Yeah, I'm still alive...

Well, Neal was pleading for an update, so here it is! Hehehe... last time I wrote a post here, I was about to return home. In a way, even though it's been almost 5 months since I was in Europe, sometimes I feel as though I've just returned yesterday. I miss Seville, and Rome...

Besides, I haven't had much to write about since my return. I spent time with friends during the summer, went to the beach and the park a few times to keep up my Spain tan, and now I'm back in dance classes and stuff. But now the days are getting shorter and the weather is getting colder, which is making me long to escape to someplace warmer. PEI is so boring, I can't wait to move to Montreal next year. I figure I'll probably move in the summer of 2008.

I hope I can return to Seville someday. I just don't know if I'll be able to escape for 3 months again. Or if that time will come while I'm still young and able to enjoy the things I did the first time I went. I guess if I return, I'll be able to avoid some of the problems I had the first time (and make up for what I lost because of the thief), but some of the things that made my first trip there special won't be there anymore. Then again, I'll probably find new special things. I was worried about the same thing when I returned to Salamanca for the second time, but I found new special things in Salamanca and the second trip ended up being even better than the first. Then again, I was still young and beautiful (I turned 21 in Salamanca). I want to return to Seville while I'm still young and beautiful. I want to experience another feria, another Rocio pilgrimage, more flamenco, more late nights at La Carboneria, and maybe if I fall in love again in Sevilla I won't fail at romance this time around.

Youtube is a friggin' gold mine. I found so many videos that remind me of the special things I found in Seville, including Felipe's dancing, the feria, and even La Carboneria. Hehehe... notice the flute player in that vid? He's also in this one. Can you guess who it is? Frig, I remember when I heard him play that flute at La Carboneria and the little cafe on San Jose street, it was like he put a spell on it so that the music would enchant everyone who hears it. Aaaah... the angel of music...

Speaking of Mauro, even though we didn't have a real romance after all, he still inspired me in other ways. I'm actually thinking of taking up the flute because of him and his passion for it. Also, before I met him, I wasn't sure if I would ever fall hard for someone again after that depression I went through last year. I thought that no matter what guy I would meet, I would always be thinking "you're great, but I wish I were with..." (don't need to say his name, everyone who knows me well knows who I'm talking about) but when I met Mauro I forgot all about him and the old heartache didn't matter. Then again, the two guys were such polar opposites that it was pretty much impossible to compare them. One was conservative, straight-laced, very religious, and his goal in life is to get married and have a family. The other was wild, impulsive, very artistic, and he lives for the moment. One appealed to the straight-laced side of my personality, the other appealed to the wild side of my personality. I guess my real dream guy will have qualities of both. But even though I haven't met my dream guy yet, Mauro gave me hope that someday I can fall in love (even if I wasn't truly in love with Mauro, it was definitely a strong romantic feeling that I hadn't felt in a long time) without being negatively affected by scars from previous romantic failures.

I watched Center Stage recently and in the scenes where Cooper was being slick and picking up Jody, then being cold towards her, I kept thinking "he is soooo Mauro!" Actually, even while I was in Seville, he and I were like Cooper and Jody from Center Stage (except we didn't hook up). Heck, I was totally Jody - the young dance student who was always getting criticized by my teachers, and falls for the gorgeous guy who turns out to be a player. Even the times when I saw him at the cafe, I would sometimes start thinking of that Mandy Moore song from Center Stage (I wanna be with you). Hehehe... I love the scene at the end where Jody says "Cooper, you're an amazing dancer and brilliant choreographer. But as a boyfriend? You kinda suck."

Anyway, enough about that. I'm in several dance classes again this year, and apparently I improved since last year. Anna (one of my teachers) told me my posture is better (gracias Felipe!). Actually, I noticed that whenever I mess up a move, sometimes thinking of Felipe helps me get it. Felipe worked us so hard, yelled at us so much, and I put so much effort into his class that whenever I'm like "think - Felipe!" I start to get the moves right in my classes here even when they have nothing to do with flamenco! Unfortunately, there's no flamenco on PEI so I can't continue with it right now, but when I'm in Montreal, I'm definitely getting back into it!

As for other dance styles I want to try, I've been growing a love for the Argentine tango for the last few months, and I thought "what if I went to Buenos Aires to learn it?" Well, it's just a thought for now, but wanting to learn flamenco in Seville was once "just a thought". Someday...

I got back into voice lessons too, and definitely want to continue. Music and dance will always be a big part of my life, and hopefully theatre and other things can become bigger for me too.

Anyway, that's it for now, hasta luego!

*edit* I don't know what's wrong with the text in this, but no matter what I do to fix it, I can't get the whole thing to be one size. I don't know why it changes halfway through the post.