3 de junio,2022
Actualmente, estoy viajando a través Europa. Estoy en Irlanda. Las ciudades que estuve visitando son Dublín y Limerick. Mi vuelo a Barcelona es el domingo.
Mi itinerario para este viaje será los siguientes países, Irlanda, España, Alemania, Suecia, y Estonia.
Tengo que visitar a mi tia en Colonia, a mi amiga en Suecia, y asistiré a un camp de jiu jitsu en Estonia. Las últimas semanas serán en Valencia, España.
Here is my update for November 2020. It feels like I haven’t blogged in a long time. I have been so busy. I can easily forget that I have this site. I will try write every week. That is the goal. A few things that I did this last month. What I am also interested in doing this month.
Failure isn’t a necessary evil. In fact, it isn’t evil at all. It is a necessary consequence of doing something new.
Ed Catmull, Creativity Inc.
Last month. I wanted to do push harder in my statistics and chemistry class. Unfortunately I had to drop my chemistry class. I was unable to keep up with the material. First, I blame myself in my failure and effort. I could have been more diligent with asking for help, and seeking out resources. Second, I blame the format of learning chemistry online without a lab. I’m not strong in STEM subjects so I obviously need to put in more work. My statistics class is going well. I hope I will receive good marks on this class.
Language Learning
My portuguese studying has been stagnant. I may have studied 4 times a week in October. So far this month has been the same. I used to study when I got up in the morning. This is a plan didn’t work out, because I wanted to work out when I got up in the morning. This month I will continue to put in work.
My spanish studying has also been stagnant. I have been keeping up with my italki lessons. I need put in more time. I need to review more schedule and keep to it. I just finished Creativity Inc by Ed Catmull. I will now read it in Spanish. It is a really good book for anybody interested in Pixar or animation or managing/leading people.
Writing
I wanted to keep writing. So I have been free writing in my journal. Only 10 minutes a day. It is a good start for the day. I can control my thoughts and organize what I need to do for the day. I have been fairly consistent this month. I want to keep up with it and journal at the end of the day as well. I also want to blog once a week. I have a trip coming up. I will update the blog while I’m on the trip.
Drawing
I have been drawing more. I will post some of my drawings.
Jiu Jitsu
Jiu Jitsu training is my favorite thing. After all these years it still keeps me interested. Training has been going well. We are going through a butterfly guard module, which is the game I am working on. Each week is a new lesson to add to my game. I just have to pick and choose what to add and edit in my game. I find that drilling with progressive resistance is more helpful than rolling.
I traveled with some of my team members to Montrose, Colorado. It was good to get away, gather data and enjoy travel again.
Update-Last day of November.
Two week until the semester is over. I’m trying not to stress out. Pause. Take a deep breath. It’s not that serious. Do your best.
For polyglots and language learners I’m sure this question comes up a lot. I usually stress over this question a lot. This is very difficult because I love traveling. I always want to study the language of the country I’m traveling to. I don’t always want to go to a Spanish speaking country. The whole world is just as interesting. For example, I studied French for six months before I went to Belgium and France. It helped to know a few words and be more comfortab
le hearing the language. When I returned home, I came to the question again. Do I want to continue with French? Or do I want to travel and study another language, like travel to Italy and learn Italian. It can be overwhelming. Youtube has helped me figure this out.
Portuguese
Portuguese will be my next language. Here are a few reasons I came up with. I will be doing Brazilian jiu jitsu for as long as I can. I probably will be traveling to Brazil whenever the world comes back to normal. I will like to have conversation and meet people. I will most likely meet Brazilians and Portuguese travelers in my adventures. I want to return to Portugal and explore. The music and the food are something that I want experience as well. I can continue to make reasons for learning this language. Finally, I made a separate list of all the languages that I have dabbled in over the years. I had more reasons than any of the other languages. More than Korean, French, Italian, German.
One aspect of my language goals is that I want fluency in my target language. I want to have a high level of proficiency in that. Which is a huge goal. It is too daunting. I have been learning Spanish for 5 years, and I still get lost when native speakers speak. I have decided to let go of this goal. I just want to get proficient enough to enjoy my time in the target language’s country. It could be A2 or B1. It doesn’t have to be at an academic level.
I will give Portuguese a solid 12 months. I will do a lot of input. Which will be listening, studying grammar and vocabulary. I think by the beginning of March I will get and italki tutor. I don’t want to rush my speaking. I can also choose between Portugal and Brazil. I have no idea what travel restrictions will come in 2021.
I will also try to keep sharpening my Spanish.
I went to Paris, France as my last leg of this European trip. I spent 5 days there. I decided I would go to see Paris back in September of 2019. The last time I went to France was around 2006. I had such a bad experience with France that time. This time I tried to go with an open mind. I also used six months to learn some of the basics of the language. I am in no way conversational. I went to see a friend who I really enjoy talking to.
So the last time I was in France I had such a bad experience. There were several factors that contributed to my bad experience. First, it was my first time traveling to Europe, I mostly touristy things, like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. Secondly, I didn’t speak the language, not even a little bit. Parisians are known for not being very nice to tourists. Let’s flip the perspective and see it in their eyes. If someone comes to your city and speaks another language, that’s not the official language of the country, how would react to them? I think the reaction is pretty universal.
Instead of going to see usual things I went to see the locations I wanted to see. I enjoy Rodin’s sculptures, so I went to his Museum. I really enjoyed the Tecahnical Museum in Prague, so I thought the Musee des Artes et Metiers would be cool. I enjoyed the models and architecture of old buildings. The movies I enjoy in Paris that I know of are Amelie, obviously, Before Sunrise, and Inglorious Basterds. I went to the bookstore in Before Sunset and I went to Brasserie in Inglorious Basterds.
I think that’s what makes me enjoy traveling more as I’m older. I cater traveling more to my interests and feelings. I try to see things and subjects that I have a general interest in. I keep returning to Europe because I find it’s history amazing. I also don’t try to rush so much activities in my day. I just try to enjoy myself and go into a book shop, and relax. If the weather was better I would be outside drawing all day. Here are a few of my sketches from Paris.
This time I learned enough to get by and see what I wanted to. I learned how to order food, coffee, and my check. I felt good that I achieved these small steps. I felt that I was received way better by the restaurants when I spoke french. The first time I went to Spain, ordering food and interacting with the language on a daily basis was the first step as well.
I think Paris is a great city to hang out in and take your time in. There are so many cafes and places to see. I did get to see my friend, if only for one night. There was a strike so traveling was difficult the entire time in Paris. She couldn’t hang out the second day. But through coincidence or serendipity I met a very Australian lawyer in Montmartre. I remember her henna tattoo from breakfast at the hostel. She was sitting at the same table I was sitting at. No one at the table was conversing except the Peruana and Espanola, which I was eavesdropping on the conversation. Fast forward to the afternoon and She was having a cafe and a smoke outside in front of the Sacre Coeur. We had really deep conversation about her countries history and politics. Later that night we met again at the hostel and had another conversation on life and 2019 over some beer and bar food.
Overall a good experience in Paris, France.
I did one day stops in Dunkirk and Calais before Paris. Dunkirk was famous for the allied retreat during World War 2. It was made famous by Christopher Nolan’s movie, Dunkirk. It was made in 2017. I actually saw it while I was in Edimburgh. It brings a different feeling when you watch a movie in the U.K. about the U.K. Then I went to Calais. I only knew Calais from the sculptures by Rodin, Les Bourgeois Des Calais. Then I went to Paris.
I got to Dunkirk by Flixbus from Bruges. It was only an hour until you are in another country and they speak another language. Most Americans don’t really understand how crazy that can be. Not to mention Dunkirk also has several ferries a day to Dover, England. The location of this city makes it special. The cinematography in the film of Dunkirk is what captivated me. The massive beach and old hotels. Sadly, I didn’t get really explore the promenade because it was getting dark, misty and cold. It appears to be a beach vacation spot for tourists on summer days. The promenade is very modern, I assume a lot of digital enhancing was used in the movie.
I went to Calais the day after via Flixbus. What surprised me is the immigration issues in 2016 in the city. There was small immigration encampment called the jungle of Calais. I’m often so surprised of how closed off I am from the news of the world. For example, The fires in Australia. There is strong similarity to the feelings of immigration at the time and with how the U.S. feels currently. I don’t think anyone wants criminals coming into their country and doing bad things. The immigration encampment was eventually dismantled by the government here. If you wish to know more, here is link of one of the videos I saw on Youtube.
Next Paris
I went to Bruges after Antwerp. I have heard it was one of the prettiest cities in Belgium. The movie, In Bruges, is one of my favorite Colin Ferrell movies, probably the only. I did my reading assignments for my college class. I went on a Spanish walking tour. I drank two beers, texted some friends and family then I went to sleep for New Year’s Eve. Not the best time, but not the worst time in Bruges.
I did most of my reading assignments while I was in here in Bruges. I stuck to myself and read my textbook on my phone. I did the assignments and discussions from my laptop. I wonder if anybody else at Lonestar College is doing online classes outside of the country? If you can work online doing freelance and be anywhere in the world, couldn’t you travel and finish college from anywhere in the world? Just a thought. We are now in the year 2020. ( A legitimate school would probably not go for that, huh?)
I took a free walking tour in Bruges. Leonie, my German friend, whom I met in Antwerp has some influence in this. I wondered if I could take the tour in Spanish. So took the tour in Spanish. Did I understand all of it? No. This was a big shocker to me. I had to really concentrate to understand the guide. There were so many ambient noises, people talking, cars, as well she was speaking to a group. My comprehension was truly tested. I can have one on one conversations but taking a tour is a challenging situation. I wish to improve in this area. I wonder if people that study English who think they got it down like me. Then they go on a tour and they get lost in the tour guide’s language speed or accent.
I spent New Year’s Ever by myself in the Hostel Bar. I drank a couple of beers then I went to sleep. I reflected on the past year and past New Year’s Eves in general. Most of my New Year’s are pretty uneventful. I think it just depends who you spend it with. Unfortunately my family in California never does anything besides go to sleep or work, that is why I left to see somewhere else for New Years. I do like this tradition of being somewhere else for NYE.
I spent roughly 3 and half days in Antwerp, Belgium. I went on a walking tour on Saturday. I went to a jazz club and I drew and sketched more than I did my entire trip. Why did I go to Antwerp? I had the time. I knew nothing of the city besides it being in Belgium. It was cheaper to see more Belgian cities than spend more time in Bruges and Brussels.
I went on a walking tour, from the recommendation from my German hostel room mate. I used to go to a walking tour where ever I went. Then I got tired of walking and listening to someone talk. After giving it another try, its good to take a walking tour. You kill 1-2 hours, get some exercise, and you get someone information on the city you are visiting. During that time I used that time to draw and I got some ideas of the places I wanted to return to after the tour was over.
De Muze is a jazz club in Antwerp. There was a calendar of live music every night. With my new friend, Leonie, we tried a few different beers. Mort Subite was a sweet cherry beer. We went to this jazz bar two nights in a row. We did look at other options the second night. It made me think about the bars that have live music in Houston. I didn’t know. I also never watch live music in California, besides the occasional concert. Maybe I should look into this more.
I hung out with my German hostel roomate, Leonie. We spent a day and a half together. We were tourists together. I think that the serendipity factor of traveling is a one of the most unique things to traveling. I would never meet certain people in my life, if I wasn’t traveling. Some of these people whom I met only a short time has a made profound impact on me or even given me important life advice for that moment in my life. I’m glad to have met her.
Sketches
I spend Chrismas in Belgium. It was my first time traveling to Europe in the winter, much less during the holidays. It is an interesting experience. I would like to say that the crowds and tourists were not as much. The popularity and vibe of the Christmas Markets attract many, especially at night. I did ate at the Christmas Market in Brussels, visited the Cartoon Strip Center, and I visited the Magritte Museum.
I enjoyed the Christmas Market because of the activity and people. It felt I could watch people, eat food, and drink all day. A few of the foods I had were Argentinian empanadas, white wurst from Germany, Tartiflette, and Tsukune(Japanese Chicken Balls.) I drank some of the Belgium beer, which is quite high in alcohol content, Delirium Tremens and Duval. I walked around the market drinking vin chaud. Although it was cold for me. I had a very good experience in the Christmas Markets. I hope my family can join some day.
I went to the Comic Strip Center in Brussels. I enjoyed myself so much. Most of the comics were in French. I admired the art, aspects like line quality and watercolor. I was reading the history of the comic strip. The museum subtitles were in three languages. I was first reading in English then in French, then I gave up reading altogether. Even for an artist, a museum can be too much to take in. It really did inspire me to draw more on my travels. I bought a french comic book, I will steal was much technique from it. I will put the title later on.
I went to the Rene Magritte Museum on my last day. When I was in high school, he was my favorite painter. As a fan of surrealism, I don’t think Magritte gets as much exposure as he should. When people mention surrealism they usually think of Salvador Dali. I also enjoy Dali, but Magritte’s paintings have more nuance. I enjoyed the museum, but I get really bored fast. I went through the museum in an hour. What I took from the experience was the simplicity of his compositions and ideas. I think even his painting skill didn’t blow me away. He is better than me. I do think with a few years of constant practice, I can paint as well or better than him in oil. I say this because I can actually get up close to the paintings and see each brushstroke. Most of his paintings are large i.e. 5ftx6ft. When you see an image shrunk down from a large picture it hides a lot of the craftsmanship of the artist. Now I want to visit more museums of my favorite illustrators like J.C Leyendecker, N.C. Wyeth, and Norman Rockwell.
A week at Taronja…
I spent a week in Valencia. I enrolled in the Intensive and conversation classes at Taronja this week. I never been to an immersion language school. I met people from all over the world. I will most likely come back.
My week in Valencia consisted of class Monday through Friday. The class schedule alternated from the afternoon and mornings. Every day I had conversation class as well. That class consisted of speaking on topics extemporaneously. ( Spoken or done without preparation. I’m trying to use this new word I learned in public speaking class.) The entire experience was great. It felt like I had 5 hour long italki lessons that didn’t stop. For the most part I enjoyed every bit of it. I think my level is at stage where I can live without too much effort. Could I work efficiently in this language equally to my mother tongue? No. Hopefully some day. I enjoyed the consistent curriculum at the school as well. The class I jumped in was covering imperfect, indefindo preterito, imperatives-positves/negatives, preterito perfecto and pluscuamperfecto. I have heard, read, and spoken these tenses before. It was a review but I needed it. There is so much nuance to using these grammar tenses than the English past tense.
I felt bad for some of the students who had to digest the language faster. For the most part my classmates did very well. I think the advantage I had was my time in the language because I have been learning it so long, 5 years. This year as well I started to use italki consistently. The trick with italki is…. you can’t stop using it. Maybe when you get competent enough and achieve your goal. If you the time, money and freedom I would have done this course a long time ago. I didn’t have all those resources. I also have a philosophy that one can learn a foreign language on your own. That is another blog post.
I will most likely come back to the school because I had so much fun. I had fun during the class, with the social activities after class, and the city of Valencia. The last time I was here I only saw the arts and science museum. I didn’t even go in the city center. This time my apartment was right across the street from Mercat Central. I will probably come back May of 2020 or winter of 2020 and spend the whole month in Valencia. The class sizes at the school were smaller and very intimate. I was able to ask all the questions I wanted, at times we had friendly debates.
I met some cool people as well. All the professors were very friendly. I felt they were generally interested in me. Even though I was just passing through the school a week. As a traveler, you can get incredibly jaded from meeting new people. There were times I felt it. The professors really cared about teaching and helping their students. As an aspiring teacher I saw that quality. I met and had some interesting conversations with the becarios(interns) at the school. Stefano, the head becario, spoke 5 languages and hailed from Switzerland. There were also a handful of Italians which made the vibe quite warm and fun. (I don’t know why I feel Italians do that). Andrea,(Italian male name), who was in my class this week, always came in late. Although that was a stereotype characteristic, he always brought something to the table when we were learning. Guy, Australian, was in my class as well, he has living in Valencia for some months now and has about 10 more. Though we are not compatriots, we both speak English as our mother tongue. In that sense I felt bonded more with him than the other students. I wonder if that is the way how most people feel when they speak to people from other countries, the common mother tongue.
I’m going to try to blog when I leave a location.
Sidenote: Urgh.. I got my grades for the Fall Semester. All A’s except a C in Introductory Algebra. I went to the stages of grief fairly quickly. Denial. I don’t believe I got a C. I went to every class, asked questions, and I did fairly well on most tests. Anger. I thought my professor took a shine to me as well. I’m never going to be nice to teachers. Bargaining. Maybe I can email her and ask how she tallied the score up. Depression. I’m so stupid. (sigh) Acceptance. C’est la vie. I guess I just have to double down on my weaknesses. So I can crush college algebra next semester.
Truth be told. I’m still on Bargaining,
Let’s do 500 words.
I know I haven’t blogged very much. I can make excuses, but I won’t. I just choose do other things than blog.
My goals for this Europe trip. First, Improve my Spanish and receive a baseline for my level. If don’t receive this I’m going to get during 2020 somewhere. Secondly, I taking an online course for school, Federal Government. Thirdly, improve my French, I learned the basics in the last 6 months. The last few things is visit a few friends in Paris and draw and water color more.
I choose to go to Europe because I find being in the United States quite boring. I love my family but I saw them on Thanksgiving already. I also feel Christmas is overhyped holiday in the United States. We, as a society or just Americans, are too materialistic. I want to get away from that next year. I’ve never visited Europe in the Winter. It has always been the summer when I visited. Which is always the best time to visit a country, but I like to change it up and experience something different.
I’m in Valencia, Spain right now. I’m taking a Spanish course. Hopefully it can jump start my learning to a new level. I’m here for a week. I hope to take an exam to finally get a baseline on my level. Then I can better evaluate where I am. “If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it.” – Peter Drucker.
During all this traveling I’m going to do a college course online. One might think why are you taking a class while you’re traveling in Europe? I say them Why not? I am school again. I can say honestly I’m not in love with living in Texas. I might as well just keep going to school and enjoy myself in the location of my choosing. We are lucky to live in a time where we can go to school online.
I held off visiting France for over ten years. My first experience was very off-putting. I made an unconscious decision to not visit France ever again. Then over the years I’ve met many cool French people. Those experienced change my opinion on French people. They can’t all be bad I thought. So I decided back in September to visit again during winter. My experience from the first time will not be repeated. A key to the story was that I was monolingual, immature and young. I learned a little bit everyday for 6 months. So hopefully I will have a better experience.
Afterwards I will go to Belgium. I’m going to visit a few cities during the Chrismas Holiday week and New Years. I’m going to visit Brussels, Antwerp, and Bruges. Finally Paris, France. I will end in Madrid to fly back.
I have two transfers on my flight back, which I will not enjoy. MAD- AMS. AMS- ATL. ATL-IAH. I use airport code because it is just easier to write especially if you’re a traveler. There is probably a better way to write it.
I got an Idea with my language learning. I listen to podcasts on Spotify. There is speed option on the application. To increase my comprehension. I will listen to the podcasts three times. (thrice) Once at 0.8x, the second time at 1x(normal time), and the third time 1.2x. I can also do this on Youtube.
markmagpusao.com 