el principio

Alright, so I'm starting this blog in anticipation of my upcoming semester abroad in Madrid. The purpose is generally to chronicle the whole deal for myself and possibly others (if they/you find my life and thoughts so interesting as to frequent this page at all). I'll try to keep the content clean and accessible for those of all ages and general persuasions, but I guess I can't make any promises to adhere to anybody's tastes except my own.

I'll start off the new year with a short link to the Washington Post's annual "out/in" list. These lists are always mindlessly fun to read and generally a bit stupid. I guess I can count myself "in" on at least one count ("crazy The Wire fans"), as I've been making my way through the show the last few months and will probably start watching my illegally downloaded episodes from the most recent season (four) in the next week or so. I expect that I'll end up posting more about that in the near future. I guess I approve of "beatlesesque" being "out" and "springsteenesque" being "in." Of course that's really just a reference to The Killers and The Hold Steady blatantly aping Springsteen on their new albums to probably stupid (I can't say I really even heard the single more than once) and pretty good effect, respectively. But what to say about "abstinence" being "out" and "premarital sex" being "in." Was "abstinence" ever "in"? Isn't everybody advocating "abstinence" having illicit sex with young children anyway?

In regards to things actually relating to Madrid, visa troubles may be on the horizon, as I definitely submitted my application pretty late in the game and am now going to have wade through annoying Spanish bureaucracy to get it in time. Regardless, I'm looking forward to this whole thing immensely. The past semester at Swarthmore was probably my best thus far (both academically and personally in many ways) so I feel like I'm taking off from there on a good note. Being able to study some interesting things — the plan is to take classes on Don Quijote, modern Spanish art, Spanish theater, and something called "Spain and the process of European unity," all in Spanish — in a relatively laid back setting with time to really get to know a big European city is a lucky experience to have and I plan on taking full advantage. I can't say I'm nervous (excluding visa issues) — more just interested and excited to get the whole thing started.