Adiós, España! and your wierd keyboards i cant understand, and your tapas, and walled cities by the sea, and Spanish... and...see you again..I hope!

Hello My friends and family!

I am currently atthe Gibraltar airport awaiting my flight to London. I will arrive at Jaime´s house tonight, then early Monday morning, we get up and go to Dublin. Yay! Ireland! land of the redheads and good hearty beers!

Spain has been...unexpected... my experiences here, I mean.
I´m not sure exactly what I expected. I try to not have expectations when i travel...to just ''go with it''... and thats what i did. I met a new friend in Sevilla--Amber--from New Zeland. We rented a car, and it turned out to be quite cheap for the two of us to split the cost and explore the coast. Unfortunately, we never made it to Granada, for which i am sad. I think mostly i´m happy how things went, but I feel like I missed out on some things and the way i would have done them had I stayed on my own.

On Sunday-Monday, we visited Cadiz,

On Monday night, we ended up in Tarifa, and the very south of Spain. We met a Spanish guy with a westie puppy called John, Amber ended up hitting it off with him. So instead of one night in Tarifa, we spent five. Hey, great for me, a new friend and a puppy to play with, but I was getting antsy and starting to feel quite lonesome for home, and for Korea, and whatnot. Spanish folks stay out late. they get started so late, and i found myself dragging my heels into bars and dancing till the wee hours of the morning.

Wednesday, we went to AFRICA! and oh wow I want to see more of Morocco-what a different, interesting place. I will write more later, but i´m on a pay computer and theres not enough time to explain Tangier just yet. I will just say this: have YOU ever x'rayed a turtle. because Amber and I did...twice...

I´d intended to come up to Gibraltar last night, to have some time to explore--the hiking here looks AMAZING! and this is where the Medditerenean and Pacific ocean meet, at the Straight of Gibraltar. But, alas! Yesterday I became very ill. Fever, chills, headache and whatnot. I must have had the flu. last night was terribly awful, and I worried that maybe i would miss my plane, if i was not better, then what?? but early this morning, my fever broke, and still I am not 100%, but I am getting better. So Gibraltar, what a strange little rock. English...but at the verry south of Spain. and it´s a strange mixture of cultures and bilinguals ands fish, and chips.

but like i said, i wanted to check in but theres really not a lot of time, and no way to post pictures just yet. I will write again soon. Now, I will write my postcards, enjoy my last fanta limón, and await my departing plane.

btw..Gibraltar airport looks like a teeny tiny bus station. We missed it the first time and almost drove back into Spain! It is the fastest I have EVER processed through a flight.

Goodbye, All. I will write and post pics again, soon
Love, Sus

Silly en Sevilla

Today Susan is...

Wistful

Sleepy

Full of Tapas

Excited

in a new city

NOT hungry...

...for once...

Tempted--to simply go to sleep

and not try to socialize.

to just write

in my journal or draw things

and daydream.

I must not daydream

impossible things.

or at least for too many

minutes in a row

or in one day.

Look at today´s possiblitilies

and try to plan what´s necessary

try not to rhyme,

fill up my time

with walking and talking and meeting

new friends.

I should take him up on his offer

of wine in the courtyard.

everyone else sounds so happy

so lovely.

with wine and sweet grassy smoke

rising

high,

high

high

and isn´t that a funny word?

when you look at it too many times

in a row. it´s funny, don´t you think?

HIGH UP

up into the rafters and beyond...

until gaseous fumes mix into the sky

and blow away.

Sus en Paris

Hello Family and Friends!























Can you guess where I am?
If you said Paris, you are wrong!
ha ha ha I just left there, though.
And wow, I really loved it.
I am surprised, but as far as cities go,
it´s full of interesting people,
grand buildings, beautiful gardens, and
just...just...well you are just surrounded by
CULTURE
everywhere. in the way people walk and talk,
or sit.
I remember walking on this day this picture
was taken. I got out of the subway station at Chatlet
des Halles. I didn´t know where to go, just that
I wanted to be outside.
¨Which way to walk?¨I ask myself
I begin to look for signs, and that´s when I see
it in the distance: the Eiffel tower, just the tip
I began to walk. First across and along the Seine,
then I pass the Lovre, walk through its gardens,
buy crepes with banana and chocolate, and walk, walk walk.

I was alone thinking, wow, this city is so romantic,
ans that I would like to not be alone right now,
however that I am glad to be walking here alone,
my thoughts to myself and come up with ideas.
It was a day of noises --of motors, chattering childen,
the wind, the water, the ching-chang-chinging of the men
selling iconic eiffel keychains by the hundreds from a
huge metal ring for €1 each. But it was a day for silence
from me. I said nothing, only listened. and when I would
open my mouth to speak, it would feel dry, tired, and I
was happy to shut it again. I learned to smile, wave, and
gesture. I didn´t care to speak. There would be plenty
time for that later.

The wind blew strong through the square, French trees
and though the weather was hot, I would catch a chill.
After the Ache du Triomphe I walked along Champs-Elysees
and battled the tufts of tourists passing along, shopping for
cheap souveniers at the highest price. I ducked into the
UGV theater. They were having a deal: €3,50 to see a movie!
wow! Woody Allen´s Midnight in Paris was starting immediately,
so I bought a ticket and hurried in. It began to play Parisian
music while showing clips of Paris, the streets, the seine, the
Eiffel tower, the lovre, the fountain at the lovre...a plaza, the
Arche, Champs-Elysee....my...theater...the one I was sitting
in...it was...up...on the screen..whoa, wierd. What a trip. It was so...
very...Woody Allen. by the end of the film, I was in love with it,
and I think a little more in love with the city of Paris, too.

so today I am in Valencia, Spain. It is beautiful, and my host, Pepe
and me made fried asian noodles together for dinner. I am
hoping to see the city today, and tomorrow, I will stay all
day swimming and resting on the beach. The Eastern city
of Valencia faves the Meddeterenian. it´s blue and windy
and beautiful. Don´t worry, I will wear LOTs of Sunscreen!

and I promise soon I will post more photos from Grand ole Paris!
much love,
Susan

Hi, Hello! How are you? London.

Hi all. I am good. great. happy, in fact.

here are some pictures from me and Jaime walking around London Town

We went to see the Globe Theater--made famous by Shakespeare--planning on going to see a play there when i come back in June. We visited a park and had a picnic, and of course, my favorite: random walking! We discovered the gorgeous St Bartholomew's on Easter Sunday, they were starting a service and priests & nuns were waling around in robes, praying, chatting, and lighting candles. we walked across the Millinium Bridge, and along the waterfront, and visited an old basement-prison turned museum. cool! Enjoy the photos, and see you in Spain!