Musclehead

So I know this is a break from my usual posting routine, but I wanted to write a little bit about Frankie Manning, who died a year ago today. "Who is Frankie Manning!?" Is probably what most of you are thinking right now, so let me tell you:

"Swing dancer extraordinaire Frankie Manning was a leading dancer at Harlem's legendary Savoy Ballroom where, in the mid-1930's, he revolutionized the course of the lindy hop with his innovations, including the lindy air step and synchronized ensemble lindy routine. As a featured dancer and cheif choreographer for the spectacular Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, he performed in numerous films, and entertained on stages around the world with jazz greats Ethel Waters, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Cab Calloway. Upon the demise of the Swing Era, Frankie took a job in the Post Office, where we worked for thirty years until his rediscovery by a new generation of swing dance enthusiasts in the mid 1980's. Since then, he's been in constant demand and motion, teaching, choreographing, and performing globally. He won a 1989 Tony Award for his choreography in Black and Blue, and served as a consultant for and performed in Spike Lee's Malcom x. Frankie's activities have been chronicled in hundreds of articles and dozens of news programs. Considered the worl's leading authority on the lindy, he is highlighted in Ken Burns' acclaimed documentary, Jazz. His autobiography, Frankie Manning" Ambassador of Lindy Hop, co-written by Cynthia R. Millman, was published by Temple University Press in spring 2007. He passed away on April 27, 2009, one month before his 95th birthday." - frankiemanning.com

What does this have to do with me? There's the obvious, I love to lindy. Thanks to this man I have been able to find a kind of dancing which moves me in a way no other really can. I am lucky he lived because without Frankie, Lindy Hop wouldn't be what it is today. That's pretty superficial though, and its nowhere close to the reason I hold this man near and dear to my heart.

Frankie Manning loved to dance. I mean he loved it. He always described dancing as "a series of three-minute romances." Obviously, to him, a dance meant pouring out your soul, moving to the music, and working with your dance partner. Dancing, for him, was about self expression, movement, great music, and most of all just having a great time. He didn't let the end of the Swing Era get him down. A lot of people said that while working at USPS Frankie was still a really happy person, even though he wasn't dancing anymore. When he was given the chance to dance again he took it and relished in a second chance to do what he loved to do. Some of his last words were, "I'd like to tell them, if they're not dancing, get out there and dance! And do the lindy hop 'cause it'll make them feel good." For Frankie, dancing and all things involved were about making people happy.

I hope that my passion for movement and music can manifest itself in the same way that Frankie's did. I have been so blessed to be able to share my love of dancing with people throughout my life by teaching, choreographing, and performing. I can only hope that these opportunities continue, and people remember me for the way I used this passion to bring joy and happiness to others.

Frankie said:

"All dances come from the music. What the music does, thats what you try to dance."

"I'll stop dancing when my feet won't move any more. And then I might just try to sit in a chair and do it. If you want to live for a long time, lindy hop. 'Cause I'm still doin' it man."

El sol!

It's finally sunny on a regular basis here in Murcia. Its wonderful! I feel safe saying that the weather might actually be turning nice, finally!

This week was pretty normal, I went to class, and did lots of laundry. On Friday Lara and I went to our friend Megan's to do homework and lay out on the rooftop terrace. We are supposed to be getting the key any day now, but for now we're stuck mooching off of everyone else. Yesterday I went to the beach with Megan, Ali, Brita, and Karlene. Brita and Karlene are from Wisconsin and have been in Murcia for the whole year. It was nice to meet them, and they had a lot of advice for us about getting through these next two months and the hot hot weather that is coming. I think I need to go shopping for some flowy dresses ;)

Today I gave myself my first ballet class since I've been here. Ouch! I am so out of shape it was miserable, but I am determined to be back in shape by the time I get back to Indy and have to start teaching again. I know it is a high expectation, but I am going to work hard to get there. After that I spent the afternoon reading and working, it was pretty relaxing until the internet went out...for FOUR hours... I tried to call the internet company and by the time they had put me on hold 600 times and finally figured out what I was trying to tell them I had spent about 6 euro off my pay-as-you-go phone, and they had nothing helpful to say. Thanks, ONO! One thing I won't miss about Spain is the crappy internet service.

Every day I feel a little bit more ready to go home and a little bit less ready to leave Spain. I do love it here, but I can't wait to get back to real life. I am excited to be with the people I love, not to mention to go back to dancing regularly. I have a couple adventures to come before that happens, though, and hopefully now that its getting to be nice out I'll start feeling better about staying here for another 2 months.

These are the things I'm looking forward to:
Going to the beach every chance I get for the next two months!!
Next weekend: Sitges-- SKYE AND FRIDA!! I can't wait for this.
May 13-15: Venice with Lara. We just booked this trip, the round trip flights were 20 euro, so we figured we couldn't not go.
June 8- Last day of school!! :) (but then there are exams...)
June 18- I head to Madrid to meet Mom and Allie, Madrid for a few days, Paris for a few days, and then back to Murcia to get ready to head back to the US. Paris in June...should be wonderful.

Isaac's Visit

A lot has happened this week! Isaac came to visit and it was so wonderful to have him here. On his first night it was Entierro de la Sardina which is the final day of the spring festival of Murcia. We went out for tapas with some of my friends and then to see the parade. During this parade there were several floats and the people on the floats gave away hundreds of thousands of toys to the people watching. It was so much fun trying to get toys, but also a little scary. There were a few times when I had to dodge a flying soccer ball or puzzle because it was coming straight for my face. I caught a princess jewelry kit and Isaac caught a soccer ball. At the end of the parade they burn a giant statue of a Sardine to celebrate the coming of Spring and a successful Holy week. It was really cool!
The Sardine being burned. It was more like 3 sardines.

Me and Isaac during the parade. Happy to finally be with each other!

On Wednesday and Thursday Isaac and I went to Valencia. It was his birthday on Tuesday so the trip was my birthday gift to him. We got to the city on Wednesday afternoon and after checking in to the hostel we walked around the historic area of the city. We saw the Cathedral, the towers that used to form the city gates, and the art museum. We also saw part of the Turia gardens which are gardens that go through the center of the city and across its whole length. I think its a feature almost every city should have!

This fountain is in the main plaza of the historic district of Valencia. The pigeons love it.

On Thursday we checked out of the hostel and walked from there through the Turia gardens all the way across the city to the Ciudad des Artes y Ciencias (city of arts and sciences.) This is a modern park that was constructed to show the new strength of Valencia. The complex holds several unique and really cool looking buildings and they are all related to the arts and sciences in some way. My favorite building was the opera house, which looks like some sort of galactic space helmet. There is also an Imaxx movie theatre, a Science museum, and an Aquarium. We went to the science museum and the aquarium and it was all great.

The building on the left is the Science museum, and the diagonal lines in the background are part of a really cool bridge. To the left is the bus station and Umbrical, and the Blue building in the background is just a statue as far as we could tell.

We left the Ciudad des Artes y Ciencias and went to grab dinner before catching an evening bus home to Murcia.

On Friday Isaac, Lara, and I went to visit El Santuario de la Fuensanta; the white church in the mountains which I visited before. We hiked around a lot and had coffee at the little cafe by the church. Afterwards we went to a really great restaurant and got salad, fried calamari, patatas bravas, paella, dessert, drinks, and shots of Baileys for only 10 euro each. What a find! I am really learning that places like that which have set menus are a good way to save money.

Lara and Isaac in the ruins of a house in the mountain behind the church.

On Saturday Isaac and I just relaxed and walked around Murcia a bit before we got ready for him to leave this morning. I had a great week, and I feel so lucky that Isaac was able to come visit. It was a much needed taste of home and now I feel more ready to conquer this last two months before I head back to the states. Next adventure? Sitges Swing fest in a few weeks! Until then I'm going to try to focus on school and learning to cook as many Spanish recipes as I can.

Granada

So I spent yesterday and the day before in Granada with my two friends Bret and Daedre. Granada is an amazing city. I understand why its the #1 tourist destination for Spain. I was kindof bummed that we only had two days, but at the same time I felt like we got to see almost everything we wanted to. On the first day we checked into our hostel, which was super cute! It had a very chill vibe (just like the rest of the city) and was very open and natural. There were even a bunch of hammoks hanging in the courtyard and a treehouse. I liked it a lot.


After that we decided to walk around the Albyzin and Sacromonte for the afternoon. The Sacromonte is where the gypsies have their cave dwellings and it has a beautiful view of the Alhambra in the distance. The Albyzin is the Arab quarter and it is full or head shops, artesan shops, and tea/hookah restaurants. You can find Morrocan food, trinkets, and jewelry there, not to mention tapas. We walked to the river which separates the Alhambra from the city, and then walked along the river back to the main Plaza and eventually back to the hostel. Granada is the last city in Spain which still serves tapas for free when you order a drink at a tapas bar. Its great! For dinner we went to 4-5 tapas bars and tried all kinds of delicious free food! It was a great day.

We went to bed really early because at 6:30am the next day we woke up and hiked up the mountain to the Alhambra to wait in line for tickets. We were able to get tickets and spent the next 6 hours wandering around this beautiful place. The best part? Watching the sun rise over the city.

The most famous part of the Alhambra is the Palacios Nazarines. It was pretty but I liked the gardens better. The Alhambra is the place where the last of the Muslim kings lived before the Spaniards finished taking over Spain. It was definitely beautiful and majestic, just like you would expect a Moorish Palace to be. 7,800 people each day are admitted into the Palace and each is given a half hour time slot in which they can enter. You are free to stay inside as long as you want. The rest of the Alhambra, however, is mostly free and it is full of gardens and other interesting buildings. I could understand why it is so famous, and it was definitely worth waking up early!

The palace itself is very intricate on the inside, great for pictures!

So, with that comes the end of my spring break. Well, almost. Tomorrow Isaac comes and it is a festival day. Entierro de las Sardinas is a day when Murcians celebrate being Murcian. There will be a big parade and at the end of the day they will burn a giant statue of a sardine. I am not entirely sure why. After that, its back to class on Monday, and a quick trip to Valencia on Wednsday and Thursday.

BarSWINGona

I had the time of my life this weekend in Barcelona. I love the city so much, I danced my heart out, and I saw so many cool things. There is way too much for me to write about so instead here are a bunch of pictures:

On the first day I walked down La Rambla and saw all the street performers.

Then I found a really cool market for coin and stamp collectors.

Then I went to the Museu Xocolat (Chocolate Museum)

The second day I slept and hung out with some guys from my hostel, then Daedre came and we went to the Placa Espanya.

The next day we walked all over creation and saw tons of buildings Gaudi designed including this one-- the Casa Batllo, and La Sagrada Familia which is his most famous work.

After that we went to the Parc Guel which was all also designed by Gaudi. I loved it there. The gardens and architecture were all amazing, and check out that view!

On Monday we went to the beach in the morning and then I went dancing before heading home.

Of course, ever night from 8-2am I danced! I met people from over 20 countries and definitely learned a lot. It was so much fun.

Today I'm staying in bed because I'm getting sick and I need to get better before the next few days. Tomorrow I head to Granada with Daedre and Bret and then Saturday Isaac gets here!