Still in the U.S.

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Esperando en la terminal

People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.” – Dagobert D. Runes

Back on the old vaio Stickers for now. Hopefully it will work okay overseas. Still in the DFW, looking for something to do. I ate a handful of wasabi peas and wondering if it was the best choice for a travel snack. I haven't seen anyone I know yet, but considering I don't know a whole bunch of people on the trip, that's not too surprising.

The people who work at the Tyler Pounds, by the way, are rather nice. It seems like they try hard not to fit the abrasive airport security stereotype. The guy in front of me asked if it was okay if he didn't bag his mini hand sanitizer and the security officer waved it through with a smile. I'm now really thankful that I don't have to worry about DFW security.

To pass the time, I've been reading the guide on Spain. I have the book Blue Like Jazz in my bag but I might not start reading it until the flight back.

I've been thinking about what I want to do during my "free weekend" and I'm seriously considering going to Barcelona to dance the sardana. Apparently every Sunday around 15:00 and sometimes Saturday, a group of people gather together near the Cathedral and do a kind of circle dance unique to the city. It's probably a very touristy thing to do, and I might change my mind when I get there, but it might be fun. Of course, Barcelona has many other attractions. The main language is Catalan but most likely I will be relying on my Spanish skills. That is, if I can convince someone to go with me. Not to keen to travel through Las Ramblas alone, especially considering it's renown for pickpockets.

I was pretty clueless on the way over from Tyler to the DFW. Almost rolled my carry on through the metal detector, bumped my head on the overhead compartment, spilled water on the plane, and then nearly forgot my carry on when we got to the DFW. All part of learning the ropes I guess; I'll be a more confident seasoned traveler by the flight back.

Talked to an elderly couple when I first sat down near my gate. I heard them talking in Spanish so I thought I would ask them, in Spanish, if they were traveling to Spain. They were traveling to Monterrey. Unfortunately I could barely understand what they were telling me, but they still tried to chat nevertheless. The señor told me as they left to board their flight "No hables en ingles!" They were really sweet. Now I wish I had taken a little portrait of them! Not sure how they would have taken it though.

How little I could understand as they were talking to me really struck me though. I still have so much to learn, and I'm worried that I'm going to be struggling in the classes I will be taking. I'll do my best, and hopefully that will be enough academic-wise. As long as I don't let it stop me from enjoying everything else!

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Photos

Free internet station
I forgot how slow my laptop can be sometimes

Thanks parents!
Pre-security

Chilling at the Tyler Pounds
These shoes have weathered a lot. Their first international trip was dusty Namibia.