Friends and motorcycles

Last weekend I went, by motorcycle, to some of the pueblos blancos along the Atlantic coast. This picture of the sunset is from one of these pueblos, Puerto Sherry, outside of a crepería (where I enjoyed a crepe filled with nutella, banana, kiwi, walnut, and whipped cream) about 20 minutes from Jerez. We also went to the Spanish National Championship Moto Race on moto to see the action, which was pretty interesting and entertaining for a few hours.



In addition to horses, flamenco, and sherry wine, Jerez is known for motorcycles and their circuíto where very important races are held. All of our friends have motorcycles, crotch rockets, and like to take them out at least once a weekend for a ride either to the beach or the mountains. Emily and I have been fortunate enough to be invited to these excursions a few times, and seeing the coast of southern Spain by motorcycle is incredible. They are all very good ‘pilots’, and they provide us will all the moto gear…which includes helmets, gloves, and motorcycle jackets. When we go next time I will try to get a photo.

Yesterday we again enjoyed the sunset and wonderful weather at a little beach town after eating lunch at the restaurant of our friends’ Italian friend. Spending time with Spanish people and observing how they interact with their friends says a lot about their culture and makes obvious the differences between Spanish and US cultures. On Saturday, we enjoyed lunch with friends from 1-4pm, which was then followed by 4 hours at another bar where we drank coffee and relaxed until the sun went down. It seems like every moment is enjoyed, rather than hurried, and life isn’t about doing or getting more, but about loving and taking pleasure in the current moment.
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This week I was also invited by my school’s biology teachers to Parque Nacional de Doñana. To get to Doñana you must cross the Guadalquivir river by boat right where it meets the Atlantic ocean. Doñana is interesting because it is a main stopping point for migratory birds moving between Africa and Europe. It also has 3 different ecosystems due to the salt water/fresh water meeting point and the sand dunes that are found in the interior of the park. The trip was super fun because we toured the park in bus/trucks through the sandy ground, holding onto our seats the whole time. This picture is of one of my students and me in a well at on of the old homesteads in the park.



In other news, the week that brother was here we had a cat. To make a long story short, we cared for the cat for a week and then found it a new home after discovering it had bugs (we are pretty sure they were not fleas…in any case, our home was/is not infested). The kitty was so adorable and looked like a little bat, so we named her Murciélago. She how lives on a farm in the country and we miss her lots, but we are happy to no longer be cleaning up kitty poop from the shower.



I miss you all! Especially now that I am thinking about Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays, it makes me think of home and friends and family. I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and please eat an extra plate for me! Emily and I have plans for cooking a Thanksgiving dinner which will include turkey, stuffing, sweet and mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and super pumpkin bars, so that our friends can experience it. We are even going to go around the table and make them say something they are thankful for. Haha, I can’t wait. Wish us luck, neither of us have done this before!

In other news...

yesterday on our day off Emily and I went to the tattoo/piercing parlor that we walk by everyday on our way to school. I decided that it was time for me to stop talking about getting my nose pierced and actually do it. We asked the piercing man how it works, if it would hurt, how it is cleaned, and made him go through the whole process with us before I decided for sure to go through with it. Everything went well up until the time when he had to push the stud through the plastic tube that was in the piercing hole. Something happened to the plastic tube and it slipped through so that he could not get the piercing into the hole (although he tried very hard and it was very painful). I left the place with a teeny tiny hole in my nose and a few tears, but no piercing (to the relief of my dad, I'm sure) to my dismay. Perhaps in a few weeks when this hole heals I will try again : )

Un invitado

This past week my brother came to visit…and with him came bad weather. I had so many plans for us, but most of them were foiled by the rain, rain, rain that would not stop falling. So, instead of leaving the house and exploring we stayed in and explored the wonderful world of Spanish cooking. The first thing we made were Spanish meatballs, similar to meatballs I have had at home, but fried in olive oil. Next, being adventurous, we opted for Rabo/Cola de Toro, Bull Tail. However, instead of making the recipe with the tail we went to the meat market in the center of town and asked for a different kind of meat to make in the same recipe. Unfortunately, when adding a pinch of salt for the finishing touch the cover came off the salt shaker and we added about ¾ cup of salt. Even after our best effort to get out as much salt as we could, the dish was pretty much ruined and burned my mouth when I tried it. So what we did was add a ton of water, made it into a soup (more or less) then actually ended up eating only the veggies and meat that we drained.

Over the weekend we were invited by my friends, on Saturday, and my teachers, on Sunday, to eat at a venta, an old house in the country that has been converted into a restaurant that serves traditional country food. The first day we tried many different things, most interesting of which was called ajo de la vina. It is a mushy poridgy mix of garlic, tomato, bread, onion, water, salt, and olive oil that tastes like pure garlic. The second day we actually went back to the same exact place so Ar and I knew what to get- I got carrilladas (pig cheeks) and he got a bloody piece of veal. Yum. We also ate the garlic mush again.

On Monday the rain finally stopped so we ventured out to the alcazar, the fortress that was built at the highest point of the city. In the highest point of the alcazar there is a cámera oscura, a dark camera, which uses a mirror to project a live image of the city through a lens onto a white screen below in a darkened room. The screen is in the shape of a circle, slightly concave, parallel to the horizon, and set at about waist level. The woman working the mechanism could focus the image of the city on the screen and then point out all the monuments in Jerez. We went around 360 degrees and saw the whole city, it was very incredible and I can’t wait for more visitors so that I can go back.

Tuesday, brother’s last day in Jerez, we went to a sherry bodega for a tour. It was very interesting learning how the sherry wine is made and seeing the mini-world that makes up the bodega. After the tour I asked our guide if she knew anything about them wanting to hire a native English speaking tour guide. She directed me to the ticket office and the woman there told me to drop off a resume, in Spanish, and that she thought they were looking for an English speaking tour guide. I was very excited to hear this (as most of you know, when I first looked at Jerez in my Spain guidebook I saw that bodegas sometimes hire English speaking tourguides, and it has been my dream ever since to work in one) so this weekend I will work on translating my resume to turn in on Monday.

Also new and exciting is that (1) I joined a gym, (2) I had my first private tutoring lesson with two girls from my class, and I will continue to meet with both of them twice a week, and (3) I volunteered for the first time at an Oxfam store. I am finding myself increasingly busy, yet still able to fit in a siesta everyday.

Elections
The experience of witnessing the presidential election abroad has been very interesting, to say the least. You would be amazed how much news was and is dedicated to our presidential election process, our candidates, and the nominee. Every newspaper, every TV station, and every radio station had/has news about what is going on. Today I bought a national newspaper which has a whole section dedicated to the history of the civil rights movement in the US from the times of slavery. It is amazing how much interest there is in our politics.

On Tuesday I wore my Barack Obama shirt to school, and even my 12 year old students knew who he is. I can’t even count how many times people asked me who I though would win and how many people told me they were hoping for Obama. Also, on Wednesday I got a congratulations from every teacher, it felt like I had been elected president, in celebration of Obama’s nomination. It was strange being away from home and friends during this time, but I am grateful to have had this experience as it has again shown me just how much of an impact the US has on other countries and their citizens.

I also got a hair cut about a week and a half ago, and it only served to reinforce what I already thought, that you need to get a haircut to truly experience another culture. However, you should not do this if you feel very attached to your hair as you will most likely end up sorely disappointed. Everything was going fine with my cut, I told her exactly what I wanted, which was a trim, and I thought we were on the same page. Well, turns out that she thought a trim meant she should cut some side bangs that are about half the length of my other hair. So yes, just like the last time I got my hair cut in Spain, I have what could loosely be categorized as a mullet. Needless to say I am hoping that it grows out quickly.