Pensamientitos

I feel like my days are all just short bursts of thought linked together. Here and there. Pertaining to nothing. or yah know, everything. A running commentary of all things through the eyes of this here Berns. This past weekend I went to Extremadura, a city in Spain. It. was. BEAUTIFUL. Hills and  mountains and green space for as far as the eye can see.  Also, while I sit in class, my mind tends to wander to everything BUT Cervantes. Here are some snip-its of both.

EXTREME-adura HIGHLIGHTS:

1. 10 mile hike. most of which was up hill. but guys. the view of those green, green mountains. no camera could ever capture what we saw or how we felt in the presence of someting so much bigger than us. The sight made you feel humble and giddy at the same time.

2. I ate a doughnut completely covered in chocolate. It was like a Donette but real doughnut size. AND soft in the middle like a Crispy Creme doughnut. Oh yah. Ohhh yah.
3. I listened to Your Favorite Weapon with Long Island native, Elena Veronin on the bus to Extremadura. Then we listened to our all time favorite Brand New songs. Made me think of high school.  Teared up a bit when we listened to Socco Amaretto Lime.  I still like them. After all these years. The No Seatbelt song still reminds me of Jesus. Ps. Jesse Lacey lives down the street from Lena. Oh! and she showed me one of their LONG ISLANDERS inside scoop demos. Yep. You've still go it, Brand New.
4. We went to a Karaoke bar on Saturday. Well, there ended up not being karaoke even after many'a hair tosses and smiles on our end...the bartender was NOT havin it.  But they played a handful of English club/rap songs so there ended up being Kareoke after all.  WE WILL PREVAIL. After a few minutes at the bar, no one was dancing on the giant dance floor.  So Eileen and I, seeing our destiny before us, took the libertud of making that floor feel welcomed. We broke out some fat lady, deer in the headlights, realin in the fish, fork in the blender, and an impromptu matador/bull scenario. Makin mama proud.
5. On the way back from EXTREME-adura, we stopped at a gas station. A) I got Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies.  These are the first cookies I've had in Spain. B) I ordered a chicken breast bochadillo (its like a sandwich). I ate the first two pieces of chicken bare (like, took them out of the DRY sandwich) and then decided I wasn't hungry enough to eat the last. I was ELATED when I cut into the third piece, only to find RAW chicken meat. Seriously. Pink. Not just kinda cooked. Like, SERIOUSLY SERIOUSLY uncooked. It was DIVINE INTERVENTION that my hunger disappeared pre-third chicken strip. OR THAT I EVEN THOUGHT TO TAKE THE CHICKEN OFF THE BREAD AND CUT IT UP FIRST. Gosh. Can you even imagine.

Thoughts of the past few days:

-The other day I had THE BIGGEST craving for Luby's.  The food, the atmosphere, the long lines of old people, the deserts made of jello and some other foreign substance.  Everything about it. On that sunny Tuesday afternoon. I. wanted. Luby's.
-I was just thinking of all the things I want to do in life. My thought process was as follows:
     "well ive actually done a lot of the things I wanted to do"
     "besides teach. or be married. or bungee jump. or be on a cheerleading team"
     "but ill probably wait til im older to be on a cheerleading team. not like 40s trying-too-hard-to-maintin-her-youth type of old"
     "ill wait til im a grandma....who doesn't love a cheerleading grandma?"
-We talked about Nicolas Guillen today in my Poesia class. I've never wanted to go to Havana more. And now I have a huge desire to watch Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
-I just realized that within the next month I will have gone to Portugal, Amsterdam, Prague, Paris, Dublin, Cork, and Gallway. Is this real life?!?!
-When I sit down, my hair goes all the way down to belly button.  Christina Aguilera here I come! Hence the stupid picture. Stupid face. LOOOONG hairs. I braided it on both sides to look like an indian girl from the Western we were watching tonight. A western? in Spanish? Dern tootin.
-buying cookies from the store is pretty much signing your own permission slip to Chunky Town.  Its too much to handle for my "going on an island cruise this weekend" Biddi bikini body.
-writing poetry like Vincent Huidobro makes me feel like Dr. Suess
-Ps. little know fact: I love writing poetry. Especially in Spanish.
-If i could go back in time and be a part of any other decade, ide be a 1950's pin up girl. But a really really classy one. OH! or a flapper.
-by far my favorite time of the day is right after ive woken up, before i get out of bed. I spend my first few moments of the day with my Creator in prayer.
-I want to be Josephine Baker
-I read one of my friend's textbooks from class on our way back from Extremadura.  It was about gender roles in society. I. LOVED.  IT. and didn't want to give it back.  You can take the girl out of the DFST program but you can't take the DFST out of the girl.  It made me really excited for my psycology class in the fall. Perhaps psycology hasn't seen the last of Bernie Beesting Bell.
-I wish I could take every class for the rest of my life with 2 of my Spanish teachers.  They INSPIRE ME. So passionate.  Love what they do. They will be one of the things I miss the most.
-I had a meltdown today in class. Like, trying to wipe away tears while the teacher isn't looking kind of meltdown. Over pronouns. PRO. NOUNS. Yah.
-My new favorite word in Spanish is: sabelotodo.
-Drawers. Cartoonists, furniture, and underpants. Are all drawers.
-The door in our room wants to MAKE SURE YOU KNOW when it is closing and opening every time. Whether its the way you have to slam it to get it to actually shut or the loud series of popping noises it makes as it opens.  It always has something to say.

DEAR SPAIN:

...when you teach your children that C, Z, and S are all pronounced with a "th" sound, it makes it very difficult to teach them simple English words.  But I love volunteering at the school in Bachillera.  Thank you for the joy those children bring to me every week.
...the sun doesn't set here til 9pm. I feel like I have SO much time during the day to get things done. Seriously, shops are closing and I still am ready and willing to run errands. Thank you for the productivity.  

...the reason you are so thin is because you charge $4 for a little cup of ice cream. But way to go, Glen Coco, for portion control. Bikini body thanks you.
...just because it happened within the last 24 hours doesn't mean it happened recent enough to call it the present. I am going to continue to use the Present Perfect (and ignore all vosotros forms) the way my last 9 years of Spanish has taught me. But I appreciate your contribution to the Spanish cause!
...I love your beaches. I SWEAR BY ALL THINGS COPPERTONE that I am getting tanner faster than I ever have before. The Spanish sun is SERIOUSLY  more fierce than the American sun.  Thank you for Cadiz, Matalescañas, and the coast of Portugal
...I was just scared out of my own room by a bee let in from the window. Screens. On the windows. Figure it out.
...just because dogs crap on the sidewalk (which is gross in the first place) doesn't mean grown men can do the same. No buts. No thank yous.
...I adore you.

Ps. while we are on the topic of RANDOM STUFF that floats around in my brain....here is a video I took while riding a camel in Morocco. I forgot to include it when I made my Morocco Post.  I'm pretty annoying. But I speak Camel so, we're golden.


Biddi <3