extranjerizante

clean slate.

2008-06-02T20:58:33Z

extranjerizante @ 2007-01-10T19:54:00

2007-01-11T01:28:58Z

i was thinking today that i really suck at "blogging" like i thought i was really cool originally to have this thing but now i just don't update for askillion years and then write really long run-on sentences like this one. wicked.

sooo. i'm tired.
for some reason i've been getting around 5 hours of sleep a night. but it's definitely by choice.
winterim is going all right. i'm taking a painting class. kinda nice to get back into arttt.

tomato:

emo fruit:

my birfday is soon. couple weeks.
i want... theofficeseason1andiwantbooksandiwantawiiandiwantanxbox360andiwantseasonticketsforrealmadridnextseasonand more sshhhtuff.
.. or you could just buy me a drink since i'll be 21.

hmm. and i think i'm definitely excited for next semester to start.
wicked.

extranjerizante @ 2006-12-18T21:28:00

2006-12-19T02:31:36Z

baaaaaaahahhahahahahahhaa..

merry christmas bitches.

extranjerizante @ 2006-12-17T15:06:00

2006-12-17T20:10:51Z

hmm.. maybe?

extranjerizante @ 2006-08-27T22:05:00

2006-08-28T02:15:12Z

so. i'm back at potsdam. fall semester starts tomorrow.
europe seems so far away, so long ago.
it's good to be back in potsdam though.
it will be a good year.

this lightning's fine...

extranjerizante @ 2006-06-15T23:25:00

2006-06-16T03:32:10Z

well i've been back in the good ol' US of A for just about 2 weeks.
trying to re-adjust back into life here in upstate new york.

i miss europe.

i have some random pictures i will be posting soon. but as of now this is no longer my travel blog.
i may start posting about the BIGGEST SPORTING EVENT IN THE WORLD, that just so happens to be taking place this month.
yeah, the world cup.
sweden are my pick this cup. i'll also be supporting spain and argentina.

so, i'm home. safe and sound. it's good to be back. but. i miss it.

extranjerizante @ 2006-05-22T12:50:00

2006-05-22T10:54:57Z

well. i know i have been ignoring this space for a while. and i'm sorry. i have lots of pictures to post but, right now i can't.

i leave for rome at 6:25 pm today. i'll be there for 3 days.
i go to stockholm on the 25th for 5 days.
i return to barcelona on the 30th, the same day i have to move out.
from there i will be staying in a hostel for a few days to say my goodbyes to this awesome city. then. home.

this could be my last post from europe, depending on internet access here and there.
so. i guess this means i can literally say, "i'll see you soon."

extranjerizante @ 2006-05-17T12:50:00

2006-05-17T10:53:14Z

EVERYONE WHO READS THIS;

Please, if you can find the time in your day, tune in to ESPN2 at 2:45 pm EST and watch the Champions League Final. Barça is taking on Arsenal for the European trophy. It is a huge match, history in the making...

FORçA BARçA!

extranjerizante @ 2006-04-20T10:34:00

2006-04-20T08:38:19Z

umm.. okay. i needed a change and i cut my hair. pretty much all of it. right. off.

feel free to leave lots of "aww luke, it's not so bad.."s. p l e a s e.

extranjerizante @ 2006-04-17T14:31:00

2006-04-17T12:59:38Z

okay. i have some more photos. these are from my trip to the barcelona zoo with my cousin, the zoo is pretty standard as far as zoos go. lots of smelly animals, etc. but it was funnnnnn..

camel:

bear:

penguins:

angry baboon:

prarie dogs:

giant wet rat:

lions:

tiger:

plains deer:

giraffe:

elephants:

spider monkeys:

THE END

extranjerizante @ 2006-04-16T18:24:00

2006-04-16T16:39:18Z

ok. told you i'd be back.

parc de la ciutadella:

born district:

parc guell:

moonlit view of la catedral de barcelona:

more to come..

extranjerizante @ 2006-04-15T22:32:00

2006-04-15T20:43:33Z

it has been BLEEPING FOREVER since i've updated this thing.
i'm really sorry.
i've got lots of random pics to post. i'll be doing that over the next couple days. I P R O M I S E.

so, what have i been up to?
well,
my family came to spend a week in barcelona in mid-march.
my cousin just left after being here for a week.
it was awesome to see everyone again and we had loads of fun. it's nice to have the fam take an interest in what i'm doing here.
with that said, i'm also absolutely positive there is no future career in being a tour guide for me. ha.

the next few weeks are gonna fly.
i've got 2 and 1/2 weeks of classes left.
then 2 weeks of tests.
thennnnnnnn i'm gonna travel for a few weeks.
thennnnnnnnnnnnnnn i think i'll be home mid/late june.

^but got lots to do before my triumphant return!
any suggestions as to where i should travel in europe after i'm done with classes???
i'm thinking scandanavia and/or eastern europe and a touch of italy..

with that, i'm out. i'll be posting pics starting tomorrow. xo..

extranjerizante @ 2006-03-24T17:13:00

2006-03-24T16:16:59Z

sorry for the lack of updates once again. been quite busy over the past weeks. my family arrived in barcelona on the 16th to visit and just left today.
the days are getting warmer and sunnier here. today is absolutely beautiful. 65 or 70 with a nice warm breeze.
i'll try and update more frequently from now on.
i'm gonna go enjoy the day. peace!

extranjerizante @ 2006-03-07T13:55:00

2006-03-07T13:05:19Z

well it seems as though i’ve let another few days slip by without posting. sorry ‘bout that. this weekend was a good one.
friday i went to the two gallants concert at a club in plaza real. the show was awesome. it was down in the basement of the club. only about 50 or so people showed up. it seemed as though i was the only american, and as a result the only one singing along. i stuck around after the show and had a couple drinks with the guys from the band. real down-to-earth guys. they’ve got something going for them. i think they’ll be big. i’ve got a few pics from the show. only of adam, though. he’s the singer/guitarist. tyson’s the drummer. and there were too many tall spaniards in the way to photograph him.

after staying out all night with the band friday, i didn’t really have the energy nor the money to go to the game on saturday night. i cooked dinner and watched the game (BARCA 3, DEPORTIVO 2) here at my place, then a few friends came over for some drinks.

sunday, i got up and went to the picasso museum for the afternoon. it was pouring on the walk there so i was freezing in the temperature controlled museum. still, it was worthwhile because the museum entry is free on the first sunday of every month and the exhibition was wonderful. never was a huge fan of picasso but to see works of such importance up close was overwhelming.

tonight, is one of the biggest games of the season for barca. They play chelsea of london in the second leg of their champions league tie. if barca wins, they move on to the next round in the tournament against another european rival. read more about the champions league here: http://www.uefa.com. make sure you cheer for barca! i think the game will be on espn2 in the states at 2:30 pm. VISCA BARCA!!!

extranjerizante @ 2006-03-03T14:36:00

2006-03-03T15:14:00Z

sorry! i have been told to get my a$$ in gear and start posting.
so that i will do.
my last update was over a week ago.
not much news really. just classes and stuff.
however, tuesday night was CRAZY.

most of us don't have class on wednesday. tuesday, february 28th is the end of a week long celebration all over spain called carnaval. we went to a smaller coast town, called sitges, where the celebrate the holiday. think mardi gras with a bunch of european people. in a city about the size of potsdam. haha. it was absolutely crazy. everyone dresses up in costumes and just drowns themselves in alcohol. i did neither, but it was a good experience to observe the chaos. i have a few pictures, but for the most part i was afraid of taking my camera out of my pocket for fear of never seeing it again.

tonight i plan on going to a concert. two gallants. never heard of them? http://www.twogallants.com they're on the same label as bright eyes. from what i hear they're going to be big and everyone says if you get a chance to see them, do it. so that's tonight. tomorrow i think i'm going to another barca game. so maybe there'll be some more updates in the near future???

extranjerizante @ 2006-02-19T14:34:00

2006-02-19T14:20:57Z

yeah.. sorry it's been so long!
last night was awesome. i went to the f.c. barcelona vs. real betis game with my friends from school. tickets were 29 euro and the seats weren't bad at all. i loved it. barca won the game 5-1. larsson scored, ronaldinho scored off of a free kick, one betis player had two own goals, joaquin scored betis' only goal, and messi capped off the night with a brilliant goal 5 minutes after he came on as a substitute. that kid is a genius and he's only 19 years old. ronaldinho was as brilliant as ever and valdez had a super game in goal. it was awesome. i had THE. BEST. TIME.

extranjerizante @ 2006-02-10T20:19:00

2006-02-10T20:23:07Z

ok. yeah. so it's been a while. but i had a great day wednesday.
and i'm gonna tell you all about it.
(if you don't know anything about barca or ronaldinho, go to http://www.fcbarcelona.com now)

so wednesdays i don't have class. i usually just wander about the city trying to take in as many sights as possible. this past wednesday, i had a bunch of errands to run but i also wanted to wander by the f.c. barcelona stadium too.
i got there at about 5 p.m. and started walking around the fence that surrounds the stadium grounds. when i got around to the side with the main entrance, there were a bunch of people gathered at one of the gates that was locked. beyond the gate is a smaller training pitch (outside of the main stadium). this training pitch is used on special days where the press are allowed in to photograph practices for the papers. near the pitch was a large black hummer. one of the kids standing at the gate said it was ronaldinho's. interesting.

so i started hearing murmers that they were gonna unlock the gates and let us through to watch the practice. i didn't really believe it and i was about to leave. but i decided to stay. i ended up waiting about an hour and a half. then some of the players started coming out of the stadium onto the training ground. they started warming up. then a guy wearing a security guard outfit came up to the gate and told us all to push back. i figured he would tell us to get lost... but he let us in!!! i sprinted to get a good spot next to the pitch where there was a hole in the fence. i took as many pictures as my camera would hold. i was a few feet from some of the greatest footballers in the world. it was unbelievable. most of my pictures are grainy because of the time of night and the amount of zoom i used. just being there watching these guys practice was amazing. love it.

extranjerizante @ 2006-02-06T23:27:00

2006-02-06T22:33:53Z

hi. sorry. seriously slacking as far as posting goes.
nothing new.
just walked around exploring most of the weekend. saw a sweet michael jackson performer on las ramblas.
haaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
the weekend was fun but sunday was depressing (barca lost). ;-(
classes went well today. feels good to be learning again.
tomorrow = more classes.
but i have no classes wednesday. so hopefully i can go on a little adventure.
&& take more pics to post.
how has everyone been?
i miss you all..
xoxo.

extranjerizante @ 2006-02-01T20:14:00

2006-02-01T19:52:34Z

i went to stadium today. i didn't take the tour because we were running short on time. i went in the store and found about a million things i could buy. i'm definitely going back for the tour this weekend i think...

extranjerizante @ 2006-01-31T23:50:00

2006-01-31T23:05:20Z

so we went to the national museum of catalan art today. they didn't allow camaras in the galleries but i took some nice pictures of the walk up to the museum from placa espanya.

yeah. that palace-looking-thing is the museum. beautiful, eh?
nou camp stadium tomorrow, maybe? abrazos...

p.s. think happy thoughts tomorrow. fc barcelona play zaragoza in the king's cup. big game.

extranjerizante @ 2006-01-30T22:20:00

2006-01-30T21:40:28Z

hey. so i wanted to tell everyone about my mcdonald's story.
yesterday after walking around and taking pictures of the sagrada familia, i decided to stop into good ol' mcd's for some fries. afterall, it has been a couple of weeks. haha.. anyway, i go up and order fries and a coke and hand the women a 50 euro bill. she hands me back 45 euros in paper bills and over 6 euros in change. i just shoved it in my pocket before she could notice. it gets better.
so i take my tray and sit down and start to enjoy the grease when another mcdonald's guy comes up and hands me a bag and says, "para llevar?", which essentially means, "take out?".. so i'm like... "sure!".. so i hurriedly shove my fries in the bag and high-tail it out of there before anyone realizes their mistake. so a quick run-down: i got paid to eat at mcdonald's. i came away with more than 2 euros than i had when i walked in, 3 large fries, and a coke. ha.

anyway, today i started culture classes. i had catalan language (which is not a dialect of spanish! it is a seperate romance language!!) and narrative prose. both classes went well and it seems like i've got a good mix of international students in both. so it should be interesting. tomorrow, my group from oswego is going to el museo nacional de arte de catalunya (the national museum of catalan art). i'm excited about that. then, i continue with class. i think i have modern art history tomorrow.

so.. that's about it for today. abrazos...

p.s. download madonna's 'hung up'.. this song is everywhere here. people are in love with madonna. this song is in the clubs at night and in all the trendy stores during the day. and. now. it's. stuck. in. my. head..

extranjerizante @ 2006-01-29T17:36:00

2006-01-29T17:20:41Z

okay. so friday night a bunch of us from the oswego program went out to this bar called the black sheep. a great time was had. the sangria was tasty.
yesterday i didn't wake up until mid afternoon due to the previous night's events. it was still raining. so i decided not to tour the nou camp this weekend. maybe next weekend. but yesterday we just walked around a bit then went to the black sheep again last night. the sangria tasted just as nice as the night before.
today i got up mid afternoon again and, since it wasn't raining, i walked down to the sagrada familia (which is only a 5 minute walk from my apartment). the sky wasn't as clear as the other day so my pictures look kinda washed out but it will give you an idea for now anyway.
for those of you that don't know.. antoni gaudi is a famous architect from barcelona who did a lot of work throughout the city in modernisme style, which coincided with the european formulation of art nouveau. his architecture is absolutely fascinating, very intricate and out of this world. the sagrada familia is a church and is one of his most famous projects. the construction started in 1882 and has been paused multiple times for different reasons. as of right now, the church is a construction site. it's not even half finished. still, the structure is absolutely amazing.. the details are immaculate. gaudi's dream coming into fruition. visit http://www.gaudi2002.bcn.es/english/index.htm for more information. anyway, here are a few fotos from my day...

k. that's all for now. i will try to update later tonight. i have a funny mcdonald's story. haaaaaaaaaa. abrazos..

extranjerizante @ 2006-01-27T19:47:00

2006-01-27T18:48:17Z

yesterday i went on a tour, along with the other students from my program, of the gothic quarter of the city. basically, the gothic quarter is comprised of the original city of barcelona along with its narrow winding streets and historic architecture.
the tour was very interesting and we had a great clear day for taking pictures.

after the tour we went down by the sea and had lunch. it was a little cold but the sun felt nice. there were a couple of old men rowing in the harbor.
last night, a few of us went to a bar down the street for some beers and to watch the futbol game. barca lost 4-2 to zaragoza. it was their first lost in 18 games. it was quite a downer. you could almost feel the city and it's people get depressed. as we walked outside it was considerably colder and the rain today almost makes one wonder if even the weather depends on the outcome of the games. but that's the way it is here, everyone follows the team through the highs and lows. and i love it.

today, i had my estudios hispanicos placement test. the results of this test let everyone know where they stand in their level of spanish speaking and comprehension, and from there we get placed into classes based on our ability. after the test, i wandered around in the rain for a while through my neighborhood. quite a dreary day. on the news it said that it's actually snowing on the mountain just a couple miles from here.

ok. hopefully tomorrow it isn't raining. i'm hoping to take a trip to the nou camp (barca's stadium!!) and take a tour of the facilities. i'll update again soon. abrazos..

extranjerizante @ 2006-01-25T22:28:00

2006-01-25T22:05:38Z

okay.
so now that i've finally settled into our apartment i thought i should let everyone know what i've been up to.
i arrived saturday january 21 in barcelona and stayed saturday night and sunday night in a hostel.
the hostel was brand new. it was beautiful. nice people.
monday morning i started orientation at the university of barcelona. the basic stuff. do this, don't do this, blah blah.
monday afternoon my flatmates and i signed our lease and moved into our flat. this place is great. we're a 15/20 minute metro ride from the university. the apartment is fully furnished. it is beautiful.
since monday we've had orientation every day. just basic review stuff preparing us for our placement test on friday.
tomorrow, thursday the 26th, my birthday, we're going on a walking tour of the gothic quarter of the city. should be interesting. i will take fotos. k? k.

ummm...
i miss everyone at home. although this city is beautiful and the people are great, there are times when something from home pops in my mind and i get sadddddddddd. i'm a world away. but for only 4 months.

ok. for those of you who are interested, i have a mailing address now. i encourage everyone to write me. please.

Luke Oshier
c/Padilla 309 pis 6' 1a
08025 Barcelona, Spain

bueno.. i think that's all for now. besos..

oh!...

and

extranjerizante @ 2006-01-23T00:33:00

2006-01-22T23:38:00Z

i´m here.
i´ve been pretty tired.
the city is beautiful.
the people are beautiful.
i start orientation tomorrow.
i move into my apartment tomorrow.
i will update more soon...