all so fast that they hopped off before we could do anything or even react more. In the end, we got it back and have a great story about the day we robbed thieves and foiled the gypsies! We’re such a classy bunch, no?

All in all, hands down, best family trip ever. So many laughs!!! Seriously, my dad really did do a fantastic job driving in Italy....I really DO think the pole he backed into with our Audi jumped in the way of the car. Now, after this longest blog in the world, I’m off to the bars where I will be for about the next week trying to recover from the family’s visit!

El presidente?

The gang of some of my favorite all-yearers!

Jacque (played golf with her in HS!), Taryn (my workout/study/dinner buddy), me, Michael (my Asturias/Santander travel buddy), and Reider (guy with the coolest name)


The Plaza de Cervantes in Alcala where I got sunburned (about an hour outside of Madrid)

Wooooo- where to start?

Friday night was super success as I went with my roomies to a hole in the wall theater production. It was an "abstract" piece and they were sure I wouldn't understand, but I got the whole thing! It was nice since they knew the two actors and the director so we got to stay after an have some "vino" with them. Made me feel good that my Spanish is up to that level.

Best part of the night was a chat I had with Andrea, my roomie. I was telling her how I don't understand why people approach me for directions when I have white tennis shoes on and look supppper American. She was asking if all Americans have shoes like that and when I said "most", she goes "yuck, they're so ugly!" hahaha as I'm WEARING them. As soon as she said it she knew.....her face...priceless. Before she could say anything I said "don't worry, you have two last names that are the same and you eat uncooked legs of ham that hang in windows. We're both pretty trashy."

Then last night was a big birthday celebration for 4 American friends of mine. I started the evening by studying grammar with my friend Taryn and then we made fajitas for dinner. About 10pm my friend Jacque came over (we played golf together in HS) for a little red wine before the party. When we finally did get to the pub, it was great! All of the year-long kids were there so it was great to have us all in one spot together. We had so many laughs! It's funny how fast we've all become friends in just 7 months and how close we all are now!

Anyways, enough of that boring stuff. On Wednesday night my friend Michael and I are going hiking in the mountains in Asturias (northern Spain)! Our hotel is a 5 hour hike from the base of the mountain and not reachable by car :) I am super excited to be out in nature again...I am getting a little sick of the city. We'll be there together until Saturday night and then Sunday morning my family arrives!!! I cannot wait to see them even though 7 months doesn't feel all that long with easy communication. We're hitting up Italy for a week and then spending 3 days in Madrid. will write all about it for you guys. Got a few more trip planned, too. In April, Michael and I are hitting up the beaches in Santander, Spain which should be a blast! Then in May to Portugal with two friends and then Ireland to visit volunteers I worked with in Malawi. Only three months left....sooooo sad this is going so fast.

(Oh, ps elections were today so tomorrow Spain will have new president. The elections aren't really "secret" from what I could tell when I went to watch. You pick up your party's paper and put it in an envelope. The ballots are sitting on a table out in the open so even though you go to the booth to put your party's paper in the envelope, everyone already watched you pick what party you're voting for. Only in Spain would that be a "secret" ballot haha.)

ouch....

...short and simple, I got sunburned TWICE this weekend. Soooo nice in Spain these days. On Saturday my friend Taryn and I hit up a town an hour out of Madrid called Alcala de Hernares. I've never taken the train yet, and am glad I didn't know the history of the one I was one! Turns out, four years ago nearly to the day, THAT train was the exact on that was bombed in Madrid. It was March 11th, right before presidential elections in 2004....Saturday was March 1st and the presidential elections are the 9th! Yikes. Either way, the town was sooo nice! It is the birthplace of Cervantes so we hit up the historical spots and then just chilled in the plaza for a day of people watching. Families out for the day, old men and women out for walks....just a fun European day! Today I went to Retiro park and took a nap for a bit....woke up super red from the sun! Can't believe the weather is so nice here ALREADY! wow.

te echare de menos

Before I start, this one goes out to a really special lady: Kathy Koehler, who I worked with at Kurtz Realty and knew through my dad. Sadly, she passed away today back in Milwaukee, but I will always remember her for her loving spirit. Before she got sick, I know she had been reading this blog so I'll do my best to make it a good one for her!

Well, I was a little tired after Fiday night (and Saturday morning) out with the girls. The bus driver told me he felt sorry I had to work so early on Saturday morning....I didn't have the heart to tell him I was still coming back from Friday night. Soooo...my friend Rebekah came over and we passed the day away drawing on my new gift. Ok, this is a story in itself, but during exams my awesome cousin Katie from Holland sent me this gift. It is an aquadraw mat that is basically like a big "painting" etch-a-sketch. Instead of paint you use water to draw and when it dries, it erases so you can start all over again. It says 18+ months on the box but these two 21 year-olds were eatting it up!!!!! Best gift ever....

Moving on...my roommate kept asking if I had done drugs this weekend because I kept saying "mi telefono ha muerto" (my phone has died). I guess the phrase "to die" doesn't translate to electronics like it does in the states so they were all thinking I was finally wigging out. Same roomie woke me up screaming last night at 4am when her countryman won the Oscar. I told her that mine would win all the rest and that I needed to get some sleep so shut the hay up. I never did fall back asleep but lucky for me I got her back. She has this "friend" (I guess the word "amigo" isn't exactly what they taught us in school!) named Ruben who she has been seeing. She keeps tellin me they are only "amigos" which is a big, fat lie. Anyways, I have never met him and today this guy rang our bell. I was the only one home. I answered the buzzer and he said he was Andrea's boyfriend. Of course I let him in the bulding and went to the door to open it since I was dying to meet this "friend" of hers I have been hearing so much about. I open the door and say "hola, Ruben?" and he says "uhhh no.....Miguel". I nearly wet myself right then and there. I then pretended I didn't speak Spanish since there was no way I could talk my way out of this one. Secret's out on this one: she's playing the field like the Real Madrid soccer team!

Another quick story: went to the bakery on my way to a friend's house, had my hands full so I stood at the automatic door waiting for it to open. I wiggled my leg out a little bit to hit the sensors when the man behind me walked around me and kindly held the door for me. AUTOMATIC DOORS DON'T EXISIT IN SPAIN! hahaha he must have thought I was the oddest American ever. Almost as bad as the first time I saw "tirar" on the door which means "throw" so clearly you'd think that means "throw forward". When I kept on walking forward, all cockily knowing Spanish so well and smashed myself into the glass door sending echoes down the hallway of out building, I finally learned "tirar" means PULL! Duhoo.


There is so much other stuff that happens everyday but I guess I can't write about it all or even remember it now. If I have learned anything from Kathy it would be to just keep enjoying these moments that God has put in my life and cherish everyday. So, I guess I'll just keep on doing that. In the meantime, you all take care. PS 3 weeks until my family comes!!!!! Cannot wait!!!! (ask me on the 8th day of the trip and that response might be a little different haha)

classes, trips, and a whole lotta nothing

Hey all- good news, I so far have passed four of my five classes with fairly high marks....a miracle in my eyes. I would have easily taken a D so I was pretty much shocked to get the grades I did.

So far this new semester my classes are 10002923 times better than last semester so that is GREAT news. I am taking Spanish Literature, Ethnology (is that the word in English?) of South America, Spanish in Business, Ethnolgy of Mexico, and Spanish Grammar. I really enjoy the "etnologia" classes since they are the study of cultures and traditions in society. Super interesting to me after traveling.

Even better, I planned my first few trips of this semester! My friend Michael and I are flying up to Asturias in the north of Spain for a weekend at the start of Spring Break. I am soooo excited as Asturias is filled with mountains and our hotel in the mountain is a 1.5 hour hike from civilization!!! I am so lucky I found such a great travel buddy who is up for "small town" travel and a little hiking in the mountains and on the beaches, too, we hope! We both cannot wait!!!

Then, my friends Andy and Maeve from Ireland (met in Malawi) invited the whole "African gang" to their house in Dublin in May! It will be so odd that most of the group who planned the World Aids Day event will be back together...in the first world nonetheless! We are all really excited to see each other. Needless to say, we have fairly stong bonds after our experiences together.

Hmm, I finally bought a comforter for my bed...in the past 3 year I've never been in one spot more than 5 months so I finally ditched the sleeping bag I had been sleeping in (right now my mom is giving me that "Bailey, what the heck were ya thinking?!" voice) and bought the IKEA comforter. Not gonna lie, the all you can drink soda, sweedish meatballs, and all you can eat ice-cream is a huge draw. Ok, the ice cream isn't REALLY all you can eat but FYI, if you get a spoon you can scrape it out of the cone and fill-er-up again!

haha wow, I just wrote about my classes and my comforter....I actually just bored MYSELF. It was a good weekend, went out with some Spanish friends, went to a French bday party, and my roomie brought me back chocolate from Paris this weekend...finally catching on about how to win over an American!

Hope you are all warm and dry and not shoveling...but that's unlikely. Sorry for that. So come and visit before July 1st!!!!

good student

Well...I think this might be a good "learning" experience for me in that I may very well fail my first class ever. No joke. I know we all say "oh, I'm going to fail" but let me give you an idea of a Spanish test:

The professor arrives 20 minutes late to class. She then makes an inapropriate joke about Valentine's day and being relaxed for the test. Hands out the test. In the middle of the it, a Spaniard starts to cry it was so hard. She trys to get up and leave but the professor (who has been on her cell phone the whole time) pushes her back into her seat and tells her she cannot leave. The professor then dissapears for 5 mintues while everyone else in the room whips out their notes to cheat "muy rapido". The professor returns with a beer and a pack of cigs and hands them to the girl and tells her to relax.

Ok you might think I am kidding...heck, I barely believe it myself but it's a true story.

Then I get home to my apartment and open the door. My roomie has been waiting there to scare me as I open the door. I jump a mile and swear at her...but in Spanish so that was a good reaction! She then tells me she has been waiting for me to come home to tell me about her dream:

We are both in a bathtub. Yeah. Then suddenly it starts to fill with water and I scream that we are going to drown because I have my boot on (did I tell you I have a fracture in my foot? yeah, I'm 'booted' for a while). Anyways, Andrea, my roomie, then decides she will not allow us to die and saves us both. Then she woke up. I was laughing at how random she is until she says: "but wait, Bailey, I have some bad news....you still had your accent. But don't worry, I'm sure it's hard to lose it, even for a dream." This is the same girl who told me her full name last weekend; it took a mintue and half to get through what she could remember. The Spanish keep ALL names so she actually has like 15 last names, that she can remember, two of which are the same! So when she made fun of me for making pancakes, I just said "laugh all you want, you have two of the same last names "don Manuel, don Manuel!" Her family is coming to visit tomorrow and her sister is just back from Wisconsin so I can't wait to talk to her.

Anyways, so much has been happening I don't even know where to start so I'll leave you with that for now. Now that I have a few free mintues I'll keep posting.