I began to regret my timidity in Spanish (a trait which doesn’t seem to exist in my English mind). I realized that my fear of saying something poorly or incorrectly had held me back from doing much more. I realized in that moment that there is no shame in falling, on the ice or in a language (anything really!). Watching the skaters fall, smile and get back on their feet reminded me of my own fears in speaking a language that I was neither fluent nor comfortable with. Before entering the rink, I had been terrified of falling or embarrassing myself, but looking around I saw that from time to time everyone fell, even some of the more adept skaters. And something happened to me while watching all the other people skate. But after hugging the wall for about twenty minutes, I began to get the hang of skating and actually enjoyed it! I wasn’t half-bad at it (I only fell three times, hah). It seemed impossible to me that people could glide so effortlessly over the cold white ice. Before I stepped onto the ice, I was absolutely terrified. Perhaps funniest of all, however, I tried ice-skating for the first time (in a mall called Palacio de Hielo, palace of ice, of all places).
#Twain gentle reader abroad professional
And inside the tree… A too-bright photo of the Templo de Debod A professional photo of the temple, gracias a The Christmas Tree at Puerta de Sol, the heart of Madrid. Even simple things, like buying castañas asadas (grilled chestnuts) and strolling the streets of Puerta de Sol to view the sea of beautiful Christmas lights (the Spanish are crazy for Christmas). I went to Plaza de España to see the Temple of Debod, an ancient Egyptian temple deconstructed in the 70s and brought to Spain to save it from being flooded by a hydroelectric project in Egypt. I attended a concert of classical music at the Teatro Real (the old, European-style opera house of Madrid) and got to see the Concierto de Aranjuez performed live, as well as a couple of phenomenal pieces by the Spanish violinist and composer Sarasate. I went to Aranjuez (inspiration for the famous Concierto de Aranjuez) and Toledo (the old capital of Spain) where the painter El Greco achieved success more than four centuries ago and where there is still a museum dedicated to him. In my last week, I tried to do all the things that I didn’t have time for during the busy semester. So here I am on the plane back to the United States (literally 30,000 feet in the air right now) writing this blog not with desires but with reflections. Instead, I ended up doing so many things that I didn’t even have time to write the blog. Whoop-dee-doo, you lived abroad.I had wanted to write one more blog post about all the things I longed to do in Spain in my last week.
We bet they bragged about it every chance they got, too. The Clemenses sold their house in Connecticut and moved to Europe, where the living was cheaper. After several bad business investments, his finances were a mess. Twain's real-life time as a Connecticut Yankee was limited. However, it made its mark as one of the first novels to explore time travel, and has been called one of the earliest science fiction novels. "If the case be otherwise, I beg his pardon and extend to him the cordial hand of fellowship and call him brother."blank" href=""> Huckleberry Finn. I speak now, of course, in the supposition that the gentle reader has not been abroad, and therefore is not already a consummate a-," he wrote. "The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate a- he can become until he goes abroad. The book introduced readers to Twain's trademark brand of wit and observation. In 1869, Twain published his first book, The Innocents Abroad, a nonfiction account of his travels to Europe. Lectures were a popular pastime, and one in which Twain excelled. His comedic delivery was a hit with live audiences, and he kicked off a lecturing career that would span the next few decades and rival any stand-up special currently on Netflix. These lectures, along with his books, made Twain a celebrity.
The only real way to get entertainment back then was to go see it live. However, the entertainment sources we know and love today? They were a long ways away. Okay, most of that was fake, and clearly we have some issues with pigeons. Johnson issues a desperate plea, saying it would be " coo coo to disobey our new pigeon overlords." The pigeons do not appreciate the pun. President Andrew Johnson is being held hostage by the pigeons. The pigeons have revolted and taken over the White House. No television, no radio, no internet, and no telephones.
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