Ponte mayonesa en la pasta

I woke up this afternoon to this note, which lay on the floor outside my bedroom door. From the top, it reads:

Put mayonnaise on the pasta
---
David,

I’m leaving dinner for you in case I don’t get back in time.

Bye,
Rosa

Save gas, avoid tolls with US-41

So this is kind of random, but I was cleaning off my desktop and found some screenshots that reminded me that I was going to post this.

As you may or may not know, there are 2 (principal) ways to drive between Milwaukee and Chicago: on the Illinois Tollway (I-94), or by taking US-41 and thereby avoiding the tollway.

For a long time, I was curious about which is the optimal route. Each seems to have its advantages: the tollway has a faster speed limit and there is less stopping (which ought to improve gas mileage), while US-41 is shorter and has no tolls.

The day before I came to Spain, I had to make a trip to Evanston to pick up an international student ID card, since the STA Travel in Minneapolis messed up and didn’t issue me one. It was then that I decided to do an experiment. Here are the results:

Route 1: Interstate 94 (Tollway)

The route indicated on the map, which goes from Start to End using I-94 is 28.8 miles long. My dad’s car reported an average of 26.2 miles per gallon on this route. Thus, we burned 1.1 gallons of gas, which, if gas costs $3 a gallon (I am completely unaware of current gas prices), equals $3.30. Add $3 in cash tolls and you get $6.60.

Route 2: US Highway 41

This alternate route, taking US-41 towards Waukegan and then meeting back up with I-94 after the tollway ends, is shorter, at just 24.7 miles long. As predicted, the gas mileage obtained was not as good, due to occasional stopping and inconsistent (and lower) speed limits. We got 25.6 mpg, thus burning 0.96 gallons of gas, which cost a total of $2.89. And, no tolls. Woo!

While there are more factors in play (vehicle wear, travel time, time of day, traffic conditions, driving style, externalities, social ramifications of not paying tolls) that this study does not take into account, it can be reasonably concluded that:

For occasional travel between Milwaukee and Chicago, it is a more economical and environmentally-friendly option to avoid the I-94 Tollway and instead take US-41.

Bragging, not complaining

The Mediterranean diet, as it is called, contains a lot of olive oil. It‘s poured over salads, pasta, vegetables, and just about everything else. Tonight for dinner I had: green beans and potatoes (covered in oil), followed by an egg and shredded carrots--fried in oil. ¡Qué rico!

Commuting by bicycle is a wonderful thing. By the time I got home today, I was soaked in sweat and smelled like a combination of B.O. and exhaust fumes, but it was worth it. There are two main categories of streets on my route: those with a separate bike lane, which allows me to zoom along unhindered; and those without, which require riding slowly on the sidewalk, dodging strollers and pedestrians, and making extensive use of my bell. Both are fun in their own ways. As far as I can tell, it‘s well nigh impossible to ride in car traffic here, at least on busy streets.

I went geocaching today and was finally able to get rid of a Geocoin that I picked up in Mequon, WI months ago. I had to ride up a long, steep hill, and then carry my bike up several flights of stairs to reach the park where the cache was located. When I arrived, I was discouraged to see that the trail map was more complex than is apparent from Google Earth‘s satellite imagery. Nevertheless, I forged ahead and walked almost straight to the target--without GPS. It felt good.

Catalán seems like it will be a good class; so, 1 for 2 for today. Tomorrow: Fonaments de la traducció, followed by Pragmàtica de l‘espanyol.

Primera clase

Today is the first day of classes in the Facultat de Filologia at the Universitat de Barcelona. My first class, Semàntica Espanyola, was to begin at 11:30am. I arrived a bit early, waited outside the room until someone came and let us in, and then took a seat. We waited on the professor for thirty minutes, after which someone with authority came and said: «No viene. Hasta el jueves.» And that was that.

At 3pm I have my Introduction to Catalan class. Hopefully that one goes better.

Una nueva bicicleta y la Sagrada Familia

Friday I went ahead and dropped 200€ on a bike. I decided to go with a plegable (folding model), which allows me to carry it up to my apartment and therefore drastically reduce the potential for theft. Plus it's cool. I'm quite excited to begin commuting to school (3.8 km each way) by bike – it ought to be much more exciting than staring out the window or reading free newspapers on the train. Also, I look forward to travelling the routes in my book and exploring the city.


Yesterday, I went with a couple friends from the program to see el Templo de la Sagrada Familia (Temple of the Holy Family), Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece. It was pretty cool. We took an elevator up one of the towers and then explored a bit. Various passages were closed, so it took a while to find our way out–we had to climb up and then back down a few times, all the while inching past others travelling in the opposite direction (the staircases were about 1.5 people wide and a bit claustrophobic.)

Last night I discovered that if I sit in the laundry room I can access two open wireless networks. It is nice to not have to leave the apartment to steal internet (I used to go up a few stories and sit in the stairwell, but one of the neighbors yelled at me.)

Por fin

Finally.

I’ve been in Barcelona for 16 days, and I’m finally getting around to writing a blog post. I could say I’ve been too busy, but that would be both untrue and a bad excuse. I think I just have some sort of internal resistance to writing things down.

Things are not bad here; I’m living in an apartment with a señora and her dog, Terry. I’m starting to become familiar with the city and where things are in relation to one another. A curious thing about maps here: ‘up’ is not north, but rather something like northwest. Everything is rotated 45º clockwise so that the Mediterranean is on the bottom.

Orientation week was exhausting, jam-packed with jet lag, information sessions, walking tours, bus tours, and eating. After that, we began a 2-week intensive Spanish writing course, which ends this Friday. Next Tuesday, classes begin at the Universitat de Barcelona. I will be taking FONAMENTS DE LA TRADUCCIÓ, SEMÀNTICA ESPANYOLA, and PRAGMÀTICA DE L’ESPANYOL, in addition to Introduction to Catalan Language in its Social Context. I look forward to all of them.

As of last week, I am the proud owner of a Barcelona library card. I’ve been stopping by my neighborhood library almost daily to use the wifi (pronounced wee-fee) and enjoy the musical selection. It is a nice place to be.

I was quite pleased to discover that I can walk from where I live to the Barcelona Bahá’í Center in about 10 minutes. Last Friday night I attended Feast there and was promptly invited to a weekend retreat which I highly enjoyed. It was a welcome break from the general loneliness which I’ve been feeling.

I desperately want a bicycle. I’ve gone a few places to look at them, but haven’t been able to find a suitable bike for a suitable price. Now that my financial aid has come in, though, I might just increase my budget and get a decent one which I can resell before I leave. On Saturday, I nearly bought a lame department store bike out of desperation, but I resisted and instead purchased a book, Barcelona amb Bicicleta, which, despite my only understanding about 85% of it (it is in Catalan), has increased my desire for a set of wheels. The subway is great, but a bike would be so much better.

I will post for real soon...

But in the meantime, I have this for you: