So on my way back to Belgium from Washington State, I stopped in Washington, DC, for the weekend. It was really nice catching up with my old friends there. Caught up with Eric (my close Cuban-outcasted friend), Karen (one of my closest friends I met in Guadalajara-Real Worlder!), Christian (my never-ending support and friend who is always there for me when I need her), Juan (token friend, HAHAHA!!), and Ozzie (close friend from college whose wedding I will be in soon…right?). Hung out in Georgetown and then met up with everyone in Adams Morgan to do the whole bar thing and, as expected, had an amazing time. Too bad all my friends couldn’t have made it. I miss those guys.

I made it back to Brussels and was pushed into a Valentines Auction. As president of the student government, I was obligated to take part of our fundraiser to be auctioned. We made a lot of money and I was sold for a pretty good amount, I like to think at least. I took this girl out for an evening of fun who turned out to be really nice. She’s from Bombay, India, and is a very well-rounded gal. We just saw a movie, had dinner, went to a few bars, and ended the night at a club. Good times.

The following weekend I went to Cologne, Germany, for Carnival. It was AWESOME! It was like week-long Halloween party with people’s only goal is to drink and have a good time. Just like Oktoberfest, the Germans are a phenomenal people. Not a single fight (unlike with Americans). I dressed up as a pirate all weekend and I can undeniably say I have never seen so many amazing costumes, aside from the endless amounts of Arab and Mexican costumes. Which made me think whether I should even dress up or just be myself, a Mexican. Either way it was fun. We got there on a Saturday and started the day at a parade outside the city and partied until the sunrise. Sunday was no different but me and my friends made it a bonding day. By bonding, I mean rode bumper-cars for at least 8 consecutive times…could have been the highlight of the trip; except for when one friend accidentally kicked a ball another friend won at carnival game on top of the bumper car tent…actually, that was kinda funny. The next day was perhaps the most fun since it was the highlight of the whole week. People from around the world flood the streets of Cologne to watch a 7 hour parade which seemed endless! I am pretty sure it went down every single street in that city…man, it was so long. Needless to say I didn’t even see more than 15 minutes of it. We just stayed in our rotation of hopping from beer tent to beer tent and dancing with the locals. At one point in time I remember a German throwing me up in the air during their city’s chant: VIVA COLOGNE! I was scared for my life but then I realized this is Carnival! Live it up! So we did and continued to integrate ourselves in the German custom of drinking, dancing, and singing with arms interlocked swaying back and forth…simply an awesome time.

Now, I am overwhelmed with school work and stressing about finalizing my dissertation topic. It has evolved tremendously from what it previously was and the only thing I am certain is that it involves the Middle East and politics and, perhaps, religion. It also seems that I have a sick obsession with Iran so I will probably use Iran as a centerpiece of my work of art. Til next time…

So, I took another long break from writing my blogs for a variety of reasons, but now I’m back and we’ll see how much I’ll get back on top of it. January flew by and there wasn’t anything too exciting besides the normal Belgian weekend of going out with friends to the usual places.

Towards the end of the month I had to attend to some family business back in Washington State and got to see a lot of my relatives whom I haven’t seen in years. Fortunately, I was able to catch up with cousins and reconnect our separate and extremely different lives. Aside from our natural commonality of having the same grandparents we don’t have much in common. We all have extremely different pasts and it is easy to see that we will have very different futures, but I am happy to share that we are all blind to which paths we are each on. My relatives see blood as a binding gift from God that nothing or nobody can divide. No matter where I have been, what I have done, or how bad or good of a person I am, they will each invite me into the comfort of their arms without hesitation. We do accept that we all have our differences, but we know we can always go to one another for whatever reason imaginable and they will help you with whatever you need. I also have to point out that I have a big family of almost 50 cousins, so it is tough to keep in touch and up to date on who has how many kids and what they’re doing with their lives. But when I go back to Washington I know I can continue the conversation I had with them from four years before. I think the toughest part is not being a part of everybody’s daily lives, but it’s understood that we all have different lives to lead. I am thankful for my cousins, my entire family for that matter, and I can’t wait to pick up on the conversation I last had with them.

With that in mind, I have to say something about my uncles and aunts who have been through hell and back for us 3rd generation Mexican-Americans. My grandparents did everything they could so their kids could have better lives and they are doing the same for us (and which we will do for our children). As any normal humans, they have their problems and issues to overcome but it is important to stress that they are the ones who instilled in us our morals and to value the gift of our family. Each one of them approaches each one of us (their nieces and nephews) as their own children and care deeply for us and I think they know we feel the same way about them. I can’t ever express my gratitude for their being a part of my life. In all, my trip back to Washington was a refresher and reminder that family lasts forever whether we are physically present or not. Far or close, we can pick up on the last conversation we left off on. I can’t wait to pick up the conversation I last left off on with my Tio Manuel.

Oh, and the picture above is my nephew, Antonio, the newest generation in my family.