Una Navidad Madrileña-- The Family Visit

¡Felices fiestas! Happy holidays!

I've had quite the busy holiday season. Ten days before Christmas, my mom, sister, and Ray came to Madrid to pass the Christmas season with me. They arrived the day after my sister's 20th birthday. I know I've said this about a million times before, but just so that it goes down in the blog: I am truly amazed that my sister is growing up! I really had to come to terms with it this year because I realized that our difference in age no longer matters. Back when I was 15 and she was 13, sure there was a difference: physically, emotionally, and in the way in which we processed and understood the outside world. Now, however, we've finally caught up to one another in all those areas. The next time that our age difference will be a concern will be when I start to go senile and lose my mind. Lindsay will then only have to wait 2 and then some short years before enjoying the same mental change.

After celebrating Lindsay's birthday, I acquainted my visitors with my life here in Madrid. I was able to show them where I live, where I grocery shop, where I work--everything! I enjoyed taking them around, showing them the city that I know, my personal Madrid, a feeling I never had with Buenos Aires. I also realized how much of the history of "my city" I don't know. When I went to Argentina, I was there to study and I was fortunate enough to take a couple of classes on the history and culture of Argentina. Here, however, I haven't had that same opportunity. I am planning on changing that and becoming more aware of the history that surrounds me.

We also were able to have our own little Christmas in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Madrid. My mom rented a small piso near my own. There, Lindsay and I cut out paper snowflakes and made paper chains to hang. Lindsay even pulled off a paper Christmas tree so that we would feel more at home. My mom and sister were kind enough to bake (and decorate with my help) over 8 dozen of our family's Christmas gingerbread cookies to share with my students. When we brought them to school, everyone--from the kids to the teachers to the staff--loved them!

I also exposed my visitors to San Gines and their chocolate con churros. San Gines is a world-famous chocolate shop that sells a limited selection of foodstuffs, mainly coffee, chocolate, and churros. I have to say that I like Mexican churros (fried bits of sweet dough) better than Spanish ones, but it is a truly Spanish experience to go to San Gines and eat them. The chocolate they serve is thick and more like dark chocolate than milk. You then dip the churro into the chocolate and eat it. The place is always crawling with people, from grandmothers in the afternoon to the late night partiers up at 7am. When I went with Mom, Ray, and Lindsay, we fought a line out the door, then crowded around a small table in a packed dining room, and attempted to not be knocked off our stools as the attendants rushed back and forth delivering churros and cups of hot chocolate piled high on trays precariously balanced over our heads. It may have been noisy and chaotic, but it was a great time.

Sadly, we all got head colds (thanks Lindsay...), which resulted in a lot less walking about and more drinking hot chocolate recovering, piled on the couch at the rented piso watching Christmas movies (White Christmas, The Holiday, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Love, Actually, etc.) on my mom's laptop. My mom and sister's flight out on Christmas Day was canceled, so I was able to share not only Christmas Eve, but also Christmas Day with them. Never had better tasting breakfast for dinner in my life!

Still, it was Christmas in the best way possible: a little bit of tradition, mixed with a bit of new, wrapped up all pretty with having family around and topped with a bow.

¡Ay, por Dios! What a weekend!

Last weekend I headed north with three other Fulbright friends to Basque Country for a six day long-weekend.


País Vasco, as it's called in Spanish, is a small region in the middle of north Spain that overlaps just slightly with the southwest of France. The region has a long, rich, and tormented history. The Basque people were around before the Romans got their act together, and the euskera (or Basque language) claims to be one of the oldest languages in Western Europe. While the Basque culture may be well established, outside governments have been trying for centuries to squash it. During the Spanish Civil War, Franco's regime it was made punishable by death to speak in euskera. Even today there is tension between the Spanish and the Basque. They are wary of each other, and the stereotypes about each abound. At first I was timid to use my Spanish for fear of insulting a Basque. Luckily the Basque appreciate outsiders who speak Spanish, so I was OK. Conversely, they do seem to hold grudges against Spaniards who haven't learned euskera.

The landscape is completely different from the rest of Spain. To start, there is more green, it's much more lush, and it's very wet. It was such a relief to escape from the monotonous scenery of central Spain. There was grass, a constant backdrop of mountains capped with the first snow of the season, and the smell of green earth. It looks how I would expect the Irish countryside to be.

Our plan was to fly out of Madrid into Bilbao. From Bilbao we would bus to San Sebastian, then head to Logroño (or wine country) before going back to Bilbao to fly back into Madrid. Through our travels we managed to see also Hondarribia, St. Jean de la Luz, and Vitoria (capital of the region). We got very lucky and flew out Thursday night. As we were walking around Bilbao the next day, blissfully unaware, the air controllers at the Madrid airport went on strike with out notice. Hundreds of thousands of people (including my roommates!!) were unable to fly out or in and were unable to enjoy their long weekend plans. The military even got involved and forced the controllers back to work so that by the evening flights were relatively back on track.

So much happened and so many wonderful events occurred that for the sake of not boring you (or overwhelming you), I will try to hit the highlights of our trip.

The People

• Couchsurfing: This was my first time actually couchsurfing--and it was great! If you don't know what Couchsurfing is click here, or for the short & sweet version: it's an online community that connects travelers who offer each other free places to stay and provides a unique way to getting to know a city. Since we were four, we split up. Leah and I stayed with a Himalayan mountain climber in Bilbao, and students in the other places. All the Couchsurfers we met were very nice, open, and provided new insights into culture and perspectives on life. 
• Traveling Company: I really enjoyed getting to know more about my fellow Fulbrighters. We may be completely different in a lot of ways, but we're all Fulbrighters (which says something about our work ethic, how we view education, and our ability to achieve our personal goals). Each person brought their own unique charm and talents to the trip, which helped pass the time and make the trip that much better.

The Food

• Basque Country is known for having great food. I can't argue with that. Since we were located right by the sea, there were tons of delicious seafoods to choose from. In Basque Country they have pintxos (or pinchos  in Spanish), which, simply put, are the Basque version of tapas. Only they are about a billion times better than a tapa. When you walk into a pintxo bar, you see the bar lined, topped, loaded and dripping with plates carrying little morsels of food. They have little sandwiches, fried food, grilled food, gourmet, traditional, pieces of fish or meat on toasted bread--everything imaginable! Traditionally you would walk into a bar, ask for a drink, and then choose a pintxo of your liking. Later, as you were paying, you would tell the bartender how many you ate and you would be charged accordingly. Going for pintxos can be expensive (each pintxo (2-3 bites) costs anywhere from €1.50-3.50, plus whatever you order for drinks). Even locals don't go out for pintxos all the time. 
• While in San Sebastian we met a Peruvian Coucher who took us around the Bay of Biscay and into France for part of the day. He took us to his brother-in-law's restaurant where we enjoyed foie with honey and butter, sliced, cured ham, a HUGE steak, crab-filled red peppers, and other treats. It was very good. 
• We also enjoyed good wine. To start with, even cheap wine in Spain isn't that bad (boxed wine is bad no matter what, across all cultures though ;) ), so if you're willing to pay a couple extra euro each, you can get a decent bottle for pretty dang cheap! One particular afternoon, to avoid the icy monsoon and hail that was falling from the sky in Bilbao, we enjoyed a very fine bottle of wine, then relocated and shared a plate of succulent, grilled meat and a couple bottles more. We had a blast sitting and talking, taking in the people around us, and attempting to huddle under the heater to stay warm.

The Weather

• When I told my Spanish people that I was going to Basque Country for the long-weekend, right after mentioning how well I would be eating, they mentioned that I should bring rain boots--because it rains, and it rains a whole bunch up there. I can attest to that and say, for once, the Spanish were not over exaggerating. It rains so much that Basque's nickname is País Chubasco--Downpour Country! Luckily the ladies I were traveling with had a really good attitude about it: we laughed ourselves silly over it and didn't let it put a damper (tehee) on our trip. Towards the end of our trip, the sun came out more and we enjoyed some very nice days strolling the streets and taking in the vibes and energies around us. 
• I don't know if it's Spanish air travel, or perhaps the cool weather, but both of my flights were delayed by two hours! I had a separate flight from the ladies, so I got in much later than 1) I had planned to and 2) way after they did. Believe it or not: I didn't let it stress me out. I knew there wasn't anything that I could do to change the situation; it was the way it was. So I bought myself a book and got comfortable. Take-off was bananas, though. As we were charging down the tarmac, the plane kept wavering from side to side. When we finally took off, the wings kept tipping one way and then the other. It was pretty shaky there for a minute. Obviously, though, everything worked out and here I am: safe and sound!

The Sights

• Architecture: Well, we saw a lot of it :) No, what I want to say is that the Basque Country has its own personal style of architecture. The buildings aren't as tall as some other places I've seen in Spain, and they use a lot of wood and stone in the facades. In Bilbao, we saw the Guggenheim Museum. This museum is Bilbao's claim to fame. I really liked the actual building of the Guggenheim more than the art inside. I've never seen (or paid attention) a building that mirrored its outsides so well. The outside is all curvy, and the inside is the same way. The inside isn't made up of traditional square rooms--they curve and are caddiwampus. In essence, they perfectly match and complement the art it holds. 
• River Fair: There is a river in Bilbao that essentially separates the city and helps form the different districts. Along the river walk this past weekend, there was a artisan fair. They had oodles and oodles of dairy products, meat products, pastries, snacks, jewelry, woodwork--you know the drill. I enjoyed walking up and down, trying bits of cheese (I have official decided Basque cheese is the best cheese--(almost) ever) and sausages. They even had people dressed up as trolls and giants (I don't know.... they just were), walking up and down the stretch of vendors. 
• Island Gardens and Astounding Views: Sunday we took a little trip all up and down the coast around San Sebastian. Our Peruvian buddy showed us some absolutely astounding and breathtaking views. We saw wild ponies, shaggy and meandering among the slopes of the surrounding hills. We even went all the way to France! (I don't think I'll ever get over how easy it is to go from one country to another here in Europe) We saw St. Jean de la Luz. There they have these little islands connected to the shore by bridges. Each of these little islands is like a garden, and you can stroll along exploring each one. It was beautiful, especially since we were there at dusk and they lit them up at night. I enjoyed watching the lights come on along the coast as it got darker and darker. It was also very romantic and intimate. Definitely a good place for a date. 

• Winery: On Tuesday, since we were in Rioja (a Spanish wine region) the girls, my Couch, and I went to a bodega. It was a big fancy one that was pretty corporate. Someone had recommended it to our Couch because the place had a big museum about the culture and history of wine. I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of information and some of the more technical language was lost to me (seeing as it was written in Spanish). I also discovered that, hey, you know? I like wine--why not do some more reading on it and see what I can learn? The nice part is that I can drink red wine again. I normally have too many stomach issues in the States to be able to enjoy it. However, the second I leave the country I don't have as many problems so red wine is once again an option! 

So there you have it: I went on a trip and here I am sharing with you! Make sure to check out the rest of the pictures on my Picasa site. 

Coming up soon: Reflections on my first three months here in and Spain--and Christmas with my family!

My First Thanksgiving as Hostess

 I can't remember exactly when I decided that I wanted to do Thanksgiving, but it was pretty early on. I'm not even that big of a fan of Thanksgiving--I just knew I wanted to do it. I'm pretty sure that before Halloween was over, I'd already messaged my Fulbright folk to see if they were interested. And, boy, were they! For once, everyone got as excited as I normally do.


The menu was traditional with a twist. We had turkey, gravy, cranberry and apple sauce, mashed potatoes, etc. but each American brought one dish and some even went gourmet (try curried sweet potatoes!!). As for Natalie and I's contribution, let me put it this way:  If it hadn't been for misreading emails and not being clear enough from the start, we wouldn't have had such a fantastic Thanksgiving feast.


Because I (and most of the other invited Fulbrighters) have to work on Thursdays, we pushed Thanksgiving back to the day after, Friday. There was still plenty to do on the actual Thanksgiving, though. That night Natalie and I baked the pies we'd eat for dessert the following evening. Three in all (apple, pecan, and pumpkin). I don't even like pie--but you know me, it's all or nothing!


Thursday night also proved to be a night of experimentation. As I mentioned earlier, Natalie and I had some miscommunication which left us lacking in the cranberry sauce and fried onion topping department. "But have no fear!" we said, "The Internet is freaking AWESOME!" With a little bit of searching, I found a great recipe for making cranberry sauce out of dried cranberries. It was easy enough to do. You just have to rehydrate the cranberries before adding sugar and spice. It might take a little longer than with regular cranberries, but it was very good. Janel (who was over to help brine the chicken) convinced us into adding more orange zest, making the sauce tangier. 


Natalie and I also poured out hearts into making rolls by hand. We choose two recipes that yielded over 56 rolls! Natalie being the traditionalist insisted that one of the recipes be croissant-like, and I wanted to try cloverleaf ones. The naturally compromise was to make both! The pumpkin cloverleaf rolls were easy. We were a little worried about the croissant ones--the dough was super soupy. Everything turned out just fine, however! We made the cloverleaf ones the night before and the croissant ones earlier Friday. 

I also made applesauce. Accordingly to Natalie, there were a lot of people commenting on how delicious the applesauce was! I think I've finally figured out the best combination of apples to use. I also used 2 different types of apples in my apple pie. It made a world of difference in taste. That apple pie was probably the prettiest and tastiest apple pie I've ever made in my life!


Now, let's talk about brining. Brining was an exciting adventure. Brining is a way of marinating that involves soaking the meat in extremely salty water with other spices and veggies. By process of osmosis (or something like that), the meat becomes infused with the solution and flavors. The end result is a much juicer meat with fuller flavor that doesn't dry out so easily while cooking.


Janel really wanted to brine our Thanksgiving fowl. At first it was going to be just two chickens because we didn't know where we could find a turkey in Spain. Much to our extreme excitement, Natalie and I found a small (abt. 6lbs for € 15 !) turkey in my supermarket. I was ecstatic despite the price. So when Janel arrived to brine on Thursday night, she was confronted with a chicken and a gen-u-wine turkey! I'm pretty sure she did a happy dance and clapped her hands in positive emotion when she saw it. 


The entire week I had been searching out a container large enough to submerge two chicken-sized objects that wouldn't cost me € 40 each. I was beginning to despair when I noticed that my freezer has drawers, not shelves. Even better, one of these drawers was the perfect size for submerging two naked birdies. (When I told the other Fulbrighters how we were brining, I was told it was a very "Fulbright" solution.) We filled said drawer with the brine mixture--and it immediately began to leak! Amateur's mistake. But no fear, there were Fulbrighters and other smart people around! No problem! we said, We'll just bag the birds. We double-bagged the suckers, and refilled the water level. After a slight struggle, the birds sat soaking in the fridge, and we sat around laughing and enjoying a glass of wine. Twenty minutes later, I open the fridge--only to realize that the bottom is swimming in raw bird brine juice. 


Well, shit.


We bagged them in another 5 bags, and even went so far as to duct tape the holes in the bags. We thought we had it down. Oh, poor, little naive us. After Natalie and I went out for tapas (see last post), we came back to find the kitchen floor nice and slick. We were forced to put the birds in individual pots were they were not entirely submerged. We then managed to make two more pies and essentially Clorox the kitchen--finally resting our heads around 2 a.m..


Lesson learned: Sometimes the simplest answer is the best, but when you learn the hard way it's always more fun. Makes a good story, right? Luckily, we laughed through most of it, and even the most germ-aphobic of us could appreciate the humor in the situation. 


The next morning, of course, I got up all excited and ready to go. We had pumpkin pancakes, eggs, and cava--or Spanish champagne-- for breakfast. Can I just say that starting the morning with cava makes the rest of the day much less stressful? I have just made a new tradition: I will always drink sparkling wine with breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. I'm sure it also helped that I had 3 people cooking in the kitchen, and that people were bringing other dishes, that we'd make half the food the night before, etc.--but I think it was the cava.




During breakfast, I presented Natalie with an early birthday gift. It was probably the most selfish, most practical, and least thoughtful gift I've ever given. I bought her a cheesy, touristy "flamenco-dress" aprons. I mean, hey I wasn't going to be the only lame-o (or should I say lame-a) wearing one around the kitchen, and we'd be cooking all day, right? She loved it. 

Frying up some dang good onions

The rest of the day was spent preparing the turkey and chicken, cooking green beans, and frying our own onions. That worked out so well. I really don't like onion rings, but these thin, slightly spiced onions might be my new addiction. Leah (who's here in Madrid researching Mediterranean food) was a huge help. She showed me how to dress, stuff, and truss the birds, she helped Natalie fry the onions, and she kept us on schedule. I really don't think Thanksgiving would have happened without her. So MUCHAS GRACIAS Leah!


We were so on top of our schedule, we had time to do decorations. While I did flower centerpieces, Natalie, Leah, and my roomie Laura made a "Happy Thanksgiving" banner with turkey hands. We laid out fall-colored napkins, put out candles, and wrapped gold and brown vines around wine glasses. It was a good break before everyone arrived for dinner.

Dinner was set for 7pm because my roomies had to work. We were only an hour late! It was excellent. I think I might never get a big turkey, and instead just get two small ones. Much better. The other guests arrived, bringing with them their own versions of Thanksgiving. We had cheese and fruit to start, followed by an extremely tasty meal, and then dessert. Raquel expressed her enthusiasm, saying she'd seen Thanksgiving done on Friends and had always wanted to try it herself.


As it was Thanksgiving, I wanted to do a blessing over the meal. As hostess, I felt that it was my duty. However, as I took a deep breath to start, I started to tear. I excused myself, and went to the bathroom. The hardest part for me was knowing that everyone out there was wondering what was going on, but that I couldn't pull myself together. I'm not sure what made me cry--maybe a combination of not eating much throughout the day and wine. Or maybe it was missing people. I can't explain it. I was pretty embarrassed, but my friends were pretty good about it. Two came to check on me, and in the end it was all good. No one mentioned it (though Raquel did turn to me when I got back and laughingly said "So what are you thankful for?" I was like "....not now please"), and overall it was one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had.


The next morning, I woke up and found my hands itching to get started creating food. I had spent the last 72 hours or so making something, and to suddenly not have anything to make was disconcerting.


I recognize that Thanksgiving in Spain would not have happened without the help of my American friends (who brought food, cooking knowledge, and decorations). I can also say without shame that I am immensely proud of myself. I know I'm good at throwing parties, but that was absolutely amazing! There was such a sense of accomplishment. The coordination (which I really feel like was my part in this whole thing) went off seamlessly. There was plenty of food, wine, conversation, and the stress wasn't awful. It was such a positive experience that I want to repeat it. 


Now, if I could only work this gift into a career....

Happy (although belated) Thanksgving to everyone! I hope yours was as wonderful as mine!

The Week Before Natalie's Visit and Parts of Her Visit

Oh goodness, I have a lot of catching up to do. I'll try to keep it short and sweet--but you may just have to allow yourself to get lost in my life for a while.

Here it goes!!!

Two weeks ago, I spent most of the week preparing for the arrival of Ms. Natalie. Pretty much ever since Natalie decided to be Super Awesome (by which I mean, she decided to come visit me for Thanksgiving) we've been planning and, most importantly, deciding on the menu for our very first solo Thanksgiving. Natalie (and may I also give a very special shout-out to Mama Bundschu--THANK YOU!) did spectacularly. She arrived on the 20th, unloaded her bags and became "The Girl Who Brought Thanksgiving to Spain." She also coordinated with my mom and delivered a package of winter running clothes and Jiff's peanut butter--It was like Christmas came early!

As you can see, everything one would need for the feast took up at least half of Nat's precious baggage space.

For most of the week before she came, I attempted to distract myself by being more social than usual (hard to believe, I know) and neglecting my work (though, I did make this balling Where the Sidewalk Ends handout). Here's some of the activities that I participated in:

• I went on a mid-week run with my friend from the Hash.
• I attempted (for the 2nd time) to figure out how to listen to live jazz. There are probably 3 different places within 2 blocks from me, but every time we try to get together, our plans are thwarted.
• On the Thursday before Natalie's arrival, I took another field trip, but this time with the bachilleratos, or the kids in their last two years of high school, to the play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The actors were all native English speakers, and I was extremely impressed with how excellent their stage accents were. The disadvantage to such excellent accents, of course, was that there were times when it was difficult even for me to understand all the lines delivered. I think the students did pretty well, though. There were times when you could tell they didn't, but generally they seemed to be getting the drift. The play was a bit.... strange... at parts, to the point that I couldn't relate. Most of those "strange" scenes were related to a bit of post-modern critique on the effect that the medical drugs had on mental health patients. 
• I went to the doctor (finally) and got antibiotics for my sinus whatever. Nice guy. Don't think he appreciated the fact that I could tell him all my symptoms and what I thought I had (though I did explain that I could be wrong, and he was the doctor).  I feel better, though, and that's the point. :)

The only other memorable part of my week was my second Adult ESL evening class. A couple of weeks ago, I was informed that I would be leading the conversation aspect to a course in Basic English. The enrolled "students" are actually my colleagues who enrolled this course to potentially improve their salaries. I would also hope that some are taking it to actually learn the language. 

At first I was a little miffed about teaching these classes--they didn't tell me I was supposed to be doing so until the Thursday before the first Monday class, and no one knew who the professor giving the course. I also wasn't tickled about having to come back to school in the evenings. Luckily M.C. took pity on me, and has rearranged my schedule (again) so that I have a good chunk of time between my last class with the kids and the time that I start with the adults. She also has included this hour and a half into my work hours.

The silver-lining is also three-fold:

1. I get to teach adults--regardless of how basic their level is. Preparation isn't bad and I have a syllabus to go by
2. I only live 20-30 minutes away from my school, depending on the mood of the metro gods and how fast I decide to walk.
3. There was an immediate, positive difference in the tension at my school after even the first class. The staffroom isn't so claustrophobic now. It's like those who were intimidated by English before now have a way to tackle it--and they want to try! It has at least made the tension between the teachers better. 

Then Natalie came! I went to go pick her up at the airport, and it was marvelous! She's such a trooper. We came back to my place, we ate lunch, took a nap, and took it easy. (Memorable moment: After our 2 hour nap, Natalie starts to open the Coke that I'd given her way back at the airport--and it sprayed EVERYWHERE!!! I remember sitting there thinking---"What the heck?!?!? Natalie!!! Make it STOP!"). She got to meet some of my hash friends that night. The Sunday after she arrived, we went to a fellow American's house and had a scrumptious Thanksgiving meal as a precursor to our own. Later in the week we went to Alcalá de Henares (my second time, her first) and wandered a bit. Natalie came to school with me on Wednesday and met M.C. and some of the teachers that I work with. We did way too much shopping (we both found boots!!). And we cooked the most amazing Thanksgiving meal (more to come in the following post)! We did a lot of dancing, singing, and just hanging out. On Wednesday, we went out to my favorite tapas place and had Brie cheese and caramelized onions. We also tried goat cheese with guacamole. She tried the amazing combination known as patas bravas. I'm starting to get a hang of tapas-and I like them a lot more now. I spent everyday waiting to get done with class so that I could run home and have an adventure with my friend. It was good to have a bit of home with me, even if it was just for a week. 

I will now proceed to go into more details about our visit as told through the Thanksgiving Day Saga....

 Be prepared!

Toledo, Mar-zee-pan, and "Cloistered" Nuns

Katie and Anni posing with the D&G of the age

Yesterday morning, I sacrificed a Saturday morning of sleeping in and surfing the Internet in favor of a Spanish history lesson. Adventure time! I packed my rucksack (British for "backpack") with a packed lunch, my camera, my trusty Uno cards, and set off for the bus station. There I met Jayson (fellow Fulbright), Katie (my Lovely Hash Companion), and Anni (the Hapless English Girl). We bordered the bus and three-quarters of an hour later (British for "45 minutes later"), we got off in the magical land that is Toledo.

Before I go further, let me explain all my British translations: I may have spent the day with English-speakers but the entire day was a language lesson. Therefore, I will share with you all the British words I learned in the same way that I share with you Spanish ones.

 

Practicing my Fulbright Scholarship-ness

Toledo lies 70km (43.4 mi) south of Madrid. and was founded by the Romans sometime in the "Bronze Age" (that's exact timing for you, there). Throughout the course of history it became known as "the city of the three cultures" because of the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities that all resided within its walls. Its Golden Age was during the 11th century, under Muslim rule. After being reconquered by Christians, it became the capital of Spain until the Catholic monarchs moved their court to Madrid in 1560.

My experience of Toledo was heavenly. Toledo is a city of narrow side-streets and medieval architecture. I was in love. Pedestrians and cars fight out right-of-way, leaving walkers attempting to squeeze into the stone walls. Swords and other medieval weapons hang in every shop window--making you think that Toledans must have a thing for violence, until you learn that Toledo's steel production was world renowned in the 16th century.

You really feel like you've stepped back in time. We visited the cathedral, saw the outside of a mosque (couldn't find our way in), walked around the famous Alcázar (Spanish-Arabic for "fortress") twice, and saw the oldest synagogue in town. El Greco (a famous Greek painter who moved to Spain) resided there back in the day, but our timing was all wrong: all the museums dedicated to him were closed for renovation. So instead we went for the next best thing--mar-zee-pan (as my friend Katie would say, marzipan for us American folk). Toledo, apart from being well known for its ability to craft metal in ways to kill others, is also known for that soft, sugary delectable that so often comes on Christmas Cake (fruitcake). Naturally this reality means that every shop sells some form of mar-zee-pan. So which is the best?

Jayson, of course, had the answer: The Cloistered Nuns. Of course, we said to ourselves, of course cloistered nuns make marzipan.

When we finally found the place (after much walking and questioning of the locals), we were beside ourselves with excitement and anticipation. We had heard tell of a turnstile revolved in such a way that you never saw who gave you the marzipan, and they never saw you. We decided what we wanted and made Jayson order. We rang the bell.

A quick snap of the turnstile with the nun's back turned

Nothing happened.

We rang the bell again.

A light came on and the smiley-est nun you've ever seen appeared, asked what we wanted, waited for Jayson to put the money on the turnstile retrieved the money, and gave us our order. Disappointment.

Until we ate the marzipan :)

It was a great day: the weather was excellent, the company amazing, the sites, history, and views of the surrounding countryside were all breathtaking.

And I got to see a "Cloistered" nun.

Katy Perry, Linkin Park, and Hot Chocolate (Pudding?)

The last few weeks have been a blur of work and dancing the night away. Which means that I've been trying to catch up on sleep. :) Now that I've managed to catch up on sleep, I've been able to actually do things. So here are some of those events:

My school has a garden out front. It's not an English garden, but more a wild, tangled, overgrown stretch of land that holds, among other plants, small cherry tomatoes, rosemary, lavender, a cactus and an olive tree. At the beginning of October, the elderly gentleman who maintains the area came to my bilingual group during P.E. and asked if we couldn't help him pick the olives!

It was the best P.E. class I've ever had!

The kids had so much fun... the tree is a different case, the pobre. The students got creative with how to gather those olives hiding in the uppermost branches. I was also surprised that such a bunch of city kids knew how to climb trees. I got to take pictures with the school's super fancy camera that I have no idea how to work. After they were done collecting olives, the caretaker gave them a lecture on olives. I believe he said that there is only one type of olive, and that black olives are no different from green olives: it's just that they dye some of them, or that some are harvested before others. Sort of like seedless grapes.











Last weekend, the hash was pretty tame as far as a course goes, but utterly bananas when it came to the weather. We drove out of the city, into the beautiful Spanish countryside. It was the first run in awhile that you couldn't see some part of Madrid will out running. We started on a hill, where it was essentially snowing, then ran down to where it wasn't so stormy, and back up the hill where it was raining. We even ran though a village, like a real one. As an American, I don't think there is anyway to understand what the heck a village is. You just have to run through one to understand. I wish I had brought my camera, because it was absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful.

After the hash, Katie (my hashing sister) and I went to the free concert being hosted in Madrid by MTV. This year's Europe music awards was held in Madrid, and so there were lots of famous people around. I had a friend swear she saw Justin Bieber... though he was speaking fluent Spanish to some pre-teen Spanish girls and he didn't have a body guard. The place (La puerta de Alcála) was packed with people. Katie and I were separated from the people we came with, and after attempting to relocate them, we gave up and sat on a terrace outside and drank wine. We could still see the stage, but everyone looked really small. If we stood up, though, we could see a big screen with closeups of the stage. It worked out. I got to hear Katy Perry and Linkin Park. Katie and I had a blast!

Coffee break while the kids are on a trip

Finally, the two most recent gastronomical experiences I have had are palmeras and hot chocolate. Palmeras are Elephant Ears. I've never had them before, but they were so good! This pastry is flaky, and just slightly sweet. You can get your's plain, covered in chocolate, or in a sugar glaze. They have just the right amount of flake, crunch, and fluffiness. I didn't have my camera with me the day I tried hot chocolate. Hot chocolate is straight up hot pudding. It was quite tasty, but rather heavy and not as comforting as American hot chocolate. Worth the experience though!

I am also (impatiently) awaiting the arrival of Natalie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sooooo excited. We're going to do Thanksgiving... and... I ... just.... can't.... waitttttt!!!!!

Just a few updates! If anyone has one of their own... please let me know!

"What a Beautiful October Day!"

Thank you for all the comments (and reads) that I got on my last post. It's always a good reminder that 1)  words really do reach others, and 2) that there are people out there as passionate as yourself. Since the last post, there have been numerous, deep, lovely, comforting, and challenging conversations. I received a wealth of advice, personal anecdotes, and felt the love being sent from across the ways. ¡Gracias!

Reflecting on some of the advice I received, I realize I have to be mature and admit that I'm going through C.S.--*scary music* Culture Shock. I also realize I've been in denial about it (Don't worry, I am not discounting my last post in anyway. I am merely beginning to understand why my reaction to ignorance might have been so strong). It still surprises me that C.S. has come so soon... I thought it would have taken just a bit longer to hit. Like try December or January. Searching my soul for why Mr. C.S. has been haunting me, I stumbled across the answer--my work. I am used to going to class in a foreign country, I am used to expecting there not to be American brands in the supermarket, I expected cultural differences, but the environment I have encountered at school (er, work) has made all the difference.

There is a tension between administration and faculty at my school that has been incredible hard for me to handle. I may be that fun-loving, spunky, outgoing, opinionated person that we all know and love, but at my core, I just want us all to hold hands and go skipping to llaollao (oh my gosh best frozen yogurt ever). That just doesn't happen at my school.

Instead, I sit through weekly meetings where the tension could be cut with a knife. I am a peace-keeper and it takes all my energy to not mediate the situation...or burst into tears. The class bell sounds like the bell they ring for a tornado drill--which means that I immediately go into fight-or-flight...every 50 minutes. I am dealing with an expectation for myself (being the first kick-ass Fulbright TA at my school!!!!) and my limitations ("Uhh, yea... I can improvise a lesson... Oh. You want handouts, too?... gotcha...") mixing with Spanish education culture. And then there's the fact that I can't make photocopies the day of: I have to have them ready 24 hours in advance (why can't you just push the d*&^ button?!). Or the kids' lack of behavior. The little stuff like that. The inconsequential matter that builds up without you realizing it, until you start feeling down and you can't explain why.

Now I will proceed to go all Elizabeth Gilbert on you:

Luckily, God (or whatever you want to call the It of the Universe) has a way of clearing the heavens and bringing my fuzziness into focus. First came the thought. It was a thought that just appeared in my head, simple clear and as repetitive as a Buddhist chant: If you're going to ask questions, you better make time for the answers. All day, every day, in the small quiet parts of my head, my heart kept chanting. I translated it into Spanish and stuck it on my wall where I could see it.

Well, I found myself saying to Me one day, perhaps we should make some time... it sounds like we want to. That's when I became aware of my general apathy, how I was extremely lethargic after not feeling like I accomplished a whole lot. I blamed it on the weather. I blamed it on a lack of exercise. I blamed it on too much exercise. I blamed it on hunger. I blamed it on feeling blah. But despite it all, I couldn't sit still.

The past two weeks I have done nothing but surround myself with people, or busied myself with work. If I wasn't with someone, I was making plans to go somewhere with someone. I was anxious when people wouldn't text me back, or would tell me that A and B got together, but they didn't invite me. That's when I realized I was running, and it was time for me to sit and do nothing.

Being Sam, I naturally had to plan this time to Just Sit (you can laugh). I decided Retiro was a good place to do it, and so that's where I went today. It was the perfect autumn day. The sky was blue with white puffy clouds, there was a fierce wind, and the leaves were a'changin' and a'fallin'. I even crunched through a few. I spent most of the day thinking, "What a beautiful October day" (...oh dear...). I took my lunch, and eased into sitting. It's a process for me, if you don't know.

As I started to feel the knots in my shoulders relax, and my mind clear, an unfortunate event took place. Just know that it was disturbing. As I fled from my bench deeper into the park, I started to curse Madrid and Spain and My Life. I was angry. I had tried to sit still, I had tried to start rediscovering the pleasant aspects to living abroad, hadn't I? Why did that have to happen to me? TO ME?!?!

Just let it go, Sam. It could've happened anywhere. Just let it go.

That's what the voice told me. It was persistent, from deep within, and all around. It helped calm me down. I just need to let go of the fact that there are people who hate the States for no reason. I just need to let go of the tension in my school: I can't do anything about it, I don't need to fix it 'cuz it ain't broken, and it's not my fault. I just need to let go of all those little annoyances at school, in my piso, in my daily life here in Madrid.

What a relief.

I can't say I'm completely out of my funk, but it helps that my Fulbright people are coming out of their own. It helps to know that my feelings are probably related to culture shock, and that I'm not the only one experiencing it. Therefore, this next week I'm just going to try to let it (whatever that might be) go. There's a city to be discovered, there are people to meet.

And I'm going to be ok. :)