Spanish Connection

2012-02-21T23:34:00.003-08:00

It's been a while since I wrote about my baby, so here's small update and some pictures:

Bela has Peter Pan Syndrome: she doesn't want to grow up because she LOVES our laps. :) Right now it seems to be working for her because she is still pretty small. We'll see what happens in a few month's time...

Controversy with France

2012-02-20T22:46:00.006-08:00

After the recent (unfounded) accusations from France that Rafa Nadal (Spanish tennis player) and Spanish athletes in general were using steroids, I've just received this picture from a friend. Hee hee hee... (translation at the bottom)

The comparison between the famous French and Spanish omelets... What's the difference? The subtitle reads: We don't use steroids, we put more eggs into it! (for those of you who don't know "eggs" is a vulgar term equivalent to "balls" in the States). I thought it was a clever play on words.

Finals

2012-02-19T08:45:00.003-08:00

If you're wondering where I've been for the past week, the answer is studying! I can't seem to get things under control enough so that I don't have to cram in the last week/s before my finals... Oh well. I have been getting up around 6am for the past week and a half and catching up on classes with a sleeping puppy in my lap (that part made it all a bit nicer!) ;).

I don't tend to keep up with classes during the semester because usually I can't attend them "live" and I can never seem to find the motivation to watch them once they've been uploaded into the "virtual classroom". In the past, a lot of the classes have just been repeats of the reading and so they were also a waste of time; however, this semester it turned out there was a lot of information in the classes that wasn't in the reading, which meant I needed to do some serious catch up before the exams. I probably watched about 15 hours of classes in the past week! And that of course wasn't all of them. I did feel decently prepared for most of my exams though, and so Friday I stepped onto the train for Seville without too many pre-exam nerves.

For the second time now, I stayed with a friend of ours who lives in Seville and once again the exam location was walking distance from her house--perfect. My exam Friday evening was the one in my ICT Applied to the English Classroom class. It was pretty easy. I felt a little bad because just before the exam I made a comment to a classmate that I didn't think it should be too difficult and she responded that she was worried because there were a lot of definitions, etc. They give you two hours for the exams. I finished in 45 min. The poor girl behind me looked at me with a mix of shock and envy when I turned in my exam and headed out. I should have told her I was American...

Saturday was pretty tough. I had my three hardest exams all back-to-back: Teaching Theory of Natural Sciences, Teaching Theory of Social Sciences and Teaching Theory of Spanish Language (in that order). The first wasn't terrible, but I was scribbling up to the very last min of my two hours and my hand hurt a little. I dashed to a nearby shopping mall to grab something fast for lunch and then raced back for my Social Sciences exam--UGH! That was pretty killer.

Most of the exams always have a multiple choice portion and even though the questions can be tricky and they dock points for a wrong answer (as opposed to being equal to 0), I still feel like having a multiple choice section gives a little wiggle room in terms of the final grade. Well, this exam was entirely written. There were four short-answer questions (1/2 a page each), one practical question (two pages) and one essay question (4 pages)! The good thing about this test was that as a study guide the teacher gave us a long list of all the possible questions so we could study accordingly. Of course, since I wasn't in class, I realized this a little late. I was able to study (answer) most of the short-answer questions, but I didn't have time for much else. The practical questions I had worked on weren't on the test...and the essay question was totally a shot in the dark. I answered my 4 short-answer questions as thoroughly as possible to guarantee the full four points and then pulled out my best B.S.ing skills for the rest of the exam and crossed my fingers that from the load of #%&@! I put down on the page, I'd be able to scrounge up one point to make a total of five, the passing grade.

Once again I was writing up to the last second and by this time my hand was ready to fall off. My Language Arts exam was fine except that it was hard to focus on what I wanted to say because I could swear the tendons in my right hand were swelling. I was beginning to wish I were ambidextrous! Even though I take extensive notes throughout the semester (many of the classes have all the reading uploaded online so I can't underline in the book), I'm still not used to writing so much at one time, especially not under pressure when I'm gripping the pen as though my life depended on it. But even if I were to relax a bit more, the real issue is that they give you very limited space for your answers and so you have to write small if you have a lot to say, regardless of how good you are and summarizing and being concise.

Today was my last exam: Education in Visual Arts. It was fairly easy, although I did have a lot to say and so once again my hand was hurting after an hour and 3/4. I finished at 10:20am and headed back to my friend's to pack before catching the train home. It was a good weekend really. I think I did well on all the exams except that one, although I do hope that I was able to pull a five. Repeating that test would be a nightmare, let me tell you.

So now I am home with my girls. Angelines has been slaving away all weekend with Carnaval celebrations here in town. She dressed as a pirate and was apparently interviewed by the local TV station--something she HATES! All the pubs in town got together to throw one big party and split the $$. It's a good idea, but a lot of work and she didn't go to bed "last night" until 8 am this morning! Now she's at it again since this afternoon are the celebrations for the kids. So Angelines was virtually gone all weekend, too and my poor Bela has been somewhat neglected. Some friends fed her dinner for us Friday and Saturday and even took her for walks, but she was mighty happy to see me this morning! :) I love dogs!

I just got back from a LONG walk with her and she's curled up by the wood stove sound asleep.

Life is good again.

A Waggley Tail

2012-02-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

"In times of joy, all of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag."

--W.H. Auden

I just wanted to share this with you. I got a 10 on my final project in my Technology in the English class. :) This brings my total for my work during this semester to 100% (4/4 points), so even if I just pass the exam I'll still get a 7/10 total in the class.

If I had a tail, I'd be wagging it just like my little Bela. And just to make me feel even happier, this is the teacher's comment (the story she mentions is the one I wrote on storybird): "And I have enjoyed a lot with your story... I am glad that you have also enjoyed creating your material using the tools shown in the last three units. I am really sure that you will be an excellent teacher. Good luck on your final exams!"

Candelaria y Compañía

2012-02-07T01:37:00.001-08:00

February second is Ground hog Day for us, but here in Spain they celebrate the candelaria. No large rodents or shadows involved in this fiesta, instead we have big bonfires and stuff ourselves with chorizo and filetes--yum!

The tradition comes (if I'm not mistaken) from pre-Christian times when people lit fires to light the long winter nights and celebrate the beginning of lengthening days. Of course the solstice was back in December, but really about now is when you can start to appreciate the change in daylight.

As with most heathen traditions, the church adopted this one and it became a celebration honoring the Virgin here in Spain. The fire's light represents the light of the Virgin Mary. Another tradition during this holiday is the presentation of new babies to the Virgin: babies born in the past year are presented to the Virgin in a special mass.

Last Thursday my friends and I celebrated the candelaria with a roaring fire, lots of food and drink and plenty of sevillanas (no babies or Virgins present). The official celebration, however, was this weekend. There were huge bonfires all over town. The next morning it reeked of wood smoke in the streets and there were plenty of people complaining about the ashy mess they had to clean up from windows, patios, balconies and front doors. ;)

For the weekend's celebration a friend from Sevilla and her boyfriend came to town. Sunday, we met up for our pre-lunch cervecitas in Leiva bar and in the end everyone decided to come over to the house to eat rather that order at the bar. It's been a long time since I had company over--it was fabulous! Luckily that morning I happened to have made stuffed eggplants and I had a garbanzo stew in the fridge that I was planning to freeze. There were seven of us and only one eggplant was leftover when we were through.

As usual, the un-planned get-togethers are the best. We threw a table cloth down, set the table, brought in all the chairs we have, heated the food and crammed around the dining room table for a great lunch.

Comer bien acompañado alimenta más. ;)

Storybird.com

2012-02-05T22:41:00.000-08:00

Have any of you heard of Storybird.com before? I learned about it through my "Technology in the English Classroom" class this semester and I have fallen in love with the site and the philosophy behind it.

Storybird is a site dedicated to "art-inspired" storytelling, as they put it. You can create your own ebooks on the web page, but it's not one of those cheesy mad-lib-style story generator sites. They've got tons of great artwork from different illustrators so what you do is choose the art you like and then click and drag it onto the pages. Essentially you write a story to go with the pictures rather than illustrating an already written story. It's a really neat idea and the art they have available is fabulous! There's also the option to invite friends to co-author stories with you. Some of you may be getting invitations soon. ;)

In class, it was presented as a creative option to enhance reading and writing skills. It's definitely got a lot of great applications as an educational tool in the classroom, but it's also just good fun! I've always loved writing and having such wonderful pictures to illustrate is fabulous. The Storybird finished product is really beautiful and another fun feature is that you can order any Storybird in a hard copy to have and read as a "real" book.

The following is my first Storybird. I'm pretty pleased because after they reviewed it for the public library (they check all stories for content before adding them to the library--all must be child-friendly) they posted it in the "New & Noted" section of their read page. :)

Enjoy!

The Perfect Shape on Storybird

I hope you'll be inspired to write your own and share. :)

Our Fire Fiasco:

2012-02-01T23:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, don't worry, it wasn't really a fire fiasco (I was going for alliteration), but rather more of a wood stove fiasco. The story goes thusly:

Last winter, when we first moved into the house we noticed that sometimes the upstairs bedroom, through which the wood stove pipe passes, leaked smoke. Well, we talked to our landlord and she assured us that the pipes are new and had recently been cleaned, so we need only buy some special heat resistant caulking to put around the joints. We did that this past summer.

So this winter has come and we had been thoroughly enjoying our wood stove, although it did seem to smoke up the salita a bit every time we'd open the door to put on a new log! However, the last straw was about two weeks ago when black ooze was discovered seeping from one of the joints in the upstairs bedroom, despite the caulking we'd applied! The whole house smelled like a BBQ. I think this must be the same liquid they use to flavor steaks! We also noticed that smoke was leaking from one of the joints in the pipe downstairs and it was impossible to put wood on the fire without being smoked out of the house.

We stopped lighting the fire.

The trouble with our chimney is that the pipe doesn't go straight out of the roof. In the upstairs bedroom, it makes a right angle and heads out the wall where it makes another 'L' turning upwards. I was sure that in the outside 'L' there had to be a blockage because aside from all the problems in the house, the chimney had been dripping that same black ooze onto the sidewalk outside! Anyone who's visited Spain and knows about what clean-freaks Spaniards are, will understand that having a huge, black, sticky stain outside one's house is quite unacceptable, not to mention the fact that it was splashing up onto the facade of the house (and the neighbor's!). Gross. The whole situation had just gotten completely out of hand, so we call a man to come clean the pipes.

Yesterday he came. Angelines spent the morning helping take apart all the pipes, clean them out and reassemble them all. He wasn't a real "chimney sweep" so to speak, just a handy-man we know and who agreed to do the job. There were no wire brushes involved. Instead, they were stuffing newspapers through the pipes with a broomstick to clean them out...then carrying them to the dumpster and beating them to shake out any leftover soot. :) (There's more than one way to skin a cat!)

I was observing the process, standing by the dumpster, when the man looked up at me, "Have you seen Marry Poppins?," he asked, "This is something like that." :) I agreed, but then told him I wanted to see what kind of a dancer he was... he just smiled. Around 12 o'clock the job was finished and our "chimney sweep" left. We spent the rest of the morning cleaning the floors and re-caulking the pipes just in case.

Last night, we had a roaring fire for the first time in two weeks. It is just in time for the Siberian cold front that the weather man has been warning about all week. Apparently it's wreaking havoc in the rest of Europe. We'll have to see what it does down here on the Mediterranean. Whatever the weather, we've got lots of firewood and now a nice clean woodstove--what a difference!

Chim-chimney, Chim-chimney, Chim chim charoo

We will be warm whate'er the wheather will do!

;)

What a Random Internet Search Can Produce:

2012-01-29T13:52:00.001-08:00

La mujer tiburón

2012-01-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to blog about this for at least two months, so to use my friend Sara's phrase, here's a "retro-blog" for you:

Some of you know that I kind of hurt my knee toward the end of summer. It wasn't anything serious, but every now and then, if I stepped funny, I could feel it. Just to be safe I decided to stop running. I bought a knee brace and ran a few times with it, but I ended up just stopping all together--what's the point of putting myself at risk of a real injury?

As part of my cross-training (I want to maintain a minimal level of fitness), and also because the doctor recommended swimming for Angelines's back, we signed up at the indoor pool in Antequera. It's only a 25 min. drive and the installations are far superior to the pool we used to drive to (now closed). Each month we get a ten-swim bono and so we go between twice and three times a week to swim for an hour.

It is great! I am fast becoming a swimming fan. After 45 min of swimming laps, I'm a new person. :) Those of you who swim, know what I mean...and for those of you who don't, all I can say is it is the most relaxing form of cardio exercise in the world. I usually swim between 1.5-2km each time we go, and when I'm finished I just feel good (for lack of a better adjective!). There's nothing like working up a good sweat on a 5k run, but getting out of the pool after a kilometer and a half, is a whole different thing. I get the same kind of post workout high, but almost without realizing it. Instead of being tired, I'm just completely relaxed. And there's no residual soreness or muscle fatigue from pounding on my joints.

At first, getting into a rhythm with my breathing was hard, but now I can do thirty laps without stopping. I'm finally getting to the point where I don't need to focus all my energy on breathing and coordination; and I can think about what to do with my afternoon classes, what to cook for lunch, what to do about X problem or Y... That is to say, swimming, just like running, has finally gotten to the point of being a mental outlet as well as physical.

...Are you wondering about the title of my post: The shark woman? On a Friday night way back in November, when I took A her dinner to the bar, a friend stopped me on the way out and said, "So, I hear you have gills." I didn't know what to make of that until he explained that Angelines had apparently been bragging about my swimming. "Sí," he said, "me ha dicho que eres la mujer tiburón".

So far I don't have gills, but it is true that when I get into a rhythm, I feel more fish-like than human. :)

My Helpful Puppy

2012-01-23T13:04:00.000-08:00

...So at the risk of becoming one of those annoying people who only talks about her pet... here's another post about the World's Most Adorable Dog. :)

(I promise a non-puppy related post soon!)

I think the pictures speak for themselves, so without further ado: Bela the washer-puppy.

The Weasel

2012-01-18T05:17:00.000-08:00

Last night Angelines and I nearly wet our pants laughing at this little one. She knows well enough that she shouldn't leave her bed...but her favorite toy rolled onto the floor! What to do?! We spent a good minute laughing at her before I finally got up and gave her the toy. ;) And then because it was just too cute, we decided to take a video. Yes, it's a little mean to steal her toy and set her up to disobey me, but... Well, I think you'll laugh when you watch her too.

Bela the weasel dog:

Training...or Playing?

2012-01-15T00:14:00.000-08:00

I am in the process of teaching Bela that when she's in the house, she needs to stay on her bed. Unless, of course, I call her. This will be especially important once she's bigger and more mischievous! She's pretty cute about it all. Yesterday, I had her bed (a pile of towels...¡estamos en crisis!) set up in the salita and as you can see in the video the corner of the towel forms a sort of peninsula. Well she realized that as long as she stayed on the towel I didn't say anything so she cautiously walked out to the end of the little towel peninsula and when her paw slipped onto the floor she quickly sprung backwards onto her bed all of her own accord. Pretty cute.

I decided to get out the camera to record some of these adorable antics...but as you can see in the video I'm pretty sure she decided we were playing as opposed to training.

Oh well, little by little.

Puppy porn?

2012-01-14T15:08:00.000-08:00

Do these pictures qualify as puppy porn? I felt a little bit wrong taking them...but my little squirt is just too cute. :)

I didn't want to leave her in the patio because it was getting to be night and it's pretty cold. I was talking to Miriam on the computer so I couldn't keep track of her if I let her loose. The only option was to sit on my lap. The little rat chewed my hands for about thirty minutes and finally fell asleep. What a doll!

...Scary: vampire bat dog! Doesn't it look like she's about to attack?

She's a little camera shy. :)

And finally she fell asleep. ¡Qué postura!

Sweet Dreams

2012-01-07T00:51:00.000-08:00

Bienvenido Bela! (and other news)

2012-01-05T22:52:00.000-08:00

Feliz Reyes!

I've been hassling Angelines for a dog for years now, but in the piso she had a good excuse: no room. She successfully warded off my begging saying, "when we have a patio, you can have a dog." So it's been a full year in the house (with a huge patio!) and for Christmas she surprised me with the cutest little puppy ever! :)

This is Bela. She's a 5-week-old (!), chocolate lab. She is pretty much to die for. The second best part of all of this (first being Bela herself, of course) is that I didn't ask for her; this was all Angelines's doing. I had pretty much resigned myself to the idea that we couldn't afford a dog, etc. etc. I'm thrilled to have one, but the reason this is so wonderful is that any time Angelines starts to complain about the puppy (noise, smell...) she's only got herself to blame! :) (hehehe)

... And smell she does. I think the nickname "Smelly Belly" is appropriate. She's too little to have a bath yet so we've bought some dry shampoo to try to make her smell a little better. Angelines insists that she won't touch her until we can bathe her. That's two weeks away! Who can resist a face like this one?? She already smells better than when we brought her home Wednesday. And Angelines played with her a little yesterday since she was about to shower anyway. ;)

This little girl will make a dog-lover of my big girl in no time flat... so long as I can keep her from destroying too many shoes, clothes and pieces of furniture along the way! ;)

Other news:

Ni Hao! This year for the annual Kings' parade through town, the Asociación Amigos de San Pancracio did a Chinese-style float. Our little remolque is turning out to be quite versitile! (Western covered wagon, ginger bread house, Chinese pagoda...) As always, it was a fun walk around town, bowing to the crowds and throwing candy. ;)

Here are some pictures of the crew:

Happy New Year, 2012!!

Merry Christmas :)

2011-12-29T22:53:00.000-08:00

The highlight of Christmas this year was by far the annual visit from our favorite Minnesotan, Adam. :) He made the two-hour AVE trip down on Friday afternoon, stayed here for the celebrations all day (and night) the 24 and headed back to Madrid on Christmas day. It was a too-short visit, but all the same we were happy to see him. Somehow, having visitors at Christmas makes it seem more festive!

Last year, if you remember, we made a bonfire and spent the night of Christmas Eve singing carols and celebrating. This year, however we were quite a bit warmer, since we all got together to spend the night in a friend's garage that is equipped with a wood stove. :) Bedtime was 6:15am...

No sooner had I closed my eyes, than my parents called wanting to Skype! I'm sure they assumed they'd woken me up and thus my refusal to get up and turn on the computer, but that was far from the case. I was exhausted after a full day of merry-making. Nothing could take me away from my warm bed and snuggly down comforter. (sorry!)

Chirstmas Eve is just the start of the holidays here in Spain. There's still New Year's Eve and the Epiphany to be celebrated! Although some of the excitement and joy abates after the 25th, people are still in festive moods and this year there are all kinds of activities and events that the city has organized to celebrate the holidays.

Wednesday was the equivalent of "April Fool's Day" in Spain: el día de los santos inocentes. The city organized a costume foot race for the occasion. In the end it was more of a jog/quick walk for about a mile through town, but it was great fun. What did I dress up as?? Santa Claus and his six reindeer!

Here are the pictures:

The reindeer.

We look slightly like Christmas hobos...but once we're pulling the sleigh it's obvious what we are. :)

Santa in his sleigh! :)

This is the sleigh from behind. Apparently the white doll figure is the symbol of los inocentes. Just like a "Kick me!" sign, people cut out a little paper doll like this one and stick it to your back... strange Spanish customs, what can I say. I think a "Kick me" sign is funnier!

And here's the view from the front. All of us reindeer were holding the reins that had jingle bells sewn on to them. You can't really see that in the picture.

The only awards given at the race were for best costume. We won second prize: a surtido ibérico (a chorizo, a salchichón and a cured pork loin). Mmmmmmmm... Soon we'll have a party all together to enjoy our winnings. :)

Finally, among the other events in town, last night was a concert at the church. It was a trombone and piano duet--beautiful! It's been at least two years now since I last played my trombone, and the truth is that as I sat there in the church listening to such wonderful music, I couldn't help wanting to join the band again. I do miss playing, but I really haven't got the time to dedicate to it... The concert lasted for about an hour and they played a great variety of songs: classical, jazz, film sound tracks, Disney. Finally they played an encore of my all-time favorite Christmas Carol, Silent Night.

I hope your Christmases were merry and you've been properly enjoying the holiday season. Have a happy new year!

My Christmas Carol

2011-12-23T09:53:00.000-08:00

It might be a bit presumptuous to liken myself to Charles Dickens, but I have just come home from the first annual Christmas story contest. I won first prize. :) The city organized the contest for all ages. The only pre-requisite being that you had to be "de La Roda". The maximum length was two pages, a little bit short for much development, but I took it as a challenge and last weekend wrote up a short story about an American girl's first Christmas in Spain. (Sound familiar?)

Unfortunately there was very little participation, so I can't be quite as proud of my first prize as I would be otherwise, but all the same I have a full "cesta de Navidad" valued at 50 euros! Needless to say, I was thrilled, though now that I haven't got much of a sweet tooth I'm not sure what to do with all the Christmas candies, chocolates and truffles. I'm most happy about the bottles of cava and the salchicón ibérico!

Here's a photo of the winnings:

Merry Christmas!

Aguardiente y Pestiños...

2011-12-20T10:29:00.000-08:00

"que los hace con gusto, mi abuela!"

That's the chorus to one of many traditional Christmas carols. It's been running through my head all afternoon because my mother and sister-in-law made 4 kilos of pestiños today! This year I wasn't a whole lot of help since I had classes and couldn't stay long, but Angelines and I went over to pitch in a little and have our post-siesta café con leche. ;)

I'm looking forward to pestiños with my coffee tomorrow.

...And other news, A and I finally made our way out to the pueblecillo to visit a good friend of ours who has an adorable three-month-old son. :) We hadn't been to visit her since the birth! Inexcusable really, especially considering how CUTE he is. This is little Nicolás:

'Tis the Season

2011-12-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a great day. It's been a while since Angelines and I have taken off on a Monday. It used to be every Monday we would go somewhere new to have lunch and explore. Since we've moved into the house, and since the economy's gone south we haven't done much of that. Yesterday was an exception.

After an hour swimming laps in Antequera and a quick stop at Mercadona for sandwich provisions, we headed to Malaga with the excuse of seeing the alumbrado (Christmas lights). Of course, you can't fully appreciate the Christmas lights before dark so we had to find something to do between 3pm and sunset. We headed to the mall at the Renfe station in central Malaga and while we waited for the movie theater to open, we went to the bowling alley!

I haven't bowled since I was a Girl Scout. I remember we would take trips to the bowling alley with troop 309--I hated it! I don't know if it was because I was a sore looser and was never any good at bowling, or if it was the ugly shoes that always smelled; but I dreaded going bowling. Angelines, however, had never bowled and so I decided to put childhood hatred aside and give it another try. For one euro each we got 10 rounds... In the end, we miraculously tied and both of us had sore fingers; but it was a good time.

After the movie, the newest in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, it was dark and so we walked to the calle Larios in central Malaga to enjoy the Christmas lights. We were not disappointed. They were beautiful.

Looking up calle Larios.

Rotunda at the end of calle Larios decorated with a giant nativity scene and the Magi on camel-back.

A glimpse of the Cathedral's bell tower through the narrow streets of the city center.

Giant Christmas ornaments!

The facade of the Cathedral (La Manquita).

What trip to Malaga would be complete without coquinas??

...And thus we've officially inaugurated the Christmas season and spent a lovely lunes out on the town.

And I thought I was unique:

2011-12-11T11:55:00.000-08:00

Excerpt from today's reading in my "Artistic Education" class (use Google Translator):

"Las niñas de esta edad con frecuencia centran mucho su interés en los dibujos de caballos."

I think drew more horses as a kid than there are in the entire United States! And it continues:

"Ahora que ha desaparecido el miedo a los animales, las niñas proyectarán sus propios sentimientos en esta forma animal. Para algunas, el caballo se ha convertido en un símbolo veloz y gallardo de la libertad que forma parte de crecer."

This was one of my favorite books when I was at the height of my horse craze (wait...have I outgrown that?). I think mostly because the pictures were colorful and beautiful, but also easy to imitate. I can remember drawing horse after horse from this book: horses running, horses grazing, horses rearing.

But I wasn't alone in my obsession. My best friend at the time, Katy, was right there with me. When we weren't drawing horses, we were playing horses! The game consisted of galloping around on all fours in Katy's basement, grazing, whinnying and trying to escape from her little brothers who usually assumed the role of wolves or bears.

We were quite technical in this game, nothing was left to chance. Both of us had horse encyclopedias that we spent hours pouring over so when it came time to be a horse we were never merely "small brown horses," but chestnut Morgans. We were "buckskin," "bay," "dapple grey," or "palomino;" and depending on our moods we were wild Mustangs, Shetland ponies, or Thoroughbreds.

My favorite horse in the book was the Andalusian. He stood tall and strong. He was powerfully built, yet still elegant and well-balanced; and his mane and tail were amazingly full, long and beautiful--I fell in love. When I wasn't a buckskin Mustang, I was a dapple grey Andalusian. Looking back, my current life is an adult version of the same game: switching between wild American and proud Spaniard.

When I finally got a horse of my own he was about the furthest you could get from a noble Andalusian: a mixed-breed pony named "Snake" (Note: I did not name him! My horse names ran along the lines of "Desert Sunset"). Snake was a Christmas present.

Just like the movies, Emily and I woke up early on Christmas morning, tore through our presents and as the euphoria was wearing off, my dad said causally, "I think Santa left you girls a present outside!" And after scrambling to the window, we looked out to see a 13-hand, brown (excuse me, chestnut) pony tied to a young madrone tree and complete with a big red bow around his neck.

Snake was an ornery little one, but I was too excited about having my "own" horse to worry about much else. When I think about how I rode him I feel a little guilty. Now, after taking several horsemanship classes, reading books and watching movies, I feel bad for man-handling (or girl-handling, as the case may be) that stubborn little gelding. But for the most part we were friends. There's a home video of me jumping Snake at Glenna Atwood's house. She gave me riding lessons and on about a three acre piece of her property she had set up jumps made from logs and oil barrels. In the video I take little Snake through the jumps seamlessly and then try with Glenna's palomino mare, Blondie--no luck. She's a stubborn thing and though I kick and kick and kick, she balks and walks around every jump. Finally I give up and get back on Snakey for one last lap around the jumps. He doesn't flinch.

Snake was a pet and a toy all at once. I would take him out and brush him, trying to give his coat the luster I read about in my horse books. I braided his mane and tail. And many were the times that Emily and I would play Indian princess in the forest behind our home in Somes Bar, leading little Snake along behind us. He, of course, was an integral part of our play, being the trusty Indian pony. Every now and then we would have to hop on bareback and trot through manzanita and poison oak to escape the imaginary cavalry.

After Snake there was Apache the Appaloosa; Straw, my dearest Palomino Overo; Hobo, our wonky little, flee-bit Mustang; and finally Fuego, Straw's colt (now my mom's horse). I love them all. Still, no one taught me patience or perseverance like my first pony. He died when I graduated from the eighth grade; I may never have cried so much over any of my pets.

Here, I haven't got time much less money for horses, but I still love them as I did when I was seven. When I go back to California I get as much saddle time as I can. And during the feria here in Sevilla, I am still gaga for those strong Andalusians who prance through the streets, legs high and necks arched, proudly bearing their polka-dotted riders.

West Wing - Why are we changing maps?

2011-12-10T17:19:00.000-08:00

I'm doing last week's reading for my "Didactics of Social Sciences" class today (oops...just slightly behind!). The reading covers the difficulties of teaching geography to students. According to Jean Piaget children's cognitive abilities evolve through a series of stages progressively allow for greater abstraction of concepts, mainly: pre-operational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages. Primary education covers almost exclusively the concrete operational stage (from seven to twelve years of age). Abstract concepts are generally only able to be conceived toward the end of the concrete operational and formal operational stages. We don't tend to think about it, but teaching the very concept of a map, much less how to read one, is very abstract and therefore difficult for elementary students until around 5th and 6th grade.

Maps are something we don't give much thought to generally, but when you begin to think about it they are very complicated. How can you transfer something spherical onto a piece of paper? There are several different methods, but of course all are merely symbolic representations of the actual Earth's surface. None of them can be absolutely faithful to the area, distance, angle, etc of the world's terrain, even accounting for scale; there's a level of distortion innate in the translation from three to two dimensions.

Of course being our only guides for understanding location and spacial relationships, maps are quite useful; but the spacial distortions can be a problem if one doesn't fully understand that a map is merely that: a guide. They are not actual, true representations of our world.

While reading, I was reminded of this scene from my all-time favorite TV series, "The West Wing" and lucky you, I found it on YouTube to share. ;)

Kind of a trip, huh?

Evolution

2011-12-08T23:56:00.000-08:00

This is the evolution of the latest assignment in my "Artistic Education" class.

Enjoy:

Ta-Dah!

Pretty good, huh? I am very pleased with how it came out... It was doubtful when I began adding the shadows, but I think I can safely say I've never been so impressed by something I've drawn! :)

---

Yreka, California 1990: I am seven years old and enrolled in an evening art class. Every week my mom comes with me along with another mother-daughter pair, friends of the family. We do things like linoleum block prints, glass etching, and drawing upside-down to work both sides of our brains.

Today we're drawing hands--they're hard! I've been erasing and redrawing line after line and I'm not very pleased with the way mine have turned out. As I scowl down at the paper, my mother's friend looks over from across the table, "That looks like a cow's udder!" I blush and an embarrassed anger churns in my stomach--I will not cry.

But when we get home I let loose. I cry and cry, and scream: "I hate her!!" Then I cry some more.

A Feast to be Remembered

2011-12-01T13:32:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving preparations left little time for work and thus my delayed post: Please excuse me.

Our Thanksgiving feast was, in a word, fabulous. :)

Menu:

Starter:

Clam and saffron soup (a little Spanish touch, compliments of my mother-in-law)

Main Course:

Oven-roasted turkey (previously brined--soooo moist and tender!)

Traditional bread stuffing with roasted pine nuts

Steamed green beans with garlic

Lemon mashed potatoes

Dessert:

Pumpkin pie

Maple syrup yams with cinnamon and walnuts

... Although I gave specific directions to each of my sisters-in-law--bring nothing other than drinks--they showed up with more food! So in the end add shrimp, green salad, tomato/tuna salad, pastries and a cake to the above...

There was too much food, but Angelines and I have been pecking away at the leftovers throughout the week and we're nearly finished. Needless to say the week's menu has been somewhat monotonous. (I'm currently eating turkey soup).

Everyone liked the food. My green beans didn't turn out as good as past years, but everything else was delicious! The turkey was incredible. I was able to brine it the night before and this year I squeezed it into my tiny gas oven. It slow cooked on low flame all morning: 8am-2pm. I'm not sure if it was the brinning, the slow cooking, or the extra love and attention I added, but this was by far one of the best turkeys I've ever cooked/eaten. (Only surpassed, of course, by my dad's BBQ turkey!)

Angelines took the day off so she could really enjoy and relax with all of us--definitely something to be thankful for.

American as Apple Pie!

2011-11-24T23:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

This year, like past years, I will be celebrating this weekend. However, unlike other years, we're going to celebrate with family rather than friends. I am a little bit sad about this; it's been five years of Thanksgivings here in La Roda. One of those years, I was back in the States and my friends made a Thanksgiving feast all on their own--complete with turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie! So, the tradition has caught on. ;) But I wanted to share the fun with the family and so this year Angelines's sisters and brother with their families are going to come over for Turkey dinner on Sunday. This afternoon, my mother-in-law is coming by to help me with some of the prep.

In past years we've taken the turkey to the baker's to cook it in the big bread oven. This year, I'm going to see if I can do it in our little gas oven. The turkeys here don't tend to be monsters like in the US (18 lbs and up!!), especially since I've ordered this one before Christmas. Most turkeys here are raised for Christmas Eve dinner, which means they're not quite fattened up by the end of November. My poor, meager, turkey has been sentenced to an early death! I'm sure any guilt will wear off by the time my house is full of turkey smell, Sunday. ;)

To celebrate Thanksgiving with my classes, I've had cooking lessons all week. We made little apple pies in each of the private classes. Pumpkin pie, I decided, was too labor intensive given that you can't buy canned pumpkin here. And besides, is there anything more American than an apple pie?

All the kids LOVED the activity. I was a little wary because my last class on Tuesdays is just a pair of high school boys--17 years old. My inner feminist was angry with myself for even considering NOT baking with the boys. Of course, if it were a mixed class, I wouldn't think twice, but being that they were just boys I was wondering if they would be into it...wondering if I should make up some other activity for them... After thinking it over and consulting with my friend Sara ("There's no reason those mama's boys shouldn't know how to make an apple pie! And besides, it's tasty!"), I opted to go for it.

It was a huge success. I think the boys liked it even more than the girls! One was in awe by the way I folded the pie crust to be able to neatly put it in the pie pan, "es guapo, eso, ¿eh?". By the end of class both of them were talking about making apple pie for their Christmas dinners this year. :) We had a blast all together, and the pies came out beautifully.

The activity consisted in first labeling everything on the table, and then filling in the ingredients on the worksheets I gave them. As we worked, they had to fill in the measurements, too. The younger students then had to order the steps of the recipe, while the older ones had to write the steps themselves. I also gave them a second worksheet with key vocabulary (cut, add, bake, mix, etc.) and a short explanation about apple pie.

Here are all the labels. The pie you see, was my sample one. Since there wasn't time for their pies to bake and cool during class, they each took home a slice of mine. I also had to have some crust already made and in the fridge, since it has to be cold when you work with it. I felt like the professional cooks on TV as I said, "you have to chill the dough 30 min." and then whipped a cold batch out of the fridge to be rolled. :)

And here are the pies! The one on the far right is the boys'. You can't really tell, but they cut a smiling face into it and then laughed, saying, "it looks like the sun on Teletubbies!" :)

Be careful what you wish for...

2011-11-17T03:44:00.000-08:00

The week has gone by too quickly, and more than once each of us has said, "We need another Monday!" Monday is the only day that neither Angelines or I work so we get to enjoy each other for a full 24 hours. No sooner did Tuesday hit, than we were clamoring for another free day together.

I've been fighting a cold now for about a week and today I woke up nearly completely mute. I can barely speak above a whisper if I really force my voice! So today's classes are canceled. How can I teach if I can't talk?

Angelines has been complaining about our pillow lately: it's too flat. So last night we tried another one we have in the house--too hard. She might have a slight Goldilocks complex, but I can't tease her because the poor thing woke up this morning barely able to get out of bed. She cannot move her neck. She's taken a muscle relaxant, heavy anit-inflamatory and I rubbed her shoulder with icy-hot. The bar will not be opening this evening.

It turns out someone was listening to us: Thursday has become Monday, though we won't be able to enjoy it quite the same.

At last:

2011-11-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

Winter is here:

Rains have cleared--bringing cold to stay.

Blue skies and cloud puffs.

Warm sun and frosty wind.

Put on an undershirt for the first time since ... April.

Season's first fire: Warm and Cozy.

Memorial

2011-11-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

Monday my Aunt and I bought a native encina (holm oak) at a local nursery to be planted in memory of my cousin Drew.

It's rained these past few days and so we took advantage of a break in the storm and the soft ground--very auspicious--and planted it today. We went outside town to where Angelines and I were married because it's a beautiful location, looking out over the olive fields and La Roda in the distance. Up on the hill next to the chapel we planted Drew's tree.

May it grow strong, straight and tall.

Auntie Ann!!!

2011-11-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

Forgive my blogging absence. I have a very good excuse: she's 5'4", green eyes, blond hair, weighs 5 kilos more after her Rick Steve's tour around Spain (that number is going up in La Roda)... That's right-- my dearest Auntie Ann!

She arrived at lunchtime Sunday and will be with me here through Saturday. Needless to say that the prep. (studying, etc. in order to enjoy her properly) prior to her visit wasn't conducive to blogging, and I'm afraid that her visit is proving to be more of the same. That is to say we are enjoying ourselves immensely and I haven't a min. to spare in which I can sit down at the computer to write.

(With the exception of right now. She is on Angelines's computer and has just forcefully told me, "We are both going to write!" Read: "Shut up, already, Viola!")

Our adventures thus far include a visit to the Laguna de Fuente de Piedra, a natural wetlands area very near La Roda and one of the only breeding grounds for flamingos in Europe. Usually this time of year there aren't any flamingos, but since we've had several good water years there's still food for them and about 200 are still around. Auntie Ann was thrilled since this year she's decided to learn about birds and joined the Portland Audubon Society. In British, this means she's a "twitcher". ;)

We hooked up with a woman that I coincidentally met the night before over drinks with Angelines. She was a guide for years at the Laguna and met us there with several pairs of binoculars and even a birding telescope! I've never seen the birds so close since we don't have a pair of binoculars ourselves. She was full of little tidbits of information. Did you know that Egyptians refer to the flamingo as phoenix? When they're chicks they're ash grey and then grow to be flame pink--re-born from its own ashes. :)

Yesterday was a trip to Córdoba. We saw Madinat al-Zahara, the archaeological site outside town and then had lunch and toured the Mezquita in the city center. I love going places with her because she is even more curious than I am (can you imagine?) and therefore asks all kinds of great questions. If I don't have the answer ready for her, I love speculating over possible answers and/or later looking them up. Such fun!

The week's going to fly by, I can already tell. Well, it's already Wendnesday, for cryin' out loud!

Off for tapas with my Auntie. :)

Generals and Teachers

2011-10-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

The other day, just before my duathlon, I went into the grocer's for some bananas and a few other fruits and veggies and rather than being greeted with the usual "buenos días," was met by "Are you training to be a policewoman?" I was shocked and even looked around to be sure the owner behind the counter was talking to me--policewoman?!

"No," I answered, surprised and wondering where on Earth she'd gotten such an idea.

"Well," she went on, "you've got the body for it. I've seen you running lately and I figured you must be training for the physical exam to be a Guardia Civil or something."

When I laughed at her reasoning, an elderly man waiting to buy peppers and eggplants piped in with, "Well, why not? Nowadays there are lots of women in the civil service!" I couldn't argue with that, but left the conversation stating my lack of interest in the profession. Sure, I can "be serious" as they assured me was all it took to be good at the job, but somehow busting people for speeding, etc. doesn't get me very excited.

Once I got home, I had to laugh over the whole exchange: why in the world would anyone, much less a woman, run so much if she weren't training to be a general!? ;)

---

From my latest book: Half Broke Horses--Jeannette Walls

In this day and age, she went on, there were really only three careers available. A woman could become a nurse, a secretary, or a teacher.

"Or a nun," I said.

"Or a nun," Mother Albertina said with a smile. "But you need to have the calling. Do you think you have the calling?"

I had to admit I wasn't sure.

"You have time to reflect on it," she said. "But whether or not you become a nun, I think you'd make a wonderful teacher. You have a strong personality. The women I know with strong personalities, the ones who might have become generals or the heads of companies if they were men, become teachers."

"Like you," I said.

"Like me." She paused for a moment. "Teaching is a calling, too. And I've always thought that teachers in their way are holy--angels leading their flocks out of the darkness."

---

So perhaps it's my "strong personality" that draws me to teaching even though in this day and age I most certainly could become a general!

Disconnect To Connect

2011-10-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

It is ironic, verging on immoral, the way advertisements capitalize on the disconnected, hurried lives many of us lead in order to sell us the very products that, in many cases, are the cause of such problems. With a smooth slogan and poignant images they miraculously transform the problem into the solution. Of course, the simple fact that they're trying to sell something doesn't take away from the truth of the messages--of course that's what makes them good advertisements; but still, there's something wrong about using our yearning for connection, family, love, or quality time against us for economic benefit.

MoviStar, a leading cell phone company in Spain, uses the catchy line: "Compartida, la vida es más" (Life is more when it's shared). MoviStar couldn't be more right on. But incessant texting on a Blackberry or iPhone isolates us from the real people around us. Is that really sharing? As the following ad points out, what is the price we pay for "sharing." What are we missing out on when we spend so much of our time connected via technology, and what connections are we neglecting in the process? Does what we gain compensate for what we lose?

This video came to me via email--a forward from a friend and I had to share it. Apparently the Thai message at the end reads: "Use your phone...just enough." Another good line, something we should all reflect on... but should that message be coming from the cell phone company?

Back to School!

2011-10-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

Quickly:

As of yesterday, I've begun my second second year as a university student. ;) This semester's classes are: visual arts education, didactics of natural sciences, didactics of social sciences, didactics of Spanish language and ICT applied to English language learning. Once again I've got five classes--uf! Spring semester it'll only be four, thankfully...just in time for my being worn out and sick of studying. ;)

I got up early this morning to dig in on my studies. I'm hoping that with mornings free this year it'll be easier to balance my life, work and studying. Only time will tell. I have the sneaking suspicion that even though I have more time, I'm going to be quite busy; this morning, my first foray into this year's schedule, I was already thinking, "how did I manage last year?!"

I finished my reading for my arts class--absolutely scintillating. There's no sarcasm there. I was thoroughly intrigued (no time to go into detail); and more than anything, it felt great to be thinking again.

I am a hopeless case: an eternal student!

Okay, off to eat dinner and spend some time with my poor, neglected wife. ;) (I think she's going to have a rougher time adjusting to my schedule than I am!)

I Duathlon Cross La Roda de Andalucía

2011-10-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

Today was La Roda's and my first duathlon! :) A duathlon is bike and running. This one started with a 5k run, then 20k on the bike, and ended with 2.5k running. Pretty complete, eh? I wasn't really too nervous for it until last night when my friend Nuria told me she'd be talking to one of the organizers and he told her about the killer hill on the course--"what!?!"

The cycling club in La Roda is called "La Vinkecuesta" which, roughly translated means, "Damn!WhatAHill". Apparently, the bike route included their namesake. It was quite a hill, let me tell you. After a long gradual upgrade the course just shot upwards. Those of you who came to my wedding can think of the walk up to the ermita; Portolans, think behind the high school; and the rest of you just think STEEP! If I remember right, they told me that the steepest part was one kilometer... it felt like at least two, to me! I rode a little ways up, but when I saw how long it was and saw that everyone was walking their bikes up it I decided to get off and walk, too.

Luckily, the hill was shaded because it was in the 90's yesterday! (...does October mean anything to anyone???) It was brutally hot when we started the race at 11am and only got hotter as the day went on. I thought Fall was here...looks like we'll have to wait a bit more for real autumn weather.

...But back to the race: I ran the first 5k in 22:55...not bad since I really wasn't going all out considering what I had still ahead of me. Then it was off on the bike. I had ridden most of the course before on my explorations through the olive groves, but I'd never been up that crazy hill, which turned out to be beautiful. Undoubtedly, I could have enjoyed the scenery much more if my tongue hadn't been dragging on the ground, but all the same the little pine forest was a welcome break from the sea of olives that surround us.

The best part of the race was getting to the top of the hill, by far--what goes up... It was all downhill to La Roda. I sped back to town, dropped my bike and realized that my legs were much more tired than I thought they were! Those last 2.5k were killer. I think I was jogging, but it was all I could do not to fall on my face my legs were so wobbly! I guess after about 500 meters or so I looked more like an athlete and less like a drunkard stumbling along, and actually I passed three people running (two in the home stretch). So I must have been doing something right.

It felt great to cross the finish line, let me tell you! A woman from out of town who had come with her husband's cycling club saw me finish and couldn't help saying, "Great race! I admire you for what you've just done." That felt pretty good. And the truth is it's pretty fun to participate in these races at home--now when I run people know why. I'm not just the crazy American; I'm the crazy, fast American! ;)

It certainly was an experience...and perhaps I'll sign up for more duathlons once we figure out how to put the bike rack on the car.

Family Bar-B-Q

2011-10-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome Fall!

Today was a perfect day; weather-wise and otherwise. ;) The morning chill wore off quickly and it was a beautifully sunny afternoon. Today we had the whole family over for a barbecue. The food was delicious and we spent a great time all together--there's never a dull moment at family gatherings. There were half moons being shown, water fights and a whole lot of teasing. If we were ever able to get the whole Wilbanks family together with these guys it would be a blast ...and maybe just a little dangerous! ;)

Antonia and Alejandro working the grill. We had chorizo, panceta, loin fillets and beef steak. Yum! Along with grilled eggplant, zuchinni and goat cheese.

I must say, the patio looked pretty cool all set up for the BBQ. Don't you think? You can't really get the full effect here, but it was perfect. I do love entertaining at this house!

We had a silly photo shoot on the patio swing... that thing's a lot sturdier than it looks!

All the nephews and niece with Uncle Ale. :)

This one came out really nice: Angelita with the four kids... All four of them are still just big kids, let me assure you. ;)

"We are Siamese..."

2011-10-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

I used this in one of my classes today... It turns out Disney songs are great fun in the classroom! :) For old times' sake I wanted to share it with all of you.

Enjoy!

1ª Ruta de "Los Tragamillas"!

2011-10-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

For a year and a half we've been talking about doing a hike in the nearby town of Archidona. Today we finally did it! My friends Nuria, Jesuli and Chichi did the Camino de Santiago last year and came home with the hiking bug; nonetheless, it wasn't until today that we finally got our acts together and our schedules aligned to actually do a hike around here! So it was the three of them, another girl who has done El Camino, Sara (our new renter) and I out on the trail.

The route was a semi-circle of 14km. Luckily we had two cars, otherwise we would have ended up walking the last stretch along the road (not fun!). The first part of the hike was beautiful, winding along a little creek and through canyons of pine and holm oak; but the last few kilometers were kind of boring landscape (more developed/agricultural) and on dirt roads as opposed to trails...not as fun or interesting. It wasn't too bad in terms of difficulty, a really steep ascent in the beginning and a long down hill--killer for my knees--at the end. We took our time and had to ask for directions more than once seeing as how the signage was a little patchy at best, but all-in-all it was a great morning/afternoon out in the sun and fresh air.

Of course nothing in Spain is complete without a cervecita and so when we finished the hike we headed into town for a beer and some food. Archidona has a beautiful central plaza, la Plaza Ochoavades (1804), which is octagonal and the only one of its shape in Spain (if I'm not mistaken). It definitely felt good to sit down, and the cold tinto and a plate of porra were just what I needed to start feeling myself again. ;) Somehow walking tires me out much more than running!

Over beers, Nuria suggested we give our little group a name since we hope to plan more hikes in the future. The only one we came up with was "Los Tragamillas"--the "Miles Swallowers". I pointed out that they don't measure distance in miles here...but somehow "tragakilometros" is just too much of a tongue twister to be a good name! Besides, Jesuli assured me that the name is partially to honor our American participation--Ha! ;)

After our light lunch we moved on in search of coffee and pastries. We were informed that there was no pastelería in Archidona, but after our coffees, on the way back to the cars we walked by a monastery where the nuns bake and sell all kinds of delicious treats. I've been told of this before: you order the sweet you want from one side of a lazy susan and put down your money, then the nun spins it around to deliver the pastry. You don't actually ever see the nuns. Anyway, it was quite an interesting experience and the pastries were DELICIOUS!

Ordering pastries!

This is the little display case showing all the goodies you can buy from the nuns--edible and otherwise.

So we're back in La Roda after a great day of exploration and adventure... As it turns out, the "Tragamillas" gulped down quite a bit more than just miles!! But it was wonderful, and anyway what's the point of burning calories if you can't re-stock?! I look forward to our next hike!

Preparations

2011-09-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

Starting Sunday, we're going to be renting out our spare room to one of the American language assistants who will be working here in La Roda. We've been in contact via email and have agreed that she'll stay here at least while she looks for another place. If she ends up liking the house, etc. then she'll stay through May. :)

I'm hoping it works out for all of us and she'll stay for the school year because it will certainly be nice from a financial point of view to be getting a little help with rent. And if she ends up staying, it will be because she fits in nicely with us, so it will be fun to have an American around and someone to hang out with when Angelines is at work.

Anyway, this week has been spent preparing our spare room for our new guest. I've emptied out the closet, which required a lot of shuffling of clothes, and general junk; and consequently I've organized our junk room now to be the guest room so that we still have a place for visitors even though the "guest room" will be occupied. Those of you with Spain on your list of travel destinations needn't worry about being left without a place to stay! ;)

Also inspired by Sara's arrival, we restored two different pieces of furniture for the room that were in the garage: a little, marble topped night stand and a table. The night stand was pretty easy. We just cleaned the top, re-painted it and bought new knobs for the draws. The table was a bit more work... First we stripped it, then filled the cracks, sanded it, and finally stained it. It looks pretty damned good, in my humble opinion. :) What do you think?

It turns out all the cool furniture is going into the guest room!

I'm not the only one in first place...

2011-09-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

That's right, Real Betis Balompié is currently number one in the Spanish league!

¡Viva!

First Time First Place!

2011-09-25T07:55:00.001-07:00

This morning was the VIII annual road race here in La Roda. And guess who took first place for women on her home turf?? Yes, yours truly. :) There were only eight women racing, 136 runners total. I don't know my overall place, but I came in first with quite a considerable gap before the second place girl.

Our course here in La Roda is a bit flatter than last Sunday's in Campillos. I was expecting to run faster here. And I most certainly did: 7 min mile pace! I finished the 5.9 miles (9.5km) in 41.10. If you remember last weeks time was 42.57... Being at home definitely made the difference--aside from knowing the course, a lot of pride is on the line when you're defending your home course. :) And of course being here in La Roda I had the support of friends, neighbors and of course, Angelines.

My good friend Nuria was my "team". She had a cooler prepared with water, juice, bananas... it was great. The race was a 3+km loop through town and it went right past our front door. At the end of my second loop, Angelines was sitting on the curb outside the door with breakfast, cheering through a mouthful of cereal. ;)

On the third, and final lap, a man I don't know (pretty sure he's not from La Roda either) caught up to me and said, "Come on, I'm gonna make sure you win. Breathe with me." I really wasn't feeling bad, although I could tell that I was running quite a bit faster than last Sunday. Maybe I looked like I needed more help than I felt like I needed... For whatever reason, I was glad to have his company because anyone who runs knows that there's nothing worse than getting caught alone in the middle or toward the end of a race! We pushed it though the last 3km and in the final 5o meters or so, I kicked it to the end passing him and another runner. :)

It was a good race. I've got a nice big trophy to show for it, too...though no jamón, darn!

A Table for the Ages

2011-09-23T01:18:00.000-07:00

The covered porch area of our patio has a great little nook that invites sitting, lounging, and lying about. The former owners had an old, rickety table set up to eat at. Up until yesterday, we were using the same table. The legs were wobbly, the paint was peeling off, the top was uneven (a danger for wine glasses), and it wasn't quite the right size for the space; if we had company, we had to turn the table long-ways and box them in! Needless to say, it wasn't the ideal situation. All of this, we probably could have lived with for a bit longer had it not been for the discovery that the old table hosts wood-eating creatures! We would wake up in the morning to small piles of sawdust on the patio floor beneath it.

The table had to go!

As long as we were going to get a new table, we wanted one that would fit nicely in the space we have in the patio. A friend of ours in a carpenter and we asked him to build us a custom table. He loves our patio and was really excited about the prospect. He asked if he could have full creative license with the table, of course we said yes... We brought it home yesterday--it is beautiful! Not only does it fit perfectly, but it's hefty, solid pine, beautifully stained and looks great in our nook. This table will most certainly outlast us!

Yesterday we ate lunch and had our post-siesta coffee at our new table. And this morning I couldn't resist taking my laptop outside and trying my luck with the patchy wifi connection. ;) So far, so good. It's too inviting to leave alone in the patio.

...The big smooth, varnished top is just begging us to play cards. (Ewan, want to come visit) ;)

On the road again!

2011-09-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

Today was the 9.5 km (5.9 mi) road race in Campillos. Remember I did it last year and finished in 44.43 min, taking second for women? The second place prize was 30 euros. First place got 50 and a jamón (cured ham leg...only in Spain!). Last night I promised Angelines to treat her to lunch today, and we were both secretly hoping to be able to dust off the pig leg stand we have in the garage, sharpen the jamón knife, and carve up a plate of nice thin iberian ham for dinner...

Alas, I didn't win first place. I didn't win second either. This year a lot more people and a lot more women showed up to the race. I remember last year I felt a little like a fake when they presented me with my second place trophy--there were more than two min. between me and the first place runner! In the States that gap would have been full of ladies speedier than I. Still, it felt good to get the recognition. Well, this year, all the best female runners from Malaga showed up to this race. I was looking for the stats online to be able to quote them to you, but I can't find them. I think the first place woman must have run somewhere around 38 min! That's a 6.44 min mile average.

There were 21 women in my age group (39 and under). I'm not sure how many total. The men are divided into small categories, but there are so few women that there are only two age groups: 39 and under, and 40 and over! The girl who won last year came in third this year. And I came in 8th--top 1/3, not bad. I improved my time by nearly two min: 42.57 and I passed two women in the last lap of the course.

The race is a little bit monotonous because it's four laps around a 2.3 km loop through town. I guess it's good because you can "stratergize" ;), but it does get a little tiring from a scenery point of view (pun intended!). Anyway, as I was coming up on my last lap I could see two pony tails bobbing about 200 meters ahead of me--the furthest one, a girl in purple, was my goal.

I passed the first girl in the first 1/2 km of the last lap. She fought a little bit, but I took her on the hill, and she never recovered. ;) I steadily closed the gap with the purple girl through the first km and into the second. With about one km left to go I passed her. I must say it was a pretty tricky pass. Psychologically, the poor thing couldn't recover because I totally surprised her. She had gone up onto the sidewalk because there was a sharp corner coming up and if you ran on the sidewalk you could cut a little bit and save some distance. Well, I was on the street and with cars and dumpsters between us, she didn't see me coming. ;) I quickly passed her and jumped up onto the sidewalk in front of her to cut the corner. I kicked it around the corner...and that was the end of her. I could only hear her breathing behind me for about 100 meters more. I must admit, I was a little disappointed that she didn't fight for it a little more--I like a gutsy race, but in any case, I kicked it to the finish line and just made it under 43 min. My goal was 42. As is, I ran about 7.21 mile pace. Not too shabby.

So I came home with nothing to show for my effort but the T-shirt they gave us. Angelines decided to treat me to lunch all the same, and we ended up ordering a plate of jamón. :)

Next week is the race here in La Roda. It's also a 9.5 km. If not too many speedy out-of-towners come, I might just have first place for women in the bag!

Here's my delicious pre-race salad (last night's dinner): lettuce, tomato, cucumber, turkey, fresh cheese, pepper, onion, carrot, and wild rice! So good I couldn't let it go without a picture.

And here I am sporting the T-shirt we got at the race--a nice change from the traditional cotton ones. I'm not a fan of T-shirts for running...but for chillier mornings or for riding my bike, I do like these breathable ones.

Happy Trails!

Picnic Day!

2011-09-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

This is a bit of a back-blog. A few weeks ago we made a trip to "El Chorro" reservoir with the specific purpose of having a picnic. Mostly I wanted to share these pictures because I'm very pleased that we have finally used the picnic back-pack my mom (and dad) gave us for an anniversary present. It's pretty classy: complete with plates that match the table cloth and napkins, stainless steel silverware, little wine glasses, a cheese board, cheese knife, wine topper and a special insulated side pouch for the bottle of wine.

We were definitely picnicking in style, let me tell you! :)

...Here you can see the fabulous picnic back-pack and Angelines setting the table.

Voilá! Our delicious (and colorful!) picnic.

Merece una foto!

2011-09-12T12:35:00.001-07:00

...Por encima del Barcelona? No sé cuándo se verá de nuevo.

¡Viva el Betis!

Too Funny!

2011-09-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

I was laughing out loud through the whole thing... Enjoy!: God's Blog

Singing to the Virgen

2011-09-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

Fiestas Patronales

2011-09-09T02:30:00.000-07:00

This year the fair went by almost without my noticing. I was making last-minute reservations for places to stay in France and cramming for my exams. Needless to say I wasn't in much of a mood for fiesta so the Feria de San Pedro came and went without much more than a few tintos de verano and one or two sevillanas. However, after a summer of travel and relaxation, I was ready to jump in with both feet for the local holiday celebrating La Roda's patroness: La Virgen de los Llanos.

Festivities began on the 7th when townspeople and the different brotherhoods offer flowers to the Virgen in the church. The small procession to the church was filled with colorful flamenco dresses, combed-up hair topped with flowers, men dressed in corto on horseback, and delicious smelling flowers. I donned my own ruffled flamenco dress, put on my biggest earrings, stuck a bright pink rose on my head and dashed out the door to join the representatives of San Pancracio in the procession.

The city cut traffic on the main street for the remainder of the evening and all the bars overflowed out onto the road. A stretch of about 50 meters was full from sidewalk to sidewalk with people, tables and chairs. They set up a trampoline and bouncy house for the kids and a stage for live music performances as well. As always is the case with local fiestas, you see everyone! Every few steps there was another person to kiss and say hello to. At one point a couple of my youngest students (dressed in the most authentic flamenco fashion) came shyly over to the table where I was sitting with a group of friends to say "hello".

Service was terribly slow...I don't think anyone expected there to be so many people. Many times when there's a local holiday, people pack up and head to the beach for the weekend; but for whatever reason it seemed that most everyone had opted to stay in town, and all of them were having dinner on the main street! I finally gave up on the food we had ordered and headed towards home to eat the lunch leftovers in my fridge. I didn't make in more than about 30 feet, however, when I was stopped by other friends and ordered to sit down and eat with them (they already had their food). At the end of the night I wound up with my brother and sister-in-law and some of their friends over ice cream at around 3:30-ish am.

It felt good to get out of the house. It's been quite a long time since the last time I was out and about with everyone...and feeling up to having a good time. Spending the evening out with different random friends, having conversations that ranged from the typical town gossip to upcoming road-races and American traditions, was just the medicine I needed. It was a nice reminder that I really am a part of this community.

Of course, being that I'm no longer accustomed to going out much, I was pretty tired the next day. Nevertheless, I had to get up early because I had a class at 10am so I got up and went for a run to shake off the stupor from the night before, showered, ate a huge breakfast and got ready for class. My ten o'clock ended up not showing so I took advantage and stepped out of the house for a minute to grab some churros y chocolate that the neighbors along the main street were offering free to everyone! After a small glass of good, thick chocolate, I was feeling much more myself and headed back home for my eleven o'clock class.

...And in typical Spanish fashion my day didn't end until two in the morning! It seems that chocolate is a great way to get going in the morning (who knew?!) and after my first tinto, I was ready to take on the day (afternoon, evening and night!).

We spent mid-day at the Leiva bar where they had hired a professional "espetero" to come and grill up fresh sardines just like they do on the coast. It was a hot day and if you closed your eyes, the smell of grilled fish could almost fool you into thinking you were in Malaga. Too bad we didn't have so much as a lousy swimming pool nearby to cool off in.

Once again we met up with my brother and sister-in-law and their friends--what a fun group of people. Really, every time I spend time with my sister-in-law I realize all over again how much I love her! We ate plenty of grilled sardines (my hands stank for the rest of the day!) and drank our weight in beer and tinto. Around six-ish I excused myself from the group we'd formed singing sevillanas, and headed home for a nap until the Virgin's procession around town at nine o'clock.

The procession was beautiful as always. Unlike Semana Santa, when trained costaleros carry the heavy pasos through the streets, in last night's procession volunteer townspeople carry the Virgen. At the end of the route, when the Virgen had made her way back to the church, there was a visiting choir group waiting at the church door. They sang a beautiful song a capella and later performed on the main street. Unfortunately, the street was so crowded once again that we ended up going elsewhere to eat and missed the show! But my bacon, cheese hamburger that took an hour and a half to make its way out of the kitchen was worth it. ;)

Once again, it was a late night... all this, and it's only Friday!

Un año más

2011-09-07T04:40:00.000-07:00

Once again this year I made the pilgrimage to visit the Virgen de la Fuensanta in the nearby town of Corcoya. Last year we were four, this year eight of us went. It's a twelve kilometer walk from La Roda and we made pretty good time: two hours and a half. To avoid the heat and also because most of the others work during the day, we headed out at 9pm. The stars were beautiful and the half moon was so bright we really didn't even need our flashlights.

In the middle of our walk we saw the most amazing shooting star I've ever seen in my life! It was so big, and bright I thought it was a rocket that someone lit-off in the fields, and it lasted about ten seconds, leaving a big, long tail behind. You'd think that ten seconds would be plenty of time to make a wish...but, alas, I was in such awe at how close it seemed that I completely forgot about wishes! It was incredible. All of us were shocked. I'll take it as a good omen for the rest of this year.

We made it into the church around 12:30 to see the virgen and afterwards made a quick stop for a cervecita before getting in the cars for a ride back to town.

It was a great camino. :)

All Growed Up

2011-09-02T00:15:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, my family left Lucy at Sonoma State and headed up to University of Portland to drop off Maggie. Can they really be 18 and nearly 20? It's hard for me to imagine when up until just a few years ago we referred to them collectively as "The Babies"! Having Maggie in Belgium this year was like putting life on fast forward: in my mind she was somewhere around nine years old...and suddenly there was a nineteen-year-old Maggie staying at my house! Next time I see Lucy I'm sure something similar will happen.

I skyped her in her dorm room (well it's actually a full-blown apartment!) the day my parents and Maggie were helping her move in. She confessed being nervous, but she also looked excited. I got the virtual tour of the place: two bedrooms, a living room, full kitchen, toilet and bathroom (in separate rooms--good thinking!). Aside from being completely envious of her set-up--my tiny little room in Clark couldn't hold a candle to this luxury--I was so excited for her.

Lucy is the baby... No matter how tall she gets, she will always be our baby. When I was ten, Lu Lu was born. She was a scheduled cesarean birth and therefore we could all be plenty prepared ahead of time for her June 4th arrival. I wanted to be in birthing room with my mom and dad. After an interview with my mom's doctor and the director of the hospital, they agreed to let me join my dad so long as I watched some prescribed videos about birth and cesareans. They wanted to be sure I was knew what to expect.

When the day came, my dad and a nurse showed me how to scrub down with iodine. I wasn't pleased with the dark yellow-brown foam I had to scrub up to my elbows. We dressed in blue and green doctor's scrubs and covered our heads with little white shower caps. This was serious. I was the first child present at a sibling's birth at General Hospital in Eureka.

We were directed into the room where my mom was lying on a bed. A curtain was hung so that we couldn't see below her waist. She smiled at us and squeezed each of our hands. I was nervous. I knew this didn't hurt her because they'd given her a shot to make her numb from the waist down...but still. After just a minute or so the doctors brought Lucille Marcelle into the world.

"Go ahead," a nurse said to me, "Have a look." I peeked around the curtain and saw my baby sister for the first time.

"She's all white!" I exclaimed. The videos hadn't prepared me for the creamy, white vernix that would be covering my sister. I had seen Maggie shortly after birth, Emily and I foot-printed her, but the nurses had cleaned her up some and she only had a little bit of white goo in the creases around her neck and ears--Lucy was completely covered! Of course my outburst provoked laughter from the doctors and nurses present. I was so embarrassed.

...And now eighteen years later that tiny little baby who was covered in white goop has moved out of the house and is making her own way. I feel a little like a parent. I'm excited for her when I remember all the great times I had in college; but I'm nervous and scared at the same time because I remember how lonely I felt my first semester.

I know she'll be fine... and I know she knows she's got two big sisters watching out for her.

I love Lucy.

Beef: It's What's for Dinner!

2011-08-25T12:57:00.001-07:00

Several months ago a new butcher opened in town. Angelines went one day to check out the goods and discovered that this new guy sells beef steaks (if I were a good Barkley, I could tell just what kind...but, alas). Anyway, we've been meaning to buy a few steaks for some time now. My diet since moving to Spain has been sadly lacking in beef. Pork is the meat of choice in these parts.

Tuesday Angelines bought two big steaks and we invited our good friend Nuria over for a barbecue. Most importantly, it was wonderful to have company for dinner and we ate far too much and drank a little more than we should have, too. It was wonderful to just sit out in our patio enjoying the cool evening and good friends. But I must say too that I was very impressed with the steak. Sooooo tender! And those weren't just my excellent Q-ing skills. Angelines and Nuria, who decided they like they're meat more well-done, said the same. It was absolutely delicious.

Yes, the photo leaves something to be desired in terms of composition. I apologize. We sat down to eat and I dug right in and then as I was eating I realized that it was too good not to take a picture for my blog record... So there you have it: Spain's best beef, Viola's worst food photo yet!

Friends and Firewood

2011-08-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

As you saw in my home improvement post, we've been busy ever since we got back here to La Roda. The work we were doing in the patio was put on hold when Miriam visited and this past weekend it was up to me to get things finished up... I couldn't have chosen a hotter weekend all summer, I don't believe! I never started before 6pm, and worked until dusk, but all the same sweat was pouring down my face, arms and legs by the time I was finished. It looked as though I'd showered or come back from a run! Still, there is something satisfying about sweating over this kind of project. When I did finally finish the wall it was Monday and the temperatures had gone down; I was disappointed to find that at 1pm when I finished I hadn't even broken a sweat!

The walls in the patio weren't the only project for this weekend. My brother-in-law, who has olive trees, saved the trimmings from the annual tree pruning for us. Although we offered to go to his cortijo ourselves to cut and haul the wood back to the house, he ended up doing it. So this weekend a cartload of perfectly cut firewood was delivered to the garage. After having cut it all and delivered it, I wasn't nearly bold enough to ask for help stacking...so I was on my own to transform the messy pile in the garage into nicely stacked firewood in the patio. Of course, I also had to do this before nightfall and before the following day so Angelines could put the car in the garage when she got home from work!

Splitting and stacking firewood was an annual chore living in Sierra Valley with a wood stove, though not one I particularly looked forward to. The splitting was always a chore, but I actually kind of liked working out the puzzle of just how to get it all neatly packed into our woodshed. All the same, I could never really grasp why my parents seemed to get such satisfaction from looking out the back windows at our shed-full of split fir and pine. Now I get it. After toiling away with my 1/2 cord (more or less) of cut olive branches I must say I feel quite pleased every time I walk out to the garage as I am reminded of the nice, warm fires we'll have this Christmas. :)

Although for the majority of this work I was alone, I did have some help. Our neighbor, Jesuli, had stopped by the bar to say hello to Angelines and she promptly sent him my way to help with chores (!). He offered to work on the wall while I stacked firewood. I was at one end of the patio and he at the other, but it is inevitably nicer to work when you know you're not alone.

...and when I finally finished it up, here you have it:

Really this looks like less wood than it is... It took me about three hours to stack it all.

Here he is:

2011-08-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

Isn't he beautiful?

Happy Birthday, Rodgrigo!

2011-08-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is a very quick post to welcome our new little cousin into the world. :) He was born today at 3:30 pm--we got a call mid-siesta to let us know that little seven-pound, Rodrigo had arrived at last and with a full head of hair. (Neither of us minded being woken up for that news!)

Rodrigo is Angelines's cousin's second child. They also have a little girl who is three (?). Angelines will be this baby's godmother. That is, of course, a huge honor. She isn't the godmother of any of her nieces or nephews so she was really happy when they asked her back in February. We've been even more excited about the pregnancy since. So soon there will be a Baptism to attend. :)

I'll post pictures as soon as we visit him.

Post its

2011-08-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

When I was fifteen, I came home from my second trip to Germany to find my bedroom covered in post-it note love from my best friend, Miriam. Most of them were corny plays on words. On the ceiling where I'd spent hours creating the night sky with glow-in-the-dark stars, one read, "You're a stellar friend!" And stuck to my lamp was, "You light up my life." I remember smiling and feeling particularly loved as I took down the notes one by one. Weeks later, as I was grabbing a pair of underwear from my dresser drawer another post-it note was uncovered: "Bet you didn't think I'd be here!" That one I saved. :)

...

Miriam has just left me here in La Roda after a wonderful 9-day visit. A friendship like ours is one of many things that just doesn't seem to translate into Spanish. We haven't seen each other for a year and a half (the brief visit in France doesn't count), and there were too many things to catch up on. She's been virtually incommunicado for the past two years, holed up in Williamstown MA, at grad school so this was the first time in a long time that we've been able to BE together. Although we only left the house once the whole time she was here, I feel as though I've been on vacation--a vacation for my soul.

It is so refreshing to be in the presence of someone who knows me so well. Someone with whom I can begin telling a story (about anything) and who understands immediately all the nuance and complexity involved; who listens with unbiased ears and whose genuine interest incites good solid advice. Our conversations wove themselves flawlessly together, alternating back and forth, adding to one another's stories with our own experiences and opinions. Cathartic is the first word that comes to mind.

I came back from leaving her at the train station with tears in my eyes. It's hard to live so far from so many of the people I love and so many of the ones who love me--G-chat and Skype are poor seconds to face-to-face communication.

Angelines left for work, and I was alone in the house. Hoping to read myself to siesta (Miriam's visit and sleep turned out to be incompatible), I went upstairs and grabbed my book. Placed carefully behind my bookmark, I discovered a small pink post-it note written in Miriam's unmistakable, artistic hand: "Te quiero mucho!"

I've since found three others...and I have the feeling there will be more. It's good to feel loved.

-Thank you, Miriam. I love you, too.

Dori??

2011-08-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

...This one's for Maggie. :)

De obras

2011-08-04T00:52:00.000-07:00

Now that we're home for good, A and I have finally begun one of many home-improvement projects. The covered area in the patio has very old walls. They're big, thick stone and mud walls that have about 4,000 layers of paint on them. With humidity from rain and just age in general, the paint has begun lifting and in several places the bare wall had been exposed. The real trouble with this, and why we decided to take care of this first is because the mud and stone wall just slowly starts eroding, filling everything with dust. We were having to sweep the patio daily and dust was filling the bathroom through the window that opens onto the patio, too. So Tuesday we started to scrape and pick away at the wall and yesterday we began covering the exposed parts with white mortar. We're not professional brick-layers, by any means, but the wall doesn't look bad and looks a whole lot better than it did!

Here are some pictures (before and after):

Home at last

2011-08-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

July has been a whirlwind. First, of course, was the wedding and our trip to France. But in the last two weeks of the month we were also out of town. Remember last year that my mother-in-law rented a flat on the coast for the family? This year we did the same. So these past two weeks have been spent driving between Benajarafe (how's that for a tongue-twisting name!) and La Roda shuttling Angelines, in-laws and nephews back and forth... oh, and lying about on the beach, too. ;)

Last Wednesday the water was perfect--not a wave! The sea looked like a giant mirror in the twilight: silver, rather than blue. It was like being on the shore of a huge lake...or a giant bathtub. The water was warm and crystal clear. Angelines and I went for a run in the evening and when we got back to the flat we went down to the beach. The temptation was too much, so we kicked off our flip-flops and dove into the water in full running gear. :) Delicious!

The beach vacation and no internet access has been helpful for my summer book count. Those of you who have noticed the change on the side-bar under "currently reading" will see that I finished one book, read two others and started a fourth all on the sea-side. It's great to be reading things other than school work!

As always, it's fun to travel, but it's so wonderful to be at home again. The house is a bit more than a mess after being away practically an entire month, but even the cleaning is a joy when you've been away so long. :)

Our trip in pictures:

2011-07-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo tour of our trip. :)

Tula graciously lent us her van for our trip... ;)

This is in Cadaques on the Costa Brava north of Barcelona. Getting from here to the French boarder was one of the narrowest and windiest roads I've even been on... that's saying a lot seeing as how I grew up on Hwy 96 in NorCal! Glad my car sick days are over or this would have been NO fun.

The surprise visit to Port de la Selva to visit Noelia. :)

Le petit-déjeuner (breakfast...) and our daily bread for sandwiches. Here I bought a mini quiche for breakfast and the woman at the bakery actually made pig noises trying to explain that it had ham in it! We all got a good laugh out of that...and some of the more stern French customers were giving her shocked looks.

This is dinner on the front porch...not a good shot of the spread, but also nothing very exciting to see: sandwiches, salad, bread and cheese.

The bridge at Avignon.

"On the bridge of Avignon, they are dancing they are dancing..." You had to pay to go out onto the bridge or I would have done a little dance for your viewing pleasure. ;) I learned and played that song on autoharp in 3rd grade at Junction Elem.

The Pope's Palace in Avignon.

A. fixing dinner. Here you can see our faithful van, "Lupita" and our little blue tent. This was the night we ended up "sleeping" in the van because there was a terrible thunderstorm. It was a beautiful campground, the most beautiful of the ones we stayed in, but in the middle of NOWHERE and we were camped right by a creek...Angelines thought for sure we'd be flooded out by morning.

...Just another pretty town from the road (hence the blur).

These are the views from our room in Rivolet, the town outside Lyon where we spent three nights.

My best friend, Miriam, sister of the groom. It seems we have a picture like this one nearly every year since sophomore prom! ;)

Angelines, Laura (mother of the groom) and me at the reception.

Self-portrait in the courtyard and Manoir de la Garde.

This is a video of the little town where we stopped for breakfast the night after the thunderstorms. It's the one that reminds me of Beauty and the Beast... Can't you just imagine Disney characters popping out of the windows and Belle singing: "There must be more than this provincial life..."??? :)

Wedding Joy

2011-07-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

I'm just gonna make this a short(ish) post. I wanted to write a little bit about the wedding since my last post was just about our whirlwind trip to Lyon. If you recall the whole purpose of the trip was going to my best friend's brother's

wedding. :)

The wedding was a traditional Jewish ceremony

in the old synagogue in Lyon. My only knowledge of Jewish weddings came from Fiddler on the Roof--I remember being shocked in the movie when the groom stomps a wine glass. Ethan crushed the glass on the first try. :) Good job.

The bride and groom were both radiant. They get married under a tent-like structure where the alter would be in a church, surrounded by their families. Although I couldn't understand the service (mostly French and Hebrew though the rabbi did say a few lines in English), it was fun to see the different traditions. None of it was too different really from weddings here in Spain:

various traditions and customs, but all focused on the health and happiness of the newly weds. In the end, I guess all weddings, regardless of how they're celebrated, really are the same at heart.

The reception was at a beautiful old chateau (I think you'd call it that) from the 1600's! It was a fantastic local, preserving it's heritage while being modernized just enough to be quite fancy. It was all very elegant. Views from the courtyard of the tiny town below and a castle on the opposing hill--completely fairy tale. What really blew me away was the plaque at the entrance (huge stone wall and iron gate) that read: "private historic monument"... Only in Europe!

Dinner was held in a big room that was once where they crushed grapes to make wine. The ceiling beams were awesome. The huge press was still there, though kind of hidden behind the DJ's set-up. The food was wonderful, but the desserts were absolutely amazing. I've somehow lost my sweet tooth living in Spain, but I tried about 50% of the dessert buffet (seriously...there were so many different things!) and the rest was a feast for the eyes. ;) At this point my camera battery had died (typical!) so there are no pictures... Luckily I did get a shot of the wedding "cake": a castle made of peanut brittle and filled with cream puffs! It even had fireworks!

All of it was beautiful. The bride and groom were so obviously in love. :) We weren't able to partake in much of the merry-making after dinner was served because by the time dessert was finished it was about 1am. We left at about 2:30am because the following day was our long haul back to Barcelona. Still, in the time we were there, we saw enough to be able to extrapolate about all the fun everyone else had until sunrise!!

Here's a little video clip of some of the celebrating...there was no ballroom slow dancing, this was hard-core party! I didn't get a video of Ethan (groom) or Chris (father of the groom) body surfing, but that happened too. There was also lots of circular dancing that was much more like stomping and a "dance" that reminded me of when my sister and I would hold hands in the back yard, lean back and spin as fast as we could. Some how these guys didn't fall over (Emily and I always did!) and this was after quite a few drinks I assure you. ;) I really was sorry to have to leave so early. It always happens that just as I'm getting warmed up, my second wind, we have to leave!

Enjoy the video!

Exhausted and Relieved!

2011-07-16T16:29:00.001-07:00

I'm finished with my first year back at school!

My exams, as I'd prayed, went far better than they should have given my lack of preparation. Of course grades have yet to be published, but I'm sure that I passed them all. At least two of them I might have even done reasonably well on (80% or so). We shall see--another week or so before grades are published.

I got up early Friday and caught the train to Sevilla. It seems after our great experience with French public transport I'm all about trains now that we're back! ;) This way I didn't leave Angelines car-less, just in case. Anyway, I had two exams Friday and then today there were three: 8:30am, 11am and 4:30pm. Phew!

I was particularly worried about the last one (Conocimiento del medio social y cultural--social studies) because not only was it the last test of the day, but it covered LOADS of material: geography of the Iberian Peninsula, climates of the IP, weather and space, a little bit of econ. and politics, plus history of Spain from prehistoric times to the present day (no joke)! It was just a little intimidating, but went MUCH better than I expected.

I stayed the night with a friend of ours from the pueblo who lives in Sevilla capital so it was nice to get a chance to visit some between cramming and her work schedule. ;)

Most of all I'm just terribly relieved to be done! It's been torture since all my work commitments ended at the beginning of June to continue studying... Not at all an easy task, let me tell you. I probably complain far more that is normal or necessary, but there's just something wrong (on a psychological level) about studying and taking finals in July! That's mid-summer for God's sake!! We're supposed to be lounging on the beach or on couches in air-conditioned homes...not writing final papers or reviewing notes and cramming for finals! Whatever happened to the swimming pool?!

...Okay, I'm a baby.

But I'm done. One year down and three to go! :)

Southern France on a Shoestring:

2011-07-14T13:03:00.000-07:00

A quick Google search will prove that a French shoestring costs quite a bit more than most travelers realize. I'm still licking my wounds after spending 55 euros on toll roads (it would have been 100+ had we driven them to and from Lyon) and drinking the most expensive café au lait of my life: 5 euros! (that's five times what it costs here in La Roda...even in Madrid you'd be hard pressed to find a cafe con leche worth 3!).

...But I'm getting ahead of myself, I don't think you know that we were in France this past week! My best friend's brother married a lovely French girl and we went to the wedding in Lyon.

Our trip began at the Malaga airport where Angelines realized we had forgotten to pack our drivers licenses... (oops!) In Barcelona we had a car rented to drive to the wedding! Thankfully we have wonderful friends who bailed us out and even lent us their car, saving us 200 euros on the rental! (thank you Montse and Monica) We stayed the first night at their house awaiting an express envelope from La Roda with our licenses (thank you Nuria). So we started our trip a day and a half late, but feeling quite lucky to have such wonderful friends!

Given that we took the scenic route to Lyon, things when much more slowly than anticipated. Unfortunately, all our driving time took up most of each day and we just barely had time to find a campground each day, eat dinner and relax some (most of the campgrounds have swimming pools!) and go to bed in order to get up and drive some more! Camping was part of our plan to save money...but any money saved by camping was spent twice over on our daily cervecita and coffees. It wasn't at all what I had planned, but I'm focusing on the good things: visiting friends and spending time with my Angelines.

Aside from getting to visit with our friends in Barcelona and of course with all the groom's family in Lyon, we made a surprise visit to a friend from here in La Roda who is working through the summer at a cafe in Port de la Selva, Girona (north of Barcelona and very near the French boarder). She was SOOOO happy to see us. We stayed our first night at a campground nearby and were able to spend an hour or so chatting over ice cream as we strolled along the beach.

Southern France is gorgeous and the area north of Lyon where the wedding reception was held was absolutely amazing. Angelines and I stayed in a little rural hotel in a tiny little town near the site of the reception for the three days we were in Lyon. It was a quaint old building from the 1800's with views of the flower-lined streets and the church steeple--just exactly what you think of when you think of small European villages.

We drove by so many beautiful towns and villages nestled into the rolling green countryside. The entire area was riddled with them--little pockets of golden stone buildings with pointed, slate turrets of castles and church steeples peeking out of each one. It's a shame we had so little time to see things...but I suppose there's always the possibility of a next time.

Avignon was one of our only tourist stops. We explored the Pope's Palace (although we didn't buy entry tickets) and got pictures of the bridge at Avingon. Do you know the song? ;) Somehow we stumbled upon a Spanish bar for our daily beer and wine! They had the menu set out on the street listing "les tapas" (hahaha) and inviting passersby to explore the flavors of the regions of Spain. ;) It was pure coincidence that we happened to have our cerveza there, I swear.

On Friday morning, after a horrible night of thunderstorms (A was so worried about flooding being camped right near a creek that we spent the night squished into the back of our friends' van--needless to say we didn't sleep much!) we were able to do a bit more exploring. We camped near the tiny medieval village, Mirmande. It reminded me of Belle's hometown in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." It was full of tiny winding cobbled streets and stone houses dating from the 1600's. Of course we were only able to explore as long as it took us to eat our croissants, but still it was nice to get another little taste of tourism.

I was pleased with my French. Thanks to Maggie and my trip to Belgium, I was definitely able to communicate. I also was pleased to find that it is indeed a myth about French people being so stuck up that they will refuse to speak to you in English...or refuse to speak to you if you don't have perfect French. Everyone seemed grateful at my attempts to speak their language (which were really much more like butchering it and then mixing it up with Spanish), and I found that many people knew enough English (and were willing to speak it) that we had very little problems navigating when lost, finding our tiny village with the hotel or working out train schedules to and from Lyon.

Our vacation was indeed an adventure. We went to France the old fashioned way: with a road map and asking directions. No GPS for us. Angelines drove most of the way and I was the navigator--a perfect team given that I get more nervous in traffic than she does, and she's not very good at reading road signs or maps! :) We only got lost once, in Lyon...traffic there is INSANE. Thank God we figured out the train schedule for the wedding day. I was quite impressed by the efficient and cheap (surprisingly enough) public transportation.

Now we're back in La Roda and I have my exams tomorrow and Saturday. Wish me luck. Once again, I feel horribly unprepared...France didn't lend itself to studying. I'm drinking "tila" for my nerves and just doing my best to remember that all I need to do is pass!

Secure Attachment

2011-06-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

One of my elective classes this semester is "Intelligence and Emotional Education" (Educación de la inteligencia y la afectividad). We've looked at different theories of intelligence, among them Gardner's famous "multiple intelligence" theory, and we've also discussed feelings, emotions and values education.

It's an interesting class, though at times it seems it gets a little too touchy-feely to be very "scientific." In any case I think what we're learning really is important, especially in a world where it seems more and more parents are leaving education (in all senses of the word) to schools and teachers. Knowing how to effectively channel a child's emotions and passions in school is key not only to motivation, but in helping them develop as people and in the future be successful members of society.

This week's reading was about attachment theory. Those of you who haven't studied child development or psychology might be wondering what on Earth that is! Basically it's a theory to describe human relationships based principally on our first social interactions: infant and mother/caregiver.

"Psychologist John Bowlby was the first attachment theorist, describing attachment as a "lasting psychological connectedness between human beings" (Bowlby, 1969, p. 194). Bowlby believed that the earliest bonds formed by children with their caregivers have a tremendous impact that continues throughout life." (http://psychology.about.com/od/loveandattraction/a/attachment01.htm)

Mary Ainsworth expanded on Bowlby's work using the "Strange Situation" study, in which young children where put in a strange environment with, then without their caregiver and observed. Based on her observations she described three different styles of attachment: secure attachment, ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment.

Of course in class we're learning about how to use this knowledge of attachment theory to be able to recognize behavioral patterns in students and provide them with the proper environment to experience secure attachment with their teachers, giving them a solid base for future relationships if their parental attachment is less than ideal.

It's all quite interesting. Sometimes I think what I really like about teaching is the psychology involved in it! In any case, I can't help learning about these theories without comparing with my own childhood and marveling at the wonderful job my parents did of providing me (and my sisters) with that secure attachment.

I was reading an email from my mom shortly after my class and she related my sister Lucy's experience at Sonoma State Freshman Orientation this past weekend. :) And as I read about the sweet text that she sent my mom in the midst of it: "This is scary, mommy!" I couldn't help but be proud of what an amazing mother I (we) have.

One of the principal indicators of a secure attachment is that the child when placed in a new environment with his/her caregiver explores the surroundings. A child with insecure attachment doesn't trust that his/her caregiver will be there as support or for protection and therefore they rarely leave their mother's side. However, a child with secure attachment knows that his/her caregiver is there to protect, guide and support him or her and so has the confidence to leave them and explore.

My sisters and I aren't babies any more, but I haven't a doubt in my mind that I would never have gotten on a plane to fly across the Atlantic at the age of ten to visit family friends I'd never met if I hadn't had absolute faith in my mother's (and father's) unending love, support and protection. Nor would I have ventured to leave the country for a second time on my study abroad or to return later as a Language Assistant... much less choose to live in a foreign country.

But I am not the only one: Maggie has spent a whole year in Belgium, a country whose language she couldn't speak before she left home; and now little Lu who's always been more of a homebody is growing up so fast she insisted on driving herself to Chico for her college placement exams.

It came up in class today whether or not this kind of independent, assured behavior isn't also a part of personality. The professor conceded that of course there could be personalities that have more of a predisposition toward certain attachments, but that in general any personality, when provided with a loving, secure environment develops a secure attachment to a greater or lesser degree.

The real trick is in providing a balance of independence and protection: allowing a child to learn on his/her own without abandoning them, and at the same time providing security and protection without smothering their self-confidence. It's a fine line.

I know that my mom sometimes wonders how she got such an independent daughter...

Look in the mirror, mom.

Thank you. I love you.

Bragging rights:

2011-06-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of my private classes. I am finished (except for a few who want summer classes) until late September or October. This coming year I want to organize myself better and have more of a "curriculum" for my little kid classes, but this year has been a good one despite being somewhat directionless. Even though all my education classes warn against not having objectives (they're right of course), I know that my kids have learned a lot; and more importantly they've had FUN in English. At the very least they're learning to like the language.

So I just have a few quick stories to share as proof that the rug rats have learned a thing or two:

One of the mothers shared a great story with me today. Apparently over the weekend they were thinking about beating the heat by getting ice cream, but didn't want to say "ice cream" (in Spanish) because their two-year-old son would start begging. The dad used English as code and said something along the lines of "yo quiero eye-cree". Their daughter (just turned five and has class with me), turned around on the couch and said, "yo quiero de nata, pero papá, así está mal dicho. No se dice 'eye-cree', es 'ice cream'!" (That is: "I want vanilla, but dad, that's not how you say it. It's not 'eye-cree', it's ICE CREAM!) Needless to say her dad was impressed.

I'm only slightly disappointed that she didn't bust out with "I want nata"...because I did teach them that, but I suppose you can only expect so much. ;)

In my classes we always do a little warm up asking "how are you?" and different random questions. Today I asked a little girl how she was and she answered, "hot". I chuckled (it's already pretty damned hot here...getting into the nineties every day) and answered, "me too." Another little girl, all of her own accord, piped up with "me three!". ;)

Isn't that cool?!

I have NEVER said, "me three" in class. I was impressed that she made the connection with the number two...even though obviously she doesn't know the difference between too and two, it still shows that a) she was listening to her classmate, and b) she understood that I was agreeing by saying "too/two" and that logically, three follows two and must therefore be what a third party would respond! :) I couldn't help laughing and giving a high five for that one.

So although my kids are all exceptionally bright (of course!), I still like to think that I'm doing a good job laying the foundation for their future in English. They're picking up basic, solid communication skills in class instead of just vocab. :)

That's all.

Teaching for the 21st Century

2011-06-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

Just a little motivation to help me make it through these last weeks of class.

Enjoy!

Welcome to Belgium

2011-06-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

"Welcome to Belgium" was my only thought as I descended through twenty minuets of clouds and rain before landing in Charleroi, Belgium this past Friday. The weather was NOT what my sister Maggie had promised... "It's been warm, bring a light jacket and you should be fine." I was freezing most of the time.

Of course you have to understand that I left Málaga at 25 degrees... In Belgium it never got over 20 (most days it was around 18). I've now come back to 32-34 degree weather. With good reason I was freezing in Belgique! It hasn't been that cold in Spain since March, at least (with a few fluke cold snaps here and there). All the Belgians were laughing at me, the warm-blooded "Spaniard". ;)

My visit was great. More than anything I realized just how much I'm going to miss having Maggie on my side of the "pond" (as Spaniards, fondly refer to the Atlantic). It's been great to have her so close this year. We've seen each other three times! Now she's off to Portland, one of my favorite US cities...and rather than a mere 80 euro flight, I'd have add at least another zero to that sum to make it to Oregon for a visit. :(

You've all seen the video of her host sister by now. (Isn't she cute!) And although Maggie doesn't say a whole lot more that "merci", you get a little taste of her French. It was pretty cool to be on the other side of the translation for a change. ;) I know I started getting annoying when I wanted to know all about Belgian history, etc. ...Maggie was wishing I'd just shut up and do a Google search! But she was a brave and persistent translator for me, and I didn't do too badly myself mixing Spanish with a French accent. I was able to be understood most of the time, much to Maggie's exasperation ("You're making me look bad, Opie!"). ;) Minimum I got a few key lines memorized for the wedding Angelines and I will be attending in Lyon, France in July. :) (Look out, Ethan)

Another high-light of the trip was getting to visit the fortress at Namur. It was originally constructed by the Spanish in the Middle Ages. I'm just studying this time period at the moment in my history class so it was especially neat to walk around and hear what the guides had to say about the evolution of the fortress since Spanish times. It was most recently used during both the World Wars! This is the view of the Namur from the fortress:

Maggie's host family is really great and they took us all around. Namur was one of my favorites, but we also visited a monastery where they brew their own beer and make their own cheese. The cheese was fantastic...but I have to say I am still not a beer fan. Those of you who know me will not be surprised. I decided that when in Belgium...you've got to at least try the beer--yuck! (no offense to Belgian brewers!)

In anycase, on the way home in the car, Maggie's host dad commented that we were much more talkative and it was a good thing we hadn't drunk ALL the beer in the sampler (one of them was 10% alcohol!). ;) He is probably right, though I think rather than make us more talkative we would have fallen asleep in the car! In any case we dubbed it "Belgian Liquid Magic"... of course Maggie translated that to French for her host parents--her host mom nearly wet her pants laughing at us! ;)

Although I wasn't allowed to pay for nearly anything, I did repaid my hosts with two Spanish meals: tortilla española and paella. They were impressed by both though by Spanish standards, I'm afraid my cooking came up a bit short on both accounts. Still it was wonderful to be in the kitchen and Maggie's little host sister was a great little sous chef! She was very proud of herself when the paella came out so good. ;)

We were unable to meet up with Fanny, my family's first exchange student, but we did visit Justine (another exchange student who lived with my fam) in Tournai. What a beautiful city! And she treated us to some EXCELLENT Belgian fries--soooo good. :)

I was also able to go running with Maggie. She's joined a group of beginners and had apparently been talking me up to all the other members... Ha! I guess I didn't let her down since one other guy and I were the leaders through the whole work out. I was flattered because an older woman who runs with them and does marathons and such commented to Maggie's host mom that I must be a runner; she could tell by the way I ran that I was not an am-mature. I was quite flattered.

It was a wonderful trip despite the cold weather. Of course, most of all it was wonderful to see Maggie (loads of beastly sister love!) and hear her French and see how much her host family loves her. Her host mom said she was wonderful about three different ways and THEN said she was a joy to live with. ;) I was impressed and so happy that she's going to be leaving Belgique on such a good note.

Dumdum Deo...

2011-06-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

This is Maggie's host sister, Lena. She's a doll and loves singing. You can also get a little taste of Maggie's French in the video, even though it's short. I was quite impressed. It was pretty cool to listen to her. :)

Rain Storm

2011-06-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

Just a little taste of the storm we experienced here... Because we have a new roof, the noise actually IS this loud!

Pre-dawn Painting

2011-06-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

Now that school's over I'm finally able to start on the kinds of home-improvement projects that I love--namely painting. Monday I got up before sunrise to beat the heat and start painting the flowerbeds in the patio. They were in desperate need of a paint job as you can see in the pictures below. We decided on "rojo intenso"...we'll see how it holds up to the Andalusian sun after this summer. The flowerbeds might be pale pink by October! At the moment, though, I'm very happy with the color--very vivo in my opinion.

Take a look:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

What do you think? We finished up the painting today and spent the morning cleaning up the patio after the crazy summer storm we had Monday afternoon. It POURED.

It rained so hard that we realized we have a small leak in the roof! Oops. Have to get that looked at before fall! There were hail storms across Andalusia and apparently it hailed some here in La Roda, too. There's a Spanish saying, "Hasta el 40 de mayo, no te quites el sayo". Roughly translated that is: Until May 40th (June 10) don't take off your sweater. Spaniards love their refranes (sayings) and insist that they're never wrong. In this case, I'd have to agree.

I guess on Friday it'll be safe to go out in a T-shirt. ;)

San Pancracio: Take Two

2011-05-31T23:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the romería de San Pancracio in Valverde del Camino, Huelva. If you remember, we are sister brotherhoods. They came to our romería at the beginning of May and so about 18 of us left La Roda at 6am Saturday to make it in time for San Pancracio's salida from the church and the start of the camino to his hermitage outside Valverde.

The church in Valverde is beautiful. Much bigger than here in La Roda. I think the population of Valverde is about double ours so that's to be expected. The camino was all along the highway, unfortunately, but the countryside was still beautiful and luckily it wasn't too hot. After about 6km we stopped to eat and rest in a picnic area that's in the middle of a pine forest--shade was quite welcome after such a long walk in the sun!

The forest is beautiful and made me think of home a little bit. In this picture, on the way to the hermitage after stopping to eat, you can get an idea of the forest. Not quite like Portola...but much more similar than the olive groves that surround me in La Roda!

We had a wonderful time, even though we had to leave earlier than we would have liked. Our bus driver couldn't stay longer so we had to pack up by 11pm.

Other big news, and not entirely unrelated--I have a job interview today! Yesterday I got a call from an academy in Antequera (the town where I worked last year) asking if I was interested in a job with them for next term. I had sent my resume about two weeks ago just to see what would come of it... :) A total shot in the dark, since they weren't advertising a position at all.

Perhaps all the walking with San Pancracio (Saint of work and health, remember?) is paying off! Because as of yesterday, my work in Casariche is over and I only have private classes for another three weeks.

This much is true, if things work out today and I have a job, I'm taking flowers and a candle to San Pan.!

Economic Crisis

2011-05-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this data. No wonder Spaniards aren't happy with the Euro! The most shocking part is the last item:

waiter's salary in 1999=145,000 pesetas, in 2011=900 euros (150,000 pesetas)!

The cost of living has suddenly sky-rocketed, yet salaries have stayed nearly the same for the past 13 years. Spaniards have been complaining about the Euro for a long time now...but with the economic crisis added on top of everything else, things are looking pretty grim.

Life is like...

2011-05-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

A bowl full of cherries! ...or a handful, in my case. It seems even our cherry tree is feeling the crisis. All our beautiful flowers haven't given us more than this handful of cherries and there are maybe only about 10 more on the tree.

Oh well, I take what I can get.

Time Flies...

2011-05-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

When you're having fun...or when you're really busy. I suppose my case is a combination of the two.

This week Sara and I have been working like crazy at school to finish up all the last details for the final Spelling Bee competition at school. Tuesday morning we finished up at the school level with three different Bees among the top two spellers of each cycle (first cycle is first and second grade, etc). And today was the Inter-school final. Students from here in La Roda came to Casariche this morning to compete in the grand finale. It was a lot of fun and overall a great success.

The first cycle competition was a little rocky. It's hard to prepare lists for the younger students because it's always a toss up whether or not they'll know a word. When I prepared the list I was thinking of the fact that we always come down to two or three students that just CANNOT be eliminated and we run out of words so I made the list kind of hard after about round 3. Well, it turns out that my idea of "kind of hard" is light years away from what the kids were capable of spelling. We got to the end of round 4 and everyone had been eliminated! Oops. So that called for a little improvisation: we called up the recently eliminated contestants once again and jumped around the list looking for "easy" words. All the same we knocked out everyone except one kid. A little unfair perhaps, but it's too late to make changes now. I will have to make a note to change that spelling list for next year though...

The second and third cycle competitions were much better. Aside from having worked out the technical kinks with the microphone, etc. the lists were much better suited to the sudents' level. And the kids from La Roda put up a good fight. The Inter-school Champion for second cycle was a fourth grader from here, La Roda. He was the only Rodeño to win, but all the other contestants from my home town gave the Casaricheños a run for their money. I was proud. ;)

As I said the overall experience was a good one even though Sara and I were kind of on our own with a lot of the preparation and planning. The coordination of the bilingual program this year has left something to be desired, but as always I have an all-star co-auxiliar so no worries.

It's always rewarding to see how excited the students get to compete and how much they appreciate things like the pins we made (I think about 400 total!). Today when we were passing them out I even got a "Thank you, teacher". :)

So the Spelling Bee has taken up most of my time this week, but on top of all that about a month or two ago I was asked to participate in a conference for English and Bilingual teachers in Granada. It was a conference put together jointly by the association GRETA (remember I gave a talk for them at the beginning of the school year?) and the Teacher's Association of Granada (government affiliated). The focus was to be a little bit more practical: advice on how to best work with your language assistant and what kinds of activities in the classroom have been most effective.

In typical fashion, I hadn't prepared anything until the end of last week (yesterday was the conference). Honestly, it wasn't so much that I was procrastinating but that I was drawing a blank--What IS the language assistant's role? I have been doing this now for four years and still don't really know how to define my job. It dawned on me that in fact my inability to define my role was evidence of the dire necessity for these kinds of conferences that are working to clarify our role and facilitate good communication between teachers and language assistants. I decided that not having concrete answers is part of why I was also participating and even though I was presenting, my questions were going to be more useful to my audience--we were all there to jointly take part in answering them.

My presentation was a success (that's what they told me) and I did feel good about it. Later we had rotating discussion groups each focused on a different aspect of the bilingual program and geared toward making things better and solving common problems. I was the moderator for the group titled "Troubleshooting": Solving common problems related to language assistants, right up my alley!

It was a long afternoon (I left school early to be able to eat lunch, then jumped in the car to drive the hour and a half to Granada and the conference lasted from 4pm-9:15), but so worth it. Just like last fall when I attended the GRETA conference, I found myself surrounded by people who think like me, people who care about education, about making a difference, and people who are willing to come together and brainstorm in their free time to improve the bilingual program. It was a very rewarding and recharging experience--exactly what I needed in the midst of feeling burned out and quite unsupported (by staff) at school with the Spelling Bee.

The best part of the day was that I had arranged to eat dinner with my family in Granada so at about 9:30 I met Isa at the Palacio de Congresos and we headed home for dinner. Fernando (the baby in the fam) is in his first year at ESO (equivalent to seventh grade more or less) and is so big! He greeted me with a huge hug that nearly knocked me over. Antonio is finishing high school and will be going on to college prep (two years) next year. I didn't get to see Isa my sister because she was out on the town celebrating the end of her exams. She's finishing the college prep this year and if she passes the entrance exams in June she'll be going to the University of Granada next year.

It was wonderful to see Isa and el abuelo. There's never enough time to catch up with everything, although this was an especially short visit since I needed to get home "early" to be decently rested for today's spelling excitement. As always, Isa and I somehow ended up in the kitchen chatting non-stop until the tortilla had finished cooking. It's always so nice to visit them. They are my Spanish family and even though we live so close, we don't see each other nearly enough.

I joked last night that it was good to have tortilla "grana'ina", but that wasn't really a joke. And neither was it meant to be funny when I said my visit was overdue because "it's important to remember your roots." My roots are in the U.S., of course, but the beginning of my current life was eight years ago at number 9 Ribera del Genil.

My heart belongs to Granada.

Sword Fight

2011-05-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

Notice the crutch in the background...Danny had no mercy for his lame opponent. ;)

Knight in Shining Armor

2011-05-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

The really wonderful thing about living in a country like Spain (aside from the fact that it's a great country) is that people are always looking for an excuse to come visit. Since January I've had seven visits--more than one per month! I love showing friends and family my life here in Spain...I just hope the novelty of my being here doesn't wear off too quickly; playing tour-guide is a favorite past time of mine. ;)

My most recent visitors were my cousins Marcelle and her three-year-old son, Dan. I haven't seen Marcelle for just about three years. The last time was when Danny was just a new baby. It was really great to see them both, and so fun to get to know Danny--what a character!

The house we're buying was previously owned by a British couple who had a little boy just about Danny's age. When they moved out, a lot of the toys stayed behind. After exploring the patio for about a minute, Danny found the one toy we'd neglected to wash in anticipation of his arrival: a foam shield. Of course this was the coolest toy we had so we cleaned it up and found a stick for a sword. Later in the afternoon I took a trip into town and bought a "real" sword and shield set with two swords so for the remainder of the visit we were constantly under attack by the World's Strongest Knight. ;)

Tuesday we ventured to nearby Olvera, Cádiz that has an Arabic castle open to visitors. Our knight went well equipped to fight off any dragons we might find lurking about. Danny could not be separated from his sword and shield throughout the entire visit, even up the world's most narrow spiral staircase to the top of the castle tower! In the interpretive museum there was a horse for kids to sit on and Danny was thrilled to find a real suit of armor, shield and sword in the display case. When he gets bigger he assures me he'll have one just like it. :)

The view from the tower--Olvera.

This was the winding staircase to the top of the tower.

So it was fantastic to run (literally!) around the castle with Danny, and also wonderful to see my cousin after such a long time. Her husband is in the air force and she grew up a with parents in the military so she's spent quite a lot of her life living in Europe (they're currently in the process of moving back to the States from Switzerland). It was fun to compare cultural differences and talk about adopted countries.

Self portrait

All in all, it was a short but very sweet visit.

Very belated update!

2011-05-17T23:13:00.001-07:00

I know you've all been wondering if I'd fallen of the face of the Earth... no. I have not. Or perhaps more exactly, I should say, I'm not the one who fell! That's right, we have an invalid amongst us. Angelines, although she didn't fall of the face of the Earth (thank goodness) did take a nasty fall at the end of the day Sunday of our romeria (that's the pilgrimage we make out to the country each year with San Pancracio or "Saint Pancras").

She ended up spraining her foot pretty badly and so that night and early morning were spent at the emergency room! She was on crutches all last week and now can put some weight on it. She has a bandage wrapped up to her knee almost...even though the sprain was on the top of her foot. We're going into the doctor again tomorrow to see what he says about it. She's hoping to be able to work this weekend. Though I think they're too many hours to be up and on her feet...or foot, as the case may be.

This past weekend she paid a friend to open for her and she stayed home. Even though she had crutches and was ordering me around left and right, it was still like a little vacation ;). I didn't get much done in terms of school work since I usually leave it for the weekends when I'm home alone! Oops. But, having my girl here with me was just too much to resist. Saturday was a beautiful day and in the evening we ate out on the patio by candle-light. I told Angelines I might have to push her down stairs or something along those lines every now and then just to be able to enjoy a weekend at home with her once in a while. ;)

So there's my good excuse for not writing in such a long while: I've been playing nurse!

A little bit of bragging

2011-05-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

So...I just wanted to share, because even though I'm coming to terms with my perfectionism, etc., I still LOVE getting positive feedback and good grades from my professors. ;) I got full credit on my last assignment in my Innovación y mejora de la práctica docente class and this was what the teacher had to say (see Google translator):

Excelente valoración, crítica y creativa. Óptimo proceso de reinterpretación de la información y de la integración de fuentes.

Toma ya! ;)

A morning out

2011-05-02T22:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a treat. I spent the first half of my morning shopping with my sister and brother-in-law and nephew... Those of you who know me are wondering if I have a fever right now! ;) Although I'm not a shopping fan in general, I actually enjoyed myself and even bought some much needed summer clothes. We went to a kind of flea market in the nearby town of Casariche--they have everything there! I was quite impressed, honestly.

Back in La Roda, Angelines and I jumped into the car again to head in the opposite direction: Sierra de Yeguas. Do you remember the asparagus festival last year? Well this weekend was the eleventh annual asparagus and organic agriculture festival. It rained some, but we got to have a nice visit with Angelines' sister (she lives in Sierra de Yeguas) and this year we actually got to eat some grilled asparagus!

There's a tent set up with big grills and about seven people working to hand out plates of grilled asparagus to the hungry populace (free!). :) This year, with the rain, the line was shorter so it wasn't a ridiculous wait to get my plate of steaming, slightly charred and oh-so-yummy asparagus.

I only had the patience for picture while I was waiting in line--my zoom isn't very powerful, thus the blurry photo. Once I had my plate in hand it was all business, my camera completely forgotten. Excuse my slip in documentation.

Here's to green veggies and a morning out on the town!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

So although Semana Santa wasn't what it usually is, this year I celebrated Easter my way! ;) That is to say, the American way. On Tuesday my little cousins came over and painted eggs. We used water color...not the best, because it takes a long time to dry I found, but it seemed like the least toxic option given that I didn't have normal egg dye. The other trick is that Spanish eggs aren't white. They're all brown, so I'm not sure how all the dye would have taken in any case.

As you can see, the eggs came out pretty good. I think in the end the moms and I had more fun painting them than the kids. Most of them lost patience pretty quickly. ;) Our patio's just too much fun to stay sitting at a table painting eggs!

Sunday afternoon (couldn't be too American about it now, could I?) they came over and sure enough, the Easter Bunny had come and hid their eggs along with some chocolates! They were super excited to hunt around the patio and found all the eggs pretty fast. I made pancakes for an afternoon merienda, but the kids, once again, were having too much fun running around the patio, kicking balls, swinging and hunting snails! And, once again, the moms were the ones who really enjoyed my American treat, complete with maple syrup.

Happy Easter, all!

Miercoles Santo--Silencio

2011-04-24T02:24:00.000-07:00

Semana Santa was atypical this year. It rained almost all week. Very few of the processions in Sevilla were able to go out because of the weather, and here in La Roda only our Wednesday night procession was able to go out as planned. Thursday's procession went out, but had to cut the procession short and at the last minute was scrambling to get back to the church before it poured. Friday and Saturday's processions were cancelled all together. It really didn't feel like Semana Santa at all...

For those of you who like Semana Santa, or are curious, here's a video I took of the Wed. procession that comes out at twelve o'clock midnight (I supposed it's technically Thursday). This one is a silent procession. Any of you who are familiar know that silence is not something easy to come by in this country. When you watch the video, keep in mind there are a couple hundred people outside the church... This may be the only time EVER that so many people are so quiet! It's quite impressive.

The town hall cuts the power along the streets where the procession goes, that's why it's so dark. Of course the flashes from people's cameras help light things up a bit--honestly, they're a bit distracting, but do add to the eerie effect of things. The Romans come up the street with their drums, knock on the church door and ask for the "Nazareno". The church doors then open and Jesus the captive is taken out of the church.

The haunting song you hear once he's out the doors is called a saeta. They're traditional songs at Semana Santa sung to the imagenes when the come out of the church and sometimes along the route of the procession. Traditionally they were spontaneous cries from the devout followers of the different pasos, but nowadays many times the brotherhoods hire saeteros to sing for them.

For me, this is the most beautiful procession here in La Roda. It's much more of the people's procession--striped of the pomp of other Semana Santa processions. Pay special attention to the shadow that climbs the church facade as the Nazareno is carried out the doors. It makes my hair stand on end every year.

My kind of afternoon

2011-04-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

That's right, this afternoon was perfect: in the kitchen with my favorite sous chef. ;) And yeah, sorry mom...I found your B-day present early. But this really was the best way to estrenarlo.

In one hour (from 9-10pm!) we made lentils, spaghetti sauce, filetes empanados and san jacobos! In part, we're getting ready for Semana Santa--it's always good to have food on hand. Most of what we made is to be frozen (a full freezer is my idea of heaven). And in part we were just restocking. Between visits and exams, there hasn't been a lot of time for staying on top of the cooking. So today we made up the menu for the rest of the week and brainstormed some food to freeze for next week--voila! The best part is, the kitchen is cleaner than when we started. That's the upside to living/cooking with a semi-OCD Spaniard. ;)

I can't wait to eat all the goodies we cooked up!

(There's a definite relationship between my love for cooking and my love for eating.) ;)

Delicious

2011-04-07T22:47:00.001-07:00

The scent of spring

This is one of the many reasons I couldn't wait for spring to arrive: blooming jasmine in the patio. There is a thick blanket of small, white flowers covering the entire wall. The smell is deliciously overwhelming--if I leave the back door open you can smell it in the house; it's the first thing you notice when you step out of the garage into the patio.

Suddenly there are a lot of things I need to go out back for, and I can't help but take huge, deep breaths every time I have to cross the patio for one thing or another. :)

Overcoming Perfectionism

2011-04-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

I've gotten all the test scores back...

The good news first: I passed them all.

The not so good news: I did much worse than I thought...even on the ones I felt good about.

Of my five tests the highest score I got was an 8,8 out of 10. The lowest was 5,25 (a five is passing). The night after I found out about the 5,25 I actually dreamed about it all night. Obsessing? Maybe just a little. The next morning I woke up with a cold sore. :(

Despite the exam scores, I passed all my classes with good grades. I got notable in all but one, which was a sobresaliente. That's roughly equivalent to all B's and an A. So I can't be too disappointed, but it's frustrating to know that I could have done much better...quite possibly straight sobresaliente had I only done better on the exams. I've only got myself to blame...which really only makes things worse!

But it is true that this is just the first semester. Now I know what all this distance learning is about. I know what the exams are like and I know how to study (or how NOT to study, as the case may be). This coming semester I can juggle things better so as not to be so unprepared at the last min.

In any case, I'm taking this as an opportunity to overcome my perfectionism. I could have studied more and I could have gotten better grades, but at what price? Aside from studies, I am working and like to have time to spend with my friends, with Angelines and blogging to all of you! So would straight sobresaliente compensate for less of a social life, less time enjoying my wife and fewer blog posts?

Although, I say, "Not by a long shot," it's harder to actually walk the talk.

Settling for less than my best isn't something I'm used to, but unfortunately I believe it's a valuable lesson to learn. Sometimes the trade-offs just aren't worth it; and running myself ragged to do it effects more than just me and my own mental/physical health.

Finished!...kind of

2011-03-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

That's right, as my dad put it: I'm back among the living. I had sort of electronically disappeared for a few days.

You're all wondering about my exams...okay. I will admit that I didn't do as well as I know I could have because I just didn't have time to study. However, the definitive answer as to how well I did will come next Wed. when the grades come out. I'm sure I passed them all, so that's the good news.

I did have a close call, however, on Saturday morning when I woke up at 8 o'clock for my 8:30 exam! Lucky for me Kristen lives very close to where I was taking the exams. I threw on my clothes and a headband and raced out the door to jump in front of a taxi. I made it with 15 minutes to spare. ;) Talk about nerve wracking... My other exams were less eventful, and the last one I felt really good about because I had just been reviewing the part that came up as an essay question before I went in to the test.

Madrid was lovely...even though I was thinking about things other than sightseeing. ;) I stayed with my friend Kristen and we got together Saturday and Sunday with Adam and his girlfriend, Maria. Sunday we were able to stroll around Madrid a bit before my train headed home. I think the last time I was in Madrid as a tourist (though I'm not really sure this visit can count) was when I was studying in Granada! Needless to say it was nice to walk around and revisit the Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol. We went out for afternoon drinks in La Latina, a barrio of Madrid that's known to be THE place to be on Sundays--things certainly were full. It was really nice to get out of La Roda for a few days and visit with friends.

A view of Plaza Mayor.

Adam, Maria and Me at BarBaridad.

This was the stirrer in my drink... Can you guess what souvenir I brought Angelines from Madrid?

So I took the AVE (speedy Spanish train) back home Sunday evening and slept all the way. Good thing I set my alarm, or I would have woken up in Malaga! ;) Monday morning Angelines and I packed quickly and set off for the beach. With all the extra time that I'd been putting in at school for the play, I asked for Tuesday and Wednesday off from school and so we were able to enjoy a little mini vacation just the two of us. :) What a treat.

We have a friend who graciously lent us her flat in the coastal town of Nerja. It was beautiful weather, and although I've become far too Spanish to wear a T-shirt or sandals in March, there were plenty of guiris (foreigners) who were sporting their summer best...even swimming! Angelines was appalled, of course: "When it gets hot, what will they wear???" ...Keep in mind that it was 77 degrees and sunny.

Tuesday we explored the nearby town of Frigiliana--beautiful! It's in the hills near the sea with beautiful views. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. I have pics on Angelines's cell phone, but I'm not sure how to load them on the computer. Anyway, it was lovely and we even went on a little hike along the river that runs through town--maybe the clearest water I've seen in Spain. :)

I've spent the first half of the week relaxing after my exams. I feel like I've been on vacation forever! It's great. Only thing is it's hard to get back into my routine... We have no break between semesters so my second term classes started on Monday and I really have NO desire to get back into reading.

S0 now I'm back in La Roda and this is what just went by my front door: the Banda de Jesus practicing for Semana Santa. I can't wait. It's just around the corner; I LOVE the music!!

Pancakes and Hot Chocolate...

2011-03-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

That's right, Monday I got up and made pancakes for breakfast. How American, of me, right? ;) They were delicious! I was inspired by the sourdough started I have been struggling to make bread with...I decided that lowering my expectations a bit might lead to more success. I guess it worked because the pancakes were great, but they didn't taste much like sourdough and I had to add baking powder and baking soda to make them fluff up appropriately...

Still, here they are and I can tell you they tasted as good as they look!

My delicious breakfast was the perfect start to what should have been a perfect week... However, at about six in the evening I checked into my university webpage to check if my technology professor had uploaded an example of the final that is this Saturday (day after tomorrow). As I'm looking over the exam I come to the part that has essay questions except on this particular exam it asks: write the web address of your webquest in the space provided and answer the following questions about it.

...WHAT?!

My stomach began to churn as I realized that somehow I'd overlooked a term project that formed the practical part of my final exam. Without this project I would fail the exam and failing the exam means failing the class! So with the click of the mouse, my perfect week fell to bits.

Since Monday I haven't slept much. Luckily I opted to cancel the classes I have this afternoon to dedicate myself to studying in my other classes. Last night at 5am I finished my project...needless to say I haven't been able to open my notes for my other classes yet. GULP! All the same, I'm not TOO nervous because as long as I pass the test (5/10) I will pass the class because I have 100% on my work throughout the semester. Still, the idea of passing an exam with a 50% doesn't thrill the H.S. valedictorian in me. ;) We'll see what I'm able to pull together for Saturday...

And with that I leave you! Off to study.

Oh! Have a look at my project: www.examenarte.wikispaces.com I'm pleased with how it came out. I'll explain more about it in a future post...when I've got more time.

scene 1

2011-03-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

So here you have it. I have written the Narrators' lines since my camera woman cut them off in every single scene!

Welcome to our performance: Friends of the Forest. This is the story of how a group of school children saved a forest.

We hope you enjoy the show!

Ms. Guerrero's class is on a field trip to visit the nearby forest and learn about a healthy ecosystem.

scene 2

2011-03-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

Ms. Guerrero's class had a meeting with the mayor of the town. Together they came up with a plan to help the forest. The whole town has gathered to help out.

scene 3

2011-03-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

Five years later another group of children is on a field trip...

The End!

...Break a Leg!!!

2011-03-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

Remember the play we were preparing in third grade? Monday was the performance... and this week has been crazy-busy because we had visitors from Ireland, France and Poland at school until Wednesday (thus this belated post).

The show was a hit! We brought down the house and our visitors were duly impressed. The Irish woman commented that they had very good pronunciation. :) I was pleased. Of course, we worked and worked and worked on this... but it really paid off in the end.

The kids were SOOOOO excited because we performed in the municipal theatre--very professional feeling. Their nerves got the better of them in a few parts when they either spoke too quickly or too softly; but these were just minor things. No one forgot lines and our scene transitions went smoothly...if a little loudly. ;)

On Wednesday we performed for the rest of the school, and I got nothing but compliments from the other teachers: it was so well choreographed, the kids knew their lines so well, they did a great job acting, the different backdrops and the music were right on...etc. :) I was quite a happy camper. The truth is that Sarah and I had been working ourselves overtime these past few weeks making props and painting the backdrops...not to mention rehearsing sometimes three times a day! It's always nice to feel appreciated for your work.

Enough chat! Here is the full cast of Friends of the Forest. The blond on the left is Sarah and the woman on the right is the English teacher, Araceli.

This is the dead forest the children find when they go on their field trip. These are our dead trees and the owl who explain to the children how the forest was destroyed: people threw litter and weren't careful with matches. ;)

(Can you tell I grew up with posters of Woodsy the Owl and Smokey the Bear on my bedroom walls??)

I'm in the process of uploading the video of the play to YouTube... I'll post that as soon as it's finished. Angelines came to watch and she recorded the play with our little digital camera. It's not the best quality and it turns out that where she was sitting there was a spotlight RIGHT in the way so it's kind of hard to see the stage... She also cut off the narrators in every scene change! (Guess she shouldn't quit her day job!) Still, you can get the gist of how it all went and you can hear the kids pretty well.

First Signs of Spring

2011-03-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

The first cherry blossoms of the season. :)

English Nerds Only:

2011-03-14T09:54:00.001-07:00

Indulge me in this blatant show of nerdiness. ;)

Sarah (my co-auxiliar) told me this joke, and I couldn't help passing it along. For all you English nerds out there, here goes:

What's the difference between a cat and a comma?

-A cat has claws at the end of its paws, and a comma is a pause at the end of a clause!

Hahahahahaha...

(Just another reason why English is a confusing second language.)

Great ESL Instruction Videos

2011-03-11T10:29:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon this video on youtube. Any of you who might be teaching ESL, this webpage has got some great videos explaining different grammar points, writing techniques, pronunciation, etc. Check it out: www.engvid.com

Even though this is geared toward ESL students, it's a pretty good explanation for anyone interested in how to write an effective essay.

Spitting Sidewalks

2011-03-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

I've hated them since I was a study abroad student--spitting sidewalks.

What? What is she talking about??

Since the sidewalks here are "tiled" so to speak, sometimes the individual losas become loose with time and they move when you step on them. No problem...until it rains!

This is how it goes: You're walking calmly down the street with your umbrella and doing your best not to flip too much water up onto the toe of your shoes when suddenly--SQUIRT--a blast of rain water shoots up your pant leg as you take a step. The water that pools beneath the loose tile has just wet the bottom third of your jeans...and so you spend the rest of the day (until you can change your pants) with wet pants, looking as if you've jumped in a puddle.

Damn it!

Today I was attacked by the sidewalk on my way to my afternoon class... They say the rain will stay all week.

Note to self: walk on the other side of the street!

Movie Night (or Ode to Education)

2011-03-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

It's gotten cold again and so this evening I've spent at home in my pj's with a fire going.

I haven't been entirely unproductive, as my blog title may suggest. I have nearly finished (just another proof-read to be done) the unidad didactica I had to plan for one of my classes.

I have also experimented with the sour dough started that Kristen gave me for a house-warming gift...though it seems my baking skills will require some honing--the bread didn't rise.

And finally, I've watched two movies: "Dangerous Minds" starring Michelle Pfeifer, and "Dead Poets Society" starring Robin Williams. These were both recommended viewing for my General Didactics class. I think I've seen them both before, but I didn't remember either one beyond a vague notion that they were "good."

I have tears running down my cheeks (just finished "Dead Poets Society").

I think I always have been a sucker for inspirational teaching movies. Even if they weren't directly related to schools, the films where a mentor figure reaches out to a troubled student, kid, patient have always been among my favorites. There's "Antwone Fisher" with Denzel Washington and another winner with Robin Williams is "Good Will Hunting." And even though I probably wouldn't have admitted it in high school, "Stand and Deliver" is another one that moved me.

Is this why I want to be a teacher? To have the opportunity to be that mentor to someone?

Yes.

When I watch these movies I can't help but think back on all the great teachers I've had in my life. Some were school teachers, some college professors and others coaches or just friends, and of course, my parents.

Education is so much more than the three R's (reading, (w)riting, (a)rithmetic). Education is about learning to be. It's about investing in the creation and perpetuation of society, culture and humanity. By the same token, teaching is more than explaining grammar rules or multiplication tables. Kids learn a lot more from their teachers than that. They learn how to act, how to think; they learn respect, honesty, loyalty and friendship. True teaching is walking the talk; it's about exemplifying the values you preach. Being a real teacher is inspiring your students to be better people, to search, to question, to learn, to be amazed, to live.

If education is so important, how have we conceived it according to our laws? How are we preparing our teachers for the jobs they face? If education is the institution by which we perpetuate our own existence doesn't it deserve the utmost care and attention from politicians, parents, teachers, and society in general? What message are we sending when all that's ever on the news is the poor state of education? Law after law is passed to raise standards, to ensure a "good" education, to assure funding for schools, etc. But it seems that each new law, mandate, measure, proposition is just a quick fix (if that!) for a much deeper problem--we live in a society of blame.

Low test scores, teen pregnancy, high drop-out rates, drug abuse, crime among juveniles...why? No one wants the responsibility. Some like to blame the media--gratuitous sex and violence on TV and a total lack of morals. Others will say it's the politicians who let us down with lenient sentences and weak laws. Some point to teachers as if they were miracle workers. Teachers are in a bind because they're blamed for poor student performance, when many times the numerous state and federal requirements, leave little room for creative inspirational teaching that actually stands a chance of reaching the most "at risk" kids. Then there are people who blame the parents. Doesn't education start at home? Permissive parenting, and pampering at home just lead to students who believe they deserve good grades without having to work for them.

But if instead of looking for a scapegoat to blame, each of us took responsibility for ourselves and our own potential role as teacher mentor as members of society, things might be different.

Every interaction with another person is a teaching moment. Our actions and reactions to people and situations are opportunities to be the better people we hope our children will be.

Maybe this romantic tirade has evidenced a deeper truth about my desire to teach--I'm an idealist; I believe in humanity.

That's all.

(and if you haven't seen these films...you know what to do this weekend)

A Taste of Summer

2011-03-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

So it all began with a BBQ on Friday. Kristen was in town for a brief visit, and it was such nice weather we made a last minute decision to grill up some hamburgers, chorrizo and veggies for lunch. It was in the high seventies maybe even low eighties and sitting out in the patio with the smell of BBQ, eating homemade burgers, it could have been June. I think I even got a little bit of a tan on my face! ;)

Then yesterday we held our official house-warming party. We moved into the house just before Christmas, if you remember, so there wasn't really a good time to have the house-warming bash we had in mind. Yesterday was a day off for everyone; the 28th of February is the Día de Andalucía. Angelines opted to close and we had 23 people over for paella in the patio!

The weather's cooled down since Friday so despite beautiful blue skies and bright Andalusian sun, we were pretty bundled up. The paella was as good as ever--I think it gets better every time we make it. We made three kilos of rice and only about two plates worth are leftover! ...Then there was coffee, chocolate flan, and more drinking and singing around a campfire we made in an oil barrel--the usual.

...But it doesn't stop there.

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday and we surprised her with a big lunch (paella again) here in the patio with all of her children, grandchildren, brother and his family. She was very surprised and very happy--tears in her eyes when we sang Cumpleaños Feliz. Once again we were about 19 people for lunch. All of us gathered around the oil barrel with a fire going while the kids kicked around a soccer ball and we let the rice "reposar" before digging in.

We've cleaned up the patio and we're going to be taking it easy for a while. And rice won't be on the menu for at least another week. ;)

Mary Mary Quite Contrary...

2011-02-20T10:05:00.000-08:00

How does your garden grow?

Well, we haven't planted bluebells...and I'm not sure what cockleshells are, but we did fix up the garden some. We planted some violas and pansies along with a sort of daisy-ish flower, a beautiful succulent (not sure what it's real name is) and a peach tree! :) Aside from all the planting, we did some weeding and much needed thinning of the palms that are planted in huge flower pots. It's amazing the difference it's made. The garden looks completely different. But, in the words of Levar Burton (remember Reading Rainbow?), "You don't have to take my word for it!":

Maybe you can't tell, but we've thinned out the beds you can see in this pic. and propped up the lemon tree on the right, it was leaning almost horizontally.

My little purple violas and this is the "daisy" plant.

Isn't this a cool plant?!

And these are the thinned palms. They look SOOOO much better.

Now all that's left to do is repaint the beds and fix up the walls, plant the cosmo seeds I bought, and build another raised bed for my veggies! At least we've got a start on things, right? Tomorrow I plan to start my tomatoes and other veggies in planters to give them a good head start while we scrounge around town for stray bricks to build up a veggie-bed. ;)

I can't wait for spring to really be here!

Nothing says "I love you..."

2011-02-14T10:39:00.000-08:00

Like a heart-burger! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

English Only??

2011-02-03T14:01:00.000-08:00

So being bilingual, and especially since Spanish is my second language, I've always considered that adopting an "English Only" federal policy in the U.S. to be ignorant at best and racist at worst. Nonetheless, I think I may have just been convinced otherwise. If you're interested, listen to the "English Only Movement in America" podcast on this webpage.

As the spokesperson interviewed for "U.S. English" (citizen action group to make English the official language in the U.S.) points out in the beginning, bilingualism is great for an individual, but horrible for a country. I have to say that after living here in Europe for 4 and a half years now, I agree.

Language is the bearer of culture. Language differences, in many cases are tantamount to cultural differences. The U.S. is a mixture of cultures and that's part of what makes it a great country; but at the same time, part of America's success is also due in large part to the fact that its citizens self-identify as Americans, which is helped by English being a common language.

That is to say that for the purpose of a unified country, one language is extremely useful. The interview gives the example of Quebec, which has proposed several times to succeed from Canada (in large part due to language differences). Look at Belgium for example, they've been without a central government for something like six months! There are of course a number of reasons for the problems between Flanders and Walonia; but it is all complicated by the Dutch/French language barrier. Think of the U.S. if in the South, another language was spoken at the time of the Civil War.

In terms of immigration, I recall a New Yorker article from a few years ago about violence by radical (Dutch) Islamics in Holland being partially due to that country's hand-off immigration policy: in an effort to respect an immigrant's cultural identity, there is no effort (such as the citizenship test in the U.S.) to integrate these newcomers into Dutch mainstream culture; as a result, children of Muslim immigrants were growing up isolated and turned to radical Islam in search of a peer group. With the excuse of allowing these immigrants to maintain their cultural identity, they were in effect, marginalized from mainstream society. Something similar happened in France, though I'm not sure to what extent language played a part. Still, a common language is a uniting element among the citizens of a country and is indicative of some shared culture.

If Spanish were to be granted official language status in the U.S., the argument is that immigrants would have less incentive to learn English. This is true. And if we follow the reasoning so far, this national bilingualism would weaken the country overall. Translations are so tricky...could legal translations lead to misunderstandings of the law? What about interpretations of the constitution? I can see the argument.

In Spain there are four official languages (Catalan, Galician, Basque and Spanish). In general, I think Spain is a good example of a funtional multi-lingual country. Each "state" where a co-official language is spoken, it is also required to teach Spanish in the schools, thus there is very little problem (linguistically speaking) with respect to national unity. However, just recently, the Spanish legislature decided that they would allow senators and representatives to speak in their co-official languages. The Spanish parliament now looks like the U.N.--everyone has an ear piece to hear the translations of what their fellow representatives are saying, regardless of the fact that ALL of them speak Spanish! Ridiculous.

But isn't it also true (and this comes up in the interview) that an English Only stance could lead to the idea that learning a second language isn't necessary? I am still a strong believer in the importance of bilingualism (individually), and I think it's important that the federal government place more importance on second language acquisition in the U.S. Here in Spain, I've been working for four years now as part of a government initiative to motivate and improve second language instruction in Spain. An official stance, spending federal money to bring native speakers into the classroom sends a clear message to the Spanish citizenry about the importance of learning another language. A similar stance taken by the U.S. government, in my mind, could be nothing but good. Perhaps not to the same extreme--bringing in native language assistants, etc.--but at the very least setting federal standards for foreign language learning which would include beginning instruction in elementary education.

But then, if everyone starts learning Spanish...is it the same as if we raise Spanish to "official" status? Does the act of learning a second language take away incentives to learn English if the learning takes place on a large scale, even though it's not an official policy? Where do we draw the line? It's definitely not an easy question, and I'm very pleased with the interview on the podcast, because I think it presents a clear, critical vision of the complexity of the matter. Take a look...or have a listen. ;)

What do you think?

Unexpected visits

2011-01-30T07:54:00.000-08:00

So today, Sunday, Angelines surprised me with, "today we'll do whatever you want." I guess lately I've been being a pain when it comes to Sunday's mid-day. The thing is, we usually go out for a cervecita at around one and then usually end up getting caught up with the crowd of our friends. In the end we eat out...but I'm not much into bar food. I usually spend the later half of the time thinking about how good my lentil soup would be or a nice big green salad instead of the fried tapas. So I guess I start making faces and it's apparently obvious that I'm no longer having a good time--something Angelines can't handle. Then we either tough it out or she grudgingly pays the bill and we leave before we've eaten too much.

Sound like fun? Not to A either; all the same I was a little surprised this morning when she came out with, "today we'll do whatever you want." ...Later the reason came out and I felt guilty.

Anyhow, I think all's well that ends well because my idea was to head over to a nearby town where one of our good friends lives and surprise her. We'd have a beer or two and then come home to eat. Angelines agreed that it was a good idea since we haven't seen this friend since our Thanksgiving feast.

Today was a beautiful day--freezing cold, but gorgeously sunny. The drive over was lovely except that in conversation it came out that lately I'd been a pain on Sundays (oops!). We got there, ordered a beer, a wine and two tapas, and called Carmen and Nico. She said we should just head up to the house since she was in the middle of making lunch.

So after a tapita, we headed up the hill to her adorable little house and she greeted us at the door saying: "Come on, you're eating here!" Who can turn down the offer of a homecooked meal with friends??? So we stayed for a delicious fish lunch with pineapple and cookies for dessert and a delicious Moroccan tea to finish it all off. :)

Part of my funk lately is that I just don't feel very connected with my friends here. We have a great time out and about, but people in Spain just don't "hang out" American-style together very often (at least not my friends). So while I'm oh so thankful to have them, sometimes I'm left feeling lonesome simply because we don't connect on a deeper level with each other. I think part of it may be due to the fact that public places (read: bars) only lend themselves to certain kinds of interactions, and it might not be so much a personality issue. Anyway, there's a little bit of back-story to my Sunday funkiness.

The trouble is, the people I feel most of a connection to don't live in La Roda (like this friend, for example), or if they do, they're super busy and there's just no time for a quality visit. It makes the day-to-day tough sometimes, when what I really want to do is call up a good friend and watch a movie or go for a walk...

Maybe it's just that I've been so lucky with my friendships that now I'm really particular. I'm not happy just having a casual, good-times, friend; I want someone who's there for it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Some of you are probably thinking, "what about Angelines?" Truth is, at this point, I'd say she's my only friend like that here. That's good; but at the same time I think it's important to have other deep relationships outside of a marriage. I really don't think it's possible for one person to fulfill all another's needs; and if it were possible, I don't think it would be fair to ask that of another person.

So there you have it. I'm very happy in my house in my marriage and in my life here, in general. But just like everyone everywhere, I get down sometimes. And the old saying "the grass is always greener..." really couldn't be more true. Sometimes I fantasize about living in Portland; but what kind of a sacrifice would that be for Angelines?

In any case, I think it goes without saying that after an hour and a half of good food and better company, laughing and talking, my mood had turned a 360.

The bottom line: I have just come back from a wonderful, happy, Sunday luncheon with friends. Unexpected/unplanned visits really do usually end up being the best, don't they?

Friends of the forest

2011-01-25T12:45:00.001-08:00

Our school's participating in a project called "Comenius-Green Globe." It's an inter-European exchange between elementary schools related to the environment (at least that's as much as I understand of it). In November, three of our teachers visited a school in Ireland and in March teachers from Ireland and France will be visiting us. All of the different classes are preparing projects to show off when they come.

One of the teachers I work with in third grade suggested we do a play. I thought that was a great idea! She claimed that I was "more creative" and left it up to me to find or create something. I decided after a fruitless internet search that the best idea was to get the students involved. In one class period we brain-stormed the plot and this weekend I wrote the script.

I was really proud for getting the class involved. In all of my classes there's a lot of importance placed on "personalized education," which doesn't mean tailoring a class to fit each student; but rather teaching in such a way that the material appeals to the whole person.

It sounds silly, or obvious, but it starts with the idea that every student is a person and as such has basic needs, motivations, and ways of dealing with problems. The idea is that since education is a human construct and at the same time an integral part of perpetuating our human-ness, it must therefore be focused toward teaching the whole person--not simply the brain, and much less only one side of it.

The three great motivations for people, according to the theory, are safety, dignity (defined as the characteristics that separate humans from animals), and solidarity. Therefore education must incorporate (among other objectives) social interaction, creative expression, and the opportunity for personal development.

There's a quick summary. The bottom line is that giving students the opportunity to take responsibility for their own learning makes for better education: they learn more and are more motivated in the process. Involving the kids in the creation of this play, for example, is one way to do it.

So enough about all the theory. I don't think the play's too shabby.

Have a look. :)

Friends of the forest

View more documents from violap22.

Today we assigned the parts by drawing names from a hat--the most fair way to go about it. It was SOOOOO cute! The kids were absolutely THRILLED. One little boy was so excited when he got the part he wanted that he actually jumped out of his chair and came running up to the front of the class! :)

Verde y Blanco!!!

2011-01-19T14:53:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note of celebration: Real Betis Balonpie-Bacelona Futbol Club 3-1!!!! The first game Barcelona's lost since last year. :) This was a game for the classification of the King's Cup. We're out of the running for the cup, but at least we beat Barcelona. They won the first match (it's double elimination) 5-0...so now we can leave with our heads high at least. Remember, Betis is in the second tier league this year...and Bacelona is the best team in the world.

I'm a happy camper. :)

Viva el Betis!!!

A Whirlwind! (or Sisters in Spain)

2011-01-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

This week I've been playing catch up after a much needed and really relaxing break; not to be confused, however with a restful break. We had a total of five visitors in two weeks (Angelines was about to start charging per night!) and three big holidays. That all adds up to a lot of fun, very little sleep and no school work, which is great for a vacation, but not great when it's over! I haven't had a minute to sit down to blog since Christmas, but trust me, it hasn't been for lack of material!

Unfortunately, as usually happens when I wait too long to blog, the moment has passed... You're going to have to settle for the short version:

The highlight of my Christmas break was by far the last-minute visit from my sister, Maggie! Talking on Skype shortly after Christmas, I suggested she come visit me since we both were on vacation... The next day she'd found a ticket from Charleroi (Belgium) to Malaga for just 80 euros! I couldn't believe the price--last min. AND during holidays!! So at 11:45 pm on the 4th, I was hugging my sister in the arrivals area of Pablo Picasso airport--by far the best Christmas present the Three Wise Men have brought me since coming to Spain. ;) So from the 4-10 of January we joked, laughed, and talked nearly non-stop (I've been horse for the better part of the week!). There wasn't a night we got to bed before 3am.

It was a fabulous visit...or as Maggie put it: "fanatabulistic." She was nine when I left home for college and that eight-year age difference along with geographical distance, has always been a barrier between us. I've always envied the relationship she and Lucy have, being so close in age: they are friends for one another. I've never had that kind of relationship with either of my youngest sisters. But nearly a week of late-night conversations seems to have remedied that situation.

The truth is it's really exciting to realize that my sister is a person, and a cool one, at that! She was so little when I left home that I've somehow managed to maintain that baby image over the past 10 years. I guess being absent for most of her childhood/adolescence makes it seem as though from one day to the next she's suddenly grown up. It's a little surprising, but the snotty little rat I left at home 10 years ago has become a really great person, someone I'm glad to be friends with and proud to call my sister.

(did I say "cool"??)

We were all sad when it was time to say goodbye...

I love you Maggie. <3

Spanish Connection

Controversy with France

Finals

A Waggley Tail

Candelaria y Compañía

Storybird.com

Our Fire Fiasco:

What a Random Internet Search Can Produce:

La mujer tiburón

My Helpful Puppy

The Weasel

Training...or Playing?

Puppy porn?

Sweet Dreams

Bienvenido Bela! (and other news)

Merry Christmas :)

My Christmas Carol

Aguardiente y Pestiños...

'Tis the Season

And I thought I was unique:

West Wing - Why are we changing maps?

Evolution

A Feast to be Remembered

American as Apple Pie!

Recommended Reading:

Be careful what you wish for...

At last:

Memorial

Auntie Ann!!!

Generals and Teachers

Disconnect To Connect

Back to School!

I Duathlon Cross La Roda de Andalucía

Family Bar-B-Q

"We are Siamese..."

1ª Ruta de "Los Tragamillas"!

Preparations

I'm not the only one in first place...

First Time First Place!

A Table for the Ages

On the road again!

Picnic Day!

Merece una foto!

Too Funny!

Singing to the Virgen

Fiestas Patronales

Un año más

All Growed Up

Beef: It's What's for Dinner!

Friends and Firewood

Here he is:

Happy Birthday, Rodgrigo!

Post its

Dori??

De obras

Home at last

Our trip in pictures:

Wedding Joy

Exhausted and Relieved!

Southern France on a Shoestring:

Secure Attachment

Bragging rights:

Teaching for the 21st Century

Welcome to Belgium

Dumdum Deo...

Rain Storm

Pre-dawn Painting

San Pancracio: Take Two

Economic Crisis

Life is like...

Time Flies...

Sword Fight

Knight in Shining Armor

Very belated update!

A little bit of bragging

A morning out

Happy Easter!

Miercoles Santo--Silencio

My kind of afternoon

Delicious