Tall and tan and Young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking, And when she passes each one she passes goes “a-a-ah!” First time I heard the lyrics to this song, “The Girl from Ipanema”, by Astrud Gilberto, Joao Gilberto and Stan Getz, I wondered if there was any truth to this song? I took a trip to Rio de Janeiro to find out for myself.
Adrenaline is pumping and my blood is pulsating to see Barcelona but I’m not trying to do it on foot. I found out I could rent scooters and headed over to the closest scooter rental shop. I get to the shop, excited to practice my Spanish and rent my scooter. After a few attempts of them not understanding my accent we decided to speak in English. Papers are signed, helmet is distributed, maps are in hand and the count down of my 24-hour time period had begun. The shop was located off of Avinguada Diagonal, a street that cuts the city in two, diagonally from east to west. The next destination Dream Team land, yes Olympic Village where the USA Dream Team made history and let the world know who reins supreme when it comes to basketball. I didn’t make it to the gym where they won but I managed to enter Olympic Stadium and I met some U.K. girls along they way. They were in there twenties and doctors, I was so jealous because they were making British Pounds, their money nearly doubles the US dollar.
Written by: Nate in Beaches
In my opinion I think if everyone in life has access to a beach it there be world peace. Beaches are my sanctuary where I feel closest to God. The continuous battle of land and water brings a calming peaces in the mist of their combat. Pigeon Point is the battle ground and a $3 USD, $20 TTD (Trinidad and Tobago Dollar) entrance fee to the private area is followed by a 5 mph cruise for 5 minutes to park and descend upon the stunningly beautiful coral sand beach. Pigeon Point shaped like a thumb up features huts that house beach wear clothing, souvenir and snack shops. You have plenty of free beach chairs, covered picnic tables, children play area and a sea of balmy palm trees to maintain the cool breeze and shade.
Fellas, I know you want to know about the women in Barcelona and I must tell you they are dope! The city is a melting pot; I meet an entire rainbow while there. Theresa and Bambi from Stockholm, Sweden were super cool. Theresa’s parents are from Thailand and Bambi’s parents are from Iran. It was my first time meeting women from both countries and the cool thing about them were they were
easy going and knew how to have a great time! They move to Barcelona to work and go to school. Stockholm is about a 3.5-hour flight from Barcelona. The funny thing is we met while waiting for our movies to start at the English movie Theater. I was going to see Million Dollar Baby with Spanish subtitles and we later linked up at a party that week.
Written by: Nate in Nightlife
My first international party took place Wednesday night and Buddha Bar was the only spot playing Hip-Hop music. I got to the door and they were trying to not let me in. I’m saying to myself coming on, I’m the only black dude out here you know I’m not from Spain LOL. Anyways I think I told them I wanted to buy a table or I played American football. I was lifting weights heavy back then so I was a little buff and definitely fit compared to European standards. I walked in the club and it was cool, nothing fancy but it was a new experience and I was curious to see what would happen. The music was on point and it was surprising to hear Jay-Z, DMX, Ja Rule; Def Jam was holding down the Hip-Hop game during this time. The Bar was old, hard wood floors, a few black couches, wooden bar, dance floor, packed with patrons trying to get drinks. Behind the dance floor was a large area of tables and chairs for those not trying to dance the night away. The most interesting thing was the amount of tall black dudes in the club. Obviously they are over here playing ball and when you’re an American and you see ball players from the states they show you love. You might be one of the few Americans they see besides their teammates or competitors. I remember kicking it with Sean Rooks, he use to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves a few years prior and dude was so cool. He was buying drinks, talking to me like we’ve known each other for years. The cool thing when you meet Americans in other countries its an automatic bond from my experiences. I’m meeting all the other ball players from the states and then I start to get upset I didn’t grow taller or my high school coaches didn’t work with me more because I realized these guys where having so much fun. All they did was go to practice, kick it at night, play games and make money. What a great life I was thinking, I still think it’s a sweet deal!
A visit to Barcelona, Spain or Espana as called by the Spaniards, was special because it marked my 1st trip outside the United State of America my homeland. Living in the US you always think of yourself as Black, White, Asian, Latino but never really American, that all changed while filling out my immigration form and writing USA in the origin country space. Disembarking from the plane and walking up the jet way, thru the terminal hall while reading advertisements in Spanish built excitement as I reached immigration. The following moments unfolded being asked; how long are you staying, why and whom you come to visit and finally a flip of a page to virgin passport page culminated with a fresh stamp and enjoy your stay. The day was March 08, 2005 when I first landed on foreign soil and it would mark the beginning of a journey. World Wide Nate was not thought of at the time but my desire to see the world was in full bloom. I came to Spain for two reasons; to visit my friend Akasha, a high school friend and visit my cousin Brandon playing basketball in San Sebastian. Akasha was studying abroad for grad school and that meant I had a free place to stay. I’m always trying to save a dollar or Euro in this case and I welcome sofas, futons and sleeping mats. The key is not to sleep much and you never think about where you have to sleep.
