Fantasy Fog

As I have said before the 45 minute commute to work does not bother because I always get to watch a beautiful sunrise (unless there is the unlikely event that it is rainy). This morning however the sunrise and the sky had the most mysterious formation. The clouds were SO low it appeared as if they were connected to the surface of the water. Not only did they seem to be connected to the water, but they looked like tidal waves themselves frozen in time. I sat completely alert on the bus snapping pictures on my blackberry hoping to capture how cool this looked. After I got off the bus I proceeded immediately to the beach to take some more pictures. Obviously it was just some thick fog along with low clouds surrounding my town and the nearby area, but it was magical!

I see London...

Above: Emily and me in front of Buckingham Palace
Above: Me and Emily in front of the Tower of London Bridge
Above: Reunion! Chrissy, Emily and me
Above: Emily in front of Hamley's (FAO Schwartz equivalent)
Above: Emily and me in front of the London Eye
Above: Me in front of Big Ben

Holiday

December 6 is the Día de la Constitución and December 8 is the Inmaculada Concepción in Spain. All you need to know is that there was no work yesterday or today. Somehow I was able to go grocery shopping yesterday, but today literally reminded me of Memorial Day weekend in New York City. There was no one around and everything was closed. So pretty much your standard Spanish Sunday. I did for some reason think that I would still have to give private English lessons. After I walked 45minutes to my student's flat only to be told over the intercom that we were in fact NOT meeting today I felt sort of defeated and that I am not as immersed as I thought. How could I think someone would want tutoring on a holiday?!

EasilytheworstJet

I managed to avoid the "cheap" airlines when I lived in Madrid. When I say "cheap" I am not only talking about price, but cheap in pretty much every other aspect of a flight- thinking you get a really good deal but then being charged a ton to check a bag, waiting in a long line to board, horrible seats, turbulence etc. It worked out that whenever I needed to fly somewhere I was able to find a great deal on Spanair or Lufthansa. Therefore my first experience on a "cheap" airline was my trip to London this past weekend on EasyJet. Although Emily and I got the flight for a great price I had heard horror stories from friends who had flown EasyJet and RyanAir so I knew not to get too excited. Greg recently flew to London on EasyJet and said that when the plane finally landed he opened his eyes and everyone was crying and practically hugging each other because they couldn't believe they weren't submerged in water.

I am happy to report that there was no turbulence on the flight, but on the way to London our plane lacked reclining chairs. I sat upright in the middle seat staring at the back of the chair in front of me praying that the flight would go by faster. I refused to let myself pay for a beverage of food item so I became extremely hungered. Uncomfortable is an understatement. Luckily on the way back I was able to score a window seat and a reclining chair. The wait to get on the plane though was ridiculous. There was one person checking the tickets for all of the passengers. However, there were two crew men sitting nearby to her just talking and laughing with each other! Why couldn't they help her speed things along? These are aspects of European culture that will continue to frustrate and confuse me.

THE LIST

For me there are several crucial, yet standard components to making a weekend abroad noteworthy. Roughly speaking: good restaurants, good weather, good sightseeing, good people, good fun.

Here is my London List:

Stay with a best friend
Gatwick Express
The Phoenix
Chelsea
Sloane Square
Eat french fries
Chelsea Brasserie
The Botanist
Hamleys
Walk around Picadilly Circus
Rack up free holiday souvenirs
The Valmont
Very attractive people
Victoria and Albert Museum (free)
Shop at French Connection
Big Ben
Tower of London Bridge
Spacious taxis
Flavored coffee
Open markets
Brick Lane vintage shops
My Old Dutch Pancake House
Find out from bbm and facebook that you actually know 10 people living in London

You say tomato...

Many people are familiar with the saying, "you say tomato, I say tomato (with British accent). You say potato I saw potato (with British accent)." This phrase signifies that while British and Americans pronounce words differently, no pasa nada...they mean the same thing . Since British English, rather than American English is what is taught in the Spanish Education System, I have learned that it is not only pronunciation that differentiates us from our Mother country. There are actually many words and phrases that my American mind can simply not comprehend/accept. Take one of my first days in 4th grade for example. The lesson was on the classroom and objects in the classroom. The vocabulary consisted of: sharpener, pencil, pen, pencil case etc. One of the activities was for me to hold up pictures of classroom objects and for the students to name all of the items.

Me: What do you see in the picture?
Student: Ruler, book, pencil, rubber.
Me: (my eyes pop out of their sockets) I'm sorry? rubber?
Head Teacher: (whispers) Alex, rubber means eraser.
Me: (what the *****?!?!?) Oh right of course...you know that rubber means something different in America right?
Head Teacher: (giggly) I know, but that's what we say here!

So for the rest of the class I listened to 11yr-olds talk about rubbers and pencils. I'm sorry but I think in the raaaare case they want to eventually study or work in the United States they should also be taught the word "eraser."

There are some other funny words that I have learned and started to get used to hearing on a regular basis in my English classes, but the real kicker has to be the grammatical phrase they use to describe someone or some thing. Here are some typical phrases I would use to describe someone:

She has brown eyes
He has blonde hair
She has a sick body
He doesn't have the best attitude
She has the best clothes

Since we teach British English, instead of saying, "She has..." we have to teach "She's got..."

She's got brown eyes
He's got blonde hair
She's got a sick body
He hasn't got the best attitude
She's got the best clothes

Even though in some cases I could definitely substitute "got" for "has," other times it just sounds flat out wrong. "She hasn't got a rubber..." did that sentence just come out of my mouth!?

La Tetería

One of my favorite places to go to in Málaga for a bite to eat, a cup of tea or just some time to relax outside is La Tetería. It is located just opposite of the iglesia de San Agustín and close to the Picasso museum on a very quaint pedestrian street. The menu is six pages of heaven. They have a wide selection of crepes, sandwiches and pastries. Milkshakes, smoothies and coffee can also be found there and are absolutely delicious. Obviously they offer tea as well: green tea, black tea, red tea, white tea, morning tea etc . My absolute favorite category though are the preventive and curative teas. They have one for diabetes, a cold, a cough, depression, energy, insomnia...you name it they have it. Whenever I diagnosis myself with having a cough or headache I run over to La Tetería and order the corresponding curative tea and I always feel better afterward! I hope it's legal to bring boxes of tea in my luggage because I definitely plan on using them as Christmas stocking stuffers!