La Vista

As I sit here at my desk, all I have to do is lift my head up, and this is what I see.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the view from my window.



Right.



Left.











I will not deny the fact that that I am very spoiled. Not only is the view beautiful, but I am very lucky to be in such a nice location. Not just the palm trees either. I feel safe enough to walk around my neighborhood. That is huge. But the point of writing my blog wasn't about the beautiful locations in Spain. It's about how everyone has a different view of it. And depending on their circumstances depends on what they see.

Alicante has many things to offer. The obvious tourist attraction being the sea. And Madrid is a wonderful city as well. huge tourist place. I had a good experience in Madrid. Today I was thinking about all the values I've learned since I've been here, and whether it was worth giving up one year and spending a year abroad. You have your ups, and your downs. But I wouldn't say "giving up" are the right words. Sure, I did sacrifice having some priveledges, but in the end, I've gained millions more in this one year than I would have being at home. And I sure have gained more than I've given up. In the end, it's been completely worth everything. All the waiting, the patience, the frustration, etc. But don't let the pictures deceive you. This was not a year vacation. This was not a "year off." This year was work. A lot of work. A lot of hard work, and a lot of trial and error. A lot of embaressing moments, and a lot of growing.

But like they say. You fall off your horse, you get back on. You won't make the same mistake a second time. This year, whether we want to admit it or not... is filled with mistakes. You have to learn a new culture, language, and adapt yourself to everything around you. You are bound to make more mistakes in a year abroad than in your average life at home. But that's good. Those are mistakes you learn from. And you take what you're learned, and use it for the rest of your life.

So back to the view. Everyone has a different view from their window. Everyone sees things a different way. And the more sides you see, the better person you become. You get to understand the "other side of the fence." What it's like. What other people see. And most importantly, why.

Spain. Big cities. Apartments. Beaches. Suburbs. The Basque Country. Galicia. Rural places. Nature. They are all so very different from one another. We hear about them, see them, but until you live it, you really don't know what it's like. Because YOU must become one of "THEM" ...with "them" being the people who live that certain type of life. It's what this is all about. Living a new life. Seeing it through a different view.


.....And this, my friends, is the view from my apartment in Madrid.

First "snowfall" (and only that I remember) dated Nov. 29th 2010.



Right.







Left.



But don't let these pictures fool you either. For two reasons. One, because the plants make it look like there is some existence of nature. Wrong. There really aren't that many, and they aren't...green. Except like...'halfway green' for this short period in the winter. It really confused me too, you're not the only one. The patio?- It's basically all patio and concrete and tiles and such.

The second reason, is because you cannot judge the view for what the city is like, how pretty it is, and so forth. There is so much to offer in Madrid, and photos like this can make it seem not so... nice. Don't get me wrong... you do get swallowed up in apartments most of the time. My little neighborhood towards the outter edge of the center has more than five times the number of people who live in my small town, USA. And the weirdest thing? You don't see them. Like, at once. You can look at the streets and see a ton of parked cars, and only ten people walking around. Or less. It's weird to describe.

But back to the subject. The two views are completely different. Completely. However, that doesn't make one better than another. You can't look at the two views, and pick your prefered life.

And what's really interesting? The windows have the same type of blinds. Just like people. Things get in our way, distort our view, and cause us to make mistakes. Like judging a book from it's cover. The cover definitely tells you something- I won't deny that. The cover tells you something. Madrid = Apartment-land and you can't deny Alicante has the sea. The catch is... the cover doesn't tell everything. Which is what people forget.

My Madrid window was open in good weather. Always. Same in Alicante. Except... this one has a screen. There are bugs. I miss not having bugs.


So, which window do you want?

-mb