please don't tell my landlord

final travels. for now anyway.

2009-04-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

once through with barcelona,... i took a 6 am train to san sebastian, spain where i met alex (the american girl whom i took to lisbon some weeks back). we had a super time climbing the mountains, seeing the views of the city, eating exquisite seafood and picnics on the beach. the beauty there is sensational. the photos don't even do it justice. we climbed to the top of the mountain where you can see the entire city with the ancient architecture right along the beach. probably one of the simplest, yet most satisfying things i've done this whole trip.

we both trained back to madrid together and cooked our last dinner before i caught my flight the next morning. a 3 hour layover in london and the most turbulent flight ever - and i was finally back in new york. after an hour or so in customs, i charmed the security guard into letting me skip the luggage search line. i brought in serious amounts of tuna that i didn't feel like explaining. some of my favorite people were awaiting my arrival and it never felt so good to come HOME. i was welcomed by homemade cupcakes. it doesnt get much better.

i'm having a little trouble with the jet lag. and my internal clock can't figure out if it;s time to eat eggs or pasta.

see final mini-video below. but i'm hoping to complete "spain in 7 minutes" compilation video including candids with the fam. that's to come later.

hope you've enjoyed. thanks for stopping by!
bcn & san seb from AmandaPants on Vimeo.

second home

2009-04-01T00:52:00.000-07:00

... and here they are. the loves of my life.

we had an emotional last supper together as a family. they were departing for their vacation, and i was leaving for final travels. after our feast, the kids surprised me with a card they made filled with pictures of us and memorable quotes. the whole family signed it and told me i always had a home with them. then they presented me with a gift... a small print of the famous gustav klimt painting "the kiss". we saw it together while in the south of spain. i taught them about the artist and told them that the painting was in fact hanging incorrectly. but we all shared appreciation for it. i was so touched. we were all a crying mess.

the next morning we hugged for about 20 minutes and said our goodbyes. then i trained it to barcelona where i met up a girl whom i met 2 years ago while backpacking. we were on the verge of peeing our pants all evening. half from drinking so much, half from laughing so hard. its rainy here today. me and some hostel mates climbed to the top of the city. tonight i have to stay up late so i dont miss my 6 am train to san sebastian. this should be interesting.

as for the family... i love you, i will miss you always. thank you for everything.

status update

2009-03-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

i'm wrapping things up here in spain. i gots about 10 days til departure back to new york. and my upcoming week is pretty packed:

2 days in the mountains
2 days in madrid
3 days in barcelona
2 days in san sabastian
back for a few hours in madrid
then a few more in london
and then home sweet home.

i'm not sure when i'll get time to write about my upcoming travels, so bare with me. i should be able to make a few small ones here and there. and then one large concluding post upon returning home.

i heart spain, but i miss brooklyn. first thing i'm gonna do when i get home is purchase a big fat american cinnamon raisin bagel toasted and smoothered with butter. then i'm gonna inhale it.

and hopefully sometime i can find a job to be able to afford the bagel.

sorry. this story is all mine.

2009-03-26T07:32:00.001-07:00

family road trip: huelva, spain

2009-03-22T04:03:00.000-07:00

located on the southwest coast of spain, there is only a short bridge separating these beaches with those of portugal. with about 6 hours in the car, the kids split their time serenading me with spanish sing-a-longs and american classics like james taylor. they really are storybook adorable. because the fam forgot their camera, i taught the kids how to use mine. we covered video, flash settings, and even shutter speeds. we took ghostly night photos and a ridiculous amount of beach pics. they had a blast and i've secured my reputation with them as 'cool'. when i tried to take a complete family photo, they insisted on using the self timer to include myself, as the photo would not be complete without their "older sister." i'm not gonna lie, i teared a little.

with 3 full days we did nothing except eat, drink, beach, eat, drink, sleep. repeat. we saw some cool stuff in between, like donkeys & flamingos & even a zebra. we ate exquisite dishes every night including black pig and something similar to squid. the family was greeted by local restaurateurs with hugs and drinks on the house. we even took home a complimentary pig leg the size of a turkey. the more sangria the parents made me drink, the more amused they became. i've never had so much fun being so unproductive. i somehow forgot to bring sunblock and now they call me their little 'langosta'. it's spanish for lobster.

fam road trip from AmandaPants on Vimeo.

for now i'm taking a somewhat impulsive mini trip to toulouse, france. remember the kansas boys via lisbon?...

sunny days and cool nights

2009-03-16T04:18:00.000-07:00

i've been hanging out with my spanish bff's and my new american buddy this past week. we've been having yummy dinners, going out to bars to see spanish bands play new orleans style music, and drinking all day in the sun. the warm weather allows for cuter outfits and more excuses to go out. yesterday we all went to a big plaza where hundreds of 20 and 30 somethings gather to hang out and drink from noon til nite. we were introduced us to the best tasting mojito, ever.

this week the family is taking me on vacation to their resort home on the beach, in huelva, located on the south west coast of spain facing portugal. i'm super psyched. we leave wednesday and don't return until saturday so be patient for the updates.

lalatina from AmandaPants on Vimeo.

the cat whisperer

this is my friends house

and this is her closet.

look again

drunken braiding

spreading the word

2009-03-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

ok. i know this is off-topic, but it's incredibly important to me. so i've been obsessively researching and trying to get my head around my next endeavor: southeast asia. i've wanted to go since forever but i've had a different kind of vacation in mind. i've been contacting ngo's and other humanitarian organizations to try and find a place where my bff and i can donate our time and work. ideally we would volunteer in an children's orphanage. not knowing exactly how to go about this, i contacted a friend who's done this sort of thing before. she put me in contact with Barton Brooks, my new found hero. this guy started a non-profit from scratch, Global Colors, that goes around the world helping communities in need. he is truly inspiring and has done such an amazing amount of service. he is also really freakin' nice and has personally responded to my emails giving me advice on my upcoming mission. he keeps a blog documenting his work. he most recent post has really effected me. and i believe sharing is caring. so here it is.

his current project on tour is Guerrilla Aid. at the moment, they are in Uganda assisting a small village known as Batwa. these people are not considered human by their government. they have nothing. his minimum request is to buy chickens for the children to have eggs. 1 chicken costs $7. i bought 2 after reading the story and seeing the videos. then, as a multi-cultural english class, i explained the whole deal to my 14 yr old student. she then responded with "how many euro is equal to $7?" i told her around 5 euro. and dug into her allowance, handed me a bill and asked that i contribute on her half.

even if you can't donate. at least educate yourself: http://www.guerrillaaid.com/

the charms of lisbon

2009-03-09T04:30:00.000-07:00

a weekend was hardly enough. first, our hostel was awesome. good vibes, good energy... great staff. a cute little portuguese lady even secretly made us free crepes. and my travel partner/fellow english tutor has turned out to be my new homie.

overnight trains there and back.. we spent most of the first day walking around, seeing cool shit, and taking it all in. we even tried Ginjinha, a typical portuguese cocktail served all hours of the day that consists of bitter cherries infusing some kind of smooth sweet liquor. later, we heard about a place to have a good meal and hear fado (traditional music of lisbon of which old fisherman's wives used to sing of longing for their husbands). this place was soooo what we were hoping for. not accessible by public transportation or even car, t'was a tiny hole-in-the-wall at the end of a very long, very narrow, very dark street. there were no more than 5 or 6 tables. the owners were an elderly couple, the husband being the waiter, the wife being the cook. we had a feast of Bacalau, a typical fish plate, and all the fixins. then entered grampa, the fado guitarist. then the grandson and other family members appeared to join in on the singing. they took turns for the remainder of the night and even encouraged audience participation. we had plans to eventually go out bar-hopping, but this place was just too cute to leave. they accidentally forgot to charge us for our bottle of wine, so we made up for it in the tip.

day 2 was without itinerary. we sort of wandered around hoping the wind would blow us in the right direction. and it did. we randomly met some fellow americans (kansas boys via france) on a bus and since their day plan sounded much more concrete, we decided to follow them. they turned out to be uber nice and quite adorable. superfun for everyone. they are on a mission to bring "that's what she said" to france. hilarious. one handyman even fixed an annoying defect on my camera. [i am forever indebted] we saw some great views of the coast, ate famous pastries, and played around on a beach in cascais. we topped it off with a meal of 'sord fish' (not to be confused with 'swordfish') and sparkling sangria. good people. good times.

lisbon & cascais from AmandaPants on Vimeo.

off the wagon

2009-03-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

i think i finally have an official intercambio partner. we met at the language exchange meeting last week and we got along quite well. we met today for coffee and i taught him phrasal verbs and he gave me a geographical lesson on dialects in spain. i know what you're thinking, but no, it's not like that. he's a gentleman who's happily married. he just wants to better his english. [sidenote: he is easy on the eye. bummer.]

with plans to meet for coffee, i told him that i do not accept any caffeine in my diet. he gave me a look of absurdity and thoroughly encouraged trying the espresso. he explained that "the shit we drink in the states", otherwise known to the europeans as black water, does not compare. i caved. and he was right. not only was one of the best i've had (coming in close second to italy), but i also felt like a druggie who had been clean and just received their comeback hit. you see, i haven't had a caffeinated coffee in at least 3 or 4 years. same with caffeinated soda. and tea. i barely ever drink decaf coffee. and hardly ever have chocolate. i know, i'm slightly insane but it was originally to cure insomnia and once you clear your body of the routine of caffeine, you realize how unnecessary it actually is. until you're in spain having cafe con leche.

falling in love with flamenco

2009-03-02T11:07:00.000-08:00

my first weekend trip away was to seville, spain... in the southern region of andalucia. decorated with orange trees, moorish influenced architecture and traditions like bullfighting & flamenco, i found it quaint and stunning. it's a walking town which will test your patience as you WILL get lost. all the cobblestone streets and peach painted concrete walls look all too similar. our hostel was one of the better ones i've stayed in, with a rooftop terrace and large shower that actually had better than average water pressure with hot water. thanks to my travel partner/tour guide, we hit all the major sights including the royal palace, which was something out of a movie. this is us taking a peaceful break and enjoying the sunny weather.

but my favorite thing about spain thus far (besides the food) is the flamenco. i've collected a few songs on my ipod but nothing comes close to seeing it live. the name describes a genre of music and also a style of dance. when performed, flamenco is a music + dance combo featuring a guitarist, a male singer and a female dancer. sometimes they are accompanied by a flutist. they can play together or separate, but all tend to clap to keep the beat. authentic performances are not overly orchestrated. the performers play off of each other in a freestyle manner and when the chemistry matches, it can be incredible. generally, the male sings in a whaling fashion usually to the pain of a lost love. the female dances with a base of impossible foot work (stomping), twirling hands and a tragic facial expression. we paid for a professional show and we also saw a more underground version, which was free. both were more than enjoyable but had notable differences... the professional show had a more presentable costume and stage, a more physically attractive dancer and a more intimate setting. i preferred the free show which was bare-bones in the basement of a bar and had more soul. see clip below. (note: the discoloration and awkward angles in the video are not of artistic efforts, but mere evidence that i'm not completely coordinated with my new camera yet. apologies.)

once in the dancing mood, we went out to cuban nightclub where i accepted a dance offering with a short and pleasantly plump spanish gentleman. he taught me basic salsa and then did the same with my friend. after getting dizzy from all the turns and dips, we sat down and just enjoyed watching the pros from the sidelines.

it somehow slipped my mind that we would be there during palm sunday. being strict catholics, the spanish basically shut down the town, so i missed the big flea market day. t'was a bummer. but simultaneously it was some sort of andalucian holiday, where in celebration, the rich women dress up in custom tailored vintage fashions and adorn feathered hats and exquisite furs. so i got my fill of antique imagery.

i spent most of the trip taking lots-o-photos

la la la

2009-02-26T02:16:00.000-08:00

last night, i attended my first language exchange meeting. a girl whom i met through the english teaching program and i went to a bar to meet other foreigners interested in practicing and perfecting their second and third languages. the goal is to speak with someone who's native tongue is the language you wish to practice. i met a few spaniard transplants who were so concerned with using their english that we barely spoke in spanish. fine with me. they told me all the places i need to go before returning to new york. we lightly poked fun at other dialects and cultural differences. we touched upon politics and religious matters of which i quickly deflected. (note to self, and others: you're probably better off not knowing your new foreign friend's opinion on subjects such as these) interestingly, they love obama as much, if not more than we do. they also love new york as much as we do. funny, because they learn a remarkable amount of things only from watching movies and tv. CSI: NY seems to be a favorite here. as the night went on, the room filled up. and everyone, no matter what background, is gracious and thankful for the patience in others willing to help them. a clear and slow pronunciation is a requirement. it's such a cool idea, and i'm wondering, with all the foreigners in new york, why isn't this sort of thing more common? after some research, i found a few but they all require a fee. it's also probably not a big priority among the young and busy that occupy new york. i know of 3 groups in madrid and all are free and quite popular with late 20's-30's crowd. they meet every week at the same place same time. and most advertising is through word of mouth, or as of late - facebook. and this is why i love europeans.

the girl who i went with turned out to be awesome as well. on the metro home we were discussing the partying habits of madrileños and she said something to the degree of "i love going out and everything, but sometimes i just want to sit at a dive bar and have a pint." in other words, i found my new best friend.

tomorrow i leave for sevilla. i'm meeting my little blond american friend there. i'll be back monday and hopefully will have seen some flamenco to write about.

unfortunately, i don't have any photos from last night, so instead i give you my lastest fascination... trees.

mountain biking, sort of.

2009-02-24T01:27:00.000-08:00

the parents, the little guy and I went for a bike ride on the outskirts of the mountains this weekend.

me. on a bike. (i know)

but i was ok until we hit a hill that (since i don't know how to calculate percent grade) i would guess to be a 45 degree angle or steeper. me and the mom walked it instead. at the top, we found a nice little church in the middle of nowhere. i think it only had 6 pews. then we decided it would be a cool idea to climb some of the large rocks up there. after the father propped me up, i got stuck on the edge of the rock, ripped a hole in the jeans, my knee was bleeding, and then i had to figure out how i was actually going to get down. not so cool. i have video evidence but i'm too lazy to edit it. (i'm nursing a cold right now) plus, i have to save some goods for the finale video i'm working on. here are some highlights.

this is how we row

2009-02-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

rowboats from AmandaPants on Vimeo.

church by accident

2009-02-16T12:53:00.000-08:00

this weekend at the village house, the middle child brought 4 of her girlfriends to stay the night. the parents also had a few family friends over. a very generous amount of paella was distributed among all 13 of us. you see, it's customary to have seconds or thirds, and they make ample supply to abide by this regulation. when i declined to have a 3rd plate because my jeans were going to split, i was playfully called something equal to "wimpy new yorker." i made up for it when dessert came out. the family and i agree, the language exchange organization really did a fantastic job when it came to placement of matching personalities: i love food, and they love feeding me.

later that night, the 5 little chicas and i gathered to watch a spanish dubbed 'sex and the city'... which they refer to as 'sex in new york.' it was a good old fashioned sleepover including popcorn, dressing up and taking photos, doing each other's hair, and exchanging boy stories. there was also a lot of singing, which is common here. they begged me to sing a solo, but i couldn't bare to break their big expectations. or the surrounding glass. i was able to sneak my camera on while one girl was going. i had to block her image due to security reasons. and also because she has no idea i was taping her. have a listen. she is only 14.

la chica sings from Amanda Scuglia on Vimeo.
on the way back to madrid, the family was running late and didn't have enough time to drop me off at home before going to sunday night mass... and so it is. i will admit i wasn't the most excited, as i haven't stepped foot in a catholic establishment in years... but it was quite an experience. located in a suburb on the outskirts, a fairly large, very beautiful terra cotta colored church contained it's entrance holy water in seashells rather than silver bowls. it was a 9pm service and it was packed. every pew was filled to the max. the standing room had no standing room. and there were crowds of people from the doors to the parking lot. there were speakers so they could hear the service. one priest was sent outside to give communion. and throughout the whole service, people were waiting in line for the confessionals. to my surprise it wasn't limited to senior citizens and Jesus freaks. the majority was young, hip but not tragically, twenty and thirty somethings. the father even subtlety suggested that i come back next time in hopes of meeting a proper spanish gentlemen. hmmm.

a picnic in the park

2009-02-13T10:51:00.000-08:00

probably my favorite place in madrid thus far, retiro park. maybe because it was 60 degrees and sunny. so pretty, so serene. its so big, we didn't get to cover even half of it. we set up on the green and had ourselves a little picnic. bread, cheese, olives, grapes, avocado and cava , which is a champagne type wine. the guys next to us smoked pot, the group of girls on the other side had siesta, and some guys pugs tried to sneak a treat from our smorgasbord. after our feast, we passed out. next time we're doing the rowboats.

and yesterday i met some more americans, other english teachers living with spanish families. we bonded on the pros and cons. it seems i got lucky with my fam, but i already knew that. here are other visuals from earlier this week.

happy birthday bacon

2009-02-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

a retrospective of over 70 paintings, inspirational photos, biographical facts and remnants of his studio to commemorate his birth in 1909, as well as his death (which happened to be in madrid - 1992). absolutely brilliant.

el rastro...

2009-02-08T06:49:00.000-08:00

... arguably the largest flea market in the world. or at least in europe. it was like christmas morning for me. :D it was definitely the most crowded i've ever experienced. it's only on sunday mornings, so the eldest sister and i stayed home from the village house this weekend so we could attend. and we found this guy in the middle of the chaos.

man plays glass from Amanda Scuglia on Vimeo.

a method to the madness

2009-02-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

the reason for ending festivities after sunrise?.... the metro closes at 1:30 and re-opens at 6am. this becomes a problem if you are shot before then. so you stall and continue until you have an accessible ride home. most of the night's leftovers will wait in the subway station anxiously awaiting the train, trying not to pass out.
last night, my new found sisters and i went to a houdini style magic show recommended by them (which didn't even start until 1 am and required reservations). it was at first a little cheesy and over performed. fast card tricks and making doves appear... you know the routine. then they brought in the grandfather. the audience was even forced to move from the upstairs stage to the downstairs basement. he entered the room in a t-shirt and jeans, unlike his previous performers in the standard black tux. he spoke soft and husky (think demi moore) and very unassuming. he waited for the doubtful audience members to leave and they did, only leaving us with a more intimate space. i'm quite skeptical when it comes to magicians, but this guy was the making shit disappear into thin air. he bent spoons and then selected random people from the audience to bend spoons. he hypnotized them and accessed their childhood memories. i think he might be the real deal. we discussed it over drinks and then went out dancing. after leaving the discotheque at 7am, we went out for "breakfast". pork tenderloin sandwiches. in a crowd full of starving twenty-somethings. by the time i got home, the sun was already breaking the clouds. and this is why "siesta" was created.

madrileñas

2009-02-03T14:56:00.001-08:00

i found them. the kind of people with whom you have an instant connection. and then you spend all evening talking about life and love and life and heartbreak and life.

when i told of my big move, i was given a name and number of a friend of a friend to "show me around." i usually don't participate in such a charity way of meeting people because 1) you have no idea what you're getting into and it can turn out very awkward ... 2) i live in new york and thus know what it's like to be given the "tour guide" duty. not really my cup of tea... unless you want the back-roads-brooklyn type of tour. however, this was from a reputable source and figured it couldn't hurt. 5 minutes into meeting her, we were immediate friends. after a few beers in a bar, we went back to her incredible apartment to have dinner, drinks and miscellany. she introduced me to her crew all of whom i fell in love with. beautiful, charming, bi-lingual and some tri-lingual, brillant, talented spanish sirens who all recently broke up with their boyfriends. power in numbers, or something like that. at 3 am, after 5 hours of getting our buzz on, we went out dancing. or at least tried to. the clubs were packed, for the wee hours of the morn are madrid's primetime party hours. this kind of behavior, if it becomes repetitive, will not be good for my insomnia.

muchas gracias mayra for the set up. she is a really good egg.

greatest. superbowl. ever.

2009-02-02T12:03:00.000-08:00

not just because i was the only person in the bar actually from pittsburgh. or because it aired at midnight til 4 am. or because it was a well played game from both teams, exciting up til the last minute, something unusual with past superbowls. it's collective awesome-ness might have something to do with the fact that in an NFL-ignorant and uninterested country, the few existing fans gathered at their local irish pubs wearing their nfl colors with pride. even some spaniards came out to support. one guy was wearing steelers apparel dating back to the 70's. he bearly knew english, but he did know "touchdown". in addition, i went to high school with the wide receiver (number 15 steve breaston) of the opposing team who played in his first superbowl at the age of 25 against his hometown team. i could piss in my pants just thinking about how cool that is. the icing on the cake? when santonio holmes made the winning touchdown and those bitter cardinal fans stopped talking all their shit and got up and walked out. adios, baby.

los homosexuales

2009-01-30T03:39:00.000-08:00

lately i've been checking out the chueca area, otherwise known as our chelsea. "where the gays are." the fashion queens here look better in a skirt than most women. the shopping is incredible. the fare is delicious AND affordable. last night, my little blond american friend and i wondered through the town. we started at a bar that gives you free plates of tapas with every cocktail purchase, though you must be able to cut through the crowd to actually be able to order a drink. luckily we pushed our way to the back where we found a seat. the more beverages you drink the more food you get. we sampled another bar before ending up at the chocolateria, where you can dip churros in warm chocolate syrup and then drink the remainder. but not before walking the town to see the sights and the prostitutes that flock the streets after midnight.

shoes.

i'm planning how i can steal one of these tap gods.

the land of the lisps

2009-01-28T00:37:00.000-08:00

i thought working with mexicans in the kitchen of a restaurant for 3 years might be helpful. or even the few spanish courses i took in high school. you would think rosetta stone would at least give me a head start. and it has helped me improve my vocabulary and grammar... but nothing prepares you for the actual speech and conversation exchange of a foreign language. especially one with an impediment similar to a lisp. you see, everything i've been taught about spanish has now changed due to the pronunciation of one letter. "c". their dialect requires the "th" sound [as in 'the'] to replace the soft "c", and about 95% of their c's are soft. and it seems like 95% of their words have a soft c in them. [not really, thats just me being dramatic]. if that doesn't kill you, then the r's will. all that rolling of the tongue sounds like someone's got a lil too much mucous in their throat. when it comes to reading and writing, i'm succeeding, at least thats what rosetta stone says. its all that spitting and purring that i can't quite grasp. one of the downfalls to being a visual learner is that if there's not a picture in front of you, you don't get it. i'm not giving up though. i've planned to join an intercambio, which literally means exchange. its where 2 or more people practice their native languages together. for example, i would meet with a spaniard who was interested in bettering his english abilities. we would have a conversation in english, and then one in thpanish.

i like imperfect typography.

we boil shrimp heads to savor the flavor.

asian in spain. and taxidermy to advertise.

dinner. these fish have bones so small you could digest them. no, thanks.

hallelujah

2009-01-24T02:48:00.000-08:00

i was standing in the vodaphone booth contemplating how i was going to go about asking the sales guy for a sim card. while i was working up my internal bravery, i was also paying close attention to the conversation that was going on between the salesman and a short blond girl who didn't look spanish but certainly sounded so. i listened carefully and was trying to pick up certain words that maybe i could use in my upcoming trial and probably error. and then i heard it. the single sound that will eliminate all doubt in whether or not someone is a native. "umm". it's what we, americans, say when pausing between words and thoughts. the spanish version is "ehh". with angels voices singing in my head, i met my very first american. when i asked her if she spoke english, she was confused on how i knew. i educated her on my observation techniques, she helped me with my purchase, and we exchanged numbers. after being facebook friends for a few days, we decided to hang out.

today we started with a lunch at a typical restaurant and ordered the off the special "menu of the day". she read the choices to me, as she's semi-fluent. i ordered what i thought was pork. there was a slight mistake on her translation. when you put the word pork next to any other word, it changes the meaning. instead, i received a full body of a baby fish, head and eyes included. it was a surprise, but i have yet to taste something here that isn't delicious. it was quite yummy, and it came with red wine......AND flan. after hours of exchanging life stories and visiting an egyptian temple thingy, we were on a mission: to find a bar suitable for watching the superbowl.

i did some homework and found a madrid blog from a steelers fan who recommended a few irish pubs. the chose the first one. the bartender was actually irish and was a lil sassy. this i like. he told us the place had a huge american football following with the natives as well as foriegners. i'm so in.

happy inauguration

2009-01-22T02:06:00.000-08:00

they family was just as excited as i was to see mr. O getting all official. we all gathered around the tv and listened to a live translated- to- spanish obama speech. then when the star spangled banner was performed, we all stood up, in the living room, together. think about that image for a second. my friend mark seemed to get a kick out of it.

speaking of funny. due to the fact that we live in a development (flats rather than houses) the security is strict and you need a key to enter the premises, as well as exit. you will pass 2 gates before seeing the front door. our daily routine consists of mary louisa, the housekeeper, arriving about a half hour before the mother leaves to go to work. she has a key but she shares it with me. in reality, she doesn't really need it because the mom is always here to let her in. but thats what i was told to do, so i don't ask questions. plus, it's been hers long before i got here and i don't want to step on any toes. well. every other time i've left the house was when housekeeper + mom have been here. yesterday was different, i had a late start. so, much like any normal person's habit, i locked the door upon leaving. i guess i made a boo-boo. when i returned home i found mary louisa sitting, with her arms folded, awaiting my arrival. she started yelling very fast in spanish and throwing hand gestures everywhere. she's a really sweet woman, so i was highly confused. she went on and on, i had no idea what she was trying to get at. i brought her to the computer and brought up freetranslation.com and had her type. once it was translated it read: "when you left, you locked the door and have left me here, locked inside. i could not leave and i've been waiting over an hour. i had to call the mother to come home from work to let me out. she'll be here any minute." this is me, as a horse's ass. feeling like the biggest jerk ever, i didn't want to question how someone could get locked inside. i explain you. there is a key hole on both sides. if you lock the door from the outside, you cannot open it from either side. to lock it only from the outside, you simply don't do anything. silly, i know. but after telling both the mother and housekeeper that this is not the norm in the states, they forgave me and apologized for not giving me a heads up.

did i tell you i found an american grocer here? they don't have much.... but they do have peanut butter. i bought a large jar to share with the fam since they don't even really know what it is. i made them try pb & j's and my personal favorite, green apples dipped in it. i spent a good twenty minutes explaining that there's no actual butter in peanut butter. they don't get it. it's the only non-spanish food ive had, with the exception of last week, when i broke down and had mickey d's. never again.

random photo upload:

lunch. you can buy sandwiches by the half. they don't eat crust. weirdos.

jamon iberico. pig legs are a typical snack.

principe pio, my main train station. similar to our grand central.

and we´re back

2009-01-19T06:34:00.000-08:00

so i did the art museum thing. the 2 biggest ones in 1 day. it was a must for me. now that it´s over and done with, i can move on to less touristic activities. i started with the reina sofia art museum. ENORMOUS. i was exhausted just walking between paintings. this place is famous for housing a lot of dali´s work and picasso´s masterpiece , ´´guernica´´.

even though i am not a huge fan of his cubism work [i much prefer his blue and rose period], i was quite impressed with it. i also did not expect to enjoy the joan miros that i found. but my favorite sightings here were of francis bacon and a few artists i had never seen nor heard of previously.

then i was onto the prado. perhaps one of the most famous art museums in europe. it houses probably the largest collection of valesquez and goya. maybe it´s because i was hungry or tired but i found it much like the louvre, in that, after a while it starts to blend into one. without sprinkles of modern art to refreshen my psyche, i get a little lost. HOWEVER, i was extremely drawn to goya´s black paintings. i was always a fan of his prints and lines but these were something to be seen. once the large group of asian art tours left the corridor, i stayed for quite some time admiring them. exhausted, i went home to teach the kiddies.

we had light lessons this week, as i made them listen to a song in english and write down the lyrics. song of choice? jolene by dolly parton. they loved it. they now hate whoever jolene is.

this weekend was another feast in the mountains. we had what was probably the best thing i ever ate in my life. seriously. homemade, authentic paella.

they taught me that true paella never mixes fish and poultry, as the touristic versions do. it´s one or the other. we had the meaty one. it consisted of rabbit and chicken. and it was delightful.

tonight i will try to return the favor by cooking an italian favorite for them. they admitted in the beginning that they weren´t too keen on cooking pastas. i can attest that they weren´t lying. so i will pass on the recipe that was once given to me by a certain parisian from naples. the problem is, the main ingredients are spinach and blue cheese. both of which the children despise. we´ll see how it goes.

shout out to my homeslice

2009-01-19T00:50:00.000-08:00

i just want to take this opportunity to say

the pittsburgh steelers are f_cking awesome.

especially my man troy polamalu. [if you´re watching, i love you baby] and i can´t believe i´ll be away, once again, for the superbowl. the last time we were afc champions, i had just moved to new york. maybe i should move somewhere new every year around playoff time.

stop back later later for weekend updates and photos.

random image upload

2009-01-16T12:07:00.001-08:00

s words

smoking strawberries with the kids

dinner.

market cuisine: the pig (from top left to bottom right)
brains, intestines, gizzards, stomach lining

continued.... liver, head, kidney, tongue

church. only for photographic purposes.

a series of glitches

2009-01-15T01:23:00.000-08:00

so the girl who i´m subletting to already wants to move out. shes very sweet but may have minor case of the crazies. she complained about the cleanliness of the apt when it was absolutely spotless. she even selected the bathroom as being the worst when i spent at least 2 hours on hands and knees scrubbing with a bleach+ammonia solution. we´re talking a room the size of a closet. and i know im not supposed to mix bleach with any other agent but i have a little thing called germ-phobia and its the best way to satisfy my tick. i scrubbed that wall/toilet/tub so hard that the first surface lining or two was exfoliated. i think she truly did not want to come here in the first place. from the moment we met she kept saying how homesick she was and that she missed her boyfriend. anyhoo, she wants a replacement renter. which is really not the kind of stress i was looking forward to having, but what can i do. i don´t want to rip the poor girl off.

in other, more devastating news... i lost a good chunk of my hair this morning. don`t worry, the naked eye cannot tell. apparently radio shack gave me a faulty converter or maybe it´s only designed for outlet conversion and not voltage. i was excited to curl my hair for my big day in the city. then i was rudely awakened by the smell and sizzling sounds of burnt hair.

today will be my second journey into the big city. the first day was supposed to be for the sights but i got distracted by shopping, and later almost got in trouble with the police. i stood at the subway ticket machine for a good 15 minutes... first trying to translate the language, then trying to select which ticket i needed... there were so many to choose from. then i relied on the ol`trial and error. error being the key word. i was able to use my ticket to go into the city on the train but on my return back home, i decided to take a different route. this is how we learn. i took the metro liguero which is an above ground subway line. the ticket allowed me to pass thru the turnstiles so i thought i was good. i got off at my stop and was confidently exiting when my turnstile started beeping. 2 policemen came over. they didn´t understand english and when i´m nervous i forget all the important spanish. then, thank god, i saw one of my kids´girlfriends. very coincidentally she was headed over to our house. she rescued me by telling them i was american and had just moved here. they still made me pay for a new ticket but they didnt give me the fine i wouldve gotten had i known better. [whew]

i explain you.

2009-01-13T01:01:00.000-08:00

this is the most commonly used (simple) mistake made by spanish speaking people. it's their automatic response to any question you ask them, of any kind. i tend to find it kind of cute, and hesitate to correct them. i know its sort of my job and all, but when i hear it i get a little chuckle inside and it never gets old.

[for security and privacy purposes instructed by the exchange program, i am not permitted to share names, photos, etc with anyone i meet, let alone public display...doing so will result in immediate termination and exportation. instead i will be vague and/or use coded initials if need be.]

today was the first official english lesson to the children. they are ridiculously smart. this makes it harder for me to keep coming up with exercises. however, their levels are so varied. "V" is only 11 yrs and has a basic understanding of conversation. "A" is 14 yrs and is preparing for the first certificate for english as a second language. At barely 16yrs, "N" is in advanced level, lived in ireland for 3 months last year, and has already read a novel in english. they start english in second grade, when their minds are still fresh. they begin a third language (usually french) by the time their twelve... in public school. i didn't even start intro to spanish until i was in the seventh grade. kinda makes me feel like a chump. especially when i keep asking them, "how do you say peach again?" i explain you.

we spent this past weekend at their village house which is about 40 minutes north of madrid, smack dab middle of the mountains. the grandfather lives there and is unfortunately very ill. its snowed more than it has in many years and they blamed me. but they forgave me after i showed them how to build a real snowman. the entire weekend was dedicated to siesta. yeah. and at 5 meals a day, it seems like their lives revolve around eating. in other words, i'm in heaven. we start every day with squeezing our own oranges for juice. it takes 3 for the perfect cup. its usually joined by natural wafers, cereal, baguette or ham. then after noon, we go out to a bar for aperitivo which translates to small food before lunch,.. meaning tapas. if you are unaware of these delicious creatures, they consist of small hors d' ourves usually accompanied by complimentary beverages. anywhere between 230 and 4 we have lunch which is usually pork of some kind with a vegetable and potato. but weekends call for a larger and more time-consuming meal. they prepared a traditional winter meal , cocido madrilèno, which is native to madrid. it's divided into 3 parts. soup with noodles, 5 varieties of meat, vegetable and chickpeas. there's even a chronological way to eat it. the meats consist of pulled chicken, beef roast, chorizo (sausage, which btw is in almost every meal, someway, somehow), fancy and apparently incredible chunky pork fat, and............blood sausage. it's about 2 inches thick and looks VERY unappetizing. so much so that i didn't photograph it. it's basically made with all the leftovers of the pig, including the blood, which gives it the strong color/flavor. i found it quite tasty. they were delighted by my open mind as said it was atypical of americans to try such odd foods without complaint. i told them not to get ahead of themselves, for no matter how much a delicacy, i will never be willing and able to eat pork fat. around 6 we have a snack which is most likely yogurt or these addictive little vanilla wafer-y type cookies. and finally, anywhere between the hours of 830 and 1030 pm, is dinner. this day was lighter than most due to the big lunch. after our french omelet, like clockwork, we had dessert. your choice consists of yogurt, cookies, pears, or any combination of the three.

see highlights below.

terminal 5

kitty overlooking baby jesus

cocido madrileño

weekend getaway

technical difficulties

2009-01-12T00:36:00.000-08:00

due to problems with my laptop, i have not been able to connect to the internet from my room, hence the lack of writing. i´m trying to fix this problem asap. and when i do, i will have much more to say. and pictures to share. sorry dudes. keep your fingers crossed.

the fat lady is on the horse

2009-01-09T04:57:00.000-08:00

a few hours before departing i received an email from the mother of my host family, instructing me where to meet her. she looked up my flight info and knew in which terminal i was scheduled to land. she told me just outside my arrival gate was a large "estatua de botero" and if i had any trouble finding it, to just ask anyone. i found this information rather vague so i did a quick google search. here's a visual:

[exit new york.]

i found myself the minority amoung many-a-indians on the flight to london. we're talking 70 / 30. maybe the city of mumbai escaped to new york for the holidays... and then coincidentally, they all scheduled to return the same day... on the same flight. confused and in mid-air, i found myself worriedly looking around and repeatedly checking my itinerary to make sure that it was indeed europe that i was scheduled to land. a 2 hour layover and 1 really bad coffee later, i arrived in madrid.

after wandering around outside for twenty or so minutes and no sign of the statue, i approached a few locals. for whatever reason i could not remember the name of the artist, so i used the only words i knew to describe what i was searching for..."fat lady" and "horse". can you imagine? in return i got a few laughs, a few "i have no ideas" and one lady gave me a face that looked as if she had just smelled really stinky cheese. then i found a police officer. simultaneously, i remembered an ever annoying phrase my rosetta stone repeatedly stressed. i said "la estatua de una mujer gorda esta encima de un caballo." [a statue of a fat lady is on top of a horse] they responded, "terminal uno!" as if they had just won a game show. turns out i was in terminal 5. apparently, the airline switched at the last minute. i took a 10 minute shuttle bus... and there she was.

i found the most adorable, charming, spitfire of a woman awaiting my arrival. no more than 5 ft. tall, with striking features, i think i have an old lady crush. she welcomed me with a heartfelt hug and kisses on each cheek. then we drove home to the family. it's storybook stuff, really. 3 very well-mannered, very good looking children, a loving husband who does all the cooking, and a home so clean you could eat off the floor. 2 and 1/2 bathrooms, a patio and yard with a tree! everything has it's place here. i have a designated towel hook. after unpacking, i took a jet-lag induced nap and then t'was time for our first dinner.

i never witnessed anything quite like it. the setting of the table was left to the children, who formed an assembly line of sorts to gather items to be placed on a wheeled cart, including linen napkins with assigned names so that we could re-use them the next day. mine said "older sister". the parents loaded the cart with potatoes, pea casserole, beans with ham, bread and fruit for dessert. we gathered in the dining room around the table where med-rare steaks topped with blue cheese were placed in front of us. umm, score. they told me stories of past tutors, asked me a lot of questions about new york, and told me that if i'm not a huge fan of soccer that i need to learn how to pretend. afterwards we crowded the kitchen to clean up, everyone did their part. and finally we watched tv together in the living room, on the only existing television in the house, before going to bed.

tomorrow we go to their weekend village house where there's a fluffy little cat i can play with. for now, there´s more resting i need to do.

preliminary thoughts

2009-01-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

i have no idea what i'm doing. and i'm okay with that.

one of my favorite notions from the genius that is andy warhol is the idea that some people have the ability to feel for a place, a geographical location, in the same manner that they can a person. last year i took a trip backpacking around western europe. while most of it was awesome, the time i spent in barcelona really affected me. but it wasn't simply just this city. or the cute boy i met who gave me an intimate tour of his native town and subsequently tried to propose to me. i was enamored with the culture, the aesthetics, the people, the history, the values and most importantly... the food. i remember thinking *i have to live here. period.* so i tried to stick to that original thought without getting distracted. after much research, i chose to go with an exchange program in which i would receive room and board with a host family and tutor their children in english. i selected madrid instead of barcelona mostly because i was hoping to learn castilian spanish, not catalan. i have never been to madrid; nor do i know anyone living in madrid. and being that i haven't done much preparation, i'm unusually placid. things are strangely falling into place without much effort on my part. hmm. the calm before the storm? there's probably something crucial that i'm forgetting... some sort of paperwork that's buried in my mess of a desk.... some shot i didn't know i had to get.... my chapstick...

perhaps what i should be most concerned with is the situation with my apt in new york. it's illegal in the state of new york to sublet a 2-family house. it also just so happens that my landlord has a slight case of paranoid schizophrenia. she doesn't like change.. or anybody new.. or anything - in general. and if she were to find out that i'm subletting to a girl whom i've never met (an intern from germany) she would throw me, all my stuff and the german girl out on the street. i know this because i asked her. during the primary stages of planning, i wanted her permission to take a 3 month leave and find someone else to pay the rent. it did not go over well. there's nothing like the threat of losing your home WHILE you're away to shake things up a little. but that's all part of the fun. stay tuned, kids...