Feeling Grateful

One of my best friends in the whole wide world is currently participating in a similar English teaching program in Shanghai, China.  Although this is Ellen’s second time living in the PRC and her Chinese skills are becoming better all the time, the cultural differences between East and West really show when we discuss our experiences.  A week or two ago, Ellen and I were discussing her situation in China, as it has prompted some struggles that she didn’t previously foresee.  She told me that she thought one of the things that might change her experience would be if she was somewhere where it was easier to befriend more locals, but the reality of that dream is fairly unattainable due to language and cultural barriers.

It made me think about my situation here, because Ellen is such a vibrant, friendly, clever woman who would probably already have a Spanish husband if she was living with me in Córdoba (side note, Ellen is actually doing a great job developing relationships in China).  One of the things that I’ve learned on this adventure is that people all over the world are the same in countless ways.  However, that realization goes hand in hand with the fact that culture is sometimes an incredible barrier.  Despite many frustrations that I’ve encountered, I am currently living in a country full of a dynamic, hospitable culture, which has been a real blessing.  I’ve met fantastic people here who have welcomed me into their lives with open arms, and for that I am truly thankful.

Most of my Spanish friends are from Auri’s group of girlfriends, but they have extended countless invitations to me even when I’m not with Auri.  These girls are all so different, but each so wonderful.  I guess I’m just taking this moment to feel grateful for what I have here in Spain.  Even when it’s difficult, the people here are what help me get through.  I’m a lucky girl!

having drinks by the river

dancing the night away

after eating paella and watching flamenco guitar!

painting the town red... er, purple

Love in the Land of Free Tapas

Last weekend was Keely’s 26th birthday, so naturally I jumped on the bus for my first trip to visit her.  Keely lives in Almeria, which is a coastal town on the southeastern corner of Andalucía.  The city itself is apparently known for having “nothing but a beach” by all the snobby (said with love, mostly) Andalusians.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find an adorable city with gorgeous views and (best of all) a free tapa with every drink you order!

Jess and I took the 5.5 hour bus ride from Córdoba to Almeria on Friday morning.  I’ve learned that, in general, the busses here aren’t too bad as long as you’re in a front or middle seat with the air working.  Having a bus buddy also improves the trip significantly.  The bus trip from Córdoba to Almeria makes a halfway stop in Granada, which means that the entire ride is several hours of the most gorgeous scenery in Andalucía.  First, you drive through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range (yes, this one came first) which give way to networks of caves visible from the highway.  Apparently some of these caves are rented out like hotel rooms, while others are permanent residences for some of the more eccentric locals.  After this bizarre and remarkable landscape, the terrain gives way to hours of breathtaking mountains.  The Sierras are one of Andalucía’s main claims to fame, and after this trip I can see why.  Eventually, snowy mountains become desert cliffs and tumbleweeds.  This backdrop is what surrounds the province of Almeria, making it a popular site for “spaghetti westerns.”  Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson both filmed many movies here—a fact that guidebooks never cease to boast about.  On the bus ride home, Jess and I actually saw a film set, which looked like a two dimensional ghost town!

a glimpse of the Sierras from the bus

When we finally arrived, Keely was there to meet us at the station.  We got drinks and caught up at the bar while waiting for Kelsey’s train.  When she arrived, we inadvertently spent another hour at our table bringing each other up to speed about all of the news in our lives.  It was so nice to have a reunion!

That evening, we went to one of Keely’s favorite tapas places for dinner.  The food was delicious—among my favorite were treats like mild, creamy cheese wedges with hot almonds and something that tasted like garlic breadsticks.  Kels and Jess bought Keely single stem roses from one of the passing vendors and we bothered the locals by taking lots of birthday pictures.  Perfection.

roses for the birthday girl!

beauties

reunited, and it feels so good

On Saturday, we visited the Alcazaba, which is an old Moorish fort that rests on top of the valley overlooking the city.  It originally was built as a precautionary measure to defend the port from in case of siege and in more modern times has been used by the Spanish navy.  Nowadays though, it’s just an impressive monument with spectacular views of the Mediterranean.  It is also inundated with cats, like most historical sites in Spain.

Almeria from the Alcazar

castle

self timer success

grandeur 

patio

We hiked down from the Alcazaba to enjoy a birthday picnic for Keely on the beach, complete with brie, wine and figs.  The Almeria beach faces northern Africa, which still feels awe-inspiring to me.  We watched the sun set on Keely’s twenty-fifth year while drinking wine and discussing the future.

so content

hello, Africa!

Mediterranean sunset

Kelsey and I

That night, we celebrated Keely with homemade pizza and secret birthday cake (carefully smuggled by Jess and I in a shopping bag from earlier in the day).  The only incident occurred when Keely dropped the second pizza face-down on the floor, which allowed for some hilarity.  We had piled the first pizza so high with toppings that nobody could even think about eating another bite, so we deemed it a blessing in disguise.  Besides, you’re allowed to do whatever you want on your birthday, right?

top chef

disaster!

so distressed

birthday cake

We dressed up to go dancing that evening, which was really fantastic because Keely lives less than a five minute walk from the downtown center of Almeria.  We went to several clubs which were all filled with hilarious people who were excited to celebrate Keely’s birthday.  Well, maybe they just liked to party in general.  Regardless, it was a great evening that ended with us sleeping until noon.

ready to dance!

celebrating

Our next reunion will be for Thanksgiving weekend when we will be joined by our missing link, Kerry.  We’re planning on going to Jess’ house in Cabra, which is a pueblo (village) outside of Córdoba.  Updates to come!

Halloween in Madrid

As much as I have loved living in Europe and having a grand adventure away from home, being with old friends is still one of the most comfortable feelings I know.  Luckily, I have the good fortune of living in a foreign country with one of my college roommates, Katherine, who is also working as an English teacher in Madrid.  I didn’t have to work on October 31 and November 1 because of a Spanish national holiday, so I packed my bags and went to the big city to see her for Halloween weekend!

Madrid, along with being an autonomous community (like Andalucía), is the capital of Spain and the third largest city in the European Union.  Because my budget is small, I took the 5.5 hour bus ride to the city.  Cordoba does have a high speed rail system to Madrid, making the trip only an hour and a half, but if you don’t book your tickets months in advance the prices are very high.  Luckily, my friend Emily was also traveling to see friends from home, so I had a bus buddy for my trip.

When I arrived on Thursday night, Katherine met me at the metro station and brought me home to see her apartment and meet her roommates.  She lives in the Atocha area of Madrid, which is very close to the impressive Retiro Park and other famous monuments.  We had a lovely evening of catching up over Spanish wine and tortilla de patata.  We also took a short metro ride to Puerta del Sol (literally Gate of the Sun) which is an enormous plaza in the center of the city.  Sol is actually the geographical center of Spain, meaning it is kilometer 0 for the network of all Spanish roads.  I got to have a small taste of the big city at Sol, which felt about a thousand times bigger than anything in Córdoba. 

my lovely tour guide for the weekend

a blurry but somewhat representative photo of Sol

The next morning, we slept in and then went to retrieve Keely from the metro station.  The three of us planned on spending the weekend sightseeing and getting to know the big city with Katherine as our guide, so we got started right away.  After a gorgeous walk in Retiro Park at sunset, we went to see the Museo del Prado, the Spanish national art museum.  It was absolutely fantastic and unlike anything I’ve ever seen.  Even though we only spent an hour there, I was able to see works by painters like Goya, Picasso and Velázquez.  Seeing Las Meninas in person was truly an amazing experience!

Estanque del Retiro

Katherine and I in front of El Prado

sightseeing amigas

Madrid sunset

After the Prado, we went on a tapas tour that was going on in the Lavapies district of the city.  The event was hosted by over fifty different restaurants, who all were offering a 1€ tapa portion (think: appetizer) of their best dish.  We went to about six different places, which made for a diverse and delicious meal for only six euros!

tapas beauties 

couscous with red peppers

On Saturday, we took a trip to a neighboring town called San Lorenzo de El Escorial.  The town’s main attraction is an enormous monastery palace that dates back to the early 16th century, located at the foot of Mt. Abantos.  When Katherine, Keely and I got off the train, we realized that we had very little knowledge about where the palace was actually located.  So, we decided to eat first and explore later, which led us to a charming hole-in-the-wall café for an amazing lunch, complete with two courses, wine, and coffee.  Delicious!

waiting for the train

the basilica through the forest

along the Path of the Princes

El Escorial

After our meal, we asked a few locals which direction to head in and embarked on our walk.  Only about ten minutes passed before we could see the impressive basilica looming over the trees in the near distance.  El Escorial is enormous, which makes it a site for staggering amounts of artwork.  The walls inside are like a museum, although most of the paintings seem similar with plentiful dark Catholic symbolism.

artwork viewing

amazing ceiling

For me, the highlight of El Escorial was the Pantheon of the Kings, which is a tomb located at the bottom of the monastery.  The remains of most of the kings and queens of Spain (Hapsburgs and Bourbons) reside in the Pantheon, making it an extremely holy site.  Visiting the tomb was very amazing, but also sort of eerie.  It’s strange to think about being in the same physical space as the remains of people from so much of a country’s history.  We finished our trip watching the sunset in the gardens of the monastery, which was gorgeous.  El Escorial looks over an immense valley that seems to stretch forever, even though it is only about 45 kilometers outside of bustling Madrid.

palace courtyard

Katherine with the scenery

garden

cheesing

posing with the valley

Escorial sunset

That evening, we met up with Keely’s friend Melissa, a lovely gal from Portland who showed us some fantastic tapas restaurants with her Italian boyfriend, Marco.  Melissa has been living in Madrid for the past few years teaching English at various academies.  The five of us spent the evening getting to know each other over tostas (hot baguettes with various delicious toppings) and good Spanish wine, which made for a great time.

Our final day together in Madrid was Halloween, which we spent touring the impressive Retiro Park.  We ate kebabs in the rose garden, strolled through the grounds around the Crystal Palace, and basked in the sun at the Estanque del Retiro (Retiro Pond).  That evening, we dressed up in our makeshift costumes for a night on the town.  Halloween is not really a holiday in Spain, and those who celebrate it seem to miss most of the point.  Costumes for Halloween here are always zombies or vampires, complete with lots of ghoulish white paint and fake blood.  Spaniards believe that silly costumes are for Feria, which are fairs that each province has throughout the year.  Therefore, my crude cat costume (fashioned out of a metal mask and some cardboard) wasn’t really Spain Halloween appropriate, but I decided that I get to make the rules about holidays celebrated in my country.

Crystal Palace

unimpressed by the statues

the estanque

from Eugene to Madrid!

We spent our evening at Kapital, an iconic Madrid dance club.  Its appeal is drawn from the fact that it boasts seven floors, each with a different type of music.  Salsa, hip-hop, soul, funk and Spanish hits are all readily available if you want to climb the crowded and sweaty stairs to find them.  It was a fun but overwhelming experience that really made me appreciate the mellow Córdoba way of life.  I’ll get to return the tour-guide favor in December when Katherine comes to visit me!

catwoman, mime, and vampire

happy Halloween!

Instead of having free time…

… I’ve started tutoring English.

This is a fantastic way to make extra money and I really enjoy having something to do with my gazillions of free hours, since I only work 12 hours per week at my school.

Marcos, my thirteen-month-old angel, is a total joy.  His parents Estefanía and José continue to brighten my life with helpful hints about living in Córdoba and general overwhelming kindness—yesterday Estefanía sent me home with a tupperware container filled with lentil soup for lunch!  They are both very pleased with Marcos’ progress, which gets better and better every day.  Mostly, we play with his toys or in the park with the pigeons.  He’s so young that he doesn’t speak at all, but he responds to English questions and games, continually gesturing for me to sing Ring Around the Rosie with him.

Marcos at the park

skeptical

my favorite!

In addition to Marcos, I’m now tutoring a five-year-old named María, two sisters named Olga and Maria who are 6 and 10, and a Lithuanian woman named Daiva.  Next week I am supposed to begin teaching two brothers named Alejandro and Alvaro (5 and 8-years-old) and hopefully two high school students.  The vice-principal of my school has also asked if I would be willing to do conversation classes with his 21-year-old daughter, which I think would be really fun.  I’ve now filled most of my free hours, so I think I’m going to have to start turning people down if I get any more requests!

I’ve spent most of this week trying to get to know Córdoba a little better, which has included activities like trying out (very) cheap tapas places and getting a library card. 

but will they ever get my name right?

I also attempted to make salmorejo, a Cordoban chilled tomato soup very similar to gazpacho.  Sadly, my first attempt was tasty but not at all aesthetically pleasing, so I will post pictures once I perfect the recipe.