Crossing the puddle!!!

Spaniards affectionately call the Atlantic el charco (the puddle) and I am currently at t-12 hours from boarding my trans-Atlantic flight. :)

Yipppeeeee!!!!

I am so excited for this trip. It's been about a year and a half since I saw any of my Portland people (except Emily, who came to my wedding), and a year since I saw most of my family. I know it's not really that long, but this year was a landmark--the first time in my life I've spent 12 consecutive months outside the U.S. without a visit home. However, that fact does make me a little sad just to think that I don't know for certain how many more months (years?) will go by before another visit. The reality of my chosen life abroad is beginning to sink in a bit more.

...We'll save those thoughts for another post, shall we??

For now, I prefer to be excited to see my Girls in Portland, my cousins and Aunt Ann, ex-professors, and the beautiful, green trails of Forest Park. I can't wait to pick strawberries on Sauvie Island or show Angelines the Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls. And I am thrilled by the prospect of eating at the Downtown Farmer's Market, getting lost in Powell's Books and strolling the streets of my beloved Portland. :)

Hooray!

Angelines is at work currently...I don't think she'll even be jet-lagged; she's on Pacific Standard Time! The only problem is that even though she's small, she can't seem to get comfortable enough on a plane to sleep! Oh well, I'll try to contain my enthusiasm for my NW home away from home a little so we can relax some (in the beginning, of course). I do have my mom's tendency to want to hit the ground running. ;)

Our bag is packed (that's right, just one), our lunch for tomorrow's made, I've got lists of last min. things to add to the suitcase--I can't believe how organized I am for this trip! It must be Angelines's influence; as they say in Spain, "todo se pega menos lo bonito" (everything sticks except the nice stuff!). Ha!

Well, that's all folks; I can't wait to see many of you soon!!

-Love from a weary but oh so excited ex-pat. :)

The making of a fan

Maybe they're the ad's on TV, maybe it's the fun of seeing 32 countries from around the world put aside politics to fight it out on the field, or perhaps the contagious passion of Spaniards and their futbol; but whatever it is, I am becoming a soccer fan.

I've watched six full games and parts of at least two others, I check the FIFA website for stats, and I have even begun to scream at the TV--it's that serious. So little by little I'm actually beginning to know what I'm watching as I sit transfixed game after game. ;)

Like a lot of Americans, soccer wasn't part of my sports experience growing up. It was softball and later basketball. I never got into football. So being here in Spain, where soccer is THE sport, it's frustrating because I like it and I like to watch games; but I've never really known what I was watching. I'm still not qualified to referee a game, but I can follow the plays and make my own judgement as to whether or not the ref has made a good call.

I'm being swept up in the whirlwind of the South African World Cup!

Spain lost their first game yesterday: 0-1 Switzerland. It was a shock to all of us, especially since Spain totally out-played the Swiss the entire 90 min. It was a lucky goal for the Swiss and bad luck for the Spanish who just couldn't seem to get a goal although they had I don't know how many different shots! Don't worry, we'll still pass; I'm confident.

Mexico has just beat France for the first time EVER--Hooray! The final score was 2-0. This almost certainly puts France out of the Cup. They've got one more game with South Africa and then it's time to tally goals. Mexico, on the other hand, must beat Uruguay to pass to the next round of games.

Tomorrow the U.S. plays Slovenia. We need to win that one. I will be cheering for the motherland there. Until it's a Spain vs. U.S. game, I'm all for the red, white and blue! ;) When it comes down to it though, I'm afraid I must say, "Estoy con La Roja!"

Viva el mudial!

Soccer vs. Football

...That is to say, the US team vs. England in South Africa. The game began at 8:30pm Spanish time and 11:30am PST; and ended in an unsatisfying tie.

Oh well. I think both teams walked away from the field (pitch) thinking, "at least we didn't loose to THEM." I, however, would have preferred a good American win. ;P Still, a tie isn't a bad start for the US at this year's world cup. We've got Algeria and Slovenia in our group as well; I think England was the toughest rival in our group. Now the points scored in the next two games will determine our placement for the rest of the World Cup games.

Spain's first game is Wednesday. As Euro Cup Champions, they've got a pretty good chance (in my VERY un-official opinion) to take the cup. Spaniards, at least, are hopeful. Although I was cheering for the US against England (who wasn't???), I'm really behind Spain. Angelines and I have got team jerseys and are planning to to pack them for the the two weeks we'll be State-side. We should be able to see all the Spain games since it's worked out that none will be while we're flying and since my parents now have satellite TV. ;)

A por ellos!!!

Mindless eating...

Remember my mini-rant a few months ago when I went to MA to visit Miriam and I was appalled by the gargantuan smoothie I was served in Penn Station? It turns out professor Brian Wansink at Cornell University studies this kind of thing: the effect of serving size, plate size, names of food, presentation, etc. on eating habits. He's written a book, Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. That's next on my reading list for sure. I've just spent about twenty minutes watching the videos of his experiments on the above webpage (click the book title)--fascinating!

The thesis, as far as I gather, is that without knowing it, people are influenced by hundreds of factors that have nothing to do with feeling full to determine whether or not they are in fact sated ... or even hungry, for that matter. Things that we know at some level to be true--fancy names make us like food more, presentations makes food "taste" better, bigger plates make us eat more--have now been studied and proven to be true: people will eat a significant percentage MORE (up to 50%!) under any of the above circumstances.

The book, it seems, is a little mix of science, psychology, self-help and dieting. The videos are definitely worth watching if you've got a min.

...in the meantime, think twice before opening a bag of chips or digging directly into the ice-cream carton. ;)

Madinat al-Zahra

I spent the day with the students from the Adult School on the end of the year field trip to Cordoba to Madinat al-Zahra and the Mezquita-Catedral (Mosque-Cathedral). Madinat al-Zahra is a muslim city in ruins that in the 10th century was the seat of the Cordoba Caliphate. I had never visited these ruins before and our guide was excellent so that my third trip to the Cathedral of Cordoba was the most informative yet. :) Both my mother and sister-in-law came on the trip as well, so I was in good company.

Cordoba is known for its high temperatures and high humidity. This week we've been suddenly thrown into summer weather (Tuesday it got up to 40C=102F)! Today was no exception; however, our trip was well planned so that our outdoor visit to the ruins was in the morning before the real heat, and the afternoon was divided between lunch and our visit to the Cathedral.

Madinat al-Zahara means The Shining City and it was built by the first Caliph (representation of Allah on earth) of Cordoba as a demonstration of his wealth and power. The city is about six km. from the historical center of Cordoba and the Caliph transported all of his royal court to the new city. However, the city lasted only a total of 80 years including the time it took to build.

The interpretive center had a great video with computer recreations of what the city looked like during the 10th century--impressive. The architecture is very similar to the Mosque-Cathedral: horseshoe arches of alternate white stone and red brick, and pink and grey marble columns with carved stone capitals. I thought the preservation was quite impressive.

On the right you can see one of the original arches of the portico fallen in ruins on the ground and next to it are the three rebuilt arches below. I love to think about all that happened within the walls of this city and all the work and skill that went into building it.

Our afternoon visit to the Mosque-Cathedral was great, and not only because it was cool inside the stone walls. Since I was last there (2004) they have uncovered a hole in the floor to reveal the mosaicked floor of the previous Visigoth Church that was in this same location! I never realized that the so-called Mosque-Cathedral had been a place of Christian worship in pre-Islamic Spain (Al-Andalus). So first it was a Byzantine church, then a Mosque, and finally a Catholic Cathedral.

The mosque also underwent three expansions before the Christian take-over (or as they say: reconquest) to accommodate for the

growing muslim population in Cordoba (there were also Christians and Jews living in the Caliphate). Each of the successive expansions used slightly different materials so that the differences within the building are noticeable, but without disrupting the general architectural harmony inside the mosque. Columns and capitals were reused from the previous Visigoth church and even older Roman buildings in the area. Later, at the height of the Caliphate, there was a shift in the architecture toward the ornate and finally, granite columns in the third extension reflect the decline and increasing poverty of the Caliphate.

It was a fascinating visit.

Hair soaks up oil spills

I just got this video in an email and thought it was a joke...but it's not. Check it out and let your local hair salon know about this!

You can find out more, or get the address to donate hair here: http://matteroftrust.org/

My heart aches every time I hear the latest news from the Gulf of Mexico.