BUV Index

Because life is great, and traveling makes it even better, I suggest you check your BUV Index. It takes two minutes and is pretty interesting. It's a pity it's only available in Spanish, but I guess you won't have many problems since it appears to be quite intuitive. I honestly don't know the calcs behind it, but looks pretty accurate to me, hehe.

This is the link:

http://www.buscounviaje.com/indice-buv/paises_visitados

And this is my index (I see it pretty low, so I might have to start organizing another trip soon):

Patient Capitalism

Really interesting talk you can find in TED from Jacqueline Novogratz. I believe it's worth twenty minutes of your time because in order to improve this world we need everyone. And if you have a little more time, I recommend you read her book as well. It's called The Blue Sweater: Bridging the gap between rich and poor in an interconnected world. Give it a shot!

SOS 4.8

Every day that goes by I get more convinced that life is made by people. I mean, meeting new people, seeing really good old friends no seen for long time, chatting with random people in the street, never saying no to meeting someone, trying to see the best part of everyone, learning something from everyone's experiences and background...

I know a lot of you understand what I'm talking about. That excitement you get when you speak with a friend from group 2 (refer to a previous post), or the great feeling that walks you home when going back from meeting someone new that you really enjoyed talking with. So, please, take care of people and never shut anyone off. We are all worth meeting and being listened. Because WE has been, is and will always be more important than I, although a lot of people might have not realized it yet.

And after this deep feeling exposure, let's talk a little bit about an awesome weekend in Murcia we had a week ago. Rober and I took my car on Thursday and drove all the way down to southern Spain in order to attend a promising music festival. It was really cheap (40 euros for two days of festival) considering the magnitude of the bands playing. I'm talking about Franz Ferdinand, Delorean, We are Standard, Love of Lesbian, Dorian, Sunday Drivers, Anni B Sweet, Fatboy Slim and many others.

We stayed in a house in a village next to Murcia, with swimming pool and the whole thing. Really sweeeeeeet!!!! I didn't know anyone before going except for Rober, but after a few hours in that house, we were all like family. I told you, people are meant to be together and interact, it's just how we are. There was a great vibe in that house but also with the neighbors. We had the best ones, five girls from Barcelona, really sociable and ready to meet new people. So we were a perfect match and had a great festival with them.

And now we are back in Pamplona, routine, but already preparing the next adventure. I hope it takes place soon, because life is movement, and if you stop, it will pass you by. So enjoy it!!!!!

Thank you for the drawing Laura, I love it!

Easter vacation

So Easter vacation is over, meaning we have to get back to work again. It is unbelievable how fast time passes when you are on holidays. The positive side of this is that it went really fast because we had a great time and enjoyed ourselves big time. Where? well, I was in need of crossing another country in my world map I have on my bedroom wall, so I flew to Sofia, Bulgaria together with four friends of mine.

Like I usually do, I'm not gonna give a detailed description of what we did because that will be boring for most of you. Just mention that Sofia is not that great to visit, although it seemed to me like a pretty nice city to live in permanently (kinda like Pamplona, not a big tourist attraction, but incredibly comfy). Plus, we had some inside information since two of our classmates from University are over there as Erasmus students. They took us out at night and gave some really good tips about the city and what to do around. Thanks to them we went visit a lovely city called Plovdiv, with a beautiful old town.

Partying was also an important part of this visit and we tried (because it was Easter time and a lot of people was out of town, making the nightlife less active) to go out almost every night. We were dealing with Erasmus students, so staying at home at night is always out of the question. Oh! and the food... the food was so cheap and delicious. And if it came accompanied by a half liter beer to refresh us, better still.

The weekend previous to leaving for Bulgaria, I went to Bilbao to visit some of those really good friends you rarely see, but that when you meet, it feels like there has been no time in between. You know which ones I am referring too, don't you? you meet them after a couple of months (sometimes even years) without talking or seeing each other and there is no awkwardness and feels like you have been together hanging out every day for those couple of months. Well, the point is that in one of those friends' house in Bilbao we met and enjoyed a wonderful weekend of catching up and laughing (really important to help with the daily crap all of us have to put up with). Bilbao was and is still a very important and industrialized city which has been improved greatly in the past years, leaving a really beautiful and worth visiting city.

And that's pretty much it since the last time I wrote here. Let me just give you a couple of hints about what I'll be doing in the next month. I have a week in Iowa, US starting next Sunday. Also a weekend adventure which I cannot talk about yet someplace in Spain and then whatever else has in store the randomness of this life, hehe.

Really interesting reading and a good idea

Quick post to let you know about a really nice book I've read lately. It's called The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind and tells the story of a young boy from Malawi who defying all his village disbelief successes in building a wind mill that generates electricity for his house. I loved it because it starts describing his childhood in Malawi, which was a pretty harsh one and then continues with the different stages of creating the wind mill, taking place during his youth. Plus, it's even more inspiring because William Kamkwamba (that's the guys name) is the same age us me and a lot of you.

The second item I wanted to share with you is a link to a web searcher that I recently got from a really good friend and who is getting more and more concerned into saving the planet. It's a good idea and worth a shot from my point of view. I will just let you judge and decide for yourselves.

ECOSIA

Montana Adventure

Hey there folks!!!

How's 2010 treating you so far. I personally can't complain, since I've got a pretty nice start. Continuing with the awesomeness I was living and that I already told in some way on the previous post, I jumped into a flight and went all the way to Montana, US (work related trip this time, meaning few expenses on my behalf).

Of course Montana is too distant from my home city Pamplona, so it was totally necessary to stop somewhere on the way. And what could be better than Chicago, a city I'd heard beautiful things about and which I'd never visited. So I spent one day on my way to Montana and another one on my way back. Despite traveling alone (as usual when I do it for work reasons) I enjoyed very much and it left a great impression on me. It was cold, so some attractions weren't working yet, but that also meant less tourists, which was kind of nice as well. So I did the usual, Millennium Park (with the giant iron bean), Navy Pier, Hancock Observatory... and I couldn't leave without going to a Bulls game. Being a basketball fan and having grown up looking up to Michael Jordan, I couldn't miss the opportunity to go. It was awesome!!!!!!

In Montana I stayed at Shelby since the wind farm I had to work in for two weeks was fifteen minutes away from this small city. Well, for those of you who have already been in the area, I have little to say. And for those who haven't, let's just say that Montana is ... well, Montana. Maybe some people doesn't enjoy it that much, but you know me and how I usually adapt to the circumstances quickly, making myself comfortable anywhere. This wasn't an exception, and after the first week and the help of some of my students in class we got to know most of the locals and their weird habits. Let's leave it there. The training I had to give went better that I had foreseen, so I left Shelby with a great feeling after the two weeks were over. Plus, during the weekend in between I got to go to Great Falls (the biggest city nearby) and skiing in a Vermont style resort (oh, how it reminded me of the good old times in that wonderful state) called Showdown.

And after my American adventure, back to reality, with all my new responsibilities and a whole lot of work. But really happy with what I get to do and as always, learning a bunch. But you know work is not everything in life, not even close, so enjoying life is a must. One of the greatest pleasures I have discussed in this blog many times is the UVM reunions we try to keep organizing and performing. This time was Helene's turn and so we gathered some of our belongings and set out for Lyon, in France. We were fewer than usual, only four since Miguel couldn't go for working reasons (promotion and trip to China for 5 months) and Torsten couldn't either for monetary ones. Nevertheless, it was amazing to spend three days with these wonderful friends and realize that the magic is still there, making me believe that we can most surely stay pals forever.

Some 2010 action

New Year usually comes with new adventures an events, and 2010 wasn't going to be an exception. A lot of plans are building up with some of them being already mature enough as to consider them final. What am I talking about? Well, let's see...

On Saturday I am leaving for a two weeks adventure in Montana, USA. Yeah, that's right, you didn't misread it, I'm crazy enough as to go over there in February. I believe the average temperature these days might be some twenty or so Celsius below zero. However, I count on my Vermont experience with handling cold, so I am little worried about that. This time is a work related trip, so I guess I won't enjoy it as much.............................not! (Seriously, love the "not" jokes). I think that even though I will have to work and all that stuff, I will really have a great time, or at least try. I promise to tell you everything once I get back.

More plans... oh, yeah, a trip to Lyon in March, which I will let you know how it goes when I get back; a possible but not confirmed Bulgarian adventure during easter; a music festival in Murcia in the end of April; and much more.

Moving on!! (if you watch "Greek" then you probably read this expression with the same intonation I do, copied from the blond girl of ZBZ enemies. But hey, I'm not weird, just different, hehe). I get too excited talking about future plans, so I'm gonna focus on past adventures, which make me feel more nostalgic and emotional than excited. What have I been up to lately?

Some weeks ago I went to Toulouse to visit Pascual, one of our classmates from Uni. So three of us jumped into my brand new Toyota on Friday and drove all the way. It's like four hours, although with the great company felt like minutes, hehe. It was my fourth time in that lovely city and it was heaps of fun (like my aussie friend would say). We never do the same things when we go or enter the same discos, so if feels like going to a new city, specially because I haven't slept in the same house twice. Either the people there move from one place to another or we go to a different person's house each time. Anyway, the thing is that it was awesome (thank you Alex for those hangovers we love so much) and I have to say that one of the best things is getting to visit Pascual, who we so rarely see.

And not this last one but the previous weekend, we, "the concert gang" as we like to be called, hehe, went to Barcelona for an Arctic Monkeys gig. We decided staying the whole weekend in our beloved "Albareda Hostel" was the way to go. So we arrived in Barcelona on Friday evening after a comfortable trip by train and went straight to a friends house. The concert was next day, so we chose Friday to be Razzmatazz night. Wonderful as always. Next day a little bit of tourism and an almost impossible quest: finding an euro6000 atm. Half the city we walked before we encountered one. And as usual, once we found one they were everywhere. Well, I'm gonna go to the point because this is already getting way too long for anyone to read. Plus it's loosing the spark. Saturday night was concert night. Awesome as well, and great sisters we met while waiting for the band to start playing. And after that the night got a bit crazy, I'm not going to lie to you. Nevertheless, that information is only known and will be kept by the people involved. Next time come with us if you want to know more.

And that pretty much all until now. As promised earlier, once I get back from my various trips I'll post something to share the experience and if there is any update in my life I will as well inform you all. For those of you who I don't see very often, Hello!!!!!!