Molly On the Move

Oxford, revisited

March 28, 2014March 28, 2014 Molly On the Move

Radcliffe Camera, Oxford — Radcliffe Camera

There are days when your newsfeed works against you. Yesterday was one of those days. Three of my friends are headed back for another term at my hallowed Oxford without me. And both BuzzFeed and the NY Times decided to gang up on me and remind me why nothing, nothing can compare to my semester in the City of Dreaming Spires.

Oxford is hard to describe to people who don’t know it. I’ve tried to explain it by saying “the air smells intelligent,” which doesn’t make any real sense and, instead, makes people doubt how I ended up at Oxford in the first place. But I stand by it.

There’s a cool edge to the air that quivers with potential. I breathed it as I walked down cobblestone lanes, trying to wrap my brain around the fact that 800 years of students had strolled them before me. I breathed it as I biked down Banbury Road with my dinner gown flapping in the wind. I breathed it as I ate potatoes, potatoes, and more potatoes in a Harry Potter dining hall, sitting next to some of the smartest people in the world, who will go on to be neurosurgeons, composers, writers…leaders of the modern world. I breathed it deeply as I ran along the banks of the Isis and watched rowers’ oars beat like butterfly wings. I breathed excessively it as I hyperventilated about paper deadlines and my increasing sleep debt. Oxford was the deepest, most scintillating breath of air I’ve had. Try going back to standard oxygen after that.

If you happen to have the glorious good luck of still being an undergraduate, I urge you to check out this program to study for a term in Oxford. (And no, you don’t even have to be a UGA student!) It absolutely rocked my world. Three years have passed and I still see it as the best three months of my life. Now please, I’m going to go happy-drown in memories.

Cheers,

Destinations, Ruminations, Spain

Week {20} in review

March 18, 2014March 20, 2014 Molly On the Move

This past week has been brimming with sun, and I have been eating it up like chocolate. I have been positively glued to my Chacos, froyo, shorts, and the park. The Spanish do this odd thing where instead of dressing for the weather, they dress for the season. So even though it was sunny and 70 degrees outside, coats and scarves were everywhere, and my attire was met with choruses of “fresquitaaaaa!” (“chilly,” more or less). Because I care. Anyway, last week, I

Scandalized the teachers at my school by wearing Chacos in March. The temperature of my toes was of grave concern to everyone.
Cheered Escarabote on to second place at the Annual Boiro Primary School Smackdown (a.k.a. student foot race on the beach)
Witnessed a riot
Learned how to make gluten-free orejas (a typical Carnaval food) with a teacher from my school
Guided a couple of visiting auxiliar friends around Santiago

The "carrera" (race) — “Carrera” on the Boiro beachside

Ruminations, Spain

Tuesday troubles

March 12, 2014March 18, 2014 Molly On the Move

Approaching the riot on Rúa de Hórreo. The fence on the left surrounds the parliament building.

I would categorize yesterday among the oddest of days. Why now? Yesterday, I witnessed my first riot. I kid you not, I was photographing daisies in Belvis Park fifteen minutes before I was photographing burning trash cans. (And, speaking of photographs, what even is the protocol for posting pictures of riots to Facebook? I legitimately googled “wrong to post riot pictures to Facebook” and there doesn’t seem to be a strong precedent.) I followed a cloud of smoke up a street bordering Santiago’s parliament buildings, and found myself in a scene of heavily armed police, smoldering plastic, and wayward flying glass bottles.

So what was the issue here? From what I’ve gathered, it was a protest of marineros (sailors). The European Union has imposed certain quotas on how many of each species of fish sailors can catch. They left it up to Spain to divvy that quota up between the different regions. Galician marineros are unhappy with that allocation. It’s politics, people. The sailors say the Spanish government screwed them over and gave a much bigger cut to regions like País Vasco, which doesn’t have nearly the amount of shoreline as Galicia. If the amount you can fish is cut, so is your salary, and so is your ability to live. Spain in crisis.

It’s sad. People are desperate.

Tonight in one of my English conversation classes, we discussed the riots. Hearing the opinions of the students, who are Ph.D. and Master’s students, I am starting to come to terms with how shattering this economic crisis has been for Spain. Though the majority of them are against violence in general, several of them also expressed that there was no other alternative. The democracy, they explained, was not working for the people.

I came away startled. I’ve always, always accepted that violence is never the answer, and I assumed every other rational person was on board with me. It’s times like these when I realize how both insulated and blessed I’ve been. It’s one thing to see riots in the paper and on TV and judge violence from a distance. It’s another thing entirely to listen to your students grapple with and hesitantly accept violence as the last course of action for a very real situation.

Anyway, just so no one is worrying, I am fine, and Santiago is perfectly safe. Tuesday was an anomaly, but a weighty one at that.

The police form a barrier between the protestors and Parliament

A fireman puts out the smoldering remains of garbage bins (protestors had lit them on fire and shoved them at the police)

Continue reading “Tuesday troubles” →

Destinations, Spain

Week {19} in review

March 10, 2014March 18, 2014 Molly On the Move

Parque Belvis, Santaigo de Compostela — Parque Belvis (Santiago de Compostela)

THE SUN IS OUT.

Are you as confused by that as I am? This week, Santiago’s rain decided to cash in its vacation days. I had no idea so many people lived in Santiago until I saw them overflowing from the terrazas outside every restaurant, café, and bar in sight. I scrambled for my sunglasses (that antiquated word for the things you need when there’s, like, sunlight), and celebrated with a picnic in Belvis Park. There were bare feet and strawberries and even tinto de verano with lemon slices. And to cap it all off, last weekend’s rain meant Pontevedra moved their carnival parade, so a few friends and I headed there to catch the festivities and some rays on the beach (pics to come). It was a total contrast to Santiago’s umbrella-clad affair. Fingers crossed the sun is here for keeps.

To Vitamin D!

Tinto de verano

Cathedral graffiti

Real flamenco dancers use umbrellas (Carnival parade, Santiago de Compostela)

Buds in the Alameda

Near Parque do Monte de Almáciga

Destinations, Ruminations, Spain

Santander (via squint)

March 7, 2014March 7, 2014 Molly On the Move

Isla de Mouro

Getting to Santander from Santiago de Compostela without a car is a deep, deep struggle. It took me two BlaBlaCar voyages to get there, and a ten-hour bus ride to get back. If I didn’t have a friend awaiting me there, I probably would’ve shelved the trip for keeps. But wow, was it worth the pain.

After suffering through two months of rain, I arrived in Santander to skies a-blazing with sun. I was squinting like the (wet) hibernating bear I am. We spent a sizable chunk of the weekend outdoors, hiking along the coast, watching waves, and commandeering playgrounds from small children. And there was also some rabbit paella involved. Big ol’ stamp of approval from this girl.

Cheers,

Don’t touch the animals (La Magdalena)

Big kids, baller playground (La Magdalena)

The best Cantabrian company and paella a girl could ask for

Destinations, On the run, Spain

On the run {on Monte Pedroso}

March 5, 2014July 25, 2016 Molly On the Move

1794725_809446455736857_490703429_n Continue reading “On the run {on Monte Pedroso}” →

Destinations, Ruminations, Spain

Weeks {16-18} in review

March 3, 2014March 18, 2014 Molly On the Move

I am in bed and suffering from some post-Carnaval stress to the system. My nose is dead to me. I may have just eaten spoiled yogurt but will never know because I can taste nothing. Dulling effects aside, Carnaval has been quite a grand affair. But let’s back up. In the past three weeks, I:

Royally ate pavement while running in the Alameda, much to the dismay of my hands, knees, and iPhone screen.
Got bullied by 5th graders
Inhaled a couple more rounds of pulpo
Attended an antique car show, lacking in all things MG
Saw Santander, a good friend, and the sun, all at the same time (yes, this is an achievement)
Celebrated a very merry Gal-entine’s Day with wine, strawberries/spoons dipped in chocolate, and…kombucha
Rang in Carnaval in a town that starts with an X
Got a new teaching gig
Ate pig face

So yes, things have been pretty busy around here. There’s a whole lot of visual that will make its way over here eventually.

Cheers my dears!

Retro Galicia (car show in Santiago de Compostela)

Destinations, Spain

La Playa de Catedrales {Beach of Cathedrals}

February 14, 2014January 14, 2015 Molly On the Move

Playa de Catedrales

Playa de Catedrales

A couple of weekends ago, an overstuffed car of auxiliars and I headed to La Playa de Catedrales (English, Beach of Cathedrals; Gallego, Praia das Catedrais). It’s about two hours northeast of Santiago de Compostela. The sky was clear and blue (what now?). And y’all. This place was glorious.

For thousands of years, nature’s been hard at work, pounding arches and chambers into Galicia’s coastline. The wind was ferocious and whipped up the biggest waves I’ve ever seen. Smooth and serrated rock stretched as far as the eye can see. It looked as though someone had taken a comb to the sides of the rocks.

We explored the beach from below, sloshing through water and scrambling up rocks, before being chased away by the tide. The greenery cresting the cliffs made for the perfect picnic place. Un sábado de lujo.

Cheers!

-MB

Go go go: La Playa de Catedrales is near Ribadeo, in the province of Lugo. You’ll be hard-pressed to get there without a car. Those views, though…worth it. Make sure to time your visit at low tide so you can properly ogle the rock formations from below.

Destinations, Ruminations, Spain

Week {15} in review

February 9, 2014March 18, 2014 Molly On the Move

Playa de las Catedrales — A few blessed hours of sun at the Playa de Catedrales.

The perfect coffee spot to watch the rain: Hotel Costa Vella.

Rainbow — A half dozen “arco iris” (rainbow) sightings, including this one on my way to work.

A run up Monte Pedroso (…I use the word “run” loosely).

Churrasco y patatas with the English profe.

Oh yeah…and this.

All day, every day:

I took this screenshot with the idea that a forecast of 100% for all eternity would be a novelty. Well.

Casualties.

This week’s biggest news is that I am drowning. It’s been raining for FIFTY-TWO DAYS. Did you get that? Fifty-two. Every day, Galicia wakes up and grumbles, “Today is going to be a bad day,” pulls the clouds over its head, and proceeds to cry. It is just.inconsolable. In the past week, the wind has also joined the fun, pushing the rain (and me) in all directions.

I am tired of being cold and I am tired of being wet. But Galicia compensates for its weepiness with incredible natural beauty, and for now, that is enough!

Stay dry!

Destinations, Ruminations, Spain

Week {14} in review

January 31, 2014March 18, 2014 Molly On the Move

Humans of Santiago.

Parque de la Alameda, Santiago de Compostela.

“Risoterapia” (laughter therapy) with 2nd and 3rd graders.

A new café discovery: Pan e Chocolate, Santiago de Compostela. — New café discovery: Pan e Chocolate, Santiago de Compostela.

Don’t ask me where “Weeks 4-13” are…seek and ye will not find. We’re now running on 43 straight days of rain here in Galicia…not that I can complain from what I hear about the weather back home. But I’m pretty sure I’m not leaving my bed today.

Peace, love, and lluvia,