The social psychology explanation

Continuing with my theme of trying to figure out what it is about Spain that I love, I have discovered yet another explanation.

The Social Psychology explanation.
This video talks about time orientation... about whether you live in the present, past, or future. It's interesting to think about.

If you have a few minutes, give it a go. The animation is awesome, if nothing else! (But I assure you, the audio is good, too.)

Leave a comment, let me know what you think!



Edit:
Ellen so graciously pointed out to me that I did not clearly link this video to what it has to do with my love of Spain. So I left these as comments, but I decided to amend them to the post. Hopefully this clears it up a little bit (though it very well may not). :)

What I was meaning to say, was that the part about Catholic/Protestant nations seems to be applicable to the situation. I appreciate the Spanish pace of life much more than that of America. I like siestas. I appreciate that they take their time. (Though I must say, there have been moments where I wished the Spanish would pick up the pace a little, or keep their banks open longer than 6 hours a day. haha) But on the whole, I prefer to not have my life jam-packed with nonsense things to do. I hate that it's part of our culture to be in a hurry to go nowhere.

I'm re-reading Eat Pray Love (because I am SO excited for the movie!), and there is a passage that talks about this in the Italy portion. It says:
"Generally speaking, though, Americans have an inability to relax into sheer pleasure. Ours is an entertainment-seeking nation, but not necessarily a pleasure-seeking one. Americans spend billions to keep themselves amused with everything from porn to theme parks to wars, but that's not exactly the same thing as quiet enjoyment. Americans work harder and longer and more stressful hours than anyone in the world today. But as Luca Spaghetti pointed out, we seem to like it. Alarming statistics back this observation up, showing that many Americans feel more happy and fulfilled in their offices than they do in their own homes. Of course, we all inevitably work too hard, then we get burned out and have to spend the whole weekend in our pajamas, eating cereal straight out of the box and staring at the TV in a mild coma (which is the opposite of working, yes, but not exactly the same thing as pleasure). Americans don't really know how to do nothing. This is the cause of that great sad American stereotype--the overstressed executive who goes on vacation, but who cannot relax."

The she says, "I once asked Luca Spaghetti if Italians on vacation have the same problem. He laughed so hard he almost drove his motorbike into a fountain.
'Oh, no!' he said. 'We are the masters of il bel far niente.' This is a sweet expression. Il bel far niente means 'the beauty of doing nothing.'"

Maybe that clears it up. I just meant that maybe my "time zone" is more in line with the majority of Spaniards. (Even though I find myself bouncing between about 3 time zones on a given day.) :)

Another way to say that is that I'd rather
"work to live" than "live to work". And I don't think that is necessarily correlated with laziness or lack of ambition. It's just a desire to appreciate the simpler things in life. It is extremely possible to be a productive member of society without working more than 40 hours per week.

As for my time zone, I float somewhere between "past positive" and the "present fated". Though I am capable of making future plans, I am more likely to believe that God brings people and situations into your life that you can't plan for.. and in my experiences, those have always worked out rather well. I think you just have to kind of go with the flow, and figure things out as they come.

grand funk railroad.

I have been in a little funk for these last two days.

Yesterday, though I wasn't exactly ill, I decided to leave work early, for the simple fact that I didn't want to be there, and I didn't feel like myself. Remember how I told you it's getting harder and harder to be at work? This is still the case. I can't really stand it anymore. Maybe it's just because I know that I won't have to deal with it much longer..... but gosh. I could leave tomorrow and be ok with that. The only problem is, my bank account wouldn't be.

I am getting super nervous about finances. I have no money in the bank (aside from my measly savings). I borrowed money from my brother a couple of weeks ago, and I still can't pay him back....despite the fact that pay day has come and gone. I am nervous because, right now, I am living with my mother, not paying rent and barely paying expenses, and I still can hardly manage. And I don't have any vision of things getting easier once I'm in Spain.
This is no new issue in my life. This is always the way things have been, since I was a child. And every time, God has provided. All I can do it be a bit more frugal... and maybe try to work some overtime (ugh, despite the fact that that actually means working).

I have spent my whole evening tonight making flowers out of royal icing, baking a cake, icing a cake, and preparing for my class tomorrow. Sorry to say it, but I think tomorrow might be the last class I attend. I am absolutely loving it.. I love learning all of this stuff! But I just don't think it is a wise use of my time or money anymore. It is getting to be expensive, no question. And it just seems to consume so much time. I am so glad that I have learned what I have already learned.. and I'll continue to make these cakes and cupcakes for people for fun... but I just can't feasibly continue. haha. My cake dreams will have to wait, at least until I return.
But man... this cake that I made for tomorrow... it's pineapple cake with cherry filling... DE-LICIOUS! And it's going to look awesome... I'm pretty sure of it.

ANYWAY. Sorry to be all blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, but sometimes you'll have that.
Now I actually am starting to feel sick.. with throat yuckiness. My brother is just getting over something, so I hope it's not the same thing! This may be karma for leaving work on Monday.. whoops!

It's all coming together.

In the last few days, I have had a fair share of breakthrough moments.

I emailed Miguel, my professor from Toledo the other day to let him know that I would be back in the area, to ask him for some advice, and to find out what he knows about the town that I will be teaching in. I was ecstatic when he replied to tell me that:
1. Numancia de la Sagra is small, and I should live in Toledo city and take the bus every day. Or, he said, there are probably some people that work at the school that drive from Toledo (I hope this is the case, as the bus only leaves Toledo at 6:45 and 8:45am. WOAH. Can't miss it!)
2. He sent the bus schedule.
3. He has a friend that rents apartments in Toledo and that if I tell him what/where/how much I'm looking for he would talk to him to see what he can do for me!!
4. I can stay at the residence hall of the school until I get figured out, for 25E/day. This seems like a good deal.

...There was such a weight lifted off of me when I read this email. Seriously, joy filled my heart when he suggested that I live in Toledo. That was my place. I was glad that I would be close, but now that I will be there, I am that much more excited! It was also nice to hear that I have somebody over there who will have my back. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to rely too heavily on anybody. But the thought of going to another country with no place to live and no idea of how to find one was a little disconcerting. And all of Miguel's words were like music to my ears! (...or, like something beautiful to my eyes- because I read them, I didn't hear them.)

Secondly, I GOT MY VISA IN THE MAIL TODAY!!!!
Originally, I thought it was a letter for my mom. She is always getting certified letters for work, so I didn't really think to check the UPS envelope when I saw it on the porch. I just set it aside for her. Once she got home, she opened it, and couldn't figure out what it was. "This is for you!", she said... and immediately I knew what it was! My visa!! I was shocked, I must say. I only applied for it on July 8, which means that in EXACTLY 2 weeks, the visa had arrived to my doorstep. I find that rather amazing. All of those wait times must just be government code for "We'll get to it when we get to it, and don't bother us about it in the meantime." BUT WOOO! I could go ANY day now if I wanted! (But trust me, Sept 22 is early enough!)

Thirdly, I can clearly see that it is time for me to leave my job. It's hitting me like "senioritis" in a way. Every day it is getting harder and harder and wake up and go. I don't really feel like doing much when I'm there (let me remind you that I am filing all day. Nobody notices whether I file 100 or 1000 papers in a day.) I have begun to realize that when I leave, nobody will do my job, it will just back up. So what's the difference if it starts to back up now or in a few weeks? I am getting really sick of the way things work there, and I am just ready to be done with the whole scene. I no longer want to spend 40 hours of my week in a jail-- a place that was designed to make you feel a disconnect from the outside world. I hate the way that place is having a negative effect on my attitudes. I still haven't told my boss when I plan on leaving. I haven't even told her officially that I am going... but I am pretty sure that somebody else probably has. I tried to keep this thing under wraps, but when so many people ask me on a regular basis, "When are you going back to Spain?", I just had to tell them. Slowly but surely, every milestone that I had once held in my head about when I'd share my news has come and gone: Getting accepted, getting the visa, buying the plane ticket, deciding when my last day will be. I have chosen my day, but I don't want to share it quite yet. As long as I give them 2 weeks, it'll be okay.

While these next few weeks might seem like torture for me, I am beginning to realize that the time has definitely come to move on in life. And every step forward makes me a little more excited and hopeful of what's to come.

So... it has been awhile.
Things have been so busy, and so good lately!

So far, the month of July has been kind of crazy! It all started with Caitlin and Chris' wedding. It was such a good time. It was probably the most beautiful wedding I've been to. It was such a celebration of them. I'm so happy for them! They are leaving for Russia in a couple of weeks! So crazy!

After the wedding, Alice came to visit in Pittsburgh. That was fun, too. I feel the pressure when people come to Pittsburgh... like I have to pick the best things to do. haha. That was hard, since it was July 4 weekend and everything was closed... but we managed to have a pretty good time. :) We did pretty much everything that we like to do. haha.

I had to go to NYC last week to apply for my visa. Thank God for the MegaBus!!! I was looking at airfare, and thinking about driving, when it dawned on me that I should look into the megabus. Instead of paying $300 for a flight, or who-knows-how-much in gas and tolls, I found tickets on the bus for $30 ROUNDTRIP! That is SO amazing! And, it makes me wonder why I don't do that more often! haha. The bus ride was great, too. They have outlets and wifi, which makes the 8-hour trip go by so much faster. I took a few dvds from the redbox and I was golden. We got into NYC around midnight, stayed in a hotel for a night, (which was only 4 blocks away from the bus stop!!), and then went to the appointment at 10am. By 4:00pm we were back on the bus on our way home. It was such a short little trip, but I am SO glad that all of that is over with! I have been stressing, and re-stressing, and preparing visa documents for as long as I can remember! Thank God it is all over! They were so nice at the consulate too. I wasn't sure what to expect. But the guy who interviewed me was probably in his 20s, from Pamplona, and was just really friendly. So that was definitely helpful! He said I should get it by the beginning of August!

Speaking of Spain.. they won the world cup!! Not that I am particularly into soccer.. but I am happy for them! I am especially happy that StudentUniverse.com is having a sale to honor their win by giving $50 off any flight to Spain if you book in the next day. This means that my $400 flight will now be $350. How convenient!! That just means I have to actually commit to buying this baby!

Aside from that...
Cake class is awesome. I am slowly but surely becoming the Cake Boss. Not only because my cakes are getting awesomer and awesomer. Not only because the teacher is telling me that I am doing great. But I am also copping the same narcissistic, OCD attitude that the real Cake Boss possess. This could be dangerous! Maybe from now on I should emulate Ace of Cakes. That show is way better anyway. I want to be Duff's best friend.

I have also been teaching English one day a week. It is going ok. I mean, I feel sort of incompetent sometimes. Mostly due to the fact that the woman I teach is older than I am, and I don't really know what kind of things she really wants to learn. I don't want to be insulting by giving her words and exercises that are too kiddish, but I don't want to make it too difficult either. Doing this has definitely helped me to realize that I need to develop some skills for this next year!

Ummmmmm.. that's pretty much all I have for now!