Hola a todos,
Por fin! I finally got around posting the November blog… better late than never! In this blog read about the amusing night with a couchsurfer (if you don’t know what the flip that is, read on!) A fiesta de disfraces, my relationship with the Catholic church ;p (deep I know, sorry!), new arrivals, Thanksgiving celebrations in a small town in the south of Spain, and another magical trip to Sevilla!
Ok, so backtracking to about the 2nd week of November….
Ever heard of couchsurfing? Well, I think you can make an educated guess what it is by the name! So, think hitch-hiking, but with sofas lol. It’s a fun way of meeting new people, it’s absolutely free (great for students who are trying to travel on a budget!) and well organized on a webpage. You can create a profile and host or surf couches in all of Europe and America. Yes mum- it’s also slightly dangerous as you could quite possibly be inviting a lunatic into your home, but Kate assured me you can quite often get an accurate description of the person from comments made from other people who have stayed with/hosted them in the past. It seemed like it could be a laugh, and in our wee town in the middle of the country, we’re sure up for some entertainment! So we hosted a guy from Granada for a night. SO much fun! This young guy was a talented musician and multi-lingual traveler. Talk about feeling inadequate! Chatty, sociable, hilarious, caring, cute….this guy made our week hehe! Not only did he bring DVD’s (i.e entertainment!!) into our home, and buy us dinner, but he also fixed our TV (yes- by plugging it in properly, but how were we supposed to know you have to stick an aerial into it???!!! Oops!) After weeks of only being able to access 3 channels, we are now set up with a ton…including late night movies on LA1 !! Spoilt Oh, and he taught us some fun Spanish words! The best was the difference between ‘una chispa’ un rato and un ratito…each qualifying a period of time- so una chispa would be ‘a moment i.e second’, whereas, un rato could be a few hours. He then explained that this could vary between people, so if one person declares they’ll call you back in ‘un rato’- it could be 2 hours, whilst for another…southern Spaniard especially, it’s more likely going to be 8!
Half way through November, Kate and I attended a Peluca party (wig party!) Kate and I loved it- we bought two rather dazzling wigs from the local Chino store and felt like the Dr Seuss characters! The party was in Rubén’s flat & we danced the night away with our friends, practicing lots of Spanish, learning some new Spanish songs (apparently a few classics from the 80’s!)…a merry night indeed!
New arrivals….
After living with a spare room for a month, Kate and I finally got ourselves a new housemate! May I introduce Miguel Ángel! A 29 year old PE teacher from Jaen, Andalucia. Not only does he have a car (SWEET!) but he is probably the most domesticated man I have ever met in my life! He cooks (and I mean cooks- fresh Spanish cuisine yummy!) and he cleans…in the space of a month I have learnt how to mop a floor the proper way, cook fish ‘a la plancha’, speak with a Andaluz accent –maybe not a good thing!?!! ;p and have been introduced to 20th Century Spanish costume dramas: ‘La Señora’ haha! Not only has the rent now reduced to 150 Euros a month (!!) but we now have a Spanish teacher, a more Spanish lifestyle (our flat now shuts up for siesta like clockwork!) and another amazing friend here in Valverde. Kate and I are quite pleased with our new flatmate.
Another recent arrival, is 25 year old Christen from Florida, USA. Fun, outgoing and entertaining with a slight ‘no me jodas’ attitude, and if you don’t know what that means it’s probably for the best! We love her and she has settled very quickly and become a great friend of Kate, Miguel and mine. Coming from the beach in Florida and the ‘ghetto’, it was a shock for her as she got dropped off in our country town in a now wintery climate. But she’s a tough girl and has settled & adapted quickly and now shares in our frustrations (backwardness ahem*), laughs, excitements and adventures with la vida en Andalucia! I think it’s fair to say we’re all quite different, but we seem to balance each other perfectly so that instead of 3 different cultures/customs/languages colliding with one another, we seem to gel and almost value & respect each other more because of this. Christen is learning British English from me (although I frequently get teased about my random words- quid, ‘half past three’, cutlery, bog, ‘do a wee’ etc are just a couple of examples lol!) And Kate and I are learning Mexican Spanish from her- ¿que Honda guey? And terms like ‘what the French..toast?’ and totally loving the exclamation: Shut up!!! (no way!) –yes, there are actually people who say this- it’s not just on the movies! hehe
Ok, now I’m going to try and face the subject of the Catholic church and my experience with it thus far… I’ll start on a positive and rather ironic story….So a couple of weeks ago I was sat in my room planning lessons, when I heard music. As soon as I heard it I knew it was worship music- I swear my heart skipped a beat and I’ve never moved so quick in my life! It must have been hilarious for Kate watching me run from one side of the flat to the other, trying to figure out where in the street it was coming from! Then we realized it was coming from below us! A catholic church group were having a random meeting in the empty building two floors below us! I think this may have been God hinting ‘right Cor, if you’re not getting off your bum to go and seek out a church, maybe I’ll plant one under your nose and make it easier for you!’ Or something like that lol. So I waited until the service was over, then spoke to the pastor. He informed me that there was a group called ‘Jesus es también para hoy!’ (Jesus is also for today) that met twice a week. So I went. Honestly, the first time I went, it couldn’t have been better. The speaker was incredible and did the infamous illustration of Adam and Eve-tree- snake-sin- separated from God- Jesus comes to build the bridge- unite- forgiveness. You know… the best story ever? Well, the fact it was in Spanish made it even more exciting. But then the following week I was rather confused by the talk. The topic was confession. Yep- catholic style. So not only was it a slightly alien concept for me, but when they asked us directly what we thought about it I was stuck for words. I really just wanted to say: ‘well, if Jesus died so we could have a relationship with him and God, why can’t we speak directly to him…why go through different Saints, and confess to a human in a box?’ But I decided it wasn’t the best idea to insult the church, and I’m already labeled as the ‘Protestant’ that is forbidden to take communion. Ah, this was something I had to have one of those 2 hour Skype sessions with Ryan about. I feel bad for him, he always gets my rants about this kinda stuff lol. But he certainly makes me understand it all better and helps me to let things go. I guess I was just annoyed that people who have taken communion classes because their parents forced them too, and are therefore ‘Catholic’ even though they openly declare a lack of faith, can take part in communion and I have to sit and watch feeling like an outsider. Let’s just say the Catholic church is a little slow to change and can make you feel quite unwelcome if it wants. But it’s certainly made me even more thankful for my church back home, that’s for sure! On a more amusing note, I need to start learning the Catholic hand movements- they do a lot of things with their hands and it’s rather confusing- God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit etc- but one time the priest did this thing were he touched his face in like 10 different places really quickly and everyone followed- I think I probably looked like I was slapping my face – I had no idea!
American influence in Spain
Ok, so backtracking to about the 2nd week of November….
Ever heard of couchsurfing? Well, I think you can make an educated guess what it is by the name! So, think hitch-hiking, but with sofas lol. It’s a fun way of meeting new people, it’s absolutely free (great for students who are trying to travel on a budget!) and well organized on a webpage. You can create a profile and host or surf couches in all of Europe and America. Yes mum- it’s also slightly dangerous as you could quite possibly be inviting a lunatic into your home, but Kate assured me you can quite often get an accurate description of the person from comments made from other people who have stayed with/hosted them in the past. It seemed like it could be a laugh, and in our wee town in the middle of the country, we’re sure up for some entertainment! So we hosted a guy from Granada for a night. SO much fun! This young guy was a talented musician and multi-lingual traveler. Talk about feeling inadequate! Chatty, sociable, hilarious, caring, cute….this guy made our week hehe! Not only did he bring DVD’s (i.e entertainment!!) into our home, and buy us dinner, but he also fixed our TV (yes- by plugging it in properly, but how were we supposed to know you have to stick an aerial into it???!!! Oops!) After weeks of only being able to access 3 channels, we are now set up with a ton…including late night movies on LA1 !! Spoilt Oh, and he taught us some fun Spanish words! The best was the difference between ‘una chispa’ un rato and un ratito…each qualifying a period of time- so una chispa would be ‘a moment i.e second’, whereas, un rato could be a few hours. He then explained that this could vary between people, so if one person declares they’ll call you back in ‘un rato’- it could be 2 hours, whilst for another…southern Spaniard especially, it’s more likely going to be 8!
Half way through November, Kate and I attended a Peluca party (wig party!) Kate and I loved it- we bought two rather dazzling wigs from the local Chino store and felt like the Dr Seuss characters! The party was in Rubén’s flat & we danced the night away with our friends, practicing lots of Spanish, learning some new Spanish songs (apparently a few classics from the 80’s!)…a merry night indeed!
New arrivals….
After living with a spare room for a month, Kate and I finally got ourselves a new housemate! May I introduce Miguel Ángel! A 29 year old PE teacher from Jaen, Andalucia. Not only does he have a car (SWEET!) but he is probably the most domesticated man I have ever met in my life! He cooks (and I mean cooks- fresh Spanish cuisine yummy!) and he cleans…in the space of a month I have learnt how to mop a floor the proper way, cook fish ‘a la plancha’, speak with a Andaluz accent –maybe not a good thing!?!! ;p and have been introduced to 20th Century Spanish costume dramas: ‘La Señora’ haha! Not only has the rent now reduced to 150 Euros a month (!!) but we now have a Spanish teacher, a more Spanish lifestyle (our flat now shuts up for siesta like clockwork!) and another amazing friend here in Valverde. Kate and I are quite pleased with our new flatmate.
Another recent arrival, is 25 year old Christen from Florida, USA. Fun, outgoing and entertaining with a slight ‘no me jodas’ attitude, and if you don’t know what that means it’s probably for the best! We love her and she has settled very quickly and become a great friend of Kate, Miguel and mine. Coming from the beach in Florida and the ‘ghetto’, it was a shock for her as she got dropped off in our country town in a now wintery climate. But she’s a tough girl and has settled & adapted quickly and now shares in our frustrations (backwardness ahem*), laughs, excitements and adventures with la vida en Andalucia! I think it’s fair to say we’re all quite different, but we seem to balance each other perfectly so that instead of 3 different cultures/customs/languages colliding with one another, we seem to gel and almost value & respect each other more because of this. Christen is learning British English from me (although I frequently get teased about my random words- quid, ‘half past three’, cutlery, bog, ‘do a wee’ etc are just a couple of examples lol!) And Kate and I are learning Mexican Spanish from her- ¿que Honda guey? And terms like ‘what the French..toast?’ and totally loving the exclamation: Shut up!!! (no way!) –yes, there are actually people who say this- it’s not just on the movies! hehe
Ok, now I’m going to try and face the subject of the Catholic church and my experience with it thus far… I’ll start on a positive and rather ironic story….So a couple of weeks ago I was sat in my room planning lessons, when I heard music. As soon as I heard it I knew it was worship music- I swear my heart skipped a beat and I’ve never moved so quick in my life! It must have been hilarious for Kate watching me run from one side of the flat to the other, trying to figure out where in the street it was coming from! Then we realized it was coming from below us! A catholic church group were having a random meeting in the empty building two floors below us! I think this may have been God hinting ‘right Cor, if you’re not getting off your bum to go and seek out a church, maybe I’ll plant one under your nose and make it easier for you!’ Or something like that lol. So I waited until the service was over, then spoke to the pastor. He informed me that there was a group called ‘Jesus es también para hoy!’ (Jesus is also for today) that met twice a week. So I went. Honestly, the first time I went, it couldn’t have been better. The speaker was incredible and did the infamous illustration of Adam and Eve-tree- snake-sin- separated from God- Jesus comes to build the bridge- unite- forgiveness. You know… the best story ever? Well, the fact it was in Spanish made it even more exciting. But then the following week I was rather confused by the talk. The topic was confession. Yep- catholic style. So not only was it a slightly alien concept for me, but when they asked us directly what we thought about it I was stuck for words. I really just wanted to say: ‘well, if Jesus died so we could have a relationship with him and God, why can’t we speak directly to him…why go through different Saints, and confess to a human in a box?’ But I decided it wasn’t the best idea to insult the church, and I’m already labeled as the ‘Protestant’ that is forbidden to take communion. Ah, this was something I had to have one of those 2 hour Skype sessions with Ryan about. I feel bad for him, he always gets my rants about this kinda stuff lol. But he certainly makes me understand it all better and helps me to let things go. I guess I was just annoyed that people who have taken communion classes because their parents forced them too, and are therefore ‘Catholic’ even though they openly declare a lack of faith, can take part in communion and I have to sit and watch feeling like an outsider. Let’s just say the Catholic church is a little slow to change and can make you feel quite unwelcome if it wants. But it’s certainly made me even more thankful for my church back home, that’s for sure! On a more amusing note, I need to start learning the Catholic hand movements- they do a lot of things with their hands and it’s rather confusing- God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit etc- but one time the priest did this thing were he touched his face in like 10 different places really quickly and everyone followed- I think I probably looked like I was slapping my face – I had no idea!
American influence in Spain
The end of November saw the Americans (and the ‘half American’ as I’m now also called!) bring their culture and celebration of Thanksgiving to a small town in Spain! We held a dinner party at the flat, and all got stuck in with preparing food, decorations etc. Kate’s mum visited that week and so it was good fun having her around, shopping for the non-existent turkey, and finally settling for a whole chicken! T
he meal was a success, everyone brought a dish and so we had plenty of food for everyone. Although there was a slight hitch at the start, as the Spanish found the concept of a buffet rather confusing, but they soon got the idea that they had to eat off their own plate and help themselves to the buffet table- I think tapas is all their used to for an evening meal- but we got there eventually, and Christen got them all to hold hands (yes- about 20 of us!) and said grace.
Making my apple pie was interesting as there were no pie dishes or rolling pins, but it was a laugh nevertheless.
Finally, November finished with a short and sweet weekend trip to Sevilla with Christen, Kate and her mum. It was great to see Sevilla decorated for Christmas, with a nativity market and chestnuts roasting on every street corner. We ate well, as ever here in Spain! Yummy tapas, Flamenco por la noche and all the usual treats that come with my favourite city.
We celebrated Barbara’s 60th birthday in Valverde, taking her out for delicious tapas! (I just realized I’ve talked an awful lot about food in this blog- I used to tease the Spanish about it, and now listen to me…but it is sooo good) Miguel found it strange and almost rude that I dipped my cheese into my wine, so kate and I tagged him later on facebook in a photo of a friend of ours and I dipping cheese into wine. The catch-phrase was ‘Immersion del queso en el vino- un tradicción de Jaen- que rico!!!’ …in other words, we claimed that it was a tradition from his home city in Jaen, Andalucia hehe. Oh flat banter!
Before Barbara flew back to Wisconsin, we managed to visit the Saturday market in Valverde- out in the streets the tents are full with shoes and clothes at really excellent prices! I splashed out on two sexy pair of heels and then bought sensibly by buying some winter clothes- although the weather is still dry and the days are sunny, the nights can be cold and due to the backwardness of southern Spain, the houses aren’t heated! Que frío!
We also bought a Christmas tree for the flat and had a laugh decorating it, especially when we switched on the lights to find they were musical lights that played a very out of tune jingle bells! Fortunately there’s an off button!
Well I think that’s it for November folks. Will be posting a final blog before Christmas with tales from our trip to Lisbon (amazing city!) for the December 4 day weekend and any other happenings here in Valverde. So until then, besos a todos! Keep in touch!
Blessings,
Cor xXx
he meal was a success, everyone brought a dish and so we had plenty of food for everyone. Although there was a slight hitch at the start, as the Spanish found the concept of a buffet rather confusing, but they soon got the idea that they had to eat off their own plate and help themselves to the buffet table- I think tapas is all their used to for an evening meal- but we got there eventually, and Christen got them all to hold hands (yes- about 20 of us!) and said grace.Making my apple pie was interesting as there were no pie dishes or rolling pins, but it was a laugh nevertheless.
Finally, November finished with a short and sweet weekend trip to Sevilla with Christen, Kate and her mum. It was great to see Sevilla decorated for Christmas, with a nativity market and chestnuts roasting on every street corner. We ate well, as ever here in Spain! Yummy tapas, Flamenco por la noche and all the usual treats that come with my favourite city.
We celebrated Barbara’s 60th birthday in Valverde, taking her out for delicious tapas! (I just realized I’ve talked an awful lot about food in this blog- I used to tease the Spanish about it, and now listen to me…but it is sooo good) Miguel found it strange and almost rude that I dipped my cheese into my wine, so kate and I tagged him later on facebook in a photo of a friend of ours and I dipping cheese into wine. The catch-phrase was ‘Immersion del queso en el vino- un tradicción de Jaen- que rico!!!’ …in other words, we claimed that it was a tradition from his home city in Jaen, Andalucia hehe. Oh flat banter!
Before Barbara flew back to Wisconsin, we managed to visit the Saturday market in Valverde- out in the streets the tents are full with shoes and clothes at really excellent prices! I splashed out on two sexy pair of heels and then bought sensibly by buying some winter clothes- although the weather is still dry and the days are sunny, the nights can be cold and due to the backwardness of southern Spain, the houses aren’t heated! Que frío!
We also bought a Christmas tree for the flat and had a laugh decorating it, especially when we switched on the lights to find they were musical lights that played a very out of tune jingle bells! Fortunately there’s an off button!
Well I think that’s it for November folks. Will be posting a final blog before Christmas with tales from our trip to Lisbon (amazing city!) for the December 4 day weekend and any other happenings here in Valverde. So until then, besos a todos! Keep in touch!
Blessings,
Cor xXx
