Life is Learning

Sometimes it’s easy to get distracted from your goals in life. You get off course, you get sick for a week, you get involved in other things. For me this happens with studying Spanish in Spain. Of course I'm often speaking and hearing Spanish, but it's another thing to deliberately study and learn new things. I often get distracted by hanging out with friends, relaxing, planning lessons, and the daily chores of life – which are things that are all important part of my experience here. Since I've been living here for a year and a half, life is bound to include hanging up laundry, taking naps, and wasting time. It can become too easy to put improving my Spanish and studying grammar on the backburner. Because of this, I enrolled in a Spanish class in December, and this has been helping me a lot. It's three nights a week, involves two classes of grammar and one session of culture, and is taught by Spanish professors. I love being a student again, and being back on the other side of the classroom. It's helped to put me in more of the student/learning mindset here. However, you have to study on your own, and use all your resources to learn when living abroad - conversations, reading signs, reading novels in Spanish, listening to people on the metro, and really just paying attention to things you come across and writing new words down in a little blue notebook you carry around. When you do this- when you incorporate all medias of learning- you can have those incredible “ah hah!” moments when you learn a new word and later hear it or put it to use yourself. 

The current Spanish fiction novel I'm reading- an incredible magical realism
about human love and it's  complicated and inseparable connection with nature

Last week I had one of those light bulbs go off, one of those incredible moments when you connect your experiences here and get something tangible out of it (yes, I’m such a nerd!) This time, it was as simple as the word:

 Dicharachero (s.)– a witty person; amusing conversationalist; jokester

            Synonyms: humorista, gracioso, bromista

I was sitting on the packed metro, jammed with tired people on their way home from work, heading back to my apartment at 9 pm after an arduously long (yet enjoyable) day of work and tutoring. The only thing keeping me going at this point was the book in my hands, the world I had escaped to thanks for a Spanish friend who lent me the book. That, plus the thought of my weekly cozy Thursday night dinner and a movie tradition with Laura :) I was off in a world of narrative and characters when I read the phrase, “Eran dicharacheros." Dicharacheros! I knew that word! Suddenly, I was taken straight back to January 3^rd, 2013, a little over a month ago. I was sitting on an airplane next to Laura, flying over the Mediterranean Sea, en route to Morocco, and feeling nervous and excited about the near arrival to a new continent. 10 minutes into the trip we had begun speaking to the passenger next to us, a middle-aged Spaniard who was from Asturias in Northern Spain. It was his third time traveling to Marrakesh, and this time he was bringing his whole family with him. His elderly mother was even joining them, and he gestured to her across the aisle. She smiled dazedly back, knowing we were talking about her but not knowing exactly what was being said. And I remember thinking in my nervous state, "If she can do this trip, Laura and I can surely do it!” The man, who was named Julio, was very kind- he offered us hazelnuts from his orchard in Asturias, and even invited us to their country home by the end of the conversation! (Keep in mind that this is not an uncommon thing here, as many Spaniards have an apartment or house plus a summer/country house somewhere else in Spain!) We were able to talk to him about our trip to Northern Spain last November and our other travels in Spain. Julio was also a world traveler, and was telling us all about his trips over the US when he was young, even to San Diego! As he was telling us what he thought of the people he met there, he told us Californians were very friendly and joking, that they were dicharacheros (social, friendly, open people) just like Spaniards! At least that's his theory as to why he thinks Americans and Spaniards tend to get along so well. Laura and I had never heard that word, so we asked him to write it down for us on a yellow Ryanair napkin as he explained what it meant to us. He told us the definition, and noted and also explained that it was a very colloquial Spanish word. Who knew two months later I’d read it in a book by a Spanish author, and be brought back straight to this moment! It’s moments like these I love and that remind me why I’m in Spain- for the experiential learning, to be able to attach meaning and stories to what I learn about the language and culture here! I'm sure this has happened to me many times, I'm just not always consciously aware of how much I'm learning here. 

I’ve also had the opposite experience reading Tan Cerca al Aire, where I’ve learned new words from the text that I was later able to pick up on and notice in daily conversations. One word I had learned from reading I soon after heard used by the tour guide at the Prado Museum, where I was on a field trip with my 4^th grade students!

Finally, in the same book I also read the phrase “dormir profundamente” (to sleep soundly), a lexical combination I had just learned in Spanish class yesterday! We learned common phrases, called colocaciones, that our teacher said to look out for since they appear often in written and spoken Spanish. Here are some others I learned in class:

Diente de ajo – garlic clove

Banco de peces - school of fish

Frío siberiano- very cold, literally “siberian cold”

Sol cegador - a blinding sun

Pueblo fantasma- ghost town

Golpe bajo- a low blow/ someone betrays you
Onzas de chocolate- chocolate squares

Una tableta de chocolate- chocolate bar

     *Also the expression used for a person with very defined abs, like our phrase "6-pack" in English!

December Highlights

December in Madrid: Christmas lights, giant Christmas trees in the plazas, Christmas markets, and a heightened sense of chaos and busyness in the streets. Even though we did many holiday activities in the city, we spent many good times at home with friends as well. December went by so quickly, and included a 4 day weekend and a  day trip to Toledo, Christmas crafts and lessons with my tutoring students, and a winter break trip to Sevilla and Morocco!

Since I did a terrible job updating my blog in December, I'm just going to focus on a few highlights. Hopefully it will give you an idea of how I spent the holidays here!

First thing's first: December 1st we put up our Advent calendar, which included different Christmas activities to do this month, like going to the Christmas markets, making mulled wine, visiting the nativity scene, and decorating our tiny, European - sized apartment!

Our advent calendar (recycled from last year!)

The first weekend of December began in good holiday spirit: with friends and in good company. We were invited to our Spanish friend Ana's house for lunch,   who happens to be our neighbor this year since she moved apartments! She has a gorgeous apartment with a beautiful terrace that overlooks our neighborhood. It seemed especially spacious next to our apartment, and gave us a neat rooftop view that made our area look more like a pueblo than a city. That night we went to a German Christmas market, which Ana wanted to go to since she studied abroad in Germany, and we accompanied her as she nostalgically looked through German books and ate pretzels and beer with us!

Part of the German Christmas fair at a local Anglican church. There was also a beer garden outside!

We also celebrated Hannakuh with our Belgian/French/Israeli/European-mixed, hipster designer friend Tal :) It was a fun experience as it was a not-quite-traditional celebration. We had many modifications, such as Christmas-colored candles, Tal's last-minute napkin-yammakuh, hymns read off of an ipad, and Dunkin donuts - to keep with the tradition of eating something fried each night of Hannakuh. It was really fun having Tal show us his traditions, and we had some interesting discussions afterwards.

A Hannakuh celebration fit for the 21st century!

We also had a puente, or long holiday weekend, in early December. Last year I would've used that opportunity to travel outside of the country, but this year I decided to spend more time in Madrid so I could really feel like I lived here by the end of my experience abroad. I also told myself that if I traveled it would be within Spain, as there is so much to see within the country itself and each region is really so different and unique. So this four day weekend, I decided not to plan anything- that way, if anything came up, I could actually say yes instead of "Well, I actually already have a trip planned to....". Sometimes you really have to just give yourself the chance to have spontaneity in your life and not plan anything- then you can experience adventures you hadn't foreseen. And what I thought would be a relaxed weekend actually became chalk-full of wonderful little adventures, including two day trips to Chinchón and Toledo!

Extra happy wandering the little streets of Chinchón after a big lunch and plenty of red wine :)

Chinchón from above- I love rooftop views of 

Chinchón is a lovely little pueblo outside of Madrid that can be underwhelming if you go expecting a lot. But for ambling through the alleyways, savoring a glass of wine in the big, open center plaza, or enjoying the views of the countryside around the town, it is the perfect place to spend a few hours on an afternoon. The center plaza is the main place to visit, and it's beautiful as it is round, open, and slants up from the middle towards the little cafes and storefronts that surround the plaza. It was historically used for bullfighting and horse races, which is very evident in its form. It reminded me of a smaller, Spanish version of the Piazza del Campo, the circular plaza in Siena where I visited my sister last year (and one of the most beautiful and unique plazas I've been to in europe!).

Toledo is a great town outside of Madrid that was once the capital of Spain and one of the few places in Spain where Christian, Muslims and Jews all coexisted relatively peacefully. It is an interesting place culturally and historically to visit, to see the Catholic cathedral, the old Jewish quarter, the Jewish museum, or the Arabic traces in some of the architecture. Since we'd already been last year and didn't feel the need to sight-see, we just took our time and wandered, relaxed, had a picnic enjoying one of December's sunny days :) It was neat to see go back and see a woman with a keyboard-violin who had been playing in the same spot, with the same long red curly hair and hippie clothing, the same celtic notes bouncing off the alley walls and rising up to the cathedral tower nearby, and the same melancholic vocals that sang of Spain's hard history all taking me back to 11 months before. How incredible is it to be able to return to a place you've once traveled before, where you perhaps didn't expect to be back so soon?

Toledo and the gorge of the Tangus River- what an incredible spot for a picnic! (which is exactly what we did)

Laura with the picnic spread- including homemade tortilla bocadillos!

Sam enjoying the amazing view 

One of the tiles marking the Jewish quarter (and the shoes of Laura, Sam, Ashleigh and Jose!)

We're thankful for Jose's company- and his car rides!

En fin, it was a wonderful December that gave me plenty of chances to enjoy what Madrid has to offer, delight in the novelties of the holiday season, and relax with old and new friends. I also hope you had a fantastic holiday season!

It's the Holiday Season

Another holiday season has come and gone, and even though I would have loved to spend it in California with family and friends, I can say it was one of the most memorable Christmases I´ve had! I was able to spend the holidays with close friends and celebrate both traditions from home and from Spain. My winter break was both relaxing and adventurous, and I was really sad to see this special time of the year end!

One of the best things about being away from home during the holidays is seeing how the new culture you´re in celebrates it. Spain usually has sevaral Christmas decorations throughout the city (though definitely not as many in private homes like in the US), and just like last year, the city was adorned with thousands of lights in all of the main streets and plazas. There were lights in all different colors and shapes, from snowflakes and leaves to winking eyes, music notes, and even small versions of the city skyline! It’s magical walking around like a little ant under the lights through the busy streets of the city, shopping, running from one tutoring class to another, and briefly stoppoing to gaze at the giant Christmas tree of lights as you pass by. Families line up to see the Belens (Nativity scenes) that temporarily occupy churches and plazas, and huge lines intertwine in the main plaza, Puerta de Sol, as Spaniards wait to purchase a lottery ticket for “El Gordo” – the Spanish Christmas Lottery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Christmas_Lottery . (It’s a really neat tradition that’s been around for almost 200 years, and almost everyone participates, even those who haven´t bought a lottery ticket all year!)

The schools are also filled their share of magic, with the halls covered in Christmas trees and snowflakes, the noise of scissors cutting paper and happy chatter escaping through the classroom doors, and the sounds of children singing as they practice for their Christmas show. I loved asking the students what they wanted from the 3 Kings (they receive presents from both Santa Clause the 3 Three Kings/3 Wise Men) and getting extra hugs. It was also fun helping the classes prepare for their school-wide Christmas show. My 6th graders did an awesome pop holiday medley that turned out to be more like a little boy band concert. One of my students, Gonzalo, has long blonde hair and is always super trendy in his square orange frames and tight green pants- so naturally, he was picked to lip sync and play the role of Justin Bieber! During the show he popped out of the audience onto the stage, did a quick spin, called over his ¨backup dancers¨, and then proceeded to bust out some awesome dance moves. Another neat girl, Antilla, played Mariah Carey and did all the choreography for the show! She reminds me of my sister when she was in middle school :)

3 of my adorable 4th graders waiting for the Xmas show to begin

As fun and beautiful as the city and the schools were in December, Spain wasn´t always the happiest place to be during the holidays. The economic situation in Spain definitely changed the atmosphere, and for many students, Pápa Noel couldn´t come to their houses this year. There was a cloud hanging over many Spaniards, and no where was it more evident than in their conversations and interactions. For Spaniards don´t tend to mask what they´re  really thinking or how they feel. They don´t try to fake how they feel, nor do they try to be uplifting and see the positive side of it. They simply say it like it is, and in many aspects of life, not just the economy. To show you an example, my roommate Laura got a Christmas card from her school that said the following:

"Este año es difícil desear happy christmas. Volveremos a estar happy cuando no haya ´crisis-mas. !Feliz Navidad! - El Equipo Directivo."

At my school, one teacher wrote a song to express her frustrations. She changed the lyrics to a popular Christmas carol here and wrote about the economic crisis, the government´s lack of help, and how the children and teachers are suffering from it. She even printed out the lyrics, made copies, and had the teachers all sing along at the teacher´s Christmas dinner!

Sam, Ashleigh and Danielle stringing popcorn -we found many cheap ways to decorate our small European apartment! 

In some ways Spaniards (especially children) are lucky though when it comes to holidays- they get to celebrate two Christmases and thus have two opportunities to exchange and receive gifts! They celebrate Christmas on 25th, and papa noel brings gifts and leaves them on top of shoes that the children leave under the tree (every family is a little different though- some kids leave their shoes at the foot of the bed). This is more due to Western influence, and Christmas eve is more important here than  Christmas day- it is always spent eating a big dinner (often seafood) with family. Seafood is so common that supposedly the seafood prices at the market went up 100% on Dec 23rd and 24th! The real Spanish Christmas is on Jan. 6th, the Three Kings' Day (Los Tres Reyes Magos). The three Wise Men, from the biblical story, bring gifts to Spanish children as well. This meant that our school winter break went from Dec. 22-Jan.7th. Que suerte!!

Christmas Eve was spent with a large group of international friends, 16 in total, from Brazil, the US, Peru, and Spain. We had a feast of pomegranate chicken, plenty of sides, and pie for dessert. What a luxury abraod! My roommates and I spent all day cooking, wrapping presents, and listening to Christmas music- in true holiday spirit! I made a cheesy bread that was stuffed with 4 types of cheeses (European ones that are much cheaper and easier to find here!), marmalade and nuts, based on a recipe I learned from Spanish friends while staying in France last year. We passed the night eating, drinking mulled wine, and singing Christmas carols in both English and Spanish as our friend Paul serenaded us with his beautiful voice and strummed the ukelele (the only string instrument he had around!).

The girls on Christmas morning :)

Our friend Ashleigh came over to spend the night and we had a wonderful cozy Christmas morning eating cinnamon rolls and opening presents. It was so sweet and nice to have a Christmas morning with close friends.

Christmas day was also relaxing and special. We had a smaller group of friends over for lunch and spent all afternoon and evening inside eating, visiting, eating some more, eating turron, playing games, and relaxing full and content as Paul and Sam played the guitar and sang. It was a wonderful moment sitting full on the couch surrounded by friends, listening to Paul sing, dozing off a bit with  the lights down and the candles twinkling around us.

Ashleigh and Paul, Christmas Day