Kid Culture

24 Jan 2012

As many of you know, I have a younger sister who just turned 11. As she has grown up,  it's been interesting for me to see what sorts of things are "cool" for kids her age. Mostly, because the same things that are "cool" now were cool when I was a kid. The hilarious part is that kids don't even know that they haven't invented anything "new."

However, the more time that I spend in Spain, the more I realize that these fads are common to "kid culture" and has nothing to do with where a child grows up.

I'm going to share a couple of the trends I've noticed here, and I'll be curious how many of them resonate with your childhood.

Trends this fall:

• fortune tellers; one of the kids approached me to tell my fortune this fall. He gave me "hints" on which number to choose. I ended up with the fortune: eres muy inteligente (you are very smart). Should this student get an A? I think so!
• jewelry making; all the girls were making friendship bracelets. One of my 4th graders gave me a key chain that she made. It was super chulo (cool).
• trading cards; in this case, kids are actually STILL trading Pokemon cards. The cards are in English so I'm not exactly sure what the kids are doing with the cards other than trading the "cool" looking ones. Same goes for Monster High cards/stickers.  
• some games; this is not true of all games, but I've found that Spanish kids also play games like Tic Tac Toe (with slightly different rules; I'll write about that another day), and Rock, Paper, Scissors.

I've heard from a couple sources that you'd like it if I posted more pictures. I don't always take pictures every day, but I'll start posting at least one picture each day--possibly from previous adventures!

Sunrise in the port of Alicante, Spain

Fresh fruits and vegetables!

23 Jan 2012

One of the things I love best about Spain is the ready availability of fresh fruit and vegetables. It's local, and it's cheap too!

In the United States, we have access to a wider variety of fruits and vegetables, but the quality usually isn't as great. Fruits and vegetables are picked before they are truly ripe so that they can be shipped from across the world to our supermarkets.

That's why they don't taste as good! As soon as they are picked, they start to lose their flavor!

In Spain, it's much more common to go to the mercado (market) for fruit and vegetable needs. There, local farmers sell their goods at a much lower price than you'd ever find in the US.

In Alicante, even when I walk into the supermarket, nearly all of the fruit is local. If it isn't from continental Spain, it's usually from the Canary Islands.

Last week, strawberry season started. For the start of the season, these strawberries are amazingly juicy!

All this fresh fruit has been giving me cravings for fruit smoothies! Unfortunately, my apartment doesn't have a blender. However, after a week of contemplation, I decided today that I should go ahead and buy a blender so that I can make smoothies in my apartment!

The first smoothies (banana and strawberry) turned out delicious! I can tell that the blender will be well worth it when it starts to heat up!

Enjoying Nature

23 Jan 2012

This morning, we once again walked down to Jávea's port--but with a different purpose in mind.

Jávea has some great hiking trails--some that take as little as an hour and others that take six hours! We decided to take a short hike to work up an appetite before lunch!

I wish that I had some pictures to post to my blog of the hiking trail! However, my camera stopped working while I was trying to take a picture of the view from my friend's apartment.

The trails were absolutely gorgeous!

More importantly, they provided a space with ample quiet and opportunity to reflect.

I find that traipsing through the woods brings out the contemplative side of my personality. This is partially due to a course I took a few years ago.

When I studied abroad in Spain in 2009, I took a course called "Theory and Practice of Urban Life." This was perhaps one of the most fascinating courses that I have ever taken.

One of the themes that we studied and debated was nature versus the city. One of the most important works that we read on the subject was Thoreau's Walden Pond.

Thoreau and I have a difficult relationship. I read him in high school and found a lot of his writing boring. I mean, he spends a whole chapter describing his cabin--down to it's dimensions.

However, if you can get through all that--you'll find that he is incredibly insightful.

Thoreau writes:


Not until we are lost, in other words, not until we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations.

It's only when we step out of what's comfortable and easy that we are able to discover.

I feel that this is the theme of my Fulbright experience in Spain. 

I could have easily stayed in the United States. I'd have been perfectly comfortable in my hometown, but I don't know that I would have had the same opportunities for growth. 

Instead, I took the harder--and infinitely scarier--path. Obtaining my visa and settling in a new--and foreign--city was by no means easy. 

I'll admit there were times last summer when I was scared. I didn't know how I'd settle in a new city. I'm from a rural town in the Midwest. A city of 300,000 people is a big chance. I didn't know how easily I'd make friends. I didn't know exactly what I would be doing for my job. The job title "teaching assistant" can mean a lot of different things for different teachers. And on, and on...

However, in coming to Alicante, I've learned so much about myself. I've had situations arise that have pushed me to the limit and forced me to grow. 

To Javea!

21 Jan 2012

This weekend, I went to Jávea to visit a Fulbright friend! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this breath-taking place because my camera is malfunctioning. The next time that I go I'll be sure to post some pictures!

Jávea (or Xabia in Valencian) is a town of approximately 30,000 people--many of whom are expats from England. It's estimated that around 7,000 of Jávea's residents are British expats. They go to Jávea to retire and live the rest of their lives out in one of Spain's sunniest places. Some tourists visit Javea to escape the gloomy British climate.

The town is divided into 3 parts: el pueblo (the town), el porto (the port), and el arenal (the beach).

Today, we spent most of our time down by the port. There were tons of restaurants located along the boardwalk. We wanted to go to the restaurant that looked like it had the most locals. Unfortunately, there wasn't any space left for us! So we went with our second choice--which turned out to be delicious!

As many of you know, I'm kind of a connoisseur of desserts. Basically, I couldn't care less how my main meal tasted if I've had a really great dessert.

This restaurant didn't disappoint! We had a tarta de naranja--an orange cake. It was super moist and flavorful--with chocolate on top! I could have eaten the whole cake!

A few months ago, my Fulbright friend told me that you can actually buy bagels in Jávea!!! This is largely due to the large British expat population. There are a couple British supermarkets to choose from. I decided that it was time to stock up on a few products that I can't get in Alicante.

I ended up with cinnamon and raisin bagels as well as cranberry and blueberry bagels. I also bought some vanilla extract--which is REALLY hard to come by in Alicante.

The weird (or nice) thing about the supermarket was that nearly everyone that worked there was English or spoke English very fluently! Likewise, most of the clientele was English-speaking, and it was strange to hear people speaking in Spanish.

I guess I've just gotten so accustomed to speaking in Spanish everywhere that I go. It seemed weird to get the chance to converse with native speakers of English.

Adventures in English

20 Jan 2012

Continuing with a theme from yesterday's blog post, I wanted to write about how impressed I am with my students this week!

I've noticed that they are starting to use more English with me--without forcing it out of them.

Yesterday, a group of 6th grade girls passed me in the hall and asked, "How are you?"

I told them that I was good and that it was Thursday--almost the weekend.

They replied, "I like the weekend. It's my favorite."

Today, we expanded on this conversation.

Once again, they approached me and asked, "How are you?"

I said that I was doing pretty good and asked them the same question.

To which, they replied, "Fine. It's Friday! Almost the weekend!"

Me: "I know! I'm so excited! Do you sleep in on the weekend? I usually sleep until 11 o'clock."

6th grade student: "No. I wake up at 9 o'clock. Saturday's my favorite day. I don't like Sunday."

Me: "Why?"

6th grade student: "Next day I have school."

I was so pleased to have them speaking to me in English--especially in the hallway where students don't really think about speaking to me in English!    

You´re a Star!

19 Jan 2012

After yesterday´s class with 1st grade, I decided that something had to be done to motivate them to behave better.

A friend of mine gave me some great advice--which worked like a charm (at least for today!).

The idea is that I have a little certificate that says "You're a star!" on it. At the end of class, I choose a student who has been especially good--following directions, keeping quiet, participating, etc. That student gets to be the STAR for the day.

At the beginning of class today, the students saw the certificate and started asking me what "star" was in English.

I explained to them that one of them was going to be a STAR at the end of the class.

To which, one of the students replied, "Como tú? (like you?)" pointing to the star sticker on my shirt.

Lucky for me, one of the students in the class before gave me a pink star sticker--so I was able to say, "Sí. Puedes ser una estrella como yo. (Yes! You can be a star like me!)."

Throughout the rest of the class, they were on their best behavior! I could hardly believe that they were the same students from the day before. However, at the end of the class, it was clear who was the star of the class.

One of my students is working really hard to learn English. She always participates when asked a question, and she tries to use English whenever possible.

In fact, she uses a made-up English when she doesn't know something in English.

Before each class, their classroom teacher tells them that they can only speak English and if they don't know how to say something in English they should be quiet.

This girl has taken that to heart. When she doesn't know how to say something in English, she starts to babble words--like "hhhhumm ha unnn ha pah." With gestures, of course.

It's super adorable. I really appreciate that she doesn't just default to Spanish but really tries to speak in English!

Intercambio

18 Jan 2012

Today, I had my first intercambio--language exchange. I´ve been wanting to do this for some time. However, this fall, I wanted to get accustomed to my schedule and the rhythm of living in Spain.

Before Christmas break, two of the teachers in preschool talked to me about the idea of doing a language exchange. I was ecstatic! Finally, I could speak Spanish (with adults) and learn new words/practice some grammar.

Even though I´m living in Spain, I don´t always get the chance to speak Spanish a lot--or rather, I don´t get to have extended conversations with people in Spanish.

At school, I speak to the children in a mix of English and Spanish--depending on their level. I use English as much as I can, but sometimes it´s necessary to use Spanish. That´s the dilemma for any language teacher.

I speak to the teachers in Spanish, but I spend most of the day with the kids--not with the teachers.

At home, I speak to my roommates in Spanish, but they aren´t native speakers of Spanish.

With my friends, we speak in both English and Spanish--depending on the situation. Sometimes we just need to express ourselves in English. But we try to speak in Spanish most of the time.

So I met up with one of the preschool teachers after school, and we spent two hours talking--one hour in English and one hour in Spanish

I learned:

hacer lío


meterse en follones


These two phrases can be used to describe someone who likes to create conflict. Meterse en follones specifically refers to someone who sees a big crowd of people or mess and likes to get right in the middle of it.

Guess who...

17 Jan 2012

As my 5th graders finish up their unit on animals in Tanzania, I prepared an activity to help them practice the vocabulary and grammar they've learned this chapter.

We played a game of Guess Who. I put six pictures of different animals from this chapter. They had to choose one and describe it--using a minimum of three sentences

As an example, I chose the picture of the cheetahs.

I wrote:
They are carnivores.
They have got four legs.
They are yellow and black.

The kids were basically jumping out of their seats in order to guess what animal I had picked. Qué fácil, eh?

This was also my opportunity to sneak in a few useful English phrases for things that they say all the time in Spanish.

When I opened the powerpoint, all of the kids awwwed and said, "Qué mono" about the pictures of the baby animals.

I took advantage of the situation in order to teach them the phrase "How cute!"

Later, someone wanted to go first and said, "Yo primero."

I replied that only students who asked me in English could go first.

They scrambled to think of the word for "first." Finally shouting "First" and "Me. One."

That's the problem with teaching a language. It's really difficult to try to get the students to speak in the target language (in this case, English). They all revert to Spanish--even though they are capable of saying the exact same thing in English.

Protests

15 Jan 2012

I haven´t had time to write about this yet. However, since it´s Sunday, I have some time to catch up on what´s been happening at school.

There´s been a lot of uproar at school in the last week since the Valencian government announced that it was going to be making cuts for all funcionarios--government employees.

For teachers, this means that their salaries are getting cut.

In the US, this would probably mean that teachers would be fired. Here, teachers´ salaries will get cut almost to the point where you would be better off not working but receiving unemployment benefits.

In the Community of Valencia, teachers get a pay increase for every 6 years that they work. In order to receive this pay increase, they have to take some enrichment courses or be doing something to make themselves better teachers--just as you would in the United States.

However, in order to make 271 million euros in cuts, the government has decided to get rid of these pay increases.

Basically, when it´s all said and done, teachers will end up making less than they did 10 years ago!

Of course, teachers are upset about this! It´s the topic of conversation nearly every day during recess!

They aren´t taking it lying down. They´re organizing and protesting.

As a first step, last week, all of the schools protested at the door of their school at 12:30 for 5 minutes--just to make people aware of the situation.

This seemed ineffective. So this coming week, teachers from schools in the area will congregate on the street Miriam Blasco in order to protest. This Saturday, there will be a big manifestation with teachers from every school in Alicante in the city center.

Shopping!

14 Jan 2012

Today, I finally got to take advantage of Rebajas and head to my favorite restaurant!

When I first arrived here in September, there was a restaurant a little bit out of the way that we ate at. The waiters were super nice and the food was good (and cheap!). We started going once a week or once every two weeks. However, there was a whole month or so in which it was closed every time we tried to go there.

It's been in January that it's been open regularly. It was nice to go back and catch up with our regular waitress! They've also changed their menu, and it's even better!

We ate a broth with a pelota--which is sort of like a big meatball. It was really delicious and very filling--probably not the best thing before you go shopping!

The mall was CRAZY! One week into rebajas, and there were still a ton of people shopping. The stores were a MESS! The dressing rooms were stacked with clothes waiting to be put back on the racks.

Friday the 13th...

13 Jan 2012

As I was sitting in my first class of the day, the English teacher asked one of the students to write the date on the chalkboard. It was then that I realized that today is Friday the 13th--a typically unlucky day according to superstition.

I was curious if it was the same in Spain.

Apparently, it isn´t. While we share many superstitions in common (black cats crossing your path, broken mirrors, walking under ladders), this isn´t one of them.

Instead, martes (Tuesday) the 13th is considered bad luck. They say: "Ni te cases, ni te embarques." In English, on Tuesday the 13th, you shouldn't marry or go on a trip.

Tough Stuff

10 Jan 2012

As anyone who has ever studied a language knows, some things are harder than others to learn...

Typically, anything that your native language has but the second language doesn´t (or it´s different) is going to cause problems for learners.

For English speakers learning Spanish, things like gender, the two past tenses (imperfect and preterite), subjunctive, etc... tend to cause problems.

We´ve hit a crucial point with our 6th graders.

They're studying "there is/there are," and they're having a lot of trouble getting the form right.

In Spanish, it doesn't matter if the object is singular or plural. It's always going to be hay. So we've gotten a lot of "There are a castle." or "There is gardens." A lot of phrases that we--as English speakers--take for granted.

On top of this, the past tense is being introduced! So they have to figure out if it's "there was" or "there were."

Back to school...

9 Jan 2012

Alas, all good things must come to an end.... The kids started school again yesterday, but Monday is my day off so today's my first day back.

It was hard to go back. I've gotten used to sleeping until 11 or 12 AM--which makes it hard to wake up at 8 AM. The kids also aren't used to the schedule yet and so they are a little tired and cranky.

I was really intrigued by a number of the questions my kids asked today and what this says about how their understanding is changing.

With one of my 5th grade classes, a student asked me if the text we were reading was more American or English.

It's hard enough for some of the kids to understand that I'm from the United States--NOT from England. However, this question tells me that the student understands that English isn't the same everywhere. He probably knows this about Spanish (especially since a number of the student's at my school aren't originally from Spain), but now he's making the same connection in English.

I told him that some words are different (eraser versus rubber) and sometimes we spell things differently (color versus colour), but that mostly it's the same.

Then, another student asked if I would read the text out loud so they could "hear the word pronounced properly."  

This is interesting because some of the students just pronounce English words as they would in Spanish. This is one of our biggest problems. The teacher will tell them to pay attention to my pronunciation (or the audio selection's), but they disregard everything they hear.

They pronounce "e-skate" instead of "skate." Or "rrrrred" instead of "red."

Some of the classes are better than others at hearing the difference and trying to emulate the native pronunciation. I was excited to hear that these students are trying harder to better their pronunciation!

Hair cut

9 Jan 2012

Today, I FINALLY couldn't stand it anymore, and I decided it was time to get a hair cut. This may not sound like anything terribly exciting, but I wanted to write about the experience.

Even though I speak Spanish pretty fluently, my Spanish education has been academically-focused--so I don't know a ton of words related to hair styles. So I was a little worried about going to get my hair cut and having the hairdresser misunderstand what I wanted.

I had visions of leaving the hair salon with half of my hair cut off! Or a mullet! Or dreads... All of which are "in" right now.

Thankfully, I had virtually no problems!

The hairdresser started by washing my hair and massaging my scalp. Very relaxing! Then, she put deep-conditioning treatment on my hair. This was great because Alicante's water is really hard on my hair.

Then, she started cutting my hair. My bangs didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, but I'm going to try this out and see if I like it.

Lastly, she styled my hair. When I say "styled," she really spent some time making it look nice. She asked me what type of style I wanted, and I asked her for a recommendation for something that she could do. I ended up asking for a little bit of volume. I thought it would take a couple minutes and ya está, but she put in some large curls and made it look really nice.

All of this only cost me 26 euros!

Fun with Linguistics

8 Jan 2012

As I work on catching up on my blog, I'll leave you with some new words and phrases that I've been learning...

guiri--this word means "foreigner." It's specifically used to refer to a tourist who doesn't speak Spanish.

churro--in addition to being a delicious snack, churro can also be used to refer to something as poorly done. For example, if you do a sloppy job, someone could say, "Ha salido un churro." It came out all wrong.

jopé--like jolín, this word means "shoot" or "darn." My kids use it ALL the time when they don't really want to do something. 

Rebajas

7 Jan 2012

After Reyes comes rebajas.

Twice a year, Spain has major sales on everything from clothing and shoes to electronics and books. The January rebajas start right after Three Kings Day, and the second rebajas is in August.

Rebajas is very similar to Black Friday in the United States. People go crazy over the sales! The stores and malls are packed with people. The stores are a mess because the employees can't keep up with people trying on clothes or people leaving clothing wherever they please. The lines to the dressing rooms and the cash registers are LOOOOONNNNGGGG...

I can imagine that many an employee in a clothing store dreads this time of year.

However, this is the best time of year to go to your favorite store that's a bit to expensive under normal circumstances and buy some very nice things at a reasonable price.

It's also a great opportunity to try new things--maybe a style that you don't usually wear.

This year, some stores even started rebajas earlier than Reyes--as owners hope to jump start the flagging Spanish economy.

Reyes and Spicy Food

6 Jan 2012

Today, Spanish children woke up--excited to see if the Reyes had brought them presents or coal. Unlike in the United States, coal given to Spanish children is a sweet. Also, unlike in the United States, children actually do receive coal if they've been bad. Several children told me that they've gotten "coal" at least once.

It was also time for us to eat our roscón de reyes--King Cake. We had two to choose from!

My friend's French roommate brought one back with her from France. It's the one below. It's different from the Spanish roscón de reyes. It's flakier and the inside has a (for lack of a better word) paste made from almonds. It is supposed to served warm. YUM!

I bought a roscón de reyes from the local supermarket. You can get it in all sorts of flavors--cream-filled, chocolate cream-filled, etc. I decided to go with the most traditional--which has no filling just the candied fruits on top. 

Traditionally, each roscón de reyes has two things hidden inside--a figure and a bean. If you find the figure, you are king (or queen) for the day and you have a year's good luck. If you find the bean, you have to buy the roscón de reyes.

This year, I found the figure in the roscón de reyes. After the grapes at New Year's fiasco, I'm glad to be getting some good luck this year!

For dinner, I went over to my host teacher's apartment for enchiladas made by her American husband. Contrary to popular opinion in the United States, Spanish (from Spain) food isn't actually similar to Mexican food at all. In fact, the food that I eat here is much more like the food I eat in the States.

There is one HUGE difference though. Spaniards don't eat spicy food. PERIOD. They might tell you that their brava sauce (served with potatoes and garlic mayo) is spicy. Occasionally, it is a little spicy, but usually it's about as spicy as ketchup.

So I've been craving spicy food like crazy. And I finally got it! The chiles in the enchiladas were enough to make my eyes start to water... DELICIOUS!

Cabalgata de Reyes!

5 Jan 2012

Felices Reyes! It's the night before the celebration of the Three Kings! This means that it's time for the cabalgata or parade!

As I've mentioned before, Reyes or Three Kings is much more important here than in the United States. Most children will get there bigger presents tomorrow morning.

To celebrate the occasion, each city has it's own cabalgata. All of the kids wait eagerly so they can try to collect as many sweets as they can. Unlike in the US where you can only lightly toss candy at people's feet or not at all, people actually THROW the candy so you have to watch out! Of course, you also have to watch out for pushy parents who want their kids to get lots of candy as well as teenagers who think it's cool to get the toys from the Reyes (even though these toys are obviously for really little kids).

Rather than bore you with the details, I'm going to share a few of the videos I took last night with my camera.

The First King...

The Second King...

The Third King...

Home

4 Jan 2012

There isn't much to write about for today--since I spent SEVEN HOURS of the day in the bus on my way back to Alicante...

So I'd like to share some of the interesting words that I learned this weekend from a native to Zaragoza.

yayo/yaya--this is the word used to refer to grandmas and grandpas. They tend to be kind of nosy and love to give advice.

hortera--this means "tacky."

marujas--soccer moms. In Spanish--like in English--this can be a pejorative term.

mellizo/melliza--these are fraternal twins. Identical twins are referred to as gemelos.

Zaragoza

3 Jan 2012

For my last full day in Zaragoza, I wanted to go to the Museum of Zaragoza--which is supposed to have an archaeological exhibit as well as an exhibit on Goya.

However, what I found was a truly incredible exhibit on the Roman settlement in Zaragoza. This settlement was founded by Augustus sometime between 25 and 12 BC after his victory in the war in Cantabría and named Caesar Augusta. The city was constructed by war veterans.

The exhibit had some surprisingly large and complete mosaics.


Here's Pan fighting Eros with Psyche (with butterfly wings) in the background.















In this mosaic, Orpheus plays his lyre. Orpheus was known for his ability to charm with his music. Here, he charms a variety of different animals.








This mosaic depicts the victory of Bacchus over India. 










The museum also had an exhibit on Goya. Francisco Goya was actually born in the region of Aragón. Later, he became the court painter for Carlos III and Carlos IV.

Goya wasn't afraid to paint the world as he saw it. For example, when he painted royalty, he didn't make them look more magnificent or larger than life. He painted them as they were. Goya received some criticism for this. In his painting of Carlos IV and his family, the Queen is in the center with the light focused on her--showing who really was the power behind the throne. 

After an illness, Goya became deaf, and his paintings began to change. The resulting paintings are known as his "black paintings." Most famous among these paintings is "Saturn devouring his child." At this point in his life, he basically never left his house. In fact, he painted some of these "black paintings" on the walls of his home. After his death, they were removed from the walls and eventually taken to the Prado Museum in Madrid.

Here are a couple drawings from the exhibit.

Zaragoza

2 Jan 2012

This morning, our first order of business was to get some breakfast! Since it's Monday, a lot of bars/restaurants were closed. However, we did come across a place that had Brazilian breakfast croquetas.

After breakfast, we made our way to La Aljafería--the Arabic (and later Christian) palace in Zaragoza.


The Aljafería was built during the 11th century under Arabic rule of Spain. However, in 1118, the city was conquered by Alfonso I.

The palace is most famous for it's mudéjar style. The mudéjar style surfaced after the reconquest of Spain. There were some Arabic people who decided to stay in Spain and live under Christian rule. The word mudéjar refers to this group of people who stayed.

This style is a mixture of Islamic and Christian styles.  This style uses a lot of Islamic motifs but uses them in combination with Gothic and Romanesque styles. The mudéjar style typically uses brick, tiling, or woodworking--typical of Islamic style.

The picture on the left shows some of this influence. The bottom part of the room is very Islamic in design. However, you can see the ceiling is clearly more Gothic/Romanesque.

For example, as you can see in the picture above, the stone arch obviously looks fairly Gothic--with the little gargoyle peeking out. However, the decorative motifs here are influenced by nature and are much more Islamic in design.

After our visit to the Arabic palace, we ran into an old Spanish couple (yayos or grandparents as they are called here) who wanted to give us all sorts of advice. The man used to be a firefighter and was telling us stories about some of the big fires he fought back in his salad days. The woman kept telling us that we needed to look up the Instituto Cervantes in the United States so that we could learn Spanish... You know, proper Spanish grammar and all that.

Later, we met up with someone from Zaragoza. He took us around to all the typical sites.

Our first stop was the Basilica of Our Virgin of the Pillar. Yesterday, I wrote a little bit about the story behind the construction of the church. Today, I got to go inside to check it out.

The inside is gorgeous with paintings done by Goya! Unfortunately, you can't take pictures of the inside.

There was a really long line to see the pillar. People go up to the pillar, kneel, say a quick prayer, and kiss the statue. You can see that many people have come to do this over the centuries because of all the erosion in the place where you kneel and the pillar itself.

To Zaragoza...

1 Jan 2012

To celebrate the New Year, a friend and I decided to go to Zaragoza in the region of Aragon.

Resting along the Ebro River, Zaragoza is Spain's 5th largest city. The city plays a particularly important role in the history of Christianity in Spain.

It was in Zaragoza that the Virgin Mary visited the Apostle James when he was in Spain--trying to convert people to Christianity. In his despair, he prayed for help, and the Virgin Mary appeared to him with a pillar/column. She instructed him to make a church where it stood and promised that the site would endure there until the end of time and that many miracles would be worked there.

The church that he constructed is now known as El pilar. I'll write more about the cathedral tomorrow--since we'll likely visit it then.

Zaragoza is also famous for La Seo--a cathedral that has been under restoration for some time. In fact, there was a period of 30 years in which the cathedral was closed to the public. 

Nochevieja

31 Dec 2011

For New Year's this year, I wanted to participate in one of Spain's most traditional New Year's Eve celebrations. For that, I flew from Alicante to Madrid.

Every year, people gather in the Plaza de Sol for New Year's Eve. There, at the stroke of midnight, everyone eats 12 grapes--one for each ringing of the bell. Each grape that you eat brings you a month's good luck in the new year!

I left Alicante late this afternoon and arrived in Madrid by 5:00. The metro was ALREADY packed with people--some heading to Sol and others to their own New Year's parties. One thing I did notice was the amount of ridiculous wigs. It seemed that most people were wearing neon colored wigs.

Why? I'm not really sure. I guess this tradition is particular to Madrid because they definitely don't do it in Alicante!

Once in Madrid, we met up with friends and had the most amazing dinner before we made our way to the Plaza de Sol in order to ensure that we had a good spot!

Police were in full force at various check points around the plaza--confiscating all glass containers.

Then, we only had about two hours to kill. Let me just say that two hours is a long time to wait!

Especially, when you decide that you can wait until after midnight to use the restroom. With a whole hour to spare, a few of us thought that we would be able to make it back in time for midnight.

Which was completely reasonable.

Unfortunately, when we got back to the Plaza de Sol, we couldn't find our friends in the crowd. And, there is no doubt in my mind that we probably passed by them and didn't see them.

No grapes. No good luck for the New Year.

However, I have every hope that 2012 will be just as great as 2011!

Descanso

30 Dec 2011

Descanso. Break. I'm taking a break for the first time since vacation started. But not for long. Tomorrow, I'm heading to Madrid to take part in the traditional New Year's Eve celebrations!

Altea

29 Dec 2011

Of course, I couldn't really spend a few days resting in Alicante before I leave for my next adventure.

One of my American friends in Alicante had a friend visiting from the States, and I tagged along for their trip to Altea.

Altea is a small town north of Alicante. It took us about 90 minutes to get there by TRAM. The town isn't known for much other than it's picturesque beach and La Mare de Déu del Consol (Our Lady of Solace)--which is famous for it's beautiful blue domes.

Near the Cathedral, we came across this little poem in the tile below the street name.

In English, it says:
"Tourist, you that through curiosity
roams our planet,
Stop, and climb up to this square,
which is the crown of Altea,
and from the balcony
at the edge of your table,
you will see a field of Eden
near the slender Bernia*,
and you will believe you've seen a piece
of Heaven here on Earth.
Perhaps, you will tire of climbing
But it's worth the pain!

 *Bernia is a mountain that can be seen from Altea.

After checking out Altea, we headed back to Alicante around sunset. We sat next to the most adorable Spanish family.


I learned a Spanish clapping game. It goes: 


"Soy capitán,
soy capitán
de un barco inglés 
y en cada puerto
tengo una mujer.
La rubia es 
fenomenal, 
Y la morena 
tampoco está mal.

Si alguna vez
me he de casar,
me casaré
con la que me guste más."


I'm captain
I'm captain
of an English ship
and in every port
I have a woman.
The blonde is 
phenomenal 
and the brunette 
also isn't bad.


If someday
I have to marry,
I'll marry
the one that I like more.

Back to Alicante

28 Dec 2011

Before leaving Brussels, I had one more important task to take care of--buying Belgian chocolate!

The owner of my hostel had suggested a number of affordable places to visit. I choose the one closest to the hostel--the Zaabar Chocolate Factory.

I walked into the store/factory and was greeted with the scent of fresh chocolate. In the front of the store, you can actually watch employees as the make chocolate!

There were a TON of delicious and interesting flavors to choose from--which made it exceedingly difficult to narrow it down to just a few. To name a few: dark chocolate with cinnamon, dark chocolate with almonds, and  dark chocolate with peppermint. A few more unusual flavors: dark chocolate with pink berries from Bahia, dark chocolate with lemongrass from Sri Lanka,  and dark chocolate with pepper from Jamaica.

Of course, I couldn't resist eating a bit before getting to Alicante. Belgian chocolate was the perfect snack in the airport!

Luxembourg II

27 Dec 2011

Before returning to Brussels late this afternoon, I had the opportunity to visit two of Luxembourg's museums.

First, I went to the Luxembourg City Museum. I learned of the legend behind the creation of Luxembourg.

Long ago, Count Siegfried came to the valley where the Luxembourg City now lies. It was there that he met a beautiful woman--Melusine. They fell in love and eventually married, but with one condition. Siegfried had to promise Melusine that one day a week she would have privacy. He could not disturb her, or she would disappear forever.

However, one day, the Count--overcome by jealously--decided to check up on his wife, and what he found was a beautiful mermaid. He let out a gasp. When Melusine saw him, she disappeared.

They say that to this day Siegfried searches the river for his Melusine.

After Siegfried's time, Luxembourg has been a site of contention. Though Luxembourg has historically been neutral, it has been fought over and held by the Spanish (more than once), the French (more than once), the Austrians, and the Prussians.

After the Luxembourg City Museum, I visited the National Art History Museum.

My favorite part of this museum was comparing the prehistoric and medieval artifacts and pottery to the artifacts I've seen from the same periods in Spain. It was fascinating to see how some of the pottery displayed similar designs. However, there was that was different. Spain has historically been a place where different cultures meet and mix. This can be seen in Greek-influenced (and later Roman) influenced pottery as well as Arabic/Christian architecture.

Don't get me wrong, the collection in the Luxembourg museum was beautiful, but I really appreciate the richness of culture that has come from the mixing of different peoples in Spain.

Luxembourg

26 Dec 2011

This morning, I got up ridiculously early so that I could catch the train going to Luxembourg! The train ride was a quiet 3 hour train ride, but it gave me time to plan out what I wanted to do in Luxembourg.

Upon arriving in Luxembourg, I decided that I was tired and didn't want to waste time getting lost on my way to my hostel so I took a taxi. A good thing too! Navigating around Luxembourg City is really tricky because a valley runs through the center of the city--dividing the historical part from the more modern part.

The hostel I stayed at--the Luxembourg City Hostel--was the mother of all hostels. It was huge and built almost like a hotel!

With a fellow hostel guest, we explored the city--taking in the sites and the beauty of the valley.


Unfortunately, one of the sites I was most excited to see--Bock Casemates--is closed this time of year. This is the site where--according to legend--Count Siegfried built his castle in 963. It was around this castle that the city of Luxembourg was built. Throughout history, different countries have fought for control of its fortifications. However, in 1867, it was mostly demolished as part of the Treaty of London--which ensured Luxembourg's neutrality.

What remains today are the casemates. During World War II, the casemates were used as a bomb shelter--holding up to 35,000 people!

Next, we explored the historical center--checking out the Grand Ducal Palace, the Place d'Armes, and Gelle Fra.

Gelle Fra (Golden Lady in Luxembourgish) is the monument that was created to honor the people who volunteered to serve in World War I and World War II



















We even walked down into the valley. The path was really steep, and there were signs that said "use at your own peril." That didn't stop us though!

Christmas Day!

25 Dec 2011

I woke up already exhausted from staying up so late celebrating Christmas dinner! Most everything was closed today, but I wasn't going to miss out on seeing something new!

Another hostel guest and I caught the tram that would take us out to the park that the hostel owner had told us about.

The park was in a suburb called Teruven--home to around 20,000 people. The park houses the Royal Museum for Central Africa.

Later, we returned to the city center for lunch and to check out the most famous sites in Brussels--Grand Place, Saint Catherine's, and Mannekin Pis. 

There are numerous legends about how Mannekin Pis came to be. One story says that a child went missing and the parents searched all over the city for him. They found him safe and urinating in a garden. The father had a statue made to thank the people of the city for helping him. Another story tells of a boy who peed on a fuse to prevent explosives from detonating. Who really knows what happened?

The statue is dressed up in different outfits several times a week!

Exploring Brussels

24 Dec 2011

Since it's Christmas Eve, all of the museums and shops are closing early. So I wanted to make sure that I got to see all the museums I was looking forward to visiting!

We started by walking toward the Palais Royale. Near the Palais Royale, there is an archaeological site with the ruins of a previous palace--called Coudenberg.

Coudenberg was really interesting. I could see where different parts of the palace had been built over.

 Later, we went to the Cathedral of Saint Michael since it was nearby. The cathedral had an interesting exhibit of nativity scenes made by members of the community. There were nativity scenes made by Japanese people, Solvakians, Albanians, Spaniards, etc. I enjoyed looking at the scenes and observing how they were different and how that reflected the culture of the people who made it.

Then, it was well past lunchtime, and I was starving! We found a nice restaurant where I had another typical Belgian meal. I even "ordered" in French. The friend I made at my hostel coached me on how to order in French (and later how to ask for the bill). As I practice, I was able to say everything--almost--perfectly. However, when the waiter came, I got tongue-tied. (Stupid Affective Filter!)

I ordered vol-aux-vant--which is basically a pastry bowl that is covered in a creamy sauce with chicken and mushrooms. I also tried a blanche aux cerises--which is a white beer with cherry flavoring. It turned out to be really good--the cherry flavoring wasn't too strong and neither was the beer.

After lunch, I went to the Museé du Cenquantenaire to visit the art history museum. I'd heard that they had some archaeological artifacts and I was exciting to see them and compare them to the artifacts I've seen in Spain. Unfortunately, I arrived an hour before closing and so I only had time to see the Gothic/Renaissance exhibit.

However, I had the good fortune to run into someone else from my hostel! What a small world! Considering that I only know a handful of people in Brussels, what are the odds that we'd both be in the same museum, in the same exhibit, at the same time?

After the museum closed, we decided to go see the European Parliament building--since it was nearby. Given the current situation in Europe, it was interesting to see the place where people meet to decide the future for a continent.

Then, I made a quick buy at the supermarket for a Christmas dinner being held at the hostel. The hostel owner was gracious enough to host a Christmas meal for anyone who was interested. He made the main dish and just asked that we each bring a dish from our respective countries and a bottle of wine.

Since I didn't have any time to cook anything, I bought a typical Belgian Christmas dessert--a cake in the shape of a Yule log!

Christmas dinner was beyond anything that I could have hoped for--especially for my first Christmas away from home. The people that I was fortunate enough to meet were amazing! I met travelers from all over the globe. Everyone had interesting stories to tell of the places they traveled to and their plans for the future.

Brussels, here I come!

23 Dec 2011

I awoke today full of nervous energy and excitement. I was leaving for Brussels this afternoon--which I was ridiculously excited for. However, since I speak barely a word of French (and NO Flemish), I was a bit nervous about how I would communicate.

I know that people say that people speak English nearly everywhere, but I like to be able to speak the language of the people in the place that I'm visiting. I feel that I can discover more about other people's culture when I speak to them in their own language. And I feel a little less like an obnoxious tourist...

I arrived in Brussels late in the afternoon after a (thankfully!) uneventful flight. Amazingly, I made it to my hostel without getting lost--possibly a first!

The hostel was absolutely beautiful. It's actually an old house that's been turned into a bed and breakfast. The owner is also incredibly nice. He gave us a little, informal orientation for traveling in Brussels. He asked us what were interested in seeing. I, of course, mentioned my interest in Belgian chocolate! He showed me all the best (and affordable!) places to get real Belgian chocolate.

He was also able to give me recommendations for places to visit that weren't really obvious on the map. He mentioned a tram ride that would take me through a forest to a park/forest outside of Brussels. This sounds interesting so I might do that on Christmas Day when everything is closed.

Since I arrived so late today I didn't really have time to do anything except eat. I went in search of Belgian food with another person staying at my hostel. We ended up having stoemp with sausage and bacon, and I tried my first Belgian beer! Stoemp consists of mashed potatoes/puree of potatoes with some other vegetable mixed in.

After dinner, we returned to the hostel for a good night sleep since tomorrow is going to be busy!

Los Reyes!

22 Dec 2011

After Papa Noel's visit yesterday, it was starting to feel a lot more like Christmas--at least Christmas as it is in the United States!

However, I was more interested in experiencing how Spaniards celebrate Christmas. For this reason, I was excited for the visit of the Reyes (Three Kings) to our school.

Three dads with kids in infantil came to dress up as the Reyes--Gasper, Melchior, Baltassar. Their costumes were pretty elaborate and required a lot of make-up to make them unrecognizable (to their kids)! The dads were also pretty tall so the moms had to constantly remind them to stoop down a little so the kids couldn't see their jeans and tennis shoes!

Instead of visiting all the classrooms as we did yesterday, all the kids met the Reyes on the playground. Even though it's December, it's nearly 70 degrees Fahrenheit here!

The Reyes sat on their thrones with their helper (students from 6th grade). One by one, each student put their letter to the Reyes in the mailbox and approach one of the Reyes.

These letters are similar to the letters that American children write to Santa. Typically, kids will address their letter to just one of the Reyes, but it's not uncommon to address the letter to all three of them. The kids write about how well they have behaved that year and how they are going to behave in the new year. Then, they ask the Reyes to bring them something.

Since the 3, 4, and 5 year olds can't write yet, their letters included pictures they had cut out of catalogues and their names written as neatly as they could manage.

The Reyes gave each of the kids some little toy to take with them--the 3 year olds got noise makers, the 4 year olds received puzzles, etc...

After school, we had a staff Christmas party with some fantastic food--which, in typical Spanish fashion, lasted for hours!

I wish I had remembered to take pictures of all the food that we ate, but I was too busy enjoying it! We started with some tapas including bread with cheeses and ham as well as some potatoes. There were a number of other tapas that are typical for this region such as delicias de Elx (these were dates surrounded by bacon), a soup with noodles and a giant meatball, and on and on... I can't even remember all that I ate! I'm going to try and track down the list with all the foods so that I can share it!

Part way through the meal, the kitchen staff came out to toast us. They started to sing the song Feliz Navidad--a song I ACTUALLY know because we sing it in the US. So when everyone started to sing along, I was able to also join in! Everyone was REALLY impressed!

For dessert, of course, there was fruit, flan, turrón, and some homemade ice cream.

At that point, I could hardly move because I'd had so much to eat!