So I have fantastic news: we have finally found a German bar that offers good German beer near our apartment that we were able to enjoy tonight. I've (Greg) been looking for a good German bar quite often because, for those that know me, I drink beer to enjoy the taste. It is for this reason that I have become transfixed on German and Belgium brews. However, the bad news is that the owner of this beautiful German restaurant just sold it to a non-German individual and will no longer own it after Sunday. :( ::tear::
By the way, Chan, the best beer we tasted tonight (believe me, I'll be there every night until Sunday) was Erdinger Dunkel. Absolutely fantastic.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Happy Halloween! (Updated)
...and to all a good night? If you can't tell from context (read over-used parenthesis and lame jokes), this is Greg.
Okay, okay. So, I realize that it's been a full-fledged week that we haven't posted anything. Word on the streets is that... well, there is no word. Word does not exist. Actually, Suzy was waiting on me to post something but I didn't have anything worth mentioning so we'll just recap the week.
We have a puente / day off on Thursday and Friday because Spanish tradition is that everyone goes to the gravesites of their dead relatives the day after Halloween to pay their respects, which is tomorrow. Then they are just taking Friday off b/c most people travel to other cities, so we have a four day weekend! Sweet! However, we were hoping to go to Seville and Cordoba during this time off but all the hostals are booked. Then we looked into visiting a bunch of the close villages here (Seville and Cordoba is a good 4 hours' drive) but the hostals in those villages are booked too. Balls. I'm not entirely sure where we are going to now. There was talk about visiting a different little village but I leave the planning up to Marijke and Suzy. All I want to make sure we visit is England, France, northern Spain and the Sierra Nevada mountains near Granada, Germany, and Italy, if possible. "Holy crap, Greg!" you say? "Why don't you just travel all over Europe?" you ask? That sounds like a fantastic idea.
School is good. During our lunch break, both the teachers and the students eat outside together. I suppose it's a way to keep the teachers working and looking after the kids while conniving them into working unpaid for a half hour and the students to burn some energy (which doesn't have any tiring effect anyways). All the little ones swarm around me and last Monday, we played Cops and Londoners (funny how they use Londoners instead of Robbers ::smirk::).
So, you know how in the States we smash jack-o-lanterns and tp people's houses just for mischief and devilry? They don't have pumpkins here so no one can smash them, and the whole tp concept eludes them. What the kids apparently do here on all hallow's eve is egg people's houses, people's cars, ...people. Just like in the States, the kids go out trick-or-treating earlier due to the dark nature of night and return around 9:30, 10-ish. But those that are still out, either still trick-or-treating or bar hopping on the port or what not are not guaranteed a safe passage without yolk on the face. Hrm.. it will make for an interesting night tonight.
Finally, a couple of observations I've noticed is:
-First, 2nd languages can be stressful and it really takes the edge off when the person learning has got (I threw this British terminology in just for Rob :D) a drink in his or her hand.
-Second, cous-cous sounds strange in any language.
-Third, Spaniards have an uncanny ability to attract flies. This doesn't mean they smell bad, because they don't, but the flies come anyways. Which brings us to...
-Fourth, Spaniards also have an uncanny tolerance towards flies (which is possibly why the flies bug them...). In the States, most people will swat at a fly if it is flying anywhere within the vortex of personal space... usually within 3 or 4 feet. Here, I have seen a fly crawl on an individual's face for 3, 4, 5 seconds before leaving on it's own command. I have seen a fly crawl almost into someone's nose before being shooed away. Now, again, I will repeat that this does not mean that Spaniards smell or are disgusting but it's an interesting difference between the two cultures.
We heard that the Halloween parties were over the last weekend. From what we heard, they sounded like they were another fantastic success. Hope everyone has a fantastic Halloween and, when the clock strikes 3 there in Missouri, I hope you all think of Suzy and I and whisper a few Hail Mary's to deter the evil spirits of chicken eggs.
Okay, okay. So, I realize that it's been a full-fledged week that we haven't posted anything. Word on the streets is that... well, there is no word. Word does not exist. Actually, Suzy was waiting on me to post something but I didn't have anything worth mentioning so we'll just recap the week.
We have a puente / day off on Thursday and Friday because Spanish tradition is that everyone goes to the gravesites of their dead relatives the day after Halloween to pay their respects, which is tomorrow. Then they are just taking Friday off b/c most people travel to other cities, so we have a four day weekend! Sweet! However, we were hoping to go to Seville and Cordoba during this time off but all the hostals are booked. Then we looked into visiting a bunch of the close villages here (Seville and Cordoba is a good 4 hours' drive) but the hostals in those villages are booked too. Balls. I'm not entirely sure where we are going to now. There was talk about visiting a different little village but I leave the planning up to Marijke and Suzy. All I want to make sure we visit is England, France, northern Spain and the Sierra Nevada mountains near Granada, Germany, and Italy, if possible. "Holy crap, Greg!" you say? "Why don't you just travel all over Europe?" you ask? That sounds like a fantastic idea.
School is good. During our lunch break, both the teachers and the students eat outside together. I suppose it's a way to keep the teachers working and looking after the kids while conniving them into working unpaid for a half hour and the students to burn some energy (which doesn't have any tiring effect anyways). All the little ones swarm around me and last Monday, we played Cops and Londoners (funny how they use Londoners instead of Robbers ::smirk::).
So, you know how in the States we smash jack-o-lanterns and tp people's houses just for mischief and devilry? They don't have pumpkins here so no one can smash them, and the whole tp concept eludes them. What the kids apparently do here on all hallow's eve is egg people's houses, people's cars, ...people. Just like in the States, the kids go out trick-or-treating earlier due to the dark nature of night and return around 9:30, 10-ish. But those that are still out, either still trick-or-treating or bar hopping on the port or what not are not guaranteed a safe passage without yolk on the face. Hrm.. it will make for an interesting night tonight.
Finally, a couple of observations I've noticed is:
-First, 2nd languages can be stressful and it really takes the edge off when the person learning has got (I threw this British terminology in just for Rob :D) a drink in his or her hand.
-Second, cous-cous sounds strange in any language.
-Third, Spaniards have an uncanny ability to attract flies. This doesn't mean they smell bad, because they don't, but the flies come anyways. Which brings us to...
-Fourth, Spaniards also have an uncanny tolerance towards flies (which is possibly why the flies bug them...). In the States, most people will swat at a fly if it is flying anywhere within the vortex of personal space... usually within 3 or 4 feet. Here, I have seen a fly crawl on an individual's face for 3, 4, 5 seconds before leaving on it's own command. I have seen a fly crawl almost into someone's nose before being shooed away. Now, again, I will repeat that this does not mean that Spaniards smell or are disgusting but it's an interesting difference between the two cultures.
We heard that the Halloween parties were over the last weekend. From what we heard, they sounded like they were another fantastic success. Hope everyone has a fantastic Halloween and, when the clock strikes 3 there in Missouri, I hope you all think of Suzy and I and whisper a few Hail Mary's to deter the evil spirits of chicken eggs.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Bullfighting
Suzy:
I came across this post from the last time we were in Spain and I thought that it should belong on this site instead. Just for the record, I haven't been back to a bullfight. So here you go:
Monday, June 21, 2004
Submitted by Suzy
So, the bullfight. Let´s talk about that. For being a person with certain convictions about animals (who doesn´t eat red meat for example), I can honestly say that the bullfight two weekends ago was... amazing. I won´t say that I´m a fan, nor that I´m against it, simply that it...affected me. Deeply. Especially the last fight. There were six bulls in all that day, with three Toreros (Matadors), each Torero killing two bulls: one two three and one two three (in order). I think that it affected quite a few of us, but my experience especially was one of deep respect, admiration, and appreciation of the rhythms and profound culture of the event. During the whole time, I was a bit squeemish and unsure whether to walk out or stay seated. They killed all five, first driving barbs into the extremely tough flesh at the back of the neck to soften the meat, then toro-ing the bull until it was exhausted. Finally after about fifteen minutes of this dance, the Torero brought out his long sword and drove it in the heart through the shoulderblades. However, with the first five (I guess this is common), the bull was not finished off by this ´´final blow,´´ and was stabbed with a palm-length dagger quicky at the base of the skull, behind the horns, after the bull was so tired it fell to the ground. The blood quite literally bubbled out of the flesh, glinting almost metallic red on the black skin of the creature. However, during the last fight, the whole rhythm changed. The Torero fell and was trampled, which is extremely dangerous. He got up, toroed, posing dramatically with the bull pawing and snorting, later to fall again, this time on the bull. The dance between the two was intoxicating. In the middle of so much violence and what has been called barbary, there was so much honor and beauty, like you could feel centuries of history thickening the air. The whole stadium waved white handkerchiefs in respect for the bull, and the Torero drew the final blow. The bull took a few steps back, side to side, and fell, the only one that died from the final blow, a great honor to both parties. Even in memory the event brings a sort of ache as I am writing. It was so filled with every kind of emotion, of ancient and new, and blood and violence and history and perfume, of rhythm and art and dance, of symbolism and metaphor. It´s one of those things that really strikes a person, and I wouldn´t give up the experience for anything.
I came across this post from the last time we were in Spain and I thought that it should belong on this site instead. Just for the record, I haven't been back to a bullfight. So here you go:
Monday, June 21, 2004
Submitted by Suzy
So, the bullfight. Let´s talk about that. For being a person with certain convictions about animals (who doesn´t eat red meat for example), I can honestly say that the bullfight two weekends ago was... amazing. I won´t say that I´m a fan, nor that I´m against it, simply that it...affected me. Deeply. Especially the last fight. There were six bulls in all that day, with three Toreros (Matadors), each Torero killing two bulls: one two three and one two three (in order). I think that it affected quite a few of us, but my experience especially was one of deep respect, admiration, and appreciation of the rhythms and profound culture of the event. During the whole time, I was a bit squeemish and unsure whether to walk out or stay seated. They killed all five, first driving barbs into the extremely tough flesh at the back of the neck to soften the meat, then toro-ing the bull until it was exhausted. Finally after about fifteen minutes of this dance, the Torero brought out his long sword and drove it in the heart through the shoulderblades. However, with the first five (I guess this is common), the bull was not finished off by this ´´final blow,´´ and was stabbed with a palm-length dagger quicky at the base of the skull, behind the horns, after the bull was so tired it fell to the ground. The blood quite literally bubbled out of the flesh, glinting almost metallic red on the black skin of the creature. However, during the last fight, the whole rhythm changed. The Torero fell and was trampled, which is extremely dangerous. He got up, toroed, posing dramatically with the bull pawing and snorting, later to fall again, this time on the bull. The dance between the two was intoxicating. In the middle of so much violence and what has been called barbary, there was so much honor and beauty, like you could feel centuries of history thickening the air. The whole stadium waved white handkerchiefs in respect for the bull, and the Torero drew the final blow. The bull took a few steps back, side to side, and fell, the only one that died from the final blow, a great honor to both parties. Even in memory the event brings a sort of ache as I am writing. It was so filled with every kind of emotion, of ancient and new, and blood and violence and history and perfume, of rhythm and art and dance, of symbolism and metaphor. It´s one of those things that really strikes a person, and I wouldn´t give up the experience for anything.
A Song I've Fallen In Love With
Suzy:
(Thanks for the video, Neil)
Laura Lopez Castro
Añadir a mi perfil | Más Videos
Here are the lyrics so you can understand:
coro: /chorus:
No es por ser ni por estar /It’s not for existing nor being here
es por dejarme /it's for leaving me
es por quererme /it's for loving me
por aguantar /for bearing
por resistir /for resisting
y también por /and also for
calmar mi hambre /calming the hunger
que tengo por vivir. /that I have for life.
Por eso voy dejando atrás /That's why I'm leaving behind
tiempos pasados /past times
sin olvidarme /without forgetting
de quién es soy, /who I am,
y por la vida /and for my life
siempre contigo a mi lado /with you always by my side
porque tú eres mi calmamar. /because you are my "sea calmer."
Con pasos pequeños /With small steps
pero con el camino marcado /but with a marked path
por caminando hacia mi destino. /for walking toward my destiny.
coro /chorus
trumpet interlude /trumpet interlude
Con pasos pequeños /With small steps
pero con el camino marcado /but with a marked path
por caminando hacia mi destino. /for walking toward my destiny.
(repite 2 veces) /(repeat 2 times)
coro /chorus
Por todo lo que ahora soy /For all that I am now
yo te agradezco /I thank you
un casería /for my own invention
que ahora soy. /that I now am.
Me diste paz /You gave me peace
y también me diste la vida. /and you also gave me life.
Gracias por ser mi calmamar. /Thank you for being my "sea calmer."
Con pasos pequeños /With small steps
pero con el camino marcado /but with a marked path
por caminando hacia mi destino. /for walking toward my destiny.
(repite 2 veces) /(repeat 2 times)
No es por ser /It's not for existing
ni por estar. (2 veces) /nor for being. (twice)
(Thanks for the video, Neil)
Laura Lopez Castro
Añadir a mi perfil | Más Videos
Here are the lyrics so you can understand:
coro: /chorus:
No es por ser ni por estar /It’s not for existing nor being here
es por dejarme /it's for leaving me
es por quererme /it's for loving me
por aguantar /for bearing
por resistir /for resisting
y también por /and also for
calmar mi hambre /calming the hunger
que tengo por vivir. /that I have for life.
Por eso voy dejando atrás /That's why I'm leaving behind
tiempos pasados /past times
sin olvidarme /without forgetting
de quién es soy, /who I am,
y por la vida /and for my life
siempre contigo a mi lado /with you always by my side
porque tú eres mi calmamar. /because you are my "sea calmer."
Con pasos pequeños /With small steps
pero con el camino marcado /but with a marked path
por caminando hacia mi destino. /for walking toward my destiny.
coro /chorus
trumpet interlude /trumpet interlude
Con pasos pequeños /With small steps
pero con el camino marcado /but with a marked path
por caminando hacia mi destino. /for walking toward my destiny.
(repite 2 veces) /(repeat 2 times)
coro /chorus
Por todo lo que ahora soy /For all that I am now
yo te agradezco /I thank you
un casería /for my own invention
que ahora soy. /that I now am.
Me diste paz /You gave me peace
y también me diste la vida. /and you also gave me life.
Gracias por ser mi calmamar. /Thank you for being my "sea calmer."
Con pasos pequeños /With small steps
pero con el camino marcado /but with a marked path
por caminando hacia mi destino. /for walking toward my destiny.
(repite 2 veces) /(repeat 2 times)
No es por ser /It's not for existing
ni por estar. (2 veces) /nor for being. (twice)
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Today's Spanish Lesson
Suzy:
estar como sopa = "to be like soup" = to look like a drowned rat. Especially useful for describing how one looks after walking around looking for a flamenco show in the rain for about 30 minutes, even with an umbrella. The funniest part isn't the expression; it's that Spaniards in Andalucía are so unaccustomed to the rain (evidently it never rains here) that life suddenly stops when it happens. Read: no flamenco show. Balls! Now we are like soup. Oh well... at least we had some good wine and tapas at the "Museum of Oils" before going home.
tapa = "tapa" = tapa. Sorry; some things just don't translate. Here in Andalucía, it is typical to order a beer or wine and they bring you a tapa to the table for free (in northern Spain the tapas are charged separately). Tapas are like a variety of appetizers that can be all kinds of things, and vary from bar to bar. Last night the roomies and Greg and I all went with one of my colleagues, Miguel Ángel (yes, like Michelangelo but all Spanish-y). He is from Almería, so he showed us around a few bars. One of them was like a specialty tapas bar and had all kinds of neat-sounding ones (look at the wall for the menu in the picture). I tried the "croquetas" (Greg is holding one in the pic) which are fried balls of flour with serrano ham bits mixed inside (think the consistency of mashed potatoes flavored with bacon pieces and then fried so the outside is crunchy but the inside is fluffy). I've had "croquetas" a few places and they are probably my faves, but at this place they were served with a pear aioli. D-lish!
se me fue el santo al cielo = "the saint went to heaven on me" = I lost my train of thought. Especially useful after the third or fourth (okay, fifth or sixth ;) )tapas bar.
tío / tía = "uncle / aunt" = buddy, pal, guy, man, woman, etc. When we first came it was hard to figure out who was related to who here because they were all calling each other uncle and aunt. Turns out, it's slang (in Spain) for any of the various terms that we use in English to address our friends. Hence, "Hey, what's up, girl?" would be, "Oye, ¿qué pasa, tía?"
That's all for now, kids.
{As a side note, if any of you have Halloween pics that you could send me via email, my students at school would love to see them. It's hard to explain the tradition without pictures. Especially you, parents, who have embarrassing photos of Greg and me as little ones in costume. Let's see 'em!}
estar como sopa = "to be like soup" = to look like a drowned rat. Especially useful for describing how one looks after walking around looking for a flamenco show in the rain for about 30 minutes, even with an umbrella. The funniest part isn't the expression; it's that Spaniards in Andalucía are so unaccustomed to the rain (evidently it never rains here) that life suddenly stops when it happens. Read: no flamenco show. Balls! Now we are like soup. Oh well... at least we had some good wine and tapas at the "Museum of Oils" before going home.
tapa = "tapa" = tapa. Sorry; some things just don't translate. Here in Andalucía, it is typical to order a beer or wine and they bring you a tapa to the table for free (in northern Spain the tapas are charged separately). Tapas are like a variety of appetizers that can be all kinds of things, and vary from bar to bar. Last night the roomies and Greg and I all went with one of my colleagues, Miguel Ángel (yes, like Michelangelo but all Spanish-y). He is from Almería, so he showed us around a few bars. One of them was like a specialty tapas bar and had all kinds of neat-sounding ones (look at the wall for the menu in the picture). I tried the "croquetas" (Greg is holding one in the pic) which are fried balls of flour with serrano ham bits mixed inside (think the consistency of mashed potatoes flavored with bacon pieces and then fried so the outside is crunchy but the inside is fluffy). I've had "croquetas" a few places and they are probably my faves, but at this place they were served with a pear aioli. D-lish!
se me fue el santo al cielo = "the saint went to heaven on me" = I lost my train of thought. Especially useful after the third or fourth (okay, fifth or sixth ;) )tapas bar.
tío / tía = "uncle / aunt" = buddy, pal, guy, man, woman, etc. When we first came it was hard to figure out who was related to who here because they were all calling each other uncle and aunt. Turns out, it's slang (in Spain) for any of the various terms that we use in English to address our friends. Hence, "Hey, what's up, girl?" would be, "Oye, ¿qué pasa, tía?"
That's all for now, kids.
{As a side note, if any of you have Halloween pics that you could send me via email, my students at school would love to see them. It's hard to explain the tradition without pictures. Especially you, parents, who have embarrassing photos of Greg and me as little ones in costume. Let's see 'em!}
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Workin' on the mix tape
<Greg>
I just got back from exploring more of the city. Suzy had left with Marijke to a small town about 15 minutes west of here called El Ejido to see if they have any Arabic classes open so I took the time to seek adventure. After we had slain some thieving pirates and bundled their booty, I found that this little city seems to be much bigger than I had originally thought.
Anyways, the reason I went on my expedition was because I had checked out Kade and Caitlin's blog (Adam and Eve from that one Halloween for those that need the help) and they had a pretty sweet vid they posted showing off their town. Well, I thought to myself "Hrmm. That's a pretty sweet vid." Then I thought to myself "Kade is trying to call me out with all these pretty sweet vids he's creating." So... I went around and started Phase I of Pretty Sweet Vid: Aguadulce Version. So, Kade, hats off to your production skills but feel the heat because it's on!
Rob seemed to like the idea of me sending him our google maps area so I figured I'd post our general area here too.
</Greg>
I just got back from exploring more of the city. Suzy had left with Marijke to a small town about 15 minutes west of here called El Ejido to see if they have any Arabic classes open so I took the time to seek adventure. After we had slain some thieving pirates and bundled their booty, I found that this little city seems to be much bigger than I had originally thought.
Anyways, the reason I went on my expedition was because I had checked out Kade and Caitlin's blog (Adam and Eve from that one Halloween for those that need the help) and they had a pretty sweet vid they posted showing off their town. Well, I thought to myself "Hrmm. That's a pretty sweet vid." Then I thought to myself "Kade is trying to call me out with all these pretty sweet vids he's creating." So... I went around and started Phase I of Pretty Sweet Vid: Aguadulce Version. So, Kade, hats off to your production skills but feel the heat because it's on!
Rob seemed to like the idea of me sending him our google maps area so I figured I'd post our general area here too.
</Greg>
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Observations
(Rob requested that we clarify who is speaking. I insisted that he should be able to tell by context because he knows us so well. But he said, 'please,'... so....)
Suzy:
Suzy:
- Even if you're not in a particularly smiley mood, when you walk in the sea and get splashed by a bellybutton-high wave that you didn't see coming, the only thing for you to do is laugh really loud and open your eyes and mouth really big. And it feels like you're six again.
- You know all the songs they sang in the '60s about seeing animals and shapes leaping in the surf / sea foam and you thought it was just an acid trip? Nope, it's all true.
- The sea is way more interesting than most people you'll ever meet. Especially girls. Think about it.
- "Undertow" may be a cool name for a Tool album, but that's nuthin'. Just wait until the sea is angry enough to push you on your face while trying to steal your toes at the same time.
- You can't call yourself a real stone-skipper until you've launched one (in a single bounce!) over a 4 1/2 ft. wave.
- If you draw a spiral in the sand and the sea comes and washes away half of it, you're left with perfect concentric circles, but you can only see half of them. Which is a better metaphor for what you were thinking about anyway.
Monday, October 15, 2007
A Good Argument
So today in bilingual art class we began doing a project themed around Halloween. I was giving instructions in English for the kids (3rd grade) to color different parts of the jack-o-lantern in different colors. Generally I consider myself to be (1) patient and (2) good at giving directions, especially since I am familiar with the techniques to teaching a foreign language. So, I go through the whole spiel with elaborate gestures and have the students hold up the colored pencils that I say to check that they understand. I tell them that the face (pointing first to my face and then to the pumpkin's face on the worksheet) should be orange (can you hold up the orange pencil, please?), the eyes (again, first pointing at my eyes and then at the pumpkin's eyes) and the mouth (pointing, pointing) should be yellow, and the stem (here I point to the paper and draw the a picture of a 'stem' on the board) should be green. I then wrote out on the board each word in English along with the color it should be: pumpkin-orange, eyes & mouth- yellow, stem-green. Then after everyone is nodding and sharpening their pencils I say, "Okay, let's start." The students are off and coloring and everything seems to be going well.
Suddenly I see a handful students doing things like coloring the face purple stripes or coloring the forehead of the pumpkin yellow or coloring the mouth green. This, of course, prompted me to talk to the young girl who was coloring the mouth green. Being a bilingual class, I tried to explain holding up her pencils and speaking in English what she was to do. She said, "Oh, okay," nodded her head, and began coloring the rest of the pumpkin orange. I walked around and helped the other students who were having problems and cleared up issues with vocabulary and comprehension. I then came back to her. She had since picked up her green pencil and was coloring the mouth green again. Then I resorted to speaking to her in Spanish, because we were losing class time and it was clear that the English with gestures thing wasn't working for her today (I had tried already twice with her). So, I explained in Spanish that the point of the exercise was to practice the colors vocabulary that we were reviewing, and that the mouth should be colored yellow, not green. She said, "Yeah, I know." So I asked her, "Then if you understood the difference between yellow and green, why did you color the mouth green?" and she said, "Well, he looks better with a green mouth, doesn't he?"
I wasn't sure how to respond. We decided to move on to cutting and pasting.
By the way, Greg posted new pictures of our latest trip to Granada. Be sure to look at them full-sized because you can see a lot more detail than the little thumbnails that they give you on the album page. We went to the Alhambra, a collection of palaces and old military buildings up on the hill. Many of these buildings were built and used by the moors when they ruled Spain, and when the Catholic Monarchs Fernando and Isabella "reconquered" Spain from the moors, they made the same site important for them too, so there is a lot of architecture that is juxtaposed either next to each other or on top of each other. It's a recurring theme all over Spain and especially visible in Granada. There are also a handful of pictures of the types of food we have been eating, including the RAF tomatoes. Which, I found out, stands for Resistente (resistant) A (to) Fusarium (plague). Mmmm, delicious and plague resistant; who knew?! I think the other food pics are churros (think a cross between funnel cake and donuts) that are eaten with hot chocolate (think chocolate sauce almost as thick as pudding, served warm to dip your churros in), and potatoes with pimentón dulce (like paprika but with even more flavor). Ehm.. I think I'ma go eat some lunch. :)
Suddenly I see a handful students doing things like coloring the face purple stripes or coloring the forehead of the pumpkin yellow or coloring the mouth green. This, of course, prompted me to talk to the young girl who was coloring the mouth green. Being a bilingual class, I tried to explain holding up her pencils and speaking in English what she was to do. She said, "Oh, okay," nodded her head, and began coloring the rest of the pumpkin orange. I walked around and helped the other students who were having problems and cleared up issues with vocabulary and comprehension. I then came back to her. She had since picked up her green pencil and was coloring the mouth green again. Then I resorted to speaking to her in Spanish, because we were losing class time and it was clear that the English with gestures thing wasn't working for her today (I had tried already twice with her). So, I explained in Spanish that the point of the exercise was to practice the colors vocabulary that we were reviewing, and that the mouth should be colored yellow, not green. She said, "Yeah, I know." So I asked her, "Then if you understood the difference between yellow and green, why did you color the mouth green?" and she said, "Well, he looks better with a green mouth, doesn't he?"
I wasn't sure how to respond. We decided to move on to cutting and pasting.
By the way, Greg posted new pictures of our latest trip to Granada. Be sure to look at them full-sized because you can see a lot more detail than the little thumbnails that they give you on the album page. We went to the Alhambra, a collection of palaces and old military buildings up on the hill. Many of these buildings were built and used by the moors when they ruled Spain, and when the Catholic Monarchs Fernando and Isabella "reconquered" Spain from the moors, they made the same site important for them too, so there is a lot of architecture that is juxtaposed either next to each other or on top of each other. It's a recurring theme all over Spain and especially visible in Granada. There are also a handful of pictures of the types of food we have been eating, including the RAF tomatoes. Which, I found out, stands for Resistente (resistant) A (to) Fusarium (plague). Mmmm, delicious and plague resistant; who knew?! I think the other food pics are churros (think a cross between funnel cake and donuts) that are eaten with hot chocolate (think chocolate sauce almost as thick as pudding, served warm to dip your churros in), and potatoes with pimentón dulce (like paprika but with even more flavor). Ehm.. I think I'ma go eat some lunch. :)
Thursday, October 11, 2007
A River Runs Through It
We have the internet! We commandeered our connection and successfully flanked the opposing forces that were hindering our connectivity. We have prevailed.
I am writing you all today in the hopes that you will know, not who I am nor what I have become, but in the idea that there exists an ability. I believe that there is the ability that you, the reader, will tell the world of our exploits. I believe that there is the ability that you, the reader, will celebrate what I celebrate and will begin to look for me or my wife on AIM, on Skype, on Jabber. We will be waiting for you.
In other news, it rained today. Why is this dramatic news worthy of the third paragraph in a lame blog that I barely check, you ask? All of our maps of Aguadulce show two rivers that flow from the mountains down to the sea; one of which exists nearly feet from our apartment. We were sitting on our balcony and watched as a trickle of water dribbled down this very dry riverbed. We watched the trickle gather in force until even our oxen would have perished trying to ford it.
I begin teaching the English teachers on Tuesday. They speak a little of English, but they don't really have the resources to continue it. I think we worked out a deal so they'll teach me Spanish before, after, during, or long after our English class. I'm not too sure because they mentioned this to me in Spanish.
I'll also start teaching two children of one of the other teachers the same day... All the children speak in little British English. "Teacher, can I go to the toilet?" and "Have you got a pencil?" The first day, I was to correct "Have you got..." exercises and I stumbled through them all. Oh proper English is so incorrect.
Until we meet again, be happy and protect those oxen.
I am writing you all today in the hopes that you will know, not who I am nor what I have become, but in the idea that there exists an ability. I believe that there is the ability that you, the reader, will tell the world of our exploits. I believe that there is the ability that you, the reader, will celebrate what I celebrate and will begin to look for me or my wife on AIM, on Skype, on Jabber. We will be waiting for you.
In other news, it rained today. Why is this dramatic news worthy of the third paragraph in a lame blog that I barely check, you ask? All of our maps of Aguadulce show two rivers that flow from the mountains down to the sea; one of which exists nearly feet from our apartment. We were sitting on our balcony and watched as a trickle of water dribbled down this very dry riverbed. We watched the trickle gather in force until even our oxen would have perished trying to ford it.
I begin teaching the English teachers on Tuesday. They speak a little of English, but they don't really have the resources to continue it. I think we worked out a deal so they'll teach me Spanish before, after, during, or long after our English class. I'm not too sure because they mentioned this to me in Spanish.
I'll also start teaching two children of one of the other teachers the same day... All the children speak in little British English. "Teacher, can I go to the toilet?" and "Have you got a pencil?" The first day, I was to correct "Have you got..." exercises and I stumbled through them all. Oh proper English is so incorrect.
Until we meet again, be happy and protect those oxen.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Internet fiasco
Not a fiasco, really, just that everything in Spain takes longer to get. They delivered our wifi router a few days ago, which got my hopes up for having internet in the house, but evidently the delivery people aren't the same as the technicians who will actually set up the internet. Meh. So, I keep promising everyone that we will be on Skype soon, but who knows how long it will actually take.
I've also figgered out that Spaniards don't like to do business over the phone or the internet and that you basically have to go everywhere in person. Which is actually what I prefer, but it makes people with little patience (like Greg) very frustrated. The pace of life is just a lot slower here, and you actually have time to do the things that you always have in the back of your head that you want to do but are always interrupted by doing something else.
And I really like buying fresh bread every day.
I talked to Caitlin for a while on the phone last night (she and her husband are doing the same program but in France) and she says it's been rainy there every day and that all the French people run around with their baguettes under their coats and it's really cute. It was good to hear from her. Evidently the French are even worse than the Spaniards about paperwork. For example, we went to rent a movie the other day and they wanted a copy of our NIE (foreigner ID number) and a piece of mail that had our name and address on it. Like we were going to run off to Morrocco with their movies. But in France to get paid, Kade and Caitlin had to have every document officially translated into French (which runs like 39 euros per page). Stuff like their marriage license, birth certificates, etc. But the strange thing is that even though they're really anal about handing in all the appropriate forms, they don't care if you leave most of the spaces blank. Meh, Europeans.
We went down the street the other night to hang out at a local bar and we ended up (unintentionally) at the only English bar in Aguadulce. We started talking to the British guy that ran the place and it was really weird because he is racist against all the "foreigners" that are "robbing and drug dealing and ruining England." I was like, dude, you're a foreigner. It seems like no matter what culture a person comes from it's always the same excuses and irrational fears about what's different.
Love you all.
I've also figgered out that Spaniards don't like to do business over the phone or the internet and that you basically have to go everywhere in person. Which is actually what I prefer, but it makes people with little patience (like Greg) very frustrated. The pace of life is just a lot slower here, and you actually have time to do the things that you always have in the back of your head that you want to do but are always interrupted by doing something else.
And I really like buying fresh bread every day.
I talked to Caitlin for a while on the phone last night (she and her husband are doing the same program but in France) and she says it's been rainy there every day and that all the French people run around with their baguettes under their coats and it's really cute. It was good to hear from her. Evidently the French are even worse than the Spaniards about paperwork. For example, we went to rent a movie the other day and they wanted a copy of our NIE (foreigner ID number) and a piece of mail that had our name and address on it. Like we were going to run off to Morrocco with their movies. But in France to get paid, Kade and Caitlin had to have every document officially translated into French (which runs like 39 euros per page). Stuff like their marriage license, birth certificates, etc. But the strange thing is that even though they're really anal about handing in all the appropriate forms, they don't care if you leave most of the spaces blank. Meh, Europeans.
We went down the street the other night to hang out at a local bar and we ended up (unintentionally) at the only English bar in Aguadulce. We started talking to the British guy that ran the place and it was really weird because he is racist against all the "foreigners" that are "robbing and drug dealing and ruining England." I was like, dude, you're a foreigner. It seems like no matter what culture a person comes from it's always the same excuses and irrational fears about what's different.
Love you all.
Friday, October 5, 2007
This is the way everyone should live...
So we worked for two days (Wed. and Thurs.) and now we have a four day weekend because Friday is an Almerían holiday and Monday is a Aguadulce holiday, lol. Man, it's rough here.
The internet guys are coming Monday to install stuff so I'm hopeful to be linked at home to Skype with all you Americans.
My students are really cute. I have 3rd to 6th graders. When I introduce myself all in English some of them are really lost, and then they hear a phrase they know and perk up. For example, I ask, "How are you?" and all of them in unison respond with little British accents, "Fine, thanks, and you?" They all are very excited to speak with me and ask me questions but they have just finished units on different things and end up using odd vocabulary, like, "Do you like tomatoes?" and I can't help but giggle.
Speaking of tomatoes, you all (should) know that I don't like to eat the raw ones. But yesterday the teachers from my school and from Greg's school took us out to eat some tapas and drink some beers after school and I tried these tomatoes called "tomates raf" which are only grown here in Almería and are freaking delicious. They are served sliced in quarters and drizzled with olive oil, garlic, and sea salt. I'm drooling thinking about them. I'm unsure what makes them so special; maybe they are grown in a vat of liquid addictive delicious. Today I immediately bought a kilo and will eat some right now.
There's more pictures online and a video of Granada (La Alhambra). Go see.
The internet guys are coming Monday to install stuff so I'm hopeful to be linked at home to Skype with all you Americans.
My students are really cute. I have 3rd to 6th graders. When I introduce myself all in English some of them are really lost, and then they hear a phrase they know and perk up. For example, I ask, "How are you?" and all of them in unison respond with little British accents, "Fine, thanks, and you?" They all are very excited to speak with me and ask me questions but they have just finished units on different things and end up using odd vocabulary, like, "Do you like tomatoes?" and I can't help but giggle.
Speaking of tomatoes, you all (should) know that I don't like to eat the raw ones. But yesterday the teachers from my school and from Greg's school took us out to eat some tapas and drink some beers after school and I tried these tomatoes called "tomates raf" which are only grown here in Almería and are freaking delicious. They are served sliced in quarters and drizzled with olive oil, garlic, and sea salt. I'm drooling thinking about them. I'm unsure what makes them so special; maybe they are grown in a vat of liquid addictive delicious. Today I immediately bought a kilo and will eat some right now.
There's more pictures online and a video of Granada (La Alhambra). Go see.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Meet Marijke
So Marijke finally got her visa and found us at the hotel in Granada. We've been hanging out ever since (obviously, since we are living together) and just getting a feel for each other. We arrived back home to Aguadulce today and showed her some pretty places in the city and she invited us all out for tapas. In Spain when someone says "Te invito" it means that (s)he is going to pay for everything.
BTW, to end the grand debate, her name is pronounced ma-reek. And, her laugh and mannerisms totally remind me of (and she even sort of looks like) my mom's good friend Diana. It's incredible.
Earlier today was the orientation stuff that was all like how to open your bank accounts and how to get your NIE (foreigner identification number) so that you can be all legal and stuff. One thing that was interesting to learn was that the banks here in Spain give most of the money they make back to the community in form of sponsoring art and cultural events. So, for example, in Zaragoza where Cayetana lives (her dad works for a bank there) the bank sponsors a few historic patios and several painting and sculptural exhibitions. They also bring in theatre events and other stuff too. I think that's an awesome way to do things. Unfortunately we haven't had much luck in finding cultural events here in Aguadulce.
We also learned that this program has grown like a crapton in the past few years. In Andalucía alone 2 years ago there were about 60 people at the orientation course from the US and the UK; today there were almost 600 people from France, Australia, UK, Belgium, Germany, China, New Zealand, Canada and the US that are going to assist in bilingual centers in not only English but also in German and French. All in all the program has 1900 foreigners all through Spain. Nice, right?
Granada was as pretty as ever. In most parts of Andalucía there is a strong moorish influence from when Spain was ruled by the moors, but especially in the cities like Seville, Toledo, and Granada. In Granada there is a group of palaces (and misc. important old buildings) in a complex called La Alhambra. Last time we came I bought that hand necklace that I always wear (that happens to be a Jewish good luck symbol...). Anyway, we didn't go there but we did go to this sort of parallel hill called "El Mirador de La Alhambra" (the place to see La Alhambra) and the sunset over the hills and valleys was stunning. Even the walk up the hill was amazing, with all these back alleys and beautiful hidden cafes and intricate woodwork on the doors... I took a video and will post it this week.
Well, I got the short straw and have the earliest start in the morning. I have to report to my school at 9 and work out my schedule. Neil and Marijke, at the same school, report at 10, and Greg-o doesn't report until 12. I can't wait to meet all the 3rd to 6th graders!
Wish us luck on our first day! G'nite.
BTW, to end the grand debate, her name is pronounced ma-reek. And, her laugh and mannerisms totally remind me of (and she even sort of looks like) my mom's good friend Diana. It's incredible.
Earlier today was the orientation stuff that was all like how to open your bank accounts and how to get your NIE (foreigner identification number) so that you can be all legal and stuff. One thing that was interesting to learn was that the banks here in Spain give most of the money they make back to the community in form of sponsoring art and cultural events. So, for example, in Zaragoza where Cayetana lives (her dad works for a bank there) the bank sponsors a few historic patios and several painting and sculptural exhibitions. They also bring in theatre events and other stuff too. I think that's an awesome way to do things. Unfortunately we haven't had much luck in finding cultural events here in Aguadulce.
We also learned that this program has grown like a crapton in the past few years. In Andalucía alone 2 years ago there were about 60 people at the orientation course from the US and the UK; today there were almost 600 people from France, Australia, UK, Belgium, Germany, China, New Zealand, Canada and the US that are going to assist in bilingual centers in not only English but also in German and French. All in all the program has 1900 foreigners all through Spain. Nice, right?
Granada was as pretty as ever. In most parts of Andalucía there is a strong moorish influence from when Spain was ruled by the moors, but especially in the cities like Seville, Toledo, and Granada. In Granada there is a group of palaces (and misc. important old buildings) in a complex called La Alhambra. Last time we came I bought that hand necklace that I always wear (that happens to be a Jewish good luck symbol...). Anyway, we didn't go there but we did go to this sort of parallel hill called "El Mirador de La Alhambra" (the place to see La Alhambra) and the sunset over the hills and valleys was stunning. Even the walk up the hill was amazing, with all these back alleys and beautiful hidden cafes and intricate woodwork on the doors... I took a video and will post it this week.
Well, I got the short straw and have the earliest start in the morning. I have to report to my school at 9 and work out my schedule. Neil and Marijke, at the same school, report at 10, and Greg-o doesn't report until 12. I can't wait to meet all the 3rd to 6th graders!
Wish us luck on our first day! G'nite.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Off to Granada
(Greg)
We are off to Granada within the hour for our orientation / dinner tonight and tomorrow. Our check-in is at 3 and the trip should last no more than 2 hours max. ...It´s finally about to start and I think everyone is getting excited about it. While we are enjoying everything we´ve been able to do, there´s only so much walking around and exploring that one can take.
The following link is for some pictures on Flickr from María (the girl in the picture I posted earlier) while we were in Madrid. They just cover miscellaneous things: food, us, Neil, her, Noche en Blanco, etc. She posts a blog about things to do in Madrid so some of the stuff is kind of random but there´s a bunch of pics for those that keep requesting :) We´ll get some pics of Granada and such, too.
Oh yeah! Only an hour ago, we got a landline so people, if they want to pay for it and don´t have a computer to set up Skype for free, may email us for that... I don´t really want to put our new number out for the public to see but I´ll give everyone the first half of it: 950 5x xx xx. If you have enough dedication to sort through the 100,000 possibilities, if my brief math is correct, then you shouldn´t have to bother with emailing. However, what this does mean is that we should have the internet set up by Wednesday if we are lucky.
So far, we´ve been having difficulties in finding a close language academy for me to take some Spanish courses but that has left me a lot of time to catch up on some guitar and the Odyssey (which is fantastic, btw). I´ve finally started learning how to read the music and not just tablature; something I have been wanting to do since I picked up the guitar.
To save you all from random rambling, I shall need to end it here. Before I go, however, Suzy was wanting me to mention that we really like the energy efficiency here. The hallway lights (between apartments) turn off after 5 minutes or so, as well as nearly all Spaniards don´t own a dryer for clothes. They just hang it all up and it saves the clothes from shrinking as well as kind of starches them to an extent (a fact I actually like). However, most of this efficiency is due to necessity. They are running terribly short on water (there are supposed to be two small rivers in this city that flow to the sea from the mountainous areas but are both dried up) and request that everyone take quick showers and conserve as much water as possible. There are always good and bad to every place you go to... but we really are enjoying our stay here. I finally have the time to focus on all of these things that I´ve been wanting to continue on. I think my next hobby I will start, after I learn Spanish to my contentment, might be some sort of martial arts or something.... But I am always piling more and more things that I´d like to accomplish so I´ll have to clear my list of many first.
Well, we leave for Granada in 20 minutes so I must head back. Adíos desde Aguadulce!
(/Greg) --if any of you code junkies could remind me how to make html code read as text (so it the browser doesn´t read it), let me know.....
We are off to Granada within the hour for our orientation / dinner tonight and tomorrow. Our check-in is at 3 and the trip should last no more than 2 hours max. ...It´s finally about to start and I think everyone is getting excited about it. While we are enjoying everything we´ve been able to do, there´s only so much walking around and exploring that one can take.
The following link is for some pictures on Flickr from María (the girl in the picture I posted earlier) while we were in Madrid. They just cover miscellaneous things: food, us, Neil, her, Noche en Blanco, etc. She posts a blog about things to do in Madrid so some of the stuff is kind of random but there´s a bunch of pics for those that keep requesting :) We´ll get some pics of Granada and such, too.
Oh yeah! Only an hour ago, we got a landline so people, if they want to pay for it and don´t have a computer to set up Skype for free, may email us for that... I don´t really want to put our new number out for the public to see but I´ll give everyone the first half of it: 950 5x xx xx. If you have enough dedication to sort through the 100,000 possibilities, if my brief math is correct, then you shouldn´t have to bother with emailing. However, what this does mean is that we should have the internet set up by Wednesday if we are lucky.
So far, we´ve been having difficulties in finding a close language academy for me to take some Spanish courses but that has left me a lot of time to catch up on some guitar and the Odyssey (which is fantastic, btw). I´ve finally started learning how to read the music and not just tablature; something I have been wanting to do since I picked up the guitar.
To save you all from random rambling, I shall need to end it here. Before I go, however, Suzy was wanting me to mention that we really like the energy efficiency here. The hallway lights (between apartments) turn off after 5 minutes or so, as well as nearly all Spaniards don´t own a dryer for clothes. They just hang it all up and it saves the clothes from shrinking as well as kind of starches them to an extent (a fact I actually like). However, most of this efficiency is due to necessity. They are running terribly short on water (there are supposed to be two small rivers in this city that flow to the sea from the mountainous areas but are both dried up) and request that everyone take quick showers and conserve as much water as possible. There are always good and bad to every place you go to... but we really are enjoying our stay here. I finally have the time to focus on all of these things that I´ve been wanting to continue on. I think my next hobby I will start, after I learn Spanish to my contentment, might be some sort of martial arts or something.... But I am always piling more and more things that I´d like to accomplish so I´ll have to clear my list of many first.
Well, we leave for Granada in 20 minutes so I must head back. Adíos desde Aguadulce!
(/Greg) --if any of you code junkies could remind me how to make html code read as text (so it the browser doesn´t read it), let me know.....
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