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Sunday, August 29, 2010

The Secret Garden

Yesterday I stumbled across "The Secret Garden" movie on TV. I haven't thought about Mary Lennox, Dicken the animal tamer, or the Moors of England for years! What fun. I think Angelines was a little curious as to why I was so set on watching the whole thing.

I remember when the movie came out. We went to see it at the theater in the Bayshore Mall in Eureka. It was the first time I saw a movie made from a book I loved and I remember leaving the theater a little disappointed by the changes they made, but at the same time thrilled by the experience of watching the characters come to life on screen.

The Secret Garden was one of my childhood favorites; one of the first "chapter books" my mom read to Emily and me. I can remember lying in bed and listening to my mom's voice invoking the adventures of Mary Lennox skipping rope across the Moors and following the robin red-breast to the door of the secret garden. When Mary shows Dicken the garden for the first time he cuts a rose stem with his penknife to reveal the green 'wick' and assures her that the garden is alive; it was magical. My imagination went wild: I longed to have a secret place of my own.

I think that was the beginning of my obsession with gardening. ;) ... Even if my cherry potatoes and peaked tomatoes are poor proof.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Caminando en Catalunya

Our trip to Barcelona was not, perhaps, the relaxing break that Angelines was hoping for; it did, however, satisfy a little of my craving for adventure. ;) We didn't actually see Barcelona at all, unless you count the airport. Our friends live in the mountains about 50 min outside the city. They have a beautiful home on the side of a mountain with a great view and a forest in the backyard--it reminds me of Portola, some.

Usually we visit them in February to take advantage of cheap airfare, but this year we decided to go for it in August. They have a pool, which we've of course never been able to swim in on previous visits, and was particularly pleasant this week with another African heat wave hitting Spain. However, in reality we spent very little time lounging by the pool-side; instead we went on two really nice (long!) hikes.

Montserrat leading the way.

I have seen Barcelona and parts of Catalunya before, but I haven't seen much of the region's natural beauty (except from a car or bus) until this trip. It was lovely to walk through the holm oak forests that reminded me so much of California live oak forests near Chico. The trails need some serious maintenance in some places so I've discovered what I could do if I ever move to Catalunya--trail work! ;) The paths wind through woods and meadows, pass abandoned churches or farm buildings, lead to rural hostals, and cross highways. It wasn't exactly like a hike in Lakes Basin, but it was beautiful all the same.

Monica, Montse and Angelines in the beech forest.

An abandoned church we passed on our second hike: Sta. Julia.

The first hike was 12.5 km in a circle that took us around an ancient volcano: Volca de Croscat. I had no idea that Catalunya had a volcanic past. The last eruption was 11,500 years ago so there's quite a bit of vegetation that's taken over the area and years of erosion have taken their toll, but the distinct form of the crater can be seen. The soil and rocks are all volcanic in the area and in some places I was even reminded of Hawaii sand!

View of Croscot, the ancient volcano crater.


Our second hike was somewhat of an accident. We headed out the door for a "walk"... and got home six hours later. It ended up being about 20 km of walking. That's a lot, especially when you consider it was during the hottest hours of the day on routes that didn't have much shade and when we weren't expecting to be gone nearly that long. Still, it was fun and quite a little adventure. The pool felt great when we finally made it home!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Fruit of my Labour:


The season's first tomato!
(delicious, I might add)

Saturday, August 21, 2010

When it Rains...

(I'm speaking figuratively; we're back up to high nineties weather without a cloud in the sky...)

This week has brought a wave of news (I'll refrain from saying "good" or "bad").

Thursday I received notice from the Spanish Ministry of Education that my homologacion, the con-validation of my B.A. has been definitively denied. This means that as far as Spain is concerned, I don't have a University degree. However, there is the possiblity that if I were to enroll in a program here, they would waive certain requirements if I present the necessary documents. Apparently the insufficiency of my U.S. degree was greater than 25%. Theoretically, if I were within that 25th percentile, I could have taken the few classes that were missing to fill the requirements and been awarded my equivalent degree.

Whatever.

Truthfully, I'm neither surprised by Ministry's decision, nor very upset about it. I think eventually, probably sooner rather than later, I will go back to school; but I doubt very much that it will be to get a degree in Spanish language, for example. My future studies will more likely be along the lines of education, possibly environmental science, or tourism. And with some luck (because that really is what it comes down to) I'll be able to get a few of the required classes waived. That is to say, I would be starting from next to zero anyway.

Having a degree already would possibly make employment easier, and also facilitate admittance into a University program here; but by and large the denial of my request doesn't affect me. Still, it is depressing to think that four years of studying now amount to nothing.

The other bit of 'news' was served to Angelines by a local policeman this evening when she opened the bar: the city has decided to begin charging us rent for our flat. Once again, this isn't surprising, but still annoying.

For those of you who don't know the details of our current living situation, I'll give you a brief rundown. We are living in a flat that belongs to the city and is technically designated as teacher housing. This sounds strange to American ears, I know. Teachers in Spain are civil servants and therefore are often placed in jobs far enough from home that commuting isn't possible. Years ago the city governments spent money to build housing for the teachers which they have since been selling off little by little. Our flat and the one opposite ours are the only ones left in La Roda that remain as city property.

I was lucky enough to get this place because my first year here, I shared the flat with a teacher from Malaga who'd been "stationed" in La Roda for the past seven years. The following year she left, but I made an appointment with the mayor to request the flat for myself. Although I wasn't technically a teacher, I was working in the Spanish education system so I wasn't completely illegitimate. They granted me the flat.

Since that second year, I've continued living here even though I was no longer working at the school. True, this past year, I went back to work as a language assistant, but in a neighboring town. We have been to see the mayor repeatedly about our situation because we realize that we have no real title to the place since neither Angelines nor I are teachers. We have asked about renting or the possibility of buying, but with no response other than a typically Spanish, "I'll get back to you."

Well, today they finally got back to us. After four years of rent-free living, our days of "squatting" have come to an end. They're not asking much, 250 euros, but still it seems capricious at the very least--the city is practically bankrupt, making budget cuts left and right and scrambling to pay off years of debt. It's gotten to the point that only half the street lights are on at night in an attempt to save money on the electric bill. So the fact that NOW suddenly they're asking for money from us, leaves a bad flavor in my mouth; especially when I know that my neighbors pay nothing (one is, however, a legitimate teacher).

The letter we received notifying us of the new conditions as city tenants said nothing with regard to buying the flat. It's old and needs a lot of work and repair, but I do like my little home and for the time being we'll be staying here. It would be far better to buy the flat and begin fixing it up a little at a time rather than paying each month to continue living in a place that's not worth the investment to improve because it isn't ours. Next week I will make an appointment to see the mayor, yet again, to see if we can't work something out.

So there you have it: when it rains, it pours.

On a brighter note, we're leaving tomorrow for Barcelona. We'll be visiting friends of ours until Thursday. I suppose this mini vacation has come at just the right time. The week's news has us feeling a sharp need to escape.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Wanderlust and Other Reflections

Will there ever come a time in my life when I read about someone else's adventures without being envious? A time when I don't get that familiar knot in my stomach and a sudden desire to drop everything and explore the world? Sometimes I hope not; and other times I can't wait since there's never money enough or time (there's plenty of world!) to do it all.

It's so bad that even reading fiction can bring on these urges to drop everything and hop on a plane. Reading El medico, I found myself wishing I had been born centuries ago to embark on a journey of such proportions at a time when the world was so much bigger--travelling from England to Persia in the middle ages! Nowadays it's hard to find an equivalent for such an adventure.

Even as a little girl, I was enchanted by the adventures of Laura Ingles Wilder. I wanted to explore the Big Woods, churn my own butter, and ride the prairie alone on my horse. I think I would have been a great pioneer. ;)

My current book, Captive in Arabia, the biography of an adventurous (and maybe crazy) French-Basque woman, Marga d'Andurain, has got me thinking: am I like that? She can't seem to stay in one place for long, and is constantly searching for adventure and escape from the routine. I think perhaps I am similar, but with healthy dose of common sense. One of her craziest adventures involved marrying a Bedouin man with the sole purpose of using him as a passport to visit Mecca, Medina and other sacred cities of Islam. This was in the late 1920's. No European woman had ever done such a thing before. She spoke very poor Arabic, knew nearly nothing about Islam (however, she was officially converted), was unfamiliar with the Bedouin customs; and if she was discovered as a fake, she and her "husband" would be killed!

That doesn't appeal to me.

However, the lure of undiscovered paradises, new experiences, hidden beaches, mountains, or exotic foods never lets travel get far out of my mind. A few weeks ago I got a mass email from one of my high school best friend's younger sisters who is working in Tajikistan at the moment. As I read about her adventures, I couldn't suppress my desire to experience such a radically different culture. Not even the first few paragraphs dedicated to the mealy worms found swimming in her favorite breakfast lessened my urge to rush to Malaga and catch a plane to Tajikistan.

Some of you might ask, isn't it enough to live abroad? Yes, except that living somewhere inherently means confronting the day to day, mundane reality of a place. In the beginning, those daily parts of life abroad are part of the adventure--they're novel--but slowly they become a part of reality to such an extent that they lose the luster of "otherness" and show themselves to be merely the way things are. Still, that transition from novelty to routine, is a gratifying experience in itself; it's a measure of just how much one has become a part of a place and visa-versa.

Having lived here for four years now, I certainly feel a part of this place. Spain and Andalucia have changed me and continue to shape who I am. When I travel back to the US for visits, I experience something like a dual reality: there is the American me, who knows the ropes; and the semi-Spaniard who is shocked by the enormity of Costco ketchup bottles.

Yesterday I came across this quote from Nelson Mandela: "There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." The real beauty and adventure of travel are the experiences and opportunities to change that it affords. Perhaps, what I really love about travelling is the element of self-discovery.

Does that mean boredom with my Self is the cause of my feverish need to go places? ;)

My sister Maggie has just begun her own travel adventure. She's now arrived in Belgium where she'll be participating in the Rotary Youth Exchange program for the year. Reading her blog, "Bonjour Belgique", I can't help but think about how much this year will change her. Inevitably, I'm a little envious, but as they say in Spanish it's "envidia sana" (healthy envy). I'm proud of her for taking such a big step, and at the same time I can't believe she's done it. I left home for college when Maggie was nine years old, and somehow she and Lucy are still babies in my mind.

Maggie's exchange is irrefutable proof that my sisters are growing up. Lucy will be a senior at PHS this school year. And soon my parents will be empty nesters! While I can't believe that my "baby" sisters are getting so big, I am proud of the beautiful, strong, intelligent people they are becoming. In the case of my sisters, it's something like the opposite of Mandela's quote--seeing how much they have changed, forces me to see the unperceived changes in myself.


Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Summer Storms

It rained today! After last week's suffocating heat, today it hasn't gotten above 80 and we even had a thunder storm. It seems that Autumn will come...some time. What a relief to see cloudy skies after so much sun; variety really is the spice of life.

This late August storm caught us by surprise this morning. It was cloudy as we headed to the pool for our daily swim, but we didn't think anything of it until about 6 laps into it when it started to rain. We kept swimming, but when the storm was near enough to hear thunder, we got out of the water in a hurry! Today I only managed to get 800m in before the fear of electrocution forced us to leave. I'll go for a run this afternoon.

My garden is appreciative of this change in the weather, to be sure. Even my sun-loving tomatoes were beginning to tire of this heat. They have, however, continued to blossom, literally! There are a number of new flowers on my plants even if the ends of some of the older leaves are withering from the constant heat and sun, but so far I haven't seen any new fruit. What's there is still as green and hard as ever, but I have faith that it won't be long before I've got some red beauties on the vine.

My potatoes are no more. Yesterday I dug them up. What fun! If you've never harvested potatoes, it might just be about the most fun thing ever; it's like a treasure hunt! You start to break the ground around the roots of the plant, and little by little round yellow nuggets begin to surface. :) Next year I want to plant more just so I'll have more to harvest!

As you can see, they aren't huge, but a far better harvest this year than last! There are some decent potatoes in the group...along with the minis, cherry potatoes, as I call them. ;) I'm planning to make papas alinadas, those are boiled potatoes with aioli sauce--yum. My friend Antonio taught me to make my own aioli from milk, rather than egg! No salmonella for me, don't worry, Chris.

I love the smell of the world after rain!





Saturday, August 14, 2010

Bar Tender in Training...

That's right, my wife's put me to work. Business isn't exceptionally good (unfortunately), but in summer she sets out tables in the terraza and at crunch time it's tough to handle orders inside and outside.

...That's where I come in--working 12:30 to 2:30am.

Yesterday was my first night. It's not all new to me (I have helped in the past), but I of course had to relearn a thing or two. I don't particularly like helping at the bar mostly because Angelines is a complete perfectionist when it comes to her job and I don't take orders or criticism well. ;) It's kind of a recipe for disaster. Last night was fine except for one moment when she told me to hold the bottle higher above the glass while pouring! (why?!)

So right now I'm getting ready for my second night on the job. Wish me luck. ;)

(I'm secretly hoping it's not busy so I can just come home...is that bad?)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Sweltering in Spain

We're having a heat wave... does that qualify as "news" in Southern Spain??

Anyway, the past three days have been horribly hot: lows of 88 (that's around 4 am) and highs of 115! We've bought a fan and yesterday we had our siesta on the living room floor with the a/c and fan running. Around 9 or 10 o'clock, when it's a mere 90 degrees out, is when we can actually comfortably leave the house.

Yesterday the atmosphere was just oppressive; you could SEE the heat. The mountains nearby were almost completely hidden by a nasty, hot, haze. It almost looks like smog, but in fact it's hot air currents from the Sahara that bring desert dust across the Straight to Spain. So that's where the ultra-hot weather is coming from. Thank you, Africa.


As you can imagine, the heat isn't any good for working out. I was running around 9, but these past few days it was even too hot for that. Despite the otrageous temperatures, we have been getting our exercise at the city pool.

Just last year La Roda opened the new city pool--Olympic size. We go nearly every day and I usually swim between 1km and 1mi (that's 1,600 meters). Yesterday I did 2 km! So with all this swimming, I've decided to do a triathlon. I found one in Chiclana, Cadiz on the 12 of September. It's a 20km bike ride, 750m swim and a 5km run. Easy. ;)

In my searches for triathlons and other foot races, I came across one that looks awesome: Desafio Donana (the above video). It's a long distance triathlon--169km bike, 1km swim, 30km run-- but I think it's a good goal for next year. It goes through one of Andalucia's most beautiful and most famous Natural Parks, Parque Natural Donana. The swim is crossing the Guadalquivir river (the biggest in Andalucia) at its mouth and then running along the beach to the finish. It's a big goal...but I think keeping this in mind might just give me the motivation I need to continue working out and training through the winter.

That's all--off for my morning swim!

Friday, August 6, 2010

Thoughts on science

I finished El Medico this morning--great book. It tells the story of a young Christian man in the middle ages who travels to Persia to study medicine. Because of Christian-Islamic tensions, he disguises himself as a Jew with the hope of being admitted into one of the best schools of medicine of the time. It's an incredible saga and especially interesting for anyone who's scientifically or medically inclined.

I was struck while reading by just how long it takes for traditions, societies and cultures to change. The middle ages was a time when European doctors were at best well-intentioned but completely ignorant of most diseases and their respective causes and cures; and at worst, greedy, blood-suckers who capitalized on popular ignorance to line their own pockets, charging outrageous prices for minimal services. Medicine was nearly tantamount to witchcraft, and many doctors and other healers were tried and convicted of the crime. The Church believed only priests and saints to be the legitimate care-takers of the human soul and body.

In the Middle East, however, under Islamic caliphates, medical studies flourished and doctors enjoyed respect in society. Nonetheless, many of the findings and breakthroughs made in Eastern medicine didn't make their way to Europe for centuries; one exception being Spain, where there was a strong Islamic government for 700 years. In fact, in the novel, the main character is presented with Spain as an option for study since being Christian automatically makes him an ineligible candidate for the madrases of the Islamic East.

I also finally watched Agora. In the film, the Library of Alexandria, home to thousands of important volumes on everything from philosophy to science and medicine, is destroyed. The main character is killed for her pursuits in science and philosophy and especially her studies of the stars and the movement of the planets--namely that the Earth isn't the center of the universe. This is because her beliefs and practices, like those of doctors in the middle ages, go against the current theology of the time.

And for a moment I was glad to live in an enlightened age... But then I thought of things like stem cell research and same-sex marriage where religious beliefs and morals are still obstructing science and human rights and I realize that we've got a long way to go.

Will there come a time when people look back at us now and marvel at how we could have been so ignorant?

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Magnum Opus

You are in the presence of greatness--behold my masterpiece! (ehem, humility is not one of my strong points. ;)

This is a huge cable spool that Angelines has had outside the bar for about five months. It's one of her outdoor tables. She's wanted to paint it for some time, but it wasn't until yesterday that we (really I) actually got around to it.

I started at 7:30pm last night, spent all night dreaming about it and woke up this morning early to finish before the heat became to suffocating. Seven hours of work, and this is what you get. Feel free to be awed.