Ambling Otra Vez

Since I'm ambling otra vez (again), I decided I needed to write a blog entry. Guille found it funny that all my friends wanted "details" about our engagement...here they are! (See pictures below, too!)

I arrived to Cancun on Christmas day. I think I was about eight years old when I last spent Christmas in a warm climate, so it sure didn't feel like Christmas! But the lights, nativity scenes, Santas, and yes, even snowmen, told me it was.

That night Guille took me to beautiful restaurant over the sea, Lorenzillos. We ate out on the deck over the water, and after dinner Guille asked me to marry him! The whole thing was almost dreamlike since I was rather sleepy, but I definitely said "sí"!

Next, we headed to Campeche where we are spending time with Guille's family and friends and doing a little site seeing. Don Guillermo and Doña Ilsa, as I call them, happily welcomed me to their beautiful home.

Campechito, as Guille affectionately calls it, is where he grew up. It's a charming city set right on coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Campeche (the city) is the capital of the state Campeche, and just one of the state's many treasures is the Mayan ruins of Edzna that we visited on Monday.

I still have a lot to look forward to on this trip, aside from spending more time with my fiancé! For New Year's Eve, as is custom, we are planning on a formal family dinner at home and then going out with friends. We're going to visit more ruins, such as Chichen Itza. And, of course, we plan to do some relaxing on the beach!

As far as the big day goes...we'll keep you informed!

Súper Guay Blog

Súper Guay = Super Cool

Check out the blog my wonderful colleague set up for our Spanish program! We will be updating it periodically. My favorite video links are "Hola Puppet Show" and "¿Cómo está el niño? Vocabulary Video"

Enjoy!

My First Day of Elementary School

One of the many interesting questions my students asked me today was, "What school do you go to?" Well, in case you don't know the answer to that question, I "go" to Pine Ridge and South Side elementary schools everyday. I am teaching again for Holland Christian, but now my students are slightly younger than before. (In fact, I have the daughter of a former student...yes, I'm old.) After one day working with elementary school children I would describe them as: endearing, adaptable, inquisitive, intelligent, excitable, and happy. Here were some of my favorite comments of the day (most of which I never heard from my high schoolers):
-Me: "Where are you from if your Mexican?"
-One first grader: "China"

-(interrupting class) "Can someone tie my shoe?"

-"I speak four languages." (This is funny because he doesn't, and he couldn't remember which four.)

-(telling me as she left the room) "I like you."

And finally, one I think I have heard from a high school student or two...
-(exasperated) Why are you making us do this?!" (as I "made" them stand up and sit down repeatedly on the hottest day of the summer)

I love kids!

Hasta Luego, España

Here in Spain they don't say "adiós", they say "hasta luego"...see you later. Well, tonight I said "hasta luego" to Madrid. I will certainly miss her and all her beauty.

But more than I'll miss Madrid, I'll miss Guille. We went to a restaurant tonight called La Mazmorra (The Dungeon). We celebrated my last night in Madrid by ordering the same things (not for nostalgic reasons, but because we like them!) that we ordered five months ago on our first date there. Thanks, Guille, for the perfect night. I'll miss you.

To all you Madrileños...HASTA LUEGO!

And to all you Michiganders...SEE YOU SOON!

The Rest of the Story

I'm glad to see that my most faithful readers are still out there, and I loved your guesses. Here is the rest of the story...

Accident Número Uno: The matador was carried out of the ring to the on-site infirmary. He appeared very limp and I thought maybe he was dead. Then, Julie was right; they asked me to finish the job and I killed the beast after a few dances. No, what actually happened was that another matador came out right away, danced a bit, and then the crowd started yelling for him to stop. The first matador had come out the infirmary and wanted to finish the job (get revenge on that bull, I assume). So he went back in and stabbed the bull a couple times, but just couldn't kill the beast (Hotel California reference there, if you didn't catch it). The matador (and the bull, I imagine) was in a lot of pain and limping. He sock was soaked with blood, and he finally gave up. His cronies (the guys that tire out the bull before the matador comes out) came and got him. One very ceremoniously took off his tie, making it into a tourniquet for the matador's leg, and then they carried him away. The other matador finished off the stubborn bull. I left with my heart racing and later that night Spain won the Eurocup. So it was an exciting day!

Accident Número Dos: The waiter apologized profusely, asked if my laptop was okay (Mac was fine), and brought us a free pitcher of Sangría and a roll of paper towel. Later a woman asked how I was. I said "wet", we ordered pizza, and left after paying full price for the pizza. I commented to Guille that in the U.S. we'd have gotten free everything, excellent service (the pizza took 45 minutes), and an offer for free dry-cleaning (like Neogeezer expected, right Dad!?). Spain is different. The pizza was delicious, though.

Two Spanish Accidents

Okay, so I'm on the two month plan. Do I still have any readers left? I thought it would be fun to write about two Spanish accidents: one that I witnessed and one that I participated in. I'm going to let you guess the endings, though. (Hee hee...that way I'll know if anyone still reads my blog.)

Accident Número Uno
I took my friend Julie to a bullfight. (I'm guessing you know what's coming.) If you've never been to a bullfight, let me explain a few things. First of all, there are SIX bullfights (or bull slaughterings) in one "bullfight". Secondly, the matador is very rarely hurt or killed. It is not a fight that the matador or bull wins, but rather a show, an art...almost a dance. Well, this particular evening, the first bullfighter (of the six rounds) was the best, and he went last, too. He was doing great; the crowd loved him and he was "making the bull dance", as the Spanish man next to me pointed out. During the dance, the bull suddenly decided he wanted a partner and caught the matador's leg with his horn. The matador went down, the crowd gasped, and the bull proceeded to run over him.

Accident Número Dos
Guille and I decided to do some work on our laptops and enjoy the beautiful Spanish evening at the same time. So, we went to a "terraza" (outdoor café) with WiFi to kill to birds with one stone. Sitting in the plaza, we order a pitcher of Sangría and as the waiter cleans the table (AFTER bringing us the pitcher), he knocks it over and the WHOLE thing spills on top of me.

You guess how these two stories end. I'll try to post the endings in less than two months. ;)

Oops

Oops, it's been almost two months. You may be thinking I haven't ambled much lately, but the truth is that I've been ambling so much that I haven't found the time to blog! If I haven't told you personally yet, yes, I did make some decisions about this summer and upcoming school year. After much prayer and thought, I decided to stay here a little longer...until August 19, to be exact. Then, I will be coming "home" to Michigan and teaching elementary Spanish at Holland Christian. I'm looking forward to a new challenge of working with elementary school children and developing the relatively new Spanish program there.

As for my time here, I finish aiding on June 19. On June 12, my good friend Julie from HC is coming and after I'm done at school, we'll head to Ireland for a week! I can't wait! Then, in July I will be teaching at an English day camp and continuing with some of my private English classes. In August I hope to do some serious traveling...along with the rest of Europe. In Spain, the whole country (except those who work in tourism) have the month of August off.

What have I been doing the last two months? Uf! (Spanish utterance of exasperation) Some of the highlights include: dating Guille my new Mexican boyfriend (see photo), going to beautiful Belguim and Switzerland, hanging out with my good friend Sarita (who lived here last year and visited from Boston), making cupcakes for my students (who had never tried them before), making decisions and plans (see above...again, uf), and just having a good ole' time in Madrid!

Portugal 2008

I am blogging from an Internet place in Portugal! Thursday night my friend Maureen and I flew into Lisboa. Friday morning we rented a car and drove up to Porto. We stayed there till Sunday morning and spent Sunday in Viana do Castelo. Today we drove to Braga (where I am now)...and we still have a whole week of adventures left! We plan to drive back down to Southern Portugal, stopping in Óbidos, Nazaré, Sintra, and Cascáis on the way. On the Southern coast we'll stay in Tavira and Lagos, and then explore Lisboa before heading home! Phew! It sounds crazy, but has actually been very laid-back and relaxed so far. The only part that wasn't too relaxed was today when I told Maureen to get over one lane to the left and it turned out to be a two lane road (not one way like all the rest) and an oncoming car almost hit us. Oops. No problem, though. We both had our baseball caps on so it was pretty obvious that we were silly foreigners. Other than that incident, things have been going swimmingly with the driving. Maureen drives and parallel parks like a pro and I navigate. We're both very easy-going so we don't fight or get stressed out. ;)

Here are some highlights from our trip so far:
Thursday
-taking 45 minutes to find our first hotel that was three miles from the airport...yeah, the navigator had some problems in Lisboa

-a very rough night of sleep due to something loud buzzing every so often and drunk people knocking on our door at 3am (If you ever go to Lisboa, don't stay at Residencial Solar!)

-learning Portuguese with the CD of musical chants I bought

Friday
-accidentally driving through the automatic pass lane at the first toll, not getting a ticket, and then having to pay a lot because we didn't have a ticket...live and learn

-a good night of sleep!

Saturday
-lots of fun exploring Porto by foot in rain, wind, and sun

-seeing The Sound of Music in Portuguese! It was awesome! Good singers, great set, AND they put random subtitles in digital above the stage in English! (Are they called SUBtitles if they are ABOVE the stage?) The funny thing about the subtitles is that sometimes they would just say really obvious things like "The nuns sing." ...thanks, we got that.

Sunday
-joining the locals to eat at a café on a terrace while watching a Palm Sunday procession

-eating Pizza Hut and watching the movie Michael Clayton in English (yes, it was an All-American night...aside from the intermission in the middle of the movie...??? we didn't get it, either)

Monday
-commenting that it looked nice out and then driving to Braga in pouring rain

-an AWESOME cathedral and grounds way up on a mountain

-HAIL!!!!

-meeting a nice older man at the cathedral on the mountain, seeing him again before we drove back down, and then running into him again in the cathedral in Braga...coincidence?? He offered to show us around, so we toured the city with him and then went for tea and a pastry. He was really nice and taught us more Portuguese. :) By the way, my pastry was "bean"...it was good though. I don't get the whole bean thing here...they were selling them as snacks in plastic bags yesterday, too...like the big white kidney type beans...

That's about it! I don't have pictures because I forgot my cable to hook my camera up. :(

The Perfect Weekend (Text)

Every once in a while you have a perfect weekend...it's sunny and warm so you play hard, you pray hard, and you thank God for your life. That was my weekend. Saturday I taught my "Spanish kids", played a great tennis match in the Spanish sun with my new friend Guille, went back to the park to pray, planned my upcoming trip to Portugal with Maureen, and went to an incredible Greek restaurant for dinner with friends. On Sunday I went to church and took my Spanish roommate, Ana, along! We stayed for a delicious potluck and then went for a walk in a gorgeous park. Later I went to Liz's house to catch up over some eyebrow maintenance, and then ran with Julie in Retiro. It was balmy out even after dark!

The neatest thing about Sunday was that Ana really enjoyed the protestant church service. Ana is catholic, like most Spanish people, and didn't know anything about protestantism, like most Spanish people. The singing at the beginning of the service brought tears to her eyes, she loved how we all seemed like a family, and she was really surprised that there were no images or icons in the church. It was cool having her there and seeing my church through her eyes. Oh, and to add to the perfection of the weekend, we sang all my favorite songs on Sunday! :)

Check out the pictures below! Oh, and did I mention that it had to be at least 70 out? But don't get too jealous, it was cold today.

The Perfect Weekend

Spanish Culture Quiz

1. For what meal of the day would you eat scrambled eggs?

2. Who are the people in this picture?


3. What is Flamenco?

4. What is the largest city?

5. What is the most popular food?

6. How do you say "good-bye" in Spain?

7. What is the most popular sport?

8. True or False: You should never take off your shoes when you go to someone's house (piso).

9. When would you eat pancakes?

10. Who is the king? (Yes, there is a king.)

Let's see how you did.

1. Dinner (maybe lunch, but not breakfast and they'd most likely contain Spanish sausage, mushrooms, or potatoes)


2. Recent Oscar winner, Javier Bardem and his mother, Pilar Bardem. Pilar, also an actress, lives on my street. :)

3. Flamenco is a type of singing, guitar playing, and dancing that originated in Southern Spain by the gypsies. Still popular, it is an art form and has also been mixed with other pop styles in music. One of my favorite Flamenco Fusion groups is Estopa.


4. MADRID, the capital where I live! You better have gotten that one right!

5. Hmm...I'd have to say JAMÓN (pronounced ha-MOAN...but try to clear your throat on the "ha")!!! That's ham, but remember, it ain't no Honeybaked. It's the leg o' pig that has been dried and sits in a "jamonera" on the counter of every bar. Also, a popular flavor for Ruffles chips is "jamón jamón". Of course, "una jamona" is a very rude way of referring to a curvy woman.




6. Hasta luego. This means "see you later", but people almost never say "adiós" here. Since they say "see you later" for "good-bye", they have to say "hasta ahora" (see you now) for "see you later".

7. No, it's not soccer. It's FÚTBOL. After fútbol it'd be basketball and Formula One. Bullfighting still has its following, but that's more of an art form.

8. True. Shoes always on. They don't have carpeted homes here.

9. For dessert at VIPS, a restaurant with American type food. They'd be served with chocolate syrup and whipped cream.

10. Rey Juan Carlos. He recently made news for his "Why don't you shut up?" comment to Hugo Chávez.

How many did you get right? Scroll down to enter the number of your correct answers.

Lambs and Love

Here are a few pictures to summarize my weekend. Friday my friend Maureen and I went to a pueblo (town) an hour and a half away from Madrid called Sigüenza. It was a chilly but gorgeous day, and it was just nice to get out of the bustling city for a while. As Maureen and I were walking up the path on the side of the town (first pic), we heard some bells. Then we saw the big herd of sheep they were attached to! It's not uncommon to see sheep in Spanish countryside. They come complete with a shepherd and a dog! We had fun taking pictures of them in front of the castle. Then we went to lunch, and you can guess what we ordered. ;) (I'm not exactly an animal rights activist, as most of you know.)





On Saturday I went to Julia and César's wedding. They are friends of mine from church. It was a very fun and tiring day. Many of us from the church pitched in to pull off a wedding and reception for 100+ people. I made the guacamole (which was a huge hit)...I'm known for it at church. And, no, people here don't eat Mexican food. Most people ask what it is, try it, and then say, "Oh! That's spicy!" Anyway, it was a beautiful ceremony for two wonderful people. Julia is German and César is Colombian so it was international with part of it translated from Spanish to German. It was at noon, but I got there at 10:30 to help with the food. I left around 9...after the ceremony, appetizers, lunch, clean-up, a slide show, a flamenco dance by a girl in the church, and then a good couple hours of dancing. It was quite the day!

Here are some pics from the wedding. The first one is Orlando (from the Xmas party), the happy couple, and me; and the second one is my good friend José and me.

The Snooze Button

Well after receiving various guesses via e-mail and comments, Julie is the winner of the "name the alarm clock" contest. She also lives in Spain and can identify with my pain, I'm sure. It's obras, or construction. But, no, the construction is not across the street or in the piso a few floors up; it's on the other side of my bedroom wall. That's right. Last week I was awakened by a "saws all" cutting into the plaster. As I lay in bed horrified, I fully expected it to cut right into my side of the wall. On Friday I was armed. I put my iPod next to my bed and as soon as my "alarm clock" went off, I turned on some Enya as loud as I could. It didn't matter. Like I said, you can't turn this super-special clock off.

Since I had been turning into a semi-nocturnal creature, staying up till 2 and getting up at 10, I though this would be a good time to readjust my sleep habits. This week I decided to try to wake up before my "alarm clock". It was going well. I was waking up earlier and the construction moved to a different floor.

But the story doesn't end there. Today was as if someone had decided to push snooze and allow the clock to go off all day long. In fact, when I left this morning at 9:45, the noise hadn't begun. I thought I was in the clear. I was wrong. I got home at 3:20 with 10 minutes to spare before a phone interview for a job this summer. Just as I was ready to sit down and wait for the call from the U.S., OBRAS! Hammering right outside my door. I quickly gathered my things and speed-walked to Retiro park. Thankfully it wasn't raining, just a little chilly. The interviewer called and everything went very well. Yea! Of course, as I type a drill has started going...snooze button, please!

If you are curious, the interview is to teach Spanish at a new language camp for middle and high schoolers in California! It's through Middlebury College and I'm really interested in the position! So, say a pray for me or cross your fingers or think positive thoughts or whatever it is you do! ;)

One more thing, the verdict is...the font stays the same. I'm sure Neogeezer will appreciate that! Right, Dad?

My New Alarm Clock

I have a new alarm clock. It goes off every day at 9am. I cannot set it for any other time and I cannot sleep through it. I did not buy it. I can only call it a gift. Any guesses?

A Blogger's Confession

I write mental blogs. Yes, so when I look at my blog and see that a week has gone by without a new blog I think, "What?! I've written at least six blogs since then!" Oh wait, they were all in my head. Here is a list of random topics I've thought I should blog about.
-People rarely use clothes dryers in Spain.
-People really do look like their dogs (I thought as I passed a bulldog and his owner on the street today).
-I have had to explain the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism more times in the last year and a half than I have ever had to do before in my life.
-I hosted a birthday dinner last night for eight people and found my Spanish roommate's comments interesting...She thought the tealight candles on the buffet were cool. She was impressed by the Betty Crocker cake. Over all the whole situation seemed strange to her. People just don't entertain here in their homes.
-Today I passed a sign advertising the "burying of the sardine". I witnessed this burial 10 years ago in Denia, Spain and never knew quite what to make of it. Now I know it has something to do with Carnaval.
-I am dressing up as a wolf for Carnaval tomorrow at school. The American guy is going as Little Red Riding Hood. Should be interesting.
-I am used to Spanish bluntness. Yesterday someone told me I looked fatter in an old photo and I didn't even bat an eye...maybe I would have if it had been the other way around.
-The library puts due dates on the books and movies I check out, but never charges me when I bring them back late.
-The library has no drop box inside or outside (hence the late books).
-To play tennis in Retiro Park you have to go during the week on the half hour and pay 5.40 Euros for an hour. If you want to play on the weekend you have to go in person during the week, make the reservation, pay, and then play on the weekend ON the hour. (The Official "Let's Make Things as Difficult as Possible" Board of Spain came up with that system.)
-Why hasn't Flamenco dancing caught on in the U.S.?

Hey, let me know if you want me to expound any of these topics!

Sorry about not getting past the entryway of my piso. I just can't get it to upload. You'll have to come visit. ;)

Videos of my Humble Abode

Okay, it takes forever to upload these videos so you'll have to wait for the rest of the tour! To be continued...

Grammar Girl Rocks!

I have a new obsession: Grammar Girl, a.k.a. Mignon Fogarty. She rocks. If you've never heard of her, check out her website or download her podcast. On her website there is a link to a photo pool of signs containing poor grammar. Well, this one takes the cake (pun intended). First, look at the picture. Then, try to figure out what it means. Finally read the comment below and let out a horrified laugh. Enjoy, and as Lynne Truss says in Eats, Shoots & Leaves, "Grammar Sticklers, Unite!"

Hee hee hee

I'm chuckling because Mac has a feature where the forecasts for both Madrid and Grand Rapids come up on my screen. Here's a quick comparison:

Madrid: A big sun every day this week, lows in the mid forties and highs in the low sixties

Michigan: Lots of snowflakes (although there is a sun on both Monday and Thursday!), highest high, 22 (get out the shorts!); lowest low, 4 (that's today...brrr...)

I'm off to play tennis! Have a good day!

Casa: Part Three

Here are some pictures of whom and what make Madrid casa. These are my good friends: Maureen (professional ice-skater redhead), Ana (Spanish roomie), and Liz (crazy Texan making a bridge with me).

We had a blast skating in Retiro park today! And no one fell! Gracias, ladies, for making casa "casa". :)

Christmastime in Michigan

Here are some pictures of whom and what make Michigan home! The top two are at my good friends', Jane and George's, house. We often have "Spanish Department Meetings" there with their munchkins. Nevermind that I'm not part of the Spanish Department anymore, and Julie is a science teacher...

The third picture is when, as Jeff said, my brother and I "stopped by woods on a snowy afternoon" on the way to go skiing.

Finally, the last picture is my group of high school friends (and offspring) after our 15th(?) annual Christmastime dinner.

Thanks, everyone, for making home "home". :)

Home

Before I begin, I must protest the lack of comments on my last post. Personally I found it pretty funny...after all, I am wearing a tambourine on my head. Oh well, I will continue to blog knowing that at least my parents and Laurie "no I don't pay her to comment but should" Guikema will be reading it. Now, to the subject at hand.

In the past year and a half I have often thought that I no longer have a home. I never feel 100% settled. My own house is being rented, I have "lived" in three different apartments in the last year, and whenever I go back to the U.S. I stay with my folks. Also, although I live in Spain, I remain in close contact with friends and family in the U.S. and when I visit Michigan I find myself e-mailing and calling my friends from Spain. The icing on this cake of confusion is that when I visit the U.S. I tell people I'm going "home", but when I come back to Spain my friends here e-mail and ask whether I'm "home" yet. And I say "yes."

Just recently in the midst of my latest "I'm homeless" crisis I read the following in a book by Erwin McManus called Soul Cravings: "Home is ultimately not about a place to live but about the people with whom you are most fully alive. Home is about love, relationship, community, and belonging, and we are all searching for home." That got me thinking. The cliché was right; home is where the heart is. Home feels like home because it consists of the people you love.

Now instead of thinking that I'm homeless, I think about both of the homes I have. (I never thought I'd be a multi-home owner!) There are many people and places I love in Spain and in Michigan. What a blessing to feel at home in each place...and what a blessing to be able to take a part of "the other home" with me when I'm in the opposite place (yea Skype!). Thanks to all of you for always making me feel at home no matter if my suitcase is unpacked or not.