Thanksgiving stew

(Greg)

So, it's nearly a week after Thanksgiving but we finally used the turkey that's been sitting in our 'fridge for the last 5 days. We bought the turkey last Friday and ran it over to the local chicken roasterie like we had mentioned in a previous post. That didn't work out... obviously, but he told us we could bring it back last Tuesday morning (today for those that will read this shortly). So I waddled the turkey back to his shop only for him to tell me to bring it back on Thursday. So, I'm walking back to my apartment with the turkey still in my hand for the second time but now I'm cursing at the imaginative chicken roaster-guy in my best English and trying to find the equivalent Spanish translation. Unfortunately, my Spanish cursing is a little, err, sub-par so I wound up just repeating "pendejo, pendejo, pendejo" like some sort of crazy diabetic about 6 grams short of sugar.

Once I made it back to the apartment, I stuck the huge turkey in the freezer fearing that another 2 days in the 'fridge may unrest the bacteria that has been hibernating quietly in my meat. Time passes... (we had a freaking sweet turkey deli-meat and avocado sandwich for lunch)... more time passes... dinner time. We decided that it was dinner time like any fair, democratic society would: paper, rocks, scissors. Best 2 out of 3.

Because we've had such terrible luck with the roaster-guy and because I think I swore off going back to him between the two languages, Suzy went at that turkey herself. She ripped the skin and little bit of remaining feathers off like a serial killer perfecting her craft. Slowly and with a blunt knife.

Afterwards, we dumped the remains into a large pot with veggies and had our very first Thanksgiving stew. And it was as wonderful as it could be.

It was doubly good because Suzy's trying to get sick and then pass that wealth onto me. Mmm... stew...

Mountains

Suzy:

I climbed a mountain today. What did you do?

Thanksgiving didn't work out. They'll just have to come visit and celebrate in the 'states. But I sure miss me some sweet potato pie... and Sarah's sly fox pie... and my dad's pumpkin gingerbread mousse... and and and

love you all.


Edit: to add to the post
Greg:

So, I was just reading some friend's blogs online and realized that, even though we haven't really had a Thanksgiving here (at least not yet), Suzy and I are both really missing everybody back home.

You see, Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays, and not just for the awesome turkey smell that penetrates the house while Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade blares in the background. It's for the memories of my grandpa sitting in his La-Z-Boy while the parade is on one tv and the news is on the second (both in the same room; he had logic for this setup but I never understood it). It's for the turkey and ham, Jell-o with fruit, mashed potatoes, and the buffet of enough pies afterwards to make Sarah Lee embarrassed. It's for the 45 minute trip down to Harrisonville as we tried desperately to spend some cherished time with Chan and Linda, Erin, Christy, and Maddie. It's for the evening we would spend over at Justin's, because everyone was aching to get away from too much family but we ended up with a different kind, both our PCP and 'Ville friends. And it's for the last 24/23 years of Thanksgivings, each one seeming an exact replica of the previous year until I remember the emotions felt with each.

I've found myself thinking about my grandpa a lot again. If there is something after this life, I sure hope he's enjoying himself.

Suzy and I wish everyone the best (even though, Thanksgiving was technically the other day). We're very much enjoying ourselves here but we're thinking of you all even more during this holiday season.

Also, Neil says "hi."

Spanish Thanksgiving

Suzy:

So Thanksgiving turns out to be my favorite holiday. Unfortunately, of course, the Spanish don't celebrate it, so I had to work. :( But, it was worth it because today... Miguel Angel's mom made us paella!!!

Oh man, it was a feast. First, we had a table full of appetizers: jamón serrano de pata negra (Spanish cured ham--the expensive kind, fed on acorns and free range), ajo blanco (a garlic dip the consistency of hummus), tortilla española (potato omelet), ensalada (salad), fresh bread, queso manchego y nueces (manchego cheese and walnuts), pulpo frito (fried octopus), and a Spanish red wine that, from my understanding, is even better than the wine from the Rioja region-- "Ribera del Duero." Then we had the main dish: paella. It's a rice based dish typically made with seafood and lots of saffron. Ours had mussels, prawns (big shrimp), calamari rings, and fried octopus. It was friggin amazing. It rivals the paella that Cayetana's mom made us the last time we were in Spain. To drink, we then switched to a white wine to match the seafood. It was extremely nice; it was clean and crisp with just a touch of sweetness; think of a Vignoles but half as sweet. I've forgotten the name of it; I'll ask and post it later. Then, after all of that, we had dessert: homemade natillas (pudding). She served it with a cognac soaked cookie on top. To drink, spearmint tea from Morocco, and then as a digestive shot (a typical Spanish practice, actually does help digestion), fig liquor. What a feast! I am so full I'm practically rolling down the street. It's not turkey and pumpkin pie, but...

Greg and I are trying to host a typical Thanksgiving for some colleagues tomorrow. But it's kind of hard when you don't have an oven... a local chicken roaster had originally agreed to roast a turkey for us but it seems that plans have fallen through... apart from that, some ingredients are impossible to find here, like pumpkin, molasses, graham crackers, sour cream, etc... which not only makes desserts more difficult but nearly impossible coupled with the missing oven dilemma... We'll work on it and let you know how it pans out.

Hope everyone had a good one yesterday! You're all in our thoughts. Now, it's siesta time.

The weekend in full / Catastrophe in Arcos Iris

(Greg)

Well, remember that last post when I wrote about how Jesus couldn't make it to class? Remember when I mentioned that I successfully (however boringly) made it through two of his English classes? Oh, that was an enjoyable day. And by "enjoyable" I mean "not-exactly-what-I-am-cut-out-to-do-so-I-was-thoroughly-ecstatic-that-it-was-only-for-that-day." Oh school.

I had a really optimistic moment last week that I forgot to include in the last post: Spanish. Backstory: we are all renting our apartment from two teachers (one from Suzy's school, and one from mine). The woman that works at Suzy's school has a very thick Andalucian accent so she omits the 's's from most words. This coupled with the Spanish lisp can make it quite difficult to understand said person and, well, I had no idea that she was really speaking a language when I first met her (end backstory). Fast forward to the day before the last post and I walked up to Suzy's school to get an idea of groceries for the week. While I was talking with my wife, this woman came up. Now, I hadn't spoken with her since we moved here and we mentioned a few words to each other and I realized that it was a language she was speaking. She spoke it so well it seemed as if there were things like rules and grammar. The words seemed to change depending upon things like meaning and subject. I was dancing in a field where letters sprouted like dandelions and butterflies carried banners of words around to form proper sentences. It was a whimsical time and it was really encouraging to see that things are slowly moving forward. I suppose I can make pretty large goals for myself and I often try to rush things which leads to frustration.

So, while we're on the subject of Spanish. The King of Spain totally told Hugo Chavez to shut up a week ago during a Spanish-speaking countries hearing of some sort. Chavez was interrupting Spain's President and talking badly about the previous President so the King literally interrupted Chavez with "Why don't you shut up?!" Not very Kingly but I have to hand it to the man for backing up the President. And he totally deserved it.

So, back to Jesus. He's in the hospital. I was notified this morning that he fell down some stairs and I believe that he actually bruised his brain and is in the ICU (or if you are Spanish or an English dyslexic the UCI). I say "I believe" because my understanding of Spanish medical terminology just is ::cue Rob's scrunched not-up-to-par face:: not exactly up to par. So, not good. He was supposed to go on an excursion this week somewhere, too. Hope he gets better.

To round out the weekend and satisfy the title of this entry: drank tea with other Auxiliares from surrounding towns and bought some wicked cool European clothes.

All done in under 483 words.

Teaching... finally.

This be Greg. Holla.

I was browsing digg.com and I came across a satellite "World Sunlight Map". I thought it was kinda cool and appropriate since, you know, Suzy and I (and Kade and Caitlin for those that know them) are halfway around the world. By the way, good morning.

I taught a class today... well, actually two. And, like, full on. Jesus had something else today so couldn't make it to class and I taught it by myself. Solo. Like, wow, I'm a teacher. It was somewhat successful; boring, but successful. Jesus had a rough outline covering a new theme in their books but I was able to cover my uber original "other responses to 'How are you?'" lesson that went flawless as expected. I don't remember if we covered it before or not, but when you ask the students "How are you?," in unison and with a British accent, they all respond "I'm fine, thank you, and you?". The best part is the end of the phrase. When they get to the "and you?" portion, they all raise their voices to a higher pitch. It's hilarious.

Muchos kudos to the Kadelin crew with their having a class to themselves. What generally happens during my classes is that I might have a couple of things to read that the "main" teacher just gave to me and then I will just walk around and correct both the students and the teachers on any grammatical mistakes, etc. It's cake, really, but not entirely stimulating. But that was what was different today; I got to run the joint. Like all things I find and nearly complete (ie, computer science, business, etc.) I'm not sure that a school teacher is a path I want to continue down in the States but this year will be educational, at least.

So, I'm officially a teacher. Woohoo.

The day in Laujar

Earlier today, Judith and Jesus (and their spouses) took us out to Laujar. *note: Jesus and Judith are the two English teachers at my (Greg's) school that I work with* In the picture, Jesus is the man on the far left while Judith is the woman in the middle, back row. I'm sure you are all aware of who Marieke is but, for clarification, she is the woman on the left, front row.

Anyways, Laujar is one of many tiny, tiny pueblos here in the mountains, roughly 45 minutes from Aguadulce. They had told us about a very tasty restaurant and offered to take us there. Once we arrived, the entire place reminded us of Oregon or the Ozarks with pine trees and "normal" trees (ie, not evergreens) and cliffs and a river and it was beautiful... and cold. We had forgotten (not to be rubbing anything in anyone's faces) that it is actually November!



After we walked around, we had migas at the restaurant. Migas are apparently a dish that is *usually* made when it rains. It's supposed to be really time-consuming to make but is just oil and flour mixed together and tastes similar to non-spiced stuffing.

We uploaded a bunch of new photos at the photobucket site. I also posted a couple of pics from our evening at the tapas bar Casa Puga two nights ago. We don't have any further pics, but after we visited Casa Puga, we found an Arabic teteria, or a tea shop (in the sense of it was like a coffee shop in the States but only had tea). This place was amazing and had live music... not great live music, but live music none-the-less. And after the live music, people just got up and played the instruments like a jam session. Neil went up there and played a bit, as well as a Spanish woman who did some flamenco-esque songs. They both did fantastic and we caught some video of them both. I'll get those vids up in a while... and after I practice a bit more, you might find one of me trying out the live music scene. :D

Come to Spain!

Suzy:

Obviously if you can't afford it, don't come. We don't want to guilt anyone into visiting and spending more money than they have. For those of you who do have some extra cash on hand, I was searching for cheap flights and here's what I found from cheaptickets.com

These are ticket prices to fly from Chicago to Madrid, which is typically the cheapest round trip. If you need an inexpensive way to get to Chicago, I suggest using Megabus.com because you can go from KC or STL by bus to Chicago for about eight dollars if you book in advance online. Greg and I took them; the buses are clean and comfy. They even play a few movies for you.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to let people know that the price is right to visit Spain if you're interested. Normally round trip tickets to Europe in the past have been around $1500 per person. As you can see from the links, it's down to about $500 per person if you buy in advance. Of course you want to bring money for travel within Spain (we don't have a car) and souveniers, but the ticket price is the biggest purchase by far you have to make.

Our Town Video

Finally, after many trials and tribulations, the Greg / Suzy team brings you this introduction to our city. I hope you all know how much we like you. Cuz, seriously. Work.

Thesis is completed

Suzy:

Yes, that's right, after much procrastination, my thesis has finally completed writing itself. I say that because I hate to put my name on such a horrible piece of work. I say horrible not because I want your sympathy, but because it really is the worst thing I've ever written. It was like pulling teeth. (Or, as they say in Spanish, plucking hairs from a bald man.) The good news is it's completed, and I'm pretty sure I'll get my MAE in December. Finally. Ugh.

Well, I had more to say, but instead I was delightfully interrupted by Rob and Ashlee on IM and just spent about two hours talking to them instead of writing this. Which I much preferred.

Love you all. Take care.

November swim

(Greg... again) So we totally wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather we are having here and decided that nothing would be cooler than swimming (yes, again, but this time...) in November. So I made the proposition when we started cooking our lunch and as it was getting to the peak of the day's high temp, right? But we can't swim right after eating... you have to wait 30 minutes. So we sat down and hit up some Super Mario Bros 3 on the wii. A half hour passes and we finally got to the part I was stuck at on single player (Suzy and I were playing coop) but we had to continue because it was a boss level and, well, I'm stubborn. So, we totally destroyed the boss after something like 45 more minutes.

By this time it was near 3 or 3:30 and with the Daylight Savings time change, we had better hop on that ball and get to the beach. After much conniving and convincing (mainly of me being lazy), we started to get ready... "Get the towel, check." "Wearing swimming trunks." "Grab the keys." Alright, we were ready to go. It was closer to 4 now (yeah, I kinda took that long to get ready) but we still had an hour of the warmer part of daylight left and I'm going to enjoy every moment I can on that beach!

We walk down the street, and it was still relatively beautiful, I mean, considering the Novembers we're used to (by the way, I do not envy you guys at all), and pick a sunny spot to lay the towel. Suzy sat down but I had it in my mind that I was jumping into that water. I cautiously step in. "Hrm.. not cold at all, really." I step in further. I'm waist deep and wading in the blue-green sea.

HOLY CRAP! THAT'S A FREAKING JELLYFISH! literally two feet from me. Apparently, I interrupted some hot jellyfish action as I can only guess that it's now mating season due to the numerous 3-6 inch jelly candy-looking things staring into my eyes. I can only imagine the things that they wanted to do to me with those jelly tentacles of theirs. Like sting me.

After I kicked it in its teeth, Suzy and I walked along the surf looking for the ferocious animals. It was pretty sweet because they were all over the sea but no more than 10 or 15 feet from the sand. All just floating along the waves. Plus you could kinda see through them. Then, just before we left, Suzy found one of them lying on the beach and we played "poke the dead thing with a stick."