Scattered Tuesday Musings

Funny, here you never hear the classic bar songs that you'd normally hear in the US.
I've gone two months without hearing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and I'm not entirely upset about it.
The music here changes wildly depending on where you are, obviously, but I've found that music here is everywhere. People don't have iPods. They have music on their phones or on small mp3 players. Often, instead of using headphones, they just play the music out loud. I hear a lot of the same music here, easy repetition that is slowly shaping my experience.
Mama P has horrible taste in music, and always listens to strange songs I can only describe as depressingly country. That or "Lady in Red." I will always think of her when I hear that song.

I love how loud this country is. I love that music goes with everything. I love that so many of my blissful memories are so tied to the music that I was listening to at those points. And maybe that's why music is such an enduring cultural element - there's nothing more communal but also individual than the experience that is music. Everyone individualizes the music they love and makes it their own.

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Last night, I was playing pool with the boys in Claremont. I am a terrible pool player, although every now and then I get a lucky shot. It's not that I don't know how to play (okay, maybe I could use some lessons in technique) but it's also that I just lack the patience to focus on the shot. It's all about angles and even though I know where I'd like to put the ball, it doesn't always seem to work out that way.

I'm coming to realize that a lot about myself. I can hear bits of accents and things but can't recreate them. I can see the difference between certain things yet can't replicate the movements.

Alas. The boys were good sports about it and luckily, I was able to hold my own. (A little.)

On deck tonight is family dinner. I'm cooking for the first time since I got here. I think I'm going to make the one thing I do well, which is mustard chicken. It sounds horrifying but it's actually delicious. Anyway, we shall see.
Also, I'm almost done with my first article!!
I'm going to post most of it immediately following this, so if you're reading this, maybe you've already read it.