What is the normal amount of cheese one can consume in a day? On the first of the month that is what I set out to discover with some friends. We had heard about this Feria Nacional del Queso (Cheese Festival) in Extramadura and it peaked some interest. I must first state that I like cheese, but can think of other things I'd rather eat all day, like ice cream and pea soup but not together. After mentioning to one of my adult students, who is from that area, that I had some interest, she proceeded to spend 15 minutes convincing me that my life wasn't complete without going, sold!
So on May 1st, which happened to also be the start of a puente weekend, a group of us took off on this adventure. Steve, Lisa, her sister Renee, and I crammed into Juanma's car, Mary went with Raul and his girlfriend, and Ainhoa and Arancha brought the churros. We met up in a small pueblo called Oropesa to get coffee and look at the castle. [Side note: Seriously, how cool is it that I can just stop in to see a castle???] We took some pictures and we on our way probaly 2 hours behind schedule. We arrived in Trujillo after twelve and joined the hundreds of people already in line to get tickets. We pooled money and got 24 cheese and 12 drink tickets. The trick is to not eat the bread, if you eat the bread you fill up and have no room for the cheese. I tried all types of cheese from mostly Spain and Portugal. Some were great, others horrific. There were ones that were so hard in texture while one in particular that was almost like whipped cream. My favorite wasn't the best tasting one, but the one with the strangest side affects. One piece of cheese when initially eaten tasted like a blue cheese spread, however that was only the first minute. Like clockwork, when an exact minute was up my cheeks caved in and I lost all saliva in my mouth, gross I know but accurate. The cheese literally took over your mouth. Steve, Juanma and I spent the next 10 minutes of our lives making weird faces and trying to get rehydrated...ridiculous.
The festival itself was a great sight, there were so many different types of people. It was a great sunny day and the environment was peaceful. They had a section roped off that included what must have been over 400 types of cheeses. There was a fountain in the middle that was a great place to rest and people watch. A region nearby was known for its beer because it was made by monks, or some jazz like that. It's called Yuste and f course it was the most expensive but totally worth it. Three of those apiece and the group of us got real funny.
After a few hours in the center we decided to head off in search of some coffee. Unsuccessful at the that, but successful in exploring the town itself and finding the CASTLE! We walked the long, winding, narrow streets to the top and then climbed the castle. The view from the top was breathtaking. In some of the pictures you would never even know that we were in the 21st century. We spent another hour or so wandering, before returning to the festival so the boys could buy cheese. That turned out to be the worst thing that could have ever happened to us since the cheese they bought smelled like death. I know I can exaggerate but the smell that this one cheese in particular gave off was enough to make you sick. And what is worse is that later on the way home, after much convincing to put it in the trunk, the cheese rolled around during ever turn and wafted back into the front. Horrible. Finally, we found this roof top terrace in the sunshine to rest before the drive home. The perfect end to a great day. They had a dj, a dance floor, and wicker chairs on the grass...what more could you need?I love my life! Negative: No more Newcastle at Bo'finns!
So as previously mentioned I went to Cadiz to celebrate Carnaval this past weekend. Cadiz is one of the best places in Spain to go, along with the Canary Islands. It is original and quite popular with Spaniards. With this being said I made the easy choice of going with some friends, who had been before, down south. I left Thursday night and traveled by bus to the farthest point from Madrid. Seriously though, we were told many times that the distance from Madrid to Cadiz is the furthest distance from Madrid to anywhere else on the Peninsula.
So here is the summation of my trip: Yelled at by the woman in front of me on the bus because SHE had put her seat back all the way into my lap. Could not sleep on the 8 hour journey and wasn´t in the best of moods. Arrived to our hotel in San Fernando to be told that we couldn´t check in for four more hours. Wandered around until the doors to our amazing room were opened. While taking pictures of the place discovered I was out of battery in my camera. Upon checking my luggage realized I brought the wrong battery charger so there would be no pictures to capture my experience in Cadiz. Did some sightseeing in the city that was pretty fantastic. Had a great conversation over some delicious tapas for dinner. Woke up early just to eat a buffet breakfast and go back to sleep. Dressed as a gangster for the night. Took a bus to the city center with a bunch of study-abroad-ers. Danced and drank in a small plaza. Admired many great costumes that took a lot of effort and creativeness.
Here´s where the story gets tricky. After many conversations on the subject a conclusion has been reached that something was put in my drink that made me really sick and my night ended there. My overall impression of Cadiz as a city is that I must go back, it is some where that I need to experience again under better conditions. My impression of Cadiz at Carnaval is that it is too dangerous. I can not express how unsafe I felt trying to walk through the main plaza with people throwing glass bottles and everyone in mass chaos. I do not think that I will return to Cadiz for Carnaval next year because in all honesty I did not enjoy the end of the night.
I do have to state that Lisa was amazing the entire night. She took me back to the hotel and braved the shards of glass, the stampede, the two hour wait in line for the train, the hour wait to buy a ticket, and the crammed train heading back to San Fernando. What a night!
Oh, and for the record I´m not telling my school where I´m going anymore because there are just too many questions. I particularly like the teachers who just said to me today, ¨You´re face says it all...¨ Fantastic.
Negative: Losing my hot pink suspenders and revolver.
Positive: Getting to recline my seat all the way back on the bus ride home.
Ok so let´s start this off with a warning: I am writing on a Spanish keyboard and the keys are different. I will be making mistakes and I will not catch them. This should not reflect upon my great typing skills so I don´t want to hear any complaints. Nor do I want to worry that you think I write horribly. That is all.
It has been quite awhile since I´ve posted but I have been extremely preoccupied. I will try to group this by what has happened and what has been asked of me.
Obama Per request I have decided to write a little about the election and Spain´s views. Let me just say first that it was very upsetting for me to not be in Washington D.C. for the inauguration this year. I was there in 2005 when I started my freshman year for the other president´s and it would have been nice to be there for this one as well. I was definitely jealous of all my friends still living in the area and how they talked about the city for the last 5 months. I can´t say that being in Spain was a disappointment either. All of Europe took this election seriously and mostly everyday there was something in the newspaper about it. As mentioned in the past I still consider Spain to be racist and with the election of a black president there were numerous editorials about how this term would fail. Unfortunately, this probably happened everywhere. Once Spain got over the color of our new president´s skin they did what EVERYONE else is doing: put total faith in the fact that he MUST do something to help them. Spaniards look to Obama as a way to save them from the crisis. While I agree that when the economy in the US does well there will be a domino effect and all other economies will start to change, I do not agree that it is the US/Obama´s responsibility to fix them. Being abroad has made me realize just how much other countries think we will save them. Countries look to us to fix all their problems and, if we can´t, we are horrible and to blame for everything. Specifically for Spain, the election of Obama is a trial run for whether or not they will speak highly of the US. The younger generation is similar to ours, they are expecting a change and see this change in Obama. The older generation is a little more apprehensive because they lived under a dictator. Spain´s politics are still a little uneven and this can sometimes affect their judgment. When Obama was elected in November I was met at school by teachers and students alike with applauding and cheers. Everyone wanted to talk about it and how it made me feel. I believe on a whole most people are excited for this change. The other president was not well received in Spain because of a few ´disses´. The other administration never seemed to put any confidence in Spain or feel that they were a country that needed to be in on European affairs. Whether you agree with it or not, the Spaniards certainly do not and thus they wanted change. After the inauguration all newspapers had full page spreads of the event. They discussed the future and what Obama has the potential to do for them. As stated their most pressing issue is the economy/crisis (I swear, if I hear one more teacher say ¨Pero, hay un crisis...¨). I hope this answers some questions about the issue. I can say that the night of the inauguration there were celebrations in Madrid that made me feel a little closer to home.
Pueblos The last two weekends I´ve taken roadtrips to little villages on the outskirts of Madrid. The first was to a village a half an hour past Rivas called Chinchon. Lisa, Johan, Juan and I just walked around seeing what there was to see and ate. The most important thing to do in a pueblo is to eat and drink. Usually, its incredibly cheap and delicious. It´s a nice change from the fast pace of being in Madrid because on the weekends everyone is relaxed and just enjoying themselves. The atmosphere isn´t hectic and people are generally nicer. Chinchon was beautiful because it overlooked a great landscape. The drive there was amazing because I haven´t been on a long drive in awhile and I was able to see the countryside. Along the way we passed many little villages that just looked so peaceful placed inside the hills.
On Valentine´s Day we went to two pueblos near to Toledo. The first pueblo, Torrijos, was our main destination because we needed costumes for CARNAVAL! Juan knew of a great little costume shop there so we drove down for the morning. A success, but more on that when I get back from Carnaval. After that we went to another pueblo called Fuensalida to eat. Immediately getting into the village you feel that you must eat because you´ll never find food so authentic. This village is known for its shoes so while we waited for all the stores to open back up (siesta time remember)we grabbed some cañas and played cards. I finally learned a Spanish card game called Cinquillo. Spanish cards are different than what we are used to so unless you have a deck its hard to explain the games. I like these roadtrips because not only are the pueblos great but just driving through Spain is a great experience. I see a lot more of Madrid too as we drive through to get to the highways. Since I haven´t taken a roadtrip of the US, other than RI to DC, its nice to get one in every now and then.
Kids They are still simple minded and hysterical. I recently taught them Dodgeball in physical education and they couldn´t be happier. I even got my 3rds to play Lisa´s 2nds and got to play a little myself. I really do enjoy these kids and when you throw in a game that I love, well life is just grand. Big controversy to report was who I was going to give my Valentine to last week. I was trying to do an arts and crafts project with glorious little 1B in celebration of Saturday and no sooner did I start speaking did they get all anxious. The only thing they could concentrate on was knowing where my Valentine was going to end up. Oh how they crack me up, I told them it was for my friends in the English room.
Closing notes I´m writing on a Spanish keyboard because I´m at school and most of my classes were canceled. The first and second graders are going on an overnight field trip to the farm from today until tomorrow and therefore I have nothing to do. I would have loved to have gone to the farm but I´m realistic and understand that spending a night with the children may have fried my brain. I recognize in my writing that I sometimes translate things from Spanish. Don´t worry, I´m also doing this with my English speaking so its not that I´m an idiot, it´s just that I´m confusing the languages. Por fin, the other day on the metro I was sitting next to two young school girls who were discussing the new Spanish-English translator one girl had. After explaining to her friend how she just types in a word and the English word pops up she says ¨Eres una WAR-EHH¨ or so it seemed to me. I couldn´t for the life of me figure out what English insult she was trying to use, then it hit me: You are a whore. I love Spanish children.
Negative: All things British: getting accosted by my students after Spain beat England in futbol, the decorations/flags in the English room, and being taken for British by the new teacher.
Positive: Getting to draw the water cycle (my favorite thing from Science) about 80 times on a white board for my students.
I left Madrid at midnight on December 23rd headed for Andalucia in the south of Spain. A few weeks back my coworker, Juanma, asked me to spend Christmas with him and his family in Huelva. Clearly I could not turn down this opportunity. I had nothing planned for Christmas and it would be nice to spend the day with a family if I couldn't be with mine. I originally thought I'd float by during the holidays but as it got closer I did start to feel like it would be too much even for me. So when Juanma asked I knew this was a great chance to be with a family and to experience a traditional Spanish Christmas. I came in from Oporto, unpacked, repacked, and hopped on a bus. It was an overnight bus because the trip takes seven or eight hours. I slept a good amount of the time but the kid next to me literally cuddled up to me because he was too big for the seat. After one stop in Sevilla I finally made it to Huelva at 730am where Juanma was waiting for me. It was nice to see a familiar face.
We drove through the city to his parents' apartment. His mom was awake when we got there so she made us some coffee before we both took naps. I had had a bumpy trip and he had been out the whole night before, we needed the rest. The thing about the region of Andalucia is that the accent is very strong. They speak very quickly and leave off letters, similar to my Rhode Island accent. He had warned his family that my Spanish is not fluent and that they needed to slow down. His mom's reaction was to mimic what she was asking of me, adorable. His father's was to just repeat things three times at the same speed and figure I'd get it eventually, comical. When I woke up from my nap I was greeted by his adorable father who then proceeded to tell me about the great shrimp and ham that Huelva is known for in Spain. From there we went off to see the city center and get more coffee. We stopped in at his sister's store so I met Lourdes, the younger sister. It was kind of busy so we didn't get to talk but I could tell she was just as intimidated by my English as I was of her Spanish. We left there and figured that since it was after 12 having a caña (little beer) was completely acceptable, I mean it was Christmas Eve and all. (Keith always says: Soda and beer, after 12)
Next, we met up with some of his friends at one of their favorite spots, we had more beer and tapas. They all tested their English out on me which was hysterical because they know ridiculous expressions. (For example, "Need money, my friend is in jail") A few of his friends own a kite boarding shop on the beach, which we later tried unsuccessfully to find, and are the eccentric type. Great people to talk to and be around because the laughter never stops. We bar hopped for a little and then went to his aunt's house. I met his older sister Rocio and her family. She admitted that she and her husband will speak in broken English around the two young boys when they don't want them to know. His nephews, Ale and Alvaro were scared to death of me. Apparently they'd never met someone that wasn't fluent in Spanish and they didn't know what to make of me. For the entire week that I was there they would just stare at me nervously as if I was an alien, hysterical.
Christmas Eve is a bigger holiday than Christmas Day, especially since of Three Kings the following week. So dinner on Christmas Eve is this huge get together with more food than I can even remember. It was at his sister Rocio's house with the family and then I think their neighbor's family and the landlady. Juanma and I were literally the kids because we stayed outside playing one-on-one on the patio while they prepared the food in the kitchen. His nephews even went inside before us because they were getting bored outside. (For the record I did ask if I could do anything) Dinner was great because of the wild conversation, the great food, and abundance of wine. We stayed there until about midnight and then headed out for the bars. The city wasn't too open but if you're with people who know where they're going then it all works out. We met up with his friends and had a great night that ended at 7am the next morning. Christmas was a struggle, one that I swear consisted of absolutely no alcohol for either of us. (Even though I know when I tried to tell my family they didn't believe me) It was just the family this time and was held at his parents' home. Seeing the family dynamics was great because it reminded me of home. Cultures and countries may be different but family is always family. After another dinner of too much food we played a hundred games of Mario Go-Kart with his nephews. I think this is when I finally got them to trust me, probably because I was winning! Mad skills...haha. The rest of the night was pretty calm because I was exhausted from the night before. We went to Lourdes' new apartment to check it out, pretty sweet bacherlorette pad in my opinion and then came home for an early night. I did whip out my brand new Patriots deck of cards to teach him poker and Egyptian Rat Screw (ERS). For those of you who don't know ERS don't worry about it because you will never be successful. I have mastered this game down to a science and I rarely lose. Problem is that its a fantastic game and very addicting. Because of this I then had to teach his friends the next day and we played it quite a bit over the next couple of days.
The next day we went to Punta Umbria which is a very popular beach in Huelva. However, since its the winter we had the beach to ourselves and went for a long walk. The weather was great, not too hot nor sunny but perfect for being on the beach. It was surreal to be on the beach at this time of year because usually I'm braving the cold like everyone else in New England. Honestly, this was a nice change, but I'm sure I'll miss snow...eventually.
The next couple days before I left usually consisted of the same thing: coffee in the morning, walking around the city, beer and tapas for lunch, and then meeting up with friends to go out at night. We were usually out of the house for the whole day just walking around, enjoying the weather and conversation. I have to say that the food was amazing starting from day one. Christmas is usually a time for a lot of seafood so that worked out great for me. I also tried a lot of new things like a weird version of squid and choco. The tapas were all amazing and its always a great environment to be eating and drinking around new friends.
I had an amazing time and if I couldn't be around my family for Christmas I think this was a perfect second choice. Juanma's family was so inviting and wonderful to me the whole time. They made me feel extremely comfortable and welcome in their home. I will always be appreciative that he asked me to Huelva because it's an experience I will never forget.
Negatives: The guy next to me on the bus home.
Leaving.
Not getting a group picture to share from Christmas.
Positives: New family and friends.
Choco.
My increased confidence in my level of Spanish.
I had a pretty fantastic day today, I have to admit. Easy time waking up this morning...although I'll skip over the part about reading a certain sport's score. Left the house and it was still dusk so the color of the sky was a great shade of dark blue with the street lights. They finally fixed the Red/2 line so I wasn't waiting for forever. When I arrived in Conde de Casal it was still a little dark above ground. A lot of this had to do with the impending look of rain, which never actually came. I made a friend in the bus line after the drive shut the door in our faces. Usually what happens is the driver drops off people and then shuts the doors and heads for a quick coffee. On his walk back to the bus he signals for the line of people that has formed at the bus depot to follow him to the bus. Well today when the people followed he shut the door right in their faces. I hadn't moved yet because I was much farther down the line so to me it was great. The guy next to me and I had a great chat about how ridiculous the driver is every morning. Let's just say he's not my favorite. Anyways, the sun rose as I took the bus ride listening to some Brett Dennen. Getting off in Rivas was quite chilly but I have a minute and a half walk to the school so I'll deal. Once inside I received an amazing compliment that started me off on the right foot. It is weird though because no matter how tired I am or how much I feel that its the start of a full week, as soon as I step inside that building everything goes away. I am immediately energized and excited.
What is happening to me?
Mondays are when I have a huge break before my first class so it gave me a lot of time to prepare for my adult class at night, which will come into play later. My first class was with Javi for Science 3B, they had a test. The kids were great all class though, quiet and content. I never realized how hard it would be to give a class a test. They are allowed to ask questions and it is so hard to not give them the answer. I know they know it because I walk around during regular classes asking them questions and discussing the chapter with them. But sometimes at test time the words aren't there, or in this exam for example, the style of the test was awkward. I did the best I could but I wanted to do more. They are all very smart, some just understand speaking more than reading. I have to find a balance between helping and giving them the answers (which i didn't do, but came close).
After lunch I had my 3A's as always. I recently realized I have them at least once a day, some days twice. I enjoy them because I know exactly what they are working on at all times. Today made my day though because as I was heading to class one of the little boys greeted me wicked enthusiastically. He put his arm on my waist (not surprisingly some of them are not much taller than me) and talked excitedly about heading to class. I was shocked because little Adrian is what I would call a trouble maker. He talks incessantly and just walks around. I usually spend class standing between him and Pablo trying to put the fear of god into them, not usually that successful. I had the impression that he thought I was a joke really because he's very good at mocking me. But today was different, he pronounced my name properly (all day long I hear "Sit Properly", it is starting to wear off) and waited for me when I had to run to the English room for something. He even wanted me to sit next to him in class. Which brings me to Beatriz, one of the smartest kids I know. Her grasp of English is impeccable and she is very pleasant. She also chose today to follow me around everywhere and do whatever I did. Actually not that annoying. The class went great; everyone listened, even Alex who at least sat silently in the back, and they learned question words. I went around the room as usual helping them, but they were all doing so great. In the first week I would check their work and they wouldn't pay attention. In the second week they would ask for my help and then after I told them it was perfect they would run to Mary and have her check it. Now they call "Teacher" (which in a Spanish accent sounds like Tea-Chair!) and Mary heads over to help, they turn her away and say "Tea-CHAIR Melanie (Melody, Melandy-take your pick). We both find it hysterical because it finally means that they understand me. They realize that I'm here to stay and not just an observer. I was really proud of their hard work today. Following English I have Physical Education with Elena and this class. I love how excited they get heading to the gym, they can't control themselves. Beatriz was still on my heels so we waited for the two other girls to get their crap together and then went down together. When I got inside the gym they all wanted me to sit next to them in the circle. It's great to be so popular among eight year olds! The main game today had to do with hoops and they all wanted to show me how amazing they were. All I heard was my name echoing through the gym. I like how we are finally bonding as corny as that sounds. I'm going to be with this class six times a week for the next 7 months or so and I think it is important for them to actually like me. I spent most of my last 45 minutes at school laughing and I couldn't be happier.
Bus ride home was short and sweet in the great sunshine. I made it to my adult class by 5:30 so I did a little shopping. Good news/Bad news is that there is an H&M right off the metro in Nuevos Ministerios, pretty much heaven. I figured that since a certain team of mine was making me wait until April to see them I could do a little shopping therapy. The cost? A new shirt, wallet, and headband all under 20 euros. The headband is for ears that I will need for a Halloween skit Lisa, Steve and I are performing. Since my lesson plan was already done I had time to just wander about, pretty fantastic. Class went smoothly, except that Tomas the oldest guy in the class is a class clown. I'm not bothered by it, well except for the whole Rhode Island spiel (I never knew that 'spiel' was spelled that way) that won't be repeated. They are still asking good questions so time flies and I'm home by 9:30. Maybe by December I can start talking at a normal speed again. Ah, who am I kidding, probably not.
Sidenote: I went to Alcala de Henares for the Cervantes festival on Sunday. Its in zone B3, so not that bad of a commute. Walked around the town for a while before finding the center. There was a protest of some sort for what looked the like construction of a chemical plant upwind from the town. People were none too happy. The main part of the festival was last week so all they had was a book fair. It was still nice to wander the booths and search through old books. I looked through some of the cookbooks but none of them had pictures so I figured it best to pass. Cooking in another language is hard enough, a different form of measurement even harder, but without knowing what the food was supposed to look like? Forget it! Mulletted protesters on the top, Book Fair on the bottom.
Negative: Having both the "grasshopper twins" in my classes today.
Positive: An amazing paper airplane present from good Alex in 3A.
What is the normal amount of cheese one can consume in a day? On the first of the month that is what I set out to discover with some friends. We had heard about this Feria Nacional del Queso (Cheese Festival) in Extramadura and it peaked some interest. I must first state that I like cheese, but can think of other things I'd rather eat all day, like ice cream and pea soup but not together. After mentioning to one of my adult students, who is from that area, that I had some interest, she proceeded to spend 15 minutes convincing me that my life wasn't complete without going, sold!
We met up in a small pueblo called Oropesa to get coffee and look at the castle. [Side note: Seriously, how cool is it that I can just stop in to see a castle???] We took some pictures and we on our way probaly 2 hours behind schedule.
The cheese literally took over your mouth. Steve, Juanma and I spent the next 10 minutes of our lives making weird faces and trying to get rehydrated...ridiculous.
They had a section roped off that included what must have been over 400 types of cheeses. There was a fountain in the middle that was a great place to rest and people watch. A region nearby was known for its beer because it was made by monks, or some jazz like that. It's called Yuste and f course it was the most expensive but totally worth it. Three of those apiece and the group of us got real funny.
That turned out to be the worst thing that could have ever happened to us since the cheese they bought smelled like death. 
I know I can exaggerate but the smell that this one cheese in particular gave off was enough to make you sick. And what is worse is that later on the way home, after much convincing to put it in the trunk, the cheese rolled around during ever turn and wafted back into the front. Horrible.
I love my life!
