The Beginning

The Following are compiled/remembered on May 13...and organized according to date:

05-07-08
Yesterday was my birthday, and today I depart for Barcelona, Spain, at 8pm from Atlanta. I just got word that my original plans will be changed so I'll be flying straight from NC (Greensboro) to Atlanta, instead of riding with my dad down to the Atlanta airport from Winston-Salem.

In the airport I sat waiting for about 3 hours for anyone I remotely recognized to show up. I expanded on an idea I had earlier this day, when eating Mexican food...I titled it "So It Seems...", and what it will become (poem or song) remains to be seen.

When on the plane I met Sarah, who I sat next to during the flight, and was an architecture major who's first time out of the country (I think she may have even said Atlanta) would be this...I told her (from my past experience in Argentina when in high school) that it should be a life-changing experience for sure...Will it change my life?

05-11-08
My grandma died today...she was 94...fortunately I spent most of my last days in the US at her deathbed, experiencing some of her last conscious and coherent moments. I never really realized how painful death is for someone dying of old age...one seems to get the impression that this is the kind of death we all dream of...I know now it is not all it is made out to be. As the neurons seem to fizzle and reality drifts further and further from one's grasp, it hard to imagine anyone wishing for this to happen to them...not to mention the large amount of pain that this process tolls on the body, whether or not one has pain killers or not.

There is an important balance to note as well...the balance between treatment of pain (on a fixed schedule of course) and how well one can respond respiratorally when under high doses of opiates. This time spent with her made me think alot of death and the experience one must feel during these stages...which seemed to present themselves in steps including the loss of perception of sound space, the complete loss of the understanding of words, the loss of perception of sight, and the loss of the physical control (including subconscious) of the body's central nervous system.

When my parents told me the news it was still a bit of a surprise, but it was expected, not only because of her age, but because of her recent condition in the week past. They also asked if I wanted to do anything to let Bela feel my presence at the funeral. I wrote the following:


Beautiful, your words and actions
Eternal, your spirit embodied in us
Life was but your parcheesee board
Ancestral wisdom whispered in your love

Brought forth by God to spread his word
Even when death's grip clutched your frame,
Latching on with no remorse
All we heard you say was "pray"

Blessed mother of my father's eyes
Ebb the tears we now must cry
Look from heaven with a smile
(for) All are one, and man a child

Bring us to the altar now
Eagerly sacrificing our thoughts to you
Lost we are if we refuse the God
Ambiguously shaded, yet in all true

Bone and skin couldn't hold your soul,
Eminating divine energy, forthcoming, whole
Looking in the mirror now, gazing into relections made of light
All I see is you, sweet Bela, your face forever in my sight

R.I.P. Elvia "Bela" Sabio
[8/7/1914-5/9/2008]




05-14-08

Today (yesterday to be exact) was my first day of classes. I spent around 12 hours on campus at UPC (Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya)today starting with Cognition and Culture at 9a, Barcelona Leap at 2p,and going through Spanish at around 9p. Afterwards, me and Matt B journeyed out around the city looking for the Palau de Musica Catalunya, a music venue where I'll see Seu Jorge perform tomorrow night. The venue is absolutely amazing to look at...we approached it from a side alley where grey stone contrasted sharply to the vibrant gold and blue (what looked like 15th century architecture, I mean I'm no archictecture major) side of the "palace". When going inside there was a small restaurant area in the lobby, and when exiting (at the main entrance) we looked up to see a 50 foot glass atrium about 10 feet deep filled with hanging statues of all variety, even an astronaut. After looking up and taking in the music palace, we went to a Chinese restaurant across the street...this is actually in the area where a lot of Chinese establishments are...I ended up eating veal for the first time, and our strange free appetizer was a plate of wanton-shaped edible styrafoam shells that crackled if you poured soy sauce on them.

When I got back to my room I talked to my parents on Skype, who told me about my grandmother Bela's funeral that happened earlier today. I had written a poem for the service that was read at the end...my brother Hernan read it, but said he had a really hard time getting the words out through all the tears. It's about 2am now, after a long day, so I'm about to pass out.