Spain: As if You Were Here!

Horcajo de Santiago (May 24)

I'll be coming home for good in 1 week. It's difficult to explain how I feel. At times I feel extreme sadness to be leaving my familia espanola (students, friends, people of Horcajo) and other times I feel extreme happiness to be returning to my American family and my wonderful fiance. There is a saying in Spanish (look it up)...

No suenes tu vida
Vive tu sueno

I believe I've done just that.

Alicante (May 10-13 )

After seeing Eric off, I left for Ciudad Real to meet up with Kim (my American friend) and we went to Alicante. Kim and I have both done a lot of monument-visiting kind of traveling, so we were craving a weekend of doing nothing but lying on a beach. My weekend in Alicante consisted of waking up, eating breakfast, putting on my suit, and laying on the beach until dinner time. Ok...I guess we got up every now and then to take a dip in the Mediterranean. I'm really tan now! Oh...AND we climbed this hill to visit Alicante's castle AND we had pina coladas one night. The weekend was absolutely divine.

Rome (May 3-6)

Eric and I flew to Rome. In Rome we...
    -went on a walking, night tour and saw the Roman forum, Colisseum, the Capitoline Hill, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona.
    -went to the Spanish steps
    -ate gelatto and pizza almost every day
    -visited Vatican City and saw St. Peter's Basilica (we climbed to the very top and 6' 6" Eric barely fit in the tiny staircases!), the Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel
    -we went to a soccer game at the Stadio Olimpico to watch Lazio play. Rome has two main teams, Lazio and Roma. The cheapest and most lively seats--think colored flares, deafening cheers, big Italian hugs--are in the curva section of the stadium. Romanisti are in the curva sud, while Laziali are found in the curva nord. We bought tickets from a guy outside for really cheap. Eric (huge sports-nut) was practically jumping up and down he was so excited. I thought he was going to cry from joy. Anyways...It WAS really exciting and yet, another INCREDIBLE experience. I highly recommend going to a European futbol game!

   

Valencia (April 29-30)

My new fiance and I went to Valencia by train. We...
    -walked along the America's Cup port. the America's Cup is an international yacht race
    -dipped our feet in the Mediterranean Sea
    -visited The City of Arts and Sciences. The City is amazing! It is home to Europe's largest aquarium, LÓceanografic. We visited the aquarium and science museum. The science museum was one of the most hands-on science museums I've ever visited...very cool!
    -walked around and visited old churches and towers

   

Dublin...never to be forgotten! (April 20-23)

My boyfriend, Eric, came to visit me. Our first weekend together we went to Dublin. We went on a hop-on, hop-off city tour bus and saw the sights; Phoenix park, Trinity College and The Book of Kells, Botanical Garden, Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, St. Patrick's Cathedral. We also went to the Guiness Storehouse, and learned everything there is to know about Ireland's most famous black beer, Guiness. At the end of the tour you end up on the seventh floor of the storehouse where they serve a free pint of Guiness as you enjoy a spectacular view of Dublin. We went on a half-day bus tour of Ireland's north coast and Malahide Castle. One night we went out to the Temple Bar area and had drinks in a number of its most-famous pubs.

Finally (this is where the BIG NEWS comes in...), Eric took me on a secret date. I'll tell you the story from my perspective....

The night began with a lovely dinner at a cute little restaurant near-by our hotel. I thought it was going to end there. Afterwards we started to walk. I thought we were walking towards the next part of our date...a movie, play, opera, something like that, but then we just kept walking and walking and walking and walking and walking and walking in circles, and then I started to get annoyed and told Eric to ask somebody for directions to where-ever it was we were going. He was acting strange and was determined to find whatever it was we were looking for. He finally approached a taxi, quietly talked to the driver, so that I wouldn't know what was going on, we got in the taxi, and began to drive around in circles with the taxi driver. We passed all  kinds of places that Eric and I had passed on foot and I was really confused. Finally, the taxi driver said "Sorry" and dropped us off in front of St. Stephens Green park (near our hotel). I had mentioned earlier that we should walk through the park, so Eric and I walked all the way around St. Stephen's Green Park...only to discover that it was closed for the night. Eric was extremely distraught! He finally explained to me that we had been walking around earlier to try and find a horse carriage. He asked the taxi driver to take us to one, but the taxi driver also couldn't find any horse carriages. Anyways....we went back to the hotel for the night. Eric continued to be in extreme distress and I kept reassuring him, "It's ok! I promise...I'm not disappointed about not riding in a horse carriage tonight. We can do that in Denver. It's ok." When he called his mom to tell her he couldn't find a horse carriage, I couldn't help but think that my boyfriend was a huge "mama's boy."  We went to bed (Eric still very sad), had breakfast the next morning, packed up for our return flight to Madrid, and left the hotel. The morning was nice and we had time before our flight, so we decided to walk through St. Stephen's Green park. It was full of colorful tulip gardens. We sat on a bench and talked and took in the view.

The next thing I know....Eric was down on one knee proposing to me. He was so excited he accidentally put the ring on the wrong hand. :-)  I said "yes," cried and couldn't stop smiling....and that's when the previous night all made sense. He had been planning to take a ride in a horse carriage after dinner, have the carriage drop us off at St. Stephen's Green park, and then propose. Well, he didn't find a horse carriage and the park was closed. Poor Eric, but it all turned out ok, and we couldn't be happier!

Segovia...Again! (April 14-15)

After seeing my parents off at the airport one of the guys came and picked me up and we went to Segovia. We, los tenistas, spent the weekend at Jose Carlos' house. We visited some beautiful towns around the region, and had an amazing lunch. We went to a town famous for it's "roasted lamb" restaurants, and that's what we had. It was DELICIOUS! We went out in Segovia one night and danced the night away. Finally, being my second time in Jose Carlos' pueblo, I began to remember some of the nicknames, motes, of his buddies at the bar he always goes to. Almost everybody has a mote. Many which are translated into things like monkey and baldy. One of his friends from the bar taught me how to throw darts from under my leg. I got really good at it by the end of the night, and he was very impressed.

Mi Familia! (April 5-14)

My parents and brother came to visit me! We're not the type of family that goes on exciting vacations, so I was really stressed about being the one to host their first European vacation. We spent the first part of their time in Spain in Madrid; visiting the Reina Sofia museum, Parque Retiro, Plaza Mayor, watching Semana Santa processions, and we saw a bullfight in Las Ventas.Las Ventas is a big, beautiful bull-fighting stadium in Madrid. It was a completely new experience for all of us, and my mom loved yelling "OLÉ!"

After our time in Madrid, we came to Horcajo! I was so happy to have the opportunity to introduce my family to my students. My dad enjoyed asking the students tons of questions about Spain. We had lunch with the tennis guys one day, and another day we went out with some of my closest peers. The guys loved my brother's sense of humor and they had fun picking on me together. My brother also taught them some inappropriate vocabulary. My parents visited Segobriga one day and we all went to Cuenca another day. They had a lot of fun and their first exciting vacation was a success!

Buenos dias! Good morning! (April 10)

Time is flying by, and I can't believe April is almost half over! When did that happen?

Mom, dad, and John-Hector are here! Woo-hoo! I'm excited to be a part of their first big travel experience. Eric, mi amor, arrives April 18, and will be staying until May 10. We're going to go to Dublin, Rome, and Valencia, so be on the look out for updates about those experiences.

A number of the teachers from my school have been kind enough to invite me into their homes and introduce me to their home-towns. I consider myself very lucky and blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know so many places in Spain through the locals. One of whom was recently Jose Carlos, one of los tenistas...

The Little Segoviano with a Big History (March 23-25)

One can expect to hear Segovia and/or San Cristobal mentioned whenever talking to Jose Carlos. A conversation could be as simple as, "I had a muffin this mornin"" and Jose Carlos would pipe in with a "The best muffins are in my village, San Cristobal!"

The pride for his homeland is amusing at times (especially when he belts out a traditional tune), but most of all it is admirable. I find myself looking away in shame some nights as I watch news about the USA or when another teacher asks me a difficult question about our government. Jose Carlos doesn't realize it, but my trip to Segovia was key in renewing the faith I have in my own country.

After hearing so much about his little pueblo of San Cristobal, I decided it was high-time I see it for myself. Jose Carlos and I took to the road at about 1pm, and after a stomach-churning, but beautiful trek through the mountains seperating Madrid and Segovia, we arrived in San Cristobal early friday afternoon. San Cristobal is a small village right outside of Segovia at the base of the mountains.

After a filling lunch and short siesta, Jose Carlos took me on a hike through the fields of his tierra (land). He is an avid bird-watcher, so we hiked to nearby eagles' nests to make sure the eagles were in their usual places for the season. He knows every path, rock, bird, plant, fence, and tree. I was in complete awe at how connected he was to his land. He shared memories of his childhood, told me local legends, and taught me the names of plants and birds as we walked. At one point we walked through a field of toros (bulls). While I was wide-eyed and sure I was about to face my young death, he chased them around, and yelling over his shoulder, assured me I was perfectly safe and the bulls were harmless...unless I cornered them. I chose to keep my distance and climb the stone fence as fast as possible. :)

Later that night, I met Belen, Jose Carlos' mujer (woman). She took me on a drive around Segovia at night. The castle, aqueduct, and the city's walls were beautifully lit.

It's going to take me forever to write narratively about every moment, so here's a list of what else I did...

• Jose Carlos and Belen built their house from the ground up. They laid every brick, stone, and tile. Their lives were tied to the house every vacation and weekend for 2 years. It's a beautiful home with a mountain range view from the back yard.
• Jose Carlos and I went on another hike to some man-made waterfalls in a near-by river. On the way, he picked some oregano/parsley-looking plant from a very wet-part of a field. When he got home, he washed it and ate it with his salad. He told me it would make me sick if I ate too much, so I just tried it...it was kind of like eating grass.
• Jose Carlos showed me his childhood home, an old, grey-stone building in the old part of San Cristobal.
• We saw the castle and aqueducts of Segovia...both very impressive! The aqueducts are made from stones that have never been "glued" together.
• I met and played hide-and-seek with Jose Carlos' nephew and niece.
• We went on a guided tour of La Granja, a palace nestled at the base of the mountains, and we walked around the palace's amazing gardens. The gardens go on forever, and are now a part of my TOP 10 Things You Must See in Spain list.
• Jose Carlos' mom made us leche frita (fried milk). It´s this gelatin-like pudding covered in cinnamon-sugar and fried....VERY DELICIOUS!

The excitement Jose Carlos has for his home-town is infectious. I saw myself in him, and I'm pumped to return to Colorado and...I don't really know...read more about our history and be more connected; more connected with the people and the la tierra. Thank you Jose Carlos!

Buenos dias! (Mar 13)

Te echo de menos! I miss you!

Below is an itinerary of my trip to London this past weekend. I've included some photos of my adventures.

Thursday March 8, 2007: Lost in London

I took the bus to Madrid after school on Thursday where I met my friend, Kim, at the airport. We arrived in London at about 11:30 pm. We took the train into central London, and had 10 minutes to get to our hostel before the metro closed. Well...the line to our hostel had already closed for the night, so we wandered around lost in London. It was great fun! If you haven't heard, London is a very expensive city to travel to, so we refused to get a taxi to our hostel. 2 hours later we arrived, and I had a blister on my heel. :(

Friday March 9, 2007: Exploring London

7:30 am - We woke up and quickly ate breakfast and got dressed. We didn't want to miss the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace!

9:30 am - Arrived at Buckingham Palace and NOBODY was in sight. It was at this moment we realized that we hadn't changed our watches and cell phones to London time. We walked up the mall (a street lined with daffodils, beautiful trees, and huge British flags) and through a park.

10:30 am - I bought coffee and a blueberry muffin

10:45 am - We began to wait at the gate of Buckingham Palace

11:35 am - Still waiting

11:40 am - Changing of the Guard! The royal band played Wizard of Oz theme songs as the guards changed.

12:45 pm - Visited Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Parliament (all of which were big and beautiful!)

2:30 pm - Sat in Trafalgar Square and people-watched

3:00 pm - visited Harrod´s. It was amazing! It was the most attractive and elegant shopping mall I've ever seen. There was an opera singer positioned on a balcony next to the escalators. We went straight to Toy Kingdom and played with all of the test-toys! There was a magician and a storyteller!

4:30 pm - A stroll through Hyde Park

5:30 pm - Walked along Borough Market. It was amazing! There were hundreds and hundreds of vendors.

6:30 pm - Ate fish and chips and had strawberry milkshakes. Mmmmm! Began our trek back to the hostel.

8:30 pm - Napped and relaxed in the hostel

10:30 pm - Left for Picadilly(?) Circus/Theater District area

11:00 pm - waited in line for a ticket at The Comedy Shop

12:00 -2:00am - Heard 5 comedians, laughed my butt off

2:30 am - Went to bed

Saturday March 10, 2007: Going Home

7:30 am - Woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast

8:30 am - Realized we still hadn't changed our clocks!!

9:30 am - Another stroll through Hyde Park!

10:30 am - We had morning tea and pastries at The Orangery, a beautiful restaurant next door to Kensington Palace

12:00 - 2:30 pm - Climbed more than 300 stairs up The Monument, a tower with a wonderful view of London, walked along the Thames River, visited London Bridge (I was disappointed to find an intact bridge), London Tower, the London Tower bridge, ate peanut butter and jelly and mandarines

2:30- 3:30 pm - Visited the National Gallery art museum where we saw Van Gogh´s famous paintings of the chair and of the sunflowers.

3:30 - 11:30 pm - Returned to Madrid and used each of the following in a span of 7 hours: bus, feet, plane, train, and metro

12:30 am - Found a hostel in Madrid

1:30 am -Had a glass of wine

2:30 am - Went to bed

I love Spain (Feb 23)

Some of the people at my school have been reading my blog and have expressed concern that I've been unhappy in Horcajo.

I love Spain, this experience has transformed my life. Sometimes I've been homesick; sometimes I've been surprised by the differences between the culture in which I've been raised and this one that I'm just learning to be part of…which is what anyone should expect living away from home and in an entirely new culture for the first time. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting all of the ham, late-night fiestas, and challenge of speaking only Spanish. But I've found that the cure for homesickness is to appreciate the amazing kindness and grace of the people who invite you into their homes for a simple meal, who talk to you patiently when they know you're just learning the language, and who confide in you and show their trust and respect after only a few months of friendship. I couldn't be more grateful for the support the teachers have shown me; they have played tennis with me, welcomed me into their childhood homes, given me rides from here to there, taken me grocery shopping, bought me dinner, made me dinner, and ultimately, have made me a part of their lives.I'm not a professional writer. I'm just learning how to be a teacher. But both the experience of teaching here in Spain and writing on this blog have helped me learn from the incredible array of experiences I've had over the past several months. I am grateful to everyone who's been a part of that.

NOTE: I said in an earlier entry that I won cards when I played against the tennis guys. The truth is that Felix won, but I was second. :)

Dia del Centro (Feb 14)

Today was a wonderful day!

I woke up sad because I'm thousands of miles away from my boyfriend on Valentine's Day. But when I arrived at school I was greeted by a group of students who were delivering carnations and valentines. Lourdes and Llanos had ordered a carnation for me and they had both written beautiful notes! I felt so loved!

The school was bustling all day because it was Dia del Centro, a day full of fun workshops. The students were free to come and go as they pleased. The English department had a dessert contest and an English breakfast. The students' cakes were delicious!! I played American board games with the students and we listened to American music while playing. Guess Who? and Twister were the favorites. It was soooooo fun! There were tons of different activities: basketball tournaments, aerobic classes, karoake, a soccer game, a tattoo station, fun science experiments, building mini machines, and MUCH MORE! I got a sun tattoo (wash-off) on my wrist from one of my students. She is a wonderful artist. I watched the soccer game...teachers versus students. The students won. I participated in a "game show" in which you are given a list of letters and you have to come up with the longest word, and then you are given a list of numbers and an answer and you have to apply basic operations to come up with the answer. I lost horribly, but had a ton of fun.

After school, the teachers got together for lunch in Tarancon. The food and wine kept coming, and we ate, drank, and talked for about 4 hours. Afterwards, we went to a pub and played darts and fooseball(?).

I would have been happy if my day had ended there, but the icing on the cake was when Eric (my boyfriend) called to say Happy Valentine's Day.

Granada (Feb 19)

I went to Granada this weekend! It was beautiful!

I took a bus from Madrid and arrived in Granada friday night. I met David Dearing there. I work with David in the Office of the President at CSU, and he is currently participating in an intensive language program in Granada. I stayed in a cute, old hostel. It rained most of the day saturday, but I didn't let the weather deter me from exploring a new place! I walked around Granada and almost got lost. When I would get sopping wet, I would hang out in a cafe and drink tea until I was warm ,and then I would continue exploring. What I did...

I saw the beautiful view of El Mirador de San Nicolas.

I toured La Alambra and Generalife, the magnificent gardens around La Alambra.

I read a large part of my John Grisham novel in a cute cafe across the street from a flower vendor.

I read, people-watched, and admired the skills of the flower vendor as he made beautiful bouqet after beautiful bouquet.

I ate lunch at a Turkish restaurant and had a delicious kebab.

I went to mass in the cathedral.

I went to a Flamenco show in El Sacremonte, and WOW! David and I sat in our seats in front of an average-looking stage and waited for the show to begin. The musicians took their places and began to play. The dancer eventually joined the musicians. As the beautiful cry of the singer meshed with the thunderous rhythm of the heels of the dancer, the back curtain on what I thought was an average stage began to rise and it revealed to us a scene that can hardly be described with words. La Alambra sat majestically atop its hill in front of the snow-capped mountains of the Sierra Nevada range, and all was perfectly framed with the purples, oranges, yellows, and rich pinks of the sun setting over magical Granada.

Heaven on earth.

Weekend in Paris!!!! (Jan 29)

This past weekend was a big one. I went to Paris!!!!

I was there from Friday morning to early Monday morning. I saw the Eiffel Tower, Arch de Triomphe, Museo de Orsay, The Louvre, MONA LISA!!!, works from Van Gogh! Monet! and Matisse!, Catedral de Notre Dame, National Assemblly building, Pantheon, Basilique de Sacre Coeur, La Sainte Chapell, and a million other places!!!

What I did: Seine river cruise, walked A LOT!, spent little, met tons of people from all over the world, climbed the stairs of the Eiffel Tower, toured two museums, went to international mass in the Notre Dame Cathedral, ate a crepe, ate a hot-dog sandwich with some AMAZING cheese, bought a bottle of wine to share with the tennis guys, took lots of pictures, had a conversation in Spanish (the only language we all had in common) with a German girl and a Brazilian guy.

I met this kid from Brazil whose parents are from Taiwan, and he had perfect American English. I asked him where he was from, expecting to hear Iowa or California or some state, and he said Brazil, but he looked Asian, so then I was really confused. I think he could tell by the look on my face, so he explained that his parents were from Taiwan, but he was born and raised in Brazil, but he went to an American high school. We soon realized that we had both graduated with IB diplomas! We talked forever about extended essays, TOK, 6th subjects, and a lot of other stuff having to do with the IB program. I'm glad I went! I was in awe the entire time!

Snow Day (Jan 26)

Yesterday was a big day around here!

So...I woke up early, shuffled into the kitchen to start my toast, and my roommate, hearing that I was awake, started yelling for me to look outside. I ran to the window and "what to my wondering eyes did I see? But, a few measly snow-flakes...maybe 3."

Seriously though, they haven't seen snow around here for a long time, so there were grown men running down the street and sliding across the snow. I think it snowed maybe an eighth of an inch and everyone was sooooo excited. I got to school and there were about 20 students, out of 400. There were only about 12 teachers, out of 40.

School was canceled, roads were closed, buses didn't run, and I kept my mouth shut about the weekly blizzards in Colorado ( I didn't want to ruin the moment). The logical thing to do was go to the churreria and have churros and chocolate, so we went and half of our students were there with their parents. I was with the tennis guys, and as we left the churreria we were pelted with snowballs from about 30 of our older boy students, so of course we had to take cover and join the town snowball fight.

By 1 o'clock, the snow had melted, the streets were dry, and we still weren't in school. It was wonderful! If Colorado had the same snow-day standards as Horcajo then this winter would have seemed like another summer vacation.

Moors and Christians (Jan 21)

Most villages here have a special fesitivity and January 20 was Fiestas del Nino in Valera de Abajo, where my friend Lourdes is from.

Fiestas del Nino was a very entertaining event celebrating the history between the Moors and Christians (Moros y Christianos). Fesitivites begin Saturday night with the tradition that only men are allowed to go out. That´s the tradition, but it doesn't happen that way.

Everyone, men and women, goes out to dinner and then dancing until 7 or 8 in the morning. Our dinner lasted until 1 or 2 in the morning and then we went dancing.

Sunday is the actual parade through town. The parade is more like a walking play with 3 acts. In the first act the Christians win, the Moors win in the second act, and in the third act they finally become friends. How do they win? Well, there is one Moor on a horse and all the Moors are behind him. Across the street there is a Christian on a horse and all of the Christians are behind him. The horsemen are required to memorize a dialogue, which they "yell" back and forth to each other during each act. The dialogue is a kind of rhyming prayer. And the winner is the one with the last word.

The town is literally divided between the men and their families that are Chistians and the men and their families that are Moors. It's a friendly division and they like to joke with each other at work and around town, but the festivity has been a tradition for hundreds of years. If your father is a Moor in the parade then you will be a Moor in the parade. The Moors wear very elaborate costumes with lots of jewels and gold chains, and basically....you have to picture an elegantly dressed Aladdin. The Christians wear beautifully embroidered black capes with a black hat. Their hats have flowers in them.

Also, 2 more important parts of the festivities are these really loud guns they shoot off and the flag-waving. They wave these really big, heavy flags in a special way. The flags are so heavy that they have to take turns waving the flag ever minute or so. Some men do really impressive tricks with their knees and feet while they continue to wave the flag overhead.

Some other things I have to add about my weekend with Lourdes...

1. We went to some Roman ruins that are just outside her village. They were beautiful! And they were nestled into the side of a cliff overlooking a valley (la hoz). The view was breathtaking!
2. Her aunts taught me how to make a creamy pasta sauce! I tried it on the tennis guys and they loved it.
3. Lourdes has a dryer!! So her mom washed and dried every single pair of my jeans for me!
4. Her mom is a hairstylist, so there was a peluqueria (hair salon) in her house. It was really fun talking to all of the women and listening to their gossip.

Coffee and Wild Rummy (Jan 19)

Last week we decided to play tennis an extra day because it was really nice outside, but our coach wasn't expecting us, so he told us to go into town and have a coffee and come back later that night.

Well, we were bored, so we asked the waiter for a deck of cards. The guys asked me if I knew any games, so I proceeded to teach them Wild Rummy. HA! Try teaching 4 machista Spanish men how to play a new game. They scoffed at half of the rules, invented their own rules to substitute for the ones they didn't like, and ridiculed my shuffling technique. Also, I had no idea the cards would be so different. The pictures are coins, swords, copas, and ham legs (surprise surprise). If I remember correctly, 7,8, and 9 don't exist, but the Jack, queen, and king theme is similar.

Despite all of the hurdles, guess who won?! ME! ha! They tore the score sheet, so I wouldn't have evidence of my victory.

I've been playing a lot of tennis! we've been playing 3 days a week lately, and for at least 3 hours each time. I twisted my foot two weeks ago and had a big bruise on my ankle, but I'm fine now.

I'm Back! (Jan 9)

I'm back in Horcajo after 2 wonderful weeks in Colorado.

I was blessed to have caught all of my flights and received all of my luggage. My body is still trying to get used to the jetlag, so I've been sleeping a lot this week. My room is a disaster; full of partially unpacked suitcases.

I've been showing my students my passport, American coins and bills, pamphlets and brochures of Colorado, and clips from the 1999 Superbowl game (thank you Brian!). They love the lesson because it's very hands-on and they love learning about cultural specifics. They've been learning the meaning of "In God we trust" and that the eagle is a symbol used often in America.

It's interesting because the eagle is a symbol of Franco, the dictator, in Spain. One bright student, remembering an earlier discussion on the seperation of church and state, asked why we have "In God we trust" on our money if we also believe in a seperation of church and state.

The students also enjoy comparing American football to Spanish football, and it's fun listening to them cheer whenever they see a vicious tackle.

I've Got it Now! (Dec 13, part II)

I'm beginning to feel less and less like an outsider.

I think it's finally hit me...I understand almost everything people are saying.

I can now understand the 'asides' in a conversation, successfully eavesdrop, understand when the tennis guys are laughing at me and not with me, and finally, I am able to express myself. I have just recently started talking more, and I feel as if people are getting to know the real Adriana. I'm not just la americana sitting quietly listening to their conversations.

Now, I am La Adriana with opinions and jokes and emotions.

Preoccupied with Political Correctness (Dec 13)

The United States is not the only country preoccupied with political correctness.

The problem here in Spain is not labels of nationalities, but rather the lack of gender equality. In their vocabulary, to be politically correct when writing, more and more Spanish people are starting to use the "at" symbol, @, at the end of a word rather than choosing between the masculine "o" or the femenine "a." For example: cook = cociner@ (by using @, I am implying that the cook can be of either gender).

In my class I was doing a listening activity with the students last week. They were listening to the song "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt, and upon finishing the song one very proud young man raised his hand and asked if the singer was a man...
Diego: "Adri, is the singer a man? "
me: "Yes, Diego. "
Diego*: "Really? Why is a man singing these words? They are very much like woman feelings. "
Noella (a very smart girl)*: "Because this man that is singing is not a machista pig like you, Diego! "
    *dialogue in Spanish during actual occurence

It's Adriana (Dec 12)

I've been spelling my name with one "n" lately because that how it's supposed to be spelled here in Spain.

Chinese Food Fix (Dec 11)

One of the teachers let me stay the night at her apartment after the wedding, but she wasn´t there...she was on vacation.

So on sunday, the day after the wedding, I had to wait for my ride back to Horcajo until 5pm and meanwhile I was starving because my friend had no food. SO... I ordered Chinese Food! I was so proud of myself for finding the phonebook, then finding the number for take-out, and then calling and ordering IN SPANISH! It was delicious, and in my opinion, much fresher and healthier than what I´ve had in Ft. Collins or Greeley.

Boda Espanola = Spanish Wedding (Dec 9)

My roommate, Jose Andres, got hitched on Saturday, and I was there!

His wedding was in a beautiful church in the old part of Cuenca. I was surprised when the bride and groom were quickly brought up to the alter by the priest, and then all of the friends and family came into the church after them. The bride coming up the aisle wasn´t a big deal and there wasn´t any music during the wedding. The mass went quickly, babies cried, rings were exchanged, photos were taken, and then everyone met up at the reception hall for the dinner and fiesta.

The dinner kept going and going, course after course. First, we had 12 different appetizers! and drinks, then we had a whole lobster and crab salad, then soup, then a fish filet and shrimp, then a heavenly mango and lime sorbet, then a huge steak with potatoes, and then TWO desserts, then coffee, then the post-dinner shot of liquor, and then a free bar all night. Jose-Andres' friends gave him a gag gift in the middle of the reception...a huge "beautiful," porcelain column with brass detailing and a fake lemon tree coming out of the top.

Jose-Andres and his new bride had a dance, but there was no father-daughter dance. We all danced the night away, the reception ended, people went home and changed into comfy clothes (including the bride and groom), and the dancing continued until the wee hours of the morning.

The Return of the Mullet (Dec 6)

If you are a lover of the mullet then Spain is the place for you, my friend.

There are men with mullets and men without, but if the man is stylish he is bound to have a mullet. Track-suits are another hot commodity. Nothing is hotter than a mullet and a track-suit (to be read sarcastically). The last time I saw so many mullets was...never.

The mullet has returned.

El Vitor! (Dec 4)

When I discovered that all of my plans for leaving Horcajo during the break had sunk through, I felt doomed.

6 days in Horcajo...alone...ahhh!

Well, December 7 is El Vitor in Horcajo. El Vitor is the local festivity celebrating the life of Saint Mary. It is a VERY important holiday for the people of Horcajo. When asked to choose between Christmas, Easter and El Vitor, every single person I talked to replied "VITOR!" The festivities begin with a mass on Dec 7, followed by a 24-hour procession through the streets of Horcajo. One of my students, Maria Jesus, adopted me as her own for the holiday and took me with her everywhere she went.

There were thousands of people at the mass, and tons of TV crews! The church was packed with everyone yelling the Vitorial. The Vitorial goes like this..."Vitor la purisima conception de maria santisima con se vida sin mancha de pacauo. VITOR VITOR!" Vitor is similar to when we say "Long live...!" The people chant this sentence of praise repeatedly for 2 days straight. Fireworks, horsemen, old women with traditional pastries and hot coffee, roasted chestnut vendors, churro and chocolate vendors, whole families, tears, and excitement fill the streets of Horcajo during El Vitor, and I´m proud to say that I was a part of it.

A Real Thanksgiving (Dec 1)

I went to Ciudad Real to celebrate Thanksgiving with two other American girls this weekend.

I was nervous at first because I didn´t know one of them, but I soon discovered that she is as sweet as can be! We had a very busy weekend!

First, we had an amazingly delicious thanksgiving meal, and we were so proud of ourselves because we made EVERYTHING from scratch! The stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, and a chicken disguised as a turkey. We just sat at the table and stared at the food and took pictures of the food for about 30 minutes before we ate it. It was a very rewarding experience. We were almost all in tears when we went around the table and said what we were each thankful for. Kim, Rachel, and I became family at that moment. I made my mom´s famous corn dish (corn, cream cheese, and roasted green chile), and the girl´s loved it! We ended up literally scraping the stuffing from the pan because it was so delicious, and we ate an entire pumpkin pie in 40 minutes...3 girls!!

After letting our food digest for about an hour we went to a movie. This was my first experience going to a movie in Spain....and we saw "Borat"...in Spanish...enough said.

On Saturday I went to Pilar´s(the French teacher at Horcajo) house and her mother made us migas. I had heard it was a very typical dish for the region,but I wasn´t sure what it was. I was surprised to find out it´s basically a huge bowl full of bread cubes toasted in garlic and olive oil. That´s it! But we ate it with roasted green chile, a weird sauce that tasted like molasses, and sausage. It was pretty bland, but I´m grateful I had the experience.

After lunch at Pilar´s house I went back to Kim´s apartment and we went shopping. I bought some perfume. Then Rachel, Kim, and I went to a play called El Misterio de Ira Vamp. It was pretty funny, but difficult to follow considering my Spanish level is still low. Good practice though! The main actor is the guy who did the Spanish voice-over for the Genie in Aladdin, so that was cool.

After the play we went out to some pubs. While we were out we talked to Jesus in the convant, and he was 2 meters tall! No, I´m not smoking anything, but seriously...we talked to one of Rachel´s really tall students (named Jesus) in a danceclub called The Convant (with huge fake church bells).

We all slept in really late on Sunday. On sunday we went to a crepe restaurant owned by this French guy with a HUGE moustache. I had a banana, dark chocolate, and cream crepe. It was heavenly!

Then we went to this free exhibition about the history of flight. They had a lot of hands-on displays, and huge panels summarizing the huge steps taken in the history of flight.

Then we went to the Plaza Mayor of Ciudad Real and witnessed a hand-ball victory celebration. It was CRAZY! People were jumping through the fountains and lighting fireworks from the hands of the plaza´s statue...and they were decorating statues with their team scarves and waving huge flags and there was a guy playing a trumpet and another one had a huge drum. (Handball is a big deal in Ciudad Real cuz their team won the world championship recently or something, and a lot of Europeans have team scarves that they wear to games).

Then we hurried home to watch Cocktail in Spanish (gotta love the old Tom Cruise!). Pilar picked me up Sunday night and we came back home to Horcajo.

Time to be a Tourist (Nov 24)

This weekend another language assistant came to visit me and we went to visit Segobriga, an undergroud Roman city, near Horcajo.

It was so amazing!

I felt as if I was walking on holy ground the whole time because I was walking up and down paths that the ROMANS used! I´ve been telling my Spanish friends all week that they´re so lucky to have such a rich history. Segobriga was known for mining this glass-like rock that was used to line windows. A lot of the city is still underground, but they have already excavated the theater, amphitheater, bathing houses, and halls for different Gods.

It was soooooo cool! Some peope aren´t so impressed because a lot of places look like a bunch of rocks, but with a little imagination it´s amazing. There were lots of statues of important Roman people, but the Romans made the heads as a seperate piece from the rest of the body, so after so many years, a lot of the heads have been lost.

I´ll send pictures soon.

Take a Risk! (Nov 14)

Today was a big day because I took, not just one, but two risks!

Risk # 1: There is a beautiful, flat, dirt path that I can see outside my bedroom window that leads into the rolling, green, fields outside of Horcajo. I have been longing to run on this path since the day I arrived! BUT, I hadn´t because a group of 14 really old guys were always standing around the beginning of the path. The old guys here are kind of intimidating because they´ve lived here forever, they know every single person in the village, they´re always carrying canes (whether they need them or not), and they like to stare...a lot!

Well, today was a beautiful day (low 60´s), so I HAD to go for a run, and it HAD to be down "The Path." I streched outside my apartment, walked down the street to "the path," faced the old men, smiled, said &Hola," and then had the most peaceful, fulfilling run of my life.

Risk # 2: I finally had the courage to ask for some chicken from the meat-man at the grocery store. He´s also very intimidating because he likes to sing really loud while he´s working...and he´s covered in blood. I´m planning on enjoying some delicious chicken tonight!

It´s hard to eat ham and chorizo (sausage) all the time...I wouldn´t recommend it.

The Smell of Money! (Nov 13)

Everyone knows that Greeley, Colorado smells horrible on hot, summer days.

Well, Coloradoans...you have yet to smell the pigs of Castilla La Mancha!

The tennis guys and I were on our way to practice when all of a sudden we drove through a cloud of the most gut-wrenching smell imaginable. So bad, in fact, my eyes watered! They all got a kick out of my reaction, and informed me that I had just had my first sniff of Spanish pig farm. I told them we had a somewhat comparable smell in Greeley, Colorado with our feedlots, and then I taught them the English phrase of "It´s the smell of money!"

The economy teacher , Felix, loved the phrase and said he was going to share it with his classes.

Hey Gorgeous! (Nov 12)

If you ever need an instant ego boost then just walk through El Mercado of Horcajo de Santiago.

El Mercado (the market) comes to Horcajo every Friday morning, and I´ve been told we have a pretty big vendor turnout considering the size of our small village. The mercado is a web of vendors yelling flattering cat-calls to get your attention, "Ey, guapa!!& (Hey gorgeous), "Ey, guapisima!!"(Hey REALLY gorgeous) , and "Ey, carina...tengo zapatos chulos!" (Hey my love, I have cool shoes!).

There are about fruit and veggie vendors, shoe vendors, clothes vendors, wallet, watches, purses, perfumes, household decor, tapestry, appliance, magazine, shawl vendors! If I ever need anything I know I can find it for less than 6 euros at El Mercado. I recently bought two beautiful shawls, and I almost bought some brown boots, but they didn´t have my size.

I Learn Something New Everyday (Nov 10)

On my way home from school today an older gentleman came over and asked me, "Tienes ganans a comer?" I didn´t know what that meant, so I just kind of smiled and walked away, but then he asked me again, so I told him I was learning Spanish and didn´t understand. He just laughed and gave me the usual Spanish kisses.

I went home and looked it up.

I think he was asking me to have lunch with him.

30-Love in Spain (Nov 8)

I started tennis lessons!

I have lessons on Mondays and Thursdays in another village about 30 minutes away. Felix, Jose-Carlos, and Fernando (other teachers) pick me up around 3 pm, we stop by another village where we pick up Felix´s friend, drink coffee, and eat a light dinner. Then we drive to our lessons.

The location of the tennis courts is the best part...there are 5 brand new courts in the dead center of a beautiful and massive vineyard. We have to drive 10 minutes on a dirt road to get to the courts. The first time we went there I thought they were lost and trying to turn around.

Anyways, I always have "private" lessons because they divide the men and women, and most of the time I´m the only woman. So far, the language barrier hasn´t been a problem because the instructors can just show me what to do instead of telling me.

We usually stay at the courts until dark and then we go to another town and have something to drink, and then finally, we come home around 9 pm.

Dia - The Town Grocery Store (Oct 30, 2006)

In Horcajo, good things come in small packages.

Dia is the town grocery story and its size is reflective of Horcajo´s size. There are 4 aisles about half the length of the aisles in your average King Soopers.

One aisle has olives, wine, canned vegetables, vinegar, oil, and cheese. The second aisle has cereal, cookies, pasta, beans, milk, and water. The third aisle has bathroom essentials, fish, meat, and frozen foods. The last aisle houses the deli, toilet paper, cleaning supplies and produce. There is bread and chocolate at the front of the store. The bread is the best bread I have ever had. It´s baked fresh daily and costs 4 cents!

There are 2 registers, but they are never open at the same time, so there is usually a line going down the aisle. The women bring their own little fold-up carts to transport their groceries to and from Dia. The owner of Dia is also my landlord and his son is in one of my classes at the high school. The whole family is very nice and they always make sure I have everything I need.

The Internet and a New Friend (Oct 20, 2006)

Brace yourself for what you´re about to hear: internet access is hard to come by in Horcajo.

The average American would probably wither away and die here.

That being said, I hike up the center of town, through the town plaza, and past the crazy old man who gives way too many kisses on the cheek to La Casa de Cultura which houses the Centro de Internet. I try to come here 2 or 3 times a week, but it takes some getting used to considering it´s full of my students. They like to crowd around my screen and try to figure out what I´m typing in English. At first it was annoying, but now I´m used to it, and they usually get bored and leave. Each hour costs me 1 Euro.

A new friend!

Alejandro, the guy in charge of the internet center - he is always smiling and he rides a 3-wheeled motorcycle thing around town. He is very curious about the English language, so every time I use the internet center I give him a Palabra del Dia (Word of the Day). He is learning fast!

Jamon is King in Madrid (Sept 26, 2006)

I had a bocadillo con jamon today for lunch at a little bar down a random side street. It was muy rico! It was a ham sandwich, and when they say ham sandwich they mean ham sandwich - a half loaf of bread with dried ham in between, and that was it.

Ham is a big deal around here, as it should be, because it´s delicious. You know how the United States has a thousand different chains of burger places...well, it´s like that here with ham.

There´s the Museo de Jamon, Palacio de Jamon, Jamon Paradise, etc. and no, I am not kidding.

I Made It - I'm Here in Madrid! (Sept 23, 2006)

Hola todos mi familia, mis amigos, y mi amor!

I am in Madrid trying to use a Spanish keyboard, so bear with me...

Flights went well and I never lost luggage. Our hostel is in the center of Madrid, and very clean. I had to carry my 65 lb bag up 4 flights of curly stairs! Teresa is the woman that owns the hostel. She is very helpful and nice!

The smells, sights, sounds are so overwhelming. I can´t even think straight right now (I haven´t had very much sleep), so I´ll be writing again soon. I´m just in shock! I´m in SPAIN and it´s so beautiful!!!