I´m on a boat!

For my last weekend here we decided to aprovecha the warm, beautiful, perfect weather and do some exploring around the Costa del Sol. And to fulfill our final goal: get on a boat.

Friday we spent the day in Torremolinos at a restaruant/bar/beach club called Cafe del Sol. It was a great day and much more affordbale than a day in Marbella, only €4 for a lounge chair, versus €100 at Nikki Beach, but the crowd was OUT OF CONTROL. I´m talking The Jersey Shore (TV show) moved to the Costa del Sol. Leathery, tattooed, topless, fake breasted mothers frolicing around with their sons. CREEPY. The people watching was ridiculous, not sure if I would like a repeat in the near future though.

Saturday we woke up early and went to Benalmadena. We explored the boardwalk which was filled with restaurants, shops and sunburnt UK citizens. At night we went to Plaza de Sol y Mar, also known as 24hr square and were bombarded by bachelor and bachelorette parties.

Sunday we accomplished the ultimate goal we´ve had while living on the Costa del Sol and took a boat ride around the Mediterranean. While our inital dream had been an invitation by some Euro bachelors on their massive yacht, we paid €10 each for a 2hr ride on a Dolphin Cruise and it wasn´t too shabby. Although we didn´t actually see any dolphins, there was free sangria, fishing, swimming and breathtaking views of the coast.
Above: I´m. On. A. Boat! Above: LC, Alina, Me, and Chrissy at the Puerto Marina in Benalmadena
Above: Chrissy and I jump in the water and hold on to the buoys for dear life.
Above: Chrissy and I bid the boat farwell
Above: Stranded in the Mediterranean Sea. Not too bad.

Inspirational Quote #20

"Don´t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive" - Howard Thurman

Mercado Atarazanas

The renovated Mercado Atarazanas opened about a month ago, and it's conveniently located right across the street from my flat. It's a historic landmark and had been under construction since we arrived in September. There are rows and rows of fruit and vegetable stands on the right hand side, fish stands in the middle and meat stands on the left. They also have nut, olive, bread and pastry stands. Everything is extremely fresh and well priced. As you can see from the first picture below there is a giant stained glass window in the back of the market- not your average supermarket! Today I bought 5 apples, 5 pears and a cucumber for a total of just 3euro. I'm going to miss grocery shopping here!

Limbo Love

At some point in the night we always whip out a game of limbo. It became a common recurrence after Spring Break 2009 in Florida. Many times there is not a traditional "stick" available so we improvise with other props. Here are some of my favorite limbo moments from my travels this year:

Above: Benalmadena, Spain. Plastic alligator.

Above: Marbella, Spain. Towel.

Above: Lagos, Portugal. Pashmina.
Above: Madrid, Spain. Pashmina.
Above: Lisbon, Portugal. Pearl necklace.
Above: Malaga, Spain. Arms.
Above: Cadiz, Spain. My costume.

Finding Faith

This week has been an emotional roller coaster for a lot of reasons. But what I have been thinking about the most is my friend Kyle and trying to grasp where he is now. I feel very lucky and fortunate that I have yet to experience the death of someone close to me in my life. My great grandmother died when I was around 12 years old and she was in her 90s and although I was very sad, she had lived a long full life and I knew that this was "normal." I´ve known parents of friends, and grandparents of friends, and friends of friends who have passed away, but Kyle is the first person, the first friend, someone my age, I´ve known to die. It´s been very hard for me to conceptualize where he is right now. I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school in New York until 5th grade. I receieved my First Holy Communion, Confession and Confirmation. Even though I wouldn´t consider myself very religious I pray almost every night and when I can´t sleep I recite my "Hail Marys" and "Our Fathers" in my head. I´ve always believed in heaven and that is where you go when you die. Heaven looks down on Earth. Everyone wears white robes with gold belts, kind of like the ancient Greeks. They walk on clouds and it is always daylight. There are beautiful waterfalls, rivers, flowers and butterflies and someone is playing the harp. Our deceased family members and friends can float down to Earth and whisper into our ears when we need help.

Now that I am actually experiencing what it is like to lose someone, especially someone who was so young, with so much ahead of him, someone I used to see every day and didn´t think much of it, I have so many questions. Death isn´t something that my friends and I talk about every day like we do relationships, food, working out and travel plans. You hear about people dying all the time, but it sounds so far away and isolated and factual- Kyle Craig died at 1am May 22nd. It sounds so...abstract...

Kyle´s funeral is today. Will his ghost be there, sitting next to his family, watching them remember him and honor his short life? Will he try to call out and touch them like Patrick Swayze in "Ghost?" Has his spirit been born into someone else´s body? Does everyone end up in the same "heaven" regardless of race, age, and beliefs?

While I am feeling extremely lost and pensive about what death means and if there is life after death, I am certain that everything happens for a reason. Many times it is not obvious right away, but I know that it is true. Eventually, weeks, months, years later you cope, not to forget the past, but to understand and see how events fit into some greater plan in life. No matter how devastating, tragic and upsetting these events were, everything has a purpose. You can spend all day asking why this happened, why Kyle, why now, and I have the same questions, but I don´t think you or I will get the exact answers to those questions we´re seeking. I want to spend my time remembering Kyle and honoring his life, and to find faith so that I can truly believe and understand where he is right now. For now I´d like to think that Kyle is somewhere where he can do the things he loved on Earth, play music, sports, surf, and swim. That heaven is different for every person, it´s your favorite place and things about Earth, but every day. I hope he knows we will never forget him, and I hope to continue to be reminded of him every day.

Alamos 38

Alamos 38 is my new fav spot in Malaga. It´s a restaurant and bar, but I´ve only been to have drinks. The ambience is so cool- so NOT Malaga. When you walk in there is a bar area to the left and if you just continue straight there are antique couches and chairs set up in a courtyard type square, giving it a "lounge" feel. There are plants and vines covering the walls and columns which gives it a very relaxing feel, like you´re in a garden. It is trendy, but not pretentious. Other apsects that I enjoy are the private rooms and dual function as an art gallery. Behind the "garden" area there is an open room with dinner tables. Behind this room there are other private rooms with more dinner tables and a really exotic feel. The drinks are well priced and they give you great bar nuts and candy with your order. Every time I´ve been they´ve surprised us with free shots at the end of our stay! Last time was a rum shot that looked and tasted like a ice cream sundae.
Above: The "garden" courtyard room near the entrance
Above: Carmen sitting on a couch in the entrance

Pleasantville

We are back to Pleasantville weather on the Costa del Sol and boy is it about time. There is nothing like seeing 80degrees and sunny (no cloud picture) on weather.com for my last week here. Really time to hit the beach and work on that tan!

"Viva Alex"

I just had the most touching surprise party ever. I´ve never had a surprise party before, but I think if I had, this would have topped it. Mari Carmen told me to come a little late to class today because the 5th graders were preparing something special for me. I had planned to go to the supermarket in the morning anyway to buy them some candy for the last class so I showed up around 9:20am. I knocked on the door and then slowly opened it to see if they were ready for me. The entire entrance way to the classroom was covered in all different colored balloons. They all screamed, "surprise!" when I walked in. On the white board they had written, "we will miss you" and "viva alex" and ""we love you." They read me a poem in English that they wrote together. Although it does not translate the same into English, it's so cute and I want to frame it in my room at home.

After, the girls, who were the ones in charge of this whole surprise, told me there were 4 presents hidden all around the room and they would give me clues to help find it. The first present was, "under a bag." I discovered it all wrapped up in smiley face wrapping paper- a pair of sungalsses! The next present was, "in an umbrella." Low and behold a bracelet with matching earrings and a ring!! Soo cute! The 3rd present was "on the shelf"- a pink scarf. The 4th present was "next to the computer"- a WATCH! I was so touched and was not expecting anything like this. It was so over the top! They said they wanted to give me some "recuerdos," to make sure I wouldn't forget them.

After my treasure hunt, I said some words about how I will miss them and that I hope they will continue to study English and they can email me with any questions (that might have been a mistake.) I wrote my email address on the board and they all copied it onto their arms. We had a short English lesson and then I spent the next 20minutes after our class writing a note and signing my name on a balloon for them (for each student), but also on to paper, beause they said the balloon wouldn´t last forever. At the end they gave me some of the pin wheels they had made for Martin Luther King Jr. Day that say, "USA," "peace," and "protest" on them. The whole thing was such a sweet, touching and thoughtful thing to do and I will never forget it, or them.
Above: The girls reading me the poem they wrote about me
Below: The poem

Packing

Packing, or unpacking, which is worse? I think unpacking is probably worse because you always end up with more things than you started with so you have to make new room in your closet, at the same time you can´t seem to find that one sweater or necklace or special face cream, but you´re convinced you didn´t leave it behind, and on top of it all you have to do a huge load of laundry. Right now packing is seeming worse though... I don´t want to leave it to the last minute, but taking down all of the pictures and postcards in my room would make this whole process seem way to real as well as super lonely this last week without familiar faces all around me. Even though there are only 7 days left somehow I think I need to keep all ten pairs of shoes out just in case I want to wear all of them. I have 2 huge suitcases on wheels, a smaller suitcase on wheels and a large carry-on. I´m hoping to be able to consolidate everything into the 2 large bags on wheels to avoid an aggressive charge for a 3rd bag, but with all of the new shoes and dresses I´ve bought recently, that might be impossible...

Inspirational Quote #19

"The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson" - Tom Bodett

RIP MKC

I was hit with devastating news from home this past Saturday. A good friend of mine from Vanderbilt, Kyle Craig, who was two years younger, passed away.

I know it's true, that it actually happened, but it's just hard to process since it was so unexpected...The Kyle that I knew was a true "surfer dude." He said things like "yea man," "totally," wore Hollister and backwards hats, and always had a smile on his face. He played in a band and loved theme parties. I met him two years ago when he was a freshman and I was a junior. My guy friends introduced him to me as "the man," a kid "we have to get" for the pledge class, the #1 rush.

The first time Kyle came to the Adelicia last year was with a bunch of our friends for our first pool party. The pool was on the 7th floor of our building, and standing in the pool, looking up all you could see was the clear blue sky. It seemed like the highest point in Nashville. He told me it was literally the happiest he had ever been- that it was "heaven" and he never wanted to leave. After that he coined my roommates and I, "The Adelicia Angels." He would text me during the day "Schu, can I come over to heaven today" or towards the Spring time, "when are we kicking off the season in heaven?" The picture above is from that very first day at our pool, Kyle is smiling in his sunglasses, with a fluorescent bathing suit in the middle.

He was down to earth, fun loving, compassionate and had a lot going for him. It has been hard to grasp what has happened, especially being far away, removed from the situation and unable to talk to my other friends in person. I'll miss you Kyle, I don't know when this will actually start to feel real. May you rest in peace.

"Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven" - Tryon Edwards

Las Chinas

Somehow, I haven't really talked about "las chinas." "Las chinas" would be referring to the two Chinese girls that have been living in my flat for the past 2 months. I would say their names but the fact is my other roommates and I don't know them because they only introduced themselves once and we couldn't decipher anything, so they are "las chinas." They share a room (the big one the gay Italian guy used to live in) and never talk to the rest of us besides an occasional "hola." They never change out of their pajamas, or leave the flat besides to go to school.

When they first arrived they put a portable hot plate/stove in the kitchen. Why they didn't want to use the stove we already have I'm not sure. About a month ago I came into the kitchen and they hadn't cleaned up after themselves. There were raw vegetables and meat on the counter as well as tons of dirty plates. Sometimes I don't have a chance to wash my dishes so I leave them in the sink to do the next day, but leaving out RAW FOOD is a BIG NO NO in this piso. I knocked on their door and there was a long pause and then I came in and told them that if they don't clean up after themselves "las cucarachas van a venir." Their guy friend (who is also always in their room) followed me back to the kitchen and cleaned up their mess. The next day I woke up and there were maybe 9 full garbage bags on the kitchen floor... TAKE IT OUTSIDE!

Anyway I feel like Mr. G from Summer Heights High because after this event I started putting up signs all over the kitchen like, "POR FAVOR TIRA LA BASURA" to remind them to clean up after themselves. As Mr. G says, "We have to work together, but I'm not going to live in your filth." After this sign went up they no longer even cook in the kitchen. They moved the hot plate into their room and cook in there! EW!!

Nikki Beach Marbella: A Way of Life

Nikki Beach Marbella gets its own post because it is just that special. We had a very long day there on Saturday...about 7 hours...Started off with delicious caesar salads outside and yummy cocktails- their special is a mojito which is fabulous, but I also recommend asking for a strawberry Pina Colada- to die for. We hung out on the beach for a bit and then made some friends. My one complaint was that the "fashion show" the staff was telling us about all day was actually a DRAG SHOW and temporarily ruined the mood. It was a group of unattractive/plastic/old women and transvestites strutting around trying to sing "Vogue" by Madonna. SO strange. We started a massive limbo line after which I think was much more entertaining for Nikki Beach clients.

Above: Chrissy, Maria, Alina and Me at the bar

Above: Me, Chrissy, Alina and Maria on a bed

Above: The "fashion" show

Below: A much better show

Marbella List

This past weekend we took a trip to Marbella/Puerto Banus. Here is what I would recommend to do there:

Coral Beach Aparthotel: inexpensive, spacious apartments for rent

Nikki Beach: Located in the Hotel Don Carlos, awesome daytime spot

Picasso Restaurant: located right in the port, great casual Italian dinner (picture to the right is us outside)

La Suite: club located in the Hotel Puerto Romano

Seven: club with Buddha theme

Walk around Puerto Banus

Viva La Feria

Feria, the big famous one being in Sevilla that I went to, takes place in different towns in Andalucía at different times in the Spring (except for Malaga's feria which is in August). How does a store that is devoted to one holiday/time of year stay open? Do they make enough money during this time of year that they can afford to stay open all year long?? Do people buy clothes and accessories for feria in the off season? Is this store actually not open all year, but just opened recently and that's why I noticed it?? I need to know how this works.

Keeping up with Spanish

I´m already anticipating the anxiety and upset I will feel when I return to New York and am no longer constantly surrounded by Spanish language and culture. To counteract a mid-summer depression where I realize I have forogotten everything I´ve learned this past year, I have found some great ways that I can keep practicing and improving.

BBC:BBC has a great language website where you can practice listening, speaking, reading and writing. They have games, articles and TV shows (including, "Mi Vida Loca" and "Sueños") which seem like a great way to review. They also have this service for other languages: French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian etc.

Queen Sofia Spanish Institute: I plan on becoming a member of the Spanish Institue in New York when I get home. This will help me to create a network of Spanish speaking friends as well as the opportunity to attend Spanish cultural events. They also provide classes and a tutoring service.

My Doormen. All of my doormen are from Cuba, Puerto Rico and the DR and I need to aprovecha and practice my speaking and listening with them. Bored at home? Go downstairs and talk to them for an hour.

Restaurants. One of the things I have written into my daily planner for the day after I get home is "make friends at mex. rest." There is a great Mexican and Spanish restaurant a few blocks away from me and I´m going to just walk right up to them and ask them if they´d like to do an intercambio with me or wouldn´t mind if I hung out until I find a job. Hopefully they will be flattered and not weirded out. Ha, I´m desperate.

Non-profit organization. I want to get involved with a specific non-profit/community service organization that is Spanish oriented. I´d like to be a mentor or English tutor for Spanish children or do any kind of community building. If anyone knows of a Spanish/Hispanic oriented service organization please let me know!

Las pesadillas han empezado...

I´m already having nightmares about my return to New York. Great. It´s not unusual for me to have them before I go through a big transition period, but I still have two weeks left here why do they have to start now?! Sometimes they aren´t exactly nightmares, but just the weirdest most jumbled thoughts of ALL TIME.

In the most recent "nightmare," I was invited to a Christmas party by a middle school friend in Morocco. Before this I was going for a run in Sag Harbor and bumped into a friend from Spain and stopped running to talk to her about life. I arrived early to the party because my mom had to drop me off in our car. I thought the party was going to be for him and his parents but the "kids" party was separate. I volunteered to help him set up, which I thought was considerate but not something he would agree to, I still needed to get ready, but he said yes and handed me a huge piece of blue paper to cover the interior of the garage. I pretended to walk towards the garage, but went into the bathroom to do my makeup. Then our whole group of friends arrived. The group consisted of many middle/high school friends and a ton of people I have met in Spain. One of my best guy friends showed up with his girlfriend, but I ended up sitting on his lap and making out with him the whole time. Girlfriend was MIA. I was drunk and uncomfortable and ended the night at my Grandma´s house. Analyze THAT.

At this rate...

I don't know if I should hold on to my euros for a few months in the hope that the € will rise against the $ or just give in and trade them as soon as I get home because it's just getting worse...HELP! CRISIS!

Inspirational Quote #18

"Don't be dismayed at goodbyes, a farewell is necessary before you can meet again and meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends" - Richard Bach

La Despedida

It was definitely a weekend of mixed emotions. As usual I was excited to go to Madrid and stay with Rachael, but there was naturally a feeling of sadness being that it was my last weekend there for a while... I just can't believe how fast it's gone by...

The toughest part was having the last "cena" with Mercedes. We had dinner on Thursday night- delicious salad, tortilla, pizza, and sangria. Yum. We talked about the usual things, teaching, Vanderbilt, the economy, gypsys, and what are plans are for the upcoming months. Her son, Fer, says he definitely wants to come to New York this fall and she sounded like she was on board. I'll need to use my unmatchable persuasion skills to make sure she follows through. She gave Rachael and I a little gift so that we "wouldn't forget" her. To forget her would be to erase the past two years of my life.

Even though I know we'll see each other again and therefore there was no need to be too sad I got unexpectedly emotional towards the end and couldn't help from bursting out into tears. I don't know if she'll ever really know how important she has been to me. She is the most thoughtful, caring, fair and motherly person I've ever met that isn't my own mother. I feel so lucky to have ever been a part of her home. She ended her last email to me like this:

"Ha sido increible verte estos meses, eres una persona muy especial y me alegro de que Vanderbilt os trajera a mi casa a Sarah y a tí, espero que no dejememos nunca de estar en contacto, quiero saber siempre de tu vida, cuando te cases... cuando tengas hijos.... etc, etc.

Te queremos

UN BESO GRANDE"

Naturally I was thinking of ways to extend my Madrid stay- quitting my job and moving there for the next month or so to spend more time with her and everyone else -but if I was able to make this year happen I know I'll find ways to come back again.

Above: Me and Rachael in front of El Mercado de San Miguel

Above: Me, Cristina and Rachael at the Yamba Charity Event

Above: Me, Rachael and Cristina at dinner at Castellana DF

Más de Madrid

Here are some new awesome places I went to in Madrid this weekend:

La Kitchen
Snobissimo
Le Cabrera
Castellana DF

First Holy Communion

May is a very busy month here for both children and adults because this is when all the little niños have their First Holy Communion! The teachers have been telling me how busy their weekends are this month because sometimes they have 3 communions to go to in one weekend. They are all also very concerned with the weather because most of the celebrations take place outside and we´ve been having some morning rain recently. The children are all excited to dress up and have parties.

I remember I made my First Holy Communion at Marymount (before I went to Chapin) in the 2nd grade when I was 7 years old. In Spain, it seems to be more common to make the First Holy Communion in 4th grade. Today in 4th grade English, the head teacher showed me pictures that the children had given to all of the teachers after their First Holy Communion celebrations. Above is a picture of a few of them. It´s funny a lot of the pictures are printed and lamented to be used as bookmarks.

EU Rescue

I´ve spoken to many Spaniards recently about how they think Spain´s economic problem can be solved so that they won´t face the same bailout situation as Greece. My friends say that there are groups of families here and more specifically, politicians, that have too much money and power. Therefore, there is too great of a descrepancy between the common people and families of Spain and this upper class. Spaniards hope that the politicans will start to, or be forced to make economic decisions that will benefit the entire country instead of their elite crew. My friends believe that time will solve everything, that better days are coming, but that unfortunately their generation will not be able to enjoy it. On a sidenote, I´m selfishly pretty bummed the $ has gotten stronger since I get paid in € and will be coming home with a fresh paycheck...
Here are some recent articles on the EU bailout:

NY Times
Ny Times
CNN
BBC

Spelling Bee

I have started doing a weekly spelling bee in 3rd grade English. It all began when I realized that even though they have English and Science class twice a week and they have learned things like the water cycle and plant reproduction in English, they STILL can´t pronunce the alphabet prefectly . "E," "i," "a," "j," "h," and "y" are the big problems so once a week we have the spelling bee to practice vocabulary they have learned from the unit and to practice the alphabet. The head teacher Maria Carmen calls two names of the students and they come to the front where I am standing and I give them a word to spell. If the first student makes a mistake he/she steps back and the other student has a chance to spell it correctly. If the student spells it correctly I write their name on the blackboard. The winners play each other until we have a 1st place winner. He/she gets a big sticker and the runners up get smaller stickers. They get so excited and nervous for the spelling bee. When it gets down to the finals and a students spells the word correctly they all clap and cheer, it really is precious. Maria Carmen told me that when I´m not in class they all ask where I am and if we can have the "concurso."

Fifty Nifty United States

Today I was teaching transportation in 3rd grade Science: train, bus, metro, airplane, helicoptor, truck, car etc and how to talk about getting to different places, for example, "How do you go to Madrid?" " I go by bus" and also, "Can you go to Madrid by boat?" "No, I can´t." I used many cities in Spain and started to use different cities in the US until I realized that they did not know that California was a state and that Los Angeles was a city. So I ran downstairs and printed out the song I learned in middle school to memorize all the states. They loved it so much we assigned them each a state in the US and they have to research it- its capital, major cities, climate, main attractions etc. During each class students will present on their states and we will practice the song. This will be an ongoing project until I leave in 3 weeks. So proud they are learning US geography!

SONG:

Fifty Nifty United States from thirteen original
colonies;
Fifty Nifty stars on the flag that billows so
beautifully in the breeze.
Each individual state contributes a quality that is
great.
Each individual state deserves a bow, We salute
them now.

Fifty Nifty United States from thirteen original
colonies,
Shout 'em, scout 'em, Tell all about 'em,
One by one,til we've given a name to every state in
the USA ....
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Connecticut
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois,
Indiana
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan.
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, Nevada,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New
York,
North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Carolina,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,
Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia,
Wisconsin, Wyoming

North, South, East, West in our common, objective
opinion (Name of home State)
Is the Best of the Fifty Nifty United States from
thirteen original colonies
Shout 'em,scout'em, tell all about 'em
One by One, till we've given a name to every state
in the good old U....S...A

Inspirational Quote #17

" Surround yourself with people who believe in you" - Brian Koslow

A year ago today...

I graduated from Vanderbilt. I can't believe a full year has gone by! Even though it's scary to think about how fast time goes by, I feel very happy with the decisions I've made this past year and what I've done with my time, and that is such a satisfying feeling. Go me!

The picture above is my group friends at our graduation party. For those that I haven't seen in a while I'm missing you guys and thinking about you today!

Feliz Día del Madre!!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful madres I know, and especially to mine!!

Click, drool, repeat

This isn't exactly Spain related, but I need to share my new addiction: food porn. Because lets be honest, there is a similar obsession and fascination with food as there is for sex. Let me know if you feel the same.

Nashville Needs You

Even though this blog is dedicated to life offshore, I have to comment on what has happened in Nashville, where I lived for four years. I have spoken to many friends at Vanderbilt the past week who have tried to describe what is going on, aside from canceled exams. The pictures are mind blowing and have really upset me because I recognize every street corner, restaurant, landmark and highway completely submerged in water. My heart goes out to all Nashville residents who have been affected by this disaster.

This article was sent to me today by my landlord in Nashville, please read it and watch the video. Get a bikini wax, save a family (you'll understand after you read the article).

"Spanish-isms"

Emily, Sara, Katelyn and Julia came up with this hilarious list of "Spanish-isms" that I just had to share because they are just all so true. I also added a few of my own . Enjoy:

• Ikea is the gold standard of furniture
• No fresh flowers in homes
• People "invite" each other for meals and drinks
• Flip flops for beach only
• No baseball hats
• Must show ID with credit card
• Servers don't refill your drinks
• Red wine is always refrigerated
• Napkins are made of wax paper
  
• Exaggerated gesticulation, so it's hard to tell from afar if someone is talking about the weather or their firstborn child
• All basic medicine is behind the counter
• People stand in doorways and saying excuse me to get by is useless
• Pushing is acceptable touching a lot in general is acceptable
• No concept of personal space, especially in lines
• Kids pee in parks
• Food is left on the counter, unrefridgerated, overnight
• Napkins are crumpled up on the table
• All time tables for buses are different based on what website or bus map you are looking at
• People say ¨hasta luego¨ in passing instead of ¨hi,¨ like we do
• No bare feet... ever
• Sports clothes are never to be worn outside
• No going outside with wet hair, even if its hot out
• TV is on during all meals
• Yogurt and fruit for dessert
• People share salad bowls
• People will cut the last piece of food into small pieces so as to not take the actual last piece
• Kids are out at all hours of the night
• After siesta people eat churros with chocolate
  
• Pizza is sometimes cut with scissors
• People don´t drink water on a regular basis
• People are baffled by water bottles (nalgene, aluminum, etc)
• Siblings all have matching outfits, even if one is 9 years old and the other is 2
• Not covering mouth for coughs or sneezes
• Spanish women always link arms walking down the street
• Milk and eggs aren´t refrigerated (!?!?)
• If you look remotely presentable you will be hit on by every man on the street
• Mixed drinks are made with 75% alcohol, 15% ice and 10% mixer
• Dogs aren´t leashed, or cleaned up after
• Girls don´t dance at bars
• Restaurants charge you for bread
• Waitors glare at you when you ask for tap water
  
• Fruit has to be weighed at grocery stores
• You are obligated to say that the food is ¨buenismo¨ within the first two minutes of every meal
• Spaniards don´t type with two hands
• Flan is sold everywhere, next to basics such as milk, eggs, and butter.
• Groups of spanish friends are ususally not co-ed
• People take one sip of their cafe con leche and then chug the rest when they are about to leave the bar
• Spanish women don´t exercise
• Every woman is "guapa"
• Old women wear lots of fur
• No fear of smoking or motos, two things that are considered extremely dangerous back home
• Staring
• Spanish women mother everyone
• Kids are named after parents and then nicknamed with diminuatives, but never with seemingly random names
  

You can´t change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future

This year has gone by incredibly fast and I have made a point to try to live in the present and fully appreciate this amazing opportunity... but with less than one month left before I leave Spain and go back to the "real world" as some people say, it´s hard not to think about the past months I´ve spent here and the future months ahead.

Looking back I am really proud of myself for getting situated in a place that I had never been to before and is not very "me." I am happy I got to go to Morocco, a part of the world I had never seen before, and back to Madrid, the city I can navigate with my eyes closed and is the reason I am here today. I found 10 English-hungry learners to spend hours tutoring every week, and several Spanish friends to practice my subjunctive tense with. I became obsessed with spinning, the activity that from a far always seemed boring, and even further annoyed by Spanish pop music, a genre of sounds that will forever torture my ears.

And looking ahead... well, I don´t want to ruin the present...so all I´ll say is, I´m not too worried.

Iceland volcano promotes Rioja wine??

This article from the WSJ is cute and gives a little history on Rioja wine. LOVE Rioja wine by the way.

Here's the beginning bit of the article "Nature's Effect on Rioja":

Fortunately, my Tastings diary didn't clash with the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. With much of European air space closed last week due to the advent of a precipitous volcanic-ash cloud, winemakers joined the long list of would-be travelers stranded in remote destinations. In northern and central Europe, all eyes turned to Madrid, as Spain's skies remained open for business, blissfully clear of any trace of volcanic ash. As passengers from across the Atlantic funneled through Madrid airport, my wine historian antennae was alerted that it wasn't the first time that a natural disaster has benefited the Spanish economy.

Inspirational Quote #16

"As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily, to appreciate more lovingly, our own" - Margaret Mead.

La tasa de paro

The rate of unemployment is up to 20% in Spain and everyone is talking about it. And rightfully so, Spain is in deep mierda. The Barcelona cab drivers were very talkative and in every cab I took (all 3) the drivers and I engaged in a serious conversation about the economy and politics. They all asked what I was doing here and why I would be here when the economy was so bad. And I would respond with, believe it or not, but it hasn´t exactly been easy to find a job in the US either. Some people worry that Spain will be the next Greece, having to negotiate an emergency bailout from the EU, but others, like president Zapatero say that the jobless rate has peaked and will now start to decline.

My airport cab driver was on the more optimistic side. He said I shouldn´t go back to the US in a month, but stay here and work. When I said my job finishes in a month and I would have nothing else to do he said I should work as a "taxista" like him- that it is very lucrative and yes there are many women taxistas. I told him I hate driving, he said " tia, eso es un problema pequeñito."