Well this one's not going to be one of my epic posts because I am using the hotel's laptop and the entire thing works on some OS that I have never heard of and what is even better is that the keyboard is tailored for the Spanish language so everything is a bit of weird mess.
In any case, I bring greetings from the wonderful city of Barcalona, Spain - Ola! This is my first visit to the country and I am glad to have had the opportunity to have seen the sights that I have done thus far. I consider myself fortunate given the amount of travelling I have done over the course of my life and am still thankful that I've managed to get my arse back to Europe for the second time and trooped all over it as I have done in the past 9 days.
This trip was meant in many ways to be one that allowed me to do some much-needed soul searching. As I've made my way across 4 countries, I've had many moments of quiet, some of discontent, and yet some others that have left me thinking that I really need to stop being such a selfish little shit.
The injection of culture has opened my heart and brain to a lot more in the past few days than I can care to explain. Life hasn't been completely smooth sailing for me in recent years and I have come to realise that those experiences have left me close-minded, cynical in a simplistic sense, and undoubtedly jaded. Seeing different sights, taking in the air of different cities, walking down the streets where everyone speaks a language different from my own has made me realise that I may have become too caught up with my own little issues and lived in my own little bubble far too comfortably in in the past year or so. In short, there is a whole other world out there that is a lot bigger, greater and far more fascinating that all the trivialities that may plague my little 'world' and I should henceforth, learn to stop and smell the bloody roses (coffee more likely), whenever I can.
Of course I have missed home and my loved ones over the course of this trip. There have been times where I have wanted in the most desperate sense of the word to have someone to share a sight/smell/laugh with and turned around to find nothing but empty space or another tourist next to me. Don't get me wrong. I am travelling with a mate from school and though we get along in the basic sense, there are fundamental personality differences between us which make us diametric opposites. Also, after bunking with each other and sharing pretty much every meal with each other, you eventually reach a point where you want to throttle the other person even though they haven't done anything to annoy you. This is cabin fever at its worst.
Hence, there have been moments that have left me thoroughly homesick and others that have left me gaping in awe like a twit. Either way, such is life and this is apparently the life I was meant to live so I shall not whinge so. :)
I have tried as much as possible, with the aid of technology and that awesome thing known as Wi-fi to keep in touch with people back home. There's been a lot of Facebook time on this trip - private messaging and wall posts - to satisfy the curious minds that exist and also to let folks know that I'm okay and have not been kidnapped by pirates and sold into the sex trade off the coast of Algeria or something.
Have also been in touch with AJ quite a fair bit over the trip. No, this AJ is not my boss so stop freaking out please. This is the one that loaned me the iPad for the trip. Alas, I don't know if it's the distance or me just getting a perspective on everything that has put me a little on edge everytime I talk/text/write to him. Frankly I don't think there's an issue. I probably am making a mountain out of a molehill as usual and am probably overthinking everything as well. To be fair to him, he has done everything within his power to make me feel reasonably human. This includes sending me emails, random texts telling me what he's been up to at home and even a few phone calls just to make sure I'm okay whenever my moods have plummeted. I on the other hand have been acting like a royal pain in the arse by being short and bratty with him. I am attributing this idiotic behaviour to the fact that the distance is getting the better of me. I miss him tremendously and the fact that I can hear him and not see him or touch him is pissing me off. There's also the other issue that I really, really want him to see and experience the things that I have done on this trip and him not being around happens to grate a little too much. Of course the sensible thing to do would be to talk/text/write in a less bratty and idiosyncratic manner because he's being a decent person about everything. Alas, that is easier said than done. My emotions seem to get the better of me even when I really don't want them to. Annoying? Hell yes. That's me in a nutshell.
Well I have 4 more days to go and then I head home from Madrid. Tomorrow morning will see an early start as I have to travel to Granada. I really should make the most of the remaining peace and quiet that I have on this trip and stop being a dickhead.
So here's to finding the little missing piece over the next few days through the wonders that Spain has to offer.
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