Eva's Journey Smiles

new art page

2007-06-11T00:59:00.000+01:00

my art blog is moving to a flickr page for its better organization and look. check it out! (you don't have to be a member to look) www.flickr.com/photos/bornart-eva

cursa de cortes ingles

2007-05-18T20:26:00.001+01:00

on may 6th i completed the 29th cursa (race) de cortes ingles (a popular depatment store here). i didn't do it alone though. amanda and i went with our friend, irene and matt was there (but WAY ahead). this year there was over 53,000 people participating..that is right. a LOT. it is a course of 11k that takes you through the city center, up the side of montjuic (big hill that forms side of city), in the olympic stadium (around the track) and back down to the main plaza. i couldn't begin to descibe the energy we felt as we ran and walked along with 54,000 other people that we attempting to accomplish the same goal. it felt like something you want to get lost in. and stay. mmm...why isn't more of life like that? ohh...and the proceeds went to a good cause called casal raval. check it out by clicking here. i'm thinking about getting involved there.

Deu n'hi do

2007-05-02T12:56:00.000+01:00

so lately i've been trying to brush up on some catalan. i mean i took lessons briefly last year and have lived now for two years in a city that is literally drenched in the language but just in the past month i have been making more of an effort to speak it with friends and make strides to learn it. i'm even going to an catalan/english discussion group on thursdays. and trust me, i am relieved when the second hour comes around and my head clears a bit! :) the above phrase (title) was taught to me last week by my new friend, cesar. as far as i can tell, it means something like "yes!" or "wow!" but has no direct translation into spanish or english. for some reason i love that...it reminds me just how complex and interesting an animal a new language is. some things can't just be traded from one language to another...one just has to dive into the culture and world of another to begin to understand their language. anyways the diving in is a slow process...but worth it. i'm enjoying the fall.

san jordi

2007-04-24T12:41:00.000+01:00

here are some photos of el dia de san jordi (saint george day) yesterday. it is the big day here in catalunya. the guys typically give the girls a rose and the girls give the guys a book. aj and i walked around for awhile and tried to soak it all in. happened to be a beautiful day too.

venus

2007-04-05T15:16:00.000+01:00

here are some fotos that aj took of matt, aj and i putting up my new show in a deli/cafe, named venus, here in the old city. the two bigger ones in the middle are the beginnings of a thai series...inspired by the photos sarah (little sis) took last summer in thailand.

putting up the show was a bit stressful of a process...two frames broke at the last minute and we had to improvise in the moment with some of the supplies...we had left the house totally prepared, but living in spain has taught me that something ALWAYS comes up...and it did...and thankfully we were able to work together and be flexible...thanks aj and matt.

it has been a good experience thus far showing my work there...having your work there means something (which i wasn't aware of) and i've been able already to bring some friends by to have a coffee and see the art.

camino de santiago

2007-03-16T22:41:00.000Z

several of us here just bought tickets to go to santiago de compostela in may. from there we will travel about 100-120 kilometers out and then take 5-6 days to walk back. i can't possibly say how excited i am about this. i don't usually get hyped about walking blisters onto my feet and sleeping on the floor...but i will make an exception here. not only am i expecting this to be a sort of spiritual pilgramage, i also see this as a sort of comming home. for those of you who have travelled this journey with me for awhile, remember that santiago is where my days in spain began. i can't wait. (above is a foto i took of the church in santiago)

new fad

2007-03-10T20:59:00.001Z

i just signed up for facebook. what was i thinking?

retreat

2007-03-06T22:13:00.000Z

we recently had a retreat here in bcn. there were old friends there and new ones were made as well... me, aj (and her incredibly long tongue), beccah and matt sunset at the port this is tep and my olan mills photo

my artsy photo of carrie ann and haley

barceloneta

haley and carrie ann

park

2007-03-05T14:09:00.000Z

i really like this picture. the two dots are andrew and i. we got the chance to hang out some while i was in the nville...this one was us crazies running and trying to make it to the parthenon before the timer on his camera went off. to those friends that i don't have pics of...don't be sad. your turn is comming up this fall! (and i'll bring more batteries)

nville

2007-03-04T15:12:00.000Z

ok so i realize that it has been awhile since i last updated. i have been up to a lot, but i've been informed that that is no excuse. so, here i go with pics of my trip back to nashville. i was there for a couple weeks in feb. it was incredible to be able to see my family and just relax in the home i grew up in.

here is my beautiful home city. i took this pic while driving. impressed?

we went and got sushi one day...i think it is something that my dad recenly got into...i have actually too just developed a taste for raw fish and extremely strong ginger. i'm not sure why we like it, but we do. sarah has always been a heath nut. this is mom and dad striking a pose. doesn't mom look excited about the raw shrimp?!

mom and i during one of my dozen trips to panera. sarah and me. a lady at the mall said we looked like the olsen twins...HA...i think someone needs to read People mag a little more.

no family post would be the same without a pic of oreo (aka bubba)...and no southern family is complete without one bubba at least...and he has been a part of ours for 18 years.

forgetful

2007-01-10T13:07:00.000Z

i've been thinking a lot lately about the future and just how strange a thing it is. i like to think of myself as a pretty laid-back person but bring up the issue of what is comming and i convert into this insecure, fingernail-biting, coffee guzzling (ok, already am), stuttering being. it shouldn't suprise me...i ran in circles deciding which college would be my new home and paced for 9 months until i thought i would drive everyone around me nuts until finding myself on this side of the atlantic. and now 9 months before i am planned to cross back over the atlantic, i see myself in the same situation. i am so odd. and forgetful. when i have a still moment, and remember, i see the path that i've been on and who has guided me through it all. and i am thankful. i just need to remind myself of that each morning. because i am forgetful.

paper mache

2006-12-24T23:42:00.000Z

it is christmas eve...ah hem...actually it is christmas now in spain since i am seven hours ahead of home. and i find myself eatting mexican food, watching movies and blowdrying a paper mache balloon. spanish traditions? hardly. some bizarre party? nope. actually a couple friends and i just found ourselves bored and trying to forget that so much distance separated us from home. don't get me wrong....i love barcelona. i have a life here and i'm deep in it with little desire to change where i am. its just that there really is no replacement for home. especially on days like today when everyone and their uncle is planning a family get-together. no need to feel sorry for me though...i was lucky enough to have just had my sisters here for a few days last week. it passed so quickly that it left me wondering if they had actually come at all. amanda followed us around one day and took some fotos for us since we are so rarely all together. gracias aj. you are brillant.

eire

2006-12-15T22:14:00.000Z

aj and i just got back from a quick trip to dublin, ireland with mar, a friend of ours here. going there has always been a dream of mine (and good for me it has been for aj and mar as well). this is the three of us in a shop window near garforth street. cool shopping. we were actually suprised by how small the city was...this was the main area to go shopping and get a cafe. needless to say we spent enough time there. it being dublin=windy, rainy, cold...we drank our weight daily in coffee. this is mar and i at one of the local pubs one night. we found dr. pepper. enough said. this is mar relaxing at the hostel one afternoon. props to mar for finding the best and cheapest hostel in europe. that also happens to have the brightest walls as well. this is in steven's green and a lot of ducks. aj looking pensive at trinity college. she is probably off to take some brillant photo or something.

gothic point

2006-12-09T18:57:00.000Z

ok..so the show is finally up! these pictures were taken by aj last friday when she, matt and i went to put the show up at the gothic point hostel, here in the born. we had the openning party this past tuesday. the hostel had a photografer out there documenting the evenning. when i get some of those, i'll be sure to post some. yes, matt is standing on a vending machine. haha...thanks guys for all your help and support! i owe ya. this is me and a lot of the show. i look angry but i was actually in a really good mood. a little weirded out that my art was on the wall...and slightly self conscious, but relieved that it was up and happy too. i am a mess...i know.

face

2006-12-05T00:31:00.000Z

the metro door closed on my face on friday. my nose is still sore. haha. aj and matt say i should be blogging this kind of thing. so there it is! oh. and the art show's openning night is tonight (tuesday). i'm actually pretty nervous about it. it seems like little bits of myself are in frames and on the wall for everyone to view and critique. weird. i hope the evenning is filled with just being with friends and celebrating together. i'll let ya know how it goes.

tortuga and girls

2006-12-01T23:05:00.000Z

here is mr. turtle. he is for jonas. this is the two girls. the completed version of one of the first illustrations. i lost the original...oophs!

childlike

2006-12-01T00:16:00.000Z

tonight i found myself sitting by pere in the hallway watching a stream of people pass through the school to see a new exhibition by a japanese artist. pere is one of the youngest seventy year old people i know. he dyes his beard orange. he dances. he sings. he is always eating out of a bowl. he tries to liberate people. i mentioned to him tonight that i am having trouble illustrating. i tend to copy. i want it to look realistic. he said that if i could return to my childhood i would find the whole creative process a little less fustrating. you see, he reminded me, kids don't worry about what is right or wrong in art. they just create. they don't worry about getting messy...they have fun. he said that we too often become the critical and worried adults that unfortunately cannot create like we once could as children. it sounded a lot to me like when Jesus said that to understand the kingdom of God we had to become like children. their spirits are untouched. their eyes are clear. their hearts are playful. i want to recapture some of that as i create and as i approach God. i think that children have so much to teach us. by the way, happy 2nd jonas. you teach me something everytime we play. i love you.

disclaimer

2006-11-29T14:35:00.000Z

all of the below photos from the party were taken by my brillant and talented roommate, amanda. otherwise known as the snowflake artist.

disturbing sweet potatoes

2006-11-28T14:02:00.000Z

we wanted some christmas cheer in our apartment since it still feels like spring here so amanda cut about a million snow flakes out and hung lights. it just feel christmasy in here. she is now the new snowflake artist on the team. the one of the coffee cups is my personal fav.

this is some of our stash that our moms brought us so that we could celebrate Tday with our friends here. a lot of it has been there for a couple months much to our friends amusement when they openned our cabinet looking for a cup. "you are so american" they would say.

here is the final product. yes! the turkey is wearing a bikini... matt, amanda and i worked for two days to get it all togther and i think everyone enjoyed it. they weren't sure about why we would make something as sweet as the sweet potatoes and then put marshmellows on top...i think that disturbed them a bit, but otherwise they liked it.

this is me and clara

this is sera, david, raquel, suso and irene. they got the good spot. by the food.

here are some other friends. in all we had about 15 friends come...we were so glad they could come and share the day with us.

wanted a change

2006-11-19T23:03:00.000Z

purple is the new brown right?

You Know You've Had Too Much Coffee When...

2006-11-16T22:26:00.000Z

- You answer the door before people knock. - Juan Valdez has named his donkey after you. - You just completed another sweater and you don't know how to knit. - You spend your vacations visiting "Maxwell House" - You speed walk in your sleep. - The Nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse. - You haven't blinked since the last lunar eclipse. - You grind your coffee beans in your mouth. - You sleep with your eyes open. - You have to watch videos in fast-forward. - You're the employee of the month at the local coffee house and you don't even work there. - You walk twenty miles on your treadmill before you realize it's not plugged in. - Starbucks owns the mortgage on your house. - Instant coffee takes too long. - You have a picture of your coffee mug on your coffee mug. - You help your dog chase its tail. - You speak perfect Arabic without ever taking a lesson. - Your first-aid kit contains 2-pints of coffee with an I-V hookup. - You short out motion detectors. - You don't even wait for the water to boil anymore. - You lick your coffee pot clean. - Your eyes stay open when you sneeze. - You chew on other people's fingernails. - All your kids are named "Joe" - Your only source of nutrition comes from "Sweet & Low" - You buy 1/2 and 1/2 by the barrel. - You can jump-start your car without cables. - You go to AA meetings just for the free coffee. - You forget to unwrap candy bars before eating them. - Charles Manson thinks you need to calm down. - You've built a miniature city out of little plastic stirrers. - When you find a penny, you say, "Find a penny, pick it up. Sixty-three more, I'll have a cup." - -When someone asks, "How are you?", you say, "Good to the last drop." - Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil. - You go to sleep just so you can wake up and smell the coffee. - You named your cats "Cream" and "Sugar" - Your lips are permanently stuck in the sipping position. - Your 3 favorite things in life are: coffee before, coffee during and coffee after. - You can't even remember your second cup. - Your coffee mug is insured by Lloyds of London.

dali

2006-11-13T11:23:00.000Z

yesterday aj, her mom, irene, pilar and i went on a whirlwind trip to everything dali...we started off in figueres, the home of the dali museum...it felt like we were walking through his bizarre mind...it is a piece of art in itself. figueres he is a master of optical illusion, cubism, surrealism and photorealism...he contradicts himself and makes inanimate objects have life. i like that. this one above is a side proflie of himself and also a woman reading. see it? this is a living room but also a face. the nose is a fireplace and the lips a couch and the eyes paintings. this is a ceiling showing dali and gala, his wife, ascending to heaven...i like the perspective and the use of drawers.

this is pilar, irene, ms. joan and aj posing as munchkins in the car of dali in the middle of the museum

we then went to pubol, the town where dali and gala lived..museum had closed but we got to pose for a few photos we then headed to girona for a little cafe and dessert...nice town too.

amanda's poble nou

2006-11-04T00:50:00.000Z

tonight was amanda's night. she has been working for months now on a photo exhibition of this area of town that we call poble nou (new town)...it is a great part of bcn. it a real community feeling. it is also going through a growth spurt with a new renovation project that the government has recently begun there....her photos were her way to capture a bit of the old poble nou. they are now in a cafe on the rambla there called cafe hemisferio. if you are in/near here come check it out! if not, you can see the photos on her flickr page following amanda's link to the right. amanda laughing...one of her favorite activities pilar, irene and mar...there to show support for the inaguration nicolau, clara and mar talking with amanda jonas showing off elephant. he is even making the official elephant noise. can you tell why he is one of my favorite people? caleb and matt lynn and lindsey me and mar

humphrey

2006-11-03T00:21:00.000Z

please accept my humble apologies for this post...it has no point except to show a few pics from the other night. aj and i had a halloween party for a few of our friends here in bcn. this is mar and i posing for ya. matt carved the pumpkin. i think it was the first time for most to see that. this is me, irene, pilar and matt. these are some panellets (almond candy) that susanna brought with her. it is really typical to buy from the local pastry stores right now. and they taste pretty good too. i put this one up so that you could see amanda's costume....are we american or what? everyone loved it. :) oh and this is humphrey the pumpkin. we giggled like schoolgirls when we found him at cortes ingles...i mean it's not like we marked ourselves as american or anything...hehe

post

2006-10-23T17:40:00.000+01:00

new post on art page....

the weepies

2006-10-17T22:46:00.000+01:00

http://www.theweepies.com/ check out the weepies. they are a great band that i somehow just discovered. seriously, i want my brain to work that way...like sunny days through the eyes of a kid. it is yummy.

friends

2006-10-16T23:14:00.000+01:00

recently three friends came by to visit and aj and i got to spend a few days showing off our city and just soaking up their wonderfulness. it was a good 48 hours. i wish it could have been much longer. this is me, bethany, james and carrie...come back. anytime. susanna, aj and i went to camp nou yesterday to see the home of our barca futbol team. we were the european champions last year. we aren't proud or anything.

aj and i admiring the phtos of soccer around the world. yes that is a moon to the bottom right. nice.

susanna drove us up to the higest point of the city, mount tibidabo, overlooking bcn. for some reason in tunnels i think we should yell and just get it out.

this was our view.

eww

2006-10-15T19:42:00.000+01:00

today it took me three tries conditioning my hair before i realized why there wasn't much conditioning going on...i was actually using the soap. yes! it has been that long that i forgot which was which. i have been that gross kind of sick this weekend where you don't even feel like drinking coffee. ok so i am being a bit dramatic i guess. i realized it has been awhile since i updated so that is why you get this ridiculous one.

Mannie

2006-10-02T17:43:00.000+01:00

i drew him because i have always loved black and white photography...he is my interpretation

uh huh

2006-09-22T17:08:00.000+01:00

hey...check out art page...new drawing....uh huh

COLORS

2006-09-13T01:01:00.000+01:00

lola (my profa at my art school) opened a new room to me today and told me that i get to help her create it. it is old room transformed into the illustration classroom. we are going to go study some of the early forms of illustration (presses that used ink on woodcarvings for example) as well as build an image resource library of magazines, catalogues and books. over the past couple of weeks (since vacations have ended here) lola has had me searching through magazines for images that strike me as interesting and then making them mine. i am on my third now and i consistently have gone back to the COLORS magazine. no kidding, it is one of the coolest things i have seen as far as magazines are concerned. i comes out quarterly from united colors of bennetton store. it picks a random theme like obesity, aids, leisure, the amazon and then depicts it through stories, articles and images. check it out at: http://www.colorsmagazine.com you can also check out http://www.fabrica.it if ya want. they are both in english.

yelling

2006-09-10T02:56:00.000+01:00

this is the new illustration. the art page hates me, so for now he'll be here. i'm not sure why he is yelling or if he is just really crazily laughing or at the dentist. he is still part of the africa series. i think i am kind of stuck, but i don't mind.

books...argh

2006-09-07T00:14:00.000+01:00

i was talking to a friend today about books. i am currently reading the adventures of sherlock holmes...hmm...what does that say about me? that i would only pay 3 euros for the books in the classic section? or that i am a dork and actually like this kind of literature? or that i am tired of everything else right now that seems to deal with (uncreativly at that) long lost love, or some fast-facted da vinci codish book or something else cheap and BORING? oh k. i will stop complaining. i'll just go read doyle's book and see how it goes. got any reading suggestions?

biy smiling

2006-09-05T17:40:00.000+01:00

i just added a new illustration on the art page...

festa major de granollers

2006-09-04T01:28:00.000+01:00

amanda and i got to spend the weekend with susanna, a friend who lives in granollers. this was the week of their festa major and she invited us to come and experience it for the weekend. it is slightly odd that i have lived in bcn and known susanna long enough to say that this was my second year going to the city festival...still there were quite a few things that i didn't see last year. and it was fun to see amanda discover some of this side of catalan life for the first time. i feel like i got hit by a truck i am so tired! but it was an awesome weekend...here are a few pics of our time there...i'll add some videos this week when i remember how to do that. :) this is the rajolers (the brick making contest)...no kidding this was the biggest event and the one that ended the weekend. they held it in the olympic team handball stadium in granollers. this was their 159th year for the festival and i suppose their 159th year making bricks. the entire town is divided into two teams for the week-long party. the whites and the blues. the family you are born into usually determines the team you represent. the whites traditionally were the upper class and the blues represented the working class...now those class lines are gone...but still interesting to know. (i am a blue by the way) this is during the correfoc (the running of the fire). they basically put fireworks and sparklers in the mouths of man-made animals and dance with them in the middle of the plaza. you cover your head or run to escape the sparks. this is a shadow of a little boy on his dad's shoulders. after the correfoc was the correaigua (running of the water). it was unbelievable. it was like a rock concert meets a group of kids playing with the water hose. from four corners of the plaza they turned these massive water hoses on everybody for about 15 mins. we were standing to the side to take pics but it didn't matter...haha...we got suprised from behind. :) sunday morning three teams (from reus, granollers and bcn) of castellers built their human towers. this was their last one as they simultaneously climbed and saluted the town hall. this is the group reflected in loli's sunglasses. (from left to right: susanna's dad, susanna, me, amanda, susanna's mom, loli's mom)

squeezel

2006-09-01T22:36:00.000+01:00

i posted a pic of the newest illustration on the art page....just look to your right (hint hint...)

lyle

2006-08-31T21:14:00.000+01:00

this is the newest illustration...he is inspired by amanda. she wanted a crocodile...so here he is. we are calling him lyle. oh by the way, i am doing all these illustrations because i am going to have a exposition in september and in december here in barcelona. if you have any other ideas for illustrations, just let me know. i am kind of on an africa kick right now.

gracia cont...

2006-08-26T00:49:00.000+01:00

these are pics from gracia last week...a reflection in a bank window of some decorations on one of the streets at dusk. the streets actually competed for best decorations and many prepared since last christmas to be ready for this week-long party. these are the castellers...these human towers are typical of catalunya. this was about the time that i was thinking..."those poor guys at the bottom" this a shot of the castellers and some of the crowd in aj's sunglasses.

my new language

2006-08-24T21:44:00.000+01:00

i began catalan classes this week. catalan is the language of catalunya, this region of spain that i am living in. many of my friends actually perfer speaking catalan and change specifically to castellano (a foreign lang for some of them) so that we can communicate....weird, huh? i mean, i thought i was moving to spain. nope. i moved to catalunya. i love it. really. and think i will enjoy this new language. i am being reminded all over again just how hard and humbling learning another language is. not that i am totally fluent in castellano but i can at least have a conversation without blushing every five words...haha... here are some of my phrases that i have learned this week in catalan.. Em dic Eva. Sóc de Nashville i visc a Barcelona. Bona nit. (My name is Eva. I am from Nashville and I live in Barcelona. Good night.) haha..that is about it for now!...

new link

2006-08-22T21:29:00.000+01:00

go to the link on the right called "eva's art" to see the newest illustration.

gracia

2006-08-21T13:32:00.000+01:00

yesterday amanda and i went to one of the parties of the city. the neighborhood of gracia knows how to do it right...a week of partying and we just went to the last full day of activities. it didn't even feel like we were in bcn. i'll post more later...

meredith jo

2006-08-18T00:47:00.000+01:00

these are of meredith jo crider. i'll write more later...she is pretty much amazing. amanda and i found ourselves just staring at her for long periods of time...she's just interesting.

beach and city

2006-08-05T12:55:00.000+01:00

jonas was there with us for our day at the beach. i think i took about 30 pics of him. he is just so interesting and entertaining. we walked around hand in hand for a good part of the morning. he loves taking people around and playing tour guide. he really liked this random monument, monthly sun dial. he is a natural rock climber he looks like he is posing this is him eating with us at mcdonalds. jo at the beach yesterday. we went with a group of friends and were there most of the day. this is a reflection shot in a hand dryer of “be original” a new restaurant in the center of town. jo on via laietana…the taxi in the background is kind of fun huh?

jo days

2006-07-30T23:23:00.000+01:00

here is my jo. she is here visiting for a couple of weeks before moving to mozambique for a year. i couldn’t be happier that she is here. here are the criders. they are some of my favorite people. they helped make jo and i’s birthday something special. american food…need i say more?! i got some fans for amanda and jo and i from a street vendor…guess who left theirs at home? we went to the beach for lunch with some friends …here are jo and i in aj’s sunglasses with the beach behind us we made chicken curry the other night and susanna and loli came over with a bday cake to help us celebrate….thanks ladies. here are my new campers….they are kind of like the spanish creative cousin of dr martins in the states….i’ve been wanting some for awhile…

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we paid a little for seats higher up in the plaza de toros to see the bulls and runner come in around 8am. right before a local band played some music typical of the festivities i think...although jacey thinks one is from the tv show arrested development. i think she is right. :)

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arenys

2006-07-07T14:50:00.000+01:00

last sunday amanda and i went out with susanna to a beach town about an hour outside of town. that little peace of paradise is otherwise known as arenys (sounds like orange if you have a tennessee accent) this is susanna and i and apparently some man running or falling over behind us. haha..whatever. how can you not feel like a kid? there is just something about the sea that brings out a sense of playfulness and wonder. it is pretty much involuntary. i just took this pic because i liked the colored umbrellas. i thought this turned out kind of fun. amanda is in the jeep and all the background is reflected off the window although it looks brighter that aj. so we went to this beautiful little spanish beach town and we end up eating at mcdonalds. it was susanna’s idea. i promise!

madrid

2006-06-22T22:25:00.000+01:00

last week amanda and i went to madrid for some meetings but took some time on either side of the meetings to just wander around the city. here we are in front of the palace. my friend, tep, says it looks like i got cropped on top of the picture…haha…i have to agree this is in retiro park… one of the arches into plaza mayor this is us on gran via after some tgi fridays…do we look happier than normal?! us riding the bus. i always have to throw in some random reflection picture. we stayed the five days a family that i’ve gotten to know over the past year and a half….thanks guys. the ladies after enjoying some hamburgers and ribs and watching the usa in the world cup….yeah!

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reminder

2006-04-04T02:03:00.000+01:00

just a reminder, my main blog page has moved to: http://www.barcelonacompany.com/eva this page (here) only hosts pictures. see ya.

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2006-03-26T00:13:00.000Z

2006-03-24T15:03:00.000Z

2006-03-17T16:35:00.000Z

2006-03-10T17:44:00.000Z

i'm movin' on

2006-02-22T18:11:00.000Z

hey everyone out there. my blog page is moving. you can now find me at: http://www.barcelonacompany.com/eva

london

2006-02-16T00:13:00.000Z

this is mom and dad and i at the subway in london a couple of weeks ago. here are some pics from the trip. the internet is finally back up. yea! eiffel tower as we were leaving. it was a cloudy day but nonetheless amazing. mom and dad before lion king mom's not scared....that t-rex has nothing on her. us at camden market. very bohemian feel. mom, what did you think of all the goth? mom saw this photo first. random new/modern building in the middle of old. we thought it was interesting. mom and dad outside the hotel. i had a great time guys. thanks for an amazing week.

lions and mona lisa

2006-02-07T12:07:00.000Z

i have to admit none of these pics are mine. the internet is down at my apt thus....internet cafe it is for me. these are photos of what i saw though even if they aren´t mine own. mom, dad and i saw lion king wednesday night.it was incredible. the costumes combined with the singing and dancing was really an experience. mom and i took the a highspeed train early EARLY after a late night at the theater and ended up in paris that morning with a whole day to see pieces of the city. of course you can´t even begin to know paris in a day, but we did enjoy the experience. we did all the typical stuff and loved it.

blimey!

2006-02-01T10:23:00.000Z

anyboody fo a cup-o-tea?! yes...i AM in london! i get to spend the week with my parents here and catch up on all things parental while staying in an amazing city. mom and i went to see the prime meridian yesterday in greenwich and today is for chocolate fondue at harrod's and seeing the "lion king". we're having a great time. i'll post pics when i get back to bcn this weekend. peace out girl scout. (how's that amanda?)

lovin' it

2006-01-24T22:12:00.000Z

amanda faye has recently discovered the 60 cent cone at everyone's favorite fast food spot. at least she's lovin' it. here is a spot that aj and i went with the criders for a sunday morning brunch. a couple of them had club sandwiches. weird. i had coconut pancakes with maple syrup. mmmm....i think i'll be revisiting. jonas is now walking on his own, only he perfers to hold a hand now and then to steady himself. watch out barcelona!

coffee

2006-01-20T01:25:00.000Z

Café (Spanish) Caife (Irish) Koffie (Dutch) Kaffee (German) коФe (Russian) КАФЕΣ (Greek) Kaffe (Sweedish) Kopi (Indonesian) Kahawa (Swahili) Kahvi (Finnish) Kawa (Polish) Kafa (Serbian) these are just some of the many ways to say one of my favorite words. to see more ways so to: http://www.travlang.com/wordofday/98.html it all started with a gift that i recieved today in the mail. christy sent me an awesome mug that is covered with a map of the world and the word coffee translated across it. it is a beautiful gift and it got this kid excited.

what bricks teach me

2006-01-17T22:54:00.000Z

today i drew bricks again for going on my second month. mmmm....interestingly enough i love it. we change little things every class period like perspective or angles or adding something to enhance the overall composition but basically i have been drawing bricks for two months. it is suprising what you can learn by drawing bricks...here are some examples... -our eyes can trick us -it is freeing to have a pencil in my hand -things always apear larger on the side closest to you -coffee goes well with a two hour drawing class -it is good to mark the dates on the paper of my drawing notebook. it is like a picture journal of my artistic journey. -it is ok to be messy. it is fun. it is alright to be wrong. it is just part of the process. -it is good to understand my perpective so that i can better understand what i am drawing. anyways i enjoy the opportunity to be in school again and learn more about something i have always had a passion for. i think these classes in a way help me understand things about myself. hmmm...that would be another post for another day though.

coffee conversations and women leaders

2006-01-16T23:00:00.000Z

if you read cnn.com , you'll know that i borrowed these fotos from their site. these two ladies, from top to bottom, are michelle bachelet and ellen johnson-sirleaf. they are incredible ladies and they are making history. one thing that i love about my spanish friends is their wide range of conversation topics. they aren't afraid to talk about anything...and for long periods of time. last night i was reading a book while two of my friends were studying their english in a coffee shop. the studying and reading turned into talking before we realized. it is amazing what you can talk about all in the span of one cup of coffee. we discussed globalization, fair trade, religion, languages and politics. we had a good conversation. many of my friends here make me want to learn more about my world. so last night and this morning i got onto cnn.com (jo are you proud?) and saw the stories of these two women. bachelet was just elected the first woman president of chile and johnson-sirleaf was inaugrated today as the first woman president of liberia. both are couragous and innovative. and i believe they also bring much hope to their countries. i plan on following their stories.

terrace

2006-01-15T22:17:00.000Z

i've had a lot of hard conversations with people from home lately. lives are changing and loved ones are sick and people are moving away. it's not that i didn't know this would happen when i left home. it's just that i don't think i understood how hard it would be. i feel like i'm standing on my terrace and my world is just walking on by and i don't get a say in it at all. i hope i'm not being too melodramatic, but i probably am. i like or love my life here most days. but when i ocassionally get glimpses of those at home that i want to help or love better or just be there for i feel torn. is this what it feels like to grow up? i don't know. i just have to trust that my relationship with God will sustain me through it all and will take care of the details. i'll post something happier or just different in a few days.

alemania

2006-01-11T19:21:00.000Z

i went to a retreat center this past week an hour and a half outside of frankfurt, germany. it was for new personnel in my ngo. it was a good time of meeting people, spiritual renewal and just being outside barcelona for awhile. these are some of the pictures from my time there. germany is pretty amazing huh?

año nuevo

2006-01-01T18:06:00.000Z

sometime around 9am this morning i wondered why i was still awake. and then i remembered....ahhh....my first new years eve in spain. amanda and i knew it would be a long night, but really! it started around 9pm when susanna and loli arrived with enough crepes and chips for my whole neighborhood. we ate and hung out till the magic moment came and THEN...the twelve grapes....yes ladies and gentlemen...that is how we usher in the new year. we stuff 12 (seeded!) grapes in our mouth for the last 12 seconds of 2005. if you get them all down then you are going to have good luck all of 2006. let's just say i might be in for trouble. i was too distracted laughing at the ladies to chew...ah well. we then went to michael collins (irish pub in one of the above pics) where we go most saturdays to listen to live music. we got about 3 hours of pure elvis goodness. yes...grapes and elvis! doesn't that say happy new year to you?! anyways it was fun. all in all an interesting first new years. i'm paying for it today (i think i've had at least my weight in coffee today) but i've made it to my second calendar year in spain! if you want to see more pics and a more organized version of our evenning you can check out amanda's blog at: http://www.captivatedbygrace.blogspot.com feliz año nuevo!

arnau and sarah

2005-12-29T15:24:00.000Z

the first pic is of arnau helping us celebrate monday with susanna's family in granollers. we all gathered for a meal in her home for "dia de san esteban". whenever i ask someone why there is a day for saint stephen right after christmas, no one seems to know. looks like a good reason to be with family and eat way too much for another day. regardless, it was a wonderful expereince being able to share the festival and day with them. the other pics are of sarah and i wednesday. we left for the airport at an unbelievably horrible hour this morning so yesterday we tried to just soak up all the moments and seconds we could. we didn't do anything that impressive...just spent the morning by the water and the afternoon in gracia...but it was a good day. i loved having you here sarah. i loved getting to show you my city and my life here. i loved getting to hear your stories and thoughts and travel the past 8 months with you. i just loved having you here. come back soon! :)

snowy spanish christmas

2005-12-26T00:42:00.000Z

sarah and i got to spend christmas day with our friends caleb, lindsey and jonas here in bcn. can you believe it snowed?! in barcelona! ok...ok. it is fake, but we pretended. we missed family in the states, but were thankful to be together and spend the day with the criders. thanks guys!

nativity

2005-12-25T01:19:00.000Z

this is an origami nativity scene that sarah and i stumbled across saturday morning with raquel in terrassa (a smaller city outside of bcn). this was made by a group of mentally and physically handicapped youth from the community. i like this nativity scence for many reasons. one is it is creative and different. definitely not your typical living room baby Jesus and barn animals. another reason that i like this scene is the portrayal of Jesus. it is hard to see here, but in the manger in the middle is an open book. sarah originally pointed it out to me as a depiction of Jesus being the Word of Life that became flesh and dwelt among us. to me that is what christmas is all about. being thankful that God took on flesh to live amongst us. merry christmas and feliz navidad!

remembering

2005-12-23T21:54:00.000Z

today pere (older teacher at my art school) was in rare form. so was the whole of portal del angel where my art school is located. in the middle of pere prancing around the room and asking me whether i was awake or dreaming at the moment (which i was having a little difficulty answering to his satisfaction) the lights went off and on for about the fifth time that hour. he said it was from all the consuming this time of year. we use and spend a lot right now. i can't help but feel a little disappointed in my own ability to get caught up in the commericialism and hype that we label the holidays. i must say i've got the shopping bags and a little of stress to show for it. don't get me wrong. i love the christmas cookies. the lights decorating the city....the moments of just being with friends and remembering Christ's entrance. i just want to do a little more of that right now. remembering.

parc guell

2005-12-22T21:31:00.000Z

these are images from our trip to parc guell today. we rode bus 24 for about 40 minutes from the plaza catalunya to the edge of the park with a bus full of people. older people grouchy because they couldn't sit down. babies angry to be strapped into their seats. women who had just gone shopping with 8 bags each to show for it. men who wished they hadn't just gone shopping with a frown to show for it. public transportation is a cross section of society...of my community....i feel like almost every time i ride the bus or metro i learn something about this city that i live in. ok. that doesn't have anything to do with parc guell. it was just another part of my day.

mission accomplished

2005-12-22T00:03:00.000Z

today sarah and i went to barceloneta so that she could stick her feet in the mediterranean and so that we could each take about 5 million pictures. mission accomplished.

wiggins

2005-12-21T22:15:00.000Z

this is for you amanda. you are so missed. all of you. your craziness. your honesty. your fun-ness. your sensitivity. all of you. you made a life here and in the process became part of ours. i think texas might be suprised to find a little of spain on you. you've got the spanish boots, the winter coat and more than one story. i hope you get to share them. you are thought of friend!

jonas

2005-12-18T03:00:00.000Z

this is one of my favorite people. his name is jonas. he is probably the best natured little person i know. he laughs at our dumbness. he makes us laugh with his jonas-ness. he smiles and flirts with random people. he plays hard. he dances to music videos. he likes peas. he says "OH" and points a lot. he wants to walk he just doesn't know he can yet. basically he is amazing. anyways so much for the jonas tribute. you are loved. :) (this pic was taken today at montserrat when he was really mad about the gloves and hat he was wearing.)

montserrat

2005-12-18T02:50:00.000Z

this is sarah and i at montserrat. we went today (yesterday...i'm writing REALLY late). we got to this beautiful piece of spain after sitting in a metro, a couple of trains and finally (my favorite) a funicular that took us up the mountain at a 65 degree angle. i tried not to think about that little detail too much or the fact that just a little cord and the weight of the other funicular was keeping us in place. the result was worth any of my nervousness on the inside. why does God always seem closer or louder or just more obivious when i am on a mountain? i don't know but i think others would agree. this is a favorite spot to take a spiritual piligramage to...not just for the view, but to visit the black virgin as well. it was a great day.

montjuic

2005-12-18T02:45:00.000Z

tonight we went came up from the metro in plaza espanya around 19:30 when they were beginning the light and water show with the fountains on montjuic. at first i kept getting frustrated that my hands were moving and all my pics were comming out blurry. then i decided to embrace it. i think the result is kind of fun.

patatas bravas y sagrada familia

2005-12-17T00:00:00.000Z

here are some random pictures that have loaded in no particular order. therefore sarah eating patatas bravas is in the middle of sagrada familia pictures. oh well. i think she approved of both.

rediscovering

2005-12-15T22:35:00.000Z

jo this post is for you. just because i know you are checking. just different views of the city as we've been walking around (and one random one of sarah being a tree. whatever.) i feel like as i show sarah around my city i am rediscovering it myself.

mi hermanita

2005-12-15T22:13:00.000Z

this is my sarah. she is here to visit for a couple of weeks. YES! she is a bit insane but i put up with her anyways. i'm really glad she is here.

christmas tree

2005-12-13T01:27:00.000Z

here is our lovely little tree. i felt a little off today so i decided to decorate. it does feel a lot more like christmas in here!

2005-12-11T23:00:00.000Z

i started art classes last week at a place near our (amanda just moved in) apartment in the old city. i'm doing a couple days a week of drawing/painting classes. when i think about it there is a fun combo of excitement and fear. excitement because i love the creative process. i enjoy getting lost in paper and pastels and finding myself hours later. i'm afraid because it might not be perfect. or at least what i was wanting.

on friday i had an interesting encounter with my art teacher. he looks like a small picasso with a beard and more energy than his body can contain. i think he must be in his seventies and probably the owner of the school.

on one of his passes by my room, he shook my shoulders and told be to be tranquila. it dosen't have to be perfect, he said. he began to explain to me the diffrence between copying and observing. copying is boring and lifeless. observing involves interaction and leads to understanding. he said that it is this type of finished product that is interesting and full of life.

i asked him, "how do you know if a piece of art contains life?" he looked at me and smiled and shuffled his feet in a prancelike way and said, "when you talk to someone you can look at them and hear them and know if they are real. if they are youthful and vibrant. can you not?"

i felt a bit awkard by his energy, but also refreshed and somehow more confident about attempting to create and failing and learning and attempting again. in many ways he reminded me that it is like learning a language. i agree. and i'm excited.

life

2005-12-10T23:18:00.000Z

i just got off the phone with my mom. she is in north carolina attending the funeral of a family member. it is the third person in my family to pass away this year. 2005 has been difficult for us for large moments of time. it has been sweet too...don't get me wrong. its been the odd mixture of pain and beauty that has made the months interesting and frustrating...long and short. susanna bought me a plant tonight. it is one of those christmas ones with a red flower...oh what do you call those? i'm not one for plant names. or for names in general for that matter. it is sitting next to me right now on the kitchen table with the collection of cacti that susanna's dad gave me back in early october. i was just joking with susanna tonight that i hope my new plant makes it a few weeks so that it can see christmas. my cacti are dying. can you imagine? i just want this plant to stay awhile. when i got off the phone with mom i immediately went to prune and water the plants...i haven't done that in awhile (maybe the reason they aren't doing so well). with my aunt's passing on i am newly wounded by the uncertainty of our days. it leaves me immediately feeling helpless. i can't do anything to help my family or friends so i try to help my poor plants. i control what i can. when i center and come down i realize that i really don't even really have control over my plants. the only thing that gives me peace in the realization is the presence of my Creator and the Holder of my days.

2005-12-09T22:29:00.000Z

across from cortes ingles...it is a winter wonderland here in bcn the christmas fair outside the gothic cathedral....where they sell all kinds of randomness amongst enough people to make me mentally lose it and black in and out for moments at a time. me and one of my crazy friends. don't look at our tired faces...pretty lights! cortes ingles on the portal del angel...nice! the cortes ingles in the plaza catalunya. they know how to do it up. i love barcelona during this time of the year. it gets all dressed up. kind of reminds me of prom.

2005-12-08T12:12:00.000Z

here is caga tio. he is basically a log with a blanket covering him and a typical catalan red hat. in catalan homes kids bring orange peels to caga tio as food in the days leading up to christmas. the fun part comes on christmas night when they come and beat him with a stick and sing a song until the parents lift the blanket to show the presents that caga tio has "deposited"....haha.. this huge tio is outside the gothic cathedral. here is amanda and i with out christmas tree!!..yeah! it may only be three feet, but it is the stuff...gotta have a tree..oh and our very own caga tio is joining us for the photo shoot. we are becoming catalanas... :) this is a friend, megan, that is visiting from madrid...i think caga tio has a crush!

feria

2005-12-06T00:45:00.000Z

these are some pictures from yesterday when susanna and i went to a medieval fair in vic. i loved the old narrow streets and the ransom things to see and do there. parts of the town was built during the middle ages...pretty amazing to think about when i normally consider any building made over fifty years ago ancient. i think we just have a different concept of time and history in the states. all in all it was a great day. and we ate our weight in chocolate.

2005-11-30T23:29:00.000Z

ben and andrew- thanks for comming. you brought fun, laughter and some great moments of conversation or of just being together. you are always welcome.

Gracias

2005-11-30T22:20:00.000Z

Día de Acción de Gracias. That means Thanksgiving in Spanish. This year as I awaited the arrival of my favorite day, I found myself in a foreign country and quite unaware of how to reproduce Nashville memories of the past 24 years. How do you buy a turkey anyways? And how many pounds of turkey can one person possible eat? And is that calculated differently if that person is a Spaniard? What exactly in that sugary sauce on top of the yams made out of? And can you buy the crispy things that go on top of the green bean casserole? If so, are they available in Spain? It all began a couple of Mondays ago when I realized that the 24th was just around the corner and many of my Spanish friends were curious about this American holiday of ours. We decided to celebrate together in the apartment of some American friends of mine here and I was left to try to figure out where in the world the turkey was going to come from. After visiting several stores and many odd looks later, I finally found a supermarket nearby that would order me a pavo entero (whole turkey). The owner of the store just looked at me and asked “Americana?” I guess I am that obvious. The turkey came in on Friday along with mom’s recipes through email. After plucking feathers (thanks Lindsey and Amanda) and several pumpkin desserts later, Sunday came. The morning of the dinner, I had the joy of receiving two friends from the States, Andrew and Ben, that were traveling in Europe. To have a sense of old familiarity along with my new familiarity was interesting and wonderful all at once. My Spanish friends came that afternoon and we all got to share several hours of beautiful moments. What made it so great? Maybe it was the look on their faces when we brought out the turkey which many of them had never tried but seen in movies. Maybe it was the mixture of cultures and languages all in the space of a red living room. Or the sense of family and friendship in a country that is not my own, but I love. Whatever it was, the experience will not soon be forgotten.

vic

2005-11-30T21:53:00.000Z

meet arnau. he is the nephew of susanna, one of my good friends here in barcelona. she recently invited amanda wiggins and i to join her family for a sunday afternoon outside the city. we travelled a couple of hours and stopped near vic to have a meal in the mountains and see the change of color in the trees. our meal ended up being the afternoon. we spent four hours eating. no kidding! as soon as i thought there is no way i could stuff more in, the waitress would come by and susanna would help me decide what to order next. it was an awesome experience to be able to share that afternoon with them. and play with arnau.