Monday was a big day in Operation: Become More Spanish. First off, I went to Sevilla and picked up my TIE! Indeed I am now a proud Spanish Identity Card-Holding member. The card is like a mullet in that it's all business on the front: my photo and address, date of birth and ID number and all party in the back: my reason for being in Spain and my index finger fingerprint. This may give the illusion of being business-like, but if you look closely at the fingerprint you'll see that is doesn't show the usual loops, whorls and arches. Instead it frames the face of a baby. It is as though my fingerprint and a sonogram head shot image were merged and placed on the back of my card. What does it mean? Probably that someone in the Spanish Government's dark room is going to need a stern talking-to.
The second important accomplishment in my Mission was squeezing out the last bit of my Red, White and Blue toothpaste and moving on to a new Red and Yellow (with a coat of arms) tube. I believe it was no coincidence that my American tube ran out on the same day I picked up my Spanish identity card. The toothpaste tube is like a metaphor for my new Spanish (temporary) identity: it might still say Colgate on the outside and have a paste on the inside, but there's a distinct change in flavor from regular mint to spearmint.
In teaching English related news: when a native Spanish speaker says a word in English that starts with a 'y' it often comes out as more of a 'j' sound. So 'yes' sounds more like 'jes'. It's important to note that they are two different sounds, however. In class on Tuesday a student asked for clarification on something I had said in class. She asked, 'Did you say that President Bush went to jail?' 'No,' I said, 'I said he went to YALE.'
Another common pronunciation error made by native Spanish speakers is that of the short 'i' sound, as in 'pin'. They pronounce it more like 'peen'. This came up in a conversation class with a couple of 5th level students. We were actually talking about the difference between the 'ch' and the 'sh' sounds. Students have a hard time hearing the difference between those two similar sounds. For example, 'cheat sheet' sounds like one word repeated twice. Then add in the 'i' sound problem, and you have three words in English that can be pronounced the same: cheat, sheet, and shit. Imagine the three of us sitting at the table in a cafe practicing the three words in a row: cheat, sheet, shit. Practice makes perfect.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Whilst it was snowing in MN and WI...
...Alcalá was having some very short parades:
It seems to me that these parades are impromptu events because they are so short and occur at random times during the day. However, the group's outfits are usually coordinated and they seem to know what they are doing, so I must be mistaken.
This parade I just caught the tail end of, but at the beginning there were floats/vehicles with children throwing candy to people on the sidewalk. I think the whole parade lasted about two minutes.
And what is the weather like here in Spain right now? Well, a few days ago we had a small heat wave where the temperature got up to about 70 degrees. Currently (as I type this) it is 60 degrees. And although the temperatures are quite agreeable, the humidity is something I have never experienced before. How humid is it, you ask? It is so humid that if you wash your clothes on Monday and hang them out to dry, they will still not feel completely dry even by Thursday (and that includes clothes like running shorts that are designed to dry quickly and 'wick' away moisture). Our dishes don't dry. We wash them and set them in the rack to dry and the next morning they will still have drops of water all over. Your sheets and blankets have a light dampness to them when you crawl into bed. Paper bags have less of a crispness and more of a soggy wave. The table at school was slick, as if someone had just wiped it down with a wet rag. And my room sometimes smells like a dark, damp basement. I was told this would be they case, but I have never experienced it before so I really couldn't imagine what it meant.
In other news, the countdown to Christmas break has begun. This week I have fewer classes because most teachers are giving oral exams in class. (In case I haven't explained it before I have two different types of classes: those with a teacher, where I do an activity of their choosing with their class and then those on my own, with up to seven students, that are designed for the students to practice their conversation skills with a native English speaker). That means that I will have only my conversation classes during the week, so it looks like I will end up working about 5 hours this week. I am planning on doing some Christmas shopping and making a trip to the foreigner's office to pick up my TIE (identity card) so that I legally stay in the country now that my student visa has nearly expired. On Thursday (the last day of classes) there is a dinner planned for the teaching staff at our school. The reservation is for 9:30 PM, an ideal time for a Spanish evening meal. Next week (the week of the 20th) I have no classes at all.
It seems to me that these parades are impromptu events because they are so short and occur at random times during the day. However, the group's outfits are usually coordinated and they seem to know what they are doing, so I must be mistaken.
This parade I just caught the tail end of, but at the beginning there were floats/vehicles with children throwing candy to people on the sidewalk. I think the whole parade lasted about two minutes.
And what is the weather like here in Spain right now? Well, a few days ago we had a small heat wave where the temperature got up to about 70 degrees. Currently (as I type this) it is 60 degrees. And although the temperatures are quite agreeable, the humidity is something I have never experienced before. How humid is it, you ask? It is so humid that if you wash your clothes on Monday and hang them out to dry, they will still not feel completely dry even by Thursday (and that includes clothes like running shorts that are designed to dry quickly and 'wick' away moisture). Our dishes don't dry. We wash them and set them in the rack to dry and the next morning they will still have drops of water all over. Your sheets and blankets have a light dampness to them when you crawl into bed. Paper bags have less of a crispness and more of a soggy wave. The table at school was slick, as if someone had just wiped it down with a wet rag. And my room sometimes smells like a dark, damp basement. I was told this would be they case, but I have never experienced it before so I really couldn't imagine what it meant.
In other news, the countdown to Christmas break has begun. This week I have fewer classes because most teachers are giving oral exams in class. (In case I haven't explained it before I have two different types of classes: those with a teacher, where I do an activity of their choosing with their class and then those on my own, with up to seven students, that are designed for the students to practice their conversation skills with a native English speaker). That means that I will have only my conversation classes during the week, so it looks like I will end up working about 5 hours this week. I am planning on doing some Christmas shopping and making a trip to the foreigner's office to pick up my TIE (identity card) so that I legally stay in the country now that my student visa has nearly expired. On Thursday (the last day of classes) there is a dinner planned for the teaching staff at our school. The reservation is for 9:30 PM, an ideal time for a Spanish evening meal. Next week (the week of the 20th) I have no classes at all.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
I'll have a Málaga with a 12K, a birthday, tapas and churros
I would start out this blog with 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of darkness, it was the age of light,' but I think that's already been done.
The first weekend in December was a 'puente' or long weekend. We had off from Friday afternoon until Thursday of the next week. Why? Because December 6th is Constitution Day (a National holiday for Spain since 1978) and the 8th of December is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
So, we spent Friday and Saturday in Sevilla/Alcalá and hopped on a train bound for Málaga on Sunday afternoon. It was about a 2.5 hour train ride. What I really noticed about the train is how quiet it is. No one talks (very odd for Spain) and the train itself doesn't make much noise. (There were also no movies, headphones or snacks provided.) Upon arrival at the Málaga train station, which could easily have been mistaken for an airport because of the attached mall and modern design, we walked to our hostel, dropped our bags and figured out how to get to the race packet-pickup location (el Estadio de Atletismo) before 9 PM (it was about 3 when we got to Málaga).
The packet pick-up process wasn't any different than it is in the US: get your number, get your shirt, check to make sure that your chip works. However, unlike the US, there weren't a bunch of booths selling you all the best running gear available at a special marathon/12K runners rate. I think there was just one booth and it wasn't offering a discount as far as I could tell (I assume this because no one was at the booth).
After that excitement, we went back to the hostel (to drop off my bag of goodies and to pick up an umbrella) and then we headed out to check out Málaga a bit. We walked around the central area and I stopped to eat a sandwich (my last meal before the race). Megan and Clarisse were going out to dinner with Jose and his girlfriend, so I ate alone. Unfortunately before a race I can't eat whatever I want or drink whatever I want. Well, if I expect to be able to run decently I suppose. So I met up Raquel and Jose so I could say 'hola', but then headed back to the hostel (which only had one key between the three of us, making things tricky at times). So they got to have fun, while I got to try to have a good night's sleep. I missed out on tapas, drinks and hot chocolate in Málaga with real Malagueños! The sacrifices you make as a runner....
The race started at 9 AM on Monday, so we tried to get on the bus about 7:45. We (including a few other runners) got on the bus around 8 AM. The ride took about a half hour, so we made it in time. I had enough time to use the port-o-potties twice, which is really unheard of at a marathon with 2,000 people and six port-a-potties. I discovered later that there were real bathrooms inside the stadium.
Anyway, the race started in the stadium. We ran about halfway around the track at the beginning and end. The 12K runners were told to line up behind the marathon runners. I obeyed this rule, but I shouldn't have because we ran the entire 12K race along with the marathons. They 'dropped us off' at the stadium to finish and they kept going. So I ended up way in the back of the pack running with (but passing) the slower marathon runners. (You run more slowly when you have 26.2 miles to complete as opposed to just 7.4.) I calculate that this affected my time by over one minute. Or at least I'd like to think so.
The course was a pretty straight shot- just down one road and back. It was pretty close to the ocean and it was nice and flat. Even the 30-second downpour at the second kilometer didn't bother me. It felt like the fastest hour of my running career. Megan and Clarisse got some really good photos/video of the stadium and of me finishing. As soon as I get them (if and when we get around to exchanging photos) I'll try to post some here.
After the race, we acted as tourists and walked through the gibralfaro (a castle with a good view of the city), the Picasso Museum (just pay to see the Picasso stuff or not at all. But then again, I'm not artsy.) and to see the beach. In fact, we ate on the beach at a chiringuito. We wanted paella, but they said it was going to rain so there was no sense in making it (that's really what the waiter said). So we settled for a shared salad and other random entrees. Again, the food didn't come out all at once. We waited about 20 minutes for them to bring out 1 of the 3 entrees we ordered. This situation follows us wherever we go in Spain. Everyone's food is never brought out at the same time. The bottom line, though, is that we ate on the beach on my birthday in December. You can't beat that.
For dinner we had tapas, ice cream and hot chocolate (all at different places in the center of the city- near Larios street). I also (accidentally) tried a muscatel (wine). It was really sweet and tastes like raisins, but I liked it. My favorite tapa is now the Ensalada Malagueña. It has potatoes, green olives, onions, oranges, and cod in olive oil and vinegar. You might think it sounds completely disgusting, but I swear that it will not disappoint you if you try it.
On Tuesday morning I got up early and ran to the beach we didn't get to see before: el Palo. It was nice and quiet in the morning and in the winter. It had a nice path along the water/beach/restaurants. It felt like a movie set. The sand itself seemed kind of dirty though- like it was full of garbage. Maybe it's a winter thing or perhaps a city beach thing.
For breakfast we ate churros and hot chocolate at a café near our hostel (as recommended by our Malaguenan Friends).
(You'll notice we only have 2 cups for three people. Once again, the third person's food didn't come with the first 2 people's. I told you it followed us everywhere.)
We dropped our bags off at the front desk of the hostel and shopped for the rest of the afternoon before heading back to the train station and back to Sevilla/Alcalá.
The first weekend in December was a 'puente' or long weekend. We had off from Friday afternoon until Thursday of the next week. Why? Because December 6th is Constitution Day (a National holiday for Spain since 1978) and the 8th of December is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
So, we spent Friday and Saturday in Sevilla/Alcalá and hopped on a train bound for Málaga on Sunday afternoon. It was about a 2.5 hour train ride. What I really noticed about the train is how quiet it is. No one talks (very odd for Spain) and the train itself doesn't make much noise. (There were also no movies, headphones or snacks provided.) Upon arrival at the Málaga train station, which could easily have been mistaken for an airport because of the attached mall and modern design, we walked to our hostel, dropped our bags and figured out how to get to the race packet-pickup location (el Estadio de Atletismo) before 9 PM (it was about 3 when we got to Málaga).
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| Packet Pick-up Location |
The packet pick-up process wasn't any different than it is in the US: get your number, get your shirt, check to make sure that your chip works. However, unlike the US, there weren't a bunch of booths selling you all the best running gear available at a special marathon/12K runners rate. I think there was just one booth and it wasn't offering a discount as far as I could tell (I assume this because no one was at the booth).
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| Cathedral in Málaga |
The race started at 9 AM on Monday, so we tried to get on the bus about 7:45. We (including a few other runners) got on the bus around 8 AM. The ride took about a half hour, so we made it in time. I had enough time to use the port-o-potties twice, which is really unheard of at a marathon with 2,000 people and six port-a-potties. I discovered later that there were real bathrooms inside the stadium.
Anyway, the race started in the stadium. We ran about halfway around the track at the beginning and end. The 12K runners were told to line up behind the marathon runners. I obeyed this rule, but I shouldn't have because we ran the entire 12K race along with the marathons. They 'dropped us off' at the stadium to finish and they kept going. So I ended up way in the back of the pack running with (but passing) the slower marathon runners. (You run more slowly when you have 26.2 miles to complete as opposed to just 7.4.) I calculate that this affected my time by over one minute. Or at least I'd like to think so.
The course was a pretty straight shot- just down one road and back. It was pretty close to the ocean and it was nice and flat. Even the 30-second downpour at the second kilometer didn't bother me. It felt like the fastest hour of my running career. Megan and Clarisse got some really good photos/video of the stadium and of me finishing. As soon as I get them (if and when we get around to exchanging photos) I'll try to post some here.
(I cross the finish line at 15 seconds into the video- behind the person in black pants. I'm wearing turquoise shorts.)
After the race, we acted as tourists and walked through the gibralfaro (a castle with a good view of the city), the Picasso Museum (just pay to see the Picasso stuff or not at all. But then again, I'm not artsy.) and to see the beach. In fact, we ate on the beach at a chiringuito. We wanted paella, but they said it was going to rain so there was no sense in making it (that's really what the waiter said). So we settled for a shared salad and other random entrees. Again, the food didn't come out all at once. We waited about 20 minutes for them to bring out 1 of the 3 entrees we ordered. This situation follows us wherever we go in Spain. Everyone's food is never brought out at the same time. The bottom line, though, is that we ate on the beach on my birthday in December. You can't beat that.
For dinner we had tapas, ice cream and hot chocolate (all at different places in the center of the city- near Larios street). I also (accidentally) tried a muscatel (wine). It was really sweet and tastes like raisins, but I liked it. My favorite tapa is now the Ensalada Malagueña. It has potatoes, green olives, onions, oranges, and cod in olive oil and vinegar. You might think it sounds completely disgusting, but I swear that it will not disappoint you if you try it.
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Ensalada Malagueña
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For breakfast we ate churros and hot chocolate at a café near our hostel (as recommended by our Malaguenan Friends).
(You'll notice we only have 2 cups for three people. Once again, the third person's food didn't come with the first 2 people's. I told you it followed us everywhere.)
We dropped our bags off at the front desk of the hostel and shopped for the rest of the afternoon before heading back to the train station and back to Sevilla/Alcalá.
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| Train Station in Málaga |
Friday, December 3, 2010
Switches and Tricks
We live on the fourth floor of our apartment building. When you walk into the building you are on floor zero. So to get to our piso, you need to walk up four flights of stairs (not like in the US where you would only walk up three). It is fine during daylight hours, but when the sun is down, it's quite dark. There is a light switch on every floor that is on a timer, and generally it gives you enough time to get up to the next level to turn on the next light. However, the light seems to be designed to illuminate the doorway/elevator area rather than the stairs. Each flight of stairs consists of two sets of stairs that makes a 'v' shape to the elevator door. So you go up maybe 10 steps and then make a sharp left and go up 10 more to get to the next floor. And if you turn on the light by the elevator on one floor, you'll get up the first set of stairs and make a left turn to go up the second set, but the light will blocked by the stairs. And since the light is on a timer you have a limited number of seconds to feel your way up the second flight of stairs to the light switch on the next floor. I live in fear of 'timing out' before I can get to the next light switch. Here's why: on both sides of the elevator there is a piso (two per floor). Each piso has a light switch and a doorbell. The light switch is the one closest to the elevator, but the switches look exactly the same:
Speaking of transportation (an elevator is a form of transportation, right?), it has been brought to our attention that as of December 15th the buses from Sevilla to Alcalá (and vice versa) will be cut in half. That is to say that they will only travel half the distance they usually did and with half the frequency. They will run every half hour (instead of every 15 minutes) and instead of the buses going from the center of Alcalá to the center of Sevilla, they will go from the center of Alcalá to the edge of Sevilla. If you want to get to the center of the city (where we most often go), you will have to get off the bus and get on the metro (for an added fee) to get to the center. This means that our 3-step weekend travels to the bus stop will now be 4 steps. The reasoning behind this switch is as follows: there is so much construction in the city center that traffic cannot move smoothly, so by removing the Alcalá buses from the center area there will be more space for cars and thus traffic will be lighter. We are lucky that we only go to Sevilla a few times a week. For those teachers and students that live/work in Sevilla and take the bus to Alcalá everyday it is a huge hassle (and slightly added expense). For us it is just more exercise.
Speaking of exercise, since this weekend (well, Monday actually, but still...) I will be running a race, I am tapering my workouts right now, so I went 'running' with my camera today. Here are some shots of my route:
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| By a field |
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| Along the river |
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| The track/soccer fields |
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| More along the river |
And I am not ungrateful or oblivious to the fact that it is December. I absolutely appreciate the clear (snow-less and ice-less) paths that I run on. More than that I appreciate the temperatures and appropriate running attire for them: shorts and a t-shirt (for me, I have seen people running in long pants and a long shirt. I guess I will have a problem with what to wear when it gets a little hotter, but for now, it's perfect). I have to admit that even today as I was running up a hill I caught myself comparing it to the hill on the River Road in St. Paul (the one that takes you up to Summit). You can take the girl out of St. Paul, but you can't erase her memory of and fondness for her morning River Road runs. In fact, just to prove to myself that I could do it, I got up at 6:30 AM and went running (I left the house around 7) before class twice this week. I can still do it. I feel better knowing that. Getting up early to go running is my trademark move.
Another one of my trademarks is wearing shorts as pajama bottoms year-round. I can't do that here. It might sound unbelievable, but since there is no central heating and no carpet or insulation to hold in the heat, it is rather chilly here at night. I sleep in a t-shirt, sweatshirt, pants and socks and I am still cold most nights. I never would have believed it if you told me this would be the case. We were totally spoiled with a heater in our room and down comforters for our beds the last time we lived in Spain. (Now I know what you went through Kelly and Meaghan- I am living a heater-less, down comforter-less, squeaky-bed and pet-rabbit-in- the-house-life. I don't have any Swedish roommates though.)
Here's a little story about my private English lesson: today I attempted to explain the phrase 'they didn't bother to do it' to him. It was in reference to the his students that didn't bother to come to his office hours for extra help, even though they didn't understand the (math) problems he gave them and thus failed the exam. He wanted to know a synonym for the word 'bother' in this case. I tried to think of one and started my explanation out with 'Es como...'. Is it a good sign that even though our entire conversation was in English (he is in the Advanced class, so he speaks very well) that my brain automatically started to explain in Spanish? I'd like to think so, but all other signs point to the fact that both my Spanish and English may actually be getting worse. Take, for example, when I try to say a Spanish 101 phrase like 'That shirt is more expensive than this shirt.' and I say 'Esa camisa es more cara que esta camisa'. ('More' is an English word- it should be 'más' instead.) My brain just switches languages at whim.
And since this may be the last time I get to say it without lying: I'm in my twenties.
Another one of my trademarks is wearing shorts as pajama bottoms year-round. I can't do that here. It might sound unbelievable, but since there is no central heating and no carpet or insulation to hold in the heat, it is rather chilly here at night. I sleep in a t-shirt, sweatshirt, pants and socks and I am still cold most nights. I never would have believed it if you told me this would be the case. We were totally spoiled with a heater in our room and down comforters for our beds the last time we lived in Spain. (Now I know what you went through Kelly and Meaghan- I am living a heater-less, down comforter-less, squeaky-bed and pet-rabbit-in- the-house-life. I don't have any Swedish roommates though.)
Here's a little story about my private English lesson: today I attempted to explain the phrase 'they didn't bother to do it' to him. It was in reference to the his students that didn't bother to come to his office hours for extra help, even though they didn't understand the (math) problems he gave them and thus failed the exam. He wanted to know a synonym for the word 'bother' in this case. I tried to think of one and started my explanation out with 'Es como...'. Is it a good sign that even though our entire conversation was in English (he is in the Advanced class, so he speaks very well) that my brain automatically started to explain in Spanish? I'd like to think so, but all other signs point to the fact that both my Spanish and English may actually be getting worse. Take, for example, when I try to say a Spanish 101 phrase like 'That shirt is more expensive than this shirt.' and I say 'Esa camisa es more cara que esta camisa'. ('More' is an English word- it should be 'más' instead.) My brain just switches languages at whim.
And since this may be the last time I get to say it without lying: I'm in my twenties.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Team Work on T-Day
During the past decade, I have spent the majority of my Thanksgivings serving food to others who were celebrating the feast of food, while I myself neither celebrated nor ate as I was too busy working. This year I did work, but only for three hours.
Thanksgiving dinner was a team event. At 10 AM Clarisse, Jose and I met in the living room/dining room and walked together to the grocery store. We planned on making turkey, cranberry sauce,stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and apple crisp (Grandma R's recipe). Jose was in charge of the sauce, stuffing and turkey. I had the casserole and apple crisp and Clarisse had the potatoes. We went to four different grocery stores looking for all of the ingredients we needed (most stores do not carry turkey in any other form than sandwich slices and cranberries are not very prevalent either.). But, we found turkey drumsticks, dried cranberries and a cousin of brown sugar you find in the US (it was in larger crystals like table sugar but brown). We brought everything back to the piso and got to work. I peeled and sliced the apples for the crisp and then breaded and fried the onions for the green bean casserole. Clarisse cut the bread and veggies for the stuffing while Jose worked some sort of magic with the cranberries to make a sauce and prepared the turkey for the oven.
Once everything was prepped we headed off to school for a few hours. When we returned, we finished cooking the turkey, Clarisse whipped up the potatoes (from a packet) and Megan directed the green bean casserole process (since I had never actually eaten nor made a green bean casserole). The challenge with the green bean casserole was that we didn't have a can of cream of mushroom soup (you know, the 10.5 ounces of cream that keeps the shape of the can once you dump it out). We only had a packet of cream of mushroom soup, which was too watery for this recipe. So, we made the packet of soup and Megan stirred, and stirred and stirred (by the way, 'to stir' in Spanish is 'remover'. Which could be, as an English speaker who might not have seen that word in Spanish before, confusing the first time you read the directions on the soup packet: put the contents of the packet in a liter of water. Remover la sopa (soup). That could be difficult...). She stirred it until it was reduced down to the correct consistency. That resulted in only about a quarter cup of soup. But somehow we made it work.
Here is our (Spanish) Thanksgiving table:
While we enjoyed our fine meal, the apple crisp was baking in the oven. It turned out perfectly (it must be the recipe). We even added our own special touches to it- ice cream (of course) and the leftover cranberry sauce.
We ate at 10:30 PM and we went to bed around 2 AM. I think I like this side of Thanksgiving dinner better than the working side.
Thanksgiving dinner was a team event. At 10 AM Clarisse, Jose and I met in the living room/dining room and walked together to the grocery store. We planned on making turkey, cranberry sauce,stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and apple crisp (Grandma R's recipe). Jose was in charge of the sauce, stuffing and turkey. I had the casserole and apple crisp and Clarisse had the potatoes. We went to four different grocery stores looking for all of the ingredients we needed (most stores do not carry turkey in any other form than sandwich slices and cranberries are not very prevalent either.). But, we found turkey drumsticks, dried cranberries and a cousin of brown sugar you find in the US (it was in larger crystals like table sugar but brown). We brought everything back to the piso and got to work. I peeled and sliced the apples for the crisp and then breaded and fried the onions for the green bean casserole. Clarisse cut the bread and veggies for the stuffing while Jose worked some sort of magic with the cranberries to make a sauce and prepared the turkey for the oven.
Once everything was prepped we headed off to school for a few hours. When we returned, we finished cooking the turkey, Clarisse whipped up the potatoes (from a packet) and Megan directed the green bean casserole process (since I had never actually eaten nor made a green bean casserole). The challenge with the green bean casserole was that we didn't have a can of cream of mushroom soup (you know, the 10.5 ounces of cream that keeps the shape of the can once you dump it out). We only had a packet of cream of mushroom soup, which was too watery for this recipe. So, we made the packet of soup and Megan stirred, and stirred and stirred (by the way, 'to stir' in Spanish is 'remover'. Which could be, as an English speaker who might not have seen that word in Spanish before, confusing the first time you read the directions on the soup packet: put the contents of the packet in a liter of water. Remover la sopa (soup). That could be difficult...). She stirred it until it was reduced down to the correct consistency. That resulted in only about a quarter cup of soup. But somehow we made it work.
Here is our (Spanish) Thanksgiving table:
While we enjoyed our fine meal, the apple crisp was baking in the oven. It turned out perfectly (it must be the recipe). We even added our own special touches to it- ice cream (of course) and the leftover cranberry sauce.
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Granada Means Pomegranate
It also means hand grenade. But we'll get to those later. Granada with a capital 'G' means a city in southern Spain (isn't grammar fun?). And that's where Megan, Clarisse and I went November 19th-21st. It was my fourth trip to Granada and my third trip inside the Alhambra (always buy your ticket ahead of time if you actually want to get inside, right Rachel?).
After our two-hour English department meeting on Friday, Clarisse and I stopped by the piso to pick up our bags and went through the three-step process to get to the bus to Granada (bus to Sevilla, 40 minute walk across Sevilla with suitcase to bus stop #2, bus to Granada). Megan was at the station waiting for us. To our surprise, the 'deluxe' bus ticket didn't just cost extra because it left at a much desired time. It cost more because each rider received a bag of goodies: a bottle of water, a cookie, peanuts and earphones (so that you could listen to the movie they were showing during the ride). I don't know what it is about free stuff, but no matter what it is that you get for 'free' or unexpectedly it always makes you feel more satisfied about spending money. 'I'll pay 7 extra Euros ($9.80) for your bus ticket if you give me a bottle of water and some snacks. Whaddaya say?'. If you think about it logically, you'll figure out that a bottle of water, cookies and peanuts will cost you only 1.5€ (at most) and you already have your own headphones. But we put that minor detail out of our minds and tore into our bag of treats almost immediately.
The bus ride was two hours and I have no idea what movie they showed. At first I thought it was a Twilight movie, but then I realized that none of the characters were vampires, so I had to eliminate that from the possibilities. The three main characters just reminded me of the three main characters I thought were in the Twilight movies (I'm the one person in the US that hasn't seen them.).
Anyway, upon arrival in Granada we took the city bus to the closest stop to our hostel and followed our trusty directions there. We had reserved a 4-bedroom room for two nights. Actually, I should say that we reserved three beds in a four bedroom room. That is to say that the 4th bed was available for 'a friend we hadn't met yet'. The room had three rooms: a bathroom, a room with a bunk bed and a heater and a room with a kitchen and two beds. Megan and Clarisse took the bunk bed room and I decided to stay in the kitchen room since I would be getting up to run and I would disturb them less in that room. I'm not going to say I regret that decision, but I will say that I moved my bed into the doorway of the bunk bed room (it didn't fit through the doorway) so I could feel some heat. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.
We left our bags in the room and went downstairs to see if we could join the Tapas Tour that was being led by the hostel. For one Euro a guide would take us around to four different tapas bars. Granada is known for giving out a free tapa with each drink ordered. So, if you want to be technical, we went on a Four Drink Tour that happened to include FREE tapas. (Free tapas make you feel better about spending so much money on drinks, don't they?) At the first two bars the tour guide came around and collected money from everyone to pay for the drinks. For some reason he missed us at the third bar. We watched him collect money from the rest of the group, pay the bill and head outside. What could we do? It's almost impossible to track down a waiter/waitress in Spain and we didn't want to get left behind, so we started to head out too. But, being the responsible young ladies that we are, we flagged down the bartender to ask if the bill for the group had been taken care of. He assure us that the guide had paid for everyone. That's all we needed to hear. We headed out the door.
The 4th bed was empty the first night, so we rested comfortably, somewhat. I was a little chilly (as I mentioned previously) and Clarisse, who was sleeping directly under the heater, had some sort of allergic reaction and her eye got really puffy. But it just gave us tales to tell. After a lovely run along the river (for me), we went to breakfast at a nearby cafe. We had bread with a tomato jam and ham. It's good. Try it (with or without ham- bread with fresh tomatoes and olive oil is also a delicious option).
Next we walked up the hill to the Alhambra (a palace built with Islamic architecture- there's a lot more to know, but I'll leave the research up to you). We had tickets to enter the palace at 2 PM, but we got there a little early just in case there was a line. When your tickets say 2 PM, it means you have to be at the entrance to the palace at 2. But to get to that line, you have wait at the main gate until 1:45 when they let you in the palace grounds. Then you walk maybe half a mile to the palace entrance. They will only let you into the palace and the grounds at your assigned time. This is because the Alhambra is such a popular tourist destination (even Bill Clinton has been to the Alhambra).
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| Granada |
The bus ride was two hours and I have no idea what movie they showed. At first I thought it was a Twilight movie, but then I realized that none of the characters were vampires, so I had to eliminate that from the possibilities. The three main characters just reminded me of the three main characters I thought were in the Twilight movies (I'm the one person in the US that hasn't seen them.).
Anyway, upon arrival in Granada we took the city bus to the closest stop to our hostel and followed our trusty directions there. We had reserved a 4-bedroom room for two nights. Actually, I should say that we reserved three beds in a four bedroom room. That is to say that the 4th bed was available for 'a friend we hadn't met yet'. The room had three rooms: a bathroom, a room with a bunk bed and a heater and a room with a kitchen and two beds. Megan and Clarisse took the bunk bed room and I decided to stay in the kitchen room since I would be getting up to run and I would disturb them less in that room. I'm not going to say I regret that decision, but I will say that I moved my bed into the doorway of the bunk bed room (it didn't fit through the doorway) so I could feel some heat. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.
We left our bags in the room and went downstairs to see if we could join the Tapas Tour that was being led by the hostel. For one Euro a guide would take us around to four different tapas bars. Granada is known for giving out a free tapa with each drink ordered. So, if you want to be technical, we went on a Four Drink Tour that happened to include FREE tapas. (Free tapas make you feel better about spending so much money on drinks, don't they?) At the first two bars the tour guide came around and collected money from everyone to pay for the drinks. For some reason he missed us at the third bar. We watched him collect money from the rest of the group, pay the bill and head outside. What could we do? It's almost impossible to track down a waiter/waitress in Spain and we didn't want to get left behind, so we started to head out too. But, being the responsible young ladies that we are, we flagged down the bartender to ask if the bill for the group had been taken care of. He assure us that the guide had paid for everyone. That's all we needed to hear. We headed out the door.
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| Bar #3 |
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| One of the tapas. Essentially it was a grilled ham & cheese sandwich. |
Next we walked up the hill to the Alhambra (a palace built with Islamic architecture- there's a lot more to know, but I'll leave the research up to you). We had tickets to enter the palace at 2 PM, but we got there a little early just in case there was a line. When your tickets say 2 PM, it means you have to be at the entrance to the palace at 2. But to get to that line, you have wait at the main gate until 1:45 when they let you in the palace grounds. Then you walk maybe half a mile to the palace entrance. They will only let you into the palace and the grounds at your assigned time. This is because the Alhambra is such a popular tourist destination (even Bill Clinton has been to the Alhambra).
By the time we got back to the hostel from the Alhambra it was about 5. It was too late for lunch and too early for dinner. We tried to find a restaurant that was open for dinner (other than just a cafe), but only the Chinese restaurant opened at 8:30. So we walked around and waited. And at 8:30 we went to the Chinese restaurant and ate a 4 course meal for something like 12 €. When it came time for dessert, we had four options: coffee, flan, ice cream or cheesecake (I think). The waiter/owner asked what we wanted for dessert and I answered 'helado' (ice cream). He looked at me and said, 'café, flan o tarta de queso' (as in those are your three choices). I didn't want any of them. I wanted ice cream. I told him that I didn't understand. So he moved onto Megan, but gave her all four choices. She chose ice cream. I said 'I don't understand. I told you I wanted ice cream, but that wasn't an option for me.' I thought he was going to punch me. Apparently it came off quite rude in my Spanish and his understanding of Spanish. Woops. In the end, we all enjoyed chocolate ice cream. I still wonder if mine was laced with something or if maybe he just spit in it.
We did have a 4th roommate the second night. She was Spanish and explained that she was in another room the previous night, but there had been a robbery so she moved rooms. She said she had a class at 8 in the morning, so she would be leaving early and would not disturb us. She seemed really nice, but we didn't really get to talk to her after that. She left at maybe 9 PM and she got back at about 7 AM and went to bed. When I got back from running at around 9 AM she was gone. You might be expecting some sort of punch line here like - 'and so was all of our stuff!', but luckily there is no story to tell.
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| Not our hostel |
The next day (Sunday - aka the Day When Nothing is Open), we ate breakfast at the same cafe, and walked around the outside of the city's Cathedral.
We also walked up to the mirador, which provides a scenic view of the Alhambara. Bill Clinton said something about it being the most beautiful place in the world to watch the sunset. We weren't there at sunset and it was a cloudy, rainy day, but the view was still pretty nice.
On the way up, we saw some people protesting about the states in the US that impose the death penalty. They had a huge sign with a map of the US that listed all of the states with the death penalty and how many people have been killed in that state. We walked by carefully, quickly and without speaking with a Texan accent. I think my actual words were, 'Oh Canada! Our home and native land...'.
When we arrived at the mirador, there were quite a few people there- tourists enjoying the view and/or chatting and people selling craft items. Clarisse, Megan and I were taking photos and looking around ourselves. All of a sudden, the craft people stopped, grabbed their stuff and ran away (I mean RAN). It was as if they had a sixth sense of an impending danger and speed was so essential that they couldn't take the time to warn the tourists. I felt like I was in a movie or on Candid Camera. Then we saw the police. Apparently the craft sale at the mirador is not a legal operation. I really wish I would have been videotaping instead of taking pictures at that moment because my description could never do justice to the eeriness of the situation.
When we got back down to the main part of the city, we drank extremely delicious hot chocolate (which I think was actually just a melted chocolate bar) at another cafe to waste time before our (non-deluxe) bus came. And this bus did play a movie as well (Inventing the Abbotts)- but you had to have your own headphones.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Water, water everywhere
Look, desperate times call for desperate measures. I couldn't very well go to my private English class in a two-day showerless state of reek (that was exacerbated by Sunday morning's run). I had three options:
1. Take a cold shower
2. Cancel the class at the last minute
3. Heat water on the stove and get clean Laura Ingalls-style (at least I think this would be Laura Ingalls-style. I don't remember reading any of her books (someone else was always reading them and really, when was I going to need to know anything about pioneer life? Nicki, is this how Laura took a shower?).
I chose option 3. I was a little over zealous in making sure I had hot water, but after burning my leg I let the water cool and ultimately felt satisfied that I was clean.
I went to my private lesson and then afterward headed straight to the bank to pay for the 5-hour pool pass. I had to wait maybe 15 minutes (I was 3rd in line), but after I paid I headed home, grabbed my swimming attire and headed (up the hill and down the street) to the pool.
When I arrived and handed in my paperwork for the pool pass, the pool worker discovered they were out of pool passes. Luckily they had some from 2009 that they decided would function just fine (here's hopin'). Then I was told I couldn't go swimming until 5 PM. I think they thought I was coming for a class or something. When I told her I just wanted to lap swim she said I could go in right away! So to make a long story finally end: I got to go swimming today! And I was the only one in the pool (there was another pool full of older adults doing water aerobics of some sort, but no one else in the lap swimming pool). And although the water was about 10 degrees warmer than I am accustomed to, I am glad I FINALLY got to go swimming. (And Judy, I sneezed a bunch of times, of course. One sneeze on my way home from the pool was so loud that a man on the other side of the street was startled and asked if I was going to be alright.) And guess what? When I got back to the piso I discovered we have hot water again! Maybe you can trust Monday, Monday after all...
1. Take a cold shower
2. Cancel the class at the last minute
3. Heat water on the stove and get clean Laura Ingalls-style (at least I think this would be Laura Ingalls-style. I don't remember reading any of her books (someone else was always reading them and really, when was I going to need to know anything about pioneer life? Nicki, is this how Laura took a shower?).
I chose option 3. I was a little over zealous in making sure I had hot water, but after burning my leg I let the water cool and ultimately felt satisfied that I was clean.
I went to my private lesson and then afterward headed straight to the bank to pay for the 5-hour pool pass. I had to wait maybe 15 minutes (I was 3rd in line), but after I paid I headed home, grabbed my swimming attire and headed (up the hill and down the street) to the pool.
When I arrived and handed in my paperwork for the pool pass, the pool worker discovered they were out of pool passes. Luckily they had some from 2009 that they decided would function just fine (here's hopin'). Then I was told I couldn't go swimming until 5 PM. I think they thought I was coming for a class or something. When I told her I just wanted to lap swim she said I could go in right away! So to make a long story finally end: I got to go swimming today! And I was the only one in the pool (there was another pool full of older adults doing water aerobics of some sort, but no one else in the lap swimming pool). And although the water was about 10 degrees warmer than I am accustomed to, I am glad I FINALLY got to go swimming. (And Judy, I sneezed a bunch of times, of course. One sneeze on my way home from the pool was so loud that a man on the other side of the street was startled and asked if I was going to be alright.) And guess what? When I got back to the piso I discovered we have hot water again! Maybe you can trust Monday, Monday after all...
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| The pool passes. |
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