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| Winter time in Menendez y Pelayo |
Thursday, December 17, 2009
How is Papa Noel gonna find me without a chimney?
To make up for Valverde’s lack of spirit during Halloween the town and its people have decided to go all out for Christmas. Surprisingly I haven’t felt the same homesickness I felt during Halloween and I think it’s because Valverde has provided me with the same comforts I’m use to at home: Christmas decorations, candy, lights, and Christmas music. The town is beautifully decorated with bright lights of stars, moons, and bells across all of the main streets. Most of the houses have a Christmas tree with lights and a nativity scene. My school has its own Christmas tree, Nativity scene, and decorations. In Pocho’s class she is teaching the kids to sing Jingle Bells in the younger grades and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to the older kids. Next week at the conservatory all of the kids from all of the schools are supposed to perform a song and Pocho informs me that it is supposed to be in English but she has her doubts about the other schools. In the supermarket they blast Christmas songs in English and even though I am the only one singing along to the music nobody gives me weird looks. Success! When I walk to my tutor sessions I can hear children practicing Jingle Bells on their recorders. I remember the days when I had to play the recorder. I guess it’s not just an American thing.
While the familiar candies and cookies I’m use to are nowhere in sight (gingerbread, chocolate chip cookies, Christmas M&M’s, and candy canes) Valverde has its own Christmas goodies. I got one word for you: Turron! Turron is a chocolate candy bar that comes in many varieties and is only around during the holiday season. You can get it hard (teeth cracking hard) or soft (melt in your mouth soft) forms. Most of them come with some type of nut, either peanut or almond (they LOVE almonds here. Almost every baked good has almonds as its main ingredient). I decided to test them out and bought one hard turron of coconut and chocolate and one soft turron of chocolate mouse. The soft one was the best chocolate bar I have ever had! Only 2000+ calories, no big deal. I’ll try to save some and bring it back to the states—I just hope I don’t eat it hehehe. This reminds me of a FRIENDS episode I just watched were Ross eats all the Maple Leaf candy so Chandler has to hide it from him. When Chandler gives a box of the candies to Monica she opens it and they are all gone. I’m not making any promises but I’ll try.
Christina took on the daunting task of teaching the kids how to make gingerbread houses. Just substitute gingerbread for thin wafers and it was basically the same thing. I sat in the back of the class and observed as she tried to get them to listen to her and follow her instructions. Most of the kids didn’t listen and ended up building their own version of a “house”. One group’s house collapsed so Christina told them they could eat it. Like vultures the kids attacked the plate of sweets and devoured it in lightening quick speed lol. After the houses she began telling them about Christmas in America. Now its important to understand your audience when you have to speak about something so I have no idea why Christina decided to tell these fifth graders about how Christmas is all about consumerism, greed, that we are celebrating the death of a Saint, and that the true origin came from some other country, and all that religious/cynical stuff. What was she thinking? Kids don’t want to hear that, please, I don’t want to hear that. Kids only care about the magic of Santa Clause, reindeer, candy canes, snowmen, and all that fun stuff. I was just shaking me head and thinking why, why, why??? That’s just the type of person she is I guess. As Ruben put it, she “speaks perfect Spanish but her English is horrible”—and honestly its true.
My tutor sessions have been a lot of fun because I’ve decided to take it upon myself to educate the children and adults about Hanukkah. I made a dreidel out of paper and played dreidel with them. To no surprise I ended up winning each game. What can I say I’m kind of awesome at dreidel…. I couldn’t find authentic gelt, but the candy store did have chocolate coins so I used them. I contemplated making potato latkes but I figured a bad latke would be worse than no latke so I didn’t make them. I was able to find a English AND Spanish version of the story of Hanukkah so that helped me teach the kids the significance of the eight days. I played the YouTube video of Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah Song accompanied with the lyrics. I got mixed reviews with that one, but I enjoyed it. For Christmas the past bilingual assistant had made colored, laminated, flashcards of important Christmas vocabulary terms with the spelling on the back. They were quite impressive and too good to just use in school so I used them in my sessions as well. I also taught the older kids The 12 Nights of Christmas song and made them sing it with me. I took turns reading Twas the Night Before Christmas with the kids as well. When I read it I got all into the story and would try to act out the words as I spoke. I can’t wait to have a little (American) kid to read that to and have them get all excited about Santa Clause. I forgot how many good Christmas songs or poems there are. For my own personal enjoyment I printed out the lyrics to my favorite Christmas songs (Silent Night, Winter Wonderland, Up of the Rooftop, and The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers) and I sing them to myself when I need a pick me up hehe. I would just play YouTube videos of the songs or listen to iTunes 24/7 Holiday Radio Station but that would require the Internet.
In my tutor session I always ask the kids and adults how they celebrate Christmas and New Years. I learned that the kids only open maybe one or two presents on the 25th of December. The rest of the presents are opened on January 5th when everyone celebrates the 3 Kings Festival (3 Wise Men from the Nativity scene). Once the 3 Kings have brought their gifts to the town the kids are allowed to open their gifts. Every town or city has some sort of parade to celebrate the holiday. I learned that in Valverde there is this auction a few days before and the families that donate/spend the most money get to dress up as the 3 Kings and toss candy to the town people. They dress up in robes, hop on the back of a tractor that drives through town, and toss candy out to the kids on the street. It’s a very cute tradition. Then everyone goes home and watches the big parade, like the one in Seville, on the television and afterwards opens their presents. Its just like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Well I decided that since I return from my winter break on the 4th that I would stay the extra two nights to witness the parade and celebrations of the 3 King’s Festival in Seville. Might as well right? Margarita told me that in Seville the 3 Kings are always famous people (soccer players, politicians, actors/actresses, ect). I’m crossing my fingers, praying every night, and holding my breath that Sergio Ramos will be in the parade and that I’ll get a picture of him!!!!!! He’s from Seville and started out at Seville FC so it only makes sense that he would be in the parade.
For New Years I was informed that the adults normally stay home or go to a special restaurant where they pay for a dinner and unlimited drinks for the night and bring in the New Year there. The teens or younger crowd so to special discotecas to get the same deal but more alcohol and dancing. Ana told me that its kind of expensive and the tradition has sort of died out because now there are maybe six or seven little parties that people attend instead of one big party. Also I learned that at midnight instead of counting down The Ball and kissing the closest person to you, everyone listens to the chimes of a clock and eats a grape for each chime. That comes out to twelve grapes in a very short time period. In Spain the grapes come with the pits in them so it can be somewhat uncomfortable if you don’t prep your grapes before hand haha. I also learned that in the supermarkets they sell tins that have only 12 grapes in them just for the occasion. How cute is that? I really like that tradition so when I return the states I hope to carry it on.
The greatest Christmas present I received was the gift of HOT WATER! The man came on Tuesday to fix our pipes and now I can FINALLY take a hot shower. The funny thing was he came on Monday but I was the only one home and when I opened the door he spoke so fast I couldn’t understand him. All I got from him was that he wanted “to see it”. I tried my best but I couldn’t understand him and I had no idea that someone was suppose to come to the house so I told him I didn’t understand him and that he should come back when my roommate returns. About three hours to late Elisa texts me that a man should come to our house to fix the pipes. DAMNIT! Alas, I had good fortune because the man returned the next day and I let him in and he worked his magic. It took less than 5 minutes and I swear all he did was turn a knob or something really simple like that. Despite the hot water I still put the heater in the bathroom with me but I no longer shiver INSIDE the shower. Not only does my shower now get hot water, but my faucet does as well. It was the worst in the mornings when I would already be freezing and then I would have to wash my face with spine tingling cold water that would make my hands numb and would force we to eat my cereal with gloves on. My room is still pretty cold. The one night I was to lazy to put socks on before I went to sleep turned out to be a bad idea because it was impossible to sleep. I finally gave in and at 5am I got up and put my sock-slippers (thank you Dani!) on and tucked my pajama pants into them. Honestly, if I don’t do that every night I can’t sleep because I’m that cold. This whole week I’ve been alone in the apartment because Elisa has been sick so she stayed in Seville. It’s Wednesday right now so I think it is safe to say she probably won’t be coming back to Valverde before the break starts. I also think its safe to say I won’t be getting a ride to Seville with her. So yeah I now know what its like to live alone. I don’t like it, well, I think I wouldn’t mind it if I wasn’t so far away from everything.
So last night I had the wonderful pleasure of having dinner with Ana and her family. She had to cancel all of my tutor sessions this week with her and Paco because they both had conflicts but to make it up she invited Christina and me to dinner. My first dinner at a family’s house, how exciting!!!! I finished up my last session at 9pm and then headed over to Ana’s with Christina at 9:30pm for dinner. I finally met her husband who was very nice and loved to talk. He spoke very clearly so I understood almost everything he said in Spanish. He knows English better than Ana, which is saying something because she speaks very well, so anytime I had a tough time translating a word I would say it in English and he understood. That was comforting. Normally with someone new I get very tense about having to try and speak Spanish, especially when I’m with Christina because she’s fluent, but with him I felt at ease and comfortable. BUT despite everyone’s ability to speak and understand English we only spoke Spanish, which I really liked. It only came out a few times here and there. Sergio also joined us for dinner but he didn’t talk and was in a bad mood because he had just returned from soccer practice out in the cold and was now sick. He claimed it was bronchitis. Well we started the dinner with tapas of sheep’s cheese, goat cheese on a cracker with anchovies (some without anchovies thank god), chips, salad, bread, and shaved ham. To accompany the food we had two bottles of red wine. For the main dishes Ana made individual Spanish tortillas (a thick potato pancake made with eggs, onions, and sometimes other ingredients. In this case mushrooms) and bite sized fried cod bites (they were AMAZING). She made this because Christina is a vegetarian but she eats fish. I tried to eat around the mushrooms but in the end Ana picked up on the fact that I didn’t like them so she brought my pork loin. The pork literally melted in my mouth. It was a great filling meal. For desert she brought out two trays. On the first, an assortment of different kinds of Turron and on the second mini wrapped baked goods of crème, cinnamon, and almonds. Naturally they put the put down directly in front of me and said “EAT!” They know their audience. Everything was so good. We talked and ate from 9:30pm to 1:45am. The only reason the meal stopped was because I told them I was tired. I had more wine that night than I have had this whole trip thus far. When I lifted my head I was a little dizzy.
In the middle of the meal I had a one on one conversation with Ana husband Antonio about how hard Spanish was for me. He told me that I just need to take every opportunity I have to ask what things are and build up my vocabulary base. When I told him I have a hard time conjugating verbs he gave me some key phrases that I should memorize in order to not have to worry about conjugating. For some reason the way he talked to me about it really gave me hope that I would get better at. He assured me that I spoke very well (I think he was just being nice) and told me that he had no doubt that I would be fluent by the time I leave Spain. I’m glad someone believes that. The manner in which he approached learning a new language was just so new to me and very refreshing to hear. I really enjoyed talking to him. He also talked about his aspirations for his son. How he wants Sergio to learn as much as he can now so that when he’s older he can pursue anything he wants and have as many options as possible. He emphasizes the importance of speaking other languages more for his future rather than at the moment. I understand his perspective and I can relate to why Sergio resents it a little. Looking back I wish my parents had enforced the importance of knowing another language upon me. It’s hard sometimes in school listening to first graders remembering vocabulary so well when I can’t remember the sentence someone said to me a minute ago. Anyways, the meal was fabulous and I had a wonderful time. Both Ana and Antonio told Christina and I that we are welcomed back anytime. I think my next meal will be with Pocho and her family but not until after winter break.
A lot has happened for me in 2009 but I’m fairly certain that 2010 will bring a lot more adventures. Things to look forward too in 2010: Bringing in the New Year in Prague, Czech Republic with two new friends, London Trip in February where I will finally see most of my family for the first time since September, a week of craziness in Cadiz in honor of Carnival, random long weekends exploring other cities in Spain like Valencia, Galicia, Bilbao, and possibly Mallorca, a week long celebration of Semana Santa, a visit from my friend Kerry and her sister (my first and probably only friend visit), a ten-day visit from my parents in Barcelona, Seville, and Valverde, a three-day weekend in Morocco, and lastly an end of school trip to Scandinavia. This is all assuming I have enough money to go to these places. We will just have to wait and see.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Wait, I can get a free tapa with ANY drink? Now you tell me.
Last weekend I had a five-day weekend, or what the Spanish call a Puente (bridge). For this Puente I decided to check out the amazing city of Granada. The jewel of Andalucía and home of the most popular tourist attraction in all of Spain: The Alhambra. The Alhambra is a this walled complex that dates back to the Phoenician times and is home to numerous palaces, gardens, exquisite architecture, and fantastic views of the other fascinating parts of Granada. Connected to the Alhambra is the Generalife Garden. This is a giant garden that is best scene in the spring because, well it’s a garden, and lets face it flowers like sun better than the cold. There is just so much to see in Granada and I was convinced that it would take me more than three days to see everything so I was really looking forward to my vacation.
I set off on Friday bright and early to catch the direct bus from Valverde to Seville at 7:45am. This bus trip was an hour and a half exactly and was cheaper than going from Valverde-Huelva, Huelva-Seville. I had to walk to the other bus station in Seville to catch my bus to Granada. I had looked it up before hand and figured it would only take me 12 minutes to get there. Well I was wrong, it took me a half an hour but that’s because I got lost and retraced my steps several times. The station is a little hard to find because of the lack of signage and the placement of the actual station. Once I got there I got in line at Alsa and asked for my ticket. I had purchased the ticket online but didn’t have a printer so I chose the option of getting my ticket at the station. Well the lady told me just to go to the gate for my bus and buy it there. I was skeptical of this and it made me uneasy seeing everyone else around me with a hard copy of a ticket. How was I supposed to get my ticket inside the bus? When it was time to board everyone crammed the door and somehow I slipped inside the bus and when I told the bus driver I had a reservation he gave me that look like “what are you talking about?” I noticed my name on his sheet and pointed, “That’s me!” He grunted and let me on. Phewww. I was anxious that it wasn’t going to work but it did in the end.
The bus from Seville to Granada took three hours on the dot. I arrived at 2:00pm and followed the instructions I was given to take the 33 Bus from the station to the city center and get off at the Cathedral stop. From there I was going to follow my Google maps to my CouchSurfing destination. Once on the crowded bus I realized there was no way of knowing what stop was the Cathedral stop. I asked a lady but she said she didn’t know. I chanced it and got off when a lot of other backpack carrying people disembarked the bus. Turns out I got off at the correct place but then proceeded to walk in the opposite direction of where I needed to go. I made a three-minute trip take 45 minutes because I was attempting to follow a map that had the wrong destination. My Google map had Calle San Gregorio ALTA when I needed Calle San Gregorio BAJO. Big difference. I had to call Joaquin (the person who’s couch I was staying on for two days) to get directions. I couldn’t understand everything he told me so I just went with my gut instincts and eventually found him sitting outside at a café with some friends.
I was a little overwhelmed once I put my things down and sat with Joaquin’s friends for a drink. I was so use to be prepared and knowing exactly where I was and I had already gotten lost and I had only been in Granada for an hour. Turns out I couldn’t have prepared for the unfortunate circumstance that occurred next. So Joaquin’s roommate, who was out of town that weekend, agreed to let this guy and his traveling companion he knew sleep on their couch because their car had just broken down in Granada and they needed a place to stay. Too bad Joaquin’s roommate didn’t know that the couch was reserved for me. Hmmm, what to do? It gets better, Joaquin only had one set of spare keys and he gave them to the stranded couple leaving me with no keys. Also since Joaquin wasn’t going to be around until later Sunday night I had to give my set of keys to the next person who was planning on CouchSurfing with Joaquin. Joaquin gave the American boy who was suppose to take my place my cell number so that he would call when he was there and I would give him the keys. Joaquin promised to make a copy of the keys and get them to me by nighttime. It wasn’t really that big of a deal except that I had no map of Granada and wasn’t wearing enough layers so after four hours of exploring I was cold and wanted to get warm but couldn’t. I didn’t want to walk too far away from the apartment for fear that I wouldn’t know how to get back so I walked the same loop of streets four times scoping out the best (and warmest) place to eat an early dinner since I just wanted to be warm. I settled on a semi-deserted sit-down Kebob restaurant. I ordered a kebob and apple tea (so good). It did the trick and warmed me right up. I ordered another tea just to prolong my departure. The waiter made small talk with me and asked why I was eating alone and if I was a student. I guess eating solo isn’t that popular here.
I finally received a text from Joaquin saying he had keys for me, thank god. I dashed home and parked myself in front of the heater. Joaquin gave me a tour of the house and explained me the shower situation. I had the option of taking a cold shower with great water pressure OR a hot shower with a trickle of water coming out of the showerhead. What to do?!?! After the tour he explained to me that he was going to sleep at his girlfriend’s house and then leave for the day for his concert (he’s a Clarinet player who is employed by the Junta to travel Andalucía and perform at schools for only 3 months of the year). He told me that I was going to sleep in his bed while the other two travelers would have the couch and the other room. So now I was alone in a strangers house, in a foreign city with no map, with more strangers. Interesting…. I’m pretty sure this might top most people’s first CouchSurfing experience.
After Joaquin departed I was left with the two German’s: Ed and Sylvia. They had met only a week before through CarSurfing (yeah that’s right, apparently there’s a website for people looking for rides and operates just like CouchSurfing). What was suppose to be a four day trip from Germany to Morocco turned into an almost two-week journey with uncalled-for stops due to her car breaking down. So it was a flat of strangers. Ed and Sylvia were significantly older than me and each had an interesting story behind why they were in Granada. Okay first Sylvia: She is a single, over 40 year old, occupational therapist (what are the odds?!?!) who quit her job in Heidelberg to move to Morocco to help out a family who had a son in need of a private occupational therapist. Even though she speaks four languages (German, English, French, and Spanish) she needs to learn Arabic in order to communicate with the family. She enjoys belly dancing, Muslim culture, and chocolate. Throughout my two and a half days with her I saw her consume a huge piece of chocolate cake, chocolate croissant, chocolate milk at every breakfast, and a chocolate crepe for breakfast. She puts me to shame. She is independent like me, but is very self-centered and a little inconsiderate at times.
Onto Ed: he is a single, almost 40 year old, converted hippie with a daughter he isn’t allowed to see, and hates all women (direct quote). He was very critical of everything and bitter. He seemed to have a negative stereotype about almost every group of people and had very specific opinions about things. He also didn’t tolerate stupidity and smoked way to much marijuana (I had to leave the apartment just to escape the smell and one time I got a terrible headache because of it). He quit his job as an engineer a few years back in order to follow his passion to own a mobile home and offer excursions to the Moroccan desert that no tour book could offer. His only problem is he believes his product should self itself and therefore doesn’t think he needs to advertise it. Not to mention he isn’t the best sales person. He currently lives in a cave about 40 minutes outside of Granada city. He intimidated me even though I was taller and bigger than him. I was afraid of making him angry so I tried to agree with most of what he said or I would politely suggest an alternative way of looking at something. I also played the role of mediator between the two Germans. Something was going on between them that I wasn’t told about until (thankfully) I had to leave.
On Saturday Ed left in the morning to get a coffee (without the keys). I left a note saying I would be back at 2pm and that maybe we could go to this city of caves that Ed had told the two of us about later that day. Sylvia was still sleeping so I figured she would let him in when he returned. That morning I explored the Cathedral, Capilla Real, and the surrounding neighborhood. I discovered this winding group of streets full of venders selling pottery, Moroccan goods like scarf’s and jewelry, and a spice center. There were these long tables full of every spice imaginable. It was pretty cool. Street, I found a lovely park and sat there for a while trying to get warm from the suns rays. I realized it was almost 2pm so I returned home to meet the Germans. When I returned to the apartment at 2pm nobody was home. It wasn’t until 3:15pm that I heard the buzzer of the apartment go off. I buzzed the person in and opened the door. It was Ed. He told me that he had been locked out of the apartment all day long and has been wandering the streets in the cold. He saw my note and was thankful that at least I explained myself. He said that “the princess (Sylvia) had taken off with the keys without telling him where she was or when she would be coming back.” He was fuming mad at her and this just escalated throughout the rest of the day. I mentioned that I hadn’t eaten and was going to get lunch but then he insisted on cooking lunch instead.
I was expecting the food to be ready in 30 minutes, oh no it took two hours to cook. I was starving. While the food cooked I was suckered into listening to the band Triana. Ed insisted I watch this compilation movie about the band. It was pretty boring and I wasn’t that interested so I excused myself to go to the bathroom and then went to my room. I felt trapped: I couldn’t leave because then Ed would HATE me and this would recreate a very hostile environment for the rest of my time in the apartment. Not to mention I was on his good side so I didn’t want to anger him now. Well I went back into the kitchen to try and talk to him because I had nothing else to do. Somehow we got on the topic of religion and I know this is silly but I was afraid to tell him I was Jewish. I tried to avoid telling him what I believed in so when he asked if I wanted to see this amazing movie about religion I just said yes because I didn’t know what else to do. It was horrible! It was this documentary movie that I’m sure only 10 people have probably ever seen and it was all about how religion is complete crap. It went on and ON about how everything people believe in can be explained by astrology and so forth. I wanted to shoot myself. I couldn’t leave this time because he was behind me watching. SO UNCOMFORTABLE…. My saving grace occurred when Sylvia came home and sat down behind me to watch. This made Ed leave and then I was free to “write in my diary” aka do ANYTHING to appear busy.
The food was FINALLY ready so I sat down to eat and Sylvia joined us without invitation. I think that got Ed even more upset because he barely ate anything. I tried to mediate and strike up a conversation with Sylvia about what she did during the day. I mentioned that I hadn’t been to Sacromonte yet and Ed asked if I wanted to go right now. Well, I wanted to go tomorrow to see if during the morning light but I agreed because I didn’t want to tell him no. He gave me exactly 2 minutes to get ready before he was out the door. Geez, what did I do to deserve this? Sylvia came with us as well. Once outside, Ed just took off with Sylvia about three paces behind him and me another five paces behind her. I’m sorry but I wanted to EXPLORE Sacromonte, not jet through it like I was on a race. I dallied just enough to take the pictures I wanted and to see where the two went from the corner of my eye. The other problem was Ed was leading us up some off the beaten path streets so it would have been impossible for me to find my way home so I had to stay with them. We quite quickly made our way up the steep hills of Sacromonte just in time to see the sun set across the Granada city. It was a very impressive view and I was proud of myself that I made it up there without falling and without huffing and puffing. I was wearing boots with no traction so going back down the hill/mountain in the dirt and dark was a difficult task.
Once we got back down to the Albayzin area Ed took us to the Archaeology Museum. How appropriate for an Anthro major. After the museum we stopped into another tourist location for a few minutes and then decided to get a drink and food. I told Ed that my only criterion was a place with chairs so I could sit. I’m okay with walking, I just can’t stand up in one place any longer. That proved to be quite the obstacle because almost all of the tapas bars are stand up only. You would have to eat at a restaurant to find a chair and Ed didn’t want to “overpay for food that wasn’t very good and had poor service to accompany the poor food”. Right, standing it is. Well we found a place but Sylvia wanted a place with crepes so begrudgingly we continued looking for a place. We realized that no such place existed so we headed back home. When we got home the two Germans had an argument in German and Ed stormed out. Oy vey! I ended up spending the rest of the night inside with Sylvia just talking about her travels, life, and traveling alone. It was nice to have someone to talk to, but I only wished it were someone my age. At the end of the night we agreed to wake up early and walk together to the Alhambra to get tickets.
We got up at 7am and made it to the Alhambra in the freezing cold by 8am even thought the ticket agency doesn’t open until 8:30am. Well by the time we got there, there was already a decent line of people waiting for tickets. Some people had camped out with beach chairs haha. While we waited I was pretty sure we could have gotten tickets a lot faster by standing in the credit card line by Sylvia insisted the line was only for people who had a reservation. I didn’t say anything but I after seeing people get out of our line and come back to find their friends with tickets in hand, I was fairly certain that she was incorrect. After an hour and half in line we finally got tickets. I decided to tour the free parts of the Alhambra and explore the museum (in doors thank god) while I waited for my time to enter the Alhambra. Each ticket has a specific time that you are allowed to enter certain parts o the Alhambra so you have to wait your turn. They don’t make it easy to find the entrances. The only reason I found it was because Sylvia knew where to go because she was here the day before. If you ever decide to go to Granada you have to see the Alhambra, just make sure you get your tickets at least a month in advance to make sure you get to see it on the day and time you prefer. I made the mistake of waiting to long and paid the price in numbness and time.
After the Alhambra it was time to depart the apartment and head over to my hostel, only 2 minutes away and right around the corner from Joaquin’s flat. I was so excited to get of there I couldn’t wait to leave. The German drama was just to much for me and I hated being stuck in the middle of it. I was also ready for a REAL HOT shower and to meet people my age. After checking in, I received a text from Sylvia asking if I could come and lock up the apartment since she wanted to leave and she gave the keys to Ed. Sigh, you try to leave and they suck you back in. If the hostel wasn’t so close I would have ignored the text but it was so I went over. I locked up the place and said goodbye (again) to Sylvia. I returned to the hostel and found this book on European destinations so I started reading and taking notes on destinations in Spain and the cities I was planning on visiting for winter break. Suddenly someone tapped me on the shoulder. This guy informed me that I was reading his book. Oops. He told me that I could keep reading it but that when I was done could I leave it at the reception for him because he had to go on this tour. After two hours of reading I was finally finished with the book. All of a sudden I had a movie moment: I could leave the book at the reception with my name and number, wait for him to call, answer the call, meet him for tapas, spend the whole night talking, realize we are soul mates, fall in love, and live happily ever after…
Reality set in and I left the book at reception without my name and number. Next I decided to take a much-needed shower. It was heavenly. I haven’t had a HOT shower since my last hostel in Lagos, Portugal. I was able to shave and not worry about taking a quick shower in order to save money. I took my time to dry my hair, style it, put on makeup, and look presentable (finally). After I was all ready for the night I receive another text from Sylvia asking to lock the door again and if I want to join her for dinner. I decided to go to dinner with her because I liked the company and the tapas tour wasn’t for another three hours so I had time to kill. We ate at the cheap kebob place again (I think the whole staff knew me at this point) and during dinner Joaquin called me and asked where I was. He met me at the Kebob place and asked for my keys. At this point I gave them to Sylvia and told her to give them to the new Surfer since he never contacted me and I was officially not responsible for this drama anymore. Well, Joaquin now needed the keys to give to the guy but Sylvia didn’t want to give them up because then she didn’t have any keys and wouldn’t be able to get into the flat. I understand her concern but at the same time Joaquin made some good points in that he wasn’t responsible for them, they were guest in his flat and he had already promised someone else the keys so that was his priority. Sylvia and Ed should have left by now and were overstaying there welcome and Joaquin wanted to sleep in his own bed for a change. More drama….I just sat there in silence eating my kebob. This was not my fight. It didn’t help that Ed had taken off for the whole day with the other set of keys and hadn’t told anyone where he went or when he was coming back (sounds familiar). On top of this Sylvia was to afraid to call or text him about her problem because she was afraid of angering him more. There’s a lot more to their story but its really none of my business to share and plus it would take up more about three more pages. (I’ve already been at this for three hours…).
Somehow Sylvia had convinced Joaquin to let her keep the keys until after dinner. At this point she asked me if there was any availability at my hostel. OH HELL NO. I really didn’t want her to stay at the same hostel because then she would be around me the whole time and then I wouldn’t be able to meet people my age. I said I would show her m hostel but the chances of her getting a room were slim since it was a popular hostel and this was a holiday weekend. Sure enough the hostel was all booked (thank god!). I told her good luck and said goodbye (again!—for the last time). After she left I hung out in my room until it was time for the tapas tour. I went down early to meet people in the lobby. I met this one girl from Australia who didn’t end up going on the tour but I talked to her for a while. She was very soft spoken so I had a hard time hearing what she was saying so sometimes I just nodded and pretended like I heard her. About ten minutes before the tour started the guy who owned the travel book I was reading sat down next to me. I thanked him again for letting me read the book and asked if he got it from the front desk. From that point on we talked non-stop for the next 4 hours. I can’t explain how good it felt to have a normal conversation with someone. I didn’t have to pause between each sentence, I could answer his questions with more than “yes” or “no”, I was able to tell my own stories, and little things like that. I was able to show my personality for once. It was the highlight on my trip, hands down.
To be honest I could have talked to anyone, but the guy, Ryan, was really nice and really interesting. He was from Florida and just finished a month of “wwoofing” in Ireland. WWOOFING stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms or as an article I recently read referred to it as “willing work on an organic farm”. It’s a pretty cool organization, check it out if you like: wwoof.org. He was thankful for the experience but he wouldn’t do it again because it rained almost every day. His stories and experiences made me contemplate wwoofing after my Spain journey is done. However, I would like to look into wwoofing in the USA instead of abroad. The tapas tour consisted of three bars where we were supposed to get one drink at each place. The first bar was a wine and cheese place. When the group of Americans entered I think we overwhelmed the waiter for he was a little frantic trying to get everyone the drink they asked for. However, we didn’t receive a free tapa with our drink—not sure why they brought us to this place then? After that place we went to the next bar. This place looked more like a typical tapas bar. It was louder, had great music playing, and could handle a lot of people. I got a traditional tapa at this place because I wasn’t that hungry (the kebob was more filling than I expected). We stayed here a lot longer, I would say at least an hour. After a while we noticed that almost everyone in our group had left except for Ryan’s travel companion Adam (from DC, woot woot!) and the girl he was talking to. We decided to leave with them. Our host asked why we were leaving and made up some excuse that we were hired. He began to give us the typical speech that I’ve now heard a good twenty times since coming to Spain: “you guys are young, you shouldn’t be tired, its only 1am. In Spain the night life doesn’t start until 1am….” blah blah I’ve heard it all before”. Despite his efforts we still decided to head back. The girl whose name I never got was telling me how she expected to get more food on this tour and was still hungry. I mentioned that I knew of a really god tapas place that was very close to our hostel that we could try. Everyone was onboard so we headed there. The girl ordered humus and a vegetable platter without ordering a drink (very unusual in Spain. Why wouldn’t you want a drink?) Side note, every time I go to a tutor session the parents always offer me something to drink and every time I say no thank you I’m okay and every time they react as if they’ve never had someone refuse a drink before. They eat dinner at 10pm and yet I’m the weird one for not excepting a drink. Well halfway through the tapa I see our original host. He comes over and asks what happened to going to bed? It turned out that this was the next tapas bar on the tour. What are the odds??? Accidentally we ended up being the only people to complete the tapas tour haha.
I was hoping that to see Ryan and Adam the next day and hang out with them more but Ryan informed me that this was there last night here and they were waking up early to try and get Alhambra tickets so I probably wouldn’t see them in the morning :( I just spent my whole night getting to know him and now I had to start from scratch with someone else, ugh. Whatever, I wouldn’t trade the night for anything because I had a lot of fun and was so happy that I got to talk like a normal person. I kind of forgot what it was like to speak at a normal speed and use anecdotes, sarcasm, whit, and movie quotes. Oh goodness . I said goodnight and goodbye to everyone and went to my room. It was pitch black, the light switch was on the opposite side of the room and everyone was asleep in my room (7 beds of girls all of whom were asleep and it was only 2:30am. Now who’s the lame one???). So I got undressed and ready for bed by the light of my cell phone, not easy by the way. I found out the next morning that the other girl didn’t even bother changing, she just went straight to bed haha.
The next morning I had a good breakfast and was on my way for my Arabian bath and massage. That’s right, I made a reservation for a massage. Something I probably wouldn’t have done if I were traveling with a group. I get there a little early and sign in. My appointment was the first of the day (10am). They had a card with instruction for me in English so I wouldn’t do anything wrong. I changed into my bathing suite and headed for the bath room (a room full of 7 different baths, not a bathroom). Six of the pools were filled with warm water at different temperatures and one pool was full of very cold water. They said you should spent 7-10 minutes in a warm pool then 2-3 minutes in a cold pool. I tried that approach but after re-entering the warm pool my extremities felt this sharp numb feeling (my parents think it was hyperthermia). I didn’t like the feeling so I remained in the warm pools, plus Granada was the coldest temperatures that I’ve experienced so far in Spain so I was perfectly okay with spending all of my time in a hot bath. It was a really cool experience and one I’m glad I did on my own. All the masseuses would shush people it they started talking so it really was meant for full relaxation. When my number was called the lady asked if I wanted a leg or back massage. I opted for a back massage naturally. My back had been hurting lately because I haven’t been sleeping well and I’m hunched over a lot because I’m cold all the time. The massage felt amazing. I didn’t want it to end but sadly it had too. After the massage I had to rinse off the oil but then was allowed to finish the rest of my session in the baths (I technically had paid for an hour session). Well as you all probably know from the reoccurring theme that is Spanish way of life, nobody really cared how long you stayed in the bath. Nobody was pushing people out the door at 11am on the dot. I’m fairly certain that I could have remained in the bath all day and nobody would have noticed. It is so different from America. I started to get nervous that I wouldn’t know what time to leave since I took off my watch and there wasn’t a clock but I looked around and saw all the people that had entered the bath at the same time as me and they looked like they weren’t going anywhere for a long time haha. I decided to embrace my Spanish time and not worry about it. I’ll leave when I’m good and ready.
Finally, after some time I felt bad that I was overdoing my stay, so I got out of the bath (worst idea haha). When I changed and finally left the Aljibe de San Miguel it was 11:45am hehehehe. On the way back to my hostel I decided to do some shopping and bought some gifts for people. Once I got back to the hostel I was so tired. The bath really took it out of me. I felt a little light headed and very sleepy so I took a nap for a little. I met a few people in my room who were studying abroad in Madrid when I woke up. They were nice but they left that night so I never got the chance to exchange full names and numbers. After my nap I felt better so I showered and packed my bag for this was my last full day in Granada. I realized that I spent more money on gifts than I had anticipated so I needed to take out some money in order to pay Miguel for gas for my ride home. I headed off to Santander ATM just down the road from my hostel. I had to wait because this woman was already at the machine. She was taking her sweet time too. She got a phone call and started talking instead of finishing up at the machine. Come on now. Then a friend came up to her and they started chatting. Are you kidding me??? After what felt like a half and hour the lady finally finished. Good grief. I put my card, typed my pin and I get a message that says the ATM is not functioning at the moment. WTF?? I wanted to scream. Luckily the road I was on was lined with banks so I just tried the next ATM, CajaSol (a very popular bank in Spain as well). Got the same message. You know every time I about to concede to the Spanish way of life and embrace it fully little things like this happen and it aggravates the hell out of me. Nothing ever works for me in Spain. I make one more attempt at the next bank, Caixa (another popular bank in Spain). It works (finally) but charges me a fee. Obviously it wouldn’t be a successful transaction without taking more money from me. What if my card doesn’t work while I’m on vacation in Europe and it’s a real emergency? It kills me that my card is so unreliable and there isn’t anything I can do about it. EEEEEERrrrrrrrr.
I had some more down time so hit up the Internet and tried to make conversation with people but there wasn’t anyone around really. I forget what I did to pass the time but once it was an hour before the family dinner at the hostel I made my way down to the kitchen. I was lucky to come when I did because seating was limited and I grabbed one of the last available chairs. It was a shame though, because I wanted to take a picture of the HUMUNGOUS frying pan but couldn’t risk losing my seat. I had never seen a pan that large before, it was awesome. For dinner we were served vegetable soup in large cups and then couscous with chicken. The host plopped the first plate of couscous on the table in front of the four of us. We all looked at each other and didn’t know if the plate was for one person or was communal. The serving of food was large enough to feed at least four people, no joke. When the host plopped the second plate down he pushed the plates directly at people so we realized that each plate was for one person. Good lord is was a lot of food. It was good but way too much. Once people were reaching their limit of how much food they could consume they would look around as if they didn’t know what to do. Nobody wanted to waste the food by throwing it away but at the same time nobody could finish his or her plate. We also didn’t want to be rude by throwing away the food because it was good but it wasn’t possible to save it. Well, I decided to be the guinea pig. What did I have to lose; I didn’t know anyone in the room. I felt everyone’s eyes on me as I approached the trash bin. Once I started dumping my food a few people joined me. One guy thanked me for starting the trend; he didn’t want to be the first to throw away food. After dinner I talked to some more people at the bar where I had my free complimentary drink for choosing the Oasis Backpackers Hostel. After some time I decided to call it a night so I headed off to bed.
I woke up as late as I possibly could before I had to check out. After checking out I put my luggage in storage, ate breakfast, checked my email, and then decided to get lost one more time in Granada. In five days I managed to get lost everyday in Granada with and without a map. That’s impressive if you ask me hehe. Throughout this trip I realized how important it is to have a book, especially when you’re traveling alone. Well this was a huge issue for me because I finished my one and only English book about a week ago so all I had was my Spanish books. I don’t have a problem reading a book in Spanish but it takes up more space because I have to also bring a dictionary and my journal to remember the words I look up. That’s why it’s just easier to have an English book. I was sure that Granada would have an English bookstore being a popular college town, but alas I found none. I searched all over throughout the trip for SOMETHING; ANYHTHING to read but always came up short. I ended up reading my tour book from cover to cover. It was interesting but I just wanted to read a story, not facts or information. My last trip around Granada I saw out of the corner of my eye an English word on a magazine. I get closer and sure enough I found a Vogue in English. Hallelujah!!!!!!! It turned out that the magazine cost 7.20 Euros. SEVEN TWENTY FOR A MAGAZINE!!! That’s the equivalent of approximately $14 for a 200-page magazine. It wasn’t even a special issue of anything. Also in America it was only $4. Sigh, I was desperate so I bought it. Damn you Euro.
I decided to eat a big lunch so I wouldn’t need to eat anything on the way home to Valverde. I ate a really good chicken lunch at a nice restaurant. Yeah I splurged again but hey, this was my vacation. After I finished my lunch I asked for the check and prepared to leave. The waiter brought over the check and a purple/pink colored drink. Interesting…I smelled it first and I’m not kidding, it smelled like perfume: a very strong, floral perfume. I was little afraid to try it but I did. It was so sweet and tasted like it smelled. I have no idea what they brought me but I wouldn’t want it again. It caught me completely off guard. Normally I’ll finish anything but this perfume drink, whatever it was was just too much for me. I went back to the hostel for the last time to retrieve my luggage and say goodbye to the gracious staff. I took the bus to the train station and went to the kiosk to purchase my ticket to Jaen. Sure enough the bus I was hoping to take was booked so the only option was the next bus, an hour later. I started freaking out because I wasn’t sure if this would be a problem for Miguel. I texted him and didn’t get a response. I started thinking that I needed a back up plan so I looked at buses to Seville instead. There was one bus leaving at the same time as the Jaen bus but there were only two seats left so I had to act fast. I texted my roommate Elisa and asked if she was still in Seville but she texted back that she was leaving right now. CRAP!! I was afraid to talk to Miguel on the phone because I wasn’t sure if he would understand me but I was desperate and had to make a decision quickly. So I called him and told him my problem. He answers “no pasa nada. Esta bien.” Translated: “not a problem at all. Relax, its fine. I’ll see you at 6 then.” Sigh, what a relief. I forget that people aren’t run by schedules here and that change of plans is part of normal life. With the go-ahead from Miguel I purchased the ticket, found a bench, and read my magazine.
I read every line of text possible in that magazine. I read the text in the advertisements, the fine print on photographs, the editor’s letter, and much more. No word escaped my eyes. I made that magazine last as long as possible. I arrived in Jaen at exactly 6pm and saw Miguel pull up at exactly the same time. Perfect timing. He drove through Jaen a little so I could see his home time. It was similar to Huelva in that its smaller and not as esthetically pretty but it’s a city and is has more to offer than some places. From Jaen we had a non-stop trip straight to Valverde. It only took us a little over three hours to get home. We spent most of the time talking and singing to the music on the radio. He would sing the Spanish songs and I would sing the English songs. It was great. With about 45 minutes left in the ride Miguel switched the station to a sports station so that he could listen to the champions league game that Real Madrid was playing in. He’s a dedicated fan. We arrive home at exactly half time but were delayed because Miguel didn’t have the right key to his flat so he had to wait for the landlord to come over and open the door for him. I had to walk home from his place (not a problem) but I was sweaty and tired by the time I got in the door. I was hoping to catch the end of the game but Elisa was home and watching something with Pablo. This was the first time Elisa was home before me. Shocking.
So that was Granada. All of my pictures are scenic because I forgot to take pictures when I was with people (because I was sooo engrossed with having a conversation hehe). I think I covered everything important. I’m exhausted. I now have a week and three days before winter break! I’m slightly tired of traveling but I need to buck up because I’ll be gone for 15 consecutive days. Oh lord I have no idea how to pack for this trip> I do know that I need to make a quick shopping trip to Huelva for a few essential winter clothes to add to my wardrobe. For instance, a thick wool scarf, a warm sweater that covers my behind, and another pair of leather boots. I have exactly 5 days to find all of these things. I think I can do it, I just hope they aren’t too expensive.
[Sorry for the lack of spell/grammar check but it took me half a day to write this and I’m just to tired to go back and read it all. It is what it is. Pictures to fallow shortly.]
I set off on Friday bright and early to catch the direct bus from Valverde to Seville at 7:45am. This bus trip was an hour and a half exactly and was cheaper than going from Valverde-Huelva, Huelva-Seville. I had to walk to the other bus station in Seville to catch my bus to Granada. I had looked it up before hand and figured it would only take me 12 minutes to get there. Well I was wrong, it took me a half an hour but that’s because I got lost and retraced my steps several times. The station is a little hard to find because of the lack of signage and the placement of the actual station. Once I got there I got in line at Alsa and asked for my ticket. I had purchased the ticket online but didn’t have a printer so I chose the option of getting my ticket at the station. Well the lady told me just to go to the gate for my bus and buy it there. I was skeptical of this and it made me uneasy seeing everyone else around me with a hard copy of a ticket. How was I supposed to get my ticket inside the bus? When it was time to board everyone crammed the door and somehow I slipped inside the bus and when I told the bus driver I had a reservation he gave me that look like “what are you talking about?” I noticed my name on his sheet and pointed, “That’s me!” He grunted and let me on. Phewww. I was anxious that it wasn’t going to work but it did in the end.
The bus from Seville to Granada took three hours on the dot. I arrived at 2:00pm and followed the instructions I was given to take the 33 Bus from the station to the city center and get off at the Cathedral stop. From there I was going to follow my Google maps to my CouchSurfing destination. Once on the crowded bus I realized there was no way of knowing what stop was the Cathedral stop. I asked a lady but she said she didn’t know. I chanced it and got off when a lot of other backpack carrying people disembarked the bus. Turns out I got off at the correct place but then proceeded to walk in the opposite direction of where I needed to go. I made a three-minute trip take 45 minutes because I was attempting to follow a map that had the wrong destination. My Google map had Calle San Gregorio ALTA when I needed Calle San Gregorio BAJO. Big difference. I had to call Joaquin (the person who’s couch I was staying on for two days) to get directions. I couldn’t understand everything he told me so I just went with my gut instincts and eventually found him sitting outside at a café with some friends.
I was a little overwhelmed once I put my things down and sat with Joaquin’s friends for a drink. I was so use to be prepared and knowing exactly where I was and I had already gotten lost and I had only been in Granada for an hour. Turns out I couldn’t have prepared for the unfortunate circumstance that occurred next. So Joaquin’s roommate, who was out of town that weekend, agreed to let this guy and his traveling companion he knew sleep on their couch because their car had just broken down in Granada and they needed a place to stay. Too bad Joaquin’s roommate didn’t know that the couch was reserved for me. Hmmm, what to do? It gets better, Joaquin only had one set of spare keys and he gave them to the stranded couple leaving me with no keys. Also since Joaquin wasn’t going to be around until later Sunday night I had to give my set of keys to the next person who was planning on CouchSurfing with Joaquin. Joaquin gave the American boy who was suppose to take my place my cell number so that he would call when he was there and I would give him the keys. Joaquin promised to make a copy of the keys and get them to me by nighttime. It wasn’t really that big of a deal except that I had no map of Granada and wasn’t wearing enough layers so after four hours of exploring I was cold and wanted to get warm but couldn’t. I didn’t want to walk too far away from the apartment for fear that I wouldn’t know how to get back so I walked the same loop of streets four times scoping out the best (and warmest) place to eat an early dinner since I just wanted to be warm. I settled on a semi-deserted sit-down Kebob restaurant. I ordered a kebob and apple tea (so good). It did the trick and warmed me right up. I ordered another tea just to prolong my departure. The waiter made small talk with me and asked why I was eating alone and if I was a student. I guess eating solo isn’t that popular here.
I finally received a text from Joaquin saying he had keys for me, thank god. I dashed home and parked myself in front of the heater. Joaquin gave me a tour of the house and explained me the shower situation. I had the option of taking a cold shower with great water pressure OR a hot shower with a trickle of water coming out of the showerhead. What to do?!?! After the tour he explained to me that he was going to sleep at his girlfriend’s house and then leave for the day for his concert (he’s a Clarinet player who is employed by the Junta to travel Andalucía and perform at schools for only 3 months of the year). He told me that I was going to sleep in his bed while the other two travelers would have the couch and the other room. So now I was alone in a strangers house, in a foreign city with no map, with more strangers. Interesting…. I’m pretty sure this might top most people’s first CouchSurfing experience.
After Joaquin departed I was left with the two German’s: Ed and Sylvia. They had met only a week before through CarSurfing (yeah that’s right, apparently there’s a website for people looking for rides and operates just like CouchSurfing). What was suppose to be a four day trip from Germany to Morocco turned into an almost two-week journey with uncalled-for stops due to her car breaking down. So it was a flat of strangers. Ed and Sylvia were significantly older than me and each had an interesting story behind why they were in Granada. Okay first Sylvia: She is a single, over 40 year old, occupational therapist (what are the odds?!?!) who quit her job in Heidelberg to move to Morocco to help out a family who had a son in need of a private occupational therapist. Even though she speaks four languages (German, English, French, and Spanish) she needs to learn Arabic in order to communicate with the family. She enjoys belly dancing, Muslim culture, and chocolate. Throughout my two and a half days with her I saw her consume a huge piece of chocolate cake, chocolate croissant, chocolate milk at every breakfast, and a chocolate crepe for breakfast. She puts me to shame. She is independent like me, but is very self-centered and a little inconsiderate at times.
Onto Ed: he is a single, almost 40 year old, converted hippie with a daughter he isn’t allowed to see, and hates all women (direct quote). He was very critical of everything and bitter. He seemed to have a negative stereotype about almost every group of people and had very specific opinions about things. He also didn’t tolerate stupidity and smoked way to much marijuana (I had to leave the apartment just to escape the smell and one time I got a terrible headache because of it). He quit his job as an engineer a few years back in order to follow his passion to own a mobile home and offer excursions to the Moroccan desert that no tour book could offer. His only problem is he believes his product should self itself and therefore doesn’t think he needs to advertise it. Not to mention he isn’t the best sales person. He currently lives in a cave about 40 minutes outside of Granada city. He intimidated me even though I was taller and bigger than him. I was afraid of making him angry so I tried to agree with most of what he said or I would politely suggest an alternative way of looking at something. I also played the role of mediator between the two Germans. Something was going on between them that I wasn’t told about until (thankfully) I had to leave.
On Saturday Ed left in the morning to get a coffee (without the keys). I left a note saying I would be back at 2pm and that maybe we could go to this city of caves that Ed had told the two of us about later that day. Sylvia was still sleeping so I figured she would let him in when he returned. That morning I explored the Cathedral, Capilla Real, and the surrounding neighborhood. I discovered this winding group of streets full of venders selling pottery, Moroccan goods like scarf’s and jewelry, and a spice center. There were these long tables full of every spice imaginable. It was pretty cool. Street, I found a lovely park and sat there for a while trying to get warm from the suns rays. I realized it was almost 2pm so I returned home to meet the Germans. When I returned to the apartment at 2pm nobody was home. It wasn’t until 3:15pm that I heard the buzzer of the apartment go off. I buzzed the person in and opened the door. It was Ed. He told me that he had been locked out of the apartment all day long and has been wandering the streets in the cold. He saw my note and was thankful that at least I explained myself. He said that “the princess (Sylvia) had taken off with the keys without telling him where she was or when she would be coming back.” He was fuming mad at her and this just escalated throughout the rest of the day. I mentioned that I hadn’t eaten and was going to get lunch but then he insisted on cooking lunch instead.
I was expecting the food to be ready in 30 minutes, oh no it took two hours to cook. I was starving. While the food cooked I was suckered into listening to the band Triana. Ed insisted I watch this compilation movie about the band. It was pretty boring and I wasn’t that interested so I excused myself to go to the bathroom and then went to my room. I felt trapped: I couldn’t leave because then Ed would HATE me and this would recreate a very hostile environment for the rest of my time in the apartment. Not to mention I was on his good side so I didn’t want to anger him now. Well I went back into the kitchen to try and talk to him because I had nothing else to do. Somehow we got on the topic of religion and I know this is silly but I was afraid to tell him I was Jewish. I tried to avoid telling him what I believed in so when he asked if I wanted to see this amazing movie about religion I just said yes because I didn’t know what else to do. It was horrible! It was this documentary movie that I’m sure only 10 people have probably ever seen and it was all about how religion is complete crap. It went on and ON about how everything people believe in can be explained by astrology and so forth. I wanted to shoot myself. I couldn’t leave this time because he was behind me watching. SO UNCOMFORTABLE…. My saving grace occurred when Sylvia came home and sat down behind me to watch. This made Ed leave and then I was free to “write in my diary” aka do ANYTHING to appear busy.
The food was FINALLY ready so I sat down to eat and Sylvia joined us without invitation. I think that got Ed even more upset because he barely ate anything. I tried to mediate and strike up a conversation with Sylvia about what she did during the day. I mentioned that I hadn’t been to Sacromonte yet and Ed asked if I wanted to go right now. Well, I wanted to go tomorrow to see if during the morning light but I agreed because I didn’t want to tell him no. He gave me exactly 2 minutes to get ready before he was out the door. Geez, what did I do to deserve this? Sylvia came with us as well. Once outside, Ed just took off with Sylvia about three paces behind him and me another five paces behind her. I’m sorry but I wanted to EXPLORE Sacromonte, not jet through it like I was on a race. I dallied just enough to take the pictures I wanted and to see where the two went from the corner of my eye. The other problem was Ed was leading us up some off the beaten path streets so it would have been impossible for me to find my way home so I had to stay with them. We quite quickly made our way up the steep hills of Sacromonte just in time to see the sun set across the Granada city. It was a very impressive view and I was proud of myself that I made it up there without falling and without huffing and puffing. I was wearing boots with no traction so going back down the hill/mountain in the dirt and dark was a difficult task.
Once we got back down to the Albayzin area Ed took us to the Archaeology Museum. How appropriate for an Anthro major. After the museum we stopped into another tourist location for a few minutes and then decided to get a drink and food. I told Ed that my only criterion was a place with chairs so I could sit. I’m okay with walking, I just can’t stand up in one place any longer. That proved to be quite the obstacle because almost all of the tapas bars are stand up only. You would have to eat at a restaurant to find a chair and Ed didn’t want to “overpay for food that wasn’t very good and had poor service to accompany the poor food”. Right, standing it is. Well we found a place but Sylvia wanted a place with crepes so begrudgingly we continued looking for a place. We realized that no such place existed so we headed back home. When we got home the two Germans had an argument in German and Ed stormed out. Oy vey! I ended up spending the rest of the night inside with Sylvia just talking about her travels, life, and traveling alone. It was nice to have someone to talk to, but I only wished it were someone my age. At the end of the night we agreed to wake up early and walk together to the Alhambra to get tickets.
We got up at 7am and made it to the Alhambra in the freezing cold by 8am even thought the ticket agency doesn’t open until 8:30am. Well by the time we got there, there was already a decent line of people waiting for tickets. Some people had camped out with beach chairs haha. While we waited I was pretty sure we could have gotten tickets a lot faster by standing in the credit card line by Sylvia insisted the line was only for people who had a reservation. I didn’t say anything but I after seeing people get out of our line and come back to find their friends with tickets in hand, I was fairly certain that she was incorrect. After an hour and half in line we finally got tickets. I decided to tour the free parts of the Alhambra and explore the museum (in doors thank god) while I waited for my time to enter the Alhambra. Each ticket has a specific time that you are allowed to enter certain parts o the Alhambra so you have to wait your turn. They don’t make it easy to find the entrances. The only reason I found it was because Sylvia knew where to go because she was here the day before. If you ever decide to go to Granada you have to see the Alhambra, just make sure you get your tickets at least a month in advance to make sure you get to see it on the day and time you prefer. I made the mistake of waiting to long and paid the price in numbness and time.
After the Alhambra it was time to depart the apartment and head over to my hostel, only 2 minutes away and right around the corner from Joaquin’s flat. I was so excited to get of there I couldn’t wait to leave. The German drama was just to much for me and I hated being stuck in the middle of it. I was also ready for a REAL HOT shower and to meet people my age. After checking in, I received a text from Sylvia asking if I could come and lock up the apartment since she wanted to leave and she gave the keys to Ed. Sigh, you try to leave and they suck you back in. If the hostel wasn’t so close I would have ignored the text but it was so I went over. I locked up the place and said goodbye (again) to Sylvia. I returned to the hostel and found this book on European destinations so I started reading and taking notes on destinations in Spain and the cities I was planning on visiting for winter break. Suddenly someone tapped me on the shoulder. This guy informed me that I was reading his book. Oops. He told me that I could keep reading it but that when I was done could I leave it at the reception for him because he had to go on this tour. After two hours of reading I was finally finished with the book. All of a sudden I had a movie moment: I could leave the book at the reception with my name and number, wait for him to call, answer the call, meet him for tapas, spend the whole night talking, realize we are soul mates, fall in love, and live happily ever after…
Reality set in and I left the book at reception without my name and number. Next I decided to take a much-needed shower. It was heavenly. I haven’t had a HOT shower since my last hostel in Lagos, Portugal. I was able to shave and not worry about taking a quick shower in order to save money. I took my time to dry my hair, style it, put on makeup, and look presentable (finally). After I was all ready for the night I receive another text from Sylvia asking to lock the door again and if I want to join her for dinner. I decided to go to dinner with her because I liked the company and the tapas tour wasn’t for another three hours so I had time to kill. We ate at the cheap kebob place again (I think the whole staff knew me at this point) and during dinner Joaquin called me and asked where I was. He met me at the Kebob place and asked for my keys. At this point I gave them to Sylvia and told her to give them to the new Surfer since he never contacted me and I was officially not responsible for this drama anymore. Well, Joaquin now needed the keys to give to the guy but Sylvia didn’t want to give them up because then she didn’t have any keys and wouldn’t be able to get into the flat. I understand her concern but at the same time Joaquin made some good points in that he wasn’t responsible for them, they were guest in his flat and he had already promised someone else the keys so that was his priority. Sylvia and Ed should have left by now and were overstaying there welcome and Joaquin wanted to sleep in his own bed for a change. More drama….I just sat there in silence eating my kebob. This was not my fight. It didn’t help that Ed had taken off for the whole day with the other set of keys and hadn’t told anyone where he went or when he was coming back (sounds familiar). On top of this Sylvia was to afraid to call or text him about her problem because she was afraid of angering him more. There’s a lot more to their story but its really none of my business to share and plus it would take up more about three more pages. (I’ve already been at this for three hours…).
Somehow Sylvia had convinced Joaquin to let her keep the keys until after dinner. At this point she asked me if there was any availability at my hostel. OH HELL NO. I really didn’t want her to stay at the same hostel because then she would be around me the whole time and then I wouldn’t be able to meet people my age. I said I would show her m hostel but the chances of her getting a room were slim since it was a popular hostel and this was a holiday weekend. Sure enough the hostel was all booked (thank god!). I told her good luck and said goodbye (again!—for the last time). After she left I hung out in my room until it was time for the tapas tour. I went down early to meet people in the lobby. I met this one girl from Australia who didn’t end up going on the tour but I talked to her for a while. She was very soft spoken so I had a hard time hearing what she was saying so sometimes I just nodded and pretended like I heard her. About ten minutes before the tour started the guy who owned the travel book I was reading sat down next to me. I thanked him again for letting me read the book and asked if he got it from the front desk. From that point on we talked non-stop for the next 4 hours. I can’t explain how good it felt to have a normal conversation with someone. I didn’t have to pause between each sentence, I could answer his questions with more than “yes” or “no”, I was able to tell my own stories, and little things like that. I was able to show my personality for once. It was the highlight on my trip, hands down.
To be honest I could have talked to anyone, but the guy, Ryan, was really nice and really interesting. He was from Florida and just finished a month of “wwoofing” in Ireland. WWOOFING stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms or as an article I recently read referred to it as “willing work on an organic farm”. It’s a pretty cool organization, check it out if you like: wwoof.org. He was thankful for the experience but he wouldn’t do it again because it rained almost every day. His stories and experiences made me contemplate wwoofing after my Spain journey is done. However, I would like to look into wwoofing in the USA instead of abroad. The tapas tour consisted of three bars where we were supposed to get one drink at each place. The first bar was a wine and cheese place. When the group of Americans entered I think we overwhelmed the waiter for he was a little frantic trying to get everyone the drink they asked for. However, we didn’t receive a free tapa with our drink—not sure why they brought us to this place then? After that place we went to the next bar. This place looked more like a typical tapas bar. It was louder, had great music playing, and could handle a lot of people. I got a traditional tapa at this place because I wasn’t that hungry (the kebob was more filling than I expected). We stayed here a lot longer, I would say at least an hour. After a while we noticed that almost everyone in our group had left except for Ryan’s travel companion Adam (from DC, woot woot!) and the girl he was talking to. We decided to leave with them. Our host asked why we were leaving and made up some excuse that we were hired. He began to give us the typical speech that I’ve now heard a good twenty times since coming to Spain: “you guys are young, you shouldn’t be tired, its only 1am. In Spain the night life doesn’t start until 1am….” blah blah I’ve heard it all before”. Despite his efforts we still decided to head back. The girl whose name I never got was telling me how she expected to get more food on this tour and was still hungry. I mentioned that I knew of a really god tapas place that was very close to our hostel that we could try. Everyone was onboard so we headed there. The girl ordered humus and a vegetable platter without ordering a drink (very unusual in Spain. Why wouldn’t you want a drink?) Side note, every time I go to a tutor session the parents always offer me something to drink and every time I say no thank you I’m okay and every time they react as if they’ve never had someone refuse a drink before. They eat dinner at 10pm and yet I’m the weird one for not excepting a drink. Well halfway through the tapa I see our original host. He comes over and asks what happened to going to bed? It turned out that this was the next tapas bar on the tour. What are the odds??? Accidentally we ended up being the only people to complete the tapas tour haha.
I was hoping that to see Ryan and Adam the next day and hang out with them more but Ryan informed me that this was there last night here and they were waking up early to try and get Alhambra tickets so I probably wouldn’t see them in the morning :( I just spent my whole night getting to know him and now I had to start from scratch with someone else, ugh. Whatever, I wouldn’t trade the night for anything because I had a lot of fun and was so happy that I got to talk like a normal person. I kind of forgot what it was like to speak at a normal speed and use anecdotes, sarcasm, whit, and movie quotes. Oh goodness . I said goodnight and goodbye to everyone and went to my room. It was pitch black, the light switch was on the opposite side of the room and everyone was asleep in my room (7 beds of girls all of whom were asleep and it was only 2:30am. Now who’s the lame one???). So I got undressed and ready for bed by the light of my cell phone, not easy by the way. I found out the next morning that the other girl didn’t even bother changing, she just went straight to bed haha.
The next morning I had a good breakfast and was on my way for my Arabian bath and massage. That’s right, I made a reservation for a massage. Something I probably wouldn’t have done if I were traveling with a group. I get there a little early and sign in. My appointment was the first of the day (10am). They had a card with instruction for me in English so I wouldn’t do anything wrong. I changed into my bathing suite and headed for the bath room (a room full of 7 different baths, not a bathroom). Six of the pools were filled with warm water at different temperatures and one pool was full of very cold water. They said you should spent 7-10 minutes in a warm pool then 2-3 minutes in a cold pool. I tried that approach but after re-entering the warm pool my extremities felt this sharp numb feeling (my parents think it was hyperthermia). I didn’t like the feeling so I remained in the warm pools, plus Granada was the coldest temperatures that I’ve experienced so far in Spain so I was perfectly okay with spending all of my time in a hot bath. It was a really cool experience and one I’m glad I did on my own. All the masseuses would shush people it they started talking so it really was meant for full relaxation. When my number was called the lady asked if I wanted a leg or back massage. I opted for a back massage naturally. My back had been hurting lately because I haven’t been sleeping well and I’m hunched over a lot because I’m cold all the time. The massage felt amazing. I didn’t want it to end but sadly it had too. After the massage I had to rinse off the oil but then was allowed to finish the rest of my session in the baths (I technically had paid for an hour session). Well as you all probably know from the reoccurring theme that is Spanish way of life, nobody really cared how long you stayed in the bath. Nobody was pushing people out the door at 11am on the dot. I’m fairly certain that I could have remained in the bath all day and nobody would have noticed. It is so different from America. I started to get nervous that I wouldn’t know what time to leave since I took off my watch and there wasn’t a clock but I looked around and saw all the people that had entered the bath at the same time as me and they looked like they weren’t going anywhere for a long time haha. I decided to embrace my Spanish time and not worry about it. I’ll leave when I’m good and ready.
Finally, after some time I felt bad that I was overdoing my stay, so I got out of the bath (worst idea haha). When I changed and finally left the Aljibe de San Miguel it was 11:45am hehehehe. On the way back to my hostel I decided to do some shopping and bought some gifts for people. Once I got back to the hostel I was so tired. The bath really took it out of me. I felt a little light headed and very sleepy so I took a nap for a little. I met a few people in my room who were studying abroad in Madrid when I woke up. They were nice but they left that night so I never got the chance to exchange full names and numbers. After my nap I felt better so I showered and packed my bag for this was my last full day in Granada. I realized that I spent more money on gifts than I had anticipated so I needed to take out some money in order to pay Miguel for gas for my ride home. I headed off to Santander ATM just down the road from my hostel. I had to wait because this woman was already at the machine. She was taking her sweet time too. She got a phone call and started talking instead of finishing up at the machine. Come on now. Then a friend came up to her and they started chatting. Are you kidding me??? After what felt like a half and hour the lady finally finished. Good grief. I put my card, typed my pin and I get a message that says the ATM is not functioning at the moment. WTF?? I wanted to scream. Luckily the road I was on was lined with banks so I just tried the next ATM, CajaSol (a very popular bank in Spain as well). Got the same message. You know every time I about to concede to the Spanish way of life and embrace it fully little things like this happen and it aggravates the hell out of me. Nothing ever works for me in Spain. I make one more attempt at the next bank, Caixa (another popular bank in Spain). It works (finally) but charges me a fee. Obviously it wouldn’t be a successful transaction without taking more money from me. What if my card doesn’t work while I’m on vacation in Europe and it’s a real emergency? It kills me that my card is so unreliable and there isn’t anything I can do about it. EEEEEERrrrrrrrr.
I had some more down time so hit up the Internet and tried to make conversation with people but there wasn’t anyone around really. I forget what I did to pass the time but once it was an hour before the family dinner at the hostel I made my way down to the kitchen. I was lucky to come when I did because seating was limited and I grabbed one of the last available chairs. It was a shame though, because I wanted to take a picture of the HUMUNGOUS frying pan but couldn’t risk losing my seat. I had never seen a pan that large before, it was awesome. For dinner we were served vegetable soup in large cups and then couscous with chicken. The host plopped the first plate of couscous on the table in front of the four of us. We all looked at each other and didn’t know if the plate was for one person or was communal. The serving of food was large enough to feed at least four people, no joke. When the host plopped the second plate down he pushed the plates directly at people so we realized that each plate was for one person. Good lord is was a lot of food. It was good but way too much. Once people were reaching their limit of how much food they could consume they would look around as if they didn’t know what to do. Nobody wanted to waste the food by throwing it away but at the same time nobody could finish his or her plate. We also didn’t want to be rude by throwing away the food because it was good but it wasn’t possible to save it. Well, I decided to be the guinea pig. What did I have to lose; I didn’t know anyone in the room. I felt everyone’s eyes on me as I approached the trash bin. Once I started dumping my food a few people joined me. One guy thanked me for starting the trend; he didn’t want to be the first to throw away food. After dinner I talked to some more people at the bar where I had my free complimentary drink for choosing the Oasis Backpackers Hostel. After some time I decided to call it a night so I headed off to bed.
I woke up as late as I possibly could before I had to check out. After checking out I put my luggage in storage, ate breakfast, checked my email, and then decided to get lost one more time in Granada. In five days I managed to get lost everyday in Granada with and without a map. That’s impressive if you ask me hehe. Throughout this trip I realized how important it is to have a book, especially when you’re traveling alone. Well this was a huge issue for me because I finished my one and only English book about a week ago so all I had was my Spanish books. I don’t have a problem reading a book in Spanish but it takes up more space because I have to also bring a dictionary and my journal to remember the words I look up. That’s why it’s just easier to have an English book. I was sure that Granada would have an English bookstore being a popular college town, but alas I found none. I searched all over throughout the trip for SOMETHING; ANYHTHING to read but always came up short. I ended up reading my tour book from cover to cover. It was interesting but I just wanted to read a story, not facts or information. My last trip around Granada I saw out of the corner of my eye an English word on a magazine. I get closer and sure enough I found a Vogue in English. Hallelujah!!!!!!! It turned out that the magazine cost 7.20 Euros. SEVEN TWENTY FOR A MAGAZINE!!! That’s the equivalent of approximately $14 for a 200-page magazine. It wasn’t even a special issue of anything. Also in America it was only $4. Sigh, I was desperate so I bought it. Damn you Euro.
I decided to eat a big lunch so I wouldn’t need to eat anything on the way home to Valverde. I ate a really good chicken lunch at a nice restaurant. Yeah I splurged again but hey, this was my vacation. After I finished my lunch I asked for the check and prepared to leave. The waiter brought over the check and a purple/pink colored drink. Interesting…I smelled it first and I’m not kidding, it smelled like perfume: a very strong, floral perfume. I was little afraid to try it but I did. It was so sweet and tasted like it smelled. I have no idea what they brought me but I wouldn’t want it again. It caught me completely off guard. Normally I’ll finish anything but this perfume drink, whatever it was was just too much for me. I went back to the hostel for the last time to retrieve my luggage and say goodbye to the gracious staff. I took the bus to the train station and went to the kiosk to purchase my ticket to Jaen. Sure enough the bus I was hoping to take was booked so the only option was the next bus, an hour later. I started freaking out because I wasn’t sure if this would be a problem for Miguel. I texted him and didn’t get a response. I started thinking that I needed a back up plan so I looked at buses to Seville instead. There was one bus leaving at the same time as the Jaen bus but there were only two seats left so I had to act fast. I texted my roommate Elisa and asked if she was still in Seville but she texted back that she was leaving right now. CRAP!! I was afraid to talk to Miguel on the phone because I wasn’t sure if he would understand me but I was desperate and had to make a decision quickly. So I called him and told him my problem. He answers “no pasa nada. Esta bien.” Translated: “not a problem at all. Relax, its fine. I’ll see you at 6 then.” Sigh, what a relief. I forget that people aren’t run by schedules here and that change of plans is part of normal life. With the go-ahead from Miguel I purchased the ticket, found a bench, and read my magazine.
I read every line of text possible in that magazine. I read the text in the advertisements, the fine print on photographs, the editor’s letter, and much more. No word escaped my eyes. I made that magazine last as long as possible. I arrived in Jaen at exactly 6pm and saw Miguel pull up at exactly the same time. Perfect timing. He drove through Jaen a little so I could see his home time. It was similar to Huelva in that its smaller and not as esthetically pretty but it’s a city and is has more to offer than some places. From Jaen we had a non-stop trip straight to Valverde. It only took us a little over three hours to get home. We spent most of the time talking and singing to the music on the radio. He would sing the Spanish songs and I would sing the English songs. It was great. With about 45 minutes left in the ride Miguel switched the station to a sports station so that he could listen to the champions league game that Real Madrid was playing in. He’s a dedicated fan. We arrive home at exactly half time but were delayed because Miguel didn’t have the right key to his flat so he had to wait for the landlord to come over and open the door for him. I had to walk home from his place (not a problem) but I was sweaty and tired by the time I got in the door. I was hoping to catch the end of the game but Elisa was home and watching something with Pablo. This was the first time Elisa was home before me. Shocking.
So that was Granada. All of my pictures are scenic because I forgot to take pictures when I was with people (because I was sooo engrossed with having a conversation hehe). I think I covered everything important. I’m exhausted. I now have a week and three days before winter break! I’m slightly tired of traveling but I need to buck up because I’ll be gone for 15 consecutive days. Oh lord I have no idea how to pack for this trip> I do know that I need to make a quick shopping trip to Huelva for a few essential winter clothes to add to my wardrobe. For instance, a thick wool scarf, a warm sweater that covers my behind, and another pair of leather boots. I have exactly 5 days to find all of these things. I think I can do it, I just hope they aren’t too expensive.
[Sorry for the lack of spell/grammar check but it took me half a day to write this and I’m just to tired to go back and read it all. It is what it is. Pictures to fallow shortly.]
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thanksgiving Dinner starts promptly at 10:30pm
I didn’t want to think about Thanksgiving like I did Halloween. I was all prepared to just ignore the holiday here and treat it like any other Thursday. Well, to my pleasure that didn’t happen. I found out about a week before Thanksgiving that Kate’s mom was going to be in Valverde for the holiday and was preparing to cook all of us a wonderful feast of traditional Thanksgiving foods. However, I didn’t find out until Monday afternoon that everyone attending the dinner was suppose to bring a dish AND that there was going to be like 20 people coming. Oye! Well it took me until Tuesday afternoon to come up with a good thanksgiving dish that didn’t require an oven: Mashed Potatoes. One problem didn’t have a peeler. I wasn’t about to buy one so I asked around and lucky enough on Thursday early afternoon Pocho found one for me in her house. After my 4:30pm session I set aside an hour to call my family and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to call Whitney so that was my only regret.
After my calls I raced home and began making my dish. I have never made mashed potatoes before (shocking I know) so I was a little apprehensive about it. I also wasn’t sure how many potatoes to peel so I thought more were better and ended up with two giant pots boiling with potatoes. The peeler that Pocho gave me wasn’t exactly the same kind of peeler I was use to so it took me a little to figure out how to work it. After 5 minutes of struggling with the peeler I realized that the peeler was meant for a left handed person and therefore the only way it was going to work is if I peeled the skin of the potato towards me. Any good chef knows that’s a dangerous thing to do so it took me double the time it would normally take to peel potatoes because I had to be extremely careful and the peeler wasn’t always cooperating with me as well. The whole ordeal was one big mess. However, the one thing Spain has that helped me make my dish faster was a puree machine. The machine is a little hand-operated device that puree’s foods very quickly. It helped me make up the time I lost with peeling the potatoes. To finish off the dish I made the potatoes garlic and cheesy. Who doesn’t like cheesy potatoes? (Kate…)
I ended up with two LARGE bowls of mashed potatoes, enough to satisfy two Thanksgiving of 20 people. The only problem was I had another tutor session to attend to before we could leave for the dinner. By the time we left the house for Kate and Corrie’s my dish wasn’t warm anymore. I thought I would warm them up in the oven but other people needed the oven for their dishes so mine went in the microwave. It didn’t do the best job so my potatoes weren’t the best they could have been, but Christina thanked me profusely for making them. What’s Thanksgiving without starches?
The final head count at the dinner came out to 16 people. Each person did there part and made a dish. This is what my Thanksgiving consisted of: appetizers of sliced meats (chorizo, salami, jamon serano), toasted bread with cream cheese and jam, bread, olives, and nuts. The main dishes consisted of roasted potatoes, my mashed potatoes, Christina’s green bean casserole (the biggest hit of all the food that night—I had three helpings hehe), deviled eggs, two CHICKEN dishes, 2 different quiches, fruit salad, and potato chips. Lots of food but none of them were very traditional, but it didn’t really matter. Unfortunately in Spain, to make a whole turkey would have cost over $95 so we nixed that idea. I was under the impression that Kate’s mom was going to bring cranberries and pumpkin pie filling but she didn’t. For dessert there was an apple pie that wasn’t too good, ice cream, a whiskey cake (???), and more wine. All in all the meal was a huge success and unlike any Thanksgiving I had ever been to. I talked with different people in Spanish and English and I was forced to pray (a new one for me). The meal started around 11pm and ended at 2am. Not exactly an ideal time to be eating heavy food but what can you do?
Miguel-Angelo, the new roommate had facebook stalked me and asked me about soccer. Finally, someone interested in soccer to talk to!! At the end of our conversation I made a play date with him on Sunday to play soccer. Wahoo! We also agreed to watch the El Clasico together because we were both Real Madrid fans. I forget what I did on Friday, but it mustn’t have been that eventful. OH just kidding I remember! Friday I attended my first Spanish Birthday party!!!! It was awesome. See previous post for details.
Saturday I had a wonderful morning. I got up at a decent hour and prepared myself for a run. When I opened my door to leave I noticed three of my students across the street. Naturally they came up to me and asked where I was going and if I lived there and so forth. I talked to them for a little but when I left I forgot to tell them that I wanted to play soccer and that they should have come back to my door at 2pm to play. Rats! I began my run down the hills of Valverde taking a different route. I couldn’t tell you what streets I ran through but somehow I ended up at the start of the green path that I wanted. The combination of my good mood, great fall-ish weather, and my excellent playlist made my run really enjoyable. I challenged myself to run farther than I did the weekend before. I ended up running a little over 6.5 kilometers in total. I felt great and although I ran it very slowly I didn’t stop to walk and I wasn’t too tired. My stamina since arriving in Valverde has disappeared and I’m ashamed to call myself an athlete. I don’t really get to the chance to exercise anymore, so I’ve lost every muscle and replaced it with a thick layer of fat that has turned into lovely rolls around my stomach. I am a disgrace to my former self and I vow to change my habits as soon as I get access to the pool. Unfortunately that is a whole other blog’s worth of details and another example of Spanish bureaucracy at its finest. Don’t even get me started…
I felt great after my run and was looking forward to my shower but the warm water never came. It took me ten minutes to get my shower at a decent enough temperature for me to enter even though I was still shivering. NOT OKAY! One of my pet peeves is being cold in a shower. I hate it. After my shower I did a full two loads of laundry, cleaned my bedroom, read my book (finished The Lost Symbol—by the way I totally saw the twist coming and if anyone had been around me when I was reading the book they would of heard me shouting out the twist throughout the book. The book was good but now I don’t have any more English books to read. I have to wait until my winter break trip, when I’m in an airport, to purchase a new English book to occupy my weekends), and wrote an email. I turned on the TV and was delighted that an EPL game was on. During the game Corrie called me and asked if I wanted to go to Seville with the usual group to see a movie. Corrie wanted to see New Moon (I really wanted to see it as well but not in Spanish…) and Ruben wanted to see a Spanish movie Celdo 211 (Cell 211). By the time everyone was ready to go we figured there wasn’t enough time to see a movie if we drove all the way to Seville, so we headed to Huelva instead. It didn’t matter to me, I was just happy to be going to a movie instead of the usual, go to a bar and talk. We ended up at a mall and ate dinner at an eatery across from the theatre. The food was really good. I noticed that there was a flashing word next to the entire New Moon movie times and figured that it meant the movie was sold out. Sure enough I was right. Are choices were now the Celdo 211 or Planet 51 in Spanish. After talking it over we all decided to see Celdo 211. It had a famous Galician actor that Ruben loves (Ruben is from Galicia so it makes sense that he would like the actor).
Well I knew that I was not going to understand most of it so when Ruben offered to sit in between us to help translate I was all for it. Unfortunately he sat between Kate and Corrie, not me. I understand the least amount of Spanish than anyone and therefore need the translator the most, yet I never got one. Figures. Kate leaned over twice during the movie to tell me a sentence of information in English that I had already figured out. Thanks. The movie was sad but very well acted. I really enjoyed the main character, Juan. I had a few questions at the end that I needed explained to me but for the most part I understood what happened. I recommend the movie (with subtitles of course) if you’re into prison dramas. After the movie, the group wanted to go get a drink in Huelva. Rocio lead the way because she had a Nav System but we ended up in circles and getting lost numerous times. After a half hour Ruben pulled aside and made the decision to just get a drink in Valverde. I wanted to go home but I couldn’t say so because I was with the group. We got to La Estacion and it was crowded and incredibly smoky. So smoky in fact, that I started to cry and anytime I tried to talk I would cough profusely. I made it clear that I was heading home after 15 minutes and Christina and Ruben followed me out the door. Ruben was nice enough to give me a lift back to my far away house.
On Sunday I was looking forward to my soccer date but when I woke up it was rainy and cold. Shucks! I didn’t really do anything that important all day but when it was time for the Clasico I put on my purple sweater and headed to the bar that Sergio told me to go to. After arriving I wasn’t quite sure why he told me to watch the game here because it was very smoky, all men (no surprise there), no tables, and not really a great environment. Oh well, I stuck it out. Miguel joined me and so did the Corrie and Kate, although they left at half time. They truly don’t understand the importance of this match to Spaniards. Whenever Madrid got close to scoring this guy in front of me would pump his fist in the air in the perfect spot to block out the TV for me. It was funny at first but then I got annoyed. After Barce scored Miguel lost hope. He had predicted earlier that the game would be a 1-0 affair and he was right. Good news, I’m still a good luck charm for Barcelona. Every time I watch them play they win. Too bad I’m normally rooting for the other team.
Valverde is now OFFICIALLY cold. Dad, you’ll be happy to hear that my room here is colder than any room in our home in Cabin John. My room is a frozen cellblock that prevents me from getting out of bed in the morning and showering. The worst feeling is getting out of (a normally steaming hot shower but that’s not the case for me) shower and then shivering the rest of the time as I towel off, put on clothes, and wait around in wet hair. Ugh it’s awful! During the weekend I stole Elisa’s heater and used it in my room, but once she returned my room went back to it’s usual cold self. After school I wrap myself in a blanket, curl up on my bed, and lay there, unable to move for hours because I’m afraid of being cold. It’s THAT bad. Today (Tuesday) I was too cold to change in the morning so I wore my pajamas to school. It’s a good thing nobody could tell that they were my Pj’s hehe. In order to get any sleep I HAVE to wear pants, socks, and a sweatshirt to bed. A t-shirt doesn’t cut it; I’ll wake up in the middle of the night freezing. I even take it to the next step and tuck my pants into my socks/slippers to prevent any chills. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Elisa told me today that she would take me to a store on Thursday and help me purchase a heater for my room. She says they are only 20 Euros. She also informed me that my shower problem is normal and that the same thing happened last year. She said a guy is suppose to come to our house to fix the pipe but in Spanish time that could be anytime from December to February so I’m not holding my breath. I’ll just put the heater in the shower with me lol.
During my tutor session with Sergio he told me that his classmate David wanted private sessions with me. At first I thought, nope, I’ll pass it off to Christina, but then I thought about the money… The greed got to me. I figured I wouldn’t have to plan another session because I would do the exact same thing with him as I do with Sergio. Sergio told me that he and David are the best students in the English class and that they are at the same level so that makes it even better. Also, technically I’m not gaining another tutor session because I now only teach Sergio once a week instead of twice a week because he has this Chemistry class that cuts into my normal tutoring hours. I’m not sure if it will work out because David might not be able to hold classes at the times I told him I’m free but if it does work out, it could be fun. I can compare the two high schoolers on my own time. Since I teach at the elementary school, Sergio is my only exposure into the life of the adolescence here in Valverde. It would be nice to get a second opinion. Also, he could be another person to potentially play pick up soccer with.
Now that Sergio is more comfortable with me he talks more. We end up spending at least half of the class talking about soccer, both EPL, La Liga, and his own games. He’s really insightful about soccer and doesn’t just watch the game; he analyzes the teams and the players. The best part is his facial expressions. Sometimes he goes off in Spanish and talks so fast that I have no idea what he is saying but I read his face and understand more. It is very obvious when he is talking about Seville F.C because disgust is written all over his face, likewise with Real Madrid but the opposite emotion. Sometimes I can’t help but laugh because based on his face I can just imagine the words he would be saying in English. I think at the beginning of our sessions he kind of dreaded the classes, but now I think he enjoys it a little more. The turning point was definitely the day I mentioned a while ago when he started off mopey and by the end of the class he was in a great mood and hugged his mom. I’ll never forget that session.
Ugh I have to go to bed now (it’s 11:55pm) but I don’t want to go into my cold room. I’m very comfortable in the living room with the heater placed between my feet. It doesn’t hurt that I’m also wearing a jacket, sweatshirt, t-shirt, sweatpants, socks, and shoes. Transitions are the worst. I wish that I could burn fat by shivering because then I would gladly take more showers and sleep in boxers but sadly that is not the case. 3 days until GRANADA!!!! :)
“I just got out of my PJ’s (8:30p)” - Kate
(i forgot to post this about two weeks ago, whoops!)
I had a phenomenal Saturday. I accomplished a lot for one day and had a wonderful relaxing time doing it. I woke up at a decent hour, had breakfast, and planned out my day. I decided that even though I didn’t know what time Sergio plays at Triana (the soccer stadium in Valverde) I would check it out anyways and watch whatever game was on. On the way to the stadium I took my time and window-shopped at all the boot stores because I was determined to buy a pair of Valverde boots. Realizing that my winter break will consist of cities that are notorious for feet of snow I figured my Chucks just wouldn’t cut it so I knew I needed to buy a pair of boots before my winter break trip. I see boots in the store windows all the time but I always pass the stores during siesta time so I never get the chance to ask the price or try them on. Well today I did. I decided to make my rounds to all the boot places before settling on a pair just to ensure I got the best price and wasn’t missing out on anything. I eventually made my way down to Triana around 11ish and got to the field about 3 minutes before half time. I remained at the entrance for a little in order to scope out the fans and determine if I would stick out too much if I sat by myself. Well I came to the conclusion that I just didn’t care at this point, I was tired of being stared at every time I walk by a bar full of men and peep in to check the TV for the soccer match. Even just walking down the street and passing the outdoor bars and restaurants warrants constant stares no matter how I dress. I don’t think my outfits scream “American” or foreigner for that matter but yet people are always blatantly starring at me. I’m over it. I’ve been here long enough to know that the starring should be over and done with. So once half time started and I saw other people walking over to the stands I made my way over. Before I got to the other side I look at the kids passing on the pitch and I spotted Sergio! Perfect timing, yeah!!!!!! Like any good stalker, I whipped out my camera and discreetly took pictures of him and his teammates lol. I then proceeded to makes notes in my journal about his soccer technique and form. Not to be overly critical, but I expected him to be better than what I saw. He never used his left foot and his passes were average at best. This cheered me up because I realized that I COULD actually play with his team. After watching the entire second half I had no doubt that I was better than most of the players on his team and could easily hold my own against them, that is once I get my endurance up and brush up on my touches.
Oh I also forgot to mention that on Friday in the afternoon (normally the time of day where I am planning tutor sessions or holding a session any other day of the week) I found a group of guys playing pickup soccer at the Menendez playground. It does exist!!! Oh man this and the game at Triana really inspired me to just go out with my mini soccer ball and just play around when I have some free time and see what happens. While I enjoy making money in order to travel, sometimes when I walk to my sessions I pass all the kids playing in the parks and streets and I just want to jump in and play soccer with them. Perhaps Friday’s I can finally get that chance. During the game I recognized a few of my students and they all said hi to me. A few of them came up to me during the game and asked why I was there. It was great. The only annoying part of the experience was the father I was sitting next to. Not only was he smoking, he had an obnoxious horn (the only person to have a horn) and he would not stop commentating throughout the whole game. He was a parent on the away team (which was awful) so most of the time he was screaming “vamos”, “venga”, or “falta” haha. I decided not to say hi to Sergio after the game; I’ll wait until our session on Monday to bring it up.
Friday, November 27, 2009
"Edica, Saca! Saca un Photo!!"
Just experienced my first Spanish birthday party. WOW.
So Marta, the now 8 year old girl who I tutor twice a week and lives across the street (Toni's daughter), had a birthday party today. The day before I received a hand delivered invitation to her birthday party at 5pm at my favorite restaurant La Hacienda del Zapatero. Sadly my favorite waiter was not on duty. I wasn't sure what to expect because I thought it might be odd being the only person over 10 there, but I was not alone. Corrie and Christen also received invitations so I ended up not being alone. When I arrived there were kids and adults running around everywhere.
On this grand table Toni had three cakes displayed and a plate of sandwiches and drinks. It was very Toni-esk: controlled and organized. I started taking pictures of the cakes on the table and Toni informed me that her camera was broken so I became the official photographer of the party. Que Chullo! (Awesome). It was my duty to capture the singing of feliz cumpleanos, the opening of presents, the whacking of the piñata, and the family portrait. It kept me very busy but I loved every moment of it. It was great seeing all of the kids from school at the party. I thought that there would only be kids from the third grade and therefore I wouldn't know that many of them by name because i don't work with that grade but to be great surprise there were kids from all grades. I colored pictures of Hannah Montana and Tinker Bell with some of my 1st graders and 4th graders. I had more fun coloring with the kids than sitting with my English speaking friends. I don't know what it is but I connect better with children than people my own age haha.
Naturally I sampled every cake on the table. In the end there were FIVE cakes to choose from. One was very lemony, another was more coffee tasting, and my favorite was a sponge cake with layers of chocolate frosting. All of them were good. Unlike American birthday's, Marta opened a present the instant she received it. She didn't wait until after the party or at a specific time when everyone would gather around and watch her open them. I thought that was interesting. I guess when your a kid you don't realize that adults hang around as well and chat while the kids run wild. Consequently there was a giant table were all the parents socialized, away from the noise and chaos. I think that was my very first birthday party as a adult. It's a very different perspective when your not the birthday girl or a kid for that matter. Despite the constant screaming and continuous chaos i thoroughly enjoyed the party. I was honored to be invited and thankful that I attended.
I stayed for a good two hours. I think I did a decent job of capturing all the important moments and few in between. An album dedicated to the event will be posted shortly. Now I'm off to dinner with Corrie, Christen, Kate, and Kate's mother in order to celebrate Kate's mothers birthday. Corrie told me that she asked if Kate was going to do anything for her mom and naturally Kate said no. It's her mom's 60th Birthday! That's kind of a big deal... It doesn't surprise me though, Kate has no forethought. Corrie was outraged so she insisted that we all go out to dinner to do SOMETHING to honor it. Entones, I'm off to El Parque for a nice dinner at 10pm. Typical dinner time here. Adios!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
"Ahh! it does exist!" --M&M commercial at Christmas
I'm talking about Futbol, not Santa Clause. I finally played soccer. And with children no less. I wasn't thinking correctly and I went to my first tutor session an hour before the actual correct time so after Ana told me i was not suppose to be there I thought about what i could do for an hour to kill time. Randomly, i guess it was destiny, i pull my yellow mini soccer ball in my bag. Finally deciding to pump it up and actually take it out of my closet. Well i wasn't exactly dressed for sports but i said wtf its now or never. I walked over to my school and went to the play ground to kick the ball against the wall and juggle. Its a lot harder than i expected in Chucks, but it is doable.
Well i started juggling and noticed two boys walking by. I heard them gasp at the sight of a girl, with a soccer ball, actually playing with it. Well i asked the one boys if they wanted to pass and one excepted while the other declined. I could tell the boy who declined liked soccer a lot but i think he thought because i was a girl that i wouldn't be good at all and therefore he shouldn't waste his time. HA! I showed him.... I passed with Mustafa (I asked him his name and then he retorted back, "I go to Menendez and you met me so you should know my name." Exucse me???? There were over a 100 kids that i met on my first day. You only have to know one name. I'm sorry if i don't remember YOUR name when i only met you once and for a millisecond.)
Anyways, i showed off my skills as best i could for being rusty and in jeans and chucks but i made a good impression because eventually the second boy joined in when he realized that we were actually having fun and passing the ball well. Well this little boy, maybe 2 or 3 years old, walked by and i knew he wanted to play so i passed him the ball. The other boys passed with him as well. It was very cute. But, the boy (Antonio) decided to run on the blacktop and he slipped and fell on his butt. Naturally he cried and I felt responsible. The mom makes her way over and is all, "No pasa nada (its no big deal). Tranquila. (relax, he's fine)". In America, every mom would run over and cuddle there child and reassure them that they were okay. This mom was like, hey you fell, get up. It was great!
The kid got up and then proceeded to chase the ball again. It was funny. One of the after school classes got out so more kids were hanging outside the school and so were their parents. I noticed all the fathers watching in disbelief. A few kids asked to join in but their parents told them they had to go. It was a short lived soccer experience, but one that i won't forget. I missed soccer so much. It was so good to touch the ball again. God i miss soccer practice. Well my very yellow, hardly used mini soccer ball is now a darker shade of yellow and looks like its been used for a year or so (and only after one day!). Normally i would want to keep it looking new and shiny but i just don't care anymore. If this is what i have to work with than so be it.
Best accident in Spain so far. Tomorrow I attempt to sign up for free swim at the only swimming pool in Valverde. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
I don’t ever want to reach 3rd Age!
I know I haven’t been writing as often as I use to but things have slowed down here and therefore I don’t have as much to report on. November has arrived and so has winter. Andalucía this year decided to skip fall altogether. We had 80-degree weather from my arrival in September until November 1st. I have separated my bathing suites and shorts from the rest of my clothes and now wear either my sweatshirt or my fleece in my house at all times. The houses and flats here have no air conditioning or heating so we have to bundle up and plug in space heaters. I try not to use the space heater because it increases the electric bill for the month. Every house and flat in Valverde at least also come with heavy duty plastic shutters that when closed all the way block out the sunlight completely and also keeps the rooms warmer. The only problem is in the morning in order to stay warm I pull the shutters closed completely but then I have to rely solely on my alarm to make sure I get up in time because I have no idea if its night or day outside. I don’t really like that feeling but I also hate being cold so I’m working on finding a compromise of some sort.
This past Sunday I had my first emotional meltdown. Like I mentioned in my last post, November is the month to get homesick. Well it happened. I contributed the meltdown to a number of things. I was so upset on Monday that I was about to scratch my winter break plans entirely and come home. I gave myself a day to really think about and I got an email from someone that really helped me put the situation in perspective. In the end I stuck to my original plan and now will be going to three countries and four cities this winter. The plan is to arrive in Berlin, Germany and stay there through Christmas and then head over to Vienna, Austria for a few days. After Vienna we will bus it to Prague, where we will spend a good 3-4 days. This is also the city where we will be for New Years. Finally, we train it back to Germany and head to Frankfurt for a day or two before me get a flight back to Seville. In order to get a good deal on a return flight we cut the trip a little short, but I think it was the best decision because I know by that time we will annoyed with each other and just want to go home to our own beds. This will be quite the adventure. I know the odds of coming home from the trip without something being stolen is very slim, so I’m just hoping that item doesn’t belong to me. I will also be sleeping with my passport tucked away inside my PJ’s just to be safe.
Monday night was fun because I had an intercambio with a girl named Rocio. She teaches at the Residencia, which is connected to Don Basco, which is the high school that Corrie and Kate work at. She is a close friend of Reuben’s, Corrie and Kate’s favorite teacher at D.B, and so I’ve met her a few times at the Italian parties and she is very nice. This is her first year taking English classes so she wanted some extra practice. An intercambio is when you talk with someone for lets say a half hour in one language, and then you switch to the other language for the rest of the hour. This way both people get to practice their language skills and it is equally stressful for both people when they have to try and speak the other’s native tongue. I tried to go to an intercambio in Argentina, but too many Americans signed up and not enough Argentine’s so it wasn’t beneficially for me to attend. This intercambio was a lot of fun. It’s a great way to practice speaking in a relaxed fashion. You’re not surrounded by a lot of people, you're not talking about difficult topics, and you can really work on correcting and tweaking your speech. I only wish it was just Rocio and me because since Corrie speaks the best she tends to dominate the conversation when its time to speak Spanish. I also don’t like the pressure of having her there. I would rather just be one-on-one with someone so it forces me to keep the conversation going. Before the intercambio I had a great tutor session with my adults, Paco and Ana. I decided to start the session off with the topic of obesity in America and why American’s are so fat compared to the rest of the world. This evolved into comparing food from America to Spain and then specifically to Valverde. They told me names of dishes that I should order and about local markets to go during the weekend to buy a premade-meal (like the kind you get at Whole foods) for very cheap. These are the kinds of things you would never figure out on your own unless you knew an insider. It was great. There tutor session has become my favorite of the week because we talk about awesome stuff. It’s my intellectual stimulation for the week. I only wish they had more time in the day to devote an hour to the same kind of conversations but in Spanish. That would help me so much but alas all the adults are so busy and I don’t even know how they manage to squeeze in two hours a week for me.
Menendez School got Wi-Fi but it doesn’t work for my computer because I’m American, so really it means nothing to me. I still have to rely on Pocho’s computer to do all my work and check my email daily. I still enjoy my classes and I’m not tired of the kids. I get frustrated with a kid here and there because they call me over every time they finish one part of a worksheet or activity. They need me to say, “Yes, that’s right. Now do the next one.” I started putting my foot down and refusing to come over to their desks until they have completely finished the worksheet. It’s just so tedious and it takes away from my time helping other students who actually need help with something. While my Spanish hasn’t really improved much yet, my ability to talk in English in front of the class to the students has. I somehow found the ability to project my voice without getting to pitchy and can hold the attention of the class. I’ve led a few classes in new topics now so my confidence in that respect is improving. This is good because it will cross over to coaching soccer. Oh I also received an email on Tuesday stating that Christen was on her way to Valverde as we speak and would be here by Wednesday (meaning last Wend Nov 11).
Well Tuesday was also a very eventful day. I had a full day of classes and two tutor sessions. I had a whole lesson planned for Marta my 8 year old but when I arrived her mother Toni had her own plan for the lesson. She wanted Marta to study science. Toni set up two white boards and I had to translate what Toni wrote on one board in Spanish into English. Sounds easy enough. Well the topic was fish and amphibians so it wasn’t something I was well versed in when it comes to Spanish vocabulary. I managed to get through it and I actually kind of enjoyed it because it helped me learn some knew words in Spanish that are now in my long term memory, like Merluza is Hake, Rana is Frog, and Lubina is Sea Bass—all useful knowledge when ordering from a menu. The lesson was pretty intense for Marta though. Her mom is very strict when it comes to academics. She is a no nonsense type of woman so she made Marta repeat everything in English multiple times, she wouldn’t let her fiddle in her seat, or play with her hair. She tested her for an hour straight on only that material. I felt bad for Marta because every hour of the day she has something planned and her mom is very tough on her. Now if I had met Toni for the first time that day I would have said this lady is insane; she is forcing English down her child’s throat, she is a perfectionist, and she treats her 8 year old daughter like she’s in high school. However, that is one side of Toni. This is also the same lady that welcomed me into her home, forced me to take food back with me, and told me if I ever need anything at anytime that I should not hesitate to come over. Also you should know that Toni is a teacher at Menendez so she knows what she is doing. I will admit it was an intense session for Marta, but I kind of found it fun. I’m thinking that I might do that every other week or so with Marta when she starts a new topic because it secretly helps me in the process.
After that session I ate a quick dinner and then met up with Corrie and Kate at a bar in the city center to meet their first Couch Surfer. -------Couch Surfing is a social network like facebook or MySpace but it’s for people looking for a couch to sleep on while they travel around the world. You make a profile stating whether you have a couch for someone to sleep on, that you’re looking for a couch to sleep on, or both. There is a creepy, “I don’t know you and I’m staying in your house” factor that comes along with this, but its at your own discretion, its free, and you can message the person before hand and talk to them and explain your bottom line so that there is no confusion. Some girls have said that when they stay with a guy there was a miscommunication that they were looking for a relationship. Things like that happen, so you have to be careful, but I know way more success stories than creepy stories so I definitely think it’s a cool concept. ----------That brings me to Joaquin, like the actor. He is from Granada and is a clarinet player. He only works two months out of the year, but for the months of October and November he travels every few days to different locations in Andalucía to give presentations and play his instruments for kids. It’s a cool gig but not one I would want. What do you do for the other 10 months??? Anyways, he was really nice. He spoke really good English so that was a nice surprise. He taught me some Andalucian slang terms and colloquialisms that were really useful to know. For example, Spaniards refer to people over the age of 65 as “people in the third age”. I really liked that term so I plan on using it for now on. The most interesting thing he taught me that night was about the province Almeria (its next to Granada province in Andalucía. It’s the direct opposite of Huelva, so southeast). Apparently Almeria has a desert region and back in the day American westerns were filmed there. Now there are tourist locations in Almeria where you can learn about the influence of the American western cinema culture on the region. He told me Spaghetti Western was filmed there along with The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. You know that famous whistle that all westerns have when the bad guy and the good guy meet for a dual? Well that came from Almeria, Spain!!! He also told us that he loves Dolly Parton and every time he hits the desert he plays her cassette. How funny is that? It was all very fascinating. We ended up getting kicked out of the bar because they were closing. Hah, that’s a first! Even though it was late and a Tuesday I wanted to hang out with him some more so I went back to Corrie and Kate’s place and then Joaquin asked if we wanted to watch a movie. A MOVIE? Do they still exist??? I haven’t watched a movie since August. We all said, “OF COURSE!” He picked the movie that none of us had seen but was in English with Spanish subtitles, which was perfect. I spent most of the movie reading the Spanish because I found it really helpful. We watched A Happy Accident, a movie I had never heard of (a first, I know) so I was really excited to watch. It was a romantic comedy and it was very interesting. The movie ended at 3am and sadly I had to go back home. Ugh sometime I really dislike the 15 minute walk back home. Although tired, I was really glad I met him. I plan on staying on his couch for a night or two when I visit Granada in December.
Wednesday was a lot of fun as well because it was the night of Elisa’s birthday party (her real birthday is 11/12 but her mom wanted her to be born on 11/11 so she always has her party on 11/11. Cute right?). For anyone that knows me well, knows I like to celebrate birthdays, and this one was no exception. I bought Elisa an ice cream cake, I made her a birthday card, I wrote happy birthday all over the apartment, and I bought food for the party. I only had one session today so I dedicated most of my down time to exercise, organizing, showering, and getting ready for the party. My tutor session was with the adults, Ana and Paco, and I decided to talk about stereotypes. It was a great topic because I got to see what aspects of American culture really make an impact in this country and to their generation in particular. Ana mentioned that her daughter thought the most significant difference she noticed with American students verses Spanish students was that Americans travel everywhere. They go all around the world whereas Spaniards might never leave their town, let alone their country. I told them it was because the drinking age everywhere else in the world is 18, so students really like to study abroad or travel during the summer when they’re in college.
This reminded me of something I had just read from the new book The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. I know the book is fiction but I think the following comment that he made in the book holds true. The lead character, a professor at Harvard, asked his students how many of them had traveled around the world to major cities like London, Paris, and Rome. Almost every hand went up in the class. Then he asked how many of them had been to DC. Only a few hands went up. He says, “Washington, DC has some of the world’s finest architecture, art, and symbolism. Why would you go overseas before visiting your own capital?” It’s a good question. I’m actually no better than those fictional students. Yes I’ve run around every monument in DC, but I haven’t toured the Capital, the White House, or any other important landmark in our nations capital. I’m far more interested in visiting the Pantheon in Rome and the Berlin Wall in Germany. Not sure why that is but I’m being abroad (and reading a book about DC) has made me want to really take advantage of my proximity to DC when I return—and I don’t mean more running.
Back on point, the hour session was quite entertaining and I didn’t want it to end. Both sessions with Ana and Paco this week were simply delightful. When I returned home only one guest had arrived for the party. Eventually more people arrived and I was introduced to all of Elisa’s friends (finally). I had invited Corrie and Kate but they ended up not showing up until much later and by then everyone had headed home because it was a Wednesday night and a lot of people had to get up early the next day. The party was fun. I talked to Ruben most of the time and listened to the other conversations that were going on around me. Elisa’s boyfriend had bought this giant box of amazing sweets but nobody was eating them because apparently they had all attended a BBQ at the school right before so they were full. What a shame, more for me :) Before anyone left Elisa opened all of her gifts. Her friends had chipped in and bought her a beautiful ring and matching earrings. Once people started leaving I began cleaning up and refused to let Elisa clean anything since it was her party. She loves to clean so it was very hard to get her not to help haha.
Corrie and Kate finally arrived after I had just put everything away. The reason they were late was because they helped Christen (who likes to be called Christina because its easier to say in Spanish) settle into her new flat. So I finally got to meet the infamous Christina. She is from Ohio and went to OSU but currently lives in Tampa, FL. She is 25 even though she looks 21. She has studied Spanish for over 6 years and lived in Cuba for one month and Mexico for three months. In Tampa she works for a law firm that deals with immigration and she’s the translator. So yeah, her Spanish is perfect. My confidence goes up with every new language assistant I meet here in Valverde haha. The only obstacle she faces is that she speaks Mexican Spanish so a few words here and there are different but that’s hardly an issue if you ask me. Anyways, she was very nice and I’m excited to have her here in Valverde. No I won’t be the third wheel. I’m really relieved that she didn’t end up living with them because then I would be COMPLETELY out of the loop at all times and it would make my time her pretty awful to be honest. The reason why I was so excited for Christina to finally arrive was because now I can FINALLY get a set timetable of classes and I get one free day!!!!!!!!!!!! Wahoo, no more Friday classes. :)
So on Thursday I finally went over the schedule I wanted with Pocho. I kept all of my favorite classes and told her I wanted Fridays off (which she already knew). Well after Christina made her schedule Pocho realized that there weren’t enough bilingual classes for both of us to attend because the last hour block on Friday had 4 bilingual classes scheduled. Somebody did an awful job at planning out the schedules. Unfortunately that means that 3 bilingual classes never get a native speaker. Nothing I can do about. Well with the shortage of bilingual classes to attend Pocho now wants to give Christina some of my classes. She can have the 4th graders but I refuse to give up the 1st graders!! Yes its selfish but they are just too cute to give up and I don’t want them calling me Christina by accident. I have enough issues with kids calling me the previous assistant Kayla. When that happens I refuse to acknowledge them until they say the correct name and I say, “no Kayla!!”
Later that night Corrie and Kate decided to cook dinner for Christina, Ruben, Rocio, and their new roommate Michele-Angelo (Michael Angelo!!). I was under the impression that they were going out to eat so I packed my own dinner and planned on using the Internet while they were at dinner. When I arrived I found out I was misinformed (as usual), but decided to eat my dinner since it was so good. Plus they were making Macaroni and Cheese and I’m not a big fan of that. Well everyone had a great meal and we talked well into the night. I didn’t get home until 11:30pm. This was my fourth night in a row staying out late. Definitely a record.
I finally got to sleep in on Friday and have the whole day to do whatever I pleased. Since Elisa departed for Seville like clock work the night before I had the whole place to myself so I blared my music really loud as I exercised and did abs in my room and left the news on while I ate breakfast and wrote emails to people. While its relaxing have the place to myself I hate that Elisa always leaves because I’m always alone on the weekends. I’m separated enough from everyone but then my own roommate “vamos’s” so I’m all-alone. Well I made my own plans to hit up the Youth House and clock in some quality Internet hours because I needed to finalize certain parts of my winter break. After I finished planning my break I finally got the chance to Skype with my best friend. OMG it made me soooooooooo happy. At first her video was delayed by two minutes or so, so if was entertaining to see her reactions after the conversation was over haha. The video finally corrected itself and we talked for a good 2 hours I think. It put me in the best mood because I had been trying to contact her for over two weeks and every time I was unsuccessful, so it was great to hear her voice and see her. I was able to completely be myself and I haven’t had that chance in awhile since I’ve only been emailing most of my friends. I didn’t even care that it was another Friday night spent at the Youth House rather than “going out”. I prioritize my friends and family before drinking any day.
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