Recapturing the Feeling of Discovery

This past week I've had that wonderful feeling of being completely enraptured by a new book- not just one that has an incredible story line, but also one that has an absorbing and detailed (but not overly descriptive) writing style. The Historian attracts me with its vivid and quaint travel descriptions. The diplomat father often brings his teenage daughter along with him, and on their journeys they amble through open, dusty Italian plazas in the summer, sip orange juice in front of a Gothic-style churches that her father can describe with a historian's expertise, or partake in simple picnics of goat cheese, soft bread, and mixed greens from a side-road vendor, often with a chocolate bar for dessert.

The other day I was struck by a particular passage, which seemed to speak directly to me and my traveler's soul. The young woman in the novel, later in life, reflects back on her young travels and writes how, "As an adult, I have often known that peculiar legacy time brings to the traveler: the longing to seek out a place a second time, to find deliberately what we stumbled on once before, to recapture the feeling of discovery. Sometimes we search for it simply because we remember it. If we do find it, of course, everything is different. The rough-hewn door is still there, but it's much smaller; the day is cloudy instead of brilliant; it's spring instead of autumn; we're alone instead of with three friends. Or, worse, with three friends instead of alone" (Kostova 80). In this passage the author captures the main draw of traveling, for me and many others - that sense of discovery that is so saturated in traveling experiences. I've gotten to explore a lot of places in Spain this year, but just this past week, I've felt this addictive sense of discovery in Madrid- like I've been traveling in my "own" city.

It began last Saturday, on a perfectly sunny spring day, with a tea and meriendas at our Brazilian friend Debora's new apartment. She had brought back some special cookies from Brazil and wanted to share them with others while debuting her new apartment. We had a lovely afternoon in her new sun-filled place drinking lemonade, eating cookies, quiches, lettuce wraps, and gooey cheese buns, while taking advantage of her large, slick wood floor (my friend and coworker Sam and I put on Gangnam style, whose choreography we learned a bit of at a salsa club the night before!) That night we met up again at Retiro Park for an unexpected San Isidro fireworks show. As we entered the park with throngs of people, we enjoyed the warm spring air that was almost thick enough to taste, a welcomed change after a long, drawn-out winter. We could hear the orchestra and opera music blaring from the lake, and soon Laura and Ash and I began to lip sing and prance around, expressing the joy we felt in the atmosphere around us. And then the fireworks show itself- incredible! The fireworks exploded over the small manmade lake in Retiro, over the large white monument that was ablaze with changing colors of reds, greens, and blues before and during the show. The fireworks were perfectly synchronized with the instruments, as if they were made to complement each other. Loud, large explosions accompanied trombones and fast beats, and the graceful, falling fireworks that look like palm trees went perfectly with the slow, lone violin, or the note of a traditional Spanish ballad. It was so beautiful and moving, that I (and those gazing up around me) were almost brought to tears. It was one of those experiences that will stand out to me most about my time here- and it'll be hard to recreate again, even if by a small chance I happen to ever be back here in May.

The discovery continued Sunday when our Spanish friend José picked us up for lunch and took us to a new area in Madrid that I'd never been to (that's what I love about Madrid- there are always more parts to discover!). Only after walking around and exploring the area a bit did I realize where we were- just behind an area in La Latina where I'd been last year to eat at a vegan buffet (that I hadn't been able to find since)! There are so many hidden corners of Madrid. This tucked away space was an open, sunny plaza, bordered by clusters of terraces with outdoor tables and sun umbrellas, happy dogs in leashes, and chatty, fashionable madrileños relieved to finally be able to don their new spring attire. We waited in the sun, relaxed but also vigilant for a table at any one of the various restaurants bordering Plaza de la Paja. Fortuitously, a table at La Musa opened up, and we pounced on it. Only half way through the meal did we realize that this was one of  Tal and Danielle's favorite restaurants in Madrid- one they'd always been trying to get us to go to! We ordered "La Bomba", a boiled potato that was then fried, scooped out with a spoon, filled with ground beef, tomato and white sauce, and served in a bed of cilantro pesto sauce. If the description on the menu wasn't enough to get us to order it, their boasting of the fact that it sold over 20,000 of this potato wonderfulness a year did! We got a couple good wok orders, and ended with a mind-blowing dessert called "leche souffle con cookies". I was in love at first bite! It was served in a clear glass jar that exposed it's bottom layer of milk souffle, it's middle layer of sweet brown rum sauce, and its topping of dark crumbled cookies. Quite the fortuitous discovery!

One of the tree-covered cafes in Plaza de la Paja

"La Bomba" (photo thanks to Sam;
sadly I didn't have my camera on me that afternoon!)

My "vacation" continued Monday, as I always have Mondays off of work, and sometimes I take the afternoon to treat myself to a tea or lunch at my new favorite local cafe, Mur cafe, while studying for my online education classes. The staff is so sweet (and have begun to expect me on Mondays), and though it's a little pricey, the quality of the food and the care they take in its presentation. Last Monday I arrived at the cafe on a want-to-be sunny afternoon to find tables set up on the terrace, complete with large black shade umbrellas strung with pale yellow tea lights, glass jar centerpieces with leaves and wildflowers, and black napkins and silverware tied with twine (this is the care of details I was talking about!). I sat down alone, pulled out my book, and ordered an eggplant bagel sandwich and fresh berry melon iced tea. A few minutes later, the sweet waitress carried out a small tray with the bagel served on a wooden block, a small china bowl of rosemary potatoes and the tea garnished with two fresh blackberries. I was tickled to be having such a gourmet lunch alone, and as I took the first bite of steamy potatoes and closed my eyes to savor the flavors, I thought "is this real life?". Then I opened them to find a group of Spaniards at the table across the way openly staring at me (like they tend to do more often here), probably thinking "Quién es ella?". I decided to ignore them- that there's nothing wrong with enjoying a delicious lunch by yourself every once in awhile.

On Wednesday, as it turns out, I'd soon experience that feeling of trying to "re-discover" a place, that sensation I'd read about in my book. It was Día de San Isidro, which meant another day off of work for yet another saint (hey, I'm not complaining!). I met with some friends in La Latina for drinks, and after a lazy afternoon of tapas and mojitos (they're obsessed with this drink here), I decided to take a walk home through Plaza de la Paja, where I'd had that amazing lunch with my friends only the Sunday before. I walked down a side street from La Latin and as I entered the plaza, I could tell it was already different. It was smaller and less open than I remembered; it was a cloudy day, not a brilliantly bright, sunny spring day; the plaza was completely empty; and I was walking alone. Sam, Ashleigh, Laura and José were not with me. We were not conversing animatedly about gender norms or the US education system. There was no little 5-year-old girl in a pink dress, running through the middle of the plaza with a German Shepard that was 3 times her size, contentedly and obediently following her.

But I didn't have too much time to wallow in the differing conditions of that plaza. I continued on my walk and stumbled across a parade for Día de San Isidro, a solumn procession of old women in black lacy dresses, women with white traditional head scarves with red flowers right on top of their heads, middle aged and elderly people watching stoically and silently from the sides, and the vibrations of the mournful and nostalgic drums and trumpets echoing off of the brick churches and narrow alley walls. I could almost feel the history of this tradition in the air, on the walls, in the streets, in the tall statue of the Virgin Mary being wheeled along. As I stopped for a few minutes amongst the crowd of elderly, I thought of how neat it would be to come back to Madrid to visit someday and share this experience with another. But again, I soon realized I was making a new unique memory, another one that would also be impossible to recreate, even days later. Another day it wouldn't be a Saint's holiday; it wouldn't be a cloudy, melancholic day that fit the mood of the procession perfectly; it wouldn't be a small discovery I made walking alone walking uphill, following the sounds of drums echoing in the contained, narrow streets.

These unique experiences, and failures to recreate them, are more reasons and reminders to live in the moment and always seek out novel experiences- to keep moving forward. If you're always trying to recreate old experiences, you will miss out on that continued sense of discovery, that chance to explore and find new places and things. And to that I say Carpe diem! 

Lisbon: Those Friendly Neighbors

   If Spain is the loud, friendly, sometimes obnoxious, opinionated brother, Portugal is the laid-back, calm, artsy, contemplative cousin that you go to hang out with to take a break from your brother. Don't get me wrong- I love Spain and all it's rhythm. Madrid is a happening and boisterous place. It has its own art and music scene, and has its quieter neighborhoods you can retreat to. It's a city that never leaves you disappointed, and there is a dynamic pace of life you get caught up in here- one that includes several metro lines, busy streets, and an active nightlife, in addition to cozy cafes, bars and restaurants where you can sit for hours and not be bothered to pay the check, and shops and family-run shoe stores that really do close at the midday from somewhere between 2 and 6 (but never post in on their store so they don't have to follow it!). It took me a little while to get used to Madrid, and it has confirmed that city life is not for me in the long run. But I still need a break, and luckily, Portugal is right next store but a world away in its ambience and mood.

   Although Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, it has a small-town feel in every street and corner, including the main plazas. The friendly people, sunny weather, and cheap prices (compared to the capital of Madrid) only add to its draw. The fact that English is widely spoken (at a good level) is also helpful for tourists, and another thing that distinguishes it from its next store neighbor. This is due to the fact that none of their movies or TV shows that come in from the American entertainment industry are dubbed- they watch them in the original version and use subtitles. Many other European countries who do this, such as Sweden and Denmark, tend to have a higher level of English, in part due to lots of exposure to English through entertainment means starting from a young age.

   But if you want to try a language experiment, (and if they don't speak English) it's always fun to try speaking to someone in Spanish and see how far you can get. At one of the souvenir shops there was a woman, originally from Madagascar, who did not speak any English. We were able to have a decent conversation speaking Spanish and having her respond in Portuguese. Interestingly enough, every time we had conversations like this, Jose, our Spanish friend, could barely understand what the Portuguese were saying! My theory is that Laura, Ashleigh and I, as non-native speakers of Spanish, are used to being able to communicate without understanding every single thing the other person says. Perhaps we have a more practiced ear for filtering sounds and words and extracting meaning from partially-understood conversations.

   Lisbon is a unique city with a rich history, complete with beautiful ports, melancholic streets, many hills that create many layered, interesting views and fresh seafood. On the other hand, it is not so unique in the fact that it has a red suspension-bridge (the 25 de Abril Bridge) that looks almost identical to the SF's Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars on its many hills (that also makes one think of the European SF), and a tall Jesus statue up on the mountain which, with its arms wide open, immediately makes one recall a similar such statue in Rio, Brazil.

  This spring was my third trip to Lisbon (since it's so cheap and close by!). So by now I have some decent and well-tried "must-dos"if you're ever "in town":

Pasteis de Belem  These traditional egg custard tarts are little bowls of joy and deliciousness! With a rich, egg custard filling and a dense crust made up of many layers of flaky crust (similar to filo dough in texture), this delicious dessert is one of my favorite things about Lisbon! It can be found in many pastry shops throughout Lisbon, but the best, authentic place to get them is in the district of Belem. It's hard to miss the shop as it often has lines going out the door of people waiting to get there hands on these Portuguese treats. Make sure to ask for extra cinnamon and powdered sugar to put on top!

One of the many cute streets good for wandering in Sintra, Portugal

Sintra A beautiful little town up in the mountains of Lisbon, this day trip is a must-do when in Lisbon! With its fresh streams, crisp mountain air, lush green vegetation, and beautiful mountainside homes, it immediately makes one feel like they are no longer in Portugal, but a mountain-town of Switzerland! Take your time wandering the streets, stopping in a shop to try a shot of cherry liquor in a chocolate cup (a very typical liquor of the region), and visiting the old castle, Gaudi-like colorful palace, or maze-like whimsical noble garden of Quinta da Regaleira, complete with caves, hidden passageways, and a freaky floor of mirrors that will make anyone afraid (even those not afraid of heights!)

Fado music To really experience and feel Portugal, one must experience this melancholic music full of soul and emotion that makes one feel like they are with a widow in a lighthouse window, waiting for their husband to come back from sea and feeling a sense of dread and uncertainty for the future and loss for a past that can never be again. A simple genre, it includes a single singer and a guitarist in its simplest and most common form. The key is trying to avoid tourist traps but get lost in the old neighborhood and find an old, packed bar with tiled walls, plenty of wine, and a sad, beautiful song playing as a quiet, barely stirring audience listens and contemplates. 

Trying not to blow off the cliff! December 2011

More wind a laughter! March 2013

Cabo de Roca The Western-most point of Europe, it's a beautiful spot to go to, stand up at the cliffs and out at the endless spread of ocean-water below, and wave to New York miles and miles away while waiting for a most-likely incredible sunset. But bring a wind-breaker- it tends to be chilly and super-super windy!

 After a few trips there, one with my roommates Laura and Danielle, another with my parents, and a third with Laura and two other friends, a few specific memories stand out to me:

"Sempre frente"
While traveling with the girls and our friend Jose, we didn't come to Lisbon very prepared- no maps printed, no directions, useless Iphone that had no battery left!... Fortunately, we came across friendly people at the most necessary moments. On our arrival to the city, we rolled down the window and asked the taxi driver for directions to our hostel. He was very friendly and pointed forward with a friendly wink in his eye "sempre frente!..." (which is very similar to Spanish, "siempre frente/todo recto". It became a joke as it seemed like every person we asked for directions after that replied with a smile and a "sempre frente". We were baffled, but it turned out that every time they were right, and we eventually arrived to our destination!

Everyone has their Disneyland
When I'm with a friend or family member that gets to go somewhere they're super stoked to go, somewhere related to their passions and loves in life, I like to describe their anticipation as "the Disneyland effect", referring to my many sleepless childhood nights knowing that the very next day I would be heading up to Disneyland with my sister next to me in the car, my parents in the front, and a disney stuffed animal in my lap. That was exactly how my dad was when I took him to the Lisbon Maritime Museum. I knew I had to take him there, since it was so close to Madrid and since he loves everything related to old ships and exploration. And Portugal, with its rich history of exploration and old ports, was the perfect place! My mom and I sat on a couch in the visitors center by the end, waiting for my father as he made new friends and exchanged emails to trade boat building plans and books :)

Enjoying a Pasteis de Belem on a sunny, but cold, winter day! December 2011

The Joys- and Hazards- of Teaching

Lice shampoo? Really?! I haven't dealt with that in 10 years!

Everything in life has its joys, its perks, its aspects that make you smile and make you feel grateful for that job, that person, that opportunity, that connection. Then there's the things that come along with it that you'd rather just leave out, if possible... but if life were that way, we'd never appreciate the sunny days! Here's a few things from this past school week that capsulate those pros and cons of my job as an assistant in a bilingual elementary school:

Joys

Lots of laughter and creativity in my daily life at school

This past month we've been doing a lot of conversation activities in preparation for the students' Cambridge English test in April. We talk about photos, discuss situations, and debate questions. One of the prompts had a picture of a girl (who was theoretically moving to a new apartment) and a set of possible housewarming gifts you could get her. The students had to discuss and choose the best gift for her.

Nico and Jose, who are always very upbeat and enthusiastic about their speaking assignments, looked at the picture of silverware and said that it would be a good gift, but it's too expensive, and "We are in crisis!". They decided the best option was to buy a set of plasticware and spray paint it silver! I was cracking up, it was the most creative answer of the afternoon :)

Bea and Marta argued about whether the best gift was a microwave or a painting. They argued- literally argued- over whether the girl (who doesn't even exist) was moving out of her parents' house or moving from a different apartment and if it was possible bring her old microwave to her new flat! It became very heated, and very intense, as they laughed and continued debating each other. It's such a Spanish thing- to raise your voice over a small issue. I've often overheard Spaniards arguing, and you'd think it was a serious argument due to the tone and noise level- but then you listen harder and realize they're discussing the best place to go for dinner!

Natalia and Inés didn't know the word for silverware, so they called them "cuberts" (silverware is cubiertos in Spanish, hahaha! I usually know why they say the strange things they say)

Sharing my culture in small ways

I got to do this a lot last year, and I've forgotten how the simple things can shock or excite the students. This week we had a lesson on the EU and currency, and I brought in leftover English pounds, Danish krones, Swedish krona, and US dollars. (Those green bills that look strange to me now!). The students got so excited about this simple gesture, and I had fun explaining who the different presidents were and why there were different pictures on the back of the quarter.

One of my tutoring students, Alba, and I were talking about food and things we liked to eat. She told me she ate cookies with butter on them, and I thought that sounded strange. I told her about how I eat a thing called peanut butter with bread and bananas, and she thought that sounded weird too. So we made a deal that I would try cookies with butter if she'd try peanut butter. We made a whole class out of it! I brought peanut butter the next class and we put peanut butter and butter on cookies, compared the tastes, and discussed it. She actually loved the peanut butter (especially when I suggest she put it on a chocolate cookie!), and the "cookie" and butter wasn't that bad (because they were actually crackers here- cookies and crackers often get translated as the same thing, as they are both called galletas in Spanish). It was a fun cultural experience, and we even had Alba's mom and dad try some peanut butter   too! I'm spreading the creamy, buttery joy of peanut butter one student at a time!

I found good peanut butter in Spain! Such a novelty! Okay, it's not American,
it's Dutch- but it's fantastic! The Dutch know what they're doing too :)
Only 2,50 euros as well! (It's ridiculously expensive in most other places, and also hard to find)

My 6th graders have a big range of English speaking skills, and some of them speak so well that I almost feel like I'm having a normal conversation with native speakers! Sasha and Maria are like that, and I always have really enjoyable conversations with them. I can often expand and let them go off topic, because they need the challenge and practice. This week we talked about cheeses (goat cheese, french cheeses, eating cheese on sliced tomatoes or with marmelade, etc!) and how technology today is changing family dynamics and interactions. Sasha always shares interesting things about her culture with me, and never ceases to impress me with her language skills and maturity. Her mother is from Ukraine and her father is from Russia, so she speaks Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish, and excellent English. She's told me about the fresh milk from her grandmother's village in Ukraine, and how she'd like to visit the Red Plaza in Moscow. ("Reddish" was her translation for the Russian adjective red, which their culture uses to describe things as beautiful, since red is a highly valued color there and has come to represent beauty!)

One of my favorite students (shh!), Pedro, caught in the act- a priceless expression! They never cease to make me smile or laugh out loud, on a daily basis!

Hazards

I usually welcome hugs, kisses, and pats on the back, but not during flu season! This year there were several viruses infecting the student and teacher population. Some days there were 5-6 students absent, and half the teachers' lounge has been coughing up a storm! Mostly that was a thing of February.

But now, it's not just a bad cold thing- it's a bugs-in-your-hair thing! When I saw lice flyers being handed out around school, a sinking feeling hit my stomach. Lice!? ugh. Soon, boys were coming back to school with new haircuts or shaved heads, and you could easily tell who had gotten lice! There were 3 boys in my class at one time. It spreads like wildfire here, as Spaniards seem to be pretty lax about it here and don't take as many precautions with it. My other American English assistants and I are appalled at how un-seriously they take it here! It is good to be relaxed about some things in life.. but not when it comes to bugs in my hair, please! We've all been paranoid and if anyone even began to itch we've been checking each others' scalps immediately. Which is how we found out I had gotten it :( That night, as I doused my hair with anti-piojo chemicals and had my roommate comb through my hair with a special fine-toothed comb, I was taken back to my own elementary school days. I barely even remember the last time I had lice! Ahh, the side effects of teaching English in Spanish elementary schools....It's definitely been a memorable experience, both good and bad, thus far!

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

El Escorial

Have you ever walked through a narrow, dark hallway with portraits that seem to be staring at you, antiquated rugs, once-inhabited royal chambers that today only have empty views of the misty forests below, and ended up in a beautiful, yet overbearing, crypt alone? It can be a chilling (literally) but interesting experience. Well that's exactly what I experienced in one of Spain's historical royal residencies last month.

The main entrance to El Escorial

This December Laura, Danielle and I went to San Lorenzo, a little town outside of Madrid that boasts El Escorial, the historical Spanish Royal Residence that was built as a monastery and also a palace, library, sepulchre, and museum. I had heard good things about it and that it was worth visiting, but I just never made it last year- even though it's only 20 miles from the town I teach in! So we finally took a trip out there this winter so we could also see San Lorenzo's Christmas Nativity scene that the town puts up every December.

Since El Escorial closed early, and since the other girls had already been, I was left to explore the royal site by myself. Though I was a little bummed at first, it turned out to be an interesting experience alone, and it gave me the flexibility to tour the building at my own pace. Which is good because it ended up being a lengthy tour - the place is huge! I began following the arrow signs that guide you throughout the buildings, and was first led to an architectural museum. It was a neat exhibit that showed the original plans and old construction techniques from the 16th century. It was cool to see models of the constructions methods and try to figure out how the various pullies and wheels worked together!

View of the gardens and the foggy mountains in the distance
from the window of the main palace salon. 

Next I began to wander through some of the many rooms of the old palace, rooms which were once salons, guest rooms, dining rooms, sitting rooms, etc. There were many beautiful, colorful Italian-style paintings from artists who were contracted by King Philip II and became popular through his positive favor of them. The rest of these collections are in the famous El Prado museum in Madrid, and the quality and historical beauty of the paintings is incredible. I felt like I was looking at my middle school world history textbooks again, but in real life!  Besides the paintings, there were beautiful ceiling frescoes. Some of the rooms, like the bedrooms, have furniture still, but mostly the rooms are quite empty, which gave it an eery feel. It also didn't help that as it was usually just me, a security guard, and the occasional visitor, walking through the rooms. There was a point where it was just me getting slightly lost in the narrow, cold stone hallways and feeling a little panicky!

After some more wandering I finally made it to the sepulchre, where most of Spain's royalty is buried, which was the main reason I had come to visit the building. It was deep down in the palace, and to get there you had to first climb down a flight of thick carpeted stairs with dark, wood paneled walls, a dark green ceiling, hanging chandeliers made of fancy glass beads, and mounted lamps on the side walls. As I was walking down the stairs, I felt a sense of excitement, as I knew I was approaching the famous pantheon, burial place of many famous Kinds and Queens of Spain. Plus, I felt like I had been transported straight to the haunted mansion in Disneyland!

The Pantheon of El Escorial, where most of Spain's Royalty from the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties (from Charles I to the present) are buried. (Photo credit: Wikipedia- since the public isn't allowed to take photographs!)

After descending the lavish, dark entrance, I entered the sepulchre to find an even more lavish space- one fit for royalty. It was a circular room full of rows of stacked tombs made of dark green and black marble. They were also adorned with so much gold decorations that it felt like there was gold everywhere! It was really an impressively morbid space, unlike anything I'd ever seen before! I spent at least 15 minutes there just absorbing the room and reading the golden nameplates on the tombs. One was for Queen Eugene of England, who I had just finished reading a historical fiction novel about! It was so neat to have learned her story, how she married the Spanish King and was exiled during the time of Franco, and then see her resting place in person a couple of weeks later!

I left El Escorial satisfied with my visit, and also very happy to be going back to the spacious outdoors with its fresh winter air! By the time I exited the day had become a misty, cold evening, and the winter mist gave a gorgeous touch to austerity of the stone building. There were many families taking advantage of their holiday weekend off, with little Spanish kids were running around in puffy coats :) As I walked to meet up with Danielle and Laura, I even ran into one of my students from school! This didn't surprise me though, as it was a holiday weekend and San Lorenzo is really close to the town that I teach in.

Then Laura, Danielle and I explored the little town of San Lorenzo and it's giant, life-sized nativity scene. The town was super cute, with sparkly Christmas lights hanging on the trees and some of the palm trees wrapped in lights. The nativity scene was very elaborate, with giant elephants, giraffes, and other exotic animals, markets with life-sized, paper-mache people selling vegetables and spices, stalls of horses and pigs, and running windmills with flowing water! It was so much fun for us that I could imagine it would be even more magical for the little Spanish kids and families visiting it as well! It was obviously a huge project done by adults as well, but the paper-mache gave it a kid-made effect!

Then I was soo starving that we had to find a restaurant stat! We went into a cute little bar to get some tapas and beer. We got tostadas, a typical tapa here, which is a toasted slice of baguette with cheese or meet on top. We got tostadas with goat cheese and marmelade, yummm, and tortilla española. It was cheap, in generous portions, and the owner/bartender was a sweet old Spanish man. Just your typical great bar experience! Plus, anytime you're really hungry, everything tastes twice as good. As the Spanish saying goes, "El hambre es la mejor salsa" (hunger is the best sauce/seasoning!).

We had passed a couple of churro stands earlier, and couldn't leave without getting a nice, hot fried churro! So we joined the long line to get a typical Madrileño dessert. Then we sat on a bench in the chilly night air, in this quaint little town, surrounded by Spanish families, Christmas lights, and the smell of churros and sounds of laughter in the air, with the impressive stone El Escorial palace below. It was an amazing place to be, and one of those moments that made me say out loud to the girls "Sometimes I still can't believe we're living in Spain!! We're so lucky!". And I sunk my teeth into the thick churro again :)

The quaint little town of El Escoral- with Christmas lights and lamposts!
In the frigid Demeber air it almost felt like we were in Germany!

Mmmm, chocolate-covered churros!