I woke up at 3pm today.
That's right, I slept for 12 hours STRAIGHT. *insert holy, hallelujah music here*
When I was finally up and ready, Ali and I decided to go into Madrid
together to do a bit of exploring. As it turned out, however, we didn't
actually get into Madrid until 5:45ish. Oopsies!! We were supposed to
meet her friend there, but we were too late and we missed him. SOOooooo... we decided to embark on our own, mini journey!
Earlier in the day we'd mentioned that she wanted to buy a new purse and I wanted to buy something warm for the winter that's been settling in during these past two weeks. We made no official plans to shop for either of these things, but it just sorta happened! As we were wandering around, Ali and I spotted an Arabic type store with incense, hookahs, leather goods, etc. She found a really adorable purse/backpack there and bought it!
After leaving the store, we passed a CUSTO - Barcelona store. Now, I've always been in love with this store from a distance, but always knew it was waaaaay too expensive for me to ever even approach the front doors, much less buy anything from them. They're like the couture version of Desigual. I've seen their stores all over Spain and in the big cities in the US and always loved their bright colors and crazy designs.
As we were passing the store, I peeked in and saw a sign saying "Winter Jackets - €67." I did a double-take. That couldn't be right. All of the coats on that
rack where the sign hung were like Joseph's Amazing Technicolor Dream
Coat - only a million times more amazing!!! I commented to Ali about it
and said I figured the sign just meant that 67 euros was the cheapest
one on that rack. She said she doubted it and we should definitely go in and take a look. She coaxed me through the doors of Rainbow Paradise Land and she was right! They were all that price. All the amazing technicolor Custo dream coats!!! OMG!
And so, with the encouragement of Ali, I may or may not have purchased one.
^_^
She said, "It's just SO YOU. You are the only person I know who could pull something like this off!!"
I've worn it out since I got it and I'm well aware it's a tiny bit ridiculous and definitely doesn't fit into my whole "chic, sophisticated European girl" look... but the truth is, trying so hard to fit into this "perfect image" I have for myself for the future is a bit draining. While I want to be that professional, mature, semi-sultry young lady, the truth is that in this moment, I'm in transition and a big part of my personality is that unique, "peculiar," colorful, daring, cute thing. I like to stand out. I like to be different. I like to express myself. This is who I am. And I feel like I've been trying so hard to cover that up to be "good enough" for... for who knows who!? Truth is, anybody can do this all neutral tone, fitting in, looking like everybody else thing. But how many people can wear a plush lined coat with a million different colors of awesomeness and some purple Ugg boots and be brimming with happiness and confidence?
Um, like no one.
I've been trying so hard to cover up all of the things that make me unique in favor of some pre-conceived notion of what's attractive and acceptable and mature that no wonder I haven't felt an ounce of confidence in the past month!
So, yes, I still do enjoy working on my European image and maturity and self, but no, it doesn't mean I should cover up all of the things that make me such a unique person. If wearing a coat from a store I LOVE with a million bajillion bright COLORS and teddy bear FUZZ lining makes me happy and confident and myself, then gosh darnit, there is nothing wrong with that.
All I did was go from Portland, where I was trying to fit in by wearing their clothes and doing their pastimes to Madrid, where I have been trying to fit in by wearing their clothes and doing their pastimes. Yes - there are Portland and Madrid fashions and pastimes that I genuintely enjoy, but there are also somethings about myself that are not mainstream in either place and that's what makes me different and lovely.
Sometimes (clearly) I really wish I could fit in like everybody else and find that cookie-cutter that made everyone seem so normal... but then at some point in time I see what I'm doing and realize, "WHY?" Confidence is not going to come from perfecting the art of blending in - it's going to come from perfecting the art of being myself and not feeling like I have to apologize for it.
ANYWAY - after my most epic purchase, we continued our journey on to Aguacate Grill - the Spanish Chipotle. We got to talking to the guy who worked there and found out he studied at the Pratt Institude in NYC for a few years and spoke perfect English. Ali and I were both pretty enamoured with the attractive and intelligent guy, but halfway through our burrito/quesadilla, began asking ourselves why exactly he was working at a burrito bar??? LOL.
After dinner Ali checked her messages and realized her friend was going to try to meet up with us again at 9. We booked it to the meeting place to try not to miss him again and made it there in record time!! As it turned out, the thing he'd wanted to take us to was an outdoor play at an urban theater. Had it not been 9pm and freezing, it would have been the coolest thing EVER!! It was the classic play about Don Juan, but told with actors in crazy costumes, with unique sets and a theater that was totally awesome. The theater was set up like this: it was on a block in the middle of La Latina district in Madrid and was fenced in with sheet metal and a big sheet metal slidding garage door type of thing to let people in and out. We had to stand in a line to be let in - it was a free performance. When we got in all of the sheet metal fencing/walls were graffitied and we realized there were four different sets around this concrete jungle. One set was a bunch of wooden barrels you could sit and stand on to see the play with a big wooden bar with empty glass liquor and beer bottles with lights shining through them. The next set was a two story metal piping structure, under which was haning IVs with blue liquid and on top of which actors could assend to a "balcony." The next set was oposite the other two and the final set was a bunch of white blocks on which people stood and became human statues for a scene. After each scene, the set would change, which meant all of the people had to walk over to the next set and sit or stand accordingly. It was really cool how this worked out and I had one of my first, "I cannot believe I am in the middle of Madrid, Spain watching an outdoor urban theater group perform a famous play I read in 12th grade. This. IS. So. Surreal." moments. :)
But, on the downside, without being able to see the actors perfectly and with all of the moving, it was near impossible to understand any of the actors nor follow the story line. The play wasn't even near over by 11:15 pm and Ali and I were freezing our butts off, so we politely excused ourselves and ran for the metro. We realized we were going to miss the last train home and hustled accordingly! Ali told me to put on my "try-hard trousers" (a "climbing" term apparently) and my "speedy sports bra" and RUN. I agreed, but as soon as I saw her slingshot out of that metro and up the stairs and through the gate, all I could do was laugh and try not to pee my pants. We jumped a few turnstiles without paying, but we still were less than 60 seconds late and missed out train. We had to journey all the way back via metro to the other side of Madrid to catch the night bus at 1 am. >_< In total, we traveled 2.5 hours to make it back home. A most epic journey that seemed interminable, but with a great travel buddy who made the adventure more comical than frustrating!
XOXO
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